Chapter Twenty-Two

Tristan picked me up from the floor and carried me to the bedroom. He left the door open so that if any of his brothers recovered themselves, they could join us. I smiled up at him as he pulled my dress and my underwear off.

“You’re never more beautiful than the moments after you’ve made one of us come. It pleases you.” He looked at me closely, smelled my skin as he moved over me, his own clothes gone now. “I didn’t know it would please a woman to make a man come like it does you.”

“Does it please you when you know you’ve done something that rocks my world?” I asked playfully.

“It does,” he answered his hands now busy stroking down my neck. “Is it like that for women too?”

“It is, Tristan.” I bit at my lip and then spoke. “I want you all, but it’s more than that, Tristan.”

“Is it love?” he asked, curious. He settled down between my thighs as if that might influence my answer.

“I don’t know, I’ve never been in love before.” I looked away from that penetrating gaze, to stare at the wall blankly. “I think it might be, but I don’t know. What is love?”

“It’s a need. Burning need to be with that person. To talk to them, to see them, to smell and touch them. To make them laugh, to make them cry with happiness, to take care of them when they're sick, to be there when they need you.”

“Is that what it is? Is it not being able to sleep because all you can do is think about them?” I laced my fingers into his hair and brought my gaze back to him.

“I think it is, Nic. It’s so many things. Things we’re all feeling, things we want to talk about but we’re all afraid.” He pulled me over him, to straddle his waist just as Daniel came in to sit on the bed beside us. I looked over at him, leaned over to kiss him, and only pulled away when Michael and Adam came in too.

“Fuck me, Nic. Put a condom on me and fuck me. Please,” Tristan implored; those languid, need-filled eyes made something ache deep inside of me with a need to ease his pain. I took the condom Michael handed me and put it on him.

I grasped him with my hand so that I could sink down onto him. I groaned at the powerful sensation of being opened. Daniel moved between Tristan’s splayed legs to pull me back against him. I braced myself there in his arms and laughed with delight when his hands moved down my body.

That laugh melted into a moan when the other brothers went for my nipples just as Daniel found my clit. He pressed his hands together over my labia to squeeze at the organ gently. That made my hips arch and Tristan started to move up into me. I’d planned to do most of the work, but the brothers decided on something else.

Tristan would have to do the thrusting, but I didn’t care. I’d lost myself in sweet, raging pleasure. My body was alive with a buzz that only they’d ever created within me. I felt that buzz in my skin, my bones, and in my blood. Straight into my brain, the buzz continued to bring me to a place that was wild and free.

I moved my face back, eager for someone to kiss me, and Daniel obliged. The sweet sensation of his silky tongue against mine and I knew it wouldn’t be long. A single breath could set me off right now. I’d burn into nothing but ash from the heat they created within me as every brother made it his job to touch me somewhere.

It was all too much, overwhelming, but not enough either. I wanted to touch back, to make them groan with me, but I also only wanted to come. I needed to get off, to explode, and when Daniel pressed a new pattern into my clit, directly on it now, the world spiraled into oblivion.

I tried to call out a name as the tight knots within me finally broke free and unfurled into wave after wave as they drove me deeper higher with each of their touches. My nails dug into Daniel’s arms, and I heard a shout from Tristan as he pulsed within me, but I couldn’t reply, I couldn’t unclench my fingers because my body was too busy feeling.

“I’m going to die,” I panted as I caught enough breath to speak. “You’ve killed me, I’m going to die.”

They all laughed, and Daniel drew me back, away from Tristan, to lie at the foot of the bed. “You’re not going to die, darling. You might pass out, but you won’t die.”

“Promise?” I demanded as I took a bottle of water Michael handed to me.

“I promise, Nicolette,” he answered.

“Okay. I’m going to sleep then.” I turned over onto my side and stared at the television against the wall. Daniel might promise that I wouldn’t die, but my heart was still racing in my chest as they all filed out to let me rest. Later, I decided, I’d shower, I’d do this all again. Because if I did die from it, I’d die happy.

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The next morning, I told them all goodbye at the hotel door. My face was drowning in tears that I couldn’t stop. It was heartbreaking to watch them go and that’s when I knew I might love them all, after all. When it hurt to know they were flying so far away, it finally became crystallized for me. I was in love with four different men.

I drove home an hour later with a heavy heart, and when I went into the house Mom was there. She’d taken the day off to be with me and she was on the couch waiting for me. I went to her and sprawled on the couch with my head in her lap, the way I did with Brooklyn.

“I’m in trouble, Momma. No, I’m not pregnant. I’m just in love.” I cried against her leg as she soothed me with shushing noises and her fingers in my hair.

“Tell me, baby. Tell me about this pain that you call love.” It was an odd statement but made sense when she said it.

Could I tell her the truth, should I? Maybe I should wait, but something told me this was the moment to do it. Now was the right time. I swallowed my nervous fear and took a deep breath.

I pushed myself up from her lap and wiped at my eyes and nose. “There are four of them, Mom.”

“Four? What?” She looked confused and the tilt of her head asked me for more information.

“They’re brothers. Quadruplets. I’m in a relationship with all four of them.” I looked at her, my eyes full of fear and a plea for understanding.

“Like they share you?” Her face was scrunched up in deeper confusion now.

“Yeah, just like that.” I nodded my head, hopeful that she’d be okay with this.

“And you like it?” She looked doubtful and I knew a second of deep pain. If she turned away in disgust it might break me.

“I do,” I admitted, totally honest.

“Lucky bitch.” She sat back, her arms over her breasts as she took on a cross look that nearly had me howling with laughter. She glared at me. Glared!

“Are you serious?”

“I am! Why couldn’t I find four guys?” She pouted for a moment and then smiled with eager happiness. “Go on, tell me, what’s it like?”

I couldn’t believe this woman was my mother!

“Really, Mom? You don’t hate me or want to disown me?”

“Hell no, Nicolette. Your generation always thinks you’re the first to invent everything!” She pursed her lips and readjusted to sit with her foot on the couch. “Girl, back in my day, we dreamed about having more than one guy. I’m probably too old for nonsense like that now, but back then? Oh yeah, my friends and I would have done it in a heartbeat! I did with two girls once…”

“Wait, what the hell Mom?” I stared at her, stunned. “You mean Dad wasn’t your first?”

“No, not at all. I’d had my wild times too, you know?” She grinned as memories flooded through her mind. “There was this one guy, fuck, he was hot.”

“Who was he?” I was too curious to be quiet. I wanted to know the details of this woman I’d never met before. Mom was suddenly becoming a friend and a confidant, not just my caretaker and I liked the woman she was.

“I met him at this hotel I worked at. He was going off to the Army the next day, and well, I rocked his world for him. But he rocked mine too.”

“Mom! I’m shocked, shocked I say!” I was playing with her now and she knew it.

“Honey, it was the late 90s, we were all reaching out for whatever happiness we could find. Exploring, full of hope and wonder at the world that was opening to us. So no, I’m not shocked, I just hope you’re happy?”

“I am. Well, not right now. They’ve just flown off to Spain, but I’m happy other than that. They don’t treat me like a nasty whore or anything. It's nothing like that,” I assured her with a smile. “It’s just about pleasure and love.”

“Good. I’m happy for you then, honey.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t know any of this about you,” I said as we both relaxed into the couch. I looked over at her and saw a happy face.

“Well, I had to be your Mom, didn’t I? Your dad passed away, and well, that was hard. He was the man that won my heart, after all those years of looking for the one.” She sighed and I knew she was sad, but at the same time, this moment was changing us both. “You gave me a purpose after that, and I wanted to do only what was right for you. You really were, and are my world, baby.”

She took my fingers and I wound my fingers through hers to clasp her hand. I held it tight for a moment. “I’m proud of you, Mom. You did a good job.”

“I know you’ve had a hard time, Nic, and that life hasn’t been easy. If you find happiness with four men instead of one, you’re not only lucky but well-loved. I couldn’t ask for more from the person, people,” she amended when I looked at her, “people that will take over the next phase of your life.”

“I think they’ll fulfill all of our dreams. They may end up poor as church mice, but I don’t care. They have this idea for a non-profit, but their dad wants them to work in his business. They don’t want to do that, but he’ll cut off their trust funds if they don’t. All they want to do is play baseball, their one true passion in life.”

“I think, if you’re all strong enough, they can get through it. You’ll be there to help them, right?” She looked at me like she already knew the answer but wanted to hear me say it.

“I will, Momma. I don’t want them for the money, though it’s nice to be spoiled. I just want them, no matter how much money they have.” I rested my head back against the couch and breathed deep. “They are perfect, each one in their own way.”

“Tell me about them?” She asked, and so I did.

We spent two hours talking about them, and by the time she knew all about them, it was time for lunch. “Mexican?”

I grinned at her when she asked that. “Like I’d ever turn that down!”

“Let’s go, my treat.”

“Thanks, Mom. For everything, really. I’m so glad to have you as my Mom. Even if you were a little tramp back in the day.”

“Honey, I was a good tramp!” she laughed louder than I’ve ever heard her laugh and it felt good to hear that.

“Damn, I love you, woman!” I hugged her suddenly, this perfect woman that made me melt with love.

“I love you too, baby, but I’m hungry. Get the hell off me.” Playful, happy, she even looked younger as we got into the car. The mom I remembered from my younger days. “Let’s jam.”

She cranked about some music from the early 2000s, and we sped down the road. I’d lost my loves for the next four weeks, but today, I’d gained a new friend, a new BFF, my mom. Brooklyn wouldn’t mind, because she hadn’t been replaced. She’d just be happy that I had the friend I needed now that I was grown. Because, like it or not, I was grown, and it was time to face up to it.

I looked at my phone and saw that the guys had landed in Germany, the first leg of their flight to Spain. I talked to them while Mom drove, and then, we sang a song about how hard life could be for kids and laughed the pain away. It was awesome.