against me. Ian nuzzled my hair as Coop held my hand.
“Hey,” he whispered. “There she is.”
The light in the room seemed almost too bright, but I blinked past it as they kept me warm between them. I had no idea who brought a blanket, and I didn’t care. It was warm and kept the chills away.
“Talk to me, Angel,” Ian ordered. “You okay? You drifted away on us there.”
“I’m fine,” I said in a trembling voice. “I promise.” My cheeks were damp, and Ian tilted my face back until I looked up at him. He studied me for so long, I worried something might be wrong, but he nodded.
“Did you like both of us having you?”
“I loved it.”
He smiled, and my heart fisted at the open affection in his eyes. “Maybe next time, I’ll let you tie up Coop and you can figure out what kind of playing you like to do.”
Coop coughed, and we both looked over to find him staring at us with an actual blush on his face.
Laughter swelled through me. “Maybe,” I said. “If Coop wants.”
He coughed. “I’ll think about it,” he told me, and I grinned at the redness on his cheeks. I extended trembling fingers to touch him, and he smiled. “I’ll think about it, I promise. I kind of like getting to play with you, and I don’t want to push my luck.”
“Anything you want.” I really didn’t have to be in charge of this one. There was tons of time to play later. “But…truth?”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Are you really okay with us doing this?”
He glanced from me to Ian, then back. “That’s not even a question. I’m down for however you guys let me play or not. Bubba is in charge.”
“Sir Ian,” I corrected, and he snorted.
“I’m not calling him that.”
Against my back, Ian chuckled. “You will if she insists.”
“Bite me.”
“I’d rather bite Frankie.”
And then we were all laughing, and I snuggled back into Ian while clasping Coop’s hand. It took another hour to regain some normalcy, and it was late by the time I was cleaned up and dressed again. There was no escaping how well fucked I looked, because one glance in the studio bathroom revealed that, but I honestly didn’t care.
The drive back to the apartment was filled with gentle touches and soft laughter. The sight of Jake and Archie’s vehicles made me smile, and I would have skipped up the steps but my ass was just a bit sore.
Inside, Jake and Archie were both in the kitchen, and they turned as I walked in. Archie had his phone in his hands.
“I was just about to call you,” he said. “The results are in.”
Chapter Eight
Life is Weird
“Holy shit.” Rachel stared at me as she lowered the soda she’d been about to drink. “That’s fucked up.”
I shrugged and slumped back against her bed. A storm raged outside, and her whole house smelled like rich, spicy stew. A stack of laundry waited to be put away at the end of the bed, abandoned once I’d started telling her about the last week.
“Honey,” she said as she set the soda down and came to sit on the edge of the bed next to me. “Are you okay?”
I slanted a look at her and shrugged a second time. “Yes and no. He’s not my brother. I knew that and he knew that, and I didn’t care what his asshole of a father said…”
“But for five days…” Rachel grimaced. “Holy shit, that really is just all kinds of fucked up.”
“Yep,” I agreed with her. “But we got our own test done. Archie and I don’t share enough common alleles to be siblings. The report is pretty explicit, and Archie and Jeremy both trust the lab so…there’s that.” The depth of relief in Archie’s eyes had only been matched by the fury kindling within them when either of our parents were mentioned. “He’s going after his father now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so angry or determined.”
“Good, sounds like someone needs to stab him. Repeatedly. In non-vital places. So it hurts more.” The viciousness in her tone pulled a smile from me.
“Aww, Archie will be touched that you care.”
She snorted and pinched me. “Rich Boy is a lot of things, but he redeems himself in my eyes every time he looks at you. No one deserves a prick like that for a parent.”
I grinned wider. “Your softer side is showing.”
“Pfft. I trust Archie to take care of his father and that ice bitch