Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Taylor

Ford runs Lenny a bath and whisks her away into the bathroom on this level.

I see the way Zeph is watching me and I know the look. Smirking at him over my shoulder, I wink as I turn my back, knowing he will follow me. The sound of laughter spilling from the main bedroom catches my attention and makes me smile. Though I shake it off quickly, reminding myself that once the storm passes, we are leaving and won’t ever see her again. I know I have attachment issues—the total opposite of Zeph’s abandonment issues. It means I get attached to people too quickly, and Lenny is so easy to want to be close to.

Stepping into the bathroom off the hall, I start the shower and strip out of my clothes, throwing them into the hamper. The door opens, and Zeph slips inside, his dark-brown eyes roaming my body. We are almost opposites. His dark hair and dark eyes contrast my once-blonde hair—which is now silver—and blue eyes, his tanned skin to my pale. Yet we fit—two wounded souls who together make a whole.

“I don’t care what Ford says, I need to fuck you.”

I nod, biting my lip, the lust in his eyes making me weak in the knees. As I step into the shower, I know he is watching me, and I wait to see how long it will take him to get in.

Less than a minute later, I hear the cabinet open. By the time I look at him, he is lifting his shirt over his head and throwing it on the floor. I smirk—that’s another way we are total opposites. I prefer clean and order, while he leans toward mess and chaos.

Zeph steps into the shower, and my eyes fall to the bottle in his hand. He found lube. It’s a staple in any male-male relationship, especially if the man has a dick the size of Zeph’s. Of course, it isn’t Ford size. I don’t think I would ever attempt to put something that monstrous up my ass.

Zeph steps forward, placing the lube on a shelf built into the tiled wall, then moves toward me. He reaches up and grabs a fistful of my hair, using it to yank my head back. The steam from the shower billows around us as he leans in and sucks on my skin, claiming me as his.

We have never been exclusive, but when we are with women, we are always together. Zeph is a long way from being secure about me not leaving him, and I always need to be close to him. We are both as fucked up as each other.

His teeth dig into my skin, and I moan at the pleasurable pain. I slide my hand down his chest, then keep moving it down, over every ridge of his abs. He lets go of my hair when I wrap my hand around his cock, hissing out a breath as I stroke him.

“I need you inside me,” I whisper. “I need to be reminded I’m yours.”

His hand snakes up and grips my throat, and his other hand slaps mine away from his cock before pulling me in tight to his body.

“The little gift does not belong to us. We will leave here and never look back,” he growls. He knows me so well; it’s why neither of us have any friends besides Ford. We are possessive and needy, with so much trauma between us there is no way we can maintain a relationship. Ford forced our hand and used the law against us so we couldn’t leave him and then spent a year proving he wants us around. He showed he had no ulterior motive other than wanting to help us, which is very much in his nature. He likes to look after those close to him, spoils them, but he also has another side to him—hence why we’re here. If it were up to him, he would have burned his father’s house to the ground. But we pointed out, then his father would have gotten the insurance payout, whereas this way Ford gets his money back and it’s a huge fuck you to his father, since the asshole will know it’s him but won’t have any way to prove it.

“I know she doesn’t, but I can see how easy it would be with her. Though it’s stupid, we don’t even know her.”

“It’s not stupid, but she has her life, and we have ours. We can have our fun and walk away the same way she will.” I nod at his words as I take in what he is saying. “Now turn around and put your hands on the wall.”

I do as he says, bracing myself on the tiles while the water cascades over my back. Then I hear a squirt.

“I’m going to fuck you hard and remind you why we work. It’s you and me, Taylor.”

The tip of his cock presses against my ass and he thrusts inside me. He keeps his movements short and hard, and I hang my head as my eyes flutter closed. I let him fuck me and remind me why I can’t get attached.

“You,” Zeph grunts out as he plunges deep inside me, his fingernails digging into my hips. “Are. Mine. I own your body and your fucking soul. One day we will find a woman who completes us, who will be happy to be possessed by two men like us. But until then, you’re stuck with me, and I’ll always have your back.”

“Shut up and fuck me,” I say, gripping my aching cock and stroking to the rhythm of his thrusts. When I close my eyes, I see a blue-haired, blue-eyed woman kneeling in front of us, and I know I’m completely fucked.

As I grunt out my release, Zeph wraps his hand around the tattoo on my neck and comes as he squeezes, whispering in my ear once more that I am his.

I know Lenny has stirred something up for him as well. He doesn’t trust she won’t say anything because to him people don’t do something for nothing, and they’re quick to stab you in the back. Ford will talk him down off that cliff before we leave. It’s why he is good for us; he’s our voice of reason before we do something stupid. Ford doesn’t do much without thinking it through, hence our shock when he acted out of character and suggested burning his father’s house to the ground. Maybe it was a moment of anger, but it is the most likely reason he agreed to steal the painting back.

“Did you like the show?” Zeph says as he pulls out of me.

I turn to see Lenny standing in the bathroom doorway with Ford behind her, pinning her in place. Her face is flushed, and I wonder if she is embarrassed or turned on.

She nods her head, watching as Zeph steps out of the shower and grabs a towel, then wraps it around his waist. Nerves flutter in my stomach, and I don’t know why. I’ve never cared if people saw Zeph and I fuck, but this feels different. I clean myself up quickly, then twist the taps off and step out. Her eyes move to follow me and heat spreads across my chest.

“Have you ever taken a cock in your ass before, little gift?” Zeph asks her.

This time her pink-stained cheeks go as red as a tomato as she nods her head. “A couple of times. Blake wanted to try it, but I don’t know if I liked it or not,” she mutters.

Zeph closes the distance between them as she talks. I watch as he cups her pussy, and she gasps.

“I will let you recover from Daddy’s anaconda, but tomorrow, you are going to be the meat in a Taylor and Zeph sandwich.”

“Yes, please,” she whispers.

The visual has me practically giddy with excitement. Zeph and I have tagged teamed a woman before, but never has he suggested we fuck one at the same time.

Ford wraps his arm around Lenny’s waist and pulls her backward out of the bathroom, taking her out to the living area while Zeph and I get dressed. Thankfully, her uncle has a fuckton of comfortable clothes, and once we are both dressed, we head out to see what Lenny and Ford are up to. Ford is pacing the room with his phone in hand, searching for a signal. With how bad the storm has been, I’m surprised we still have power.

Lenny is in the kitchen, pulling pans from a drawer, shaking her ass as she sings a Christmas song. I inhale and bite my lip as she reaches for the top shelf, and the bottom of her ass shows from beneath the oversized T-shirt she is wearing. A feeling in my gut I don’t recognize hits me like a hammer to the face. Whose shirt is she wearing? Is it her ex’s?

Zeph puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes, bringing me back to reality.

“Oh, just in time,” she says as she spins around. “I’m making French toast and bacon.”

“Let me help,” I say, stepping toward her. She’s like a fucking beacon of light, and I’m a useless bug drawn closer.

Her smile stretches across her face. The freckles dotted over her nose and cheeks are so fucking cute, and the way the tendrils of her blue hair frame her face makes her irresistible. She moves around the kitchen with ease, then grabs the eggs and cracks some into a bowl.

I step up behind her and place my hands on either side of her on the counter. “Whose shirt are you wearing, little gift?”

She puts down the whisk she was about to use and spins in my arms. “Why?” Her blue eyes sparkle with mischief as she smiles up at me.

“Because your ex doesn’t deserve you wearing his clothes.”

She twists her fingers into my shirt. “Good thing it’s the shirt Ford was wearing,” she says, winking at me before releasing my shirt. “You three, in a short amount of time, have made me realize things with Blake were not as good as I thought they were. While Ford and I were showering, he told me how you all met. I can’t believe how I had rose-colored glasses on for so long. Blake controlled who I was friends with, what I wore, and my money. I thought he did it because he loved me.”

“It sounds more like he loved controlling you. A real man would let you make your own friends. Within reason, of course. If you were my girl, I would kill any man who tried to get close to you.”

She chuckles. “It wasn’t male friends, it was female friends. I stopped trying to make any because he always found a reason he didn’t like them. If I tried to make plans, he would book a date and make me feel guilty about not wanting to spend time with him.”

“It sounds like you dodged a bullet when he put his cock in someone else.”

She nods, and her eyes water. As she drops her head, I catch her chin and force her to look at me. “You are a beautiful woman who deserves to be treated like a queen. Don’t let any man make you feel less than you deserve. You need to figure out who Lenny is—not who you were as Blake’s girlfriend, but who you are. Who are you, Lenny?”

The question hangs in the air as she thinks. “I really don’t know. My entire life, I always did what my parents wanted, and then I started dating Blake and did what was expected. My biggest rebellion was to sleep with Codey, and I regret it because he is actually a good guy. But so is Blake, which is what makes this so hard. I don’t think he purposely did this to hurt me.”

“Don’t make excuses for him,” I grumble.

I don’t mean for it to come out so harshly, but her ex sure as fuck knew what he was doing. I know because Zeph and I are aware of our faults, but we are upfront about them. We are insecure, and it takes a lot for us to feel secure.

“He knows what he did. Maybe it was a learned behavior, but it’s no excuse. Men like that are the most dangerous because they take from you little by little. You don’t realize because, on the outside, they seem so loving—they take you on dates, spend so much time with you, and provide you with a great life. You wouldn’t have known what you lost until you were relying on him for everything and probably had a few children as well. Then it would be nearly impossible to leave him if he had all the financial control, and you had none.”

“You’re right. I’m simply glad I can now figure out what I want to do with my life. I can’t remember what I wanted to do before I was with Blake. Being his wife and the mother of his children was always the next step for me after I graduated.”

“Now you have a world of possibilities. How about we finish making breakfast, and you can write a list? If anyone can help you come up with ideas, it’s Ford. Look what he did to help Zeph and me. We are both criminals, but he took our strengths and found jobs for us based on them. I can sell anyone anything; it’s a natural talent. I’ve talked my way out of so many situations I should have been sent back to prison for. So Ford sends me to scout business with potential clients. Zeph has always been good at hacking things. Now instead of hacking into people’s bank accounts and stealing money, he investigates people for Ford’s company. All legit.”

“That sounds like it worked out well for all of you. I’m glad,” she says sincerely.

Lenny puts me to work until we have a system going, and within half an hour, the food is ready. Then we all sit around the table, eating and making a list of Lenny’s strengths.