Page 28 of Stockholm (Angel of Mercy #1)

A plate is set in front of me, making me jump. The muscled, inked arm leading up behind me where Noah stands. It’s oddly intimate to have him so close, serving me dinner. It sounds silly, but he prepared my plate, placed it in front of me. Cared that I was fed.

Stop it, Emma.

It’s a slippery slope , I realize, looking at Bo as he rolls his eyes again at Jesse. Watching as Jesse huffs at the motion and whispers “brat” under his breath. I could easily find myself getting comfortable here, into letting these two look after us in their own creepy and intimidating way.

Noah had put on a mask and pulled a gun on me to get me into his truck against my will.

And yet…I sit here with this gorgeous plate of food, my best friend across the table and Noah taking a seat at the spot next to me.

My hands unclench from the side of the wooden edge and I pick up the fork to swirl some of the pasta onto it and twirl it through the sauce.

“Thank you,” I say, not looking up but placing the food in my mouth. It’s exquisite, an Alfredo sauce that tastes like heaven after a week of dry sandwiches.

I can’t recall a time that Eric brought me my plate, let alone filled it with a dinner he had made just for me. That was my job.

“What do you think?” Noah asks, and I peek over at him, licking a speck of sauce from my lower lip. His eyes follow the movement.

That felt good, whatever it was. That he watches me the way he does. “It’s really good. ”

“You want to Lady-and-the-Tramp this shit?” Jesse asks Bo, who chokes on his water.

I almost giggle, biting my lip to keep it in. It still feels a little like I’m the outsider, a week behind Bo in knowing the men at this table. Like somehow I’m intruding on a private moment.

“Emma, I can’t wait to show you the library this place has. It’s probably got all your favorite books already but if not you can just write it down and they’ll get it for you,” Bo says. “We should look after dinner.”

My eyes dart to Noah’s. Bo seems to be having a very different experience here than I am. Wouldn’t I need to ask for someone to take me there? Surely we can’t just walk around the house wherever we want to go.

Noah just nods though, and a thrill of excitement lights under my skin at the thought. Bo cracks a wide grin at me and it makes me want to do the same.

This is crazy, my head reminds me.

But for whatever reason it doesn’t feel like it. It’s not as if I feel scared sitting here, and the thought they might just shoot me in the head and throw me in a ditch is fading fast. If I’m going to be here anyway, maybe I could be here in a beautiful library rather than my concrete holding cell.

“That sounds perfect,” I tell him, and I mean it.

“I’m just happy you’re going to be out here more. I missed you,” he says, and Jesse frowns.

Noah quirks an eyebrow. “That wouldn’t have gone well.”

“Yes it would have,” Bo interjects, tearing off some garlic bread. “We can be good, right Em?”

Jesse groans at those words, letting his head fall back dramatically. “Fuck, say that again.”

Bo snorts, winking at me and even I’m surprised at the giggle that escapes me.

“Is that the case, Em?” Noah asks, and both mine and Bo’s head snaps in his direction, Bo’s mouth falling open with the bread still inside .

Elbows on the table, steepled under his chin, Noah tilts his head at me in a dangerously seductive way, watching my reaction.

“W-what?” I stammer, wanting to break eye contact but being completely unable to.

“He said, are you going to be a good girl if we let you stay out with Bo?” Jesse’s voice sounds behind me, dark and low like a predator.

The tone has shifted. Playfulness seems to have fallen away, and what’s left is thick with some kind of anticipation. It’s the same feeling that has my stomach in free-fall whenever Noah looks at me.

Bo’s watching me and Noah, eyes slightly widened.

There’s a curl of desire in my stomach, and I just throw caution to the wind and decide to follow its lead.

“Yes, Noah,” I say, meeting his eyes, holding his gaze, though I’m terrified. Though I’m making myself intensely vulnerable by responding to the question at all.

His eyes darken at my words, and I like it. It’s a warm coil, low in my stomach the way he looks at me. Though the words sound submissive, it’s me that caused that expression on his face. I made him feel that way.

Bo’s biting his lip when I return to my pasta like nothing had happened. I can barely take a bite, the mood at the table having me feeling something I can’t describe. I don’t remember ever feeling like this before.

Physical. Like there’s a hook in my stomach that’s tugging me forward. To say something to make his control snap. To do something that might cause a scene.

I…I just want Noah to touch me. Being out here is making it worse.

“Well, that was something,” Jesse says, and I bite the inside of my mouth. “Bo, you and your little friend here are making me very fucking hard right now.”

“Oh my god,” Bo mutters at the same time my eyes widen, taking in Jesse’s dangerous smile. With his green hair falling into his eyes, he looks dangerous. It’s such a contrast to Bo’s boyish, preppy appearance. Jesse watches Bo like a cat would watch his dinner.

Jesse twirls a bite of the pasta on his fork and sits all the way back in his chair, pushing it back slightly so that he’s angled more toward Bo than the edge of the table. He holds up the fork for him to see.

“I had Landon get you dessert for later. But if you want some you need to come finish your dinner first,” Jesse says, smiling at Bo and his shocked expression.

“Jesse, is this necessary right now?” Noah asks, a bored expression on his face.

“Absolutely,” he says, never looking away from Bo. “I want my good boy to show his friend how things work here.”

I swallow, that feeling inside me somehow building larger until I’m shifting in my chair. When I see Noah watching me, I sit on my hands, forcing myself to stop.

Bo’s watching Jesse for a moment, eyes slightly lowered, then looks at me.

“Emma doesn’t mind, do you?” Jesse suggests, his tone soft as he convinces Bo. When I shake my head, he continues. “See? Why don’t you show her how to behave, yeah? Come here.”

I’m absolutely glued to my seat, taking in their dynamic like an addict.

“Breathe, Emma.” Noah’s voice comes from next to me and I realize I’ve been holding my breath.

Bo starts to stand, hazy eyes locked on Jesse.

“No, Bo. I want you to crawl here.”

He falters for a moment, peeking at me again. I don’t want him to feel nervous. Not because of me. He searches my face, and I comfort him for a moment with my gaze.

“I’m waiting,” Jesse drawls, and Bo turns. He lowers himself to his knees, and falls forward to his hands. Eyes on Jesse, he crawls to his feet and sits back on his heels.

“Good boy,” Jesse says quietly, and the air whooshes out of my lungs at the sound. At the sight of my friend at the feet of this wickedly beautiful and dangerous man. “Open your mouth. ”

Bo does, and Jesse offers him the food, which Bo accepts. “Lick the fork clean, Bo.”

I need something. I need…I can’t even find words for what I need. This feeling inside me has grown too large, and these two are making it bigger and bigger.

Bo’s tongue darts out, cleaning the fork. Jesse reaches out and holds his chin, then places a gentle kiss on his forehead. “You’re such a good boy for me, and that earns you a reward.”

“Emma, with me,” Noah cuts through the moment, and I jump, torn away from the scene in front of me. How Jesse has captured Bo’s mouth, tugging on the bottom lip with his teeth, petting his head with his large tattooed hands. He stands from the table and I jump to follow him.

Bo’s heavy eyes cut to mine from where he kneels between Jesse’s legs, holding my gaze for a moment as his lip is caught between teeth. Bo groans, his eyes falling shut as he returns the kiss and a large hand tugs on mine.

The contact is electric. I’m on edge from the dinner, the tension making my skin flushed and sensitive. Noah’s large hand on mine feels intimate in a way that makes no sense, and yet as he leads me back toward the stairs I’m fisting my free hand at the thrill of it.

He leads up the spiral and I follow, throwing one glance back to the dinner table as we ascend. Jesse’s got both hands twisted in Bo’s curls, yanking back so that Bo is looking up directly at his face, and is whispering something to him that has Bo mesmerized.

I would give anything to know what he’s saying.