Page 18 of Monster's Madhouse
Monster leaned in, letting his lips brush her temple. He liked the way she shivered from that tiny touch, how her breath hitched like she was already remembering his hands on her. “Both of us,” he promised, gravel in his voice, certainty in his bones. “You’re not walking out of this bedroom the same woman who walked in. You’re ours.”
Drifter slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close like she already belonged there. Monster watched her sink into him, as the fight seemed to drain out of her with every sip of the coffee she held like a lifeline. She hadn’t told them no. Hell, she couldn’t because neither of them would have accepted that answer from her. They’d taken her, ruined her, marked her—and now she was theirs.
Monster settled in next to her, waiting her out a while longer. There was no way that he’d let this be the end of things between the three of them. No, this was the beginning, and the soonershe realized that the sooner they could move forward with the next part of their plan—the three of them became the family that none of them ever really had.
Hearing Blitz say that she wanted them both last night did strange things to his heart and claiming her with Drifter just sealed the deal for him. For the longest time, he didn’t think that he’d be able to share her with Drifter but losing her wasn’t an option. The more he thought about the three of them making a life together, the more he liked the idea. He could tell that his friend felt the same way.
The three of them moved to the kitchen, so that Monster could get started on making breakfast for the three of them. He had a feeling they would be hungry after all the talking that they were about to do. Monster covered Blitz with a blanket he found thrown across the back of the couch in the family room, and he knew that Drifter was going to push things with her. How could he not? Monster wouldn’t blame him either because he wanted everything with Blitz that Drifter wanted.
“Move into my house, permanently,” Drifter said. Monster was hoping that they’d be able to ease into the request and have it sound less like a direct order, but his friend wasn’t the patient type.
“What he meant to ask was—will you move into his house with the two of us, and Josie?” he asked, knowing that tossing the kid into the mix might soften her to their request.
“That’s not playing fair,” she mumbled. “You’re using my love for Josie to get me to say yes,” Blitz teased.
“Actually, I was hoping that you had those same feelings for us,” Drifter said.
“That I have for your sister—eww,” she moaned.
“No, I was hoping that you loved us too,” he admitted. “I can’t speak for Monster, but I’ve fallen for you, Blitz. I want you to stay—not because you’re running scared, or you love my sister, I want you to stay because you have feelings for the two of us.” Drifter and Monster stood towering over her, arms crossed over their chests, waiting her out. And Blitz was making them wait as she seemed to weigh her pros and cons.
“Blitz,” Monster growled. “I love you, and I don’t want to wait all night to hear you tell us that you love us too. No more games,” he ordered, pulling her up from the kitchen chair, letting the blanket fall to the floor.
“So, it’s an ultimatum then?” she asked. “Not too long ago, I told you that I wanted both of you or neither of you, and you chose neither,” she reminded.
“Is this your way of getting back at us, honey?” Drifter asked. “Because as I recall, you did pretty well that night—first with Monster, and then with me. You got your way, just not both of us at the same time.”
“Yeah, that was pretty sneaky,” she admitted. “But I had to show you both just how good we could be together. I wasn’t crazy in wanting you both, was I?” she asked.
“No, you weren’t,” Monster agreed. “And when Drifter and I realized that we had to share you so that we could both have you, then we were all in. The thought of losing you wasn’t an option, honey,” he said, wrapping her in his arms.
Drifter framed her back with his front and wrapped his arms around her, too. “He’s right,” Drifter admitted, “and I don’t usually say that, so don’t get used to it. We both want to be with you, so why not give in to our demands?”
“Requests,” Monster corrected.
“Okay, sure, requests,” Drifter said. “Why not just move in with us, honey?”
“You’ll be there too?” she asked Monster.
“I’ve already moved in. We’ll be sharing the master,” Monster said. “If you think that the Halloween party was good, wait until you come to the Christmas one,” Monster added, bobbing his eyebrows at her, causing her to giggle. He was sure that he could get used to hearing that sound around more often. He just hoped like hell that Blitz agreed to what they were proposing.
“You can’t just ask me to move into your house with you both. What about Josie?” she asked.
“Josie is on board,” Drifter assured. “She thinks that it will be nice to be part of a family again, and I have to agree with her. The three of us might not have grown up with families, but I’m betting that we can make a pretty great one if we try,” he admitted. Monster had to agree with him. Never having had a family growing up, he had always wondered if he’d be able to fit into one as an adult. He thought that he had until he lost his wife and unborn child. When they were gone, so were his dreams of having a family and watching it grow. Now, with Blitz and Drifter, he could see a future full of happiness.
“He’s right, you know,” Monster almost whispered. “I never thought that I’d find someone to spend my life with after losing my wife, but then, you walked into our lives, and well, I think that we should give it a try, don’t you? If the universe is throwing us together like this, shouldn’t we at least help it out and agree to try to be a family?”
“I do love Josie,” she whispered. “I think of her as my own kid, even though that seems to scare her a bit. She said that she likes having another girl around to help her with things that a mother is supposed to do. I guess that’s enough for me,” she said.
“And us?” Drifter asked. “How do you feel about Monster and me?” Monster could tell that his friend was holding his breath, waiting for Blitz to give him an answer.
“I won’t sit here and tell either of you that I don’t have feelings for you,” she started. “Actually, I’m falling in love with you both.”
“Thank fuck,” Drifter said, pulling her into his side. “Because I’m in love with you, honey.” Drifter kissed her, and she willingly wrapped her arms around his neck. Monster waited for the pang of jealousy, but it never came. Instead, he crowded in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his body. Blitz let him, and when she turned to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss, he knew that he’d have to give her the truth.
“I’m in love with you, too, baby,” he whispered against her lips.
She smiled up at him and nodded, “So, what now?” she asked.
