Page 30 of Cherished By the Sinners

“Agreed.You pushed too hard, and now she’s...”his voice trailed off and his gaze examined her.“Angry?Sad?Afraid?”

Darlene hunched her shoulders.

“Afraid...”Magnus breathed out.He covered his face with one hand.After a moment he pulled it away and turned to her.“I apologize for my rash statement.”

She studied him and the frown on his face.“But it’s what you were thinking, right?”

He didn’t answer, and that was answer enough.

She glanced at Mason.“Were you thinking the same thing?”

He nodded slowly.

They’d been so kind, but she couldn’t pretend to be the person she was before.How could she explain her feelings when they were confusing to her, too?

This conversation was going to suck.

“I have never, in my life, had sex with someone because I wanted to.”

Both men stilled.They didn’t even breathe.

“I don’t want to go back to...that.”Would they leave her now?Would they stop watching over her, stop thinking about her, stop worrying about her?

Mason reached one hand across the table, palm up.“You never have to.”His gaze was almost incandescent with some foreign emotion she couldn’t recognize.“You get to make all the decisions for you.Who you talk to, who you spend time with, and who you love.Youneverhave to do anything with anyone unless it’s somethingyouwant.”

“What did you think I meant?”Magnus asked.

She glanced at him.“I thought you were asking me if I would have sex with you.”She paused.“To pay back all of the nice things you’ve done for me.”

He jerked back from her, as if she’d burned him, and choked out, “No.”

“No,” Mason said, inching his hand a little closer across the table to her.“We would never ask you to pay us back for anything.We value you.You’re someone we have great respect for.”

Some of the stiffness drained out of her body.Their reactions were reassuring, but she needed to know more.

“Anna was right,” Magnus said, and his voice sounded sad.“We should have spoken to Darlene much earlier.”

“Spoke to me about what?”

“Our admiration for you,” Mason said.“Our desire to help you.”

“Our desire to have a relationship with you,” Magnus said.

“Not a transaction,” Mason wiggled his fingers at her.“A long-term, exclusive relationship.”

“With both of you?”She’d never imagined having a relationship with more than one man, but with Mason and Magnus...

“Yes,” Magnus said.“We know it’s a bit different—”

“No, I get it,” Darlene interrupted him.She looked from one brother to the other.Assumptions never led to anything good.“Are you sure?I mean I was a prostitute for a long time, and you saw my back.No amount of surgery is going to get rid of those scars.”She winced.

“You are the woman we want,” Magnus began.

“A strong, kind, courageous woman,” Mason continued.“Who is delighted just working in a place that’s safe with people who care about her.”

“You are also beautiful,” Magnus added.

She snorted at that.