All About Trust

MADISON

~Mmm, that feels nice~.

With the first light of the sun piercing through the windows, Madison slowly and lazily opened her eyes to see Ethan sitting on the bed, fully dressed.

His hand was stroking her hair.

“Good morning, ’Flake.”

“Morning,” she mumbled.

“Slept well?” His husky voice sent shivers down her as she lifted her head to meet his emerald eyes.

“Mm, I did. Though not nearly enough.”

After hopping into the shower together, where Madison had pleasured both her men with her hands while they’d sucked on each side of her neck, they’d finally fallen into bed, exhausted.

She stretched. “I think I just dreamed of our picnic over and over again…and what happened after.”

“Glad to hear you liked it.”

“~Liked it~ is an understatement.” Her hoarse whisper died in her throat as his lips claimed hers for a kiss, which was abruptly interrupted by the door opening and closing.

Levi walked out of the bathroom, hair wet and a towel around his hips. “Didn’t you two have enough time alone last night?” he asked in mock annoyance.

Madison turned to smile in his direction.

She loved absolutely everything about these two.

How different they were. How good they were. How smoking hot they were. Their sweetness, the way they cared, how childish they could be. Even their jealousy.

The way they could be stubborn, and the way they were bonded. Everything.

“You’re going to have three days with her,” Ethan pointed out with a smirk. “So go get dressed and leave us alone.”

Levi turned to go, but then ran back to steal a quick kiss, making her laugh.

Once he was gone, Ethan turned to her.

~God, I’m going to miss him~,~ even if he is only going to be gone for three days.~

“Mad, there’s something I want you to know before I go.”

“What’s that, my love?” His serious tone made her sit up and reach for him. She tugged his hair and smiled reassuringly. “Remember? We can tell each other everything.”

Something flickered in his eyes, like a shadow from a passing cloud. Then he sighed heavily. “It’s about Marta.”

“Oh.” She sat back. “Are you nervous about her coming back?”

“No, it’s not that. I mean, I don’t care about what she can say or do to me or Levi. I’m worried about ~you~. She’s a cruel person, and unpredictable.

“As I said, we left things on bad terms. She was so angry when she didn’t manage to get what she wanted from me back then. And now, when she finds out about you…”

He shook his head. “I don’t know ~what~ she might do. But I do know she’s capable of just about anything. And I need to know you’re safe, and that you trust me.”

The sadness and anger in Ethan’s eyes moved her. She ~did~ trust him. But she also didn’t really understand all of what he’d gone through in the past.

“She’ll try to get in our way,” he continued, his voice breaking. “I’m sure of it. And that’s why I need you to talk to us about anything that troubles you. Because if she senses that you’re not one hundred percent confident in me, in our relationship…”

His teary eyes made her stomach clench. Marta must have done something terrible to him, but it wasn’t the time to dig that up now. So Madison just stroked his head and moved her lips to his cheek.

“Ethan, nothing can get between us. I trust you, and I trust Levi. Remember, together we’re stronger than anything my evil cousin could throw at us.” She sealed her promise with a kiss.

“How did I get so lucky?” Ethan murmured against her mouth.

Another smile curved her lips as his brushed lightly against her cheek.

“Lucky? How so?”

“I think you know exactly what I mean.”

Tilting her head, she kissed his cheek and pulled away to look at him. “Are you ready to go?” She ran her hand through his hair, so soft and curly.

“Yes. A car will be here in ten minutes.”

She hugged him again, and then another set of hands on her hips made her jump.

She chuckled as Levi, dressed in a suit now, pressed his mouth to her neck.

“Sorry, ’Flake, but Liam called. He says he needs you to cover a lesson at eleven a.m. and one more at three thirty.”

“Fuck. Why didn’t he call me?”

“You didn’t pick up,” he explained, then kissed her head. “Gotta run, but I called Ezra, and Sam is going to drive you home and stay with you while you grab a change of clothes for work. Just in case. Don’t linger there. See you later, my love.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was a lot tougher than the men in her life gave her credit for. But everything was so good, she didn’t want to spoil it by saying anything.

Levi said his goodbyes to Ethan and headed outside. Immediately after, Ethan’s phone rang.

“The car is here, my love,” he said, kissing her then getting up to grab his bag from where it was sitting near the doorway.

“We got a small present for you yesterday, but Liam will give it to you later. Something that could come in handy for our video call tomorrow.”

He winked at her and disappeared through the door.

***

After getting dressed, she went outside to wait in the driveway for Sam.

Her friend was already fifteen minutes late, which Madison was used to by now. But all of Ethan and Levi’s dire warnings must have been getting to her, because she couldn’t help glancing around the neighborhood nervously.

Should she go back inside and wait for Sam there?

Chiding herself for being silly, she stayed where she was. Her new boyfriends were just as overprotective as her brothers.

Sure, Marta and her parents were terrible people, but what proof was there that they were dangerous?

Unless…

Suddenly, Sam peeled around the corner and turned fast into the driveway. “Soooorrryyyyyyy,” her voice rang out of the open window. “Don’t tell Ezra I was late!”

Madison laughed as she got in the passenger seat. “It’s okay. I needed some fresh air.”

“Jesus, woman,” Sam exclaimed. “You’ve been busy since I last saw you!”

~Shit.~ She’d completely forgotten about her ravaged neck.

Since she didn’t have clean clothes at the twins’ place, she’d thrown on a simple gray shirt belonging to Levi and a pair of Ethan’s shorts. She hadn’t even looked in the mirror when she’d put her hair up in its usual messy bun.

Sam smirked as her slender fingers brushed the marks on both sides of Madison’s neck. “I knew once you gave up your V-card, you’d be a wild thing!”

Even though the two of them hadn’t had much time to talk lately, they texted every day, and Sam knew everything that had happened on the island.

Madison eyed her best friend closely as she peeled out of the driveway. “What about you? Ezra seems to like your neck too.”

“God, does he. They must all have a neck fetish in common.”

“Maybe. So how are things going between you two?”

“It’s going great. Your brother is full of surprises.”

The smile and happiness in Sam’s eyes made Madison smile too.

Ezra had always been the misunderstood one, and even though he could be stubborn and difficult, underneath he was actually the most tender of the three siblings.

“I know, right? He acts tough, but in reality, he’s a teddy bear.”

“He is indeed. Although in bed—”

Madison held up her hand. “Nope, nope, nope! Remember the rule? No sex stories about my brother.”

“Come on! I’m sure you’ve heard stuff, living in the same house as him for so long!”

“Exactly. That’s why I don’t want to hear any details. My innocence has already been compromised.”

“~Innocence?~ Do I have to remind you that you’re having sex with not one, but ~two~ handsome men?”

“Hey! We’re in love!”

“Sure, but you still have sex with two of them. And a lot of it by the look of things.”

Sam’s sly look ~almost~ made Madison feel embarrassed. But the girls had no secrets—apart from Sam and Ezra’s sex life—and Madison could never really be embarrassed around her closest friend.

“Anyway, did he tell you anything else about Marta?” Madison asked. “Or Isabel and Nikolaj? I’ve been getting a feeling there’s more to the story than what they’re telling me.”

“No, but he seems really worried about them coming. And about you being by yourself. From what I do know, it sounds like the three of them would do anything for money.”

“Yeah…” Madison released a gusty exhale. “Ethan and Levi haven’t given me any more details either. But then they act like I’m in danger, like I need constant protection.”

“Oh, those boys. Probably just an excess of caution. And I’m sure we’ll know more than enough about her soon.” Sam paused and looked over at Madison. “Are ~you~ worried?”

“Because they were married?” Madison arched her eyebrow as Sam pulled into her driveway. “Not really. He was eighteen.”

Sam parked the car and turned to Madison. “Right. Anyway, I’ve got something for you before you run in.”

Sam’s laughter filled up the car as she pulled a little envelope from her purse. It was a light bluish purple and smelled of lavender.

“Jamie did this for you! I think he has a secret crush on you. He says it smells like you. And he forced me to go around the mall twice to find this lavender envelope.” She shook her head and handed the envelope to Madison.

“How can he be so sweet and be ~your~ brother at the same time?” Madison’s lips curled into a bright smile as she read what was written there: ~For Miss Davis~.

The kid’s handwriting was so cute that her heart almost melted.

“I wonder what’s inside,” Sam asked, wrinkling her nose, curious as always. “He wouldn’t say.”

“I’ll let you know.”

“What? No! Open it now!”

“Nope. Your brother clearly didn’t want you to see it.” Madison showed Sam the little note at the bottom of the envelope.

~P.S. Not for Sam to see.~

Sam snorted. “What a little monster!”

“Well, he’s a smart one, that’s for sure. Anyway, you coming in?”

“Nope, I’ll wait in the car. And get a move on, Ezra’s waiting for us at the gym. He’s going to train me.”

“Oh, good lord. Please make sure you don’t ‘train’ in the glass mirror room. People can see you from the outside.”

“Yes, ma’am. And you make sure to cover your neck, you naughty girl.”

Madison laughed as she hurried out of the car, then winced.

Her muscles, as well as ~other~ places, were sore and tired. Maybe with Ethan gone, she’d get a chance to recover a little. Not that she wouldn’t miss him terribly.

As soon as she got inside, she opened the lavender envelope.

Her eyes shone with happy tears as she scanned the drawing Jamie had made. It was a portrait of her at the gym.

It wasn’t perfect, of course. But for a five-year-old it was a remarkable likeness.

~To the best trainer in the world. Love Jamie.~

He had to be the sweetest kid around.

She took a picture of the drawing and sent it to the twins with a message attached.

Madison

You have competition.

Then, smiling to herself, she ran upstairs to change.