My arm curls around Hope protectively. He kept quiet. She came to him for help and he did nothing. I want to make him pay for that. I want him to regret not helping her, not pulling her out of the trenches when he had the opportunity.
“Easy,” Hope whispers in my ear.
“He deserves to be hurt,” I growl.
“Past versus future,” she insists.
“I’m listening,” Knox says, voice sharp but controlled.
“So what can you tell us then, Chief Kessler?” the reporter asks before almost rudely shoving her mic into Dimitri’s dad’s face.
“I can tell you that Coach Harbaugh seems to be on the run with two other individuals who are wanted for questioning by the police. Yes, the business they were or are involved in is terrible. It’s condemnable and that’s why we want to bring them in for additional details,” Dimitri’s dad says.
“Can you tell us anything else? Anything to give the community some answers about the man they’ve been looking for and wishing the best for?” she presses, obviously annoyed with the radio silence.
Dimitri’s dad stares right at the camera. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he knows we’re watching and wants to do something to prove that this is done, that it’s over. He can sleep, hopefully fitfully, and so can we.
“I can tell you that the man we revered was a fraud. He fooled us all into thinking he was a good father, a good mentor, and a good man. He was not. He abused his power. All the good he did doesn’t come close to balancing the pain he caused and played a part in. He isn’t a man worthy of any legacy,” Dimitri’s dad says. “That’s all I have to share at this time.”
Knox turns the TV off and glances at Dimitri. “He came through.”
“Shockingly,” Dimitri adds.
Then all of us glance at Hope. She’s in her towel, not looking quite as small as she did weeks ago, not as fragile, not as empty. Her eyes aren’t glassy. She isn’t struggling to breathe. She’s here, settled against my side like there’s nowhere else she’d rather be.
Leaning into me, she closes her eyes, then lets out the biggest sigh I’ve ever heard. “It’s done. It’s actually done.”
I kiss her forehead and Knox finally takes a drink from the beer he’s been holding. “No more sacrifices, sweetheart.”
“No more running, no more fear. Just us enjoying life now, baby. What do you want to do first?” Dimitri asks.
“Other than fuck like bunnies,” I chuckle in her ear.
She beams. “Eat, drink, and have a date night, right here in our apartment.”
“Done,” we say together and prepare for a date night to knock Hope’s socks off and prove that we can offer her more than drama, horror, and revenge.
We have love, affection, and a hell of a lot of fun to give her.
HOPE
I wake up between Knox and Dimitri. Jaxon surrendered his spot and is actively spooning Dimitri, which makes me smirk. Rather than waking any of the guys, I just let my eyes wander across the ceiling, where the sun is spilling in through the curtains.
We danced, laughed, flirted, kissed, had a good night. I want to be with all three of them, to dive into the kind of sexual relationship we haven’t gotten to enjoy, but I want usallto be ready. I’ve been with all of them one at a time, sometimes with the others watching, and only one of them inside me. I want to change it.
And now it feels more possible than ever. I can lose myself in them. We don’t have to cross our fingers that something from our past is going to devour us whole or ruin whatever we build.
I roll my hips back against Dimitri and hear his soft groan as he shifts. My hand strokes down Knox’s chest to where he’s already hard. I could play with them, enjoy them, maybe test my own limits, stroking Knox while wiggling until Dimitri fills me.
If Knox wakes up, he can move and claim my mouth, then I can stroke Jax. They can take turns, we can explore every option available. I shudder and grind against Dimitri again until he hisses and grips my hips, thrusting against me.
“Hope,” Jax moans from behind Dimitri.
Knox lets out a groan as I squeeze his hard cock, then shifts against me. I slide my hand into his boxers and stroke him more fully while continuing to wiggle against Dimitri.
“Fuck,” Knox groans, his eyes opening slowly, then dipping down. Then his gaze flicks to me. “Not a dream?”
I shake my head.
