Page 71 of The Prices We Pay
I don’t know how long we’ve been lying here, with my body sandwiched between the bed and Sebastian’s sweaty, muscular frame. His kisses and soothing strokes—ones that are such a stark contrast to the way he was just controlling mybody—reach the depths of my being. I’m always put together—so strong, so rigid in making sure my life has always been just right—but now I know I don’t have to be. With him—with them—I know I can let go. I can lean on other people besides myself. I can ask for help. I can let others protect me just as I can protect myself.
With them, I’m realizing it’s possible to find peace, even within the chaos.
“The piece is yours, Sebastian. Own it. Be a part of me.”
37
Josephine
As much as I wanted to crawl into Luca’s bed and not leave it for the next twelve hours, Sebastian insisted that I shower and eat some dinner.
When I protested like a petulant child, he simply laughed and carried me into the bathroom. He sat me on top of the counter, gave me a delicate kiss on my forehead, and started filling the bathtub with warm water. After I threw my hair back into a bun, he picked me up, set me down in the bath, and climbed in right behind me. He took his time bathing me and kissing every inch of my skin. And while it wasn’t sex, it was a form of closeness Ididn’t even realize I was craving until it was happening.
While I know Sebastian was holding back, and he has so much more to give, I’ll also admit he was right. The intensity of what happened in that bedroom, combined with the extreme intimacy of this aftercare, has me coming down from a cloud that feels like it was ten miles in the air. I just keep falling and falling, and I know sooner rather than later, I’m going to crash.
The only thing that’s keeping me going is the smell of… oh my god… is that pancakes and bacon?
As if right on cue, my stomach growls while Sebastian dries me off, working an insanely soft towel over my legs. He chuckles deep in his chest as he looks up at me from his kneeling position and says, “Hungry?”
“If that’s breakfast for dinner, I might literally marry you guys right now.”
For a brief moment, I watch his face flash with desire before he buries it with his boy-next-door smile. “Breakfast for dinner is Luca’s favorite. The man would drown himself in syrup if we’d lethim.” I can’t help but laugh at the thought of such a high-powered individual’s weakness being a sugary breakfast. My stomach growls again, and Seb makes quick work of drying me off the rest of the way.
“Arms up,” he commands as he slips one of Luca’s shirts over my arms. It’s long enough that it covers my ass, which is perfect since I refuse to put dirty underwear back on after I’ve showered.
Sebastian pulls on a pair of sweats and an old Yankees T, and I stare as his muscles flex with each movement. I still can’t get over how fucking sexy each of them is, and I’m the lucky bitch who gets to have not one of them but all four. Sebastian’s head pops through the collar of his shirt, and he runs his fingers through his damp hair, pushing it away from his face. “Hey, Seb?”
His blue eyes lock with mine. “Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
Reaching out, he grips my wrist and yanks me against him. He wraps his arms around me and kisses the tip of my nose. “You’re welcome,” he whispers before landing another firm smack onmy already sensitive ass. “Come on, Love, let’s get you fed.”
Sebastian and I make our way downstairs in time to find Luca, Dante, and Enzo setting the food out on their dining room table.
I make it down to the second-to-last step and freeze. Sebastian simply winks at me and moves across the room to help them. I can’t help but stare as each of them makes a knowing smirk in Sebastian’s direction before going about their business. They’ve each changed into their own versions of loungewear. Enzo in black sweats and a white T; Dante in cotton shorts that hit him mid-thigh and an old Navy shirt; and Luca in dark blue joggers and a black fitted T. All four of them are barefoot and smiling as they move from the kitchen to the table and back. Despite everything… they’re smiling.
They’re sitting down and eating dinner together like a family. And they’re smiling.
I can’t remember the last time I sat down at a table and had dinner with a family. Before mine became so irrevocably broken,we had them every single night. We would sit down and talk about the highs and lows of our day. What we had going on that week and what we were excited about. We joked and laughed and smiled… until we didn’t. The Taylors often invited Jasper and me to the ranch for family dinners, but it was never the same. I always felt like an outsider looking in on what the perfect family was that I wished I had.
But as I watch the four of them set an extra space for me at the table, I realize that this isn’t what most people would describe as a perfect family. It’s one they created for themselves. They met out of chance and circumstance and decided that they needed one another in their lives. They didn’t care that they weren’t bound by blood, only that they were bound by their devotion to making the life that they wanted for themselves.
Just as I’ve been trying to do for myself all along. Only… they let each other in when I was bound and determined to keep everyone out.
But I’m not an outsider here. I’m where I’m supposed to be. I was meant to be here. Meant to see their smiles, just as they were meant to see mine.
The realization hits me like a freight train, and tears sting at my eyes again.
Damnit, Joe. Donotcry again.
But Dante sees me before I can blink them away. He studies me for a second before a smile takes over his usual stern expression, instantly understanding exactly what I’m thinking without even having to ask. “You good?” He mouths.
I nod, and he nods his head toward the table where the most delectable spread awaits me.
Slowly, I make my way down the steps and toward the dining table when Enzo spots me out of the corner of his eye. One of his ever-present mischievous smiles is plastered on his face, but there’s a different twinkle in his eye when he directs it toward me. One that longs… one that burns forme.
“Hey, Sweetheart,” he greets me as he looks me up and down. For a split second, I find myself feeling embarrassed over the fact that they all know exactly what just went on in Luca’s room, but I quickly recover. Because I’d be willing to bet any amount of money that the three of them were theones that encouraged Seb to come help me. They knew I neededhimin that moment.
