lips were still curved in a grin. "Say it again," he ordered me.
I huffed a laugh, but obliged. "I love you."
He groaned, then thoroughly delivered. Kody fucked me so hard the bed slammed against the wall and cracked the paint. We came simultaneously with whispered curses and confessions of love. It was magical as fuck.
When Kody went to rinse off in my shower, I just lay there in the middle of my bed like a well-fucked starfish. My thighs were wet and sticky with his cum and my face raw from stubble rash, but I needed to take a moment to store that feeling into my mental lockbox of awesome memories.
"That..." Steele's voice startled me out of my haze, "is way too fucking tempting."
I raised my head slightly and found him leaning his shoulder against my doorframe. From my spread-eagle position, he'd have a prime view of my everything. Feeling evil, I simply parted my legs even further, offering a silent invitation.
His eyes raked all over me, lingering on my swollen core, then he muttered a curse. "I'm saving this as an IOU for later, Hellcat," he told me, "because Arch just got the results from the pathology lab."
I gasped as I sat bolt upright, staring at him in anticipation. "And?"
"And it was a positive match. James is your biological parent."
All the air whooshed out of my lungs, and the room spun. Fuck me, was I about to pass out? No, I could handle this news. I'd dealt with more shocking stuff. It still took me a moment or two to force my lungs to work again, though, in which time Steele crossed the room and crouched beside the bed. His hand rubbed soothing circles on my back until I nodded and assured him I was fine.
"Okay," I breathed. "Okay. Good. That explains a few things, right?" I met Steele's concerned gaze, and he nodded. "Does James know? Did we get in touch with him already?"
Steele grimaced. "Yeah, we found him." He sighed. "He's at the hospital. Someone apparently mugged him last night outside his apartment. He fought them off and they ran, but he took a knife to the ribs for his efforts."
My jaw dropped. "What the fuck? Is he okay?"
Steele nodded. "Should be fine. The mugger only got that far thanks to the element of surprise. James sounds like he's in a foul mood but will be released soon. He's coming by after he gets done filing police reports."
I snorted a bitter laugh. "For all the good that will do. This can't be a coincidence."
"Agreed." Steele stood up from his crouch and tipped his head towards my bathroom. "Go shower before I change my mind and take that invitation now." He left my room before I could tell him that I was all for a little more stress relief, so I made my way into my bathroom.
Luckily, Kody was still under the hot spray, all soaped-up and gorgeous.
Who the fuck needed therapy when you could maintain good mental health through copious orgasms, right?
28
The following morning, James tagged along to the gun range with us. The conversation we'd had when he finally arrived at the house—just in time for dinner—had been awkward at best. But then, what else was to be expected? I was nearly nineteen, and he'd never known he had a child. More than that, my mom hadn't been some great love of his life. She'd been a two-week romance that ended poorly.
It was weird; I was more than willing to admit that much.
But when Steele suggested James come to the shooting range with us, I was cautiously optimistic. Maybe we just needed to spend some time together and find some common ground?
To my relief, it was an enjoyable day. James's almost twenty-year career in the marines had afforded him a wealth of knowledge in weapons, and it took no time at all for him to relax. Before long, he and Steele were engaged in friendly banter about guns, and I was left with Archer overseeing my lesson.
"Princess," Arch murmured in my ear as he adjusted my stance with his hands on my hips. "Are you okay with this?"
I wriggled my hips under his fingers. "With this?"
Archer huffed a laugh. "No, with this, James being here."
I glanced over at our new addition, my biological dad. He and Steele laughed together, and the scene touched something inside me.
"I am," I admitted, "but I still can't shake the paranoia that we shouldn't let anyone into our circle right now."
Archer