Page 20 of Beautiful Scars: Unshakeable (The Beautiful Scars Duet #2)

Chapter Eighteen

Sunny

I bury my face against Zane's chest, shame burning white-hot beneath my skin. I can't believe I just said the things I did. Maybe Garrett was right about me.

Silence stretches in the wake of my words, thick and suffocating. I can feel them exchanging a look over my head, having one of those silent conversations I can't decode. My stomach twists. The longer the quiet lingers, the smaller I feel. Maybe I asked for too much. Maybe it's too wrong.

The mattress shifts as Levi props himself up. My pulse pounds in my ears, bracing for the rejection I know is coming.

Then, Z exhales, soft and steady, his fingers trailing along my cheek. The gentle touch coaxes my eyes open, guiding me back to him.

"Angel," Zane's voice is deeper than usual, threaded with something cautious. "You need to understand what you're asking for. Because if this happens—if we do this—there's no undoing it."

Behind me, Levi's fingers brush through my hair, his touch gentle, but the tension rolling off him is palpable. "He's right, Angel. We won't be able to take it back."

I swallow hard, forcing past the tightness in my throat. "I know."

"Do you?" Zane presses, his gaze locking onto mine, searching.

"Really?" His voice is steady, but there's something in it—an edge of protectiveness, of hesitation.

"Because this isn't just about right now.

It's not about chasing away ghosts or making things easier.

You have to want this because you want us . "

"It'll change things, Sunny. It'll make you ours, and us yours," Levi murmurs, his fingers continuing their slow path through my hair.

The weight of their words settles over me, the depth of what it means sinking in.

"And you need to understand," Zane's voice dips lower, the vibration reverberating through my chest, "we don't let go. We don't give up on people we let in."

Levi's touch is a contradiction to his next words, impossibly soft as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "We're not gentle men, Angel." A pause, as his fingers linger. "We can be that for you. But what we are… who we are… that's not something we can change."

I meet his gaze, steady despite the emotions swirling inside me. "I've seen who you are."

"Then you understand why you need to be sure," Zane says, his voice steady but thick with meaning. He turns his head, pressing a slow kiss against my palm. "This decision has to be real, Angel. Not made out of desperation."

Their words should terrify me—the way they look at me, the sharp edge of finality in their voices. I know possessiveness. I know what it is to be owned, claimed, and treated like property.

But this… this doesn't feel like that.

It's not suffocating. I don't feel trapped.

It feels like finally standing on solid ground after years of drowning.

"I want this with you," I whisper, my voice steadier than I expect. "Both of you."

Zane's thumb begins a slow, teasing path across my bottom lip, his touch impossibly gentle. His gaze sharpens and burns into me. "Say it again."

"I want you both." The words slip from me, unshaken, certain.

A low sound rumbles from deep in Levi's chest, dark and visceral against my back, while Zane's eyes flood with heat.

They don't move, don't speak. Their stillness amplifies the electricity crackling between us, leaving the space around us charged.

My skin prickles with awareness at every point where our bodies touch.

"If we're going to do this, you need to know that nothing happens that you don't want." Zane's fingers trace a slow path along my jaw. "If anything feels wrong to you we stop. No questions. No explanations needed."

Levi's hand glides down my arm, from shoulder to wrist, his touch featherlight yet deliberate, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. "You're in control, Sunny. Always." His thumb presses gently over my pulse, steady, reassuring.

The careful way they hold me, like I'm the most valuable thing in the world to them, makes my breath catch.

"What if I freeze up?" My voice wavers as the fear creeps in. "I've never done—I mean, I don't know if this is something I can actually do."

"We stop," they say in unison, their voices firm, unwavering. The certainty in their words unspools the tightness in my chest, easing the fear before it can dig in.

Zane leans close, his lips hovering just a breath away from mine, his warmth sinking into me. Behind me, Levi's mouth ghosts across my shoulder, his kiss tender—patient, unhurried.

"We'll go slow," Zane murmurs, his voice relaxed despite the tension simmering in his gaze.

"You focus on what feels good. If something doesn't, we stop.

But if something does…" His thumb slides across my cheek as Levi's mouth finds a sensitive spot on the back of my neck, sending a shiver through me. "Show us. Let us learn you."

Zane's lips brush across mine—teasing, testing, waiting. When I lean into him, seeking more, he deepens the kiss, slow and deliberate, like we have all the time in the world with each other. Behind me, Levi's mouth trails lower, each press of his lips pulling quiet sighs from my throat.

Levi's hand skims down my side, his touch a whisper over my skin, tracing the curve of my hip before coming to rest—warm and steady—across my stomach. The sensation of their touches makes my head spin.

Zane breaks the kiss, pulling back just enough to watch me, his eyes heavy with heat. He trails a single fingertip down between my breasts—barely there, but leaving fire across my skin. Before I can chase his lips, Levi's hand tilts my chin, turning my face toward his.

His kiss is nothing like Zane's. It's hunger and need—a storm barely held in check.

Where Zane savored, tasting my mouth with slow reverence, Levi devours.

His desperation tempered only by the sweet way he cradles my face.

The contrast between them is staggering, and I'm held weightless between them.

"Beautiful," Zane murmurs, his lips finding the curve of my throat as Levi slowly releases me.

They take turns claiming my mouth, teasing out sharp gasps and deep sighs. Zane's fingers skim along my thigh while Levi nips softly at my ear.

"God, you're beautiful, Angel," Levi breathes into my neck, and I melt into his touch.

His hand slides higher, gliding across my stomach before slipping beneath my shirt—skin against skin, his fingers moving slowly. He lingers over the slightly raised edges of the scar that winds up my body.

And, everything stops.

The warmth of their touch vanishes, replaced with the feel of rough hands pinning me down. The soft press of Levi's palm becomes unyielding weight that steals my breath.

I'm not here.

I'm trapped.

The suffocating heat of a body crushing mine. The breath against my neck is rancid, sickening.

My muscles seize and lock into place. My lungs forget how to expand. The room fades, and my vision tunnels as I slip beneath the surface—yanked down into the dark.

I feel them go completely still and pull away. The sudden absence of their touch is a jarring loss that leaves me suspended between then and now, trembling, gasping for air that won't come.

"Sunny?" Levi's voice cracks with worry.

"I'm okay," I say, but my voice betrays me—thin, shaky, weak. "Just... give me a minute."

Zane's fingers graze over my cheek. "I think we need to stop—"

"No!" The word bursts from me, definite, desperate. "No, please. I want this." My eyes snap open, locking onto his gaze. "Just keep talking to me, okay? Keep me here with you. Don't let me go anywhere."

"Are you sure?" The concern on Zane's face matches his tone.

When I nod, Levi exhales softly, his warmth wrapping around me even though his hands stay carefully still. "We've got you, Sunny."

Zane's lips find mine again, warm and gentle, a lifeline pulling me back. "Stay with me, sweet girl," he murmurs against my mouth, each word grounding me a little more. "Stay right here with us."

I close my eyes for just a moment, but the darkness is right there waiting for me—pulling, threatening to drag me under. My breath falters.

Zane senses it instantly. His fingers catch my chin, tilting my face up, refusing to let me slip away.

"Don't do that. Don't go away," he murmurs, his voice rough, edged with quiet command. "Eyes on me. Stay with me."

His gaze locks onto mine—anchoring me to him, to the now.

The basement fades. The phantom hands loosen their grip.

With every breath, every gentle word, I find my way back to them. Completely.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, but Zane's finger presses against my lips, silencing the apology.

"Don't." His voice is quiet but firm. "There's nothing to apologize for."

"Tell us what you need, Angel." Levi's words skitter across my skin. "Tell us when you're ready."

I take a deep breath, letting myself settle back into the warmth of them. "I'm ready."

Zane's eyes search mine, looking for any trace of doubt. When I nod, his expression softens, and the look in his eyes turns from concern to fierce devotion. "That's my brave girl."

Levi's hands inch lower, tracing slow, teasing paths down my body. His fingers skim along my thigh, molding to the curve of my hip. His lips press against my neck, each kiss lingering, his breathy voice hot against my skin.

"So beautiful, Angel," he murmurs between kisses. "I love watching you like this."

Each word sends a fresh wave of pleasure down my spine, but I can't look away from Zane. The heat in his gaze is blistering as he watches the effect Levi's touch is having on me.

Levi's knuckles graze the side of my breast, and the moan that escapes me is deep and needy. He growls against my neck, tilting my face to capture my mouth in a hungry kiss.

Zane dips his head and begins pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses along my throat, his teeth scraping over the sensitive skin until I'm whimpering.

Then, he moves lower.