Stretching in her bed, Sadie opened her eyes and peered around her room. She gasped and sat up, not familiar with the walls, the pictures, or the bed. She blinked a few times and her heart raced, then she recalled last night.
She fell asleep in William’s bed. And she was still in it, but he was gone.
Where had he gone off to?
She laid back and closed her eyes, a smile playing along the edge of her lips. She touched her mouth softly and winced at the tenderness of her lips.
She had been with three, beautiful, kind, and sinfully sexy vampires, all in the span of a few days. Some would consider that slutty activity. To Sadie, it seemed to be a walk in the park for the life that would be laid out for her.
She would want to continue to write her stories. Would they encourage her to do this, or would they require her to do something else? Would she live here with the men and have her own room, or was there a bed large enough for all four of them to share?
Would the men ever share each other in front of her?
She enjoyed male on male porn, but she didn’t want to watch them on each other, she wanted them for herself. Call her a selfish bitch, but they were all hers.
The word ‘mine’ played over in her mind non-stop since she opened her eyes.
What was it about them that drew her in?
Their sexy demeanor?
Their wealth?
Their need for a blood demon?
Or were they genuinely attracted to her and wanted her as a life-mate?
All of the above?
Mine.
All mine.
Just mine.
She knew what she had to do, and she had to make the decision today. She longed to write stories like what she was getting the chance to live out. If she waited or hesitated any longer, she may chicken out and live to regret this the rest of her life.
After a shower in her bathroom, she dressed and put product in her hair, letting her natural curls fall where they wanted. A little mascara and powder later, she pulled on an emerald green satin sundress with black ballet slipper flats, then headed downstairs. She needed to talk to the men, and it needed to begin with their leader, William.
As she made the walk down the hall, she looked at the portraits on the wall, and at the end, the statues of the men…her men. The portraits were stunning, as if life was painted into the pictures. One of the large illustrations was that of William in a three-piece suit. He was strong, commanding, ruling. The eyes of his painting appeared to follow her, and she frowned, then walked faster.
On the right was the door to the study. This was the right decision for all parties involved. She would give her final decision, come hell or high water. She could do this, even if it meant breaking hearts in the process. She didn’t want to give in on a whim or the feelings of lust. She needed to know what she was doing was the right thing.
If that afternoon in the alley hadn’t happened, would she ever have been found?
Would she have met William, Charles, and Adam?
Would any of this have ever come to fruition?
A part of her said no, where the other part screamed that fate intervened. She closed her eyes as she stood in front of the closed door. She raised her hand and knocked three times.
“It’s open,” came William’s voice.
Her heart raced and she swallowed the dryness in her throat.
Shit, just shit.
I can’t do this.
Tears burned her eyes and she closed her lids, willing them away. When she opened them once more, William stood before her, a look of concern on his face.
“Sadie?” he asked and took a step forward.
“Don’t,” she said automatically and took a step back. “Look, we need to talk.”
As she stepped past him, she felt the disappointment roll off of him in waves, and it made her feel sick to her stomach. She held the bile down and stood in front of one of the man’s bookcases.
She heard the latch close behind her. Folding her arms over her chest, she let her head hang loose and she sighed.
“What happened?”
William was right behind her. She felt his presences like a familiar blanket that brought comfort during a stormy night. She wanted his arms around her, to hold her, and tell her whatever it was, everything would be okay.
But it wouldn’t be okay. She was going to turn and face the fact that she couldn’t do this. Not with them, not with three men, not with vampires.
Then William placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. He tilted her head up and her eyes remained closed. A single tear slipped down her cheek, landing on her shoulder.
“Sadie, why are you doing this to yourself? You’re hurting and I don’t understand why. Help me understand?”
“I...” She hiccupped and shook her head. “I can’t do this,” she whispered.
“Tell me why.”
She shook her head again but remained silent.
“Sadie, you need to tell me why. Have we not given you everything? Have we not offered our home and our lives to you and you alone?”
“Yes,” she cried, and her chest hurt, the tightness closing in around her. “Yes, you have, but I can’t, William, I can’t do this.” She turned from his arms and began to sob into her hands. He didn’t push her, and she was grateful for that. She needed a moment to compose herself, to understand how to say what needed to be said.
She heard the door open once more and she wiped at her eyes.
“Brother, what did you do to our girl,” Charles accused.
“I don’t think he did anything,” Adam added. “She’s going to pull out.”
The words stung, but they needed to be said. She needed to say them. She needed to man up and tell the truth and get this over with.
She sucked in a deep breath and turned to face the firing squad. Instead, her bottom lip trembled as she gazed upon them.
Charles stood with a hand running through his hair. Adam’s jaw flexed and his gaze was nothing short of being pissed off. Then, her heart broke a little more with William. He stood motionless with his hands in his pockets, eyes downcast, and a single tear stained cheek.
“I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to blurt it all out.”
“Probably for the best anyway,” Adam grumbled. “I can’t get women to take me seriously because we have money, and now we have a woman wanting to run from us for a life anyone else would give their brother or sister to have.”
She closed her eyes and focused on the words she wanted to say, ignoring the cut in Adam’s words.
“All right,” she started. “I’m scared. I’m so fucking scared. I’ve never had anyone in my life to love or love me. So, understand, three of you coming at me for a life of commitment is frightening. I always wanted a brother, a sister, a mom and dad, aunts, uncles, cousins. I wanted it all. I never had the opportunity to experience any of that. I was fortunate to not be abused as a child, but I never understood why no one wanted to adopt me. I thought it was my red hair.” She maniacally laughed at herself, then continued. “Of course, that was just stupid. Then, I wondered if I was deformed in some way no one would tell me. I never even had a serious boyfriend. Having never been in love, I couldn’t imagine falling in love with three men at the same time. I mean, come on, it has to be impossible, right?”
When they didn’t say anything, she continued, with a pace. “I tried to make sense of everything. Maybe the orphanage knew I was different and that’s why they couldn’t get me adopted.” She absently rubbed at the starred birthmark on her arm. “Even when I was in foster care, the families never kept me longer than a few months at a time. Why? What the fuck is so wrong with me that no one wanted me?” She began to sob again as she paced the room. Everything from her childhood to adulthood came to a culmination of pain, self-torture, and affliction.
“What the fuck is so wrong with me that no one wanted me?” She stopped and looked at each man, hoping for an answer, but also willing them to remain silent. If they spoke to her about how wonderful she was, they would do nothing but appease to her better nature. However, if they remained silent, they would add to the affirmation of her own self-demise.
When nothing was said, she yelled out, “Answer me!” When no one moved, she hid her face behind her hands. Her legs were weak, and she needed to sit, else she may fall to the floor. She didn’t feel bad for herself. In fact, she was pissed having felt this way. Here were three men, willing to give everything they had to her, and in return, she spat on their offering. She was a despicable human being.
When a set of hands took her wrists, she lowered them and gasped in surprise. She never thought it would be Adam to come to her first. He held onto her arms and stared into her eyes.
“In order to be loved, you must be willing to experience love, and give it yourself. Keeping everyone at arm’s length just to save your heart from breaking is only breathing. Sadie, you need to live. Give your heart away with the only expectation of having their heart in return. Falling in love and experiencing the comfort, the safety, the never-ending nights of being treasured, is something everyone on this earth deserves to feel, even you.”
She hiccupped and he released her arms. She wiped at her face and sniffed. “Well, when you put it that way.”
He smiled and tilted her head up. “How can you know love is worth leaping toward if you’re not willing to take a chance?”
She let go a long sigh. “How do you know I’m the right one for you? There are other blood demons and, from what Doctor Blair told me, you can have any human now as well. Why me?”
“Because, mi amor, you are worth everything,” Adam whispered. “You saw me before I could see you myself. Looking at you is like looking into the window of my soul. I see you there and to be honest, it frightened me. When I took you to Mexico, it was then that I knew you were the one for us. You were the missing part of my heart.”
“Oh, Adam,” she whispered, and her heart filled with love, so deep it almost hurt.
“For me...” Charles started toward her. “It was the moment William here carried you to our home. You were this beautiful woman who was hurt, covered in her own blood. You were beautifully damaged, Sadie. Every part of me wanted to wrap you up in a quilt and keep you on my lap, forever more my misses.” He touched the side of her face and smiled. “I love ya woman. Every part of me wants to own you, claim you, and also protect you.”
“You love me?” she whispered.
“We all do,” William added and closed the distance and stood before Sadie, Adam and Charles flanking her. “When I held you in my arms, the moment your scent invaded my nose, everything about you called to my spirit. You were my missing piece, my…pièce manquante.”
She swallowed and took in a deep breath.
“I love you; we love you, Sadie McKenzie. Stay with us, please. Stay and be ours. Stay and build your life with us, your hopes, your dreams, your everything,” William said. “All we ask in return is for you to be ours.”
“Ours,” Adam and Charles said in unison.
Her heart filled further, and she knew it would explode with love and gratitude.
How had someone like her come from nothing into everything?
Would she wake up tomorrow with no memory of today?
“How?” she heard herself ask. “How would I be yours?”
William stepped ever so closer. He tilted her head up and he looked down into her eyes. “You will give yourself to us, body, mind, and soul. We will treasure you, adore you, protect you, give everything to you, and love you every day of your life.”
“At the same time?”
“Yes,” all three of them answered.
Then, William’s lips claimed hers in a deep, passionate kiss that caused her knees to weaken. He cupped the back of her head. She then felt a set of hands settle on her waist, followed by the presence of a body behind her and a feathering of lips along her neck sent a rush of adrenaline through her body.
Another hand squeezed her right breast, teasing her nipple through the thin material of the dress and her bra.
William peppered his lips across her cheek to her neck and nibbled on her ear.
Never had she ever had this much attention on her, and never by more than one man.
When she opened her eyes, Adam stood before her with a grin. He slid his hand over her cheek and tilted her head toward his and slanted his lips across hers.
“Will you give yourself to us, mi amor?”
“Yes,” she whispered and closed her eyes.