Page 83 of My Undead Love Life

Mad stepped closer, setting the axe down by the bed before undressing and climbing back in bed in front of her. “I’m sorry for leaving like that.”

She clutched the blanket to her chest. “I thought I ruined it.”

“You didn’t.” He shook his head. “You didn’t ruin anything.”

“But you looked…” She swallowed. “You looked hurt.”

“I was.” He exhaled. “Not because you kissed him. Not really. I think it just hit me all at once that this is real. That you might actually want us, too. And then, I thought about Keith, and I felt like an asshole for being happy about it.”

Spencer’s eyes filled with tears. “I feel like that, too.”

Mad’s face tightened with pain. “I know.”

“I love him,” she whispered.

“I know, flare.”

“I don’t want you to think that means I don’t care about you.”

“I don’t.” His hand lifted slowly, giving her plenty of time to move away. When she didn’t, he brushed his fingers over her cheek. “I don’t need you to love him less to care about us.”

A tear slipped down, and Mad caught it with his thumb.

“I just need us to be careful,” he said. “All of us. We need to be careful and intentional with what this becomes.”

“What do you want it to become?” Spencer asked.

He looked at her, then at Luck and me.

I held his gaze. I didn’t know what we were doing any more than he did, but I knew I wasn’t backing out. Not from Spencer.

Mad seemed to read that on my face, because some of the tension left his shoulders. “I don’t know the exact plan yet,” he admitted. “But I know I want in.”

Spencer’s lips parted.

Mad looked back at her. “If you want all three of us, and Luck and Oxi want this, too, then I want to try. I just need honesty. No pretending or pushing past grief because we’re lonely. I don’t want you to feel like you owe us anything because we helped keep you alive.”

“I don’t feel like I owe you,” she said, voice shaking. “I feel like I want you.”

Mad’s eyes darkened, and he leaned in and pressed his forehead to hers instead of kissing her.

Spencer closed her eyes.

“I want you, too,” he whispered. “But I’m going to go slow.”

“Okay,” she breathed.

“And for the record,” he added, voice rougher, “walking away just now was about the hardest thing I’ve done in a while.”

Luck made a low sound. “Yeah, we noticed.”

Mad huffed a quiet laugh, but it faded fast.

Spencer reached for his hand, and he let her take it. “I’m sorry I scared you,” she whispered.

“You don’t have to apologize for wanting something.” His thumb moved over her knuckles. “I just needed a second to catch up.”

Luck cleared his throat softly. “So…we’re all in?”