“Wake up, beautiful,” another voice cajoles, and I find my eyelids fluttering open, bright hazel eyes laughing back at me. “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”
“Argh. I need a piss,” I grumble, my voice low and husky. My nose wrinkles as I feel the dried evidence of Aeron’s visit last night, but when I look around, I can see that he’s not down here. “And a shower.”
“Anything else, princess?” Knox asks, his plush lips pulled up in a smirk. Dammit. He’s too fucking good-looking this early in the morning.
“Yeah. Some coffee, some food, oh, and my fucking freedom would be nice,” I deadpan, smiling sweetly at him. His brows dip, and the skin around his eyes tightens. I could swear that guilt flashes across his eyes, darkening their brightness.
“The last one I can’t help with,” he tells me, reaching up to loosen the clasps on my wrists as Jude bends down to unfasten my ankles. I take a huge inhale of Knox’s scent; a mix of motor oil, cloves, and leather, and I have to forcibly stop my eyes from rolling back into my head at how fucking delicious it is. “But the others we can fulfill.”
“What?” I question, a little dazed and yes, maybe a smidge dick-struck. His smile widens when he sees my confusion, undoing the final clasp and catching me when I tumble forward.
“Let's get you upstairs, Little Bird,” he says with a chuckle before sweeping me up into his arms.
“Hey! No fair!” Jude complains, following closely behind as Knox strides from the room, heading towards the basement stairs. “I wanted to carry her!”
Despite my better judgment, my lips tilt. He looks edible this morning; his brightly-colored Hawaiian shirt is open, showcasing his muscled torso, ink, scars and all. He’s paired it with some hot pink chinos and rainbow sparkly DM’s that I secretly yearn for.
“You get to touch her for the rest of the day, so quit your bitching,” Knox says, and I straighten in his arms.
“Why? What’s happening today?” I ask, a mixture of excitement and trepidation causing butterflies to explode in my stomach.
“Naughty, Nightingale,” Jude chides, darting in front of Knox who curses, and bopping me on the nose. “That would ruin the surprise.”
We head up the stairs, emerging in the main living area which is empty. I chew my lips as I look around, not examiningthe sudden heaviness in my body too closely when I can’t see Aeron or Tarl.
“Don’t worry, Little Bird,” Knox murmurs, continuing across the floor to the other set of stairs that leads to the mezzanine level. “They’ll be back later. They’re just taking care of something.”
“Like kidnapping another innocent girl?”
His steps falter, and my body moves with a great sigh as he exhales like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. Or maybe I’m just super heavy.
“In some ways, I wish things were different,” he confesses, pausing at the bottom step and looking me straight in the eye. “But, I can’t say that I’m sorry about you being here. Because I’m not.”
“Me neither,” Jude adds, coming up next to us. He strokes some of my hair away from my face, his ocean-blue eyes fixed on me and his face soft as if he’s at peace after a long, lonely battle. “You were always meant to be ours, Nightingale.”
My heart pounds, and I swallow hard, looking from one set of eyes to another, seeing the truth of their conviction in their depths.
“Do you always break the things that belong to you?” I whisper, hardly daring to breathe as I wait for their answer.
“Yes.” They speak in unison, and a shiver runs along my skin. I can see that truth clearly too.
“There’s nothing more to break,” I tell them, pushing down the memories of the past few years that threaten to surface. The leering faces. The grasping hands.
“Then we shall mend you first, my broken bird,” Jude coos, placing a soft kiss on my temple. “And maybe you can mend us too.”
He steps away, striding upstairs with his feline grace, leaving me speechless and gaping like a fish.Did he suggest that I have power here?
“Come on, beautiful,” Knox says, carrying me up the stairs after Jude. “Let’s get you cleaned up and ready for the day.”
My head spins around these guys. They talk about breaking me, and then in the next sentence, they’re taking care of me.
And the worst part?
Both make my heart race, my nipples tighten, and my core ache to be filled by each of them.
Maybe I’m more broken than I thought.
They leave me to wash alone, Jude saying that he needs to prepare for what is coming. My heart thuds with both excitement and apprehension, my mind unable to admit that I might look forward to his attentions, whatever they may entail.
