Tucking hair behind Ember’s ear, I press a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “You hear that? We can go home. Tom’s good to be moved.”
More vulnerability than I’ve ever seen from her before stares back at me. Beneath all her invisible, protective armour and sassy responses, Ember’s just like the rest of us. All too human. All too breakable. I’d do well to remember that.
“Why didn’t I get the invite to cuddle time?” Axel whines.
“Fuck off, pup. We’re having a private moment.”
“Since when are those allowed? Learn to share, big guy.”
Stomping over, Axel makes himself at home behind Ember. His chin lands on her shoulder as he traps her between us without sparing me a glance. Instead, he leans close to bite down on her earlobe.
“Having all the fun without me, dimples?”
“Hardly,” she mumbles. “I was ignoring Richards until he admitted defeat and fucked off. Then Hyland decided to declare his undying love for me.”
“Brat.” I narrow my gaze on her.
The smile it earns me is worth any amount of heartache. I’ll disregard the fact that she’s ignoring the trained mental health professional…for now.At least until I know our Ember’s back.
“Well…” Axel grins conspiratorially. “I know circumstances didn’t allow for me to rip that Kevlar vest off as promised, but don’t forget who was first in line with their undying love.”
I glower at the little asshole. “There isn’t a fucking queuing system.”
“Why not? Gotta be fair, Hy. If we’re sharing Ember’s affections, I want an even slice.”
“I’m not a cake.” Her hands push against my chest to wriggle free. “Take me to see Tom. We can discuss this massive clusterfuck later.”
Before she can escape, Axel grabs her wrist to pull her towards him. Spinning Ember between us, he backs her up into my chest, his body covering hers so she’s well and truly sandwiched. My hands fly down to her waist.
“Going somewhere, babe?”
“Ax, we’re in a hospital?—”
“Frankly, I don’t give a damn. We’re discussing this now.”
His mouth descends on hers, far more hungrily than the way I gently kissed her. I can feel Ember tense against me, her spine stiffening and ass pushing backwards into my crotch. To my surprise, my cock stirs in response to Axel’s meddling.
Each time he kisses her lips, she rocks back and forth, pushing back against his domination. Her fighting spirit is still there, bubbling beneath the surface. It adds unbearable pressure to my growing erection.
Fuck, I’d half made my peace with this whole sharing deal. But I had no intention of getting into this situation. I don’t want to watch Axel devouring my girl. Yet seeing her arousal is so fucking hot, I find myself relaxing into it and… hell, craving more.
I wanna know how far he can push her. How she’ll react to his touch, his tongue. The way only he can make her feel. My cock grinding into her ass seeks its own satisfaction. Shit, she feels so hot imprisoned between us. All squirmy and flustered.
“Can you feel how hard you’re making him?” Axel moans into her mouth. “I’d bet my last paycheck that Hyland’s ready to slide between your legs right now.”
“God… Ax. Fuck.”
“That’s my intention, dimples. Not here. But soon—very fucking soon. I need to feel you wrapped around me.”
“You’ve got her all worked up now,” I grunt.
Axel flicks me a look. “Well, we can’t have that.”
“No.”
“You good with this?”
“With what?” Ember asks.
