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I shot up out of bed, holding my head, shaking away a memory that wasn’t possible to have. I had been in the basement then. I hadn’t seen those eyes and yet it wasn’t a foreign expression. Owen had looked like that more often than not the past few times I had seen him, especially when he waltzed in at all hours of the night.
Terror flooded my senses as I wondered what kind of mess he had left in my kitchen. Needing to know, I slipped from Valentyn’s embrace completely, shoved my legs into a pair of sweats, and prodded down the hall, wired on nothing but fear as I stalked into the kitchen. Burnt cheese suffocated my nose, dirty dishes in the sink staring back at me. It hadn’t been a dream.
Owen had been here.
A cry tore from my throat as Dmitri stole me from the tiles and rushed me back to the bedroom, Valentyn profusely apologizing but I wasn’t focused on that. I was trembling in the Frenchman’s hold, freaking the fuck out that even with these guys here, Owen would find a way back in.
All that hard work Valentyn had done to calm me down was falling apart again.
“What does he want?” I cried out, Dmitri stroking the hairs at the back of my neck but not answering. I clung to him, trying to block out last night, at least most of it. I was a fucking statistician, studying algorithms and probabilities. There was nothing interesting about me unless you counted my insatiable desire for sugar and the inability to gain weight from it.
Before I knew it, I was being passed off to Gianni, my head spinning with all of the hands, touches, and smells, making me freak out all over again. “Breathe, sweetheart.” I rocked myself in his arms, tucking myself into a tight ball. “Breathe with me. Come on, Rhys, you’re notbreathing.”
“Yes, I am,” I choked out and then coughed, air trying its damndest to crawl into my lungs.Oh.I gasped for more, sweet relief clouding my movements as I sagged against his chest. How the fuck was I such a mess?
“Alright, that’s good. Keep breathing. Now, we’re going to go take a nice bath while the other two clean the kitchen alright? And then we’re going to have breakfast and talk about everything. How’s that sound?”
I was still rocking in his arms, unable to say anything just yet but they were patient as Gianni rubbed my back. Then I asked, “Paval?”
They all shared a laugh, the sound from Gianni’s chest rumbling and filling me with warmth. “Always so selfless. He’s sleeping. Now, a bath and then some food. Let’s go. You got this.” He helped me to my feet, his wide smile giving me the courage to walk on shaky legs to my bathroom, all the while he whispered words of encouragement. When Gianni sat me on the toilet to turn on the water, Dmitri and Valentyn stepped inside to press kisses on my forehead and then made their way to the kitchen.
“They don’t-”
Gianni shook his head. “Try telling them not to take care of people and you’re dealing with more trouble than it’s worth. Your job is to relax and stop thinking so damn hard. Yesterday was a lot for anyone to deal with and right now, you’re still hyped up on adrenaline and memories. I’m going to give you a little massage and then I’m going to make sure you’ve had your fill before we talk.” I opened my mouth again but he just shook his head. “No exceptions.”
We waited in silence as the bathtub filled up, Gianni slowly stripping his clothes off and then doing the same for me. I resisted at first, Gianni waiting for my permission but it wasn’t permission he needed. I was just terrified of being vulnerable and these men somehow brought that forefront and center. Had it not been for yesterday, I might have stripped myself and jumped into the tub headfirst.
As it was now…
“I can’t,” I whispered.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Gianni reached up and held my cheeks, thumbs caressing and wiping away a new set of tears. He pressed his forehead against mine, waiting until I stopped trembling before trying again, my resolve gone as he helped me into the tub and sat behind me.
I leaned back against him as he dragged a sponge along my flushed skin, my eyes fluttering closed as I realized that for once in my life, I really was safe. Owen had tried to do… whatever he had tried and these men had saved me.
And they were ready to do it again.
Lips attached themselves to my neck, my body growing tense, Gianni pulling away. “Do you want me to stop?”
It gave me a moment of hesitation, the power with which I held when it came to these men. They wanted me but they weren’t going to force it. They wanted me to choose. Every time. Not just once. Or most of the time. Buteverytime.
“No. Keep going,” I pushed out, barely above a whisper.
And so he did, that sponge continuing along my chest and thighs, his lips nipping and sucking along my neck and shoulder until my breathing became erratic and my cock grew hard. Unconsciously, I pushed back against him, feeling his length thicken against my back, a moan falling from my lips.
“Gianni...”
He chuckled. “If you want something, Rhys, you have to say it.” My head lolled to the side as his lips grew more passionate, moving to my ear, his tongue licking the backside. “Say it, Rhys, or I’m going to stop.”
“I-”
“Yes?”
“I need it.”
He chuckled again. “Need what, babe?”
Sponge forgotten, his hands traveled up and down my sides before moving to my thighs, a guttural sound vibrating off my tongue. “Shit.That.” Using sex as an avoidance tactic wasn’t healthy but fuck, I wasn’t going to say no at this point. Besides, this man’s hands felt like heaven.
