Page 58 of The Cabin-A Reverse Harem Romance
My cheeks burned red, and I lowered my eyes away from him. “What do you mean?”
This time, it was Sean spoke up from his spot beside me. “What he means is that you’re not just any girl. You’re the girl. You’re worth it to us,” he said. “We love you, you love us. Maybe it’s idealistic, but I think we all respect each other enough that we can find a way to make this work if that’s what we all want.”
Even though I had hoped for this to happen, for my boys to come around to this way of thinking and openness, I honestly hadn’t expected it. My heart fluttered in my chest, swelling with joy, and my eyes shimmered with tears, as three of the four agreed to be with me. Only one more remained to complete our little set. I looked over at Chase and gave his hand a squeeze.
“We don’t have to do this,” I said.
Simply saying those words caused my heart to break a bit, but I meant it. If any of them were unhappy with the situation, I’d pull back. Nothing was worth damaging what we’d had before this trip. Nothing at all. I wanted these men in my life forever, in whatever form that took.
“We can forget all of this happened,” I said. “We can forget it and go back to our normal lives once we get back to Greenville.”
Chase sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. He shook his head.
“We can never go back to the way things were, Elise,” he said.
Those words crushed me in a way I hadn’t expected or been prepared for. Those words were like a dagger through the heart, and I felt the tears falling down my cheeks as I began to accept that I’d fucked up. I’d changed everything, and that I was going to lose at least one of the men I loved more than anything in this world.
Chase reached out and stroked my cheek gently, and I fell into that touch. I leaned into it hard, relishing the feel of his hand on my skin as I closed my eyes. But then, I felt him lean closer and his lips were against mine in the next moment. It was a soft, chaste kiss, nothing more. But it had still managed to impart so much feeling and emotion. I yearned for him. I wanted him to be mine. I couldn’t force the issue though. I had to let him do what was right for him, even if it killed me. If this was not what he wanted, I couldn’t force it. “I’m sorry, Chase,” I said. “I’m sorry I messed everything up.”
“You didn’t mess anything up,” he said, pressing his forehead against mine. “I’m just saying, now that we know how we feel, and everything is out in the open, we can’t go back to pretending we don’t have feelings for you. I wouldn’t expect you to give up everything you knew just because I was scared.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my pulse quickening.
“I mean – I’m with the others,” he said. “Let’s do this. We are family. Closer than family could ever be, and I believe in us.”
“I believe in us too,” I said.
My heart swelled even bigger in my chest, and I was suddenly the happiest woman on earth.
“And I believe Aaron would have wanted you to be happy,” he continued. “He asked us to take care of you, and we will. I promise we will, for the rest of your life, if you’ll have us.”
“Yes, please,” I said.
I kissed him again, tears of joy spilling down my cheeks as we pulled into Greenville, South Carolina. Soon enough, we’d be home. I’d be home, and I’d have my boys with me. All of them. Life really couldn’t get any stranger, or any better for me than it was at that moment.
Nolan pulled into my driveway and parked the truck. I was still curled up in Chase’s arms, oblivious to the surroundings as he gently kissed my face and held me close.
“Please, come inside and stay for a bit,” I said. “I don’t want you guys to leave just yet.”
No one argued with me, and we hustled into my house. As soon as I stepped inside, the sense of relief was immediate and palpable. My heart, my mind, and my body all felt a hell of a lot lighter. A hell of a lot freer, not to mention, a lot happier.
There was no more Brad or worrying about Brad’s mood, or his abuse. There was no more cabin in the woods. No more snowstorms. And most of all, no more loneliness. I kicked off my shoes and took the hands of two of the guys, my guys – Trevor and Nolan – and led them upstairs. I looked behind me and motioned with my head for the others to follow. Chase still looked a little nervous, but he slowly walked up the steps behind us.
