Page 73 of The Prizes We Win
Walking into my bathroom I reach into the shower and turn it on. Once the water warms to an almost unhealthy level, I remove the rest of my clothes and throw them in the hamper as well. Then, I suddenly remember my phone is still in my pants pocket. I dig it out and check for any last messages from Clara, happy to find only one.
Clara
Dreaming about pictures of Enzo shirtless. Goodnight xx.
Once the cleaning crew assured us they would take care ofthe scenein a timely and discreet fashion, the six of us were eager to leave Vittori Enterprises for the night. I don’t know who that cleaning crew was and they seemed to be unlike any cleaners I’ve ever seen but it’s clear they’ve done a great deal of work, not for Vittori Enterprises, but for The Horsemen.
We dropped Clara off at her apartment, and after waiting until one of her manyeagersuitors arrived and was properly interrogated by Dante, we left her to get some much-needed and deserved TLC.
And TLC is what I give myself as well. I scrub and exfoliate every square inch of my body, wash and condition my hair, and shave every hair from my legs. And when I get out of the showerI spend time lathering my entire body with lotion, doing my nightly skincare, blowing out my hair, and finding the comfiest pair of silk pajamas I own.
An hour later, I feel exquisite.
I have every intention of crawling into my bed and getting the deepest night of sleep I’ve had since the night I slept under the stars with Jasper at the Taylor’s the summer before Dad got hurt. I was nine. But when I open my bathroom door, Dante, Enzo, Luca, and Sebastian are all standing in my room. Each of them wearing nothing but their black cargo pants. And when I look at each of their faces, they look like they want to devour me whole.
I swear on everything that is good, I don’t think I’ve seen anything sexier.
And just like that, I’m not tired at all.
48
Josephine
Ican't hide the smirk that crawls across my face as I stare at the four of them on the other side of my room.
“Something funny, Sweetheart?”
“Nope,” I reply with a pop of the “p”. “Remember the first time I saw you guys dressed like that that night in my office?” I ask as I wiggle my finger up and down each of them.
“I remember that night vividly,” Dante answers.
“And I made fun of you for acting like G.I. Joe characters?” Sebastian smiles and huffs a laugh. “I’m not gonna lie… this is working for me.”
Luca narrows his eyes and takes a small step forward. “Is it because we don’t have shirts on this time?”
“Might be tipping the scales a little.” Playing coy, I ask, “Any particular reason the four of you are in my room and not in yours?”
“We just”—Luca starts to close the distance between the two of us—“wanted to make sure you were good.”
“I’m good,” I tell him softly.
Once he’s close enough, he reaches out and strokes the side of my face, and for a moment, I find myself getting lost in his eyes.
The same dark brown eyes that pulled me in the very first morning I met him. The morning everything changed.
The morning the four of these men became my very reason for existing, I just didn’t know it yet.
And now, the life I fought so hard for, the life I built for myself out of nothing, is long gone. But in its place is a life with them. One full of more love than I could ever know what to do with. One where I feel safe and secure every moment of every day. One filled with smiles so wide that one of these days I genuinely worry my face will get stuck like that. One with a career that I’m thriving in—as soon as my place of work is no longer a murder scene. One with new friends and family. And even though this new life is one that most people will not understand, I can confidently say that I don’t give a fuck.
Because you could never make me believe that something that feels this good, that makes me feel this whole, that feelsthisright, could ever be wrong.
So, I will love them with every fiber of my being. Just as I know they will love me and each other.
I just might give my brother a fucking stroke in the process.
Ew, Joe. Don’t think about Jasper right now.
Luca leans down, brushing his lips against my neck. “Want to feel better than just good?”
