Page 116 of Power's Fall
“I understand,” she said softly.
Vadisk shook his head. “No, you don’t.” Something that had been tugging at the back of his brain ever since he’d met his spouses finally made its way to the surface. When he looked toward the future, the one he wanted to build with Dahlia and Montana, he could only see one way forward.
“I think we should move to America.” Vadisk reached for Dahlia’s hand as he spoke. “I’ll join the Trinity Masters.”
Montana was leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “Vadisk,” he said, his tone too serious. “If you have feelings for her, running to America isn’t going to solve the problem.”
“I’m not moving because I’m in love with her. I’m moving because I’m in love with the two of you, which means…” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I can’t do my job efficiently anymore. For one thing, if it came to your safety or Nik’s, I’d choose you. I can’t lose you.” His gaze drifted down to Dahlia’s leg, to the white bandage. His response wasn’t something he’d even thought about. Protecting them at all cost was now written into his DNA, and it wasn’t something he’d ever be able to control, the instinct one that was now as natural as breathing.
“Vadisk,” Dahlia started.
He wasn’t finished. “Ever since joining the Masters’ Admiralty, the society and my admiral have been my top priority. Hell, they’ve been my only priority. I work long hours. Very long hours. And when I’m not working, I’m thinking about work. I could do that because there wasn’t anyone waiting for me at home. I don’t want to live for work anymore.” Vadisk squeezed Dahlia’s hand, then shifted forward enough that he could reach for Montana’s too. “I want to live for you.”
Dahlia lifted her free hand, wiping away a tear. “I’m just afraid you’ll resent us if?—”
“Stop. Don’t say that. Don’t even think it. You’re not asking me to do this. I’m making the choice. Because it’s the right thing for us.”
Vadisk dropped to the floor, kneeling between the two of them, taking Montana’s and Dahlia’s hands in one of his, holding them together. They hadn’t had a wedding ceremony. They hadn’t even spoken anything resembling vows. Instead, they’d been introduced via a video call, informed they were a trinity, then sent into Crimea together.
He’d thought that was enough because they all knew the score. They’d joined their societies with their eyes wide open, but now, Vadisk wanted this to be something more than the three of them simply following orders.
“You’re right,Sonechko. Successful relationships do require more than love. They require time and commitment and trust. I’m offering all of that to the two of you. Along with my heart. I promise you that from this day forward, you will have me…all of me. Forever.”
Montana dropped from the chair to the floor, kneeling next to Vadisk. “I promise to give you the same, and I won’t ever hold back,” Montana said, squeezing their joined hands. “Not my hard truths, my painful secrets, or my nerdiness. You’re gonna get it all, for better or worse.”
Vadisk chuckled. “Sounds perfect.”
The tears Dahlia had been trying to hold back flowed freely, as she gave him the sweetest smile he’d ever seen. “You guys are making me cry. I hate crying,” she said with a choked laugh as she dropped to the floor with them, wincing just slightly.
Vadisk recalled her saying the same thing to Montana their first night in the villa. He hated that he’d made her cry that night. He’d been an ass at the beginning, and he was fortunate they’d been so forgiving, so willing to give him a second chance to make things right.
These tears didn’t evoke that same guilt in him. Instead, they felt like a warm spring day after too many years of bitter cold winter. He would never apologize for putting happy tears in her eyes.
Dahlia swiped at her eyes with her free hand, sniffling. “I love you. So much. And I always will.”
She leaned in, cementing that promise with a kiss, first with Vadisk, then with Montana.
When Montana and Dahlia parted, Vadisk was there, waiting to offer Montana a kiss as well.
“Now can we go to the bedroom?” Vadisk asked, smiling widely when, this time, his lovers were on their feet within seconds, dragging him up, both of them anxious for the next part.
“Take off your clothes. Now.” Vadisk walked over to the bed, roughly ripping the bedspread down until it gathered by the footboard. He smiled as he glanced toward the door to the balcony, the curtains wide open, bright sunshine streaming in.
There would be no more hiding, no more limitations. Dahlia and Montana were his. To touch. To kiss. To show off to the whole fucking world.
Dahlia seemed to understand his smile. “We’re free,” she whispered. The constraints put on them in Crimea finally gone.
“Um…” Montana drew their attention to him. “Did you two not get the memo? Our real honeymoon is starting right now.”
Vadisk laughed when he saw his husband was completely naked. “How the hell did you undress so quickly?”
“Oh God. You were the kid who unwrapped all his Christmas gifts in three minutes, weren’t you?” Dahlia teased.
Montana put his hands on his hips. “Never understood the point of dragging it out.” He pointed his finger at the two of them. “So, chop-chop. Get naked so I can play with my new toys.”
Dahlia rolled her eyes, but Montana had a point. Vadisk drew his shirt over his head, then quickly unfastened his pants. Dahlia lifted her sundress, tugging it off in one quick sweep, revealing the sexiest, tiniest pair of panties he’d ever seen. She hadn’t been wearing a bra, a fact that distracted Vadisk from the task at hand.
With his pants hanging open, he stepped over to her, reaching out to cup one of her firm tits in his palm.