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Dmitri had leaned in, wrapping an arm around my waist as if all this was normal. Gianni seemed turned on by the gesture but neither one said anything about it. I shook my head to stay in the present and stop thinking with my dick. “My… uh – Owen set it up. I don’t have the funds right now. I really should have canceled but he didn’t give me your number.”
The Frenchman pressed his lips to my neck, resting there for a few seconds before pulling away to speak. “Fair. We’ll give you the quote anyway just in case you change your mind.”
And just like that, the awkwardness of their proposition faded away as we made our way back into the kitchen, my head tucked a little further against my chest to avoid whatever conversation was going to happen. Paval leaped at me, throwing his arms around my legs as he grinned up at me, mouthing ‘goodbye’.
It was hard to explain how these four individuals had just bulldozed through my house and my heart.
“Val, you find another school?” Dmitri asked as he headed for the door.
I looked up to see Valentyn staring at his phone, hand on the verge of crushing the device. “No one wants to take him in the middle of the semester. He’ll have to go back after the week. Pav can’t stay home by himself and grandma can’t watch him that long.” Paval’s fingers tightened around my thighs, making me wonder how much the kid ended up getting tossed around. If it had anything to do with the dramatic reenactment in my bedroom, I truly felt for him.
Gianni jostled my arm, giggling like a child. It was the first time I actually felt like he was younger than me. “Whatcha doing this week, Rhys? You like kids, right?”
With Pav still wrapped around my legs, I’d say so. I nodded timidly, wondering what I was about to get myself roped into. “Nothing much. Just studying. And yeah, I liked kids. Why?”
“Great!” Gianni clapped his hands together. “You watch Pav and we’ll fix the kitchen.”
“What?” I whisper-yelled, narrowing my gaze at him. “That’s not a fair tradeat all. I’m not stupid about what that renovation costs.” I also didn’t understand what Gianni was trying to pull or why the kitchen renovation was so important in all this. I didn’tneedit to be done.
Valentyn approached, boxing me in against a wall of Greek gods. “Would save me a lot of trouble.”
Gianni laughed, “What hemeantto say is that he’s a fucking hardass and he hates most people. Pav doesn’t even like most people. But you… you’re the golden ticket, aren’t you?”
I swallowed, nervously. “Uh… yeah, I guess? I just don’t need the kitchen done that badly and-”
“We already got half the payment,” Dmitri offered.
“Wait, what?” Where the fuck had Owen gotten that kind of money? I peeled Paval off of me and stepped back, hands raised. They wanted methatbad and while I knew this was just a sexual agreement, I could see the longing for something else, something more. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up though.
Gianni shook his head at my antics as he reached forward and dragged me to his chest before kissing me. “Stop thinking so much.”
The child between us giggling drew me back to the present, the horror that I hadn’t kissed Valentyn—his father, settling in. “I told you that Daddy likes you!” Paval clapped his hands and wiggled around before throwing a fist up in the air like he had won the lottery.
I didn’t understandanyof that reaction. “But Valentyn is your dad,” I responded, still very much pressed against Gianni’s chest.
Paval grinned at me. “They all are.”
They were… co-parenting? It wasn’t unusual, just uncommon and they had just dragged me into their little family. Gianni released me and gathered Paval up in his arms as Dmitri placed a thick kiss on my temple. Valentyn took his place, cupping my cheeks in his large hands before kissing the bridge of my nose and then lips, supping slow and sweet until I was vibrating and whimpering for more.
“See you bright and early tomorrow morning at 8.”
“What—what am I supposed to do until then?” Why the fuck was I askingthem?
Valentyn gave me a warm expression, kissing me again, his tongue licking my bottom lip until he had me on edge, hands fisted in his shirt. “Rest. Looks like the hangover could use a few more hours of sleep.” And then he was gone, my body surging with the need for release. Fuck the sleep, I needed to relieve the pressure in my pants and then remind myself that I made dumb decisions when my dick was in control.
They worked dangerous jobs and yet, they wanted me.
I had also somehow agreed to babysit and the kitchen renovation was definitely more important than they were letting on.
2 + 2 just… didn’t equal five.
None of this was adding up but the bit of reprieve they were offering from this Owen madness was worth it. Hopefully. Or, I was just trading one crutch for another.
Chapter sixteen
GIANNI
I shimmied into the backseat of the truck, Paval resting against my chest as he mumbled himself to sleep. A chuckle sat at the back of my throat as I watched, wondering if we hadn’t just dragged Rhys into something he wasn’t ready for. My eagerness usually drove our fourth away and even though I could gauge Rhys’ comfort pretty well, this had been something I had been dying for,for months.
