“I can take you to LA for the weekend,” Lorcán offers mid-meal.
His half-brothers glance over at him and back at me. Part of me is proud of him for sticking up for himself against them and making a declaration.
“I’ll go too. We can charter a plane with Weston,” Declan suggests.
Cillian looks like he wants to disagree but just nods his head. “You need to be back by Sunday night. Dá will be in town.”
Lorcán tries to hide his feelings on the matter but just nods.
“Do you have enough things being delivered to get you through the weekend?” Cillian asks.
“Yes, thank you.”
He looks at me suspiciously, like he doesn’t know how to take my change in attitude.
That makes two of us.
Cillian leaves the room while Lorcán and Declan start organizing our little trip. Finn sits there, and it looks like he has more to say.
“Is there something else?” I ask him.
He shakes his head, and then some weird sort of growl rips through his throat.
“I… I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
He waves his hand between us. “This.”
“Hmm. Well, I think you need to figure out what you want, Finn. We’re scent matches there’s only so much say we get in the matter. But I’m telling you now, if you want me, if you want to work past whatever shit from your past that you’re keeping from me, you’re going to have to do more than this,” I tell him looking at him sternly.
I forgive him for the way he kept me here, mostly because he gave me the chance to be free. Out of everyone in my life, theman who kidnapped me is the only one who gave me the actual ability to choose my future.
But if he wants to be more than cordial, then I need more.
He blinks at me, and I walk away, leaving him with his own thoughts.
The next two days pass with a bit of awkwardness, none of us knowing exactly how to adjust to the new normal. A.K.A.—me not wanting to murder them, escape, or throw a fit, and all of them learning how to act like normal fucking human beings.
I’ll need to buy a luggage set in Los Angeles, but I borrowed one of Lorcán’s to pack my clothes for our trip. I think it will be nice to get him and Declan alone. Cillian and Finn’s energies can be so intense.
While Cillian seems like he’s trying to figure out how to get back in my good graces, Finn chooses to mostly ignore me. He’s watchful but keeps to himself.
“Ready to go?” Declan asks from my bedroom door.
I need to bring up how this room needs to be redecorated before my heat. There are too many shitty memories, but that’s on the back burner for now.
“Yeah, let’s go,” I say with a smile.
I’m so fucking ready to get out of here for a few moments and feel normal. Not that I was truly ever normal, but at least some semblance of a life.
Declan takes my bag, and we head downstairs. Lorcán is talking with multiple guys about safety precautions, and I assume they are coming with us.
Cillian is favoring his cane, but I can tell his walking is getting better every day as he approaches me. He swallows thickly, andI already know what he wants. I’m gracious enough not to make him ask as I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him tight.
I sag against his body, getting a deep inhale of his addictive scent. I haven’t felt this good in so long. He strokes my hair, and I feel another piece of my wall crumbling down.
“Stay close to Lorcán and Declan,” he pleads against my hair.
