I decided to change the subject, though mostly for Mike’s comfort: “Is anyone hungry? I could make us breakfast?”
“No,” Laina whispered. “But I am a little tired. My head kind of hurts. I could go for a nap while we wait for Kieran.” Then she hesitated before flipping her head between Mike and me. “I… wouldn’t mind if you guys wanted to lay down with me. Even if you two don’t sleep, it’d be nice to feel you around me.”
“Whatever you want,” I told her, standing up and offering her my hand.
As she slipped her hand into mine, she got to her feet and tossed a glance back at Mike. The man hadn’t said a word, which meant he hadn’t agreed to it, but he also hadn’t said no. I could see the wheels in his mind turning, and I knew he broke the moment Laina offered him her other hand.
Those wide shoulders of his slumped, and he let out a loud sigh as he took it. As soon as he was up, we were zigzagging around the furniture until we made it to the bedroom area, on the far right side of the wide open space. I let go of her hand so I could walk around the other side of the bed. Only after I slippedoff my shoes did I crawl on and get comfortable, and by that time, Laina was already in the center of the bed, her head on my pillow. Mike, on the other hand, hesitated.
In fact, the man hesitated long enough that Laina rolled over and gazed up at him. The moment those pink eyes lifted, I could see whatever willpower Mike had been clinging to faded away. He bent over to yank off his shoes and soon enough he was on the bed with us.
My bed was not king-sized. Perhaps I should upgrade, given our atypical relationship. It was probably smart to have a bed with more space than you could possibly need.
The moment she was surrounded by us, a smile tugged at her lips. She rolled onto her side, facing Mike and giving me her back. “This is nice. See? I always knew you two could play nice if you tried.”
“You never have to worry about me,” I told her, running a hand along her side. “You know you’ll always have me.”
And Mike, typically the silent one, the one who never seemed to be as forthcoming with his emotions, spoke, “Resisting you was always futile. You have me, Laina, forever and always.”
I could feel the smile in her tone when she replied with a soft, “I love you both. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”
Both Mike and I scooted closer to her after she said that, moving close enough to our girl that she became the meat in this mismatched sandwich. Honestly, I was certain this was the closest we’d ever been to her together. It’d been something Laina had desperately wished for, too. Who knew all it would take to get Mike to be on the same page was yet another kidnapping?
Some people needed a reminder every now and then that what you had was never permanent. Death was always around the corner, waiting to take what you loved most away, so why not enjoy the time you had? Why not live every day as if it was your last?
Mike smoothed down her hair, moving strands of it away from her face. His voice came out low, a bare whisper, “You need to stop getting kidnapped. I think you’ve already met the quota.”
Was that a joke? Was Mike trying to make a joke? Wow, never thought I’d see the day, and yet here we were.
Laina giggled softly, a sound that reverberated in my core. “Trust me, I know. Hey, at least this time I didn’t need you two to come save the day. It’s progress, right?” Though I was behind her, I could easily imagine the way she gazed into his eyes, and I knew as the seconds ticked by, he became weaker and weaker.
It was her superpower: she could make the strongest man weak when it counted. Men like us, men with darkness nestled inside our hearts and our souls; we were ripe for the picking when it came to her. No amount of putting up walls and building defenses could possibly protect us from the wrecking ball and magnet that was Laina Hawkins.
“Yes,” I told her. “Definitely progress. Still, he’s right. You should try harder not to get kidnapped again.”
She laughed. “I literally can’t help it. I must have a sign above me that flashes in neon lights and invites all the criminals in this city to try.” She let out a sigh, the sigh rattling her bones. “This time it was different, though. I don’t think he’ll try to kidnap me again. I… don’t know what he’s going to do next.”
Mike said, “Lola and Sylvester will find out what they can about him. Now that we have a name and know what he looks like, we have somewhere to start. No one can avoid the Luciano’s eyes forever. No one’s that good.”
“Time will tell,” I whispered, my hand on her hip. “It’s not something for you to worry about right now, though.”
“I know,” she admitted. A moment passed before she added, “It’s the weirdest thing. I’m tired, my head hurts, but now that I’m on this bed with the two of you, I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep at all. It feels too nice having you both here.” Thenshe chuckled to herself. “If I would’ve known all it took to get you two on the bed with me together was getting kidnapped, I would’ve gotten kidnapped again a long time ago.”
I saw Mike roll his eyes, but I only smirked—and I smirked because I knew she was serious, the same reason Mike rolled those eyes of his. For a long time, Laina had made it clear she would love for us to be on the same page when it came to her.
“You’re ridiculous,” Mike growled out the words.
To which she countered, “But I’m your ridiculous, aren’t I?”
His wide chest hummed, and he responded by bringing his lips to hers as he muttered, “Yeah, you are.” He kissed her, and if I knew her, she gladly accepted that kiss. I watched as she literally melted for him, moaning softly into the kiss.
Only when the kiss was done did I whisper, “I suspect Mike and I could tire you out, provided you’re up for it.” The other man shot me a look over her head, which made me say something else: “And provided Mike won’t run away.”
The other man appeared unhappy that I would dare suggest something like that, even though there were many examples in the past where he could have stayed with us and given Laina a night to remember. I was always welcoming when it came to her other boyfriends;theywere the ones who never wanted to physically share.
Seconds ticked by, and ever so slowly the annoyed expression on Mike’s face faded. Laina set a hand on his chest, curling her fingers into the fabric of his shirt as she said, “I could use a little tiring out. What do you say, big guy? You up for the challenge?”
The sigh that left him was more like a groan, or a grunt. “We can try.” He probably only said that because he was not totally sure of himself when it came to sharing her physically with someone else.
