Page 68 of Deceit

I don’t get to finish my sentence. Ronan’s lips are pressed against my own in an instant, and all irritation, confliction and sadness die right then and there. His hold on my hip tightens to the point of near pain, but I’d never ask him to stop. His tongue strokes against my own briefly before he pulls away, resting his forehead against mine as he speaks just above a whisper.

“You’re everything, Skyla. Absolutely fucking everything. No one matters to me more than you, do you understand me?”

My stomach flips at the sincerity in his words. Surely he can’t actually mean that, right? We’ve only known each other for about a month. There is no way feelings can develop that quickly. But…

“It took Liam three hours of begging this morning for me to even semi agree to this. You think I want to share my girl? That I like the thought of his hands, his lips, on you? Fuck. No.”

I shake my head. “Then, why even offer?”

His eyes cut away from mine to meet Liam’s before coming back to me.

“Because he made some excellent points and if I’m honest, I’ve never seen the kid work so hard for anything in his life. He wants you, almost as much as I do and that’s saying a lot. If he is willing to risk severe bodily harm, again,” he says, as he gestures to the bruising on Liam’s face and his nose that look a little swollen now that I stare at it. “By coming to me with this and knowing you want him too… he’s the only man that would be barely worthy of you.”

“Apart from you, of course,” I fill in.

He gives me a barely there smile and shrugs.

“I’m not so sure I’m even there.”

I roll my eyes at his dramatics and slip my hand behind his neck, pulling him down to my lips before speaking against him.

“You’re more than there, Ronan.”

His stoic mask cracks at the seams, and a small soft smile shines through.

“So, what do you say babygirl?” Liam asks, his voice honey smooth, though I can sense a hint of impatience beneath it. As if he were anxious. It’s kind of cute.

Looking between them I shake my head.

“How would this work?”

“Well, we haven’t exactly written out a visitation schedule,” Liam teases.

I scoff and smack his arm as he chuckles and Ronan intervenes.

“We can take it day by day, and if you ever feel overwhelmed or don’t want to be with one or even both of us, open communication. You call the shots here, baby.”

“What if you guys want to be done? If you don’t want to be with me or—”

“Not gonna happen,” they say in unison.

I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face at their unwavering insistence. Could I really date two men at the same time? To make matters worse, while I’m technically engaged? To make it even worse, when one of those men is my fiancé’s best friend while the other is his uncle…Yeah, I don’t see that blowing up in any of our faces in the future.

Still, I’m not a stupid woman. What they are offering me here is many women’s dream. Mine especially, because I like both of them for very different reasons.

“Okay,” I say.

“Yeah?” Liam asks, his eagerness bleeding through immediately.

I smile at him, and he practically pounces on me. His mouth on mine, tongue tangling with my own as Ronan makes a sound in the back of his throat before clearing it.

“I have a meeting with the Headmaster. You keep her safe or I’ll fucking gut you,” Ronan says, though his words don’t hold that much heat. Maybe it’s because he trusts Liam with me, or maybe it’s because he’s not that worried and is trying to flex his authoritative muscle. Either way, it’s sexy as hell to hear a man demand your safety like that. Though, I’ve gotta wonder, what is he supposed to be protecting me from? Asher?

Likely.

Liam pulls away from me, giving Ronan a mock salute that has him rolling his eyes before he pulls me in for a kiss. When he releases my hip and backs away, he slips past us as he turns to Liam once more.

“Be discreet, please. Make sure there are no…prying eyes.”

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