Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Broderick

Isee Shiloh tense, and I know her so fucking well, I know exactly what she intends to do. To run. To get as far from us as possible. “Do not move.” I speak without having any intention of doing it.

She freezes. “I was just going to…”

“No.” I never talk to Shiloh this way. Never. Fuck, I never talk to anyone but Monroe this way. That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want her to leave, to break this strange spell that we created here in this bed.

I can’t believe it happened.

I can’t believe I let myself get swept up in Monroe’s wicked taunting, that it spawned this outcome. I can still hear her low voice in my ear before things spiraled out of control. You gave your word, husband. You’re mine for a week, and I want this cock right now. Truth be told, I barely resisted. I refuse to look at my motivations too closely, not when I can still taste Shiloh on my tongue.

If I let Shiloh leave right now, this will never happen again. The next time I see her, she’ll have her barriers firmly in place, will have edged us back into the safety of friends. If I were smart, I’d let her do it. I value her friendship above all else, and moving forward with this puts that friendship in danger.

Monroe stretches. “Go get a towel and clean up the mess you made.” She flicks her fingers at my come all over her ass and back.

As much as I want to argue, to stay and ensure Shiloh doesn’t leave, I do as Monroe asks. I owe her, after all. Maybe later, I’ll think about how seamlessly we worked as a unit when we had the same goal in mind. There was no jockeying for position, no undermining. Yeah, it was sex, but Monroe and I don’t stop the power plays for sex. If anything, we ramp them up. It’s part of the reason I’ve been avoiding her. I hardly know myself when I get my hands on her.

I didn’t expect that to bleed over to Shiloh in any way, shape, or form, but now that it has, I’m not willing to let it go without at least having a conversation.

Two minutes later, I have a warm damp cloth in my hands as I walk back into the room. The women are exactly where I left them, Monroe draped over Shiloh’s lower body; if I didn’t know better, I’d say Monroe was pinning her to the mattress.

Monroe jolts a little as I lean over the bed and clean up my mess. Did she think I’d just toss the cloth at her and make her do it herself?

You would have even a day ago.

The knowledge shames me. I really have been an unbelievable ass when it comes to both of these women. In different ways, yes, but the fact remains. I want to turn on the lights, to see their faces, but something tells me if I try, it will end this all the sooner. The shadows conceal all manner of things, and maybe each of us need to hide a little for this conversation to happen. “I’m sorry.”

Monroe lifts her head off Shiloh’s stomach. “Don’t you dare apologize for what we just did.” Her voice is so sharp, it sounds almost brittle. Almost vulnerable.

“No, not for that.” I shake my head. “I’m sorry for the past three weeks. I’ve mishandled things.”

Shiloh lets out a harsh laugh. “This is the third time you’ve apologized. You should know by now that quality matters more than quantity, Broderick.”

“Hush.” Monroe lets her head drop and gives Shiloh’s thigh a light smack. “Not everyone is as practical as we are. You have to learn to appreciate the moments when someone particularly stubborn comes around. This is two of those moments in one.”

“Who else—” Shiloh curses. “You’re talking about me, aren’t you?”

“Yes, love, I’m talking about you.” She plants a kiss on the center of Shiloh’s stomach and sits up.

The casual sexual intimacy sends a shard of jealousy through me, but it feels faint and unfocused. What if we got out of our own way and tried this? I’ve loved Shiloh for years, first as a friend, and then as something more, but she never showed the slightest indication that we were anything but friends. She matters too much to me for me to lose her completely because I want more, so I kept my feelings to myself.

But she didn’t come to this bed solely for Monroe.

I’d stake my life on it.

I’m about to stake so much more. Nerves make my voice harsh. “You said you only saw me as a friend.”

“I do.” Shiloh grabs Monroe’s wrist before she can smack her again. “Stop that.”

“Stop lying.” Monroe reverses their grip easily and brings Shiloh’s hand to her mouth to press a kiss to her wrist. “You didn’t lose control until he flipped me. Were you imaging it was you beneath Broderick?” She gives Shiloh’s hand a little shake. “Don’t lie.”

The silence stretches out long enough for it to become uncomfortable. My stomach drops, and my head goes light and fuzzy. We miscalculated. Holy fuck, we miscalculated, and now I’m going to lose everything. “Monroe—”

“Yes,” Shiloh says softly. She jerks her wrist out of Monroe’s grip. “Are you happy now? Yes, I was jealous that you got to experience that and I didn’t.”

Again, I start to shut this whole thing down, but Monroe laughs. “That’s not the only thing you were jealous of, was it?”

Shiloh looks away. “No.”

“Give us the rest, love.” When she still hesitates, Monroe lowers her voice to a sexy murmur. “Communication is hard and scary, but the rewards are more than worth the challenge. I would think your three orgasms prove that.”

“One of those was at my own hand.”

Monroe laughs again. “Fine, then call it two if you want to get picky. Didn’t Broderick’s big fingers feel good inside you?” My body goes hot at her words, and Shiloh inhales sharply, but Monroe doesn’t give either of us a chance to say anything. “You don’t have to answer. I already know it feels phenomenal when he strokes your G-spot. He’s rather good at finding it and quickly. Just like I know that my oral skills are unsurpassed.” She shoots me a look that I can’t quite define because of the lack of light in the room. “Then again, I bet he’s just as good with his mouth as I am. Maybe we can have a competition sometime.”

My cock goes rock hard at the thought. Of her coaxing Shiloh to orgasm and then shifting aside and giving me a turn. Over and over again until we’ve had our fill or Shiloh’s body gives out. It’s intoxicating to be unified in purpose with Monroe. It feels like riding a giant wave, moving faster than should be possible with so much force behind you. It’s exhilarating. “Do you ever get tired of playing the devil on my shoulder, Monroe?” The question comes out almost playful.

She snorts. “Why would I? It’s so damn fun.”

I finally clear my throat. I don’t want to rush into this, but rushing feels the most natural thing in the world. Still… “Do I get a say in this?”

Monroe tilts her head to the side. “That depends. Are you going to admit that you’re practically coming in your pants at the idea of getting Shiloh naked and under you—or over you, or in front of you?”

“Monroe.”

She ignores Shiloh, focusing all that formative willpower on me. “Because Shiloh isn’t the only one who’s played it safe when it comes to your relationship. If I hadn’t forced the issue, you two would live to a ripe old age and never have a difficult conversation about the fact that she wants to sit on your cock and you’re dying to eat her pussy until she damn near passes out.”

“The only one I want to pass out right now is you with your fucking mouth.” The words feel vaguely sharp, but nowhere near the vehemence I’ve dredged up in the past. Because she’s right. It’s terrifying how right she is.

Monroe leans back against the headboard and waves her hand at her lower body. “Well, I’m not going to argue with oral sex. Go ahead then.”

I snort. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Do I? You’re so terrible with words, Broderick. I have to prod and prod and prod until you charge me, and then it’s all fucking and no communication. Can you blame me for provoking you?”

Not when she puts it like that. “You have a point. Get to it.”

“My point is that what we just did was fun. It was damn near seamless, and that kind of thing is worth its weight in gold when you’re having group sex. You both enjoyed yourselves. I enjoyed myself. There is no reason we shouldn’t do it again, preferably repeatedly for the next eleven months.”

Until she’s no longer my Bride.

Before, the thought filled me with nothing but relief and impatience. A year isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things, but every moment with Monroe frays my patience to dangerous levels of loss of control. Now…

No, it’s not complicated. I can’t let it be complicated.

It doesn’t matter if what happened in this bed with Shiloh felt so fucking right, I can barely put it into words. It doesn’t matter that having Monroe in my corner and aligned in my purpose was practically magic. At the end of this handfasting, I will still be glad to send her back to her faction for good.

Shiloh crosses her arms over her chest, which is doing a number on my ability to pretend we’re not all sitting here naked. “Maybe I came to this bed for you. And Broderick was fucking you. One could argue that we’re only attracted to you, not each other.”

“There you go with that lying mouth again.” Monroe sighs, but it’s almost mock exasperation in her tone. “I ought to wrap it around Broderick’s cock and see who’s attracted to who at that point.”

The air in the room gains a thickness and heat that makes me achingly aware of each inhale. “You can’t say shit like that.”

“And yet I just did.” She shakes her head. “Fine. Have it your way, you stubborn asses. You can both fuck me, sometimes together, and keep it at that. Are you happy?”

No. Of course not. I want Shiloh in every way, but I can recognize it for the selfish desire it is. If I use this situation to take advantage of things, I’ll be worse than a fucking monster. It takes everything I have to lock down my emotions and keep them out of my voice. “If that’s what Shiloh wants.”

“It’s the smart thing to do.” She slides off the bed, and I watch helplessly as she bends to grab the oversized sleep shirt off the floor.

I would give my right arm for good light to see her properly in this moment. To trace the curves and slopes of her naked body with my gaze in a way I’m not permitted to with my hands. Then again, maybe it’s for the best. Wanting Shiloh is one thing when we’re very clearly defined as friends. This thing with Monroe smudges those lines by definition. No need to erase them completely.

Shiloh pulls the shirt over her head and hurries to the couch. It a rush of motion, she yanks on her pants and practically dives beneath the covers. “Good night.”

“Good night,” I respond automatically.

No reason for the yawning feeling akin to loss in my chest. No good reason, at least. Of course, Shiloh wants to preserve what little distance she can between us. Of course, she wouldn’t want to share a bed with me for something as intimate as sleeping.

Of course.

A light touch to the center of my chest. I look down to find Monroe watching me. Her teeth flash in the low light, and she climbs onto her knees to whisper in my ear, “Have faith, husband.”

“I’m not your husband.” I’ve said it so many times, the response is more habit than anything else.

She twines her arms around my neck and presses a quick kiss to my cheek. She’s gone before I can decide if I want to welcome the contact or not, moving to her side of the bed and sliding beneath the covers.

Have faith.

In what? What is Monroe’s motivation for doing all this? That, more than anything, confuses me. I believe her attraction to Shiloh is genuine, and she seems to actually care for my best friend as well. Feelings that are mutual between both women as best I can tell.

But Monroe hates me. She has every reason to. Us colliding sexually a handful of times doesn’t change the fact that she’s been handfasted to me against her will. No matter what her motivations are now, she initially sought out Shiloh to hurt me.

I can’t trust her.

No matter how good the sex. No matter how perfect it felt to have our wills aligned instead of in conflict. No matter how much we both seem to want Shiloh.

Trusting Monroe is playing directly into her hands.