Page 20 of Upon Blooded Lips (Vengeance #1)

TESSA

N ate’s words repeat in my mind, and I stumble back against the side of the house, pressing my hands to my heated cheeks. If Tessa chooses to join us, she will complete us, not destroy us. My heart swells with hope and a yearning so strong it makes me catch my breath.

On the surface, I’ve spent the past week swimming, reading, sunbathing, and relaxing.

But in reality, I’ve been spying on them, cataloging every minute detail and storing them away to ruminate on later.

Nate takes control of every situation, but not in a way that sends off warning bells.

It’s how he shows he cares. It’s in the way he touches Eric’s fingers or back in passing, how he secures the house at night, how he ensures our plates are full before serving himself.

And then there’s Eric. Watching him work is like watching a master artist paint.

He commands the digital world with a confidence and ease that leaves me in awe.

Seeing him fall apart just now made me want to hold on to him with all my strength, desperate to reassure him I would never come between them.

How could I? They’ve had twenty-eight years of shared history together.

Fighting for survival, fighting against a world that would condemn them, fighting to be together.

This? This is what love looks like. I’ve never known the feeling myself, but I’ve watched enough movies and read enough romances to recognize it when I see it.

What I just witnessed was the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen. I want to be a part of it, of them. To know what it would be like to be loved by these men who take my breath away and set my blood on fire.

I don’t care if they grew up like brothers. To find a love like theirs, to forge a life from the ashes of their childhoods? They deserve every bit of happiness they can find.

Fuck what the rest of the world thinks. Nothing that looks like that could be wrong.

I want them. Both of them.

My eyes lift to the heavens, and I send a silent plea to the universe.

Please.

A loud knock on my door makes me jump in my seat. “Yes?” It opens, and Eric pops in, bristling with excited energy.

“Wanna blow this joint and go on an adventure?”

I set my Kindle down on the side table, my brows furrowing. “I thought we had to stay here to avoid being sighted.” Although the reporters have moved on to other stories, my so-called disappearance still features every other night on the ten o’clock news.

Eric slides a bag out from behind his back, swinging it from his fingers. “That’s what disguises are for.” He tosses it to me, and I catch it, opening it to find an intricately decorated navy and silver Venetian mask.

I tilt my head to the side and raise a brow. “What’s this for?”

Eric plops down on my bed. “Ever heard of Club Oblivion?”

I roll my eyes. “Have I heard of the most prestigious nightclub in Chicago? The one celebrities fight to get an invitation to? Nah, not familiar with it.”

A wide grin slashes across his face, and he punches the air. “Phase one of my master plan has succeeded. You have learned well, young apprentice. Please, delight me with more teenage sarcasm and wit.” He puts his hand to his ear, giving me an expectant look and batting his eyelashes.

Instead, I toss a cushion at him. He roars with mock outrage and throws it back, and within seconds, we’re engaged in a full-blown pillow fight.

I shriek at a vicious blow to my back and hop onto my bed to double up on ammo.

My heart races as I swing around with two pillows to knock Eric over the head with.

“Foul,” he cries, falling to the floor and holding his head like I’d hit him with a brick instead of a sack of feathers.

“Is that all you’ve got?” I ask, my voice brimming with laughter. “That’s disappointing.” I’m about to leap off the bed when approaching footsteps make me freeze.

Eric pops up and jumps onto my bed. “The enemy is approaching. Prepare for a full frontal attack.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

The door creaks open and Eric shouts, “Fire!”

I lob one of my cushions across the room and cheer when it lands in the middle of Nate’s surprised face. Eric leaps off the bed and onto his back, wrapping his legs around Nate’s waist and his arm around his neck.

“What the fuck?” Nate exclaims, his voice so full of bewilderment it draws a laugh from me.

“Now, angel!”

I jump off the bed, waving two pillows while advancing on my target, a wide smile splitting my face.

Nate’s eyes twinkle even as they narrow at me, and I gulp. “Think carefully, little one. Actions have consequences.”

I take a beat to contemplate his words before shrugging and whacking him across the stomach. Nate shoves Eric off his back, scoops me up, and throws me over his shoulder.

“Put me down!”

Nate chuckles and storms out of my room, ignoring my fists beating on his back.

He jogs down the stairs, and I swear he jostles me more than absolutely necessary.

My long hair impedes my view, but the sound of the bi-fold doors sliding open makes me squirm in his grasp.

Not that it’s any use—his arm is as immovable as a boulder.

“Don’t you dar—” My words cut off when he sends me flying through the air and into the pool. The cool water shocks my system, and I sink below the surface in a flurry of bubbles. Nate’s watery visage peers down at me, the wide grin on his face clear even through the sun-dappled ripples.

I push off the bottom and leap upward, intentionally spraying him when I breach the surface. Grabbing his ankle, I give a sharp tug, and he topples into the pool, disappearing beneath the water. Fuck. Where did he go?

An undignified yelp escapes me when he surges up and pins me against the side of the pool. My heart flutters at the sight of his white T-shirt molded against his muscles, displaying every hard ridge in perfect detail.

Droplets of water drip from his hair and slide down his face, and I wet my lips, forcing myself not to reach out and touch him. Images of him fucking Eric’s mouth dance in my mind, and heat pools in my core.

Nate’s nostrils flare, and he raises his hand before dropping it again. Disappointment sears my chest, the pang sharp enough to make me suck in a breath. I bite my lip and lower my head, unsure of myself.

I’ve never been with anyone willingly. I’ve never even been kissed. For years, the shame and disgust of what David was doing to me had me convinced I’d never want sex in any form. The boys at school only reinforced that idea, only showing interest in my looks when they never cared to know me.

But Nate and Eric? They know the real me. The parts of me I’ve spent my life concealing from the world. The dark, the dirty, the depraved. The bloodlust, the fury, the despair, the hope.

The books I’ve read have opened my eyes to a whole new world of sensuality I never could have dreamed existed. And in them, I found a sort of acceptance. I’ll never be the flowers and candlelight girl. I want to be hunted. To be stalked through the forest and taken and claimed.

The thought of it should be repugnant; after all, one of Uncle David’s favorite games was hide and seek.

But the idea of giving myself to someone—or someones—of my choosing, of giving up control, trusting them to see to my needs while taking what they want from me…

it’s freeing. Terrifying, yes. But also intriguing.

Nate’s hand comes around my throat and forces my head up. “Don’t hide. Not from us, little one.”

I could lose myself in those amber depths. Dive right in and swim around in his soul, learning the secrets of this powerful man whose very presence calms and excites me in equal measure.

“I saw you spying on us earlier.” My mouth pops open, and I gape at him like a stunned goldfish.

He chuckles and runs the pad of his thumb over my cheek.

“Did that excite you? Did you wish you could take my brother’s place so you could feel what it’s like to have my cock down your pretty little throat?

” His hand tightens but not enough to cut off my air.

I press my legs together and cut back the moan that so desperately wants to escape.

I shake my head. “Not take his place,” I admit, my voice husky and raw. “But join him.”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Good answer. No one can take Eric’s place, but there’s room for one more.

” He glances at my lips before meeting my eyes again.

A tiny flame of hope—one I thought extinguished—sputters to life.

“But here’s the thing, Tessa. When we were children, I made a vow to Eric that I would always protect him. That includes from you.”

“I would never?—”

“I wasn’t done. You’re a beautiful temptation, Tessa. One both of us could fall for. We’d make you our queen, place you at our side, give you the world. All you have to do is ask, and it would be yours. But I won’t allow you to break Eric’s heart. I killed the last woman who did.”

My throat clogs with emotion, and irrational jealousy rages through me. The thought of them being with someone else makes me want to draw blood. “Who?” I bite out.

“His mother. Eric needs love like you and I need air to breathe. He spent years tracking her down—it was the reason he started hacking. He finally found her about a year after we killed Daniel.”

I place my hand on his arm, and the muscles ripple under my touch. “What happened?”

Nate’s eyes darken, and his mouth twists into a scowl.

“The cunt turned him away after mocking and berating him. Told him she didn’t want him when he was born, so why would she want him now?

That he was nothing more than trash, something she should have had ripped from her womb.

Her words tore him to shreds and made him spiral.

It took months to pull him out of it. She destroyed something inside him I can’t fix.

No one can. So I made the bitch suffer.”

“Good.”

He smiles, then lets it fall away again.

“We want you, Tessa. I won’t deny that. I shouldn’t, and I’ve tried not to, believe me.

But you need to be sure. We’re not toys to play with and discard when you’re done.

If you choose us, that’s it. You’re ours, and we’re yours.

Once you’ve given yourself to us, we’ll love you, protect you, kill for you, die for you.

But there’s no escaping. We’ll never let you go. ”

I search his eyes for any hint of a lie but find none. I want so badly to belong, to have that kind of devotion and love—things I’ve never known or experienced. But I can’t deny that the “we’ll never let you go” part gives me pause. What if I’m wrong about them?

And what if you’re right? Look at what they’ve done. They built you your dream house. Filled it with things you mentioned over the years. Offered to train you and help you get your revenge. Given you a bank account with enough to live on for multiple lifetimes. Give them a chance.

So you trust them?

Yes, and so do you. Deep down, you know it. They’re endgame. You’re just too scared to admit it.

Touché.

“You don’t need to decide now, Tessa. We’re not going anywhere. Take all the time you need. Just remember, there’s no going back. So make sure you know what you want.”

“Cannonball!” Eric shouts, bursting out of the house and racing across the patio. He leaps into the air, tucks himself into a ball, and lands in the pool with a mighty splash. Nate gives me a pointed look before diving under the water and coming up under me, raising me up on his shoulders.

We spend the next two hours acting like the children we never got to be while Nate’s words play on repeat in my mind.