Page 31 of Chaos & Carnage

Oliver sinks himself deep inside me in one swift thrust that has me arching my back and throwing my head back against his shoulder. His hips hold mine in place as he slides out before pounding into me again until sweat slickens our skin, and the only sound in the room is our heavy breaths and the slap of skin against skin. With his face buried against my neck, he reaches out a hand to where mine is splayed flat against the wall, interlocking our fingers as we both reach our climax.

Boneless, I sag against him, and Oliver bands his free arm around my waist, holding me steady while we both catch our breaths. My head rests against his shoulder, my eyes closed as my chest rises and falls with each heavy exhale. “I think you more than earned my forgiveness.”

He chuckles against my ear, pressing a surprisingly tender kiss against my temple. “Not even close, but I’ll gladly spend the rest of my life earning your forgiveness.”

“If that means multiple orgasms every day, then you won’t hear me complaining.”

He pulls out and gently turns me in his arms, sliding his hands along my arms and up my neck until he cups my face. “I can never stop telling you how sorry I am, how foolish I was.”

Lifting my arm, I cup his cheek, stroking my thumb along it. “You don’t have to. I genuinely meant it when I said I understood. As far as I’m concerned, all is forgiven.”

The smile he graces me with is filled with awe and admiration. “I don’t know what I did in a past life to deserve someone like you.”

I smirk. “Well, I also meant it when I said I’d slice you open with my knife if you ever did something like that again.”

Instead of being put off by such a threat, Oliver’s grin only widens, heat blooming in his eyes as if the thought of violence turns him on—hell, it probably does. All five of us have an unhealthy relationship with blood and violence, but that’s why all four men are perfect for me and why I’m perfect for them. And although they don’t know it yet, it’s also why all four men are perfect for each other. None of them will be intimidated or put off by the other. None of them will cower or relent. They’re all alpha males, and there are definitely going to be times of bloodshed amongst them. However, if they could just see past their differences, they’d also realize they could be perfect allies, perfect friends, and perhaps even perfect brothers for each other.

There’s a quick rap of the bedroom door before it slowly opens, and Oliver spins, all of his… bits on display while he tries to keep me hidden behind him. I roll my eyes because, seriously,everyonein this house has seen me naked.

There’s a pained groan from the doorway as I push up onto my tiptoes, using Oliver’s shoulders to stabilize me as I peer over them to find a troubled-looking Cain.

“As much as I’m loving the sweet fucking noises you’re making in this room, and the way it’s seriously riling up those two assholes downstairs, we, uh, should really get started on a strategy.”

Right, yes, I forgot about that, what with all the lust hormones floating around in my brain and infusing my thoughts.

“And, Red, you better shower before you come down, or I can guarantee none of us will be thinking about Giovanni’s head on a spike.”

I smirk but agree, and he leaves the room, shortly followed by Oliver once he’s redressed, and I slip into the bathroom for a quick shower before joining all of them.

Tension charges the air, and I can feel it pressing in around me before I even reach the bottom of the stairs. As I make my way into the living room, I throw up a silent prayer that everyone is still alive and breathing, and ideally unharmed.

I still haven’t forgotten what was said between them in the warehouse, and I can imagine similar conversations like that took place over the time span in which I was gone, although a lot has happened since then. Dante and Enzo stayed to fight alongside the Rejects. Is that enough to make them overlook their differences? And if it’s not, then is loving me enough? I want all four of them. I meant what I said to Oliver about all five of us being a family. We are, or at least, we could be. I see the potential. I’m not saying it would be easy or that they would all suddenly get along and there would be no fighting or jealousy. Just that, if they set aside their differences, they’d realize that they actually have more in common than not.

At the essence of their beings, they’re just four damaged men looking for a purpose in life, searching for love. Someone to make them feel alive, someone to call home. Isn’t that all anyone really wants? Someone to love, a family, a home. We could be that for each other. They’re already all of that for me, and I know I am for them too, but they could also be that for each other. They could have a true brotherhood built on trust and reliability and faith. If they’d just give each other a chance.

Holding on to that hope for the ideally not too distant future, I glance around at the four men, all wearing varying expressions of fury.Great, that seems like an excellent start to this meeting.

Cain pats the space between him and Oliver on the far sofa, but before I can move toward them, Enzo pushes out of his seat and grabs a hold of my wrist, yanking me into his lap as he drops back down. “Not a chance,” he growls, pinning Oliver with a furious glare. “After watching the two of you damn near tear the clothes off each other, it’s our turn. You do realize the walls are paper thin, right?”

Oliver just smirks. “Oh, I know.”

“You do realize I’m not a possession to be passed around, right?” I snap, aiming my own glower at Enzo. “There’s noour turn. This is a relationship.” Shifting on his lap so I can look at each of them, I say, “The four of you have to learn to get along, to share. None of this—not this relationship, and not defeating Giovanni—will work if you don’t.”

My words are met by a tense silence, and I can feel my heart hammering against my chest, waiting for one of them—most likely Cain or Dante—to argue. To tell me they can’t agree to that.

I can hardly hear over the panic building inside me when Oliver’s lips part, and it takes me a second to register what he’s saying.

“You’re right, Trouble.”

I’m right? I mean, I know I am. I just didn’t expect any of them to agree with me. Although I should have expected Oliver—my sweet, agreeable Oliver—would be the one to offer an olive branch. It’s just who he is, and with the guilt I can still see reflected in his eyes, he’ll do just about anything I ask, including accepting Dante and Enzo.

I give him a smallthank yousmile, hoping he knows just how much it means to me that he’s bridging that gap before one of the less level-headed idiots I’ve managed to surround myself with can speak up.

“It’s not fair of us to put you in the middle. You’re in a relationship with all of us, which means we have to learn to get along… even if we don’t want to.” Oliver’s gaze flicks behind me to Enzo and Dante before coming back to rest on me. “I’m sorry.”

Just like every apology he’s given me in the last twenty-four hours, it’s genuine and carries a promise to do better.

I don’t know if it’s because he can feel the tense set of my body against his or because he genuinely agrees with Oliver—or perhaps both—but Enzo speaks up next. “I’m sorry, too. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that you are the most important person to each of us. I can’t speak for the others, but I don’t want to jeopardize what we have. It took me too long to gain your trust and your love. There’s no way in hell I’m going to give that up now, especially not over petty bullshit.”

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