Page 32 of Belonging to Them

“Are you okay, baby?”I ask.

“I’m better than okay,” she whispers.Her face is soft with contentment.

“A quick bath, and then bedtime, little girl,” I say.

“Okay.”

“I love you, Ella.”

“I love you too, Kingston.”

* * *

Ella

Monday dawns.I’m alone in Bash’s bed.Well, not entirely alone.A large black cat is purring at my feet.

Bash has checked in several times each day since he left on Friday.The shows in Vegas are going great.We’ve been doing video calls after each one, though, and I can tell he’s beat.I wish I could be there with him, just to cuddle him to sleep.

King left last night.I rode with him to the airport, practically glued to his side in the back seat because I knew I would be touch-starved with both of them gone.

How did I spend all that time without them, before we met?I’d gotten by with the shitty sex Joel and I had.Now I’m spoiled.Nothing else will satisfy me.

They’ll only be gone a few days.Kingston will come home on Friday night, and Sebastian will be home on Saturday morning.And what a reunion it will be.

Rolling onto my back, I move a hand down to my panties, touching myself over the fabric.I can imagine the guys, one on either side of me, teasing me, trying to get me riled up.

My phone buzzes with a text.Feeling guilty for touching even though the guys said nothing about whether or not I could get myself off, I roll over and grab it.

The text isn’t from one of them, though—it’s from an unknown number.

$75k.Is your brother worth that to you?

Angrily, I close the text app.That asshole.He’s doing it again!Does he think I’ll fall for it?

“Fucker,” I mutter.

Opening the app once more, I text back,Not this time, asshole.Leave me alone.

Then I block the number.

I’m fuming.I go straight from the text app to my brother’s name on my contacts list.And for the first time in my life, after countless ups and downs and furious arguments followed by kindness and understanding and forgiveness…I do the unthinkable.

I block my brother.

NINE

Sebastian

My phone chimes with a text.I ignore it and roll back over, burying my face in my pillow.It’s too fucking early to talk to anyone.

It chimes again, and I sigh and pick up the phone.

It’s Kingston, and he wants a fucking video call.I accept it and lie back, frowning at his face taking up my screen.

“What is it?”I ask.“It’s early.”

“It’s almost noon.”