Page 32 of Contrition

I turned my head in the direction of where she was staring. “Yup.”

Zack’s resounding groan came next. “I’m too old for all of this.”

I slung my arm across the back of the carriage as I sat back to enjoy the rest of the ride. And when we passed the attendee, I winked again, and swore to float her another bill—even if doing so would be considered far too extra. “Well, party up, Gramps. We still need to grab dinner, and I have a bet with your wife to hone in on.”

fourteen

ESTRELLA

We hardly made it five steps into the elevator before I was pushed against one of the walls by Zack’s tall figure. I craned my neck up at him as he stared down at me, and I couldn’t help but run my smart aleck mouth once again. “How are those jeans? Soggy? Are you chafing? Poor baby must be so uncomfortable.”

He shook his head at me before I felt his hands slide under my ass. In seconds, just like before, he lifted me easily. My legs wrapped around his waist as my back leant against the wall for more stability. My cheeks grew warm under the intensity of his gaze—which somehow always felt more intimate when we were face to face, rather than in our normal height difference. “That smartass mouth is never going to go away, is it?”

“Nope.”

Zack turned his head to the left to look at Theo. Like me, his back was to the elevator wall as he scrolled through his text messages. Nonetheless, feeling our stares on him, he tucked his phone into his back pocket, crossed his arms, and raised a single, questioning eyebrow. “Yes? Can I help you with something?”

I giggled and decided to poke the bear a bit more. “Yeah, you can come replace Zack and hold me instead. I don’t know if he should be given attention until he cleans up. Manners, and all that.”

Zack’s head swiveled back my way with an exaggerated eye roll. I was half surprised that he didn’t stick his tongue out at me next. “Am I going to be bullied the whole night?”

“Do you want to be?”

He hummed patiently. “I…don’t know. But in case you didn’t get it the first two times, I haven’t had sex in eight years, so my discovery of likes is quite limited,mi Estrella.”

Theo cut in. “I like bullying.”

Zack’s eyes rolled again. “Okay, no. Fuck off. Both of you.”

I pouted. “Me? Fuck off? That’s not very nice. If you wanted to watch me masturbate, all you had to do was ask.”

On cue, they both closed their eyes wistfully, and I laughed knowing they were picturing me masturbating in unison. Both of my men were voyeurs in some form then, apparently.

I wasn’t mad about it.

Theo spoke next. “That’s hot. But you can fight your husband on who gets to hold and kiss you next, pretty girl. I am going to behave until I am told otherwise.” Finally, after what felt like forever, the elevator let out a loud ding—informing us we had made it up to the penthouse suite.

Though, Zack stayed still as Theo stepped out of the elevator, keeping me pinned to the wall. I squinted at him questionably.

His voice was serious as he spoke and his eye contact nearly searched my soul. “You don’t have to, ya know. We really can take this slow. I don’t want to scare you away. I want this, yes. But I don’t want to lose you again, either. Say the words, and we can just go to bed.”

Was I ever going to stop fucking blushing? Probably not.

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t have let either of you touch me on that Ferris wheel, in front of thousands of people essentially, if I wasn’t actually comfortable with this.”

“That’s true. But I mean it. You don’t have to jump into the deep end tonight, either.”

A sigh left my throat as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders comfortably, followed by a light smile as a shiver wracked down his body once my fingers started twirling with the hairs at the nape of his neck. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Been a while since I’ve been touched so…comfortingly. Casually. New for me, ya know.”

Oh, how I did know.

If it wasn’t sex, I hadn’t allowed myself to be touched in an equally long time.

My voice was thick as I gave him the reassurance we both needed. “Last night, I said the words, ‘Just for tonight.’ Tonight, I agreed to forever with you both. I think we’ve already jumped into the deep end, don’t you?”

Gently, his forehead rested on mine, and I closed my eyes as I savored his warmth and the intimacy of the moment. “Mi Estrella?”

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