their tongues into her mouth—tasting, trembling, sharing.
Trigger to Kailey’s amazement, laid his head on Bullet’s shoulder. Bullet drew in a breath, “I love you, Trig. We love you, Trig.”
“Oh, fuck.” The look in Trig’s eyes became angry and he pulled away, his body trembling again but not from exertion. “How did this get so complicated?”
“Life is never simple, Trig.” Bullet lifted her to his body, cradling her as he moved into a sitting position. “I’m lost without you, Trigger. I love you, but not like you think. I want to be with you, but you’re afraid of me, afraid that I took advantage of you that night. I didn’t; we kissed, that’s all that happened. I missed you so much, missed what we were together. I lost my head. Trigger and Bullet were a powerful weapon, a team. Now we have Kailey. You love her; you’d sell your soul to have her. I love her, too. I love her the same way you do. We’re a team, Trig, don’t you see? And Kailey is part of our team.”
“People don’t live as a trio, Bobby. What if people find out? You live in a fish bowl. I don’t know if I can stand that type of scrutiny. What if the media finds out we share a woman, that we … that you love another man? What will your fans say? We can’t hide this from the world for long, and lord help us if Kailey should get pregnant. Whose baby will it be—mine or yours?”
“Ours.” She tingled with an awareness she hadn’t previously considered. Children had never crossed her mind, one way or another. Charlie hadn’t wanted children. She’d never questioned that choice, assumed she agreed. Trigger wanted children. She heard the longing in his voice. He wanted a family. He wanted forever.
Bullet longed for family. He wanted love. He was silent on the issue of children. She trembled, a dam bursting free inside her. She wanted children. She wanted their children. It didn’t matter what color their eyes would be or their hair or whose personality they would have. Any child would be theirs.
“Ours, Trigger. A child would be ours, to love, hold, and spoil. Your child or Bobby’s would be our child. You know this. You can feel this, can’t you?”
“I don’t hear him saying that, Kailey. He’s selfish. He’s spoiled. His ego is too large to encompass a child, especially my child.”
“Is that what you think of me? That I’m selfish? Yeah, I have an ego, but so do you. One just as large as mine. Our egos have never been the problem. Our egos have always been compatible. I’m far from selfish, and I would hardly call myself spoiled.”
“You gave a thousand-dollar tip to a waiter last night. You throw your money around to influence people, throwing season tickets like candy just so everyone will love the great Robert Brady. You went after Kailey knowing I didn’t want to share her. You made her love you. You convinced her to come to New Orleans; you wanted her for yourself.”
“I wanted her for us. I want you to have the woman you love. She loves us both, Trigger. Don’t you see that? We can have everything. I have tons of money that I won’t ever spend in my lifetime. I don’t have a family I care about. I don’t have love, and I want the one person I’ve always loved to be a part of my life. I want to have children and be happy, just like everyone else. I want you, and I want Kailey. But if you don’t want that, say so, and I’ll leave. I don’t want to hurt you, Trig, and I won’t bother her again if you tell me to go. I want to be with you, Trig. This is the only way. But I’ll go; just say the words.”
She could feel the sorrow wash over him. She was sorry she’d started this. She reached out to him, taking his hand in hers. He brushed her hand away, distancing himself from her. He pulled his jeans on, his shoulders slumped as he moved away. “Say something, Trig. Don’t let him go like this.”
*
“Do you love him, Kailey? Would you prefer him to me?” Trig didn’t know what
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