AllFreeNovel
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“Are you laughing at me?” My momentary wrath quickly transforms into relief. “Damn you, I thought you were serious! If you’re done being dicks, untie me. Y’all are taking shit too far.” I writhe against my bonds while hiding my disappointment as their laughter snuffs out the fledgling hope I wasn’t quick enough to temper.
Valentino’s knots don’t give under my straining. He erases all humor from his face. “We aren’t untying you until we settle things. The first being this ridiculous notion that you have to choose between us. We’re a packaged deal.”
Holy shit!
My brain…hell, everything inside me freezes as I replay Valentino’s words. Once his words register, an inferno ignites within my body. My nipples bead and my pussy pulses, leaking from a desire I’ve denied for too long. I shake my head because this can’t be happening.
I should jump for joy that they want me this way, but I can’t. Despite my desire, I know that what they are asking is impossible. Valentino isn’t the sharing type. He will regret whatever compromise he and Tácito have come to. Then where will we all be?
And then there’s Tácito… I still don’t understand this drastic change from him. Regardless, he’s the most likely person to get hurt from this scenario. We’ve been through enough shit together as kids for me to flirt with the possibility of more.
I’m the only one of our trio who they can survive without, but Tácito and Valentino need each other. They rely on each other far more than I depend on them, and I lean on them too much as is.
Valentino steps into the ensuing silence and says, “For us to agree to your release, you’ll have to give us your word you’ll abide by certain conditions.”
I gaze helplessly between them.
“First, you and I will marry. Before you utter another useless objection, our marriage will have no effect on our relationship with Tácito.”
I clear my throat. For as long as I can remember, I’d denied myself from dreaming about any kind of marriage. As painful as it was, I imagined Valentino’s and Tácito’s weddings. I was never the bride then. I can’t see myself as their bride now.
I stomp out the hope flaring in my chest despite my common sense reasoning. “If marrying you won’t cause strife with Tácito, then why do we need to get married?”
“My name can’t grant you the protection that Valentino’s can. Once you’re a DeLuca, Giulio won’t be able to use you against us.”
“So I marry Valentino and you two…share me?”
“Exactly.”
“But, Tácito, won’t this mess up your plans? Are you okay with changing everything after so many years of waiting?”
His brow wrinkles in confusion.
“You’re saving yourself, remember?” I pound my fist onto the bed with the little freedom my binds afford me.
His face clears and he bowls over in laughter for a good minute before sobering. “Being with you has always been the plan. My only plan.”
“But that would mean… Since we were thirteen?”
“Is it so hard to believe you are worth waiting for?”
“I-I don’t have an answer for that, and honestly, I’ll need time to wrap my head around all this.”
Valentino nods, but I don’t trust his easy acquiescence. “We’ll give you all the time you need.”
“Thank you. What are your other conditions?”
He and Tácito share a speaking glance. I suspect I won’t like what comes from either of them next.
“No more jobs.” Tácito delivers the prerequisite with a finality I’ve never witnessed from him.
“You’re asking too much.” I know I don’t make sense. I’m lying in a hospital bed, recovering from almost dying. I should have moved on from putting my life in danger once I left the Air Force, but there’s something dangerous inside me that thrives on what I do. I can’t risk letting that out near Tácito and Valentino. I’d rather die than endanger them.
“No, you’re asking too much! We won’t sit by and let you walk into danger alone. Never again.” Valentino walks to flank my other side, making me aware of what a future might look like.
Valentino on one side, Tácito on the other, and me smack dab in the middle. Outnumbered. Disadvantaged.
Not while I have a mouth and will of my own.
