Page 73 of Shared By Her Brother's Best Friends

“How can I possibly condone this, Em? My sister and my three best friends?” J-Bird says, his voice softening slightly as he looks at Emma, not as the grown woman she is but as the little sister he practically raised.

“Because you love me, you love them, too. I don’t expect you to be happy for us, but please try to understand that we really are in love, and we want to try to make this work. Please don’t make me choose between them and you,” Emma begs, her voice small.

“Emma, I believe that you think you love them all, I do. I’m just not sure I believe that they feel the same way about you,” he replies with a forlorn sigh.

“Not that I should have to prove a fucking thing to you, J-Bird, but Emma challenges me in ways that no other woman has. She can make me mad as hell and I’ll still end up coming back and apologizing, I’ve not so much as looked at another woman since I first met her. I know I’ve been a bit of a player, but only because I never met anyone like Emma before. There was never a woman I wanted to settle down with and most certainly not one with a kid, not after a life spent in foster care. Not only am I fine with her having a child, I even want Max in my life, to be there for him as if he was my own flesh and blood. I’ve never said I love you to a woman before because I haven’t ever felt it, so you should damn well believe that when I tell you I’m in love with Emma, I mean it with every ounce of my heart,” Mason declares, his eyes not leaving J-Bird until his last statement where he looks at Emma with complete sincerity.

“I agree with Mason. But also, I love Emma’s tender heart. She’s an incredible mom and so loving and caring. When I told her about my childhood, she made me feel so safe but she didn’t pity me either. I’ve never known a more selfless gentle person, I would never, ever dream of hurting her. I’d rather die,” Jax says with feeling. “I love you man, you were good to me when I had no one else. The Iron Serpents are my family. But with Emma and Max in my life, I finally feel complete,” Jax adds.

I realize that it’s my turn to say something. I’ve let the others do the talking but I know J-Bird needs to hear from all of us. Perhaps my words could be the ones to sway him. However, openly expressing my emotions isn’t something I find easy. Of the three of us, I’m the quiet, stoic one. Mason is hot-headed and hides behind his rage and Jax similarly masks his emotions with jokes. But both of them have found it in themselves to drop those shields and expose themselves for Emma to win J-Bird’s approval so she doesn’t have to choose.

In all honestly, the last thing I want is for her to have to do that. Firstly, he’s her brother, no way would I want her to lose him because of me. Secondly, I don’t know if she’d choose us, he’s family after all, so I want to fight as hard as I can to win his approval.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself before speaking.

“After losing my beautiful baby girl you were there for me J-Bird, you and all of the Iron Serpents. You stopped me from giving up completely, but my life was still empty and dark. I thought it would remain that way until I died. Meeting Emma and Max and having them in my life changed things for me, it was like they turned on the lights again. Nothing will ever bring back my Danielle or replace her, but now I have Emma and Max I feel like I look forward to the future. I know I don’t deserve them. But I promise I will always keep them safe and love them both, that I will be there as long as they’ll have me and even beyond that.”

The room falls silent as J-Bird processes what we’ve all said.

“You know all of this about each other?” he asks quietly. “Mason told you about growing up in foster care, Jax about thechild abuse, and Ty told you about Danielle?” he says in disbelief looking at each of us in turn as we all nod in confirmation.

“Yes, of course, we talk and share things and laugh together, just as people in love should. It isn’t just about sex, that’s what we’ve been trying to tell you!” Emma says exasperatedly.

J-Bird falls silent as he continues to unfurl his feelings and decide what he thinks.

“I love all three of them for so many reasons, some very similar to the ones they just shared. Mason is challenging and exciting, passionate but caring too. Jax makes me laugh and can be so soft and gentle. Ty might be strong and silent, but he is compassionate, brave, and fearless,” Emma continues.

I’m itching to go to Emma, to hold her and touch her, and I can see that she and the others are dying to do the same. We all want to express our care over what we’ve each just said, but none of us move, not wanting to piss J-Bird off and lose any progress we’ve made in convincing him.

J-Bird shakes his head, still unable to allow himself to approve of such an unconventional relationship of not one but three of his friends dating his sister. Emma continues to talk, now she’s got momentum she doesn’t want to stop.

“A lot has happened while you were in a coma and the only reason why me and Max are even alive and safe today is because of these three, wonderful men.” She proceeds to briefly explain everything that has happened since J-Bird fell into his coma. “Even though he hates guns, Ty didn’t hesitate to protect us, none of them did. They risked their lives for us. Surely you have to believe that we’re in love now?”

We await his response with bated breath and the seconds drag on endlessly until he finally says, “Well why didn’t you tell me that in the first place!”

We all burst into awkward laughter that helps to relieve some of the tension in the room.

When we finally stop J-Bird is serious once more, the fatigue of the conversation kicking in as he fights to stay awake a little longer. His voice is hoarse when he speaks.

“Look, I’m not saying I like it, or that I fully understand it, but okay. I believe that you really are in love, and you have my approval. But if you hurt her, I’ll kill you, understood?”

We all happily agree and promise that we won’t ever hurt her. Emma kisses him on the cheek thanking him with tears of happiness on her cheeks before she hugs us all. J-Bird soon succumbs to the sleep he desperately needs, and we tiptoe out of the room to go and find Max, happy that everything seems to be going our way.

Chapter 40

Jax

It’s well past Max’s bedtime when we finally get home from the hospital. He’s fast asleep in the back of the car and Ty is the one who gently unbuckles his seat and picks him up, gladly volunteering to be the one to take him up to bed. To my relief, Emma doesn’t fight this, she simply thanks him wordlessly with a smile.

I’m hoping that she feels as eager as I do for a proper reconciliation. Now that we’re all safe and we even have J-Bird’s blessing I’m desperate to hold her in my arms, to kiss her and touch her and show her how much I meant every word today. I can’t resist reaching out and taking hold of her hand as we walk into the living room, twirling her around into my arms I wrap my arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet slightly. She doesn’t resist and her mouth parts deliciously as she tilts her head back. I kiss her, our lips meeting gently at first before the kiss deepens and I savor the taste of her.

Immediately my cock twitches in anticipation, responding to her. I breathe her in and all of the tension and fear that the events of the last few days slowly start to melt away. Finally, when I can bear to stop kissing her, I pull away and look deep into her eyes.

“I love you, Emma, I’m so happy that this nightmare is over, and we can start our lives together.”

“I love you too, Jax,” she says breathily, her eyes filled with desire.

Mason hovers awkwardly nearby and I gladly allow him to have his moment with Emma. She turns to him, “I love you, Mason,” she adds, enjoying saying it.

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