Page 100 of Mutual Obsession (Rivals of Blackthorn #2)

“It was hardly the most romantic proposal, but it was everything I expected from Marcus, and maybe even a little more,” she says with a laugh.

Miles, who has just walked over and put his arm around Chloe’s shoulder, chuckles. “Are you saying my miserable bastard of a friend isn’t a hopeless romantic in secret?”

Chloe pulls back from me just enough to wrap an arm around Miles, so that all three of us are hugging. She rolls her eyes at him as she laughs. “No, but it was romantic in his own way.”

“Do we get to hear the proposal story?” Miles asks, and before Chloe can respond, Marcus cuts in from across the table.

“No, you don’t. Stop being a nosey fucker.”

Marcus then quickly turns back to Jake, who hasn’t even stopped whatever he was talking about, despite Marcus clearly not listening. It doesn’t take long for us to hear why Marcus is ignoring Jake.

“I’m serious, Marcus. If you hurt my baby sister, I will have to kill you.”

“Are you threatening him?” Chloe asks, sounding exacerbated.

“Too fucking right I am,” Jake replies, holding his head high.

Marcus fixes his gaze on Chloe, staring at her with such love and devotion that it almost makes me want to turn away to give them some privacy. “If I ever hurt her, you have my permission to kill me. But I can promise you, I have no intention of ever hurting her. I love her far too much for that.”

Chloe grins at him, and my heart aches at the love they have for each other. For just a moment, something that feels very much like jealousy slides through my veins like ice, and I don’t know what the hell to make of it.

I have two guys that look at me with just as much love as Marcus has with Chloe, so why is the green-eyed monster getting the better of me right now?

I try to push the feeling away, to focus on the happiness of the celebration, but no matter what I do, I can feel it bubbling away under the surface, refusing to leave.

I thought I’d done a pretty good job of hiding it, as I kept a smile on my face for the whole night, cheering and laughing in all the right places, but when we got home, I realised Miles had noticed all along.

He pulls me onto the sofa, taking a seat beside me as Jake sits on my other side. He keeps hold of my hand as he turns until he’s facing me.

“Talk to me, Gorgeous Girl. What’s going on? Are you okay?” he asks, his keen gaze assessing me to see if there’s more I’m not saying.

Jake obviously had no idea there was something more going on, as he seems confused by Miles’ question. “Why wouldn’t she be okay?”

Miles rolls his eyes at Jake, before turning his attention back to me, though he responds to him. “She’s been a little off ever since the engagement announcement. I know she’s happy for Chloe and Marcus, so I’m not entirely sure what it is, which is why I’m asking her to talk to us.”

“It’s nothing,” I mutter, dropping my gaze to the floor.

Miles reaches out and hooks his fingers under my chin, lifting until I’m forced to make eye contact with him again. “I’ll decide if it’s nothing.”

“It’s silly,” I tell him, feeling my cheeks heat with embarrassment.

“You can tell us anything,” Jake says, leaning closer until his chest is pressed against my back, giving me his body as comfort.

When I realise they’re not going to drop this, I let out a huff. “Fine. I’m just a bit jealous. Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly happy for them, but it doesn’t stop me being a little jealous. I’ll never be able to have that…to get married and have kids. I didn’t know it bothered me until now.”

Both Jake and Miles freeze, looking at each other in confusion. “Why can’t you have that?” Jake asks tentatively.

I let out a harsh laugh as I point to each of them in turn. “There are two of you, and legally, I can only marry one person. Do you see the problem?” I can’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice, and Miles glares at me, clearly not happy with my tone.

His expression softens as he looks over at Jake, whose cheeks have turned a bright shade of red. They exchange shy glances before Jake turns me around until I can see them both.

When Jake starts to talk, it’s clear he’s nervous, but Miles places his hand on his leg in reassurance. “Well, we’ve actually talked about this. I will need to marry as part of my leadership role. Miles said he’d be okay with it, as he knows it’s only for show.

“As for the baby thing, when the time comes, we’ll both be the kid’s dad. DNA doesn’t matter to us. We’ll both love the baby as if it were our own.”

Miles nods, his lips lifting into a hesitant smile as he keeps his eyes fixed on me, watching for my response. I’m sure he can see the shock that’s plastered across my face. Whether it’s from what they said, or the fact they’ve been discussing this between themselves, I’m not sure.

“You’ve spoken about this?” I’m not sure what else to say, as my brain is struggling to keep up.

Miles nods. “Jake was worried because his father made it clear he still needs to marry. He wanted to ask you when the time was right, but was concerned it would bother me.”

My sweet Miles. I can’t help but smile at his self-sacrificing nature. “What about you, Miles? I want the world to know I love you both, and I’m not sure they’d know that if I married Jake.”

“I said the same thing. I want them to know I love you too, Miles,” Jake adds.

Miles gives us both a reassuring smile, his gaze flicking between us before he seems to turn a little shy. “Well, I was thinking, maybe you could use a hyphenated last name, combining both of ours. You’ll be a Santoro legally, but will change it to Santoro-Gibson after the wedding.”

I pause for a second, thinking it over. I’m not hesitating over taking their last names. I just want more than that. I can see Miles becoming apprehensive the longer I take to respond.

“I will take the name Santoro-Gibson, but only if we all do. I want us all to share the same name, and when the time comes, our kids will use that too.”

The smile on both men’s faces grows so wide, it could light up the whole street. “We’ll be a family, all with the same name,” Jake says proudly, his eyes glistening as Miles nods in agreement.

“This isn’t us asking you to marry us right now.

When the time comes, we will do it properly, so you won’t be able to joke that we’re not romantic.

You can marry Jake in front of everyone who needs to see him legally get married, but we’ll have a commitment ceremony for the three of us, with the people who we care about present.

How does that sound?” Miles asks, and I can’t stop the tear from sliding down my cheek.

“It sounds like a dream…and I can’t wait,” I tell him, as he wipes the tear away with his thumb.

Miles then drops his gaze, looking a little shy. “You’re even okay with the baby part?”

I reach over and capture his cheeks between my hands, lifting his head until he has no choice but to look at me. I let him see all of my emotions, not hiding anything from him.

“I can’t wait to start a family with both of you when the time is right. I never thought it would be an option for us, but if you are really okay with both being a dad, without knowing who is the biological father, then of course I want that.”

Miles is quick to nod, and Jake mutters his agreement, before smirking as he adds, “I vote we practice baby making right now.”

As soon as I nod in agreement, both of their gazes turn hungry, and it doesn’t take long before their lips are on me as we pull each other’s clothes off. We fall into a mass of limbs as we frantically try to get closer, to touch, feel, and taste one another.

Miles quickly takes control as his cock slides into my wet, aching pussy, whilst instructing Jake to take my mouth. I’m on my hands and knees as they both use my body, drawing out my pleasure in a way only these two men know how.

I shudder through my release, knowing it won’t be the only one these two men give me tonight. They can’t get enough, and neither can I.

It’s hard to believe that a few months ago, this was something I didn’t even dare to dream about, and now it’s my life. Not only am I safe, and no longer having to run, I’m thinking about the future I might have.

I can actually be a wife and a mother, and I know the two men I gave my heart to will stop at nothing to give me anything I want, including the things I didn’t dare dream about.

Our relationship may not be traditional, or what people expect of us, but it’s ours, and we’ve fought for it. I finally have a family, and now I know what it feels like to be loved and cared for, to feel safe, I’ll never settle for anything less.

Despite my demons, I found happiness with two men who worship me, protect me, and love me more than anyone ever has before. I’d say that makes me a very lucky woman, and I plan to hold on to them with every breath.