Chapter Twenty-Nine

Iwake up with a drum inside my head. It feels that way, at least. It’s the only explanation for the pounding in my skull. When I blink my eyes open, it takes me a moment to get my bearings. The feel of the black silk sheets beneath me already tells me where I am before my brain can catch up.

Zayden’s room. I’m in Zayden’s room? When did I come in here? I grab my phone beside me and open it to see several missed text messages from Gabby that I couldn’t give a shit about and one text from Zayden.

Zayden: On my way, angel.

Like a flash, everything begins replaying in my mind from last night. Dom and my drinking game, confessions, my phone call with Zayden. Oh my god. My phone call with Zayden. Where I begged him to fuck me while his brother did the same, together. Oh my fucking god. Fuck you, tequila. I swear to God, I will never drink you again.

I push myself out of the sheets, forcing myself to stand on my feet and get the hell out of here. When I open the door, I see Dom sitting at the kitchen island, a cup of coffee in front of him as he holds his head into his hands.

Hesitantly, I tiptoe up to him, and when I’m only a few feet away he turns, giving me a soft smile before wincing.

“Hey, babygirl. How’d you sleep?”

“Good. You?”

“I was fucking out. I don’t think I’ve ever been that drunk. What did you do to me?” He chuckles as he drags me into his lap, resting his head on the curve of my neck.

“You’re the one that wouldn’t give up the secrets,” I tease.

He lets out a short chuckle as he nods, pressing a soft kiss to my skin.

“I may be regretting my choices now.”

Yeah, same.

The front door opens in the next minute, and Zayden walks in, duffle bag tossed over his shoulder, arms bound in his form-fitting leather jacket. He doesn’t even look at Dom, his eyes come straight to me, and fear mixed with anticipation whirls inside me as he drops the bag to the floor, crossing the room until he’s inches from me.

“Hey, how did it go?” Dominic asks.

Zayden doesn’t answer him, though, those blue eyes are practically electric as they bore into me. Whatever he’s searching for in my face or in my eyes, he must have found it because, in the next minute, he’s gripping my cheeks with both hands and crushing his lips to my own.

At first, I don’t react. I’m in shock. I don’t think it’s possible to move. Then his tongue sweeps against my lips, practically forcing his way in before tangling with my own. From there, I lose what little bit of sense I had left.

I wind my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me as he deepens the kiss. He holds onto me like I’ll shatter if he lets go, like we will shatter. His lips move against my own hurriedly, like he’s been thinking about this moment for too long. I’m so lost in this, in him, in us, that I almost forget where we are. That is, until Dominic’s arms around my waist tighten, silently reminding me of his presence.

I pull away from Zayden quickly, shock and horror at what I have literally just done in Dom’s lap, taking over me.

My eyes come to Dominic’s, a million apologies on the tip of my tongue. I don’t get to voice them, though, before Dom’s mouth is on mine. It takes me by surprise, but I instantly sink into the comfort of his touch, of his kiss. This right here is the man that I love, and somehow he’s still able to kiss me like I’m the woman he loves. Even if I just made out with his brother while sitting on his lap.

I feel another mouth on me, trailing up and down my neck before nipping at the sensitive part of my ear, forcing me to let out a moan into Dom’s mouth. I feel Dom slip a hand between my thighs, rubbing against my leggings as Zayden’s hands come to my breasts, slipping underneath my shirt before flicking his thumbs against my nipples.

All of it is too much and yet not enough. I can feel myself literally soaking straight through my panties, leggings, and probably onto Dom’s pants. Excitement is overwhelming me for what comes next when someone’s phone starts ringing. In true twin fashion, Dom and Zayden pause instantly before they both rip away from me at the same time. They share a heavy look before Dom looks at me.

“Go take a shower.”

I frown at that.

“What? I?—”

“Now,” Zayden snaps, causing me to jolt at the heat in his tone before I move to stand. I look at them both with equal parts confusion and sexual frustration as I move down the hallway.

By the time I make it to the shower, I’m fucking pissed. It should be illegal to get a girl that worked up, to dangle a living, breathing wet dream like that only to shut it down in the next minute. So, as soon as I strip down naked, I grab the detachable shower head, knowing at least it won’t let me down.

A knock comesfrom the door, and I look up to see who it is. I’ve been in the spare room for close to an hour, and I’m already satisfied and dressed from my shower when Dom pushes the door open.

“Hey, I have breakfast ready if you’re hungry.”

I wait for him to say more because food has absolutely been the last thing on my mind, but he just watches me for a few more moments before turning his back and striding away. Sooo, are we just supposed to pretend that whole thing never happened? I’m not sure I can do that. It was one of the hottest experiences of my life, and we barely got to a little bit of groping.

When I stand up and move to the kitchen, I notice that Zayden is clearly absent while Dom is plating some breakfast. He hands me five Belgian waffles, eggs, bacon, and a glass of orange juice. I look down at the massive plate before looking up at him.

“Sir, this is your plate, right? Because there is no way I can eat all of this.”

He shrugs as he hands me a fork.

“Whatever you don’t eat, I’m sure me and Zayden will have.”

Something runs through me at just the reminder of the two brothers doing anything together, which apparently gets me excited. Jesus, I’m so fucked. Without meaning to, I turn my head over my shoulder, looking around the room but coming up empty.

“He’s in his room,” Dominic says.

I turn back around to look at him, my brows dipping in faux confusion as he raises a “no bullshit” look to me.

“Zayden, you’re looking for him. He’s in the room.”

“Oh cool. I wasn’t looking for him. I was just?—”

“It’s fine, baby. You don’t have to lie.”

Suddenly, a notification comes from his phone, and he curses under his breath before grabbing his wallet and keys.

“I have to get to the office. I’ll see you tonight,” he says as he leans down, capturing my lips with his own before pulling away and heading out the door.

Looking down at the plate in front of me, I pick at it a bit before I decide to push it away. My disappointment from this morning aside, I’m getting really sick of being here. I know Zayden said there is a man out there that could hurt me if I’m seen out and about, but so what? He’s either going to find out eventually and this will all have been for nothing, or I’m just going to stay locked up in this apartment for the rest of my days?

Absolutely the fuck not. I’ll lose my mind before that happens. I can already feel myself dwindling. The only thing that seems to help the days go by these days is cleaning, something I used to fucking detest. Guess that shows you how a person can change if they’re bored enough.

After I sweptand mopped the floors, dusted, and folded the laundry with my music practically rattling the walls, of course, I ended up taking a long hot bath that resulted in an even longer nap. Have I mentioned that I’m sick of being on virtual house arrest by now? Because I am. So fucking sick. I want to work. I want to go to a coffee shop every morning. I want to have more purpose than just existing in a fucking bubble. Even if it is a really nice bubble.

I wake up blurry-eyed and check the time. It’s already seven o’clock, so I’ve essentially fucked myself out of a good night’s sleep tonight. Awesome.

When I make my way out into the living room, I see Zayden and Dominic sitting at the coffee table with a few takeout containers and a deck of cards. Zayden is puffing on a cigar, and the smell instantly turns my stomach.

They both turn to face me as Zayden smiles around the Cuban in his mouth.

“Hey, angel. Want to play some cards?”

“We’re playing poker,” Dominic supplements.

Those words instantly send my heart into palpitations. My pulse quickens, and any and all background noise fades away. All I hear is the thudding of my heartbeat and my quickened breathing. A cold sweat breaks out across my body from my head to my toes, and I do my best to swallow away the bowling ball that has formed in my throat.

I can practically feel the memories so feral coming to light they are eating me from the inside out. I can’t, though. They belong buried, they need to stay that way. No, no, no. Quickly, I take a stumbled step backward, before another and another.

“No…thanks. I’m going to bed.”

Dominic frowns at that, standing to come closer, but I hold up my hand to keep him back, not realizing how badly I’m shaking until I see my fingertips trembling. I tighten my hand into a fist, wincing at how incredibly weak I’m left from nothing more than a reminder of a memory.

Slowly, I take a deep measuring breath, opening my eyes to see identical looks of concern on their faces. I hear Dominic call out to me, or maybe it was Zayden. Either way, I ignore them and get back to my room, slamming the door behind me as I lean my back against the solid wood. I slide down to my ass, gripping my head on either side as I attempt to keep it together.

“It’s okay, Blake. It’s okay. You’re okay,” I wince as I squeeze my eyes shut, attempting to shut out the suffocating memories that seem determined on taking me down to the pits of hell tonight.