Page 68 of Twisted Violet
He pulls me in tighter, tucking my head under his chin. “Me too, V. Me too.”
Eventually, the quiet lulls us to sleep. My breathingslows, and somewhere between the weight of his arm around me and the warmth of his body, I stop waiting for the other shoe to drop.
For once, I just let myself rest.
TWENTY-THREE
DALLAS
I wake up,and the first thing that registers is the stiffness in my neck.
Damn couch sleep.
I crack my eyes open, squint at the morning light bleeding in through the windows, and take a quick look around. The living room is quiet, V’s blanket’s on the floor, and my arm is draped over the spot where she used to be.
For a second, I worry she ran. That she snuck off while I was sleeping because she regretted what had happened. Then I hear the faint pad of her footsteps coming down the hall.
I push up, scrubbing a hand through my hair, and she appears. Freshly showered, barefoot, wearing a matching t-shirt and short set, with her hair twisted up in a loose knot.
“Morning, Darlin’. Where’d you run off to?” I ask, voice still rough from sleep.
Her gaze flicks to me, quick and almost guilty. “Iwoke up around midnight and ended up crashing in my room. I… figured the guys would come home eventually, and I didn’t want them to find us like that.”
I grin before I can stop myself. “Like that, huh?”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s a blush creeping up her neck.
It’s cute.Hell,it’s more than cute. It’s adorable.
She’s worried they’d be jealous, or pissed, or judge her for last night. Like we all don’t already know she has every single one of us tied up in knots.
“Coffee?” she asks, already heading for the kitchen.
I follow, leaning against the doorway while she pours a cup and slides it across the counter to me.
She hesitates, just for a breath, but it’s long enough for me to know something’s on her mind.
“I, um…” She shifts the mug in her hands. “I’m hooking up with Niko, and I’ve also kissed Rome.”
She says it like she’s bracing for an explosion.
I take a slow sip of my coffee and look at her. “Okay.”
“I should’ve told you sooner,” she rushes, eyes darting up to mine. “It started a couple of weeks ago, but I just, I didn’t expect…” She sighs. “I don’t want to come between the three of you, andGod,what the hell am I even doing-”
“V.” I set my mug down, stepping close enough to smell the faint vanilla of her shampoo. “I don’t own you. None of us do. Niko’s one of my best friends. So is Rome. If you make them happy, why the hell would I be mad or wanna take that away from them?”
She looks at me like I’ve just spoken in a language she doesn’t understand. “I just… didn’t think you’d be okay with it.”
A new voice cuts in from the hall.
“He’s right, you know.”
We both turn to find Niko standing in the hall, with his black t-shirt rumpled and his eyes locked on her.
Her blush deepens, and her gaze drops to her feet.
He steps into the kitchen to join us. “I won’t lie. Sharing doesn’t come naturally to me. But you’re not a possession, Vi; you’re a person. And I can’t be mad that your heart has room for more than one of us in it.”
