Page 66 of Double Dare
I rock my body, not seeking release, just enjoying the connection. Kade’s eyes are wet, but he makes no effort to wipe them.
“I got one hundred and eighteen stitches. Internally and externally. I developed a pain pill addiction, relied on anti-anxiety medications, and developed a fear of being left alone with anyone but my dad. Anyone. Even kids. I just couldn’t trust anyone.”
“Laken,” Kade says, nodding, offering me a tight smile.
I smile back at him. “But guess what? I survived, and my dad is the literal hero of my life because he helped me survive. I failed a whole bunch of times, but now…I’m not just surviving, Kade. I’m…living. I’m fucking living because I learned how to trust, and I met two incredible men and a family full of accepting assholes that took me just how I was. It’s more than just that, but the point is, it was shit for a long time, and sometimes I still get negative thoughts, but I’m alive and I’m not weak. I’m living, Kade.”
Kade wraps his arms around me, bringing my chest to his. He’s buried inside me, but we aren’t moving, working towards anything. We’re just connected.
“You’re the strongest person I know, Laken.” He buries his face in my hair. “And I’m proud of you. But I need you to be one hundred percent honest with me for a second, okay?”
I pull up, resting on my elbows to look at him.
“Do you trust me? Sexually?”
“I trust you. More than sexually.”
“Completely?”
“Completely. And even more than that, I trust myself with you.”
“And Jed, too?”
I nod. “And Jed, too.”
“Tell me if that ever changes.”
It won’t, but I nod and kiss him, making the promise anyway.
I wake up to the sound of Jed and Kade laughing and bickering about something in the kitchen. The coffee pot is beeping and Kade is cursing at Jed to shut it up, but at the same time, a whole other conversation is stopping and starting amidst the beeps.
“She seriously did that?” Jed asks, stage whispering.
The coffee maker stops beeping. “Yeah, she tied me the fuck up and made me her bitch,” Kade admits, sounding amused about it.
I grin. I grin even more when Jed busts his balls about it. “Wish I saw that. I can’t imagine you giving up top spot, but if anyone can dominate you, it’s her.”
“Not that I’m admitting it, but I was pleasantly surprised,” Kade says. “Fuck you, Jed,” he adds.
They laugh a bit, making all sorts of noise that keeps getting hushed by the other. “Gar showed up last night after you guys left. I fucking love Gar, but he brought that new chick with him and she kept asking about Lakes. Like…it was weird.”
Kade says, “She jealous of their friendship?”
“I dunno, man,” Jed says. “Get a weird vibe from her. Gar’s so much better than that. Anyway, he wants to go boarding today, so if you’re up for it, we should go and get him away from her. See what he’s thinking.”
“Yeah, I’m in,” Kade says. “Off for a week now.”
I kind of love that the conversation has already shifted to something else. I listen for a bit longer. It’s nothing new. These two chat all the time; they chatted before I showed up and they’ll chat forever. It’s just who they are and what they do. Best friends and brothers. When they start talking about work and the gym, I climb out of bed, pee, and join them in the kitchen.
“Morning, mistress,” Jed says, giving away the fact they already talked about it. He smirks at me, pulling me in to kiss my lips. “You look well fucked despite how dommy you are.”
“Coffee,” I demand, getting a kiss on the cheek from Kade, too. Kade slides me a coffee and the milk and stands on the other side of the counter while Jed pulls me onto his lap.
“Boarding with Gar today?” Kade asks.
Just like that. No awkwardness. No hard feelings. Not yet, anyway. I smile at them both, loving this already. “Hell yes.” I hop off Jed’s lap and bring my coffee to the shower with me.
Locking them both out.