Page 81 of Damaged Princess (New Orleans Malones)

“Liam,” Nico snapped.

That bright blue, too-sharp gaze moved to Nico. “No. She needs the truth. Not pretty, flowery words. She needs the assurance that we’re here, no matter what.”

“That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a say. We’re not like the fucker who abused her.”

She opened her mouth to tell them that she knew that. That she could never think of them that way when Liam’s gaze grew cold.

“Of course, we’re fucking not. But she knows that, don’t you, Lottie?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I know that. And I . . . I consent to this.”

“To being with us?” Liam clarified. “To following our rules? To bearing the consequences?”

“I want to know what they are.”

“That will be part of the negotiations,” Nico told her. “You always get a say.”

“And what do you want from me?”

“Everything.”

She sucked in a breath as Liam laid it out. He wanted everything. Not just one side of her. All of it.

He stepped back then held out his hand. She knew what this was. Her choice. Go to him, trust him, find out what everything entailed.

Or stay safe. Safe and alone and always scared.

Nico would keep them both from going too far. Would surround her in warmth and sweetness.

“If you give him everything, then he’ll never leave you. He’d never give up. No matter what is thrown his way, Liam fights. He always fights for what he believes in.” Nico moved around from behind her, toward Liam.

Liam would be the one standing between her and the world. And it would be Liam who would drag her out of the hole she was stuck in. He didn’t love often, but when he did . . . he never gave up.

And that was precisely what she needed.

Nico added his hand to Liam’s, both of them reaching out to her. Darkness and light. Heat and cold.

Stepping forward, she slid her hands into theirs. And a feeling of rightness, of safety stole over her. They drew her in, holding her between them. She still wasn’t sure how it would all work, but it felt so right . . . like she really was meant for them.

A heavy hand went around the back of her neck, holding her steady.

“Stop thinking,” Liam ordered.

A ridiculous command. You couldn’t just stop thinking. Yet, she found herself wanting to obey him.

“I can’t stop thinking,” she whispered.

“You can,” he told her. “All you need do is concentrate on us. On what we want from you. Your submission. Your obedience. Your trust.”

“Your sweetness. Your loyalty,” Nico added.

“Your love.”

That last one shocked her into stillness. Especially as it came from Liam. She glanced up at him, studying him.

“That surprises you? That I believe in love?”

Well, kind of . . .

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