Elliot

I wake to movement and groaning and find that Sugar is beside me in a ball with her arms around her stomach.

"Sugar? Are you okay?" I sit up and try to pull her to me, but she groans again, stirring Christian awake.

He rubs his eyes and then immediately starts to panic... in his own Christian way.

"Anastasia! Tell me what is going on! What hurts?" He grabs her upper arms to get her attention.

"Cramping. Strong."

"Fuck. We pushed you too much. Shit. Elliot get the heating pad from the bathroom closet!"

I'm annoyed that he's trying to order me around, but Sugar is in pain so I hop to. We did have a lot of sex yesterday and even after taking her ass for the first time, we caught our breath and switched, fucking her again. Maybe we did push her too far. She's insatiable, but her body can only take so much.

By the time I find the heating pad and bring it back, Christian has her pulled to his side of the bed and I hand it to him quickly so he can plug it in. He moves her arms just long enough to put the pad against her lower stomach and he lets her clutch it between herself and her arms.

"I know it hurts, baby. It'll warm up in just a couple minutes." He sits beside her and brushes her hair off of her face. "I'm going to get you some Advil while it warms up. Elliot's here. You won't be alone." He leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead and the ugly J word burns in my chest as I watch him. I want to take care of my girl. I want to bond with her and be the reason her pain subsides.

I move to his spot when he steps away and I caress her hair while she lays on her side in a ball.

"I'm sorry. I'm probably being a baby."

"Don't be silly, Sugar. It breaks our hearts to see you in pain. Do you think it's from yesterday or are you getting your monthly?"

She shakes her head. "It's not that time, yet. It feels different. I think I was too greedy with the orgasms yesterday and didn't drink enough water." She hisses. "It's like a Charliehorse in my lower tummy."

"Baby... I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help? Is it helping at all?" I press the heating pad flush against her, making sure it's laying flat.

"It's starting to."

Christian is back with a bottle of water and pain reliever and offers it to her. "Take these and drink the water. All of it."

I take the medicine from him and place the pills on her tongue before taking the open bottle from him to bring to her lips when she pushes up on her elbow. She tries to reach for the bottle, but I ignore her and tip it back. When I pull it away from her lips after a big drink, she smiles.

"I can do it myself."

"Let us baby you." I give her a wink. "We want to take care of our girl."

"I just want a hot bath. I'm sure that'll make it better. Let me up and I'll go-"

"Absolutely not. You stay here. I'll draw a bath for the both of us." Christian presses a kiss to her temple and she smiles up at him while he disappears into the bathroom.

"I'm sorry I woke you both on a Sunday." She gives me a guilty smile. It's barely 5:00 am, but I'm not bothered by it.

"No reason to be sorry. I hope this doesn't make you run for the hills from us."

She giggles. "No. Definitely not. Next time I'll pace myself."

XxXxXx

"You two are ridiculous." She gives me a grin while I have her sitting on my knee in the bathroom while I dry her off. "I can dry myself off. Hell, I can walk myself!"

"I think you know I prefer carrying you. And I know you can, but you spent almost an hour in the bath with my brother and it is my turn to spend time with you." She rolls her eyes at me and I pick her up to take her back to bed. I changed the sheets while they soaked since I didn't know what to do with myself and made her some iced coffee that I put by the bed.

I deposit her into the bed and she makes grabby hands at me, making me laugh. "You said it was your turn, so come cuddle before your brother makes us get up and eat!"

I chuckle. I know she's right. He and I are so different. I'd let Sugar decide when she was hungry and lounge around as long as I could with her. He, on the other hand, thinks nutrition and structure are key elements to anyones life. Whatever. I'm going to enjoy my warm, naked girl while he's upstairs in the gym. I'll work out when I can't get my girl.

I lay on my back and open my arm for her to slide in. We rest quietly while I curl her damp hair around my finger. I love how long and thick it is. It always smells like vanilla sugar. The smell of sugar will always remind me of my Sugar.

"I love your tattoos. They're so sexy." Her index finger traces the motorcycle engine tattoo on the back of my hand before pushing it off my chest to continue to inspect my artwork.

"Excuse me." I tickle her with the hand she pushed while the other arm holds her against me.

She squeals and dances against me. "It was in my way."

Chuckling, I kiss her head and tuck my hand behind my head so that she has free reign of my chest and abdomen. "I'm glad someone else enjoys them, too."

She hums. "Mmhmm. This is so neat." Her touch is light and actually tickles a little as she explores. On the right side of my chest is a piece that looks like my skin has been torn away to reveal gears and metal work. The left side has the same torn up look, but it shows a heart and what would be the human side of me.

Her finger stops on the piece that just happens to separate them. "A quill? I never noticed it before. It's hidden so well between the two sides, but it's such an odd thing to have in the middle. What does it mean?"

My heart thunders in my chest. I never expected to have to explain this. "It was there before I decided on my chest piece."

"What's the quill for? Do you secretly love books?" She cranes her neck up and smiles at me.

"It's not a real quill. It's..." Shit. "It's a sugar quill."

Her breathing seems to stop. "Sugar quill? I didn't know you liked Harry Potter."

I laugh. "I don't know a damn thing about it except for what you three have forced onto me."

She giggles, too. "Then why? Sugar quills were my favorite candy through my teens. Daddy would get so annoyed with how much I ate them."

"I know." It isn't linking in her head, yet.

"Elliot?" It's more than my name. She's asking if it's true.

"Yes."

"When?" She pushes herself up on her elbow so she can look at me and she's got tears. It has me getting choked up a little by her response.

"Winter break your freshman year of college. You came home and were in the sauna at my parents."

She smiles. "I remember that. You didn't notice me until you were about to yank off your towel."

I laugh. "Yes. A second later and I might have short circuited that innocent sweet mind of yours."

"Such a shame." She presses a kiss to my lips.

"It was the first time I noticed you as an adult. I always had a sweet spot for you, but watching you sit there, leaning back on your hands with your chest shoved out in nothing but a teeny light pink bikini. Shit. I was hard."

She bites her lip. "I know. That's why I sat with my head back and my eyes closed."

"I hate that I made you uncomfortable." I frown when I realize, but she shakes her head.

"It actually made me feel really great about myself."

I laugh. "I remember asking you what you were looking forward to getting for Christmas."

"A box of orange sugar quills."

I nod. "By the end of that summer I found myself completely obsessed."

She giggles. "With sugar quills?"

Shaking my head, I cup her neck. "With you, Sugar."

"Elliot."

Leaning in, she kisses me and I quickly deepen it. I want her to know just how deeply she's affected me.

"Is that why you really call me Sugar? Because of the obsession I had with them?"

I grin and kiss her again. "Yes. They always made you smell like sugar. Even now, you have shampoo and body wash that make you smell like vanilla and sugar."

Her eyes search my face for a few beats before she ducks down to press her lips to my sugar quill tattoo. Resting against me, she presses her cheek to it. "I love this tattoo."

"Me too."

XxXxXx

"I'm hungry, woman!" Christian smacks Sugar's ass while we laze about after getting another hour of sleep. He's sitting on the edge of the bed and she rolls away from me with a laugh so she can sit up and play scowl at him.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

His bottom lip comes out in a dramatic pout. "I guess I'll go make some eggs in the microwave then so I don't starve."

She giggles. "You are ridiculous." Leaning in, she kisses him and his pout is suddenly gone. "I'll make breakfast, but there won't be any bacon. Elliot ate it all yesterday." She hooks a thumb toward me while she slips out of bed to grab her robe off the back of the door. We stare unabashedly at her naked form until she's covered by the robe. When she turns toward us, she rolls her eyes.

"You two get those pouts off your faces! I spent most of the weekend naked."

I laugh when I realize I am pouting a little. "Sorry, not sorry. You're hot."

"Thank you for that. I'm going to go make my men breakfast now. One day, ya'll might be chivalrous and make me breakfast." She shuts the door behind her before either of us can retort. I've never made her food before, but I've ordered food delivery. I suppose she's right. I hate cooking, but I'm not bad at it, so I guess I can suck it up for my girl.

"Now that she's gone, I want to check in with you... about this whole thing."

I chew my lip and shrug. "It's working. The sex thing is working out. We need to be careful not to overdo it with her."

He nods. "Agreed."

"I love spending so much time with her, but having to deal with you for so long is a little annoying." He laughs while I grin. I'm being honest. "This bossy bastard shit is going to get old real quick."

He winces. "Sorry. I'll try to keep it to a minimum."

I nod. "Keep it to the bedroom for Ana and don't order me to do anything and we'll be fine. It's obvious she likes you that way, but that doesn't mean I have to."

"I'll ask if I need something from you."

"That's better. How are you feeling about this double relationship thing?"

He's quiet for a few seconds. "It's working... like you said. She obviously likes us together, so it'll be fine. We'll just be careful about the jealousy shit. Sometimes it's hard to share her attention."

"Agreed."

"But it's better than having her away from me half the fucking time because she's with you."

I laugh. "Ditto. We'll figure this shit out. It's important we communicate. I won't risk our relationship as brothers, Christian. We can work this out."

"Let's go help Sugar with breakfast."

Shaking my head, I slip out of bed and follow him out. "You just hope this will make her forget that she wants you to make it."

When we make it to the kitchen, our girl is on the phone on speaker, her finger to her lips so we keep quiet. She's browning sausage on the stove and I see two cans of biscuits on the counter. Biscuits and sausage gravy. Yum.

"Annie... I don't know what is going on, but this has got to stop while you're under my roof."

I wince when I hear Ray's voice and I hop onto one of the chairs at the island so that I can listen. Christian follows my lead.

"I am an adult, Dad. I'm busy. It won't be long and I'll be out of your hair."

"Don't you have to be in it before you get out of it? You're never home, Annie! I wanted to bond with my daughter. Instead, she's sneaking around with some asshole I've probably never met."

"What?" She's surprised that he knows, but I'm unsure why. Why else would she be out for days at a time?

"Don't play stupid with me Annie Rose Steele. You have a boyfriend, don't you? You're shacking up with some asshole who doesn't have the balls to introduce himself to your father."

I watch the backside of her and can see her tense.

"For your information, I'm the one who doesn't want to make it public, yet."

"Why? You'll sleep with the fucker, but you won't let me meet him?"

"Father!"

He laughs. "Please tell me you're using proper protection. Lord knows I don't need a grandbaby right now."

"Raymond Oliver Steele! I'm hanging up now." I can hear his laughter as she disconnects the call. "For goodness sake." She murmurs, shaking her head while she pushes the sausage around the pan.

"You are on birth control, right?" I tease. I've actually never asked her this, but I trust her... and honestly, I wouldn't care, but I know it'd but a lot of pressure on our delicate situation right now. Someday.

"You shut up and open these biscuits!" She points her greasy spatula at me.

Christian shoves me while I slide out of my seat. "You're in trouble now."

I pick up a can of them and start toward her so I can put them on a pan but she stops me. "No, no! Over there! The popping freaks me out."

My head falls back in a laugh. "Aw, is our Sugar afraid of a little can popping?"

She scowls. "If it would pop on command, I'd be fine! you just never know when it's going to happen!"

"Don't worry, baby. I'll protect you from the scary biscuits." I grab the second can and hand it to Christian so we can open them together and when they pop open, our girl jumps and squeaks with each one.

I make my way towards her again so I can put the biscuits on the pan and lean in to kiss her neck a few times. "You survived to live another day."

"Until the next time they need opened. I really need to convince Gail to buy the frozen bagged kind."

My woman is a mess.

XxXxXx

"You're here early." Mia pops in to the apartment, ready for another dance rehearsal.

Sugar shrugs. "I figured I needed all the extra help I could get."

Mia grins. "How did this big lug take it when he found out he's stuck with you?"

My eyebrows knit together. "What?"

Mia winces. "You didn't tell him, yet?"

Giggling, Sugar shakes her head. "Nope. Now you have to."

"What is going on?" Why didn't Sugar tell me something changed?

"José got sick of Ana stepping on his toes and requested to switch. So, now you're stuck with twinkle toes, here."

My heartrate quickens. I get to dance with my girl. I get extra time with her. I don't even give a shit if we look ridiculous at the wedding. It'll be worth it. "That's a damn shame."

"Thanks, El. I'll make sure to step on your toes extra hard tonight."

I give my baby a big smile.

XxXxXx

Sugar is a disaster on the dance floor. It's fucking adorable and hilarious and we've spent the last 20 minutes giggling through our dance steps.

"Glad you aren't this uncoordinated in bed." I whisper in her ear before I dip her.

When she comes back up, she smacks my bicep. "Behave!"

I wiggle my eyebrows at her while I move us across the floor and she steps on my feet again.

"Screw this!" She yanks her heels off and I help hold her arm so she doesn't fall over. After throwing them to the side, she places her feet on my feet and hugs me around the waist. "Okay, go."

Laughing, I move us around the dance floor much easier this time with her feet on top of mine.

"That's cheating!" Mia hollers at us.

"At least it'll save me some embarrassment!" Sugar hollers back at her.

"Oh, that's not embarrassing?" Mia motions at us, causing my girl's head to fall back in a laugh.

"Why can't we just dance? Why does it have to be choreographed? I can dance normal!" She climbs off my feet and tries to watch Tessa and Christian's feet so she can mimic them.

I spin her out and back and she's practically quivering in anger. "Little bitch."

I'm confused by her sudden burst of anger but when I see Tessa trying to run her hands all over Christian's torso, I realize. He grabs her wrist and looks at me with wide eyes, begging for help.

I take a few steps toward them, making Sugar step back and I twirl her again, forcing her to run right into Tessa.

"Oh, gosh. I'm sorry. Evidently, I'm not the only uncoordinated one." Sugar gives her a guilty smile. "Are you hurt?"

Tessa scowls at her. "No. We're fine. Can you go now? We're dancing, here."

Sugar stands between them and Christian grabs her arms. "Actually, would you mind taking a break for a minute? I need to teach Sugar a few steps... for Elliot's sake."

Tessa's angry eyes look from Christian to me a few times before scowling at our girl. "You're always in the way." She stomps off toward the kitchen and I hear Ana murmur 'good'. It makes me grin.

"Have fun. I'm going to grab a beer."

XxXxXx

"What's going on, Elliot?"

I grab a beer and shut the fridge door to find my mother standing there.

I pop the top and take a deep drink. "What do you mean?"

"You and Ana."

"What about her?" Play it cool. It's obvious that Anastasia doesn't want our family to know, yet.

"You like her. It's obvious."

I can't help my smile and I shrug. "I can't help it."

"She's young."

My eyebrows knit together. Is my mother judging her?

"I just mean... just don't... I don't want any hurt feelings over it."

Ah. "Mom, I'm not going to chew her up and spit her out." She doesn't mean she's young, she means she's innocent. Sensitive. Delicate even. "She's different."

"Does she know?"

I smile. "I think it's rather obvious."

She smiles. "Tonight it is. Just... be careful, okay?"

"You have nothing to worry about." I throw an arm around her and we make our way back to the group so I can watch my girl. If only my mother knew...