Page 57 of Princes of Sin
And honestly, I’m not sure I want him to.
These four men are all I have now, and the heavy air around us tells me that we all know it. We’re all very aware of what our futures hold, but if nothing else, we have each other.
Lachlan says goodnight, but Otto and Max follow us up to Alex’s room. He’s almost despondent, and my stomach drops when I wave a hand in front of him and he doesn’t react.
“Can one of you run a bath?” I ask the brothers.
“On it,” Otto says.
Max helps me undress Alex, careful to mind the bandage on his arm. He doesn’t fight us–he only murmurs a lowthank you.My heart cracks in half when I see him look down at his bloodied hand–when I see how that hand trembles.
Though our lives were so different, I can’t imagine that he ever envisioned having to murder someone in cold blood with a rusty knife.
Max and I help Alex into the bath. I keep his boxers on, and we slowly help lower him into the warm water smelling like lavender.
“You can go,” I tell them. “Thank you for your help.”
Otto hesitates near the side of the bathtub. His brows are knit together, and he begins to pace around the large bathroom.
“I’d like to stay, if that’s okay,” he says softly. He looks at Max, who nods once.
“Very well.”
I wash Alex off, lathering shampoo into his hair and making sure to drain the bath once when it turns pink. When the water is clear and fresh, he turns to look at me, face wet and water clinging to his dark lashes. His expression is unsure–and it strikes me again just how handsome he is.
He sighs, eyes lowering slightly as he looks at me. “I realize I’ve been a massive baby, but I can’t sleep alone tonight–”
“You don’t have to,” I say weakly. My hand shakes as I run it over the back of his neck. “Not anymore.”
Max is leaning against the bathroom counter, watching him—watchingus.I see him nod.
“You have all of us,” Otto adds, kneeling on the other side of the bathtub.
Alex looks at him–trulylooksat him–for the first time. My eyes flick between them, sensing something heated between the two Princes.
I shift my weight when I think of them together, squirming to get away from the throbbing weight that settles between my thighs. I shouldn’t be thinking things like that after what Alex had to do.
After what weallhad to endure tonight.
The area where Theo branded me throbs, as if it’s reminding me of it all over again.
Alex reaches out for my hand, holding it behind his neck. “That feels nice,” he says.
I shift higher and lean forward a bit, using both hands to slowly start massaging his upper back. He groans as his eyes flutter closed, and his skin issowarm–
Suddenly, his eyes snap open and he shuffles and leans his head back so that it’s hanging over the back of the bathtub. The bump in his throat is pronounced and he closes his eyes as I continue massaging the front of his shoulders. The sounds he’s making are… X-rated.
I squirm again, moving from knee to knee in order to dispel the tension, but as I knead his firm chest, I can’t help but imagine joining him in the bath–
“You’re looking a little dirty too, Astern,” Otto says from behind me.
I look back at him and glare, and when I look back at Alex, he’s watching me with darkened eyes.
“There’s enough room for you,” he says slowly.
His upside down face is open and interested, and as his tongue darts out to lick his lower lip, everything starts to pulse.
“If that’s what you want,” I answer.
