Page 113

“Nikolett, lass, did you hurt yourself?”Gus’s voice was tinged with alarm.

Flirting with Gus was hopeless.Her whole life was hopeless.Just a series of disasters and pain.

Metal scraped and she opened her eyes.Gus had picked up the heavy table with its iron base and easily moved it out of the way.Her guards watched him closely, one with a hand tucked firmly into his jacket pocket, no doubt with a small gun trained on Gus.

Nikolett shifted again, planning to stand straight up now that the table wasn’t in the way.The throbbing in her leg was impossible to ignore.She had to tip her face up, staring at nothing, as she breathed through it.

There was an expression that almost looked like regret on Gus’s face, before it smoothed into concern.

He held out his hands.“Let me help you, lass.”

Nikolett put her hands in his and let him pull her to her feet.

Her guards shifted nervously but didn’t interfere, given there was no visible threat.

Nikolett gripped Gus’s hands tight once she was up, finding her balance as one of her guards grabbed her crutches.

Gus leaned in, and she looked up.The expression on his face made her breath catch with the surety he was about to say something…

Something important.

But before he could, a grim-faced Grigoris approached.With a defeated sigh, Nikolett dropped Gus’s hands, taking her crutches and tucking them under her arms.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Grigoris said formally.“But we need to go.”

Nikolett raised her brows, but Grigoris didn’t answer until Gus took a step back, turning away to grab his laptop off the table, stuffing it into a shoulder satchel.

“What’s wrong?”Nikolett asked softly.

Grigoris’s expression clearly saidmindig valami—something was about to go wrong, again—but he was still cognizant of them being out in public because his words were formal and calm.“Mr.Ericsson is on his way to your office.”

Xavier steppedout of the bathroom, a towel slung low on his hips.

Colum took a moment to admire the man’s physique.Okay, he took more than a moment.Xavier, aware he was being ogled, obliged him by giving him a few playful flexes.Colum wanted to laugh at his lover’s silly antics, but damn…Xavier was fecking gorgeous.

He glanced to his side when he felt Annie’s fingers brush his lower lip.

“You’ve got a bit of drool there,” she teased.

Colum laughed.“Like you aren’t drooling as well.”

Annie shrugged, unapologetically.“Our boyfriend is hot.”

“Boyfriend,” Colum whispered, trying the word on for size.

From the corner of his eye, Colum saw Xavier leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom, his arms crossed, a sexy smirk on his lips.“I like the sound of that, though I think I prefer fiancé or husband even better.”

After Xavier’s call to his mother, the three of them had fallen into each other’s arms, kissing and talking…and hoping.Xavier had truly come through, finding the perfect solution to at least one of their problems.

While Colum had been completely sincere when he’d said he would give up his job as the archivist if it meant he could be with them, the actual idea of doing so would feel like the equivalent of losing a limb.

Xavier had understood that and found a better way.At least, Colum hoped it was better.

Now, he was worried what Xavier would have to sacrifice to become admiral.

But that was a worry for later, because Xavier was naked under that towel…

Christ.The sex between the three of them was mind-blowing, life-altering, eye-opening.For him, it had been a goddamn revelation.Touching them, kissing them, fucking them… Colum closed his eyes, stopping that chain of thought.They’d only just managed to get out of bed, the three of them fucking and laughing while celebrating Xavier’s promotion.