He’s really trying not to fly off the handle; I appreciate that.

“We did,” I say, and then something occurs to me that I feel stupid for not thinking of before. It just hits my brain like a flash of lightning and then it’s out there and I can’t take it back. “But it’d be just as fun if you were to join us upstairs.”

Aaron goes stiff and still behind me, one hand gripping my hip possessively. But he doesn’t protest, not even when Vic laughs, the sound low and thick like smoke.

“Really? You think I’m the type of guy who likes to share? Not a chance in fucking hell.”

“Why?” Aaron retorts immediately, nuzzling into my hair. We both notice Victor’s shoulders stiffen, no doubt about that. “Are you scared you can’t compete?”

Silence stretches, taut and dangerous, and Victor grunts, shoving up from his chair.

“Glad to see you lost the cop bitch. We’ll have to be more careful from now on. She’s a tenacious little justice warrior.” Victor heads toward the kitchen, but I’m not done with him.

Neither is Aaron, apparently.

“You can’t keep running away from me because you think I’m a threat,” he challenges, pausing in front of the peninsula and putting his palms atop it.

Victor stops dead in the center of the kitchen, turning around so slowly that I’m almost positive he’s about to level a weapon at Aaron. Instead, he just lifts his eyebrows in surprise.

“A threat?” he asks, and even if he doesn’t think Aaron is one, there is most definitely a threat apparent in his words. “Aaron, my darling, my friend, my beloved brother.” Vic moves over to the opposite side of the peninsula while I stand at the end of it, stuck between two of my boys and sweating bullets. “You are not nor have you ever been a threat to me.”

Aaron doesn’t flinch, maintaining an unblinking stare that he keeps leveled on Vic’s face.

“No?” Aaron echoes, shaking his head and smirking. “Because you sure as shit act like it. Why are you so afraid then? You think if we fuck her together that she’ll choose me over you when there’s a direct comparison?”

Vic smiles, and it’s terrifying.

“Aaron, do you know why I let you have her once upon a time? Hmm? Do you really want to know?”

“Because you loved her enough to recognize that I was the only one of us who could ever give her the life she truly wanted?” Aaron laughs at the end of that statement, tapping his fingers on the counter. “If you weren’t afraid of me, you wouldn’t have asked me to give her up for Havoc. You could’ve used your powers for good, you know? Protected me and my sisters without asking me to give anything up.”

A long stretch of silence fills the space after Aaron’s words as I flick my gaze between the two boys. Wait. Two men? Yep. Two men. It’s been awhile since either of them was really a boy in his heart or body.

I try to decide if I should speak up or let this play out as it will.

But this has needed to happen for quite some time, hasn’t it?

“You’re walking a very fine line with me,” Vic says, choosing instead to go all boss-man on Aaron rather than respond to his words directly. “Like I said, I told you that you could do whatever with Bernie; I did not give you permission to go rogue. So, what do you want to do now, Aaron Fadler? Fight me in the dark of night and end up bleeding out on your kitchen floor?”

“No.” Aaron’s voice is firm and hard as he moves over to stand closer to me. “I want you to take Bernie up on her challenge. Stop being so goddamn selfish, and just fuck her with me. If you’re right, what do you have to lose? We’ve been at this a long, long time. And I’ve hated you for a long, long time. Aren’t you tired? Don’t you just want to let it go? We’re in this together, man.”

Victor looks from Aaron and down to me, his obsidian gaze an endless void in the dark kitchen. I stare right back at him. He only just gave us the go-ahead and already, there are problems. Prove to me that you can do this, I think. All this time, I wanted to see Hael disobey Vic’s orders—which he did in the Ferrari. All this time, I wanted to see Aaron fight for me—which he’s doing now.

All I want is for Vic to make some sacrifice for me.

He said his love was selfish, but is it? It doesn’t have to be.

“Bernadette,” Victor says finally, voice softening. “What the hell have you done with my balls?” he murmurs, and even though I know he’s trying to be an ass, I decide to make light of the situation.

“Drained them into my womb?” I quip, and he snorts, flashing a razor-sharp grin.

“Fair enough.” Vic looks back at Aaron and then exhales, letting his shoulders relax slightly. “Fine, okay. Never had a threesome before, but I guess there’s a first time for everything.” He nods with his chin in the direction of the downstairs bedroom. “Let’s take this to bed, shall we?”

“Just don’t think you’re going to kick me out in the middle of it like you did Hael,” Aaron quips, and Victor snickers.

“Bro, if I decide to kick you out, you’re gone.” Victor pauses when I give him a scathing look and then holds up both hands, palms out. “Jesus Christ, Bernie. I won’t kick him out for your sake, but if I were going to …”

Aaron scowls as Vic opens the door to the room, but he doesn’t escalate the situation which I appreciate.

“Is it weird for you to be in here?” I ask Aaron as he pauses just inside the door and looks around briefly. It’s not like he never comes in here; he slept in here the night after he got shot. But it doesn’t look like he’s particularly comfortable either. I know he said that Vic deserved this room because he’s the boss, but I’m actually wondering if there’s more to it than that.

“No,” Aaron says slowly, but I’m wondering if that’s a lie. “The mattress is new, so it’s not like we’re about to fuck on my parents’ actual bed.” He shudders and swipes a hand over his face, moonlight highlighting the best of his features. Put Aaron and Victor side by side, and you might think one is the classic good boy, and the other the classic bad. Aaron’s features are a bit softer; Victor looks like he eats glass for breakfast.

Yet … I have no doubt that if Vic ever hurt me, Aaron would kill him. Papa Bear, remember? He’s fucking fierce as hell when it comes to protecting those he loves.

Victor sits in the chair by the sliding glass doors and kicks off his boots, watching us like a lion stalking its prey through the grasses of Africa.

“Are you two going to chat all night or are we gonna fuck?” he asks, making me grit my teeth.

“You’re erasing all the goodwill you earned by watching over as at the drive-in,” I snap, and Vic flashes me white teeth in an angry smile.

“Tell me you’d choose me, Bernie, even if it’s a lie,” Vic echoes, pitching his voice high. It’s a funny joke, whatever, but Aaron has a nice, smooth masculine voice, so it holds no truth. My cheeks flush as I come to the horrible realization that Vic could probably hear every freaking word Aaron and I said to each other. Fan-flipping-tastic.

Aaron grits his teeth, but instead of retaliating, he reaches out and wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me to him. With two tatted fingers, he lifts my chin so that I’m looking up and into his beautiful face.