Page 63 of The Devils of Saint City

It nearly brings me to my knees.

Manson whispers a “damn” under his breath, and when I flick my gaze toward him, I find he’s staring at me. And he isn’t alone.

They’re both staring at me the way I’m staring at the stars, and I don’t know how to feel about it.

“Beautiful, right?” Ash is bumping Manson with his shoulder, but he’s still watching me like I’m the one he’s talking to.

God, I have to be careful not to push too far. I want to demand to be allowed out every day, to be added to the fucking biometrics so I can come and go as I please. But I won’t ruin this. Not yet, anyway.

“I used to try to find the constellations when I was a kid,” I offer. “I was never very good at it, but my dad bought me a telescope and told me stories about each of them.”

They share a quick look I can’t read, but I don’t really try. I’m back to staring at the stars while I can, and I don’t take my eyes off of them until Manson disappears into the house.

“You don’t talk about him,” Ash points out. “Not that I’ve really given you a chance.”

“Most times it hurts to think about him,” I say quietly. “But I’ve always wanted to believe he’s up there. He was an astronomer, you know. Spent his whole life dedicated to studying the sky. I figure if he went anywhere at all after he died, he went up there with the stars.”

Finally, Ash peels his gaze away from me and glances up. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Seems like a nice place for good people to go.”

I didn’t come out here to be sad about my father or the things that led me here, so I reach over and lace my fingers with his. “Thank you for saying that.”

He grips it tighter than I expected and doesn’t let go even when Manson is laying out a blanket for us to stargaze on. “Get between us, Rhea. We’ll keep your toes warm.”

My throat suddenly gets tight. As I take unsteady steps to join him, I have to wonder if I’m losing my mind. There’s no way these two men are the same ones I’ve been living with for months. The softness on their faces, the careful way they touch me and pull me closer... it doesn’t seem real.

“You’ve been hiding all the good blankets.”

“I have,” he admits. “Thought it’d lure you into my room so I could take advantage of you. Didn’t work. You’re a hardheaded little shit, you know that?”

Asher huffs at Manson’s bluntness as he cuddles in closer, but I find the honesty refreshing. “It might’ve worked if I knew they were there.”

“That makes sense. Guess I dropped the ball.”

He interlinks his fingers with my other hand, and for a moment, the world stops. Nothing matters but the sky above me and my own beating heart. I’m alive. And I still have a chance to make things better.

“It’ll work now.”

“Yeah, because we actually communicated. Crazy how that works.”

Manson lifts up his head to toss Asher a pointed look, and my step-brother rolls his eyes. “Just look at the damn stars. You talk so much it’s ruining the magic.”

But it isn’t. His hand squeezes mine a little tighter, and for once, I don’t feel like there’s anything going on but genuine connection.

Well... minus the fucking shock collar, anyway.

“How long has it been since you two did something like this?” I ask. “Just enjoyed something bigger than yourselves.”

Silence answers me for so long I’m sure they don’t plan on answering me at all, but after I’ve practically moved on, Asher speaks. “Probably early high school. By junior year we were already working for the Provost so we didn’t really spend much time enjoying things. We just wanted to make as much money as we could.”

“And it was a good distraction from our home life,” Manson adds. “If you grind all day until you can’t keep your eyes open it’s easy to not even realize how much time is passing.”

“What about you?” Ash is laying on his side with his gaze on me now, but I don’t have a better answer.

“Maybe around the same time.”

“What a throuple we make, huh?” I can tell Manson is trying to lighten the mood, but it’s honestly not even necessary. I can feel they’re at peace too. “Maybe we should do this a few times a week?”

“I’d like that.” It’s the simplest way to keep things moving without taking too much, and I think it does wonders for both of them. They’re not as hard to figure out as I thought. “It’s gonna get cold soon though so I’ll need warmer clothes.”

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