Page 68 of Theirs

“Hi,” I whisper and place a kiss on his jaw. “Are you still in there?”

He nods, and swallows quickly. “Ye— yes. You look stunning, baby. Absolutely perfect.”

“Thank you,” I say as his hands find my hips. “Jamie must have made bank today off of pampering me. I hope Mac tipped her well.”

I look over at Mac and he gives me a nod. “Of course.”

“So shall we get going?” I ask, pulling away from Alex to grab my clutch off of the kitchen island.

“Mac, I think she’s missing something,” Ben says, coming to stand next to me, taking a finger and trailing it over my bare neck.

“Oh, yes, I forgot,” Mac says, going over to a drawer in his console table. “We got you a gift.”

I start to protest. “Guys, you’ve done enough for me. More than enough.”

Mac brings a familiar looking bag over to me, the same bag I saw him carrying after Alex and I did some shopping. I had forgotten to be nosy about it after the fiasco at Kristen and Kane’s about our relationship.

Mac pulls out a velvet rectangular box, and I can already tell it’s a piece of jewelry.

“This was a group effort gift,” Mac says, as he hands it over to me to open.

The box makes a little creak as I open it, and I see a dainty gold chain nestled inside. When I look closer, I see four small round charms attached to it. I push them around with my finger to see what’s engraved on them, and I smile when I notice each of their initials are stamped into gold; all my guys, C, B, A, and S.

“Let me put it on you?” Alex asks.

I turn around, giving him my back and lifting my hair out of the way. Alex drapes the necklace in front of me, and buckles the clasp behind my neck. He places a light kiss where it’s safely fastened. I touch the charms just above my breasts, and smile at the guys as Alex wraps me up in a hug from behind.

“I love it,” I say. “Thank you, guys.”

They all flash me dazzling smiles before escorting me out the door.

***

After our fancy dinner at one of Chicago’s best steakhouses, we return to the penthouse with full bellies, and dessert to go because I don’t think I could fit anything else in my stomach while wearing this dress. All of us are a little tipsy when Mac’s driver drops us off in front of the building. I pulled off my heels the moment we got in the car, so Benjamin carries them for me as we walk across the marble flooring of the lobby to the elevator.

It’s a decently tight fit in the elevator with the five of us, but we’re obviously not shy with each other at this point. I lean back against Colin as the elevator climbs and climbs, and he holds my hips in place against his.

Ben notices, and proceeds to sandwich me between him and Colin while Alex and Mac watch. Ben runs a hand up the side of my body, and Colin does the same on the other. These two are always so in tune with each other, it drives me wild.

“Our pretty little, Lavender,” Ben says when his hands make contact with the necklace they bought me. “Can we keep you forever?”

My heart starts racing, and I think Ben can feel it when his fingers graze over my chest. It’s the first time any of them have mentioned the possibility of this being something more than a fling. I always pictured them getting sick of this arrangement and each of them finding their perfect trophy wife, because surely, we can’t keep this five-some forever, right?

“You wanna keep me forever?” I ask, leaning more into Colin who is kissing me just below my ear.

“Forever,” Colin agrees, whispering into my ear. “You’re ours.”

I’m theirs. My heart practically screams. Theirs! Forever.

“I love you,” I say, almost choking with emotion.

Ben presses his forehead to mine. “Lav, I love you so damn much.”

Ben crashes his lips to mine, urging my lips apart to mingle with my tongue. I moan into the kiss, as Ben thrusts his hips against mine, pushing me back into Colin. I’m not sure how long I’m standing there making out with Ben, but Colin nudges us out and we walk clumsily into the penthouse. We almost tumble to the ground, but Ben catches us before we fall, breaking the spell of our kiss with my giggles.

“Come here,” Alex says, reaching for my hand and pulling me toward him. He looks at me like he’s baffled before he finally speaks. “I’m not sure how you did it, but you’ve burrowed your way into my heart. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to...”

“I know,” I tell him. “You don’t have to say it. I know.”

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