Page 20 of Sanctuary After Dark

Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I looked over and saw Lucas looking at me. He was blurry, and I couldn't figure out why until he reached forward and brushed his thumb over my cheek and underneath my eye. I blinked when I saw it come back wet.

I was crying?

Wiping at my cheeks with my sleeves, I couldn't understand why I was crying.

Lucas guided me from sitting on the floor to sitting on the couch between him and Lincoln. Reaching over to the coffee table, he grabbed a tissue and wiped my tears from my cheeks.

"I don't know why I'm crying..."

Lucas just smiled at me for a moment while I sat between him and his brother.

"That's okay. Let it out and just feel. We've got you, little one."

I felt Lincoln move closer, and it was the most natural thing in the world to lean back against him. He hesitated for only a moment before he put his arms around me and held me. Lucas smiled at both of us before he picked my legs up and slid over more before placing them in his lap.

I sat there and cried, and they held me and wiped my tears. They let me just feel and sit in my emotions without pushing me to talk about why I was feeling the way I was. And I wasn't even sure I could tell them right now if they did.

My mind was a mess of conflicting emotions, and I couldn't sort through them. But they didn't ask me to, and I was so grateful for that.

I grieved for the boy I had been. The one that had been destroyed. Who had been made to believe that he had to accept the bare minimum. Who begged for scraps from someone who hurt him. I grieved for the carefree Little I used to be. The one I had lost along the way. But I hoped I could find him again and that one day I'd find someone worthy enough for me to call Daddy.

I'd settle for one… but I was hoping for two.

Chapter 8

Finishing the marinade for the chicken wings, I covered the bowl and put it in the fridge for later. There were a lot of different dishes in there from others in the house ready for today. It was Memorial Day weekend, and we were having a cookout and a pool party since we opened the pool last week. There were already brats running around out in the backyard with water guns and water balloons, the sounds of their laughter and squeals mixing with the playlist I had playing through the speakers around the pool.

The past few weeks were eye-opening for me. With Luke and me helping Elias with his exposure therapy, it showed me I wanted a Little of my own. I was sick of being single and just having one-off playdates. I wanted someone to take care of and to get to know. Someone with whom I might fall in love.

I wanted that with Luke because we were a package deal for dating, and it was rare when we found someone who was alright with that and alright with Luke and me being together.

Usually, if we found someone interested in dating both of us, it was because they had a kink about seeing twins together, and while we try not to shame anyone for what they like, that wasn't everything about Luke and my relationship. I loved him. I was in love with him. He was my rock. My shoulder to cry on. My ear to listen. My voice of reason. My heart didn't beat right when he wasn't there. My lungs didn't breathe right. He was the other half of my soul, and he was my best friend. This wasn't a freaky taboo kink for us, and we knew it made people uncomfortable, but we couldn't change how we felt about each other. And we didn't want to.

Our family hadn't accepted us, which had led to them disowning us because we wouldn't give each other up. No matter how much they tried to force us to, we refused, and when we turned eighteen, we pooled our money and left. It was so hard to lose our family, but we had each other at least. Our friends accepted us, though, and they were our family now. A family we found and nurtured, and built together. A family that was fiercely protective of each other and would do anything for one another.

Elias accepted us, too.

He never once judged us when we were open about our relationship.

The first time Luke had kissed me in front of Elias, we had seen the surprise on his face, but he had said nothing. We weren't sure if he was just being polite or didn't know what to say, but then I caught him smiling at us one day when I was holding Luke from behind in the kitchen while he made coffee. He looked like he was actually happy to see us showing affection that way and then once all three of us were enjoying our coffee in the living room like we did every morning since he had come to us; he told us we were cute together.

It made me want him more.

From the moment I first saw him standing in the foyer, I knew I had to make him ours. I knew that this scared boy, hiding in clothing too big for his beautiful body, had to be ours. He tugged at my heartstrings with just how lost and hurt he was, and at first, that had pulled the Daddy out in me. Seeing a submissive that needed protecting? I was the first one to step up.

But the more I got to know him, the more I wanted him.

He was beautiful inside and out.

From his curly, reddish-brown hair to his gorgeous mismatched eyes of blue and brown, the cute freckles on his nose and cheeks, his button nose, and the way he had finally started to smile. It took my breath away how much it shone. How it lit up his face and made his eyes sparkle.

The more comfortable he got around my brother and me, the more we saw his personality coming to life. There was a secret goofball buried inside him, and I wanted to dig it out and see what kind of fun we could have.

Elias also loved to cuddle. He was a very tactile little boy, and Luke and I were loving it. Which was a surprise to us, considering what he had gone through. But we didn't question it and just soaked it up.

Luke especially, right now, as I walked into the living room and found them sitting on the couch together with Elias cuddled up in his lap while they watched what looked like a nature documentary.

"Well, don't you two look comfy?"