Piece By Piece (Complete)

12. Family

Sang

Five Months Later

I crawled on top of North, twisting his arms up into the new position Nathan had taught me a few weeks ago, immobilizing him. "Well?" I asked, still tensed. He'd broken out of my holds before, and I was determined not to let up this time.

He didn't say anything, and I couldn't see his face from my position, but I felt him relax slightly. I smirked. I'd fallen for that one before, too.

"North, I'm not getting off of you until you admit it," I said, pressing him further into the mat. I didn't know how long I'd been able to keep him down, but it had definitely been long enough. I was so winning.

He shifted a bit, grunting, and I heard a low hiss of breath. "Do you admit it?" I repeated.

"Yes," he finally said, his voice husky. I grinned as I released him only to have him flip me, pinning me on my back. His dark gaze flickered over my face, his hair matted with sweat as he flashed me a smirk. "You're getting better."

Pride filled me, and I pushed at his chest playfully. "So you admit it."

The smirk remained. "I said you're getting better," he said slowly, his gaze dipping to my lips. "But you're still a fragile bird."

I rolled my eyes, catching him off guard by flipping him onto his back this time, quickly straddling his legs and locking his arms above his head. He knew I hated it when he called me that. I knew now that he'd only been worried about me that first day, that all of them had, which was why I'd started these training sessions to begin with all those months ago.

"I am?" I asked rhetorically, squeezing his hips with my thighs to prevent him from moving. "That's twice I've pinned you now."

Suddenly the tension in the room seemed to shift, and I realized how close we were, felt the heat of his gaze on me. "Sang," he breathed, our little competition forgotten, and my eyes inadvertently focused on his mouth. It hadn't taken me long to fall for North Taylor or any of his brothers, nor had it taken us long to realize how unique my relationship with them would become. I loved them all, and couldn't imagine a world without them in it.

I didn't hesitate to press my lips to his, loosening my grip on his arms. His hands flew to my waist, his thumbs bruising as he pressed me tighter against him, a moan slipping into the otherwise quiet gym we'd been practicing in.

His lips found my neck, biting gently, and I was consumed with feeling. I'd never get over the feelings I had for him, any of them. "You're not a fragile bird," he whispered against my mouth, his hand finding my own and placing it over his heart. "You're the strongest woman I know."

I pulled back from him, a stupid smile on my face, unable to believe how lucky I was to have them in my life. How much happiness the nine of them had brought me. "I'm strong because of you all."

He shook his head, smiling. "You were strong before," he insisted, settling a kiss against the corner of my mouth. "And you've made us stronger."

"We made each other stronger," I replied. And it was true. Piece by piece they'd shown me what it meant to live, to love, filling the holes that my mother had left in me with her cigarettes, her words. "We're a family," I said softly.

And as he pressed another quick kiss to my lips, I let myself accept that I had finally found mine.