Page 78 of Cherished By the Sinners
“Oh,” she said, lowering her gaze.He’d have been worried, except a blush crept up her neck to add pink to her cheeks.“Am I a...pet, or a friend, or...”
“Are Nika, Sam, and Evan pets?”Mason asked.
She thought about it for a second.“No.”
“Neither are you,” Mason said.
“We...want you.In our lives and in our bed,” Magnus added.
“Why did you spend so much time just watching me?I thought you were just being kind, pitying the poor prostitute.”
“We were afraid of scaring you.You have been through so much abuse, and we wanted to let you set the pace of getting to know you.”
She sighed.“Well, I didn’t know that.”
Magnus looked at his brother.“We’re idiots.”
“Yes,” Mason agreed.“We are.”
Darlene giggled.
“Do you...want us, Darlene?”Magnus asked.
She stopped laughing and nodded.“You’ve been driving me crazy with your long stares and polite hellos, when what I wanted was...”
“What?”Mason asked.
She gave them a helpless shrug.“This.”She looked between the three of them.“Us.”
Magnus was afraid to believe her.The last thing he and his brother wanted to do was scare her, and if he read Mason’s face right, he was terrified of doing the same thing.
Darlene giggled again.“Okay, I see it now, that expression right there.”She pointed at them.“I thought that face meant you were determined to be kind no matter what, but that’s not it at all.You two were scared to say something.”
“It was torture to see you every morning,” Mason said.“To be close enough to touch, but holding back until you made the first move.”
“Do I still need to make the first move?”she asked.
“Yes,” said Magnus.
She leaned toward him, then stopped.“You understand that I want you equally, right?”
They nodded.
She leaned closer to Magnus, until they were just a couple of inches apart.“Kiss me,” she whispered.
Magnus swallowed hard, released her hand so he could cup her face with both of his, then gently pressed his lips to hers.Soft, gentle, safe.He repeated the words over and over in his head so he didn’t devour her.He wanted to, he wanted to taste all of her at once.
Instead, he pulled back, but Darlene sucked his bottom lip then nipped it before letting him go.The tiny prick of pain rolled through him with the power of a thunderstorm.Lightning lit up his muscles, the air around him, and his sin-filled soul.
Could he hope that she wanted him and his brother?
“Magnus,” she said with a sad little smile that made him want to conquer the world for her.“I want to feel wanted.What you just gave me was a handshake.”
Her words released him from the bonds he’d put on himself.He growled as he surged up and took her mouth with the desperation he’d been feeling since the moment he met her.Her lips parted under his, her tongue teasing his as he tasted her.She tasted so good.Like happiness and home.
She made a noise, a groan that ended in a squeak.
Magnus pulled back far enough to see that his brother hadn’t stayed idle.He’d managed to wrap his arms around her from behind so he could kiss her neck.
