Page 31 of Broken Prince
“Maybe a little bit, okay?” I sigh in defeat. “Coming here, finding out who you three are, and knowing you're all in the same house isn’t easy.”
“Why hasn’t it been easy, Laney?”
“Never mind.” I shake my head, really not wanting to do this right now. “I need to go make sure my mom doesn’t need any help.”
We’re at the reception hall for the rehearsal, and then we’re all heading out to have supper. Just me, my mom, my soon-to-be new stepdad, and his sons. First time we’ve all been together in two weeks.
Is my mom going to be able to tell something is up? She knows me better than anyone. That woman has some kind of sixth sense about anything involving me. It’s partly why I try to avoid the guys when she’s around.
“No,” he says the word gruffly. “You don’t get to push this away and act like it never happened.”
My eyes snap back to his angry ones, lips parting as my breath comes out in quick, short pants. I’m so damn confused now, even more so when he pulls me into a room.
“What are you doing?” I ask as he closes the door, letting the darkness surround us.
“We’re not leaving this room until you can be an adult and admit your feelings,” he growls.
When the lights flick on, Owen is there, his face close to mine. I suck in a breath, heart crashing in my chest like thunder. “What do you want me to say, Owen?” I whisper as my voice shakes.
“The truth,” he says firmly. “You want us, I can tell. You look at us like we’re your dirty little secret and you want another round. My brothers made their feelings for you known. Logan wants you, but he won’t take you because his life isn’t set up to make it happen any time soon. Elijah adores you, but he won’t risk anything that could make trouble for Dad. But me? I have a tendency to take what I want. Only thing is, I won’t push. I won’t force you. You want me, Laney, I’m here. If you want me to walk away, let me know. Don’t tell me it’s wrong, don’t tell me you don’t feel anything for me. Just be honest.”
Closing my eyes, I take a shuddering breath, trying to think about how to answer him. “I don’t regret the time we had.” I open my eyes. “It was one of the best nights of my life. And no, I can’t lie and say I don’t feel something for you because I do. All three of you. The thing is, we’re becoming a family tomorrow. What I feel could be intense sexual attraction, or it could be something more. But I can’t find out what it is because that would risk our parents’ happiness. And I don’t know the three of you well enough to know if that risk is worth it.” I cringe when I realize how that might have sounded. But he doesn’t look offended by my words, so I keep going. “My mom is my life. She raised me all on her own. She’s bent over backwards to make sure I was well-loved and taken care of. She sacrificed everything for me. For my happiness.” Tears sting the back of my eyes. I close them to take a grounding breath. When I open them again, Owen’s thumb brushes the corner of my eye. His touch is soft and tender. I hate it. This feels like a goodbye to something that never really got the chance to start. “And because of that, I will sacrifice what could have happened between us or one of your brothers.”
“All of us.”
“What?” My brows furrow.
“I love my brothers. If they cared about you deeply, I’d never take you away from them. So, if you were to choose one of us, you would have to choose all of us.”
I blink in shock at him. Is he for real right now? He’s telling me he would be willing to share me with his brothers? Who is Owen Cross?
“That doesn’t matter.” I shake my head. “Because what I’m trying to say is that nothing more than being friends can happen between us. I know it’s going to be hard, but we have to learn to get used to that and get along for our parents’ sake.”
“You want us. All of us.”
“Yes,” I breathe.
“But you won’t take us because you don’t want to risk your mother’s happiness.”
“Yes.” I nod. “She deserves this, and I’d never be able to live with myself if I was the reason it was ripped away from her.”
Owen nods, taking a breath. “I respect that, and I won’t push it. But here's the thing. You can look but not touch if that's what you need to tell yourself. You don’t have to act on your feelings, but you need to stop avoiding us, stop trying to convince yourself it’s wrong, or it should never have happened. Stop denying your attraction and feelings for us. I don’t like that it makes me feel like I’m some filthy little secret. We were all consenting adults, we had the right to do what we did. I understand nothing will happen if that’s your decision, but don’t act like it didn’t happen and don’t convince yourself you're wrong for what you feel. It just happens to be the right feelings at the wrong time.”
Does he not understand that I haven’t been avoiding him because I’m ashamed or regret what we did. They weren’t my dirty little secret. I’ve stayed away because when I’m around them, I can’t help but want them. But I won’t tell him that because it would only add to his case. “Okay.”
“I’m not going to lie and say I'm not disappointed because I want you, Laney, and would love to see where things could go. But I will respect your decision.”
“Thank you.”
He steps closer to me, pushing me back against the wall. My eyes widen as I suck in a breath. “W-what are you doing?”
“Asking for one last taste,” he murmurs, dipping his head low. He brushes his lips against mine, and I can’t help the moan that slips free. “Can I have one last taste of you, Laney? Then I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
Is this really happening? This shouldn’t happen, not after everything we just agreed to. But I can’t find it in me to tell him no because I want this. One last moment with him before I have to force myself to be a good girl. I almost laugh at the idea.
“Yes,” it slips out before I can even think about it.
He closes the small space between us and kisses me. I whimper, grabbing his shirt with both hands and pull him closer as I press my lips against his harder.