“Shut up, you know what I mean.”
I saw his smile but he didn’t drop his arm from his eyes.
“You going to kick one of us out of your harem then?”
“What? No. I love you all too much.”
“Aww, you hear that, E? She’s in luuuurve with us.”
I decided to tickle his side and he squirmed away from me.
“Leave her be, Xavi,” Eric grumbled. “Also this is not a fucking harem. Would you just stop already?”
“Eric’s right. This isn’t Ash’s harem, we’re a quintet,” I heard a voice from the door. “Is this what you’ve been up to whilst I’ve been worrying about you? Getting your rocks off?”
I raised my head and found not just Quinn in the doorway, but Rory whose face was flushed and was looking anywhere but me, Xav and Eric.
“Is that supposed to be a pun?” Xav asked, dropping his hand and staring at Quinn, completely unashamed of his nakedness.
Eric, on the other hand, sat up and covered the three of us with the blanket at the end of his bed. I didn’t think he was embarrassed about being nude in front of Quinn and Rory, but it didn’t seem appropriate either.
“What do you mean pun? It’s an actual word, you idiot. A quintet is a group of five.”
“Of course it has to be a Quinn-tet. Why does this shit not surprise me?”
Quinn frowned and then it dawned on him and his face fell even further.
“Shut up, Xav.”
“Ooo look Quinn’s all mad again. My man, has anyone told you that you’re far too uptight? If only our Ash here wasn’t so worn out, I’d be telling her to loosen you up a little.”
“Would you shut the fuck up already? Jesus Christ, it’s like living with a fucking five-year-old with you around.”
Xav grinned and shrugged, putting his hands behind his head. I decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to rile Quinn up further. Crawling out from the covers, I grabbed a t-shirt, noticing it was Eric’s and tugged it on before going over to Quinn.
“Ignore him,” I murmured running my hands up his chest. “I’m sorry you’ve been worrying. I’m okay, I promise.”
He leant down and pressed his forehead against mine, his hand coming up to tangle in my hair.
“Are you sure, little girl?”
“Yeah… I’m a fighter, Quinn, and I’m going to make sure Frank doesn’t destroy us.”
He stared at me, his dark eyes so full of emotions. His other hand came up and ran across the necklace he’d given me as if reassuring himself I was still very much his.
“Good. We can’t do this without you.”
“Also,” I lowered my voice, “I like that we’re a Quinn-tet.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Since you’re the leader and my sir.”
“Xav’s been rubbing off on you.”
“If you say so, sir.”
I shrugged and kissed him, not caring he was a little peeved. Turns out, he forgave me pretty quickly considering the way his arm curled around my back and pressed me against him as he devoured my mouth.
“Little girl,” he murmured against my lips. “Am I really uptight?”
“No… Xav’s just being a dick.”
He smiled when he pulled away. He might be temperamental at times, but the way Quinn liked to fuck made him far from uptight. Still, I meant what I’d said. I couldn’t take any more cock today. I needed a break from these boys and their insatiable sexual appetites.
I wasn’t trying to be mean about Xav either. I was fully aware of his faults and the way he liked to drive Quinn crazy. It was like he couldn’t help himself. Quinn was his prime target. So if I could diffuse the situation, I would. Like I’d had to earlier when Xav and Eric started on each other. Making sure these boys weren’t at each other’s throats was a full-time job.
“We still have plans to make, but most of the families have agreed to attend a meeting tomorrow at the casino.” He stroked my cheek. “I need you to tell them who you’re with now, little girl. We can’t allow them to side with Frank. It means revealing who I am too, but that’s been a long time coming.”
I knew that’s what I would have to do. Tell them I was Quinn’s girl, but it didn’t seem quite right because that wasn’t the whole truth. I wasn’t just Quinn’s girl, I was Xav’s, Eric’s and Rory’s girl too. After telling Viktor the truth, I felt freer than I had done in a long time. I had acceptance of who I was which I’d never had before. Not from my mother. Not from Frank. Not from any of the Russo clan.
“I want to tell them the truth… that I belong to all of you.”
Quinn’s eyebrows shot up almost comically.
“What?”
“Why do I have to pretend it’s just you and me as a couple? We’re in this together. All five of us. I will go to the ends of the fucking earth to protect you. That’s how it’s always going to be. I want to be free, Quinn. Free to be me without having to meet expectations or conform to who people think I should be.”
He stared at me as if he couldn’t quite believe what I’d said. Standing up for myself hadn’t really come easily for me, especially not when I’d been cowed my entire life by Frank. I didn’t want to be seen as the girl who ran in the face of adversity. I wanted to be the girl who was strong enough and brave enough to stand by their sides. And show the whole fucking world I was proud to be theirs. Proud to be in a relationship with these four men who’d given me more than I could ever ask for. Their love and acceptance had allowed me to blossom. To grow.
“Do you have any idea of what type of scandal you’d cause by admitting that to them?”
“We’re already going to cause one when I tell them I’ve switched my allegiance. I’m signing my fucking death warrant tomorrow. No one tells Frank Russo
