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Inside, Riley kicked the door closed behind them and slid onto the brown leather couch with her on his lap. A low coffee table accompanied the one piece of furniture the apartment offered that served more as a footrest than anything else.
“We’ll have to do something about the lack of a place to sit.”
“The kitchen too,” Riley added.
“That’s not necessary, guys.”
Riley nipped the lobe of her ear and then suckled the flesh between the soft confines of his lips. “No arguments.”
She rested her head on his chest and enjoyed the moment, watching Holden as he walked through the small apartment.
“Hey, you guys feel the need for a bread maker and another couch, that’s fine by me.”
Smiling, Holden shook his head as he drew the larger red curtains over the thinner white ones she preferred. Darkness cocooned around them and they were truly alone.
“A shower, huh.” Riley looked as though he didn’t fully believe her. Smart man.
She nodded.
“I love it when you scrunch up your nose like that when you try to lie.”
“My students call it my tell sign and my sister has the same twitch and uses it to blackmail me.” Shetsked.
“And what about our baby? Think he or she will have the same little tick?”
She looked fondly at Riley and imagined the boy or girl with the same dark golden eyes and dark hair both he and Holden had. Riley’s perfectly pouty lips or Holden’s quick smile depending on who the father was.
From across the room Holden flicked on several lamps, and the soft light cast deep shadows on one side while bathing the other in a pool of golden light. It created a warm, cozy feeling and it was what she loved most about the apartment.
Riley gathered her hand in his and rested her open palm over his heart. The rhythmic beat fed into hers and for a split second, she swore their heartbeats synced. “Tell us something, Zahara, have you ever imagined coming home to both of us every day and waking to us in your bed every morning?”
She bit at her lower lip. “Yes,” she admitted. “But…” How did she say this without hurting them?
“But what?” Holden gently collected her legs and brought them over his lap while Riley supported her back. She felt protected nestled in their arms, and for once it felt nice not needing to find all the answers as she had with her sister growing up. But she did need a few. “I refuse to marry only one of you. Unless some law changed in Alaska that I don’t know about. And honestly, I’m a little confused about all of it. Where I belong, how all this works. Our baby. I mean, how do we know who the father is?”
“I thought we were clear? You belong to us and there’s not a damn person in this world that can change that outside of you.”
She reveled in their possession. The gentleness by which they protected her and even now cared for her. Holden passed her a water bottle he snagged from the kitchen, and Riley fished out the prenatal vitamins from the bag the doctor had sent them home with.
“Thank you.” Capping the bottle, she fiddled with the label as she asked, “What about your father? Things have changed from the hospital room till now so I have to ask again.”
Riley’s eye turned somber and he tightened his lips into a thin line. In slow, lazy circles he rubbed the tender skin of her side as she waited for him to give a voice to the anger swirling in his gaze.
“You don’t need to worry about him. He won’t hurt you or our new family.”
Family. The word alone held the power of the universe. She only wished her sister could be here with her in Alaska, but that was a thought for another day. Right now she had to make sure she had a home for her baby.
“But he’ll hurt you. Maybe not physically, but you’ll be out. Disowned by your own blood and I can’t have that on my conscience. You need to make things right with him.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and offered what she had to him. Her love and support.
“Your heart is pure gold. You showed that today with Reaper and I don’t know how we ever came to have you in our lives but your kindness to those around you is probably the only thing that will heal many wounds others suffer.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. He was finally opening up to her and all she could do was sit there.
“Always. Riley. Always. My heart is yours.” It was everything in this world she had to offer. She reached out for Holden, wanting him as close as Riley. “Both of yours.”
Riley sighed heavily with a deep, frustrated growl working its way up the back of his throat. “We’ll die protecting that heart.” He promised and raised his gaze from their interlaced hands to seek out hers. “But you know there is no making things right with a man that is so steeped in hatred that he can’t see the future I could give our family?”
“We can’t keep this under wraps for long, guys. I can’t be your secret. People will see me around and talk.”
