Chapter 13

Colter released Bridger's fingers and slid his hand around to Summer's hip to steady her before she slid under the water.

Bridger had her shoulders.

The blissful look on her face made Colter's heart skip a beat. Whatever they were doing here was unconventional, and most likely no one would recommend something like this, but no way would they deny her anything. Probably ever.

He'd known her for a handful of hours, and already, he was wrapped around her pinky. No matter what happened in the future, he would always ensure she was cared for—and he knew Bridger would, too.

"You okay, baby?" Bridger asked her.

She nodded, a slight grin on her face.

"Let me rinse your hair, and then we'll get you out of the tub." Bridger cupped the back of her neck and carefully dipped her hair into the water.

"I'll lift her out," Colter said, sliding his hands up to her waist. She weighed almost nothing, and she let him pick her up and stand her on the bathmat.

Bridger handed him a towel.

Colter wrapped it around her quickly because she was shivering.

She whimpered, though. "No."

"No, what, honey?" He loosened the towel a bit and patted her skin.

Her brow was furrowed, and she didn't meet his gaze. She was staring at the towel. "Oh, right." She reached out and touched the terry cloth. "That's nice. It's so soft."

No one had dried her? He gritted his teeth as he continued down her legs while Bridger used a second towel on her hair.

"Sorry," she whispered. "It's weird for things to touch me."

Colter tucked the towel around her, swept her into his arms, and carried her to the bedroom. He sat her on the bed, removed the towel, and replaced it with a soft blanket. "Better?"

She shrugged. "I keep waffling from one world to the other. Half of my brain knows I should want clothes. The other half insists my body is meant to be exposed for people to look at."

Colter stiffened as he sat next to her. He cupped her cheek and closed the space between them to drop a soft peck on her lips. He would kiss her deeper later. "At the expense of sounding like a possessive Neanderthal, which you do not need, can I just say that forcing you to wear clothes in front of us is kind of moot at this point? We've both seen every inch of you. You're so fucking gorgeous it's mindboggling. If you want to be naked in this bedroom or the bathroom, knock yourself out. It can be your safe space where you can be as naked as you want."

He glanced at Bridger, who approached behind her with a comb and brush. Bridger was smiling his approval. Good.

Her cheeks turned pink. "Thank you. What part of that makes you a Neanderthal?"

He chuckled. "The part I didn't get to yet. Look at me, honey."

She did.

He wanted her to hold his gaze and be certain she understood what he was about to say. "Bridger and I are way out of line here. You are not capable of making the decisions you're making with us. Your headspace is fucked up."

Her lips parted, and she started to speak.

He set his fingers gently on her lips. "It's okay. We're going to support you on this issue. We're so far past insisting you keep your smoking hot breasts covered." He gave her a warm smile and lowered a hand to cup her breast, which was once again exposed because she'd let the blanket fall.

He gently pinched her cheek. "However, I'd like to make a request. If you don't like it, just say so. I won't make demands of you." He lifted a brow.

She tipped her head back as Bridger started working through the tangles of her hair with the comb. "I'll obey you, Sir."

He shook his head and frowned at her. "Nope. You'll consider my request. I'm not your Dom, and I'm certainly not your Master."

"Okay," she whispered.

Bridger stopped combing for a moment and set his hands on her shoulders. "I think she likes having her hair combed almost as much as she likes having her clit rubbed. I also think I know what you're going to say. Tell her before I continue."

Colter couldn't keep himself from reaching out to stroke a finger over her nipple, making her jump. "Would you consider reserving your naked body for just us for the time being?"

Her eyes widened, and she twisted her head to look back and forth between them.

"You have every right to say no, baby," Bridger told her. "We can't stop you."

"You don't want other people to see me naked?" she asked, seemingly stunned.

Colter winced. "I told you I was a possessive Neanderthal."

A slow smile spread on her face, her cheeks turned pink, and then she released the most delightful giggle. It was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard, and his cock jumped fully to attention.

Suddenly, she rose onto her knees and leaped forward, nearly knocking Colter off the side of the bed as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

Colter looked at Bridger as he set his palms on her back and rubbed her soft skin. His shirt was soaked from reaching down under the water and the splashing that accompanied her orgasm.

"I can do that for you," she whispered against his neck just before she released him to spin around and throw herself at Bridger.

Bridger chuckled as he held her naked body against his equally damp shirt. "I'm not sure why we deserve this burst of excitement."

Her eyes filled with tears when she leaned back. "I spent over a year preparing myself to be raped and violated by you and everyone you wanted to share me with, and now, you're asking me if it's okay if you don't share me?" Her voice lifted.

Colter scooted closer and set his palm on her lower back. She was on her knees, her fantastic ass right below his hand. He tried to control his reaction, but his words still came out on a growl. "We're asking if you'll wear clothes in front of our friends because though we don't own you and have no right to do so, we're possessive bastards. As for the rest, no one is going to rape or violate you in any way. Not me. Not Bridger. Not any other human."

Colter rose from the bed on that thought. "I'm going to line up more security." He turned and left the room, mostly because he was too emotional to remain. He wanted her to be able to share, but she was right; every time she did, he wanted to punch a hole in the wall. It was hard to control his reactions.

No fucking asshole would be raping her. No one would be seeing her naked, either. Thank God she'd agreed with him on that.

Taking deep breaths, he marched to the office he shared with Bridger and sat at his desk. He pulled out his phone and quickly sent a text to the head of security at their office building. Roger would send someone over within an hour.

Colter leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hand down his face. His life had taken a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn in less than twenty-four hours. All three of their lives had.

He wasn't sorry. No matter what happened, he was actually grateful that Bridger's fucked-up grandfather had purchased a woman. He'd inadvertently saved her life. She was free now and with people who would take care of her physically, emotionally, and financially for as long as she needed.

Every time he closed his eyes, though, all he could see was her naked body. Now he could add the image of her writhing orgasm while he'd rubbed her clit.

Had they done the right thing? Shit, he wouldn't change anything. He couldn't.

His phone buzzed, jerking him back to reality. When he lifted it, he saw a text from Carmen. She was in the garage.

Colter rose from his desk and headed for the bedroom, pulling off his wet shirt at the same time.

Summer was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her back to the door. Bridger was behind her, brushing her hair, which was almost dry and silky smooth.

"How long are you going to brush her hair?" he joked as he grabbed a dry shirt from the closet and pulled it over his head. Bridger had already changed.

Bridger looked over his shoulder. "Until she tells me to stop, or maybe not even then because she makes this adorable purring sound every time I run the brush through it. I'm pretty content."

Colter chuckled. "Well, Carmen is on her way up. I'll add her to the approved list of people who can see you naked if you're okay with that, Summer."

She twisted her head around to look at him. "Okay." She looked hesitant. Nervous. He couldn't blame her—of course, she was nervous.

"I'll bring her in." He stayed another few seconds. How could he not? The sexiest naked woman in the world was sitting on his bed while his partner made her purr.

As he backed away, he willed his cock to get under control before he faced his sister. There was no way he was going to pull the wool over on his sister. She was too sharp for that. But he didn't need to blatantly moon over Summer in front of her.

The elevator opened as he approached, and Carmen stepped into the penthouse holding a stuffed clothing bag. She had another large bag over her shoulder.

Colter rushed forward to take the garment bag from her arms. He draped it over the back of the couch and took the other bag to set it on the floor before leaning in to air-kiss her cheek.

"You were so cryptic. What's going on, Colter?"

"It's a long story, and I really need you to accept very few details for now. I promise we'll tell you everything eventually, but not right this minute."

She stared at him, brows furrowed. "Okay. Sounds serious." She glanced past him. "There's obviously a woman involved."

"Yes. Her name is Summer. We met her by accident last night. She needs our help, so we're providing it." He drew in a deep breath. "She's in the bedroom with Bridger. And I know this will sound weird, but she doesn't have clothes. That's why I called you."

Her eyes widened.

He narrowed his gaze and leaned in closer to emphasize the fact that he really needed her to trust him on this.

She sighed. "Okay. Okay. I trust you. Let's get some clothes on Summer." She grabbed the bag from the floor.

Colter lifted the garment bag.