Thief (Academy of Unpredictable Magic #3) - Sadie Moss Page 0,81

why does he never talk about them? And why is this the only photo of them I’ve seen in the whole house? I mention my mom pretty often, even though she’s been gone for five years.

“I considered taking that picture down while you all were here, like I did over the summer,” a soft voice says from behind me.

I turn around to find Roman standing in the arched doorway leading to the hall.

“This is you with your family?” My gaze moves from him back to the photo.

Roman nods, taking the picture from me. “They were very powerful magic users; very respected in the community. It was a great loss when they died.”

His voice is even, but I can hear a darkness, a layer of grief underneath his words. It makes my own heart twinge with pain.

“I never took you for a younger sibling. You’re so bossy.”

A smile teases the corner of his mouth, and he traces a line over his sister’s face. “Her name was Octavia.”

“Your parents had a sense of humor, I take it.” I pause, unsure if I should ask but wanting to know. Tamlin’s words echo in the back of my mind, and they’re the push I need to ask, “What… what happened to them?”

Roman puts the picture back on the mantel with a sigh. “I’ll tell you, Elliot, I promise. Someday. But not… not right now. I don’t want to think about that right now. This is a time to be happy.”

I nod. That makes sense. I can see a haunted look in his eyes, and whatever happened to his family, it’s clearly worse than what happened to my mom. I remember looking in the mirror a week after she passed and barely recognizing the girl who gazed back at me. But the sadness I found in my face then is nothing like what I’m seeing in Roman’s now.

I rise up onto my tiptoes and kiss him softly, my hands resting on his chest. “It’s okay, prof. Don’t even worry about it.”

Roman’s hands drop to my waist, squeezing gently. “Are you sure? I—”

“I trust you. And I know you’re a good person. You’ve never…” I shake my head. “I’m shit at saying it, I know, and I’m sorry. But you’ve never been anything but good to me. You’ve been patient, kind, and understanding. And you’ve always trusted me. Even when I probably didn’t deserve it.”

Sneaking around campus, getting myself into trouble, becoming notorious among the entire student body, and then being wishy-washy on the whole boyfriend thing… yeah. After putting up with all that from me, Roman’s definitely earned my being patient with him. And with something so raw and painful… it takes time to open up about that kind of stuff. He clearly never opened up to Tamlin, or at least not all the way.

Honestly, I’m a little scared I’ll end up like her. That he won’t ever tell me everything. But I have to trust him, the way he’s trusted me. I have to try and find that faith in another person again.

He kisses me, palming the back of my head and moving his lips slowly against mine, stoking a fire in my lower belly. I kiss him back, matching the sweeps of his tongue, letting myself drown in his touch for a moment. Letting myself just… be.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I give up trying to protect my heart, stop worry about keeping my defenses up. And the crazy thing is, I’ve never felt safer.

We finally pull away as the other guys come in with snacks, Asher and Cam teasing Dmitri about something as he rolls his eyes so hard it looks like he’s going to strain a muscle. They all configure themselves on the L-shaped couch as, above us, I hear Maddy shriek something about but that contradicts season five where—

I sit down on an easy chair near the TV so all the guys can see me without craning their necks, and then I clear my throat. “Hey, uh, guys?”

Normally, I’d want to do this individually, but communication is going to be really important in this situation. I swallow hard, take a deep breath, and continue.

“I know this might seem like sort of a moot point to you all by now, considering everything that’s happened between us. But I learned something important this past semester about not assuming or guessing what another person is thinking. What they’re feeling.”

My gaze flicks to Dmitri, and the corner of his mouth tilts up just the slightest bit. Warmth and heat flash side by side in his eyes.

A blush starts to rise in my cheeks as I lace my fingers together, twining my hands around each other as I go on. “So anyway, I thought—well, I wanted to officially ask you all if… if you would be my boyfriends. The four of you. I have feelings for all of you, equally, and I care about all of you a lot. I know you three”—I gesture to Cam, Asher, and Dmitri—“agreed you were comfortable with sharing me a long time ago. And I know you told me you are too,” I add, looking at Roman. “So I guess I just wanted to make sure you all know I want that too. I want to be shared.”

Oh geez. This is not coming out anywhere near as eloquently as I was hoping for. Certainly not as well as it did when I practiced the speech alone in my room earlier. I’m no good with mushy stuff, and baring my heart like this is painfully uncomfortable. I want to squirm, or run and hide. But I have to finish this.

It’s time for me to take a risk. Time for me to be the one to reach out.

“I know I’ve been kind of a pain about the whole ‘putting up walls and not talking about this’ thing, and I’m sorry. It’s not always easy for me to talk about how I feel. But I care about you all, and not just when it comes to making out and having sex—although you’re all extremely good at that.”

That earns me some chuckles.

“I’d like to be your girlfriend. To each of you. Together. If you want that.”

“I thought you’d never ask, Sin,” Cam says with a wink. “Of course my answer is yes, but maybe bring me some roses next time?”

Dmitri elbows him.

“Of course,” Asher says solemnly, clearly knowing how hard it was for me to say this. He gives me a soft smile.

“If I say something along the lines of ‘about damn time’, are you going to hit me with a pillow?” Roman asks, a smirk dancing in his eyes.

I settle for flipping him off.

Dmitri clears his throat quietly and then looks me dead in the eyes. “Yes,” he says, his voice rough and low.

My heart flips.

God, I can’t believe how happy I am. I knew, or I thought I knew, how they all felt by this point—but hearing it out loud, confirming it, just makes it all so much better. I can’t hold back from launching myself at them, kissing them all in turn, as they give me and each other shit for it, roasting me because, hey, they’re officially my boyfriends now, so I guess they’re allowed to do that now.

Not like it ever stopped them before anyway.

I grin giddily, settling onto the couch cushions surrounded by the four men. Four stunningly handsome specimens of male beauty.

My boyfriends.

…my boyfriends, three of whom will be leaving after next semester.

I have no clue what I’m going to do without them once they graduate. A whole year on campus without them? How am I going to make it?

Ah well, I guess that’s the developing theme of my life. As soon as one challenge goes down, a new one pops up.

But for right now, I have them. They have me. I’ve stopped dancing around my feelings or letting fear hold me back. I finally asked for what I want, put my heart on the line, and even though it’s all slightly terrifying, I can’t stop grinning like an idiot.

I have no doubt that we’ll face some crazy challenges in the future, but at least now I know what I’m fighting for.

And it’s worth the fight.