Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

ARIANNA

Thrashing in the bed, I check my phone for the fifteenth time. I should have gone with them. I should be with them. Why am I like this? I should be with my husband and Wyatt. Fuck those bikers. They need to realize who I am now.

I snatch my long silky robe from the chair near the bed, toss it on and head downstairs. Leo, head of security, sits in the foyer in one of the dining room chairs. His eyes never leave the front door.

“No word?” I ask.

“No, ma’am. My guards are out patrolling.” A buzzing noise cuts off the end of his sentence and he snatches his phone from his pocket. “Yes? Thank you.” Unlocking the door, he stands with his hand on the knob, waiting. “They’re here. They walked here.”

As I try to shove past him, he places his hand on my arm. “No, Mrs. Donovan. I’m supposed to stay right with you. And you’re supposed to be in the house.”

Irritation flares in my chest as I stand back and cross my arms. He’s blocking the door, but there are plenty of others I can sneak out of. Moving into the living room, I pause at the wall of windows, watching for any movement across our sparkling pools, lit up only by dancing underwater lights. The moon is full, casting a long stream of white across the surface in which shadows of two men holding hands come creeping across the painted picture.

My breath catches. There they are…and holding hands? Are my husband and boyfriend together? Warmth spreads through my chest and tears come to my eyes, not just because they have returned in one piece, but with the hope they could possibly love each other as much as I love them. Both.

Scrambling around Leo, he lets me by, seeing his master confidently strolling up the front path. Full speed sprinting, I lunge at my husband, wrapping my legs around him, but his legs falter and he falls backward onto his butt while still holding me. He’s laughing and the sound of his joy makes me cry, heaving sobs of relief.

“You’re home! You’re home!” I lift my arm and find Wyatt’s hand, pulling him down to us, and he envelops me from behind.

“We’re home, empress,” my husband says with a beautiful smile. One I feared I may never see again.

“You miss us, vix?” Wyatt says, his lips brushing against my neck. Turning, I give him a kiss, but he straightens up to a stand. “I need a shower. I’ll see you guys upstairs in a bit.” For some reason, he slips away from us quickly. It seems suspicious, but my attention focuses on my husband’s return.

Shoving Asa down, I crawl over the top of him as his chuckle eases to a small snicker. His fingers raise to stroke back all my hair that surrounds his face like a curtain around us. “Empress, I missed you.”

“I missed you. I should have gone with you. To support Wyatt, and you too. I’m so sorry. What happened? Why did it take you so long?”

“It’s good you didn’t come. The meeting turned into a riot, and we had to hightail it out of there. The men at the meeting lit the Escalade on fire. I think the gas tank blew up. So we hid in the woods and walked home. My dumb ass left my phone somewhere near a tree and Wyatt’s battery is dead.”

Resting my cheek against his chest, he holds me, the trickling of the pool filters the only sound other than his steady heart beats.

His finger works under my chin until he pulls my face up. “Arianna, I wanted to wait until the right time, but given that I almost fucking died tonight? I want to tell you now.”

“What?” Is he going to say there’s someone else? Does he now want to involve another woman?

“I love you.”

My heart skips a beat at his words so solemnly spoken. So serious for someone who isn’t by nature. “You do?”

As if he’s holding his breath, he nods a little and bites his bottom lip. “Do you? Do you…love me?”

I grasp his neck with my hands and squeeze my eyes closed for a moment. When I open them, he looks so expectant. Like my admission holds the key to his fortification or annihilation. Everything I’ve felt for him since our first kiss surges within me. And I give myself over to him. “I do. I love you, Asa. I love you, too.”

The smile that forms on his face broadens as some tears seem to gather in his eyes. “I feel like I won everything when I married you. You’re my little jackpot.”

“I’m lucky you’re my husband.” His head lifts to capture my lips and takes me to another planet. Our kisses make me feel like we were always meant to be. “Do you need water? Anything? A massage?” I ask, desperate to care for him. He’s lost everything and everyone. But now he has me.

“Water would be great. I’m gonna shower.” As he sits up, I help him stand by pulling on his hands. He leans against my shoulder with his arm around my waist as we amble to the house. “I love you,” he says, parting from me at the main stairs.

By the time I prepare a little snack and water for the boys and get to our room, both are in bed sound asleep, but instead of being on opposite sides, Wyatt has his arms wrapped around Asa, who’s in the middle. I set the tray on the nightstand and, as carefully as I can, I slip under the sheets. Asa wakes enough to tug me into his chest and we fall asleep that way. Wyatt holding my husband, who holds me.

When I wake up, Asa’s cock buries inside me as he spoons me. But instead of pressing lips to my neck like usual, they seem to be preoccupied elsewhere. At the sounds of smacking, I lift up and watch as my husband and boyfriend make out with each other.

Wyatt’s hand caresses Asa’s face and their tongues meld through their passionate open-mouthed kisses. It’s shocking to see them together, my stomach tightening as I stare at the two of them so entangled. I wanted Asa to share me, but I didn’t know I’d also be sharing him. Seeing it makes me feel strange. Asa pulls away and presses his mouth to my temple for a moment.

“Here, lay back,” he instructs me. Slipping out, he gets on top of me missionary style and Wyatt gathers my lips for a kiss. With a firm thrust, Asa enters me again, causing me to lose my breath at the thickness of him.

Asa leans over, but instead of kissing me, he strokes Wyatt’s cheek, and their faces meet together like they can’t part from one another. Asa’s other hand gathers my neck and pulls me close to them until the three of us kiss each other. My pussy pulsates on Asa’s cock as we combine.

Asa pulls back for a moment and catches his breath. “Suck his cock, empress. He needs you.”

Wyatt puts his hand on my husband’s forearm and says, “I need both of you.” And something in the way the heat flares behind his eyes makes me almost explode right there. He needs us: Mr. Donovan and me. Warmth fills my soul as I realize we’re combining into one unit. A pack.

This is what I wanted. And it’s now happening.

Kneeling next to my head, Wyatt taps the head of his cock against my cheek until I turn and take him inside my mouth. He wraps an arm around Asa’s back and the two kiss again while my husband’s hips work up a frenzy inside of me.

Wyatt’s piercings poke down my throat until I gag. As if he’s incited by Asa’s tongue in his mouth, he thrusts erratically, as tears of joy spill down my cheeks. “I’m gonna come, vix.” The warning is just in time for me to catch every drop of his release in my mouth, the salty spray hitting my lips with force.

As he pulls back, Asa’s on top of me, licking up every spilled bead, and we share Wyatt’s cum between us. With his intense moans of approval, I lose it, ecstasy climbing up my spine and exploding within my core as I wrap my legs around my husband, my love, tighter. He follows and fills me whole, the two of us reaching our hands over to stroke Wyatt’s thighs as our elation reaches its height.

“I love you, Mrs. Donovan.” The warm moisture from Asa’s words hits my neck as he collapses on me.

Wyatt scoots beside me and kisses my temple. “I love you, too, vixen.”

“I love you both.”

Finally, Asa slides out and gets on the other side of me, the boys holding hands on my breasts. In the stillness of the moment we share, I feel at complete ease, and safe. I’m so ready to bring a child into this environment, filled with hope and love. That’s all I want now. And I can’t wait to see the look in Asa’s eyes when I can tell him I’m with child.

“I want you to fuck me.”

My eyes snap open as Wyatt lifts his head and gazes into Asa’s eyes.

“What? Like…now?” Asa asks, with a look of bewilderment.

A snorted chuckle leaves Wyatt’s nose. “No. Like later. Sometime.”

“Fuck. Say it again, wild card. Tell me what you want.”

“I want you inside me, maverick. Fuck my ass with your thick cock.”

There’s a pause as the two seem to figure out something between them. Then Asa leans over my chest and kisses Wyatt again as I watch my husband and my boyfriend—our boyfriend—meet in the middle.

Asa chuckles. “Well, when you put it like that, I guess I have to.”

Maybe we can alternate who gets me pregnant. We have plenty of space in the house for lots of nurseries. I think I’d love being pregnant. And just as I think it, nausea fills my belly, and I rush into the bathroom and vomit up the emptiness of my stomach.

By the time I flush and reach the sink to brush my teeth, both men stand completely nude in the doorframe, looking like someone’s holding a gun to their heads.

“What?” I ask, my mouth full of toothpaste.

Asa walks over to me and puts his arms around my waist. “What was that?”

“I got nauseated… Maybe I should take a pregnancy test.”

Like I’ve just said some magical words, he places his chin on my shoulder and bites his bottom lip, his face gleaming at me in the mirror. “Okay. This could be happening! Empress, you’ll look so good carrying my child.”

Giggling, I let my eyes squeeze shut with the happiness that surrounds me, and Asa pulls me closer to him as he laughs with me.

Our moment is only interrupted by Wyatt’s murmur of, “I’ll make sure there’s breakfast.”

My eyes meet Asa’s through our reflection and my hand stops its brushing motion.

“I’ll go speak with him,” he says, then scurries off to get dressed.

When I’ve finished getting ready for the day, I head to the dining room and find the two eating a big breakfast. Wyatt shoves a plate filled with scrambled eggs at me and says, “You need protein.”

Smiling at him, I narrow one eyebrow and slide into my seat. “I thought I just got all your protein.”

Both men stop and look at me until Asa lifts his fork and waves it at my face. “Eat.”

Something in the way his demeanor has changed in the last day makes my belly do a flip. I scarf up a bite when I realize I’ve been staring at him in amazement too long and he narrows his eyes at me like a stern…daddy. As casually as I can muster, I clear my mouth and dot the corners with a napkin, sip some juice, and ask, “So, what did you all talk about?”

They eye each other across the table until Wyatt clears his throat and grabs my hand resting on my lap. “I was feeling left out and knew it would happen if you two got pregnant, but Ace agrees that the family will continue to expand.”

Asa pushes his perfect hair back in place. “No, I said that we are pregnant, and our family will continue to expand even after our first baby.” Reaching his arm across the divide, he grabs Wyatt’s hand in one and mine in his other. “By making our own wolf pack.”

I blink back tears as I stare at the man I married with new eyes. It felt like puppy love to have a crush on him before, but now I see his strength. His boldness, his leadership. His kindness and empathy. And I love him more.

Dropping their hands, I slide over onto his lap just to be near the force that lives inside him, to bask in it. I see why everyone loves the charismatic Asa Donovan, but this creature under me, he’s powerful. And it makes me want to support it in any way I can.

Pressing my lips to his temple, I whisper, “I love you, king.”

“And I love you.” His palm swats the side of my ass, and he grabs a fork of eggs for me and dips the prongs just outside my lips. “Now, open and eat. I gotta feed my baby.”

Despite giggling, I take the bite from him and swallow. “I don’t know yet.”

“Well, let’s go get some tests. And stop off at the casino on the way to make an appearance.”

The Escalade didn’t make it home and it was already in bad shape. “Are we going on my bike?” I ask.

“No. Fuck. I don’t want you riding if you’re pregnant. Damn. The Escalade got blown up…”

Darting my eyes to Wyatt, he looks down at his plate. “The guys lit it on fire.”

“I knew it would be trouble.” Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. “Those guys just hate everything that isn’t them.”

Wyatt’s green eyes flash as he raises them to my face. His shoulders slump as he sighs. “Yeah, you’re right, I think.”

Asa clears his throat. “So come with us. I’ll call Kline to send us a car.”

“You want me at the casino?” Some knowing look passes between the two and a significant pause makes me shift in my husband’s lap.

“Yes. I do. Let’s get dressed.”

In an hour, we’re all loading into the limo, me between the guys. Wyatt insists on being the one to jump out and grab some pregnancy tests for me while Asa and I wait in the comfort of the backseat. He presses his lips to my temple and laces his fingers through mine.

“If it’s not positive, we’ll just try some more.”

Turning to face him, I ask, “I wasn’t worried, are you?”

“No. Not at all. I just didn’t want you to be.” Stroking back some of my hair, he tucks a piece behind my ear. “You’re mine. I gotta take care of you.”

Leaning against his chest, I smile as my heart soars higher than I thought possible. He really does love me.

But a concerning realization hits me.

I don’t feel the same way about Wyatt.

My brow furrows as we watch him pay for the products at the counter and return. I still care about him. I do. He’s changed since we got together, but things feel different. Maybe the dynamics are changing, but things are off. Is it that he and my husband are growing closer? Is it because I could be pregnant with Asa’s child?

I don’t know what it is, but there’s something making my gut twist with an intuition that I don’t want. A disgusting suspicion that I just want to ignore so things can be happy again. And, if I think about it long enough, maybe this sense has been there for quite some time now. The closer I’ve grown with Ace, I think I’ve distanced myself from Wyatt.

“Hey, vix. Got a bunch just in case we want to give more than one a try,” he says as he slips back inside the limo with us.

We motor toward the casino, and I decide it must just be hormones. Or a bad night’s rest. Or trying to navigate this new threesome we have. Instead of being shared, I’m doing the sharing, too. It’s good Asa seems to not want Wyatt feeling left out. I’ll get used to things, I’m sure of it. It was probably just the shock of seeing them kiss for the first time. Unexpected. That’s it.

As we get out of the vehicle, I thread my arm through Asa’s, and we walk inside as Mr. and Mrs. Donovan. It’s even more beautiful than it was when we had our wedding. And, as if he reads my mind, my king turns to me and asks, “Do you want a do-over wedding?”

My lips part in a warm smile. “Yeah…someday. Maybe at the house, though. Near the pools.” Fluttering my lashes up at his big blue eyes, I add, “With our children around.”

Every step closer to the back of the main hall drags due to the workers stopping to greet Asa. They treat him like a celebrity, but the weirdest part is that I’m recognized now, too. Everyone seems eager to greet me with a, “Hello, Mrs. Donovan.” It feels like the time the popular Alison Rhodes befriended me and we wore matching uniforms in school for a whole week. My status went up until the boy she was interested in texted me.

Still, by the time we reach Kline’s stuffy office, I’m exhausted from smiling and nodding. Some of Asa’s wolf pack lounges around the furniture inside, smoking blunts, while Kline waves his hand in front of his face and coughs dramatically.

“What the fuck?!” the big walrus man says.

Asa ignores the man’s outburst and points to each of them sitting around the room, heads whipping toward us. “Wyatt and Arianna, this is Hoss, Cass, Jinx, and Dave.”

The attractive muscular man with dark skin named Cass stands and sneers at Wyatt. “What is he doing here, boss?” A flurry of agreements leaves their mouths.

Asa pulls me over to his other arm and his hand finds Wyatt’s, the two looking at where they’re joined. When he lifts his head, his chin comes up with it as he says, “He’s my boyfriend.”

If there was such a thing as a silent bomb, Asa just dropped it. No one’s eyes blink. Even I’m shocked. My breath catches in my chest, waiting for someone to say something.

“Your what?” the blue-haired guy, Jinx, says.

“Wyatt’s my boyfriend. You’ll treat him with respect.”

Dave’s hand crawls to the back of his head as he scratches his hair. “What are you doing? Like…seriously, Ace. Is this a fucking joke?”

Asa’s teeth show as his chest puffs up. “I don’t like your tone. How about you watch it before I watch it for you.”

Pleading, Cass says, “Boss…my man. This guy blew up⁠—”

“It’s been taken care of. We ran into his garage. It’s all water under the bridge now.”

“Not to me,” Hoss says.

Kline clears his throat dramatically. “How about you all move outside, and Mr. Donovan and I will discuss business.”

Pointing a finger at Wyatt’s chest, Dave says, “He can leave first.”

There’s a momentary standoff, but Cass motions to everyone with a wave of his hand. “Come on. We’ll let the boyfriends talk.” As he steps out of the door, he stops for a moment and leans into Asa. “I’m disappointed in you, fraternizing with the enemy.”

Asa’s jaw clenches until they all leave. While Kline eyes Wyatt and me, we take a seat on the empty couch as he and Asa go over some business. I half listen because I want to make sure I know what’s going on, but my mind is racing with a question…

Did Wyatt blow up the casino?

On my wedding day?

The moment we get back in the limo, I let my fake smile drop and cross my arms. Both boys are giddy as they discuss some big poker tournament happening this weekend and the funds it will bring in. I can’t wait for a lull in the conversation, so I dart my eyes to Wyatt and blurt out, “Did you blow up the casino?”

His throat tightens as he swallows, but his stare is steady as he admits, “Yes. But I regret it now…”

Flipping my head toward my husband, I ask, “Did you know about this?”

He puts on his guilty puppy face. “Yeah…”

“Oh my god. You ruined my big day. First you with blowing it up, then you with the cake. No wonder you asked if I wanted a do-over. You knew you ruined it. What else are you two keeping from me?” The two are hiding things from me together. They’re boyfriends now. This was not what I expected at all. I didn’t realize they would get so intimate to hold secrets over me.

Wyatt’s hands reach out, but I change seats to the side couch in the back of the limo as we approach the gates of the mansion. “Ari, I asked Ace not to tell you.”

My voice snaps back. “He should have. You both should have. I don’t think I can trust either one of you.” What happened the night they were on their own? Am I going to be the one left out now?

When the car stops, I dart out and dash upstairs, making my way to the other wing and tossing open the doors to the main bedroom, then lock them behind me. They can have each other.

The two of them are getting very close. Too close. Something doesn’t sit right in my belly.

But maybe it’s just a baby…