But she didn’t want that. The idea of never seeing him again . . . Brick was right. It would devastate her. But so did the idea of losing Brick. She glanced up at him, studying him. He didn’t look upset or worried. He was calm.
“I love you.”
“Love you too, Duchess.” He kissed her forehead. “Nothing changes that. The amazing thing about you is that I know you have enough love for us both.”
“Really?”
“Really,” he replied firmly. “Do you love Xavier?”
“Nothing happens that you don’t want,” Xavier said before she could answer. “Ever. You have to know that. Yeah, we talked about it. Neither of us knows if it will work. I didn’t even think it was a possibility until Brick brought it up. He didn’t have to. I know that you love him. But if you think it’s possible to love me as well, I’ll never give you a reason to regret it.”
The fear and the hope on his face nearly undid her. She felt those fractured pieces inside her start to slide even tighter together. What Brick had healed was still delicate. But she knew she could become stronger.
If she was brave. If she took what these two men were offering her.
“You’re sure?” she asked Brick.
He nodded. “I’ve had a while to think about this.”
“A while?” she asked, confused by that. “How long?”
He sighed. “It’s fucking Elias’ fault. Him and those reverse harem stories he goes on about.”
“Elias reads reverse harem books?” she asked. This was definitely feeling more than a bit surreal. “Wait, a reverse harem is three or more guys.”
“You’re not adding another guy,” Brick barked.
“No more,” Xavier said with a stern frown.
She held up her hands defensively. “I never said I wanted to. You brought up reverse harems, I’m just pointing out the rules.”
“No more. Just him. That’s more than enough,” Brick said.
“Why?” she whispered. “Why would you do this?” He had her. He didn’t have to share her. “If you’re worried that I would have done something, I swear I wouldn’t. I’m not Linda. I love you. I never want to lose you.”
“I know you’re not her,” Brick told her fiercely. “I couldn’t do this if I didn’t trust you, one hundred percent. And you’re not losing me.”
Her stomach rolled, she felt worried, frightened, and hopeful. She wrapped her hand up in Brick’s T-shirt.
“Baby girl, don’t stress,” Brick soothed. “That’s the last thing we want.”
“If you take off your shirt, that might help her,” Xavier murmured.
“Nah, man, that’s your thing with her. I have something else that helps.”
“Are you going to do that now?”
“Well, figure I should wait a while before I show you my cock,” Brick replied. “Don’t want to give you an inferiority complex.”
Xavier let out a scoffing noise. “I won’t get an inferiority complex from your cock, I can reassure you of that. Wait, what do you do to calm her down that involves your dick?”
Her anxiety was starting to fade as she listened to their conversation.
She leaned back to look up at Brick, who was smirking. “Stick around, I’m sure you’ll find out.” Then he glanced down at her. “I know what I’m doing. I’ve actually been in a ménage relationship before.”
“Not with Linda?” she asked.
“No. When I told Linda that my last relationship had been a ménage, she scoffed. She said she’d never be in a relationship like that. It’s funny because there was a third person in our marriage for years. I just didn’t know. No, this relationship was earlier, when I first joined the marines. And it worked well.”