My response is an audible gasp and Knox chuckles as he steps closer to me. I hadn’t realized he entered the room. His eyes trail my body hungrily as if he’s committing every curve to memory. I don’t look in the mirror and consider myself beautiful. I’m just me, but I believe he sees me that way. They all do. It has taken me a while to accept their compliments as genuine.
“Thank you.”
He takes my hand in his, kisses my palm, and his lips pull up into a grin. When he winks at me, I know he is aware of the effect he has on me.
We walk down the stairs to the back door, and I stop when I spot what they’ve done.
There are twinkling lights all around the roses. I glance at Knox, confusion clouding my mind.
“What’s going on?”
He kisses my temple and sighs audibly.
“Come on, Tesoro.”
We walk down the cobblestone path to the stairs, and I spot Carter and Killian standing in the sand. All three of my men look handsome in their black suits. Killian wears a blue dress shirt, Carter's is black and Knox is wearing a purple one. There are hurricane candles all around them on the sand, and I worry that they want to have sex on the beach.
“Knox, I don’t want sand in my vagina.”
He chuckles loudly as he wraps his arm around my waist.
“Get out of your head, Tesoro. Do we ever do anything you don’t want us to?”
I let out a shaky breath, trying to shake my nerves. While I can’t put my finger on it, the air is thick with something monumental. It’s a moment where it feels like everything could change between us, and I don’t want it to.
Knox walks me over to Carter and steps back, leaving me more anxious than I already was.
Carter takes my hand and stares at me, his eyes filled with an emotion I can’t identify, and my heart races with trepidation. Pressing his forehead to mine, he sighs softly, his warm breath washing over my skin.
“Little Heathen, calm down. I can feel your anxiety, baby.”
Lifting his head from mine, he grips my hands in his tightly.
“The day I found you, I found myself too. I was lost. And broken, like you. We understand each other in a way nobody else can. I always thought the only way to escape the constant pain was to die. And then I saw you. You were an infusion of oxygeninto my lungs. The only thing I cannot live without. My only exception. Instead of fearing your touch, I crave it. From the moment I laid eyes on you, you were mine. But it’s not enough. I need you in every way.”
He drops to a knee, as sheer panic fills me. I freeze, unable to move. Barely able to breathe.
Pulling a ring from his pocket, he stares up at me.
“Marry me, Little Heathen. You own my heart and soul, be mine legally.”
Tears roll down my face, coming fast and furious as I realize what’s happening. They are making me choose. I glance at Knox and Killian as the heartbreak fills me like an all-consuming inferno. When I return my gaze to Carter, his eyes reflect my own as he rises to his feet.
“Carter, I-”
I intake a deep breath before releasing it slowly and try to make him understand.
“I love you, Carter. But I can’t marry you and lose your brothers. I love you all and saying goodbye to any of you would rip me to shreds. Please don’t ask me to do that—because I can’t.”
He places his hands on my face, leans forward and catches my tears on his tongue.
“Little Heathen, I fucked this up. I will never ask you to choose between us, and neither will my brothers. You belong to all three of us, but you can only legally marry one man. If you say yes, I will marry you in a legal ceremony. And then we will have another ceremony with all four of us. You will be our wife. All of ours. As you always have been.”
Knox moves to my side and Killian moves to the other.
“Tesoro. Ours.”
Glancing between the three of them, I agree.