Page 154 of Four Fiances & I

“I wasn’t finished,” she interrupts, lifting one brow. I can tell she’s trying to say something. So I stop and nod for her to continue. “I have always told you all I don’t have a favourite, and I really don’t. But I know I have been spending a lot of time with Christian recently, and I feel like I should explain.”

“Shall we get comfortable first?” I suggest, desperate to hold her in my arms.

Jasmine nods, so I tell her to get into bed. As she does, I quickly run the towel over myself again before climbing beside her. Jasmine curls up against me as I place an arm around her, as she rests her head on my chest.

“You know you don’t have to explain anything to me, Princess.” Running a hand over her head, I wait to see if she will continue or change the subject. Either is fine with me as long as she is here, in our bed.

“I want to talk to you about this. I don’t think I will rest properly until I do.”

“Then talk to me. I will always listen to you.” Kissing the top of her head to encourage her, I listen to her taking a deep breath before continuing.

“As I said, I never have and never will have favourites. But I’m not stupid, and I know you have all noticed I’ve been spending a lot of time with Christian when he’s home. Not just the last few months while everything has been going on, but since you all rescued me. It wasn’t that I felt safer with him or that I loved him more. It was because I knew he needed me just as much as I needed you all at that time.”

I still underneath her as she starts tracing the tattoos on my chest.

“I haven’t said anything because it's not been my place, and he asked me not to.” She lifts her head and looks at me. “Believe it or not, I won't share things any of you tell me in private. First of all, I’m not like that, and secondly, we all have secrets and deserve to keep them from those we don’t want to share them with.”

I had never considered that she must carry so much weight on her shoulders just by listening to each of us. Maximus doesn’t think twice about having a rant about Christian in front of her, and it never crossed my mind that she would go running back to Christian and repeat it all. She is right; she isn’t the type to share things with others who wouldn’t want her to. I want to tell her how amazing she is, but she continues before I have a chance.

“You heard about how he was this morning and what I said after he had left. I wish I could say it’s the first time he’s woken up shaking and crying, but it’s not. He has never been that bad before, but he’s still suffered. He has been struggling to sleep, and when he does, he is plagued with nightmares. I’ve tried to get him to talk to me or anyone, but he wouldn’t. So, instead, I’ve been making a point of sleeping with him so I can hold him when the nightmares start, which usually helps him settle enough so he doesn’t wake up. But some nights, I don’t hear him. I wake up to him sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands or standing in the shower leaning against the wall with his head down; the water’s so hot I’m scared it will scald him.

“I’m only telling you this as I know you have all been worried I would pick him over you or that our marriage will mean more because it's legal, but you couldn’t be more wrong.” Jasmine sits up in front of me, tucking her legs to her right.

“Don’t try to deny it; I have heard the little comments, and let's face it, Daddy Max doesn’t have the ability to filter his thoughts before they come out of his big mouth.” I can't help the laugh that bursts from my chest as she has hit the nail on the head. Judging from the smile on her face, she’s proud of that one. But her smile slips slightly as she looks towards the door. “Maybe don’t repeat that last bit to him, though. My butt needs a break after swearing four times last night.” It takes everything in me not to laugh out loud again, so instead, I take her hand and press a kiss to her knuckles.

“Your secret is safe with me,” I throw in a wink for good measure.

“Thank you, Daddy. My butt and I appreciate it.”

She lays back beside me, using my chest as a pillow, and goes back to tracing my tattoo.

“Just to confirm, in my eyes, there is no difference between my marriage to you or the others. I love you all, and that will never change. It's just that sometimes one of you needs me more than the others.” Jasmine turns slightly so she’s more on her stomach, making it easier to look me in the eye.

“Is that why you are here tonight?” I ask, tucking some hair behind her ear as she nods.

“You’ve had a rough day, and I knew you would be beating yourself up about it all. I wanted to ensure you knew I didn’t think differently about you or us. I understand why you said what you did, and I know you love me just as much as I love you, which is a lot.” Her playful smile is back, and I can't help flipping us over, startling a scream from her before she bursts out laughing.

Nudging her legs with mine, she opens for me eagerly as I use my arms to cage her head, making it easier to stare into her eyes.

“Thank you, Princess. I will never understand what we did to deserve you, but I’m grateful you're ours.” Softly and slowly, I kiss her lips, savouring the feel of them against mine. “I never thought about how much you help us all, not just by being our light but our loving, supportive and selfless fiancée. Who I cannot wait to make our wife.” As I brush my lips against hers, she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me in closer. So I get to show her a whole other way, how much she means to me.

ChapterFifty-Three

JASMINE

I love it when I wake up before the guys. There is no better way to start the day than lying in their arms as they sleep soundly underneath me. After all the drama the last few days, I am more than happy to lie here and listen to Sean’s heart beating in my ear as I use his chest as a pillow.

Don’t get me wrong, if he woke up now and flipped us over before fucking me into next week, I would be more than happy with that outcome as well. That’s my second favourite way to start a day.

Slowly, I lift my head and look at the clock on the bedside table. It's just after eight, and I need to get up, shower and get everything prepared before the girls’ arrival.

Tomorrow, I’m marrying my four men, and I am willing to pray to every single God, Goddess, Demon and so on so that everything will finally be okay. Because we fucking deserve this, we deal with so much shit that not a single one of us asked for, and I’ve just about had enough of it, in all honesty.

Careful not to wake Sean, I slide out of his arms and head for the bathroom to start getting ready. Once inside, I turn the shower on to warm up before grabbing my hairbrush and giving my hair a quick once-over. It's one big giant mess after Sean gave me multiple orgasms last night as we made love. Usually, Sean is dominating and loves to take complete control when in the bedroom, but last night, he was gentle and loving, which was what we needed after all that happened yesterday.

Stepping into the shower, I stand under the water and lift my face, letting the water wash over it, and try to wash away the emotions left from yesterday.

Whenever I think about how Mykela spoke about me and the guys, especially Christian, anger consumes me like no other. There are a few people I can honestly say I hate, and all for good reason, but as much as I try to hate her, I can’t. I understand why she fell for Sean; he is funny, caring, thoughtful and absolutely gorgeous. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for those he loves; when he looks at you in a certain way, he makes you feel like you can do or achieve anything you put your mind to. He makes you feel alive with just one smile. I can't blame her for falling for him; he's too perfect not to love. But I can hate her for trying to take him away from me.

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