Page 195 of Savage Devotion
“And she’s dead. Imagine that,” I mused softly.
He let out a shaky breath. “Please tell me, Ryder. I want us to be friends, believe it or not. We both promise we’re not leaving, so I would like there to be no secrets between us if we can help it. I know I was a prick back then. I’m fucking sorry for it and have been every damn day of my life since, but now that I’m here, I know it was worth the pain. So please, man. Just put me out of my misery.”
“I kissed her a few times. We had some ice cream. She smiled. She sang for me. We rode my motorcycle. We went back to Anson’s place, had a few drinks with Trent, fed him cheesecake, then fell asleep in one another’s arms while I wipedher tears and promised her everything would be OK.” I breathed out, telling him everything.
“So you two didn’t fuck?”
“No, man. I didn’t fuck her that night,” I said. “In fact, I waited five years to fuck her, so you can rest easy knowing my cock was nowhere near her.”
“Really?”
“Really.” I stared at him, taking in the relief on his face. “But why does it matter? I’m with her now.”
“I know. I just… it was a bad time back then. It was soon, you know? It fucking broke me to see her with someone else. I saw her smiling at you, and it hurt because she was giving you the smiles that had once been mine.”
“Well, they’re yours again,” I said. “So you can stop torturing yourself now.”
He threw his arms around me and hugged me tightly. “We’re definitely docking, huh, Romano?”
“God, fuck off,” I said, but I laughed as I hugged him back.
Cole Scott was a weird motherfucker, but I honestly didn’t hate him.
I guess he was growing on me.
After dinnerand watching Ellis try to teach Cole more ballet, we called it a night.
Evan took Rosalie to the bedroom after we’d put Ellis down for the night. I turned to find Cole grabbing a throw blanket and adjusting the pillows on the couch.
“You coming?” I called out.
He looked at me, seemingly confused.
“Where?”
“… to bed?” I said.
“Oh.” He raked his fingers through his blond hair and looked longingly to the hall where Evan had taken Rosalie.
“Cole, just come on. The bed is big enough for all of us,” I said, nodding for him to follow.
“You really want to sleep with me?” he asked.
“No, but I don’t like us all being with our girl and you staying out here. That’s not how it should work. Even Evan, Anson, and Klaus all sleep together when Rosalie isn’t around. I’ve been joining them a lot lately. There’s no reason why you can’t be there too if you’re staying.”
“OK.” He gave me a smile and followed me to the bedroom.
Evan had already taken one of the spots next to Rosalie, and both were cuddled together beneath the blankets.
“You’re here,” Rosalie said, looking genuinely happy at Cole’s presence in the room.
“Ryder talked me into it,” he said as he took his shirt off and tossed it aside.
I quickly undressed and pulled on my pajama bottoms, but before I could get into bed, Cole threw himself, completely naked, into my spot next to Rosalie. She laughed loudly as he tickled her, his big fucking dick flopping around.
If he cared, he didn’t make a show of it.
Evan chuckled and looked at me. “You’re not going to sleep naked?”
