Page 37 of Unfettered

Antonio is lucky I love him.

My Boy sets his hand on my arm and I look at him, but he nods in the direction of the door. I turn my attention there, surprised to see Hollis standing in the doorway.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” he signs.

I shake my head, waving him in. “No, sorry, I was lost in thought about…things.”

He quirks a brow, amusement in his eyes, but he lets me get away with not elaborating. Unlike my Boy, I’m not a gossip, and as sign names were one of the first things I taught him and the twins, I don’t want him to get suspicious should he make out Tennant and Allesandro’s names. When the former Martelli Boss is ready, I’ll let him tell the Boys about his new…relationship dynamic, and deal with whatever explosion follows.

“Something going on?” I ask.

Hollis shakes his head. “I brought a blanket for Nario.” He gestures awkwardly to where it’s tucked under his arm. “I know the ones they have here are shitty—you’d think Doc would invest in better sheets and shit, but he’s an asshole. I hit my curfew for being in my office, so I decided to give you three a break. Go get some real sleep, I’ll sit with Nario.”

“I don’t want Javi to come after me if you’re not where you belong…” I warn him.

Hollis laughs. “I’m in the medical wing. They’re taking shifts to watch over both Cristian and Nario, so as long as I’m not working, or giving them reason for concern, they shouldn’t bother me. I…need this, to be close at hand to my doctors, but not trapped in my room.”

I look at Antonio. “We’re being kicked out,” I tell him wryly. “You wanna wake the Star and we can take him upstairs to bed?”

He glances down at Nicolo. “He’s not going to want to be away from Nario, but it’ll do him good to be in a real bed. You too.” He meets my gaze, stubborn determination shining in his eyes.

I bite back a sigh. “Only if you’re there with us. Otherwise, I’ll just be up and worrying about you.”

A soft, pleased expression crosses my brat’s face. “Of course, Daddy.”

“Good, it’s settled. You three go to bed, and I’ll be here to keep Nario company.” Hollis settles the blanket he brought over the Star.

“Where’d you even get that?” I ask as I stand.

Hollis scowls. “Fucking Connor. I asked for a new blanket and the fucking smartass brought in ten. Ten, Jude! What the hell am I supposed to do with them all?”

I chuckle. Connor is definitely a Caretaker Daddy. That’s such a smartass Caregiver move. It’s exactly what Hollis needs in a therapist. Someone who can give him the tough love he needs, while also meeting him on his level. I can already see the change in him, and it’s only been a few days, but he looks…less haunted. Though I know it’s still early, and it’s not always going to be so easy.

Still, asking for help, and taking his mental health seriously, is the first step. Now to get Roman to do the same…

“But what if he needs me…”

I turn at Nicolo’s sleepy voice and reach out for him. He comes easily, blinking his bleary eyes up at me. I smooth my hand across the lines on his face made from sleeping against the seam of Antonio’s pants.

“Hol will stay and make sure everything is okay. He’ll alert us should Nario wake or something happens, okay?”

Nicolo pouts, and I hold his gaze until he sighs and reluctantly nods. “Okay, Sir.”

Leaning forward, I press a kiss to his forehead. “Good Boy. Come on, let’s go get some real sleep.”

I make sure to kiss both Hollis and Nario before escorting my Boys upstairs. Neither of them protests when I shove them into the shower first. The warm water helps to relax us all, and Antonio practically drags Nicolo to the bed once I’m finished drying them.

I turn on the vibrations on my smartwatch, so I can be sure not to miss a notification about Nario, before removing my hearing aids and putting them in their case, and sliding into bed with my Boys.

Nicolo is already fast asleep again, and this time, Antonio’s arms are wrapped firmly around him. Moving in close, I kiss his head, before leaning over to kiss Antonio, soft and deep, savoring his taste.

“Love you, Daddy,” he says as he closes his eyes.

Tossing my arm over both of them, I watch as they sleep, exhaustion tugging at me, but my need to reassure myself that they’re still here, even if Nario isn’t right now, is too great to give in to sleep.

It’s moments like this that I miss sleeping with Tennant the most. I might not have been comfortable sleeping cuddled up to anyone except Roman, but Tennant’s hyper-awareness has always helped me relax faster than anything. Right now, with all three of my Boys hurting, I could use that attentiveness. We need that fucking orgy bed. There isn’t a world that exists in which I don’t want all my lovers with me. The sooner the better as far as I’m concerned. Even if that means sharing space with fucking Allesandro.

I’m going to have to speak with him sooner rather than later, because fuck this, we can’t be divided any longer.