Page 135 of Governor

“Of course I’m right. The three of us are a team. Susa’s brains and contacts, my tactical skills and bastardism, and your face and moral compass.”

“My face?”

He sits up, and I think it amuses him that I whine to lose that contact against him. “Dude. Do youseriouslynot understand how hot you are?”

I honestly don’t know how to process that and stare at him like he just spouted ancient Egyptian or something.

He props his hands on his hips. “Really? Those light green eyes, that blond hair—you’re a fucking poster boy for pretty. Women will be creaming themselves over you in election ads one day.”

“You sound like you already have it planned.” The thought of running for office, no matter what I’ve said or how we’ve all talked, fucking terrifies me.

“Maybe I do.” He reaches down and wraps his fingers around both of our cocks, pressing them together. “Maybe I already have a long-term plan mapped out in my head. Contingent upon us all graduating law school and passing the bar, of course.”

He slowly pumps both of our cocks and it feels like all the oxygen in the room disappears. “No one left behind, Owen. It’s all of us or none of us, ineverythingwe do. So let me remove any lingering doubts in your mind—this is forlife. I’mnotletting you go. I’ll never order you to leave, unless you were to do something heinous like cheat on us. As long as you want to stay with us, you aremine.

“I can’t force you to stay, but if you ever feel a reason to leave, I’d appreciate you giving me a chance to fix whatever it is that’s broken between us first before you do. I’ll even put it in fucking writing for you, if you need it. I’m not saying I’m always going to be easy to live with, or that I won’t have fun inflicting some pretty wicked sadism on you, but I know you’re in love with Susa. Iwantyou to be in love with her, just like I want her to be in love with you.”

“What if she ever wants me to leave?”

“She won’t.”

“How can you be sure?”

He squeezes our cocks and it takes everything I have to keep my eyes open. “Because she’s my good girl and she’s in love withbothof us. Best of both worlds for her.”

I finally have to ask it before it burns a hole in me and starts to rot whatever this is from the inside out. “Why didn’t you tell me you married her? Why didn’t you tell me you guys were sleeping together?”

His expression softens and he releases our cocks. Leaning in, he kisses me again. “Because she was worried it’d hurt your feelings. When I told her my idea, she loved it. She didn’t know if she fell for you over me if you would have been open to this in the reverse.”

He teases me by lowering his mouth close to mine, pulling back before making contact. He does it several times until I realize I’m lifting my head to meet him for the kiss he still withholds.

The smile returns to his lips. “And because I’m kind of a bastard, as you yourself noted.” He lowers his lips to just over mine. “Ialwaysget what I want.” His tongue flicks out, tracing my lips. “I wantedyou.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

With Carter staring down into my eyes, I’m not going to deny how nervous I feel with a weekend alone looming ahead of us.

No Susa between me and Carter as a buffer between us, or as an excuse for me.

No way for me to try to deny what’s going on.

I’ll be forced to face this head-on, instead of being able to lie to myself.

I’m going to bealonewith Carter.

I realize I’m not opposed to the idea, either.

This confuses me on a number of levels, but then again, most things about this whole situation confuse me.

That means I’ll do what I’ve done to survive throughout most of my life and go along with everything. If I really get to hating this, and what we’re doing, then I can always…leave.

But the thought of that, of leaving Susa—and, yeah, okay, leaving Carter, too—fills me with something akin to dread. Like some weird inverse, and yet still negative feeling, of the foreboding that flooded me at the thought of having to return to my mother’s home at the end of every semester.

Besides, if I leave, who will take care of Carter if Susa isn’t around? Who will Susa have to own?

Who will soothe Carter’s nightmares if she’s not there?

Who will take care of Susa?