Page 71 of Ours to Keep

“Morning,” River says with a huge smirk on his face. He salutes me with the mug in his hand. “Where’s our girl?” he asks, peering around me.

Reaching for a mug, I pour myself a coffee. “I left her to dress. She’ll be down in a minute.” I say, because the truth is, if I had stayed, my selfish side would have prevailed. I would have wanted to take her all over again. She’s quickly becoming an obsession.

“Good,” Tommy says, his back to us as he transfers the bacon from the frying pan to a plate. “Because breakfast is almost ready.”

“Morning. Did somebody say breakfast?” Lily asks, joining us.

Tommy turns towards her, a smile lighting his face. “Morning, Sunshine.”

River reaches out and pulls her in for a quick kiss. “Morning, Vixen.” She blushes and glances at Elliot as he approaches, tilting her chin. He kisses her softly before pulling back.

“Morning, Sweetheart.” A shy smile graces her lips, still swollen from our earlier kissing.

He steps back, giving her some breathing space as she looks at Tommy.

“What can I do?” she asks Tommy, bouncing from one foot to the other.

“Not a thing, go sit down. River, you’re up,” he says.

River’s lips turn into a salacious grin. “Yes, yes, I am.”

Elliot swats his arm and pulls him towards the plates lining the counter.

I pull a chair from under the dining table and signal her to sit.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

I kiss her on the corner of her mouth. “You’re welcome, Duchess.”

Tommy dishes out a full English breakfast, and everyone takes their seat. I sit opposite along with Tommy, allowing River and Elliot to sit on either side of Lily.

We talk about anything and everything between bites. It’s the most ordinary thing I think we’ve done as a group since all this began, and it feels welcome, like this is always how it’s meant to be. I can imagine this as our future, us all together as a family, cherishing Lily as she deserves.

But like everything in life, all good things must come to an end.

We all work together to clear everything up from breakfast, which doesn’t take long, bringing us closer to our impending departure.

“Maybe we should come with you,” Lily says, making the room fall silent.

I shake my head. “No.”

She reaches out and grabs my arm. “Jackson, she’s my sister. This is my mess.”

Turning back to face her, I find her stormy gaze staring back at me and holding me captive. I let out a heavy sigh and take her soft hand in mine, my thumb stroking over the back of her hand.

“Firstly, Duchess, this is not your mess. Secondly, Mia isyour sister, which makes her our family, too, by default.” Her features soften at my words. “But the safest place for you right now is as far away from Richard as possible. Being there will only put you at greater risk, and that’s not an option.”

She opens her mouth, but I stop her with my finger on her lips. “This has nothing to do with you being a female or us believing you’re weak. You are far from it. But these people will stop at nothing, and our main concern is Mia. We can’t give her our all if we’re worried about you, too.” I notice the moment her shoulders slump, my words hitting home.

Lily’s tongue darts out, brushing over the pad of my finger. It’s an innocent move, but one that has my dick twitching. And the beast inside me hopes that every time she moves today, she feels the pull deep in her core of what I did, and what River and Elliot did when we brought her pleasure.

Her slender fingers wrap around my wrist, but she doesn’t tug me away. It’s more like she’s holding onto me like an anchor.

River approaches us from behind, his hands going to her hips as he presses his chest up against her back. But I don’t pull away, still needing to hold onto this physical connection for a little longer.

She peers over her shoulder as he lowers his face to hers and kisses her softly before pulling back.

“We just need you safe,” he says.

---