Page 64 of Seducing Selena

“Do wewantyou to?” Derek asked, whispering into my neck. “Fuck, yes. But if you don’t want to, we’ll have a set made that open. If you don’t want to wear them at all outside of the bedroom, we can do that too. But if we move forward, we want cuffs on you in the bedroom.”

I didn’t mind that. The idea of being cuffed for them andwantingto be there? It was so hot, my scent whirled around us. “I know we’re not there yet, but what about a bond?”

“Yes,” Nick said. “But we won’t bond until everything with our mission and the Syndicate is over. We’re prepared, and there shouldn’t be any problems, but it’s still dangerous. We’re not willing to bond you and have you in total pain because of us if something happens.”

It made sense, but hollowed out my gut. “You’re sure it’ll be okay?”

“Yes,gattina. A precaution.”

“If I put these on, will Delano know there’s something different?” I asked.

Derek took one of my wrists and held it out. It was still wrapped in the leather cuff. “He might. But if you’d be willing, we would cover them with these still. The addition of a leather collar wouldn’t be that strange.”

I looked at the jewelry box and the delicate cuff I still held. What would people think if they found out I’d accepted a permanent gift from men who’d done this?

The deeper part of myself rose up and smacked me. What would people think of me giving myself to men who were so selfless they spent three years of their life living in the darkest situations humanity had to offer in order to protect the innocent and vulnerable?

There was no right or wrong in this. The second the Syndicate chose me, they changed the course of everything. And I wasn’t going to decide the rest of my life on what-ifs. What if it didn’t work out? What if I had regrets? What if something else bad happened?

What-ifs got you nowhere. All you could do was deal with the events in your life as they occurred. And for better or for worse, these men were mine. We had a rocky road ahead of us no matter what. But I wanted us to be on the road together.

“I’m scared,” I said. “But I want to.”

Derek went stiff around me, and then I was on my back and he was kissing me hard. “Really?”

“Really,” I said. “I could go through the entire thought process if you want me to.”

Nick playfully shoved Derek off me and took his place. “Sweetheart, we want to know everything about you. Every thought and every word you want to tell us. And as soon as I can bite this gorgeous neck of yours, I want to feel everything emotion you have. But seeing our cuffs on you? I’ve only imagined it and I’m hard.”

Yes, he was. I felt it where his hips rested between my legs.

Sebastian took his turn, dark eyes searching my face. “You’re scared, princess. Are you sure?”

I blew out a shaky breath. “I know I want you. All the rest of it makes me nervous, and it’s going to take time.”

“For me too,” he said, dropping his lips to mine. “What I did to you last night—”

“We don’t have to talk about it.”

“Yes we do,” he said. “Because I don’t want it between us. I’m sorry, Selena. I’m sorry we didn’t believe you, and I’m sorry I hurt you. It doesn’t matter that I didn’t want to, and it made me sick. I still did it.”

Reaching up, I took his face in my hands. “One thing I do know is that the four of us will never get anywhere if we keep blaming ourselves for choices we were forced into making. If I wasn’t afraid for my sister’s life, I would have told you everything the second I walked into the theatre. If you weren’t trying to protect vulnerable Omegas, you never would have been here at all.”

Sebastian kissed me, far more gently than I was used to with him.

“I know for a fucking fact,” I said. “All of us are going to struggle with this. It’s not going to be easy, and it’s not going to be simple. But for now, let’s be grateful that in all the bullshit, we still found our matches.”

“God, I love you so much,” he breathed the words against my skin. “If you’re sure, I want to put them on you.”

“I’m sure.”

Sebastian reached over and retrieved the cuff that had been knocked out of my hand when Derek tackled me to the cushions. Then he took my wrist, and this time when the leather cuff was unbuckled, I didn’t panic. He set the leather one aside and lifted my wrist to his mouth, kissing the inside of it.

“I love you, Selena Martin. And from now until I bond you and forever, I’m going to make sure you never fucking doubt it.” He opened the cuff and put it around my wrist. I already felt how perfectly it fit, lightly resting against my skin. Sebastian locked eyes with me as he clicked the metal closed.

The thin cuff melded seamlessly together. Where the opening had been, there was no trace of it. “That’s amazing,” I said.

“There’s a small mechanism inside that locks together,” he said quietly. “It will never come apart unless we cut it off.”

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