She was new, had only been working for me for a few weeks, and was more than a little annoying. Most of the time, she just stood around, seeming to daydream. My previous assistant had been inherited from William, but Winnie had been amazing. My work life had run smooth as silk. Plus, Marina adored her. Winnie retired right before Christmas, and I’d been struggling to find a good fit ever since.

  Shifting on her high heels, she bent to retrieve the stack of documents. I didn’t even recall her name the majority of the time. “Your two o’clock appointment will be here shortly.”

  “Cancel it.” I shoved my phone into the breast pocket of my suit. “Inform Wilder’s assistant that we will both be out of the office.”

  “For the rest of the week,” Wilder tacked on.

  She straightened with a frown. “Where are you going?”

  “It’s none of your damn business,” Wilder said with a grunt, a hint of possessiveness in his voice that had my lips twitching for a moment. “Let’s go, Reeve. Car is being pulled up right now. If we hurry, we can get there in time to take Marina to dinner.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  marina

  Tipping my cup back, I chugged down my drink. Kara had made a huge pitcher of some kind of fruity cocktail for us after we’d gotten home from our final earlier. She’d looked like a mad scientist as she’d added the alcohol to the concoction, giggling about how it was her secret recipe for getting over a broken heart.

  All I could taste was the sugary fruit juice she’d added, but I was on my third serving and didn’t feel any different. My heart still throbbed painfully in my chest. Or maybe that was just the hollow spot that was left after having it ripped from my body when I’d opened that stupid wedding invitation.

  I wasn’t sure how I’d made it through the exam, especially since I’d cried myself to sleep the night before and had woken up that morning with gritty, swollen eyes. But somehow, I’d found the strength to power through.

  “This. This is why,” I told her, pointing my empty cup in her direction. She was sitting on the other end of the sofa, sipping from her own cup.

  Her head was tipped back, her eyes glassy as she looked at me. “Why what?”

  “Why I don’t like presents,” I explained. “Nothing eber…emer…ev-ber?”

  She snickered, but I was determined to pronounce the word right.

  “Ever!” I did a fist pump in the air when I finally got it right. “Surprises neb-ver end well for me.”

  “I think you’re drunk.” She took another drink.

  “’Course I’m not,” I denied, tipping my cup to my lips again. “Hey! Where did my juice go?”

  Leaning forward, Kara picked up the crystal pitcher that was almost empty and filled my cup. “Good thing you don’t have a final until the day after tomorrow, because you will definitely be feeling some pain in the morning.”

  “You lied tub me,” I accused. “You said this would make me feel bufler.”

  “No, I said it would make you feel nothing,” she snickered. “You’re on your fourth cup. I’m surprised you haven’t passed out yet. Kudos to you for still being able to talk.”

  Taking a gulp, I picked up the crumpled-up wedding invitation. My breath hitched seeing Reeve’s name next to his bride-to-be’s. “Who even is Marianna Westfield?”

  Kara scrunched up her nose. “She sounds like a bitch. Is that his type?”

  I tried to fight the sting of tears, but they still spilled free. “I dunno. Nev-ber met anyone he dated. Wilder ether.”

  Thank God. I wasn’t sure how I would have handled meeting anyone either of them went out with. They were supposed to be mine. Even if it was wrong, I loved them both. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t consider them my brothers. For four years, I’d pushed down what I felt for them. Now, I was going to lose them both.

  Reeve might have been the one getting married, but eventually, Wilder would find someone to love and spend his life with. She would be so damn lucky. Just like Marianna Westfield.

  Whoever the stupid skank was.

  While I was in bed the night before, I’d gone searching for her online. I couldn’t find anyone with that name linked to Reeve or Wilder. Other than a few random pictures of me with them at several different charity functions, no other women had been connected to either man in years.

  Did that mean she was so special he was keeping her completely out of the spotlight?

  Or that I wasn’t special enough to him to have been introduced to the love of his life?

  “I bet she has fake tits and a huge ass,” Kara said, resting her chin on her hand.

  “Prob-valley,” I agreed with a snicker.

  That quickly turned into a sob.

  “She prob-valley has a perfect ass,” I cried.

  “You have a perfect ass,” my friend argued. “Marianna Westfield has a wide ass. She’s a dirty whore. Reeve’s dick is gonna fall off because she gave him all her antibiotic-resistant diseases.”

  Sniffling, I leaned toward her. “Don’t tell anyone. But I slaw his dick once. I maybe kinda peeped. It’s giantantic.” Wait, that wasn’t the right word. “Ginatic. Gi. Gan. Tic.”

  Kara burst into giggles. “It’s a giant tick?

  “It’s big, Kar.” I held my hands a foot apart.

  “Pfft. No way!” She laughed, but I kept my hands up insistently. “Huh. What about Wilder? Have you ever peeped on him?”

  Taking another gulp of my drink, I fanned my face, not sure if it was the memories of seeing Reeve’s and Wilder’s dicks or the alcohol that was making me sweaty. “Maybe.”

  “And?”

  “Not quite as long as Reeve’s, but he’s thicker.” I should have felt ashamed of myself for spying on my stepbrothers like some creeper, but I’d been too in awe of the sight of what they were packing to care. “Like, double the girth.”

  “Damn.”

  Fresh tears filled my eyes. “I love them both, Kar. Want them both.”

  “Yeah,” she said with a sad sigh. “I know, girly.”

  “Reeve is getting married.”

  “Maybe he will change his mind?” she suggested, always the supportive, amazing friend I loved.

  “He won’t. The webbing is neph weekend,” I reminded her, scrubbing at the dampness on my cheeks.

  Kara sat her cup on the coffee table. “I’m sorry he broke your heart. But maybe you and Wilder will have a chance.”

  “No!” I yelped, shaking my head vehemently. Which was a mistake. Now, I was seeing two of her. “Wouldn’t Belize right.”

  “Why not?”

  “’Cause,” I mumbled into my cup, thirstily chugging it all down. After draining the juice, I laid my head on the back of the couch and closed my eyes. “Both or none. Would hurt too mulch.”

  “Are you going to sleep? Want me to help you to bed?

  “Nah,” I hiccupped. “Just gonna close my lies for a men ate.”

  “You’re going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow, my friend.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  wilder

  Using my key, I unlocked the door to Marina’s apartment. Her daytime head of security was still on duty downstairs in the lobby, so I knew she was home. She didn’t go anywhere without at least three guards with her at all times. Reeve and I personally vetted every member of her detail to ensure she was safe twenty-four seven.

  Being away from her so much over the last few years had been excruciating, but we’d somehow done it. Now, we were in the home stretch, a little over a week away from making her our wife. I didn’t know if I could last another day.

  All the reasons we’d agreed to wait for her didn’t seem to matter any longer. She was one exam away from completing college, which was what William had originally asked of us. That was good enough.

  Fuck it, that was all that meddling old asshole was getting. We weren’t going to spend another day without her in our bed.

  Stepping into the foyer of the apartment, I heard the television coming from the living room. Reeve cocked a brow at me. From the sound of it, some reality TV show was on. Definitely not our girl watching it.

  Walking into the living room, we stopped at the sight we discovered. Kara, the roommate and best friend, was sitting on one end of the couch with her legs folded under her, eating directly from a to-go container of Chinese food. She was so engrossed in what was on TV, she didn’t notice us standing there at first.

  On the other end of the sofa, curled up under a blanket, looking like the most beautiful angel to ever walk the earth, Marina was fast asleep. Her face was pressed into the back of the couch, her mouth slightly open, softly snoring.

  Reeve rushed forward, making Kara yelp, but he had eyes only for our princess.

  “Jesus!” Kara whisper-shouted, holding a hand to her chest. “What are you two doing here?”

  Without answering, Reeve crouched down beside Marina. Tenderly, he tucked her hair back from her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. As I walked closer, I saw she had dark shadows beneath her eyes, along with dried tear streaks.

  The fuck?

  “You!” Kara hissed, glaring at Reeve. She had balls. I’d give her that. On a good day, Reeve’s cold glare was scary as fuck to anyone who didn’t know him as well as I did. Which was only one other person—Marina. Right then, with how worried he was about our wife-to-be, he looked like he could, and no doubt would, rip a man apart. But Kara stared him down like a fierce little kitten. “Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t just break her heart the way you did and then show up here, pretending to love her!”

  Reeve’s face turned to stone. “What are you talking about?”

  She grabbed something off the coffee table and waved it in the air. “Your stupid wedding invitation arrived last night. All wrapped up in a gift bag, no less, like it was a treat for her. You are such an insensitive jerk. I can’t believe I thought either one of you loved her.”

  I snatched the card from her hand, my eyes quickly scanning what was supposed to be our wedding invitation. As soon as I read it, I ripped it in half, anger spiking in the blink of an eye. “This is bullshit. Not only did they get her name wrong, but mine isn’t even on here. Who approved these damn things before they were printed?”

  Tossing it aside, I nudged Reeve out of my way so I could bend and kiss Marina’s cheek, needing to touch her, reassure myself that she was there and safe. That she was mine just as much as Reeve’s.

  With a breathy little sigh, she snuggled deeper into the couch but didn’t awaken.

  Reeve picked up the torn invitation and read the name on it aloud. “Marianna Westfield?”

  Placing her container of food on the table, Kara got to her feet. She planted her hands on her hips, her eyes jumping from Reeve to me and back again. “Are you saying you aren’t marrying this Marianna woman?”

  “Of course I’m not. What the hell, Kara? Why would you even ask that when you know we’ve been planning our wedding to Marina for months?”

  “Say what now?” She pointed at the ripped invitation in his hands. “That was the first I’ve heard of anyone getting married. Marina didn’t know anything about it either.”

  Reeve made a choking noise. Straightening, I moved so I was between him and Kara. Grabbing his face with both hands, I forced him to meet my gaze. “Calm down. We will figure this out. Obviously, wires got crossed somewhere.”

  Reeve clenched his teeth, fire burning in his eyes. “Invitations were the only thing Opal had checked off on the list she has for Marina to make decisions about.”

  “We can discuss that when she wakes up,” I promised him. “For now, let’s get her to bed.”

  “Are you seriously not getting married?” Kara asked when Reeve scooped a still-sleeping Marina into his arms. Her head was cradled gently to his chest. I brushed her hair out of her face, savoring the moment of seeing the woman I loved being held by my best friend.

  “He’s getting married,” I answered her. “We both are.” She opened her mouth, but I continued. “To Marina.”

  Her glower turned into a smile. “Good. Wait, is that legal? How can you both marry her?”

  “Legally, she will be Reeve’s wife,” I explained, watching him carry Marina toward her room. “It won’t be a traditional wedding. More of a commitment ceremony for the three of us.”

  “Oh, cool. Can’t wait to celebrate with you guys.” She sat back down and grabbed the remote to rewind whatever she’d missed of her show. “But maybe explain that to Marina. Pretty sure she doesn’t know anything about your plans.”

  “Yeah, apparently.”

  “Just an FYI, she’s going to have a killer hangover.”

  “Shit,” I groaned, turning toward the kitchen to grab a few bottles of water.

  Entering Marina’s room, I found Reeve had placed her in the middle of the bed. His suit jacket had already been discarded, and he was kicking off his shoes. Unbuckling his belt, he pulled it free and shoved his slacks down his legs, leaving him in nothing but boxer briefs.

  Setting the waters on the nightstand, I stood back and watched as he crawled into bed behind Marina. He pressed his front to her back, one hand rubbing over her lower abdomen and pulling her tighter against him. With a moan, she restlessly shifted her hips against him, her back arching.

  Reeve released a ragged exhale, his eyes closing in a mixture of pleasure and pain before he buried his face in her neck. “When you wake up, I’m spanking your ass for thinking stupid shit, princess.”

  They looked good together, but something was missing.

  Me.

  Unbuckling my own belt, I made quick work of getting out of my clothes, and I slid into bed with them. Kissing Marina’s forehead, I rubbed my hand over her ass, letting my knuckles skim over Reeve’s hard cock for a moment. He flexed against my touch, a tortured groan rumbling out of his throat. I’d been dreaming of this for years. Finally getting to hold Marina, and touch her and Reeve, wasn’t something I was going to pass up.

  When Reeve lifted his head, his eyes hungrily drilled into me for a long moment, but I didn’t do more than stroke him a few times. “Any idea why she thought we were marrying someone else?”

  “You mean why she would think that you were marrying someone else?” He cocked a brow, and I shrugged, feeling a little salty over being excluded. “I have my suspicions.”

  “Stephanie?” He growled her name.

  I nodded. Neither of us was a fan of Marina’s mother. We tried to be civil to her for our girl’s sake, but the selfish bitch was too full of herself to care about anyone but herself. Stephanie hadn’t been happy when we’d told William about the wedding. She didn’t want us to be with her daughter because it would cause the wrong kind of attention.

  Reeve and I didn’t give a shit about anything but being with Marina. If William hadn’t promised to give us his full support if we let her enjoy her college experiences, I never would have waited as long as we had to make her our wife.

  Four years of not touching her, kissing her, holding her the way I ached to. Four goddamn years of not fucking the two people I craved down to my soul. Reeve and I had always known there would only ever be one woman for us. We’d promised each other we would wait. Not just for our one, but to be with each other too. Once we found the missing piece to our puzzle, then we could explore our own connection as well.

  We’d waited our entire lives to meet Marina, and when we’d finally found her, we had to fight the need to take what was ours. For her sake.

  But we didn’t have to wait any longer. One more exam and college was over for her. I wasn’t waiting for her graduation or our wedding night.

  As soon as Marina was sober, we were taking what was ours.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  marina

  Groaning from how hot I was, I kicked a leg out, trying to get rid of the covers that were making me sweaty. Only, the blanket didn’t unwrap from around me. It grunted in my ear.

  Reality returned at the same time my head began to pound, making it difficult to comprehend why my blanket had made a noise, let alone that it was one I was familiar with. My last coherent memory was crying over Reeve while I chugged down the dangerously delicious cocktail Kara had made to help ease my broken heart.

  From the pulse pounding behind my eyeballs, I’d gotten completely sloshed, but that didn’t even begin to explain the grunting blanket issue. Slowly, I lifted my lashes and found myself looking straight into eyes so deeply brown they were almost black.

  My heartbeat kicked up, my breaths coming out in tiny pants. I had to be dreaming. No way Reeve was lying in bed with me. And from the feel of it, turned on to the point that he was basically stabbing me in the belly. To prove to myself I was right and this was a dream, I rubbed against him.

  He growled my name, his head lowering until I felt his breath caress my lips.

  Gasping, I jerked away from him.

  He was real.

  In my bed.

  And turned on.

  My head hurt too badly to connect the dots of how or when he’d gotten into my bed, but that didn’t matter when he shouldn’t have been there to begin with. He was getting married to some faceless woman in a matter of days.

  With a cry, I turned over, needing to get away from Reeve before I kissed him. Or kneed him in the balls.

  Wilder’s startling blue eyes greeted me when I rolled over. Just as confused to find him in my bed as I was Reeve, but welcoming him because I needed him to comfort me, I buried my face in his chest.

  Barely registering that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, I released a strangled sob.

  “Princess, don’t cry,” Reeve pleaded behind me, his hand rubbing up and down my back. “Fuck, you’re killing me.”

  “Give her a minute, man,” Wilder told him quietly. I felt his lips graze my temple. “She’s probably still got a headache. I bet everything’s all fuzzy.”

 

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