Page 184 of Ruthless Legacy

He thinks my hesitation is because I don’t want her. The reality is I want her too much. So much so that I’m afraid to get my hopes up. I never thought we’d agree on a woman. When he and Holden were falling for her, I didn’t think I’d do the same. But I have.

To the outside world it probably looks like I’ve fallen hard and fast, but the truth is it’s been happening all along and I just ignored it.

I think it started that first day when she mouthed off at me, in the hall. A few people have challenged us over the years, but she’s the only one who’s been consistent and never asked for anything other than the respect she’s earned.

Thea’s questioning my ability to share. I’ve questioned it too. It’s one thing to do it at parties, or with random hookups for Holden, but this would contractually seal our lives together.

“Do you- Do you think she’d go for it? Agreeing to marry us?”

Finn dashes the spark of hope I’m feeling. “Not a chance, because she’s got all these ideas about labeling things.”

“Then why are we even talking about this?”

He looks at me like I’m an idiot. “Because she doesn’t want anyone else to have us.”

“Finn. You’re not making any sense.”

“Look. It’s simple. We don’t use the M word with Thea. We tell her that we want a permanent arrangement between us, where we vow to be loyal to each other. Faithful, and respectful, and we take care of each other and we’d kill for each other no questions asked. You know. Like the companionship oath, only better because she’s our equal.”

I scratch my chin, the stubble rough against my fingers. “That's actually pretty good, and sounds like something she’d demand.”

“Of course it is. It’s all the marriage stuff without the traditional words and a long white dress to freak her out.”

Shaking my head, I point out the flaw in the plan. “Our dads will never go for this. Her family doesn’t have anything to offer.”

“That only matters if we care about gaining power, and I don’t want her for a status upgrade. I just want her.”

I feel the same way. This wouldn’t be about prestige or to make better alliances. I want Thea because she’s driven. She’s a fighter. She has similar qualities to my best friends. Thea makes sense to me. Makes sense for us.

The third member of our group hasn’t said anything about how he’s feeling. “Holden, is this something you’d agree to?”

He nods, making it a unanimous vote. My hands shake and I clear my throat before saying the four words that will change my life forever. “Okay. Then, I’m. In.”

I’ll have to keep this a secret. I need to find a lawyer and have them draft up my preliminary contract without my father knowing, and present it to The High Council for approval. That should’t be too complicated since they’re the ones who assigned Thea as my companion in the first place. Once they sign off on the draft contract, there won’t be anything my father can do to stop it.

I launch into planning mode. “Holden, you’ve probably got the easiest path to approval from your dad, so maybe start dropping hints and see how he takes it. And Finn, you’ve got your work cut out for you. You’ll have to withdraw your contract from Eloise. I’m not sure how you do that, without cause.”

Finn’s lips twist into a smirk. “Eloise won’t be a problem by the time we sign our contract.”

Holden says, “If we hash out the terms we want between the four of us up front, that’ll make the paperwork easier.”

That spark of hope returns, and I say, “We’ve got the logistics covered. That’s easy. The hard part will be getting Thea to agree. Her default setting is saying no.”

Finn shrugs. “She’s more agreeable after fighting and orgasms. So step one is letting her kick your ass and step two is we fuck her senseless.”

I bark out a laugh, because that’s not a half bad plan. Minus the kicking my ass part.

Chapter73

Thea

The guys promised me a picnic with cheese fries, but when I show up, the mood on the blanket is not a happy one.

“Uh, oh. You all have your serious faces on. Am I going to need a drink for this conversation, or my knife?”

“We wanna talk about you being matched with Pax.”

“Let’s talk about getting unmatched with him instead.”

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