I lower my eyes, darting between the two men who have cared for me without demand, without pressure, for months.
“What I was trying to say,” I begin, my voice unsteady. “I was assaulted, Erik.”
I swallow.
“Angel was the result of a rape. I haven’t been with anyone since. I don’t know if I could.”
Chapter seventy-six
Remy
She didn’t say no. Damn it, the relief that hits is immediately followed by shame. She just laid herself bare for us.
I start to say something, I’m not even sure what, when Erik cuts off my effort.
“I don’t know if that is strictly necessary. I’ve never been with anyone. I won’t miss it. You make me feel,” he pauses, “more. It’s like I understand the meaning behind what I have always written about.”
Her shoulders slump. Defeat? Relief?
The irony hits me hard. Erik thought he had the emotional deficit, and he is carrying this whole conversation. I run a hand through my hair.
“Tianna,” I say quietly. “I’m not going to lie, I would love sex with you. It’s enjoyable when...”
Erik is giving me a pointed glare. Shit. I’m messing this up. She withdraws her hand from mine.
“No, I’m not saying it right.” I exhale. “Sex without love is empty. I want you, if you’ll have us. Erik is right. It’s not that one of us couldn’t be enough. It’s that all of us are better together.”
I swallow, then add, “I want time with you. Some of it just us, some of it all of us. You’re the only people I actually want to come home to.” I huff a laugh. “Fuck, this is awkward.”
She snorts, and I join her. Erik watches, a small, self-satisfied smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
Chapter seventy-seven
Christianna
What do you even say to something like this? Erik looks so damn pleased and Remy so helpless. It’s endearing. Both of them willing to be vulnerable and understanding. I can’t think about this now, not with them here watching me.
Low voices coming from the back hall rescue me, and I glance over to see Meg changed, James Earl following behind her.
“Meg, where have you been?”
James steps in front of her to answer. “She wanted to change out of her leotards. I thought it best to escort her to her abode and wait outside.”
“For safety purposes,” Meg adds.
I nod. “Oh yes. That is why Erik and Remy stayed with me too. Safety purposes.”
She shoots me a quick death glare before smoothing her face into its neutral mask.
I stand and clasp my hands in front of me.
“I really appreciate you dropping everything to be here. It was very thoughtful. But I need to discuss with Meg, and maybe Coulson, additional security.”
Remy nods forcefully. “I think you need more than you have. I know he wouldn’t suggest anything more intrusive than needed for your safety.”
“Yes, I’m sure. But a cage is a cage, and I want this house to be my sanctuary, not a prison.”
“You allow him to monitor your messages,” Erik points out logically.
