I nodded my head. X curled his fingers into my hair, then tugged my head back to plant a soft kiss on my lips. I sighed, sinking into him, letting him deepen it and wipe my fears from my mind for a moment, since it was hard to think when he was kissing me. Still, as he finally led me to the couch where Shane should have been asleep, those fears swamped me again. But instead of vocalizing them, I remained quiet, watching as X grabbed me a bottle of water from the kitchen.
He sat beside me, then handed me the water. Once I’d gulped some of it down, X curled his arm around my shoulders and tugged me into his side. “Come here,” he murmured. Once I was nestled against his side, he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “He’ll be home soon, baby.”
I nodded, trying my best to believe him, to be as confident as X seemed to feel.
X rubbed his fingertips up and down my arm, soothing me. Things hadn’t always been so easy between us. X was always so detached from his emotions that he struggled to comprehend mine when I had them. But X’s obsession had led him to care about making me happy. He’d studied me, learning my tics, memorizing my body language, and figuring out what I needed in certain situations. And I was the only person who got this side of him. Even Shane didn’t seem to, but I firmly believed he and Shane would operate on an entirely different wavelength than X and I did, and I was okay with that.
Shane was one-hundred percent dominant. There was no way Shane would ever bow down to X like I did. But I had a feeling he’d make X kneel before him. Even now, when absolutely nothing had happened between the two of them yet, X listened to Shane. Shane could bring X to heel with just one disapproving look.
Once Shane one-hundred percent gave into us, I knew everything would be perfect. The three of us were literally made for each other.
And when Shane finally brought his ass home, when I finally I knew he was truly safe, I intended to make some changes. I was done waiting on Shane to make more moves on his own time. Maybe that made me no different than X, but at that point, I no longer cared. If something happened to Shane because he wanted to do stupid, reckless shit like go out on his own in the middle of the night, then I wanted no regrets and no time wasted.
Chapter 17
Xan
Preston had worried himself back to sleep while we waited for Shane to show back up. I hadn’t budged from my spot, knowing the second I did, Preston would wake up and just worry himself sick all over again. I didn’t fully understand how he was feeling, but Preston was normal, and well… I wasn’t. But I also knew Shane was safe. He didn’t do reckless shit. If he was out in the middle of the night doing something, he’d thought it through, worked through different plans and scenarios, and no doubt had multiple exit strategies in case shit went sideways.
But trying to explain that to Preston, who was practically certain something would happen to our man, was nearly impossible. Sometimes, it was best to just let Preston sleep when shit was in the air and let it resolve on its own.
The front door clicked open, and like a sixth sense, I knew it was Shane walking through the door. He quietly placed his car keys on the counter, then toed off his boots. Then, a moment later, he finally appeared in the living room. Like a true predator—because I knew one when I saw one, which was one of the things that’d attracted me to him—he cocked his head to the side the slightest bit, taking in me and Preston waiting for him.
“He found you missing,” I quietly stated when he said nothing, my voice matter-of-fact.
“Mmm,” he hummed. “Is it okay to move him back to bed? He’s going to have a backache if he continues sleeping like that.”
I smirked. “Not worried about me?” I asked, feigning hurt. I didn’t particularly care. I wanted his attention, but I didn’t need him to baby me.
Shane arched a brow at me. “You don’t even care if someone gives a shit about your well-being, X,” he calmly stated. And he was right. I really didn’t. I just wanted his attention, and whether he realized it or not, he gave that to me. Shane was finally coming around to the idea of us, whether he wanted to or not. I just needed to have a little more patience, and trust, I could have patience for the right things in this world.
I glanced down at Preston. “If I move him, he’s going to wake up, and he’s been pretty upset. He was certain something would happen to you.”
Shane studied me for a moment. “And you weren’t?”
I shook my head. “Not for a second, Ghost.” His lips quirked at the nickname I’d taken to calling him—a reminder that I knew who he was at his core. And fuck, did I want the real man, not the one he pretended to be for the rest of the world. Not the one who was soft for Preston, though I was glad he was capable of doing so. I was a switch, and while I loved dominating Preston, I wanted a man—Shane in particular—to take control of me.
“You don’t do reckless shit,” I added. “You’re too cold. Too calculating. I have no doubt you looked at every angle, figured out multiple extra strategies, and made phone calls to get yourself out of trouble if need be before you ever decided to leave this apartment.”
Shane’s smile was genuine, and fuck, I really wanted to see it more often. It made him look a bit younger and less hardened by life. Reaching up, he scratched at his beard, as if smiling made his skin itch. “You’re smarter than I give you credit for, X.”
I smirked. “What can I say? I’m just full of fucking surprises.”
Shane snorted.
Preston stirred beside me, then lifted his head. He looked up at me, then turned his head, his eyes locking on Shane. Immediately, Preston’s sleepy expression fell away, replaced by anger and hurt. Shane watched him carefully, not moving or saying a word.
Reluctantly, I let Preston go when he rose from the couch. He crossed his arms over his chest defensively as he narrowed his eyes at Shane. “Why?” he demanded.
“I had something to take care of,” Shane said evasively. “I wasn’t aware I had to explain my every single move.” To me, it just sounded like he was stating a fact, but I had a feeling Preston took it a much different way than Shane probably intended.
Preston’s chin jerked up, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. I stayed seated, watching the exchange. Either Preston would go back to bed still angry with Shane after this, or this standoff would explode into something much hotter. And if the gleam in Shane’s eyes was anything to go by, he was aiming for the latter.
Fuck. He’d been playing me the entire fucking time. Here I’d been thinking he wasn’t one-hundred percent on board with being with both of us yet when he’d just been toying with me and making me wait.
Bastard.
I wasn’t truly upset about it though. I was actually impressed. Shane had gotten one up on me, and it was actually a turn-on.