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I thought we’d gotten past this point, that I’d apologized enough, that I’d explained my prior anger enough she wouldn’t be so confused as to why I don’t exactly want any other man seeing her beautiful tits.

“We’ve both fucked the same guy, and he’s already seen them.” Was that jealousy in her tone? In her eyes?

Or…

Could I be completely wrong? Because she almost sounds turned on by the prospect of Nico and I having an affair through the years.

Doesn’t matter. She’s mine. Nico and I were never anything more than friends with benefits.

Everest…she’s my entire fucking world. She has been since I discovered my dick getting hard any time she was near.

Glancing at Nico, I jerk my chin for him to give us his back. He smirks but turns, clasping his hands behind his back and whistling like an asshole.

A smile spreads across Everest’s face, and I can’t help but mirror it.

“He’s seen my boobs already. He’s practically had his hands all over them, and now you’re worried about him seeing them?”she asks as she pulls her sweater over her head and stretches out on the cushioned and paper covered table.

I drape the sheet over her tits, keeping it low enough for Nico to work without him getting an eyeful.

“Shit changed,” I say with a shrug. “We’re good,” I say to Nico.

He’s got a shit-eating grin on his face when he turns, lowers onto his stool, and starts preparing the ink.

“I didn’t know you had a possessive bone in your body,” Nico says.

Everest scoffs. “Oh, please. All three of them are extremely possessive. Or they were,” she says, raising her eyes to me.

Oh, we still are. Nothing has changed there.

Actually, a lot of shit has changed over time. Not only are we still possessive of our woman, but now we have a shit load of revenge to exact on her behalf.

And ours.

She was taken from us. Our child was taken from us.

And no, none of us give a shit which of us fathered the baby her father killed. There had never been a single thought in any of our heads about getting a DNA test to learn who the biological father was.

Of course, the child would have carried the Antoniou name, but solely for protection and the financial security should something have happened to one or all of us. Kind of like the new reason for Kato’s insistence on the accelerated timing for the wedding.

“So…you two made up. Does that mean the wedding is off?” Nico asks as he leans forward and starts the tattoo gun, the buzzing hum filling the silence after his words trail off.

“No. We’re still getting married,” Everest says, dropping her head against the table and staring up at the ceiling.

Nico glances at me then back to Everest’s chest. I know damn well how irritating the fill stage can be and I kind of feel like an asshole for making the design so large, but it’s already started; might as well finish it.

And Nico is the best in town. The only one I’ve trusted with all the art on my body, including the Mount Everest tattoo stretching from shoulder to shoulder and down to my waist. That fucking thing took three sessions of six to eight hours each.

Although, that also might have been because we ended up fucking or sucking at some point during the appointment.

At one point, Nico must hit a fairly sensitive area because Everest clenches her hands into fists and her jaw tightens, but she’s not making a peep. No tears are welling in her eyes.

The comment she made before about enduring far more painful things pings around in my head.

“Other than…that night. There were other moments, weren’t there? Other times someone hurt you?” I ask her with zero context.

Her gaze slices to mine and she frowns. “What?”

“You said you’ve been through more painful things. I assumed you didn’t mean just that night.”