Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 155037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 517(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 775(@200wpm)___ 620(@250wpm)___ 517(@300wpm)
Loki nodded, picking her up and carrying her to the sofa. He settled her down, then sat next to her.
That was fine with Remy.
Although . . .
“Isa, I need to talk to Loki and I want you to stay quiet while I do.”
Her mouth opened in shock and Loki frowned.
“You can’t tell her to be quiet,” Loki protested.
Remy liked how protective he was of her. But he was going to have to show Loki that he’d never do anything to harm her. That he had her best interests at heart as well.
“I have some things to say that I want to get out. Isa?”
She nodded reluctantly.
“Good.” He felt surprisingly nervous.
Just say it.
“I want Isa. I care about her. I’m attracted to her. I think about her constantly. In an ideal world, she’d already be mine. Mine to dominate. Mine to protect. Mine to cherish.”
To love.
But it was too soon for that.
Loki’s frown deepened and Isa looked like she was dying to speak, but she held herself back.
Surprising.
“I want her. And I know that you want her too.”
Isa bit her lip, looking shocked as Loki sat forward. He gave Remy a furious glare. “What?”
“You want her as well,” Remy repeated. “We both want her.”
“Remy, what are you doing?” Isa asked.
He gave her a firm look. “Quiet, Isa.”
Maybe it wasn’t fair of him to want her to be quiet. But he wanted to see Loki’s unfiltered responses. And he didn’t want Isa putting words in the other man’s mouth.
He stared down at the other man. What he was about to propose was unusual. Even for Wishingbone which had its fair share of unusual relationships.
However, he’d been thinking about this for a while. And it was what felt right to him. The last thing he wanted was to tear these two apart.
Loki was important to Isa. That meant he was important to Remy.
And the more time he spent with Loki . . . the more he wanted to help him.
There was something about the other man that called to him.
Perhaps it was because he saw how lost Loki was. And he recognized that look. He’d seen it in the mirror a number of times over his life.
Loki was floating without much to anchor him. Well, except for Isa. They likely anchored each other. But that could be tiring.
And there was nothing to say that they couldn’t have a third anchor.
A rock.
Remy could be that for them. If he could convince them both.
Now the big question was whether Loki would admit to his feelings or deny them.
If he hurt Isa . . .
Loki turned to look at her and swallowed heavily.
“Ki-Ki?” she whispered.
Well, that was pretty adorable. Damn, she just kept getting cuter. And he was going to ignore her speaking for the moment because it prodded Loki out of his thoughts.
“I don’t deserve her.”
The words hurt Remy, so he could only imagine the impact they were having on Isa. On Loki. That thought had to be eating away at him, day after day.
“Loki, no.” She reached for him.
“Isa,” he said warningly. He could tell there was poison in Loki’s mind. Things he needed to get out. And she couldn’t interfere. “Talk again without permission and I’ll gag you.”
She frowned up at him.
“You’re not the boss of her,” Loki told him, jumping to his feet to glare at Remy.
Yep. Always so protective.
“Not yet.” Yeah, it was said with a touch of arrogance. But he was doing that on purpose. Hoping to prod at Loki, to get him to reveal more.
And also because he was a touch arrogant.
It was the truth.
She was going to be his.
There was just another piece to the puzzle that the two of them hadn’t quite realized yet.
“Why wouldn’t you deserve her?” he asked.
Loki was staring off into the distance. Remy could tell that Isa was eager to get up and touch him. He shook his head at her.
Oh, that was a big glare. She wasn’t happy with him right now.
“I can’t trust myself with her. I have nightmares, flashbacks, times where I go off on my own. I can’t take care of her. What if I tied her up and then had a flashback?” Loki shook his head.
Tie her up, huh?
He’d been wondering if Loki was a Dom. Maybe he wasn’t. Perhaps that was as far as it went. But he’d seen a few indications. However, he was still leaning toward switch.
He just needed a Top that he could trust. That he could let go with. Who would show him that submitting didn’t mean that he was weak.
It seemed he’d been holding back out of fear of hurting Isa. Just as Remy suspected.
“Ki-Ki, you’d never hurt me,” Isa said. “I know you wouldn’t. I trust you.”
What she said was perfect. However, he couldn’t go back on his promise before. So he crossed his arms over his chest. “Am I going to have to gag you?”