Man, he couldn’t have dropped a bigger bomb if he’d been in command of all the world’s nuclear arsenals.
Silence lingered in the aftermath. Scotty didn’t look as stunned as Blade did, but her cheeks burned crimson beneath the smattering of freckles.
She took a deep breath and blurted, “Aleka said something similar.” When Blade’s head whipped around to her, she closed her eyes and took another bracing breath. “Look. Maybe Aleka and Wraith are onto something. This all started because Blade and I slept together. Maybe we can fix things if Mace and I do the same.”
Mace’s heart thudded against his ribs so violently he was sure they both heard it. He’d considered Wraith’s idea, but more as a fantasy long shot than as part of any tangible reality. It hadn’t occurred to him that Scotty might think it was a genuine solution to their predicament.
No one said anything for so long that Mace started counting Mississippis in his head. He got to nine Mississippis when Blade finallyspoke up in a voice so devoid of emotion that he must have used the silent stretch to suppress everything he felt.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Oh, what a fucking surprise,” Mace muttered under his breath.
Anger flashed in Blade’s eyes. “Don’t be a di—”
“Hey,” Scotty snapped, cutting off Blade and glaring at them both. “This is exactly why we need to do something. You’ve never fought like this. You’ve never been jealous of each other about anything. You’ve shared everything from your darkest secrets and fears to holidays and females. This won’t be any different.”
It wassodifferent.
“No way.” Blade swung around to Scotty. “You don’t throw gas on a fire you’re trying to put out.”
Mace’s temper flared as he pictured the heat between Blade and Scotty as they went at it in the Alaskan wilderness. “So, you’re saying what’s between you and Scotty is a fire?”
“You know that’s not what I’m saying.”
Mace stared in disbelief, his brain recalling the sight of Masumi in Blade’s room, her coloring so closely resembling Scotty that there’d been no doubt about Blade’s kink. Then there was the way he looked at Scotty. And it wasn’t just since they’d returned from Alaska. Mace was only now realizing how far back Blade’s crush on Scotty went.
“Do I?” he asked. “Do I really know that?”
Blade glanced away.
Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.
“Scotty,” Mace said, trying to keep his voice steady, “are you sure?”
She nodded, and for a split second, excitement and joy made his heart leap. He hadn’t admitted it until this moment…but he loved Scotty. He’d just never allowed himself to think, even for a heartbeat, that his feelings went deeper than friendship.
But the wrongness of what he felt cast a pall over it. He’d been devastated when he learned that Blade and Scotty had slept together, and as much as he wanted to make love to her, he didn’t want Blade to hurt the way Mace did.
“Guys,” she said softly, “I love you. I don’t think I can separate who I am from who we are together. Blade is my right arm, and Mace is my left.” She gave an impish smile. “And I’m ambidextrous, so you are both equally important. But right now, I feel like both arms are broken. Time apart would mean losing them altogether.”
“It wouldn’t be forever,” Blade said, his voice rough. Wrecked.
“I think it would be,” she whispered, agony lacing every word. “And even if we could eventually get past this, it won’t be the same. There will always be a scar.”
“If you do this with Mace,” Blade warned, “there will be two.”
Scotty’s smile was both sad and wry as she murmured, “Symmetry.”
Symmetry. Something told Mace that Ares would regret teaching his daughter that particular lesson.
Blade couldn’t believe this was happening.
Sure, he knew where Scotty was coming from. He knew she wasn’t using this as an excuse to get Mace into bed. She truly believed that by making everything fair, they could restore some balance in their relationship. Reluctantly, he had to admit that it even made some sense.
But that didn’t mean he had to like it. And it certainly didn’t mean it was the right way to go.
He swept his gaze over Scotty, his mind taking him back to the cave, her body against his as they became one. Yeah, it sounded cheesy and flowery, but they’d forged a bond that day, as if their very souls had touched. He’d have done anything for her before, but now? Now sheownedhim.
