Page 22

Kai

S hit.

I'm sure we all have a similar reaction to hearing Nina apologize, but when she begs us to stop leaving her out? That's where we might differ.

Henry immediately looking at me for answers makes me realize I don't have any. Obviously I know what set her off on us downstairs, but I don't have the first clue why she's feeling like an outsider.

Feeling lost, I look at Trevor in hopes he has some insight. I expect to find a thoughtful expression on his face, but boy was I fucking wrong. He staring at Nina like he wants to shake her.

Nina notices. She sucks in a small breath looking wary instead of sad. On her knees in the center of the bed with tears slowly coming to an end, my girl watches us to see what we'll do in response to her sad fucking words.

Who knows what the response is going to be though.

"Trevor," Ridge cautions, also noticing his cousin's attitude change. "Calm down."

Trev takes a step toward the bed, and the three of us match his advance. It's not that we think he will hurt her, but he can scare her even if he doesn't mean to. He's a big guy, and sometimes wielding that size around a trauma survivor isn't wise.

"Nina, you okay?" Henry asks, walking around the side of the bed to get to her first.

She nods. "Yeah. He won't hurt me."

I relax a little at that.

"No he won't." Henry sits beside her and still she doesn't take her eyes off of Trevor. "Pretty girl, we are so sorry. We didn't mean to leave you out, but you're right. We need to stop picking and choosing what we share with you."

"We're protective," Ridge adds. "Some more than most." He gives his cousin the side eye.

"And Nina," I jump in. " We'll do better. You are perfect and not to mention healing. There's so much shit going on and you're trapped at home to keep you safe. We understand the frustrations, flora."

"Why have you stopped touching me?" Nina blurts, shocking me.

Trevor's only response has been a tight jaw and clenching hands so far, but he adds a growl this time. I hold in my eye roll and ignore the beast in favor of focusing on our woman. "What do you mean?"

The utter relief I feel when she huffs is staggering. Bless her sass . "I mean since Henry and I...you know...none of you have done anything else besides little kisses or sexy looks."

My poor girl. "Nina, are you horny?"

Nina blushes so hard my cock twitches.

"I think we also need to talk about some of this—" my fiancé starts, but I wave him off.

"We will, baby," I soothe Henry. "But what I'm wondering is if our girl is wound up so tight because we haven't been taking care of her needs during this trying time."

Anyone would lose their shit in this situation. Then forced isolation on a newly awakened sexual sense of self? It's no wonder she swore at us for the first time ever .

"I-Um-" she stutters and plucks at the fringes on the blanket beneath her. "Yes?"

Ridge hums and advances on her. "And if we eased your ache, would that make you feel better?"

"I just want to feel close to you. Please," Nina begs, and it absolutely breaks my heart that she feels like she needs to ask us for this.

My dick hasn't stopped thinking about her since I watched her bounce on Henry's cock. I can't believe she doesn't know how much we want her. Christ, Trevor looks ready to bust a nut if a soft breeze blew him just right.

"I think we're all feeling a little tense," I murmur, eyeing Trev for a moment again. "Maybe we should be coming together instead of overthinking everything. What were you worried about, Nina?"

There's more beneath her needy pussy and she proves me right with her sad response.

"I thought...I thought you might not want me like that anymore.

Like maybe I was making up how much we wanted each other the past few days because when none of you acted on it, it seemed like. .." She sighs and hangs her head.

"Then you have your silent conversations like I'm a child. I'm sorry for swearing at you," she quickly adds.

We haven't made her feel desired all because we agreed she might need time to process losing her virginity. Aren't we a bunch of fucking idiots?

"We thought...Fuck, we're sorry, Nina," Henry apologizes, looking like she gut punched him.

She looks at him, and I mean really looks at him. "What did you think? No more hiding stuff from me. Please?"

The damn please is making me feel like shit.

"We thought you would be sore, and need time to, shit, I don't know," Henry grumbles, looking frustrated with himself. "Just need time . Maybe to slow things down? Fuck, someone help me. Why did we think this was a good idea without asking Neen first? It's her damn body."

Ridge hangs his head with a frown and I'm beating myself up on the inside. We don't respond because Henry's absolutely right. Trev is still a statue which is starting to piss me off.

On her knees, Nina crosses her arms and scowls. "So maybe you should ask me how I'm feeling and what I'm thinking. Like you should have from the beginning. Cuddles and sexual tension aren't effective communication."

Ridge smirks and kneels on the bed. "Well, I can guess your pussy is feeling neglected, as is your mind. Am I right?" Nina nods. "Let us take care of the ache, then we can have that much needed conversation about making sure you feel like you're the heart and soul of our family, okay?"

With pink cheeks and fidgeting legs, Nina nods. "Okay."

Trevor finally breaks. "Ridge. Henry. Off the bed. Now ."