Yes, Masters (Book 2 of Desire's Den)

Chapter 42 - Emma

I gaped, staring at the men. Each of them was wearing a determined expression on their faces. "You're serious."

"Quite," Gideon confirmed. He put his knife down before settling his hand on my bare knee. The heat of his skin against mine awakened a longing inside me. I was tired. So damn tired, yet...his hand on me woke me farther than a cup—or several cups—of coffee ever could've. "Until your stalker has been dealt with, you'll be living at my place. Callan and Mateo will move in too."

"I-I," I stammered, shocked by what he was telling me. "You don't have to do that. I can handle it myself," I objected, though weakly. I didn't want to be a burden to them, or anyone—other than the police, if they had been the ones taking me seriously. Damned cops.

"Do you honestly think we'll leave all of this for you to handle alone?" Mateo questioned seemingly angry at the thought. "We care about you a lot—hell, we're falling for you, all of us are." Gideon squeezed my knee just a little bit tighter at Mateo's words. "We've been hurting every fucking day after you asked for a break, and now...how can we possibly send you off when all we want is to draw you even closer?"

My eyes prickled by his admission; was it just his own or was it their collective statement? Did they feel the same as Mateo? I parted my mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out. I could feel my heart galloped, ached inside my chest, and my thoughts were scrambled; not confused, but almost too relieved to be able to think anything at all. I had worried, a lot, about their feelings for me, if they'd changed their minds, or if there was still a possibility of an 'us'.

"He's right," Callan stated, his smooth voice filled with the same longing I was feeling. "There hasn't gone a day where we haven't missed you." He let out a small disbelieving chuckle. "It's crazy really, how you've managed to wiggle yourself underneath our skin over such a short time period. We haven't made it a secret that we want you back." No, I supposed they hadn't. "—And we'll keep fighting for you until you'll have us again. But, this, you moving into Gideon's home, has nothing to do with that. You won't have to choose between this and that; our protection won't come at a cost."

I swallowed, taking in the meaning of his words. He was telling me that they would take care of me, help me and keep me safe without demanding anything in return, no matter how much they might wish for us to go back to how it used to. They didn't know yet that I wished for the same, but maybe it was time for them to hear the truth to its fullest extent.

"You know...the day I got the first gifts from you guys? The flowers, and the desserts?" I started, my hand finding its way to the one Gideon held on my knee and intertwined mine with his. He stiffened slightly beside me, but then he clutched my hand even tighter; his thumb starting slowly to stroke the skin between my thumb and index finger. I looked down at our hands with a soft smile, getting butterflies in my stomach at the sight.

Shifting my gaze back to the guys, I continued. "I was ready to forgive you there and then. I was falling for you too." I gave them a wry smile. "It's not easy ignoring my heart just because my head is messed up. I spent a few days angry and hurting, and then I tried to think of a life without you guys in it anymore, and it hurt worse than the thought of being lied to again. I could risk the chance of you guys betraying my trust one more time than walking away altogether. But then..." I shook my head, remembering how happy I'd been because of the notes they'd sent with the gifts, and how devastated I was when my choices were taken from me.

"But then?" Gideon prompted, bringing our hands over to his thigh and in doing so, shifting me even closer to him.

"Then he reached out for the first time," I said bitterly, hatefully, as I thought back to the fourth time my intercom had rung that day. "I couldn't ignore the threats that was hanging over you because of me. I didn't know what kind of maniac I was dealing with, or if he really posed a threat or not, but I couldn't chance it." I let out a shiver as Gideon used his free hand to stroke my forearm, effectively combating the negative feelings that wanted to arise with good ones. He helped me relax.