Doubled Read online

  “Don’t say that. You don’t really think that, do you?”

  Tobias shrugged. Behind her, she felt Sebastian do the same.

  “Sometimes,” Tobias said.

  “Please don’t. Not for me. Not for anyone. You’re amazing because you’re the way you are, okay?” she asked, though even as she said it she knew it wasn’t enough. She’d put way too many you’res in there, for a start. “I swear, I’m not freaking out,” she tried, though that didn’t work either.

  “But something happened,” Tobias said, and Sebastian added right after, “Yeah, it’s pretty obvious something did. Did Christian say something? Because I’m totally ready to hit him with a chair.”

  “No, no. You don’t need to hit anyone with a chair, you doofus. Jill just said a couple of things and I assumed they meant she knew. And it freaked me out for a second—of course it did. Only then…I don’t know. The feeling passed. I thought it would really bother me if someone else knew, but it didn’t.” She took a breath, tried to compose herself a little more. Everything had come out in too much of a rush, and now she needed to be calm. Steady. Sure. “I didn’t care. I don’t care.”

  “So you really think we can just do this?” Tobias asked, but his words were only half-sarcastic. The other half sounded completely, thrillingly hopeful—in a way that made her feel the same too. Things didn’t have to be difficult, after all. They didn’t even have to be normal.

  Normal just seemed like something Jill would probably like, and that didn’t make it appetizing to her.

  “Why not? Have you changed your mind about liking me?”

  His expression turned grave and still, then.

  “I don’t like you, Bobbi. I love you.”

  Of course she wanted to say something immediately after. She really did. But words came hard, after Tobias Hoffman had actually managed to get out some emotion. Even Sebastian seemed shocked, and he’d lived with the guy his whole life.

  “Wow. It’s like a miracle. Did your heart grow three sizes that day, bro?” he asked, and though she wanted to laugh she couldn’t. Happiness had hold of her by the jugular, but she didn’t want to let it out, not yet.

  Instead, she wanted to make something absolutely clear.

  “You know I love you both too, right? Not just one weird amalgamated version of you. Both of you, separately, at the same time.” She glanced over them as they absorbed that fact, with something like pleasure and incredulity all over their faces. “I don’t want one. I want two. Because I’m greedy that way.”

  They both fell silent then, for quite a while. No glances exchanged. No little comments. Just all of their focus intently on her, waiting for her to say something more. In fact, they seemed to want her to finish so much that after a second, Sebastian actually asked, “So what now?”

  She had no idea. None at all. And yet it came quite easy to just stand up and make her way down over the seats to the grass. Thoughts of maybe holding hands on their way back on her mind. And maybe other things too.

  She turned to face them both, cold fingers stuffed deep in her pockets.

  “Now I think we play this other sexy game.”

  “You’re never going to let me live the blindfold thing down, are you?” Sebastian asked, and this time she did laugh. She laughed, as she said the thing she really wanted to.

  “This game’s called…let’s move in together. It’s really cool, and I think it will work out best for everyone. I mean, it’s mainly because I hate Jill, but also—just imagine the epic and constant sex.”

  “Are you fucking serious?” Sebastian asked, with Tobias following right after, as usual.

  “I think she’s serious.”

  “I’m going to go grab her and carry her off to our lair before she changes her mind.”

  “I’m not even going to try to stop you,” Tobias said, and he stayed true to his word. He just let Sebastian clamber down the seats to get a hold of her, at first in some kind of normal grip but then quickly devolving into an over-his-shoulder fireman’s lift sort of affair.

  Of course she screamed. But it was perhaps the happiest scream she’d ever let out in her entire life.

  “You know what this means though, right, Bobs?” Sebastian asked, as she dangled somewhere around his ass. Her view of Tobias—trying not to grin but doing a piss poor job of it—swinging in and out of view.

  “It means you’re ours,” Tobias said.

  “All ours.”

  “Completely and one hundred percent our girl.”

  “Guys,” she said, as the world spun around, fast and beautiful and just plain awesome. “When did you ever think I was anything else?”

  About the Author

  Charlotte Stein has been writing for over ten years, and perving on hot dudes for even longer than that. However, it’s only recently that she’s had the courage to pair the two together and pen some critically acclaimed, steamy-hot erotic romances. She lives in Brit-land with her very own hunk of manbeef, and their imaginary dog.

  You can find her at www.themightycharlottestein.blogspot.com, usually in the middle of rambling about nonsense, squee-ing over her totally unexpected life as a writer, and generally lusting after seriously sexy men.

  Charlotte welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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  Also by Charlotte Stein

  All Other Things

  Closer

  Giving

  The Horizon

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