The doors opened a moment later and the five of us piled out. I joined West in his room. He made no complaints about me taking a shower with him. In fact, he was gentle when he undid my braid so I could wash my hair. The two of us stepped into the hot water after stripping off. It was soothing against my skin. He wrapped his arms around me from behind under the spray and pressed his cheek to mine.
“How are you feeling?”
“Tired, but okay. Guess it hasn’t fully hit me yet, you know, that he’s no longer a threat to us. That he’s gone for good.”
“You ended him. We’re safe now.”
I nodded. We were. I would be forever grateful to my men for giving me this. For letting me help them take the lives of the people who’d stolen mine. It was surreal to think it was all over.
West turned me around and pressed me against the tiles. His hand curled around my throat, thumb stroking down my wet skin. Those amber eyes of his glowed in the low light.
“You never have to live in fear again, little Scar. Not whilst you’re by my side.”
His other hand stroked down my chest until his fingers met my pussy. I shuddered, unable to help myself from arching into his touch.
“I love you.”
Leaning down, he kissed his way down my neck until his lips met the scars he’d given me.
“You’re mine.”
His tongue ran over them.
“You belong to War.”
I gripped his arms, my knees almost buckling. The way West loved me was overwhelming. It consumed me, filling all my empty spaces and making me whole again.
“I love you too,” I panted as his fingers slid inside me, the heel of his palm grinding into my clit.
“Good girl.”
I was lost in him as the water beat down on his back. West kissed me, his fingers working inside me until I was crying out my pleasure against his lips. Then he hooked my legs around his waist and fucked me. The two of us needed this after we’d declared our love for each other. Needed to reconnect. Have a moment of passion and possession. And when we came together, it was a meeting of two souls destined for each other.
West washed me afterwards, shampooing and conditioning my hair with gentle fingers. The way he could be so tender after all his brutality made my heart sing. I was the only woman who saw this side of him. The only one he granted it to.
We dried and dressed after we got out. West left me to blow dry my hair, telling me he’d see me up on the roof. I didn’t want to go to bed later with wet hair, so I took my time with it.
I padded out of West’s room and made my way up to the roof. The door was open, and I could hear their voices. I slid on some sandals before I came up here, so I wasn’t wandering around with bare feet. The boys were sat out on the benches in the garden area with bottles of beer in their hands.
When I reached them, Francis handed me a cider, as he knew I didn’t drink beer. He was sat on the bench. I sat in his lap and put my feet on Prescott’s legs. Drake was on one of the loungers, with his guitar resting on his lap. West leant against the wall, staring out over the city with his beer bottle dangling between his fingers.
Francis curled his arms around me and kissed the top of my head as I rested it on his shoulder, breathing in his hypnotic scent. The one that soothed me. Cinnamon and apples. My fingers curled into his hair as I held the bottle against my chest with my other hand. He let out a noise of contentment.
Prescott slid my sandals off, setting them on the floor before he began to massage my feet. His smile as he caught my eyes was electrifying. I was a very spoiled woman having these four. They took care of me in a way no one else ever had. And I did the same for them.
“Will you play me something, Drake?” I asked, turning my attention to him.
“What do you want to hear?”
“The one you wrote about me.”
He chuckled.
“They’re all about you, little wisp. You’ll have to be more specific.”
I looked over at him. His indigo eyes twinkled in the moonlight.
“The one you haven’t let me hear yet.”
He didn’t hesitate, putting his fingers to strings as he continued to watch me. He’d mentioned he was writing something new the morning after he told me he loved me for the first time. The melody wasn’t haunting like the others. It spoke of acceptance and understanding. It told me of his love for me. I could see it in his eyes. And it made my heart hurt.
I didn’t know it was possible to love four people so intensely. We’d built bonds with each other that would last an eternity. We were made for each other. That’s how I saw us. Fated to be with each other for life. As Drake had once said… we were born together and we would die together.
When the song was over, Drake set the guitar on the lounger and rose to his feet, digging his hands into his pockets. He looked over at West, who hadn’t turned around yet. Then he met Francis’ eyes before turning to Prescott, who’d finished massaging my feet and was merely stroking my bare legs with his fingertips.
“We going to ask her?” he said with a raised eyebrow.
“Ask me what?”
Francis encouraged me to sit up and drop down on the bench next to him. West turned around and came over to us, swinging his bottle with his movement. Prescott got up along with Francis and the four of them stood before me, their eyes all fixed on mine.
“What?” I asked again, wondering what they wanted from me.
We’d already had sex together tonight. I didn’t think I could take another round. Not after West had fucked me in the shower.
“We have a proposition for you,” Drake said. “One we hope you’ll agree to.”
My fingers curled around the edges of the bench.
“Planning things behind my back again?”
“No, we just wanted to surprise you.”
I let go of the bench and waved a hand at them.
“Okay, well, tell me what it is and I’ll give you my answer.”
Drake stepped closer.
“We wanted to know if you would consider what would be, for all intents and purposes, a marriage between us and you. We know it wouldn’t be legal. It would just be for us. To show our devotion to each other. And if you say yes… we’d like to do it now.”
Forty Three
Scarlett
My ears started ringing the moment Drake said the word marriage. My hand went to my mouth as I tried to process it. The idea of it. The implications. And I had no idea what to say. It’s not like I expected them to ask me for this, considering it wouldn’t be legally recognised. It never even crossed my mind. The only thing I’d ever been sure of was spending my life with them.
What did Drake even mean by right now?
Did they want to do some kind of ceremony?
What exactly were they expecting from me?
I dropped my hand from my mouth and frowned.
“We can’t get married.”
“It wouldn’t really be a marriage, little lamb, more of a lifelong commitment to each other with vows and stuff,” Prescott said, cocking his head to the side. “We want to show you how much we love you and we’re in this for life.”
“We want to hold a commitment ceremony… of sorts,” Francis added.