Page 54 of Knuckles & Knives
“About what happens next.” I take a breath, feeling the weight of the decision I made somewhere between the explosion and now. “About us.”
I watch each of them react differently. Dom’s shoulders tense, Kieran’s eyes sharpen, Axel stops spinning his knife, and Marcus leans forward slightly.
“Us,” Kieran repeats, his cultured voice carefully neutral. “That’s a dangerous word in our world, Raven.”
“Everything about us is dangerous.” I move to the center of the room, positioning myself where I can see all of them. “But tonight proved something I’ve been trying to deny for months.”
“What’s that?” Axel asks, his voice softer than usual.
“That I don’t want to choose between you.” The confession feels like stepping off a cliff. “That I can’t choose between you. Each of you gives me something different, something I need. Dom, your unwavering loyalty and strength. Kieran, your strategic mind and the way you challenge me. Axel, your passion and the way you make me feel alive. Marcus, your intelligence and how you see through every wall I build.” I pause, studying their faces. “Tonight, when we were under attack, you didn’t function as four separate men competing for my attention. You worked together like parts of something bigger. Like you were already…”
“Yours,” Marcus finishes quietly. “We were already yours.”
Liquid pools between my legs, heat spiraling through me. “And I’m yours. All of yours. If that’s what you want. This is real. This is dangerous. Your lives… If you want out, now is the time. If you’re in, you have to be all in.”
Dom pushes off from the door, moving closer with that predatory grace that never fails to make my breath catch. “You’re talking about more than just tonight.”
“I’m talking about rewriting the rules.” I meet his gaze steadily. “About creating something that doesn’t exist in ourworld. A partnership between equals who happen to love each other.”
“Love,” Axel says, and there’s wonder in his voice. “You said love.”
“I did.” The admission feels like freedom. “I love all of you differently but completely, and if you can find a way to share me without destroying each other, then I want to try this.”
Kieran moves from the window, his expensive suit torn and bloodstained but his presence still commanding. “The logistics alone would be complicated. Territory, loyalty, appearance to other organizations…”
“Since when do we care what other organizations think?” I challenge. “We just proved we’re stronger together than apart. Why not make it official?”
“Because,” Dom says, stopping just close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from his body, “sharing you means trusting each other completely. With your safety, your happiness, your life.”
“Do you trust them?” I ask, looking up into his dark eyes.
He’s quiet for a long moment, his gaze moving to each of the other men. “Tonight, I did. When your life was on the line, I trusted Kieran to cover our escape route. I trusted Axel to hold the perimeter. I trusted Marcus to get us out alive.”
“And I trusted Dom to protect you when I couldn’t,” Kieran adds, moving to my other side. “I trusted all of them to keep you safe.”
“Trust in combat is different than trust in love,” Marcus observes, but there’s something almost hopeful in his analytical tone. “Though perhaps the principles are similar.”
Axel slides off the desk, approaching with that fluid movement that always reminds me of a predator. “The question is,brujita, can you handle all of us?”
The possessiveness in his voice sends a shiver down my spine. “I can handle anything you can give me.”
“Can you?” Dom’s hand comes up to cup my face, thumb brushing across my cheekbone. “Because I don’t share well, Raven. None of us do. If we do this, if we make you ours, it means accepting that you belong to all of us. That your body, your heart, your loyalty is divided between four men who would kill for you.”
“I’ve spent my whole life being told I couldn’t have what I wanted,” I whisper, leaning into his touch. “That I had to choose, compromise, settle. I hid and stopped living except to fight and train for five years. I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to hide who I am or compromise who I want.”
Kieran’s hand finds my waist, pulling me back against his chest. “Then don’t. But understand what you’re asking for. You’re asking four alpha males to share the most precious thing in their world.”
“Are you saying you can’t do it?” The challenge in my voice is deliberate.
Axel laughs, low and dangerous. “Oh, we can do it. Question is whether you can survive it.”
Before I can respond, Marcus stands, approaching with that measured precision that makes him so formidable. “There would need to be rules. Boundaries. Agreements about territory and time.”
“Such as?” I ask, though my voice is breathless as I find myself surrounded by four powerful men, each radiating heat and possession.
“Such as,” Dom’s voice rumbles against my ear as he moves behind me, “when you’re with one of us, you’re completely with that person. No distractions, no divided attention.”
“And,” Kieran adds, his breath warm against my neck, “complete honesty. No games, no manipulation, no using one of us against the others.”
