“Yeah, this is fucked,” Doc says, getting up and settling on Bobby’s right side. “If you’re not gonna do her, Morelli, get out of the way. We’ll tear the girl up for you.”
I pull January’s hair. “No. She’s mine.”
“Yeah, for now. Then she’ll be mine. Then she’ll be Bobby’s, then she’ll be yours again. That’s how sharing works.”
I ignore Doc and focus on the porcelain curve of January’s spine. She looks back at me and I see hunger in her eyes. But there’s something else, too. A softness that almost floors me. After everything I’ve done to her, she still has a heart for me. I let go of her hair, my muscles trembling.
“What?” she asks. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I say, feeling the energy drain from my body. “You drive me utterly insane.”
She turns and takes me in her arms like a child. “I’m sorry.”
My hands and feet tingle. Am I having a heart attack? “Let go.”
“No.” She hugs me tighter. “You know I’ve never seen you less than fully dressed.”
Because I never want to be. If I could fuck in a suit and not be labeled as a freak, I would. The champagne seems to be catching up with me, coating my brain in a low fuzz.
January’s hand creeps to touch my tie. “Can I undo this?”
I say nothing, but I let her pull open the knot and slip the silk from around my neck. She drops the tie to the floor and starts on my shirt buttons. Soon I’m naked from the waist up. January runs her hands over my stomach. “You shouldn’t hide your body.”
“I’m not hiding anything.”
Her mouth twists, but her touch is gentle. I let her continue stroking me, closing my eyes. It’s been a long day. A long life. The feel of her against my skin is a release from all of it.
“Eli,” she says quietly. “Can you please just say you would have taken me to the hospital like Adriano?”
My abdomen tenses under her palm. “No.”
“But I know you would have. When I was locked in the East Wing you didn’t even come and take your necklace.”
“That’s because you were born to wear my rubies.”
Her smile mixes with the alcohol in my blood and makes everything glow for one seamless instant. Then it fades. I sigh. “Why does everything have to be so difficult,bella?”
“I don’t know,” she says, stroking my hip muscle. “But if you admit you would have helped me, I’ll make love to you.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes. And I’ve had practice now. I might be good at it.”
A chuckle from beside us. “She’s better than good at it,” Bobby says.
“Can confirm,” Doc agrees.
I feel a sudden rush of affection for the pair of them. These men with whom I’ve unwittingly shared a life. “Are the two of you going to hold it against me forever if I bow to this brat?”
“I mean… I did it,” Doc says. “So it’d be pretty hypocritical of me.”
“Yeah,” Bobby agrees. “I can’t pretend like I’m better…”
“…so, I don’t think we’ll bring it up,” Doc finishes. “Get a move on, Morelli. I want another turn.”
I laugh. It just tumbles out of me the way it did when I was younger. Light and loose.
“Thank you both.” I touch a hand to January’s cheek. “Are you really ready?”
