Page 145 of Seizing Control: Part Two

Metukà shelì doesn’t grasp the depth of our love.

This truce is our only shot at keeping her.

I’m not dumb enough to ruin it with petty jealousies and games.

All I can do is be ready to catch her if her husband falters.

For some reason, I no longer want him to fail.

I’ve enjoyed the past few days with him, the competitiveness between us adding a new level of camaraderie to our once solid friendship. Our decision to work together to connect the backyards. The help he’s given Nadia while she’s scrambled to make things perfect for Lily’s return. Our last-minute battles to bring my plan to turn this block into an alternative compound—one that brings the leadership of the curia and the Shamrocks onto the same turf—to fruition, despite the objections of the Trinity.

It’s felt like old times, our personalities complementing each other, with Lily’s happiness as our nucleus. The main transformation in our previous friendship has been the difference in his behaviour around the woman we love. Where Slash used to make apologies for monopolising Cherub, he now stakes his claim without hesitation.

It sets my teeth on edge.

It also makes me yearn for a few months down the track when Lily is healed, and the twins are safely ensconced at home. I can finally taste her again, satiate the bittersweet memory that coats my tongue as I face an indeterminate period of rebuilding trust while my woman recovers from pregnancy and childbirth. My appetite was sharpened by the moment we shared in the elevator. A collision of need fuelled by Lily’s obvious desires, even as she fought to suppress them.

If she was healthy, we would have ruined her, there and then.

Boundaries, be damned.

But our reality is harsh right now.

Lily is healing from surgery.

Her body is adjusting to motherhood.

Along with her continuing commitment to Garrett, the twins are metukà shelì’s priority.

Rightfully so.

Which is why I’ve spent the past couple of hours poaching the best nurses from the hospital, hiring a paediatric specialist, and arranging for a private NICU to be set up in Lily’s house. I can’t watch her fret over the twins safety, and I can’t limit her time at the hospital with them. She needs them. They need her. Slash and I need to protect them all.

Bringing the twins home safely was the best alternative.

“Thought you’d be asleep,” I remark as I close the bedroom door behind me. The lamp is bright, casting shadows over the bed. Lily is sitting upright, palm covering her mouth, facing Slash. The tension between them is thick enough to cut. “What’s going on?”

“My wife is explainin’ how purchasin’ a house doesn’t mean she’s leavin’ me.”

“This is good timing.” The rocking chair next to Garrett’s crib sways when I perched on it to remove my footwear. As I’m unzipping the first boot, I murmur, “I’m interested in the answer as well.”

When I scan my sweet thing’s face, I frown.

She’s white as a ghost.

Holding her stomach like she’s in pain.

I’m not sure if she’s in shock or angry, but the time has come for answers. Frankly, I’m surprised Slash has lasted this long without demanding an explanation. His pride is dented by her purchase, and although I understand it on a logical level, I’m still alarmed that Lily would choose to take Garrett out of his home, even if it’s only as far as the house at the rear.

When her husband doesn’t press her, I decide that I will.

“Talk, metukà shelì... explain your decision.”

“How do you know about the house?” Lily’s question is spoken in a whisper. “Either of you.”

“Nadia.” After taking off my jacket, I remove my cufflinks and place them on the dresser. Bright eyes observe my movements, a mixture of disbelief and annoyance flickering within the cerulean depths as she waits for my answer. “Your best friend instigated the initial purchase, and she’s helped us finalise your plans in time for the twins discharge.”

My mild description of the crazy blonde’s manic tendencies makes Slash grin. Nadia’s been a fiend, determined to make things perfect for Lily, and she has been in her element bossing us all around to get things done. When I remove my tie and begin to unbutton my shirt, his icy gaze flicks over my torso as he realises that I’m undressing with the intent of spending the night with them in the same bed. As he rolls his eyes, unimpressed by my plan but unable to protest without upsetting my woman, I pop the final button on my shirt and slip it from my shoulders. Lily’s mind if spinning so fast that I can almost hear the cogs turning, however, she hasn’t clocked my aim yet.

---