And when he kissed her, he found his home.
When Xavier drew away from their kiss, she stared up at him dreamily. That was . . . wow.
Then she remembered Brick.
Turning, she discovered she was still clutching his pants. Then she forced herself to be brave and look up into his face. But there was no anger or jealousy.
Just acceptance.
Dear Lord. What had she done to earn the love of two remarkable men like them?
“You’re really okay with this?” she said croakily. She felt like she’d spoken more in this last week than she had in years.
He cupped the side of her face then leaned down to press his lips to hers. “I am, Duchess. I promise.”
She looked to Xavier. “And so are you.”
“Yeah, Twink.” He gave her a soft grin. “You’re our girl now.”
“And our girl needs some food, then it’s bedtime,” Brick told her. “I’ll go reheat our food.”
She cuddled against Xavier, feeling completely spent.
“You’ve got a good man there, Twink.”
“I’ve got two good men. The very best.”
She ended up being fed her dinner by Brick while sitting in Xavier’s lap. It was a weird feeling, but she wasn’t certain she’d ever felt this loved. This cared for. After they’d all cleared up, Brick picked her up.
“Time for bed.” He carried her towards the door. “You coming, Xavier?”
She glanced over to find Xavier staring at them longingly. Then his eyes widened. “Um, yeah. If that’s okay.”
“Wouldn’t have said it if it wasn’t,” Brick replied. “We’ll all sleep in my bed.
She reached over Brick’s shoulder with her hand and Xavier took it, entwining their fingers. A joy like nothing else filled her.
Maybe this was crazy, insane. Perhaps they’d all had parts of their brains eaten by zombies, but right in that moment, she didn’t much care.
They were hers.
She was theirs.
And whatever happened, she knew that she wouldn’t regret taking this chance. Not if it could get her all of them.
They walked into Brick’s room and he put her in the middle of the bed. “Back in a minute.”
Brick disappeared as Xavier stood on the other side of the bed.
“You getting in, Xavy?” she asked, feeling shy all of a sudden. He was her best friend, her caregiver in a lot of ways. She shouldn’t feel nervous with him, of all people.
Yet, he’d never been in the same bed with her.
“I promise I don’t kick. But Brick snores sometimes,” she whispered.
“Heard that,” Brick said, returning from the bathroom. He climbed into bed with a groan. “Fuck, I’m tired. I feel like I could sleep for a week. Are you getting in, man, or what?”
She had to hide a grin as Xavier climbed into bed. Brick, in his blunt way, had done what she couldn’t with her cajoling.
Just maybe this craziness would work, and wouldn’t that be something?
Weird, freaky Juliet with two hot men in her bed. If only those bullies could see her now.
29
“Well, what do we have here?” Xavier asked, walking into playroom, and setting down the bag he was carrying.
Juliet, who was wearing a loose, pale dress that ended just above her knees, was frowning down at Angelique, who was standing with her head leaning into the corner.
“Papa!” she squealed, racing over to him and throwing herself into his arms. He’d gotten home in the early hours of the morning, sleeping in a different bedroom from them so he didn’t wake them up. He hadn’t spent any nights at his place since they’d entered this crazy relationship. There probably wasn’t much point in keeping his apartment.
That would give fodder to the gossipers in town. They’d been keeping things quiet so far. He didn’t know whether any of them were ready for the town to know about their relationship just yet.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“I missed you.”
“I’m sorry. A few more night shifts and I’ll have some time off to spend with you.”
“Okay, Papa. I know you have to work hard.”
“Congrats on another win last night.” Brick had taken Juliet to her quiz last night while Xavier worked.
“Thanks, Papa!” Leaning back, she gave him a big smile.
He wiped at the corner of her mouth. “You been getting into the chocolate?”
“Just one piece.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, maybe two.”
“Don’t eat any more today, all right? There’s a lot of caffeine in that chocolate.”
“Daddy thinks there’s more caffeine in my veins than blood,” she replied happily, adjusting the tiara on her head. “What’s in there?”
He glanced down at the bag. “Well, remember when I said I would bring you back a present if you were a good girl?”
“Yes, but you were mean and said I hadn’t been a good girl because I didn’t tell you about Brick, Elias and Sterling.”
“Right, but I thought that you’ve been pretty good since.”
She jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Yay!”
“Not entirely good. I haven’t forgotten about you calling yourself names.”
She pouted. “Papa, did you bring it here just to say I can’t have it?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t be that mean. Here you are, Twink.” He held out the bag and she opened it, gasping loudly as she drew out a mermaid toy. She immediately hugged it tight.
“I love it!”
“Yeah?”
“Yes, she’s perfect. She’s so squishy and soft. Like a giant marshmallow. Thank you, Papa.” She gave him a huge hug.
“I’m glad. What will you name her?”
“Wavey!”
“That’s perfect,” he told her.
“I wonder where Daddy is? He’s meant to be bringing up lunch, and I want to show him Wavey.”
“I asked him if he’d mind me taking you on a picnic instead. I don’t have to be back on shift until three.”
“Yay! I loves picnics.” She clapped her hands. “Can I take my paints and easel? I want to paint you a picture.”
“I would love that, Twink,” he replied, kissing her forehead. “Let’s gather up your stuff and I’ll carry it downstairs for you.”
“I should change my clothes,” she said hesitantly.
“No,” he told her firmly. “You look gorgeous the way you are.”
While she didn’t look completely convinced, she did nod. Then she snapped her fingers. “Oh, wait. Angelique is in time-out for being naughty.”
“What did she do this time?” he asked, well-versed in the adventures of her naughty doll.
“She threw her snack at Missy!” Juliet gave him a shocked look, shaking her head. “Can you believe how naughty she is?”
“Well, it’s Angelique, so yes.”
“Sometimes I think I ought to smack her bottom.”
He could sympathize.
“Papa, what do you think of this?” Juliet asked, turning her painting around to show Xavier. He was sitting on the blanket he’d laid out on the floor of the sunroom. It had become really windy outside, so they’d decided to set up in the sunroom. There were so many windows that it sort of gave the illusion that they were outside.
While she’d painted, Xavier had prepared them a picnic lunch.
These past few days had been strange. But also amazing. Having them both living with her was like a dream come true. Sure, there were learning curves, there probably would be for a while. They all wanted this to work, though.
Her only concern was Reuben. She hoped he was all right. Brick said that if they didn’t hear from him soon that he’d get JSI to track him down.
After that first night, when she’d shared a bed with Xavier and Brick, they’d spent most of their time one-on-one with her. Partly due to Xavier’s schedule. But it was probably also because this was new. The
y were trying to be careful not to encroach on each other and she wanted to keep things fair.
They hadn’t told anyone about what they were doing, other than Elias and Sterling. But it wouldn’t take long for Kiesha to find out. That girl was a bloodhound for gossip.
Xavier stood and walked over, placing his hand on her lower back. A shiver ran through her. Neither of them had fucked her yet. It was driving her a bit insane.
He stared at the painting on the easel. “That’s so pretty, Twink. What is it?”
“Papa, it’s obvious.” Silly man. “It’s a mermaid warrior fighting off a shark.”
“Oh, right. It’s obvious now. I just thought you were doing a landscape.”
She made a scoffing noise. “Boring.”
“Of course, my most sincere apologies.” He made a small bow and walked over to the picnic lunch he’d made. “Now, time to come eat.”
“Not hungry, Papa.”
“That wasn’t a question, Twink,” he said warningly.
She barely paid attention. She was pretty certain he wouldn’t spank her. Brick had ended up giving her those twenty spanks she’s earned for calling herself a freak and weirdo.
“I’m okay, Papa.” She stepped back, staring at her painting.
“I’m going to count to three and if you’re not here, then you’re going to be in trouble,” he warned.
What sort of trouble?
“One.”
Eh, she wasn’t worried.
“Two.”
What would he do?
“Three. Right, that’s it.” Walking over, he gently grasped hold of her wrist and took the paintbrush out of her hand, putting it in the jar of water.
“Hey, I wasn’t finished, Papa.”
“You are now,” he told her. “No more painting for you.”
She pouted. “Why not?”
“Because you were naughty and didn’t listen to me.” He gave her a stern look. “And now, you get to spend some time in the corner, thinking about your behavior.”
“What? No, Papa. That’s not fair.”
He led her over to a corner. She caught a look at the picnic food, which all looked delicious. Drat, she wished she’d listened to him now.
“Ten minutes. Any shifting around will result in the clock starting over.”
She turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Papa, that’s mean.”
“Clock starts again.”
Well, barnacles. This was going to suck.
Turns out, she wasn’t very good at staying still.
After two restarts, she finally managed a whole ten minutes without shifting around.
“Good girl. Come here, Twink.”
She turned to find Xavier sitting on the blanket. She walked over to him and he drew her onto his lap so she was straddling his thighs, facing him.
“Now, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“I’m sorry for being naughty and not listening, Papa.” She gave him a pouting look. “That wasn’t very nice. I don’t like corner time.”
“You’re not supposed to.”
“Think I’d rather have the spanking.”
A strange look crossed his face. She wondered when Xavier was going to trust that this is what she wanted. That she could handle his discipline.
She guessed it would take time.
“Now, you’re to keep your hands behind your back. Papa is going to feed you.”
Oh, this sounded like fun.
“If you eat something I give you, then you get a reward. If you don’t, then no reward.”
Hm. Okay.
The first thing was a strawberry. Easy. She loved them.
When she swallowed it, he kissed her gently.
All right. She was going to like this game.
Another strawberry. He kissed her neck. Another, and he moved his lips lower. Then he drew the tunic down to kiss the swell of her breast.
“Papa, what if someone sees?”
“Brick is manning the cameras. Sterling is asleep, and Elias has gone out. Besides, it’s just a bit of play.”
The next thing he tried to feed her was a sandwich. She wrinkled her nose. “A strawberry.”
“No, a sandwich.”
“Strawberry.”
“Do you need more corner time?”
“No, Papa.” She took a small bite. “Where’s my reward?”
“You don’t get one when you argue.”
Well, that sucked. The next time he held the sandwich up, she eagerly took a bite.
Reaching behind her, he undid the zipper on her dress. Then he tugged the top of her dress down to reveal her breasts.
“Papa! You can’t.” She tried to cover herself with her hands and he gave them a light smack.
“Did I say you could move your hands?”
“No, Papa. But I . . . I . . .”
“Yes?” he asked, running his finger over her breast.
“I can’t eat with my boobs on display,” she said lamely.
“Of course you can. They’re gorgeous.”
“They’re small. There’s nothing to even see.”
He suddenly twisted a nipple and she hissed. Immediately, he dropped his hand away. “Juliet, I’m sorry.”
“No! Don’t be sorry. It actually felt kind of good.”
“It did?” he asked skeptically.
“A bit of pain clears my head, helps me think,” she admitted to him.
“Interesting. But I don’t want to hear any more insults about your breasts, hear me?” He gave her a stern look.
“Yes, Papa.”
“Good girl. Now, keep your hands behind your back.”
He took her nipple into his mouth and she gasped, feeling that sensation in her clit.
“Ohhh.”
“Good girl.” He fed her another bite of sandwich. Then sucked on her other nipple.
“Papa, feels so good.”
“Tastes good too.” He picked up a strawberry and bit it in half before rubbing the other half over her nipple. Then he sucked up the juice.
That was so incredibly arousing.
“More, Papa. More.”
“You’re still hungry?” he asked.
“Not for food.”
“Unfortunately, my girl, all you’re getting today is food.”
What? What kind of mean joke was that? She glared up at him. But he ignored her scowl and fixed her dress, covering her up.
“Papa, you’re mean.” She pouted.
He tapped her lip. “None of that now, brat. Or you’ll be back in the corner.”
Really mean.
“Now isn’t the time, okay? But soon.”
Fine.
His phone rang and he reached over to grab it, frowning when he looked at the screen.
“Who is it?” she asked.
“My mother.”
“You don’t want to take it?”
“No. She refuses to talk about the lump or biopsy. I just . . . I’m nearly ready to wipe my hands clean of them both.”
“Oh, Papa. Don’t do that.” She clasped hold of his face between her hands. “I know you’re upset, but if you cut them off then you might come to regret it later. You don’t get another set of parents. I know they have their issues, but just think about it first.”
“I’m not making a rash decision. I promise, I’ll think about it. You’re a good person, Juliet.”
“So are you.” She kissed him. “Even if you won’t let me come.”
“It’s good for you. Builds character.”
If looks could kill, he’d be ash.
30
Juliet looked out the window of Brick’s truck, feeling uncertain. She didn’t think she wanted to go to the diner to eat. Her mind went back to the picnic yesterday. When Xavier had put her down for a nap before leaving to go to the hospital, she’d been tempted to ease the ache in her clit.
But he’d told her if she did that, then he’d know and she’d be in big trouble.
She’d still be
tempted, but he’d ended up reading to her until she fell asleep. She missed him. Just like she missed Brick when he was giving them time on their own.
“Look at me, Duchess.”
She let out a deep breath and turned to stare up at him.
“We can go home if you want,” he told her.
She didn’t want to have lunch at the diner. She hated the diner. She didn’t really like to go anywhere in Wishingbone except to the Wishing Well for quiz night.
But Elias had begged them to get out of the house for a while. Sure, he and Sterling could have come on their own, but when he’d stared at her pleadingly, she’d found herself nodding in agreement.
“I know I’m overly protective,” Brick admitted. “I want you to stay in the house because I know it’s safe, but that isn’t necessarily what’s best for you.”
Wasn’t it? Because she wasn’t sure the diner was the best place for her.
“But say the word and we’ll go.”
“It’s fine,” she told him.
“Wait there until I come around.”
Sterling and Elias were already out of their truck and waiting on the sidewalk. She was guessing that they’d all had a chat and came up with this excursion as a way to get her mind off Reuben. It was sweet of them.
Brick undid her belt and lifted her down. She wrapped her hand in his shirt.
She made it to the booth in the diner, mostly by keeping her face down and letting her hair fall forward. It felt like there were eyes watching her, and she guessed at least half the diner was following the four of them. And largely because of the men with her.
They’d be the topic discussed at a few dinner tables tonight, and probably these guys would be the object of several fantasies too. She had to smile at that.
A shiver ran through her and she raised her head to take a brief look around, wondering at the unease.
But she didn’t see anything. When she sat in the booth, she didn’t bother looking at the menu before leaning up to speak to Brick.
“I’ll have fries,” she whispered.
He frowned. “Just fries? You need something more substantial than fries.”
She sighed. She supposed he wanted her to eat half a cow.
“Fine. Chicken salad sandwich.”
Her Daddies’ Saving Grace Page 31
