Page 44 of Reaper and Ruin

Unlike Levi, who was probably well acquainted with Whip’s naked form by now, I had no desire to do the same. I was a one person sorta man, and Violet was the only one I wanted to be naked with.

But despite popular belief, I wasn’t stupid. I knew she was in love with Levi. And I knew Whip was her safe place. I wasn’t even entirely sure how I fit in, but maybe I was a bit of both. She’d made room for me, and I wasn’t going anywhere for as long as she let me occupy that space. If that meant sharing her with the two of them, then I would.

I would give her whatever the hell she wanted. If she wanted me to build her a bed big enough for ten men, then I would.

I didn’t know how I would afford the wood, ’cause that shit was expensive, but hopefully one of those other guys was a builder and had a trade discount.

Whip backed out of the parking lot. “I have to work. It just is what it is.”

He’d said it matter-of-factly, but his gaze kept flicking to the rearview mirror, and I knew he was trying to get a glimpse of how Violet was reacting.

I folded my arms across my chest. “I don’t like it. On behalf of the people in this car who have sucked your dick, I vote you quit.”

Levi punched my arm, a lot harder than a playful slug. “You’ve sucked his dick? When the fuck did that happen?”

I flinched, rubbing the spot and twisted so I could see him. “I never said that! I said on behalf of the people who had. Meaning you two!”

Levi crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the window.

I hid a laugh. “Oh, look at jealous little Levi. All mad because for a split second he thought I’d had Whip’s anaconda in my moist cave of wonders.”

Whip groaned and shoved me with one arm without taking his eyes off the road. “Please shut up before I run us into a tree. And never say moist again. Especially not in conjunction with cave of wonders.”

I gagged. “Okay, I’m sorry. I heard it. It was bad.” I glanced back at Levi. “You gag like this when his steel pole is tapping out Morse code on your tonsils?”

Levi rolled his eyes. “It’s such a shame your mother didn’t drown you at birth.”

The banter continued the entire way back to my apartment, mostly courtesy of me trying to keep it light after an afternoon that had felt all too heavy. I kept glancing at Violet, waiting to see if she reacted to any of our antics, but by the time we were all piling out of the car outside my building, it was clear she was very quiet.

She got out of the car quicker than the rest of us and walked ahead. I trotted to keep up with her, leaving Levi and Whip to lock the car.

“Hey,” I said quietly. “You okay?”

She lifted her head, but her smile was forced. “I’m fine.”

“You’re allowed to not want him to go.”

She sighed heavily. “It’s his job. And we’ve made no promises to each other. I can’t ask him not to leave just because the idea of him with another woman makes me crazy.”

I pushed open the door to the lobby and waited for her to walk through.

Then let it swing shut in Levi’s and Whip’s faces.

I slung an arm around Violet’s neck and pulled her in close, so my lips were to her ear. “Tell him not to leave.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. And don’t you say anything either. It’s not our place to make decisions like that for him.”

I let it go, respecting the boundary she’d set, but not liking it.

“Promise me, X.”

“I promise I will not say anything.” I mimed pulling a zipper closed across my lips.

The other two caught up with us at the elevator, and we all rode up in it together, until it stopped at my floor. I let us into my apartment, and the three of them found various places to settle, Violet perched on a swivel stool at the breakfast bar, Levi and Whip both taking up spots on the couch. Levi leaned over and found the TV remote, flicked it on, and channel surfed until he found a game replay.

I rummaged through the refrigerator, searching for something to make for dinner. I kept the thing pretty well-stocked, because for all my joking, I actually didn’t mind cooking. I didn’t do it all that often, since it was mostly just me to make meals for, and going to all that effort just to sit at the table alone was pretty fucking pathetic.

But I’d gone shopping just last week with the hope that Violet would be around more, and so I’d bought all sorts of things I thought she might like, just in case. Everything from fruit and meats to Doritos and caviar. I’d also stocked the bathroom with all sorts of girly things. I’d found the same brand of bodywashshe kept in her shower and cleared out a drawer to fill with tampons and a spare toothbrush…