I close the door behind me then sit down beside her on the bed. “Is change bad?”
Naomi shakes her head. “No, it’s just… different.” She laughs. “I mean, at the beginning of this year, I wouldn’t have pictured any of our lives looking the way they do now.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Yeah? What wouldn’t you have seen for your life?” I ask, resting my hand on her thigh and caressing it with my thumb.
She smiles like she’s making a point before her eyes move down to my hand.
“Um, this,” she says, laughing. “I hadn’t even seen you in years, and now you’re… we’re…” Naomi trails off, a deep blush settling into her cheeks.
“We’re what, Peaches?” I ask, pressing a soft kiss to her neck.
She lets out a little huff but arches her neck to allow me better access. “Are you going to make me say it?”
“I’d like to hear it come from your mouth,” I rumble against her skin then nip at the sensitive flesh.
She lets out another little huff, though it sounds more like a sigh. “Together. I hope, at least. I mean, we feel together to me.”
I pause for a moment, pulling my face away so I can meet her eyes. They’re full of lust but also a hint of hesitation—like she’s not sure if what she said is going to push me away or not. My sweet, naïve girl. Does she not understand that hell itself couldn’t keep us apart?
“We’re more than together, Peaches.”
A smile that lights up my goddamn soul spreads over her face. I reach out to cup her cheeks and press my lips to hers, unable to stop myself, and soon everything else fades away.
Slowly, I push her backward until she’s lying on the bed then crawl on top of her. Our tongues twirl together as I swallow every moan that escapes her soft mouth. I begin to trace her curves with my hands, gripping the hem of her shirt and sliding it up—and then a hand wraps around the back of my neck, yanking me backward and throwing me to the ground.
The motion is jarring and unexpected, which means I don’t see the fist driving into my face until it’s too late. It’s followed by a brutal kick to the stomach that knocks the wind out of my lungs and leaves me in a daze.
Naomi’s scream shakes me free of it. I blink once and look up to see her on Nick’s back, her arm wrapped around his throat as she attempts to drag him away from me.
Nick struggles for a moment before shoving her off him. She tumbles towards the bed but falls short, her back striking the edge of the bedframe before she falls to the ground. That has me instantly on my feet.
Nick tries to hit me once more, but I easily dodge him before driving my fist into his stomach. He coughs and wheezes, stumbling to the side as I rush to Naomi.
“Peaches, baby, are you okay?” I ask, my eyes roaming over her.
She arches her back slightly and winces before nodding.
“The fuck were you doing?”
Naomi smiles weakly. “I was trying to help. Thought I’d go all silverback on him.”
I scoff and shake my head. She could have been seriously hurt. Her survival instincts are fucking abysmal. I’m gonna have to wrap her in bubble wrap and keep her in a bunker, I swear to God.
“What the hell is going on up here?” Anthony shouts as he barrels into the room, Mom right behind him.
“Ask him!” Nick sneers as he climbs to his feet.
Anthony and Mom look my way as I help Naomi to her feet.
“Well? Tell them!” Nick shouts. “Tell them what I just walked in on.”
Before I even have a chance to respond, he continues. “He was on top of Naomi, forcing himself on her! You sick son of a bitch, she’s my sister! She’soursister!” he snarls as Anthony steps between us.
Nick is rabid now, and Anthony lunges to hold him back. “I’ll fucking kill you! You’re dead, you hear me!”
“He did not force himself on me!” Naomi cuts in, trying to step in front of me, but I quickly wrap my hand around her waist and hold her in place. Nick is emotional and out of control right now. I don’t know what he’s capable of, and I won’t risk her safety.
“Kolter and I are… together,” she says, glancing at me before looking to the rest of our family. “We love each other; we have for a long time.”