Page 39 of Hard Ride
But then Tate says, “We don’t have to make this hard. We can make this easy.”
“What’s easy?” Lucas asks sharply.
Tate stares at him. “You. Me. And her. All of us. Together. We’re family. That’s what we are, what we’ve always been.”
Shock ripples through me, and I can’t help staring open-mouthed at Tate. “What do you mean together?” I demand.
His sharp green gaze comes to mine. “You’re ours, Katherine. And I think tonight has shown us that we can make it work. It’s good, all of us together. It’s really good.”
Lucas is staring at him, too. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
He pushes himself out of his chair and stands, facing Lucas, meeting his gaze head-on. “You love her, Luc. You’ve always loved her, and so do I. But I’m not going to make her choose.”
“What if I don’t want either of you?” I can’t help saying, a weird thing happening in my gut. “What if all I wanted was a night? Did you even think to ask me?”
A muscle jumps in the side of his strong jaw, because, of course, he didn’t think to ask me. He’s a man used to getting what he wants, and that includes me. The thought that I might not choose him or want what he’s offering has clearly never occurred to him.
Lucas is staring at Tate, too, his expression unreadable. Neither of them has heard what I said. Angry now, I get up from my armchair, letting the throw fall to the ground. Then I go over to the table where my clothes are still neatly stacked, and I start getting dressed.
“What are you doing?” Lucas asks, finally noticing me.
“I’m getting dressed. What does it look like?” I pull up my skirt, then put my shirt on, fastening the buttons. “Then I’m going to go home.”
But then Lucas moves over to where I’m standing and puts one hand very deliberately on the door. “No, you’re not.”
Then, as if he’s reading Lucas’s mind, Tate comes to stand behind me, the pair of them making sure I can’t go forward or back.
I look up at Lucas, my throat tightening. “Let me go.”
“No,” he says. “Tate’s right, we decide right now, right here. All of us together.”
I let out a breath, then glance behind me, up at Tate. He’s staring down at me, and behind the insistence and demand in his eyes, I can see the edges of desperation. “I can’t lose you again, Katherine,” he says quietly, as vulnerable and as open as he’s ever going to be. “Please don’t walk away.”
“What about this that bothers you, Katie?” Lucas asks, his voice warm and soft.
I turn back to him, and I swallow. They have been honest with me this whole time, and they deserve the same from me.
Lucas is looking down at me, and I can feel Tate’s gaze too, and it’s like standing between two giant redwoods, yet not in a bad way. It feels protective, as if I’m being held safe and cared for.
“It didn’t work out last time,” I say, my voice hoarse. “And that was because of me. And you’re both…so incredible, and I just…” I swallow. “What if I’m not enough?”
Lucas frowns. “I think tonight should have told you that you’re more than enough for both of us.”
“Yes,” Tate says. “Don’t ever think you’re not.”
I know they mean it. I can hear it in their voices. Having both of them, and this time without all the fear and the toxicity. All knowing how each other feels and knowing that it’s okay.
Tate’s hands gently come to rest on my shoulders, near the base of my neck, and the pressure feels good. It feels like ownership, and that’s something I never thought I’d want, but I like it.
Lucas glances at Tate over my shoulder, and something wordless passes between them. Then he puts his hands over Tate’s so I’m wearing a necklace of warm skin and warm fingers, a collar that makes me feel claimed.
“I don’t want you to be jealous,” I say thickly. “I don’t want either of?—”
“We’re possessive motherfuckers, it’s true,” Tate interrupts. “But I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want to lose him.”
Lucas nods, looking down at me. “This is what we both want, Katie.” Then he looks at Tate, and as one, they lift their hands from me. “But only if you want it too.”
I don’t like the way I feel suddenly cold at the loss of their touch. And I don’t like the way my heart is aching and aching.
