COMPLICATED

Nobody moved for what felt like forever.

Matteo kept walking toward us, slow and quiet, like he owned the air in the room. I stood there clutching the front of my half-undone dress, heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat.

“Okay,” I managed, my voice shaking more than I wanted. “Somebody needs to explain what the hell is going on right now.”

Nico let his hand drop from my waist. He walked to the side table like this was just another Tuesday, poured himself a drink, and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Matteo,” he said calmly. “My twin. He lives here.”

“He lives here,” I repeated, feeling stupid.

“Yes.”

“In this penthouse.”

“Yes.”

I looked at Matteo. He stopped a few feet away, arms crossed, staring at me with those same gray eyes — except his felt colder. Harder. The scar on his jaw and the tattoos climbing his neck made it obvious he wasn’t the polished one.

He didn’t smile. Didn’t speak. Just watched me like I was an inconvenience that had walked into his house.

“And the contract…” My voice cracked. “The contract was with you. Not… both of you.”

Nico took a slow sip. “You married into the Black name. That covers both of us.”

A broken sound escaped me... not quite a laugh. “That’s not what the papers said.”

“Read them again.”

My hands shook so badly I had to grip the front of my dress tighter. I had read every page three times. I was sure of it. But right now, with both of them looking at me, I wasn’t sure of anything.

“The bond,” Matteo said. His voice was low and rough, like he didn’t use it much.

I turned to him. “What bond?”

He glanced at Nico, then back at me. “What you felt when I walked in. That’s the bond.”

My stomach dropped. “What does that mean?”

Nico set his glass down. “When we were kids we were in an accident. Something changed. We feel each other’s pain, strong emotions… physical sensations. It’s never worked with anyone else before.”

“Until tonight,” I whispered.

“Until you.”

My legs gave out. I sank into the chair by the window. The city lights blurred below me. They could feel what I felt. Both of them. Every touch. Every reaction. Every time my body betrayed me.

The heat from Nico’s kiss was still burning between my legs. If Matteo had felt even a fraction of that…

My face burned with fresh shame.

“Stop,” I whispered.

“Stop what?” Nico asked.

“Thinking about it.” I looked up at them, voice trembling. “So right now you can both feel… whatever I feel?”

“Yes,” Nico said quietly.

I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt. Tears were threatening again. I had signed a contract to save my family, not to become some shared toy for two men who would feel every single thing my body did.

“I want to call my mom,” I said suddenly.

Nico blinked. “It’s late.”

“I don’t care.” I stood up, holding the dress against my chest like it could protect me. “I stood in that church. I signed your paper. I let you touch me. I want two minutes to make sure my mother is okay in the new facility. Then we can… continue whatever this is.”

The twins looked at each other. A whole silent conversation passed between them.

Nico pulled his phone from his jacket and handed it to me.

I turned my back to them and dialed with shaking fingers. Mom answered, her voice tired but grateful. She told me the room was nice, the nurse was kind, Jake had eaten. I pressed my forehead to the cold glass and listened, fighting back tears the whole time.

When I hung up, I stayed facing the window a moment longer.

When I finally turned around, both of them were watching me.

Nico stood up slowly and walked toward me. His hand found my waist again, turning me gently. His fingers slid the zipper the rest of the way down.

The dress fell.

Cool air hit my skin. I was standing there in nothing but a thin strapless bra and panties, sixty floors above the city, with two identical pairs of gray eyes on me.

My face burned. My nipples tightened against the fabric. I felt myself getting wet again and hated my body more than I hated them.

Nico stepped closer, voice low. “Let the rest go.”

Matteo stayed in his chair, silent.

But I felt him anyway... that ghost sensation ghosting over my breasts, between my legs, making my thighs press together.

Nico’s mouth found my throat.

And I realized, with a fresh wave of shame and terror, that this contract had just become a lot more complicated than I ever imagined.

I was going to be shared.

Completely.

And there was nothing I could do about it tonight.