He leaned in close and kissed my lips, softly exploring them. When he pulled away, his gravelly voice filled the quiet room letting me know he was just as affected as I was. "You're amazing, you know that? You had the courage to ask me this, and I know it wasn't easy. To answer your question, my brothers and I are in this together with you. We want to know what you think as well. What we want to know is... is that the kind of relationship you want with all of us?"
I kept quiet for a moment, thinking about.
"Faith," he said to grab my attention. He never called me by my first name.
"Yeah?"
"Thinking?"
"Mmm-hmm."
Should I risk my heart and everything that I had? I took a deep breath and let it out, "Yes. That is what I want. With the three of you," I clarified. "I want to try."
"Thank heavens," he growled out, as he pulled me in for another kiss. "Sweetcheeks, that's a good thing. A really good thing." He threw a leg over my legs to bring me in closer and again wrapped his arm around my waist. He gave me another soft kiss on the lips. "Go to sleep. We will all talk about this later, okay?"
I agreed and snuggled into his shoulder. Silently, I hoped I wasn't making a mistake.
Chapter 8
When I came back home the next morning, I found Brady coming down the stairs, still decked out in his PJ's. He scratched his stomach, and then when he saw me he grunted. "Look what the cat finally dragged in." I rolled my eyes.
"Did you have fun with Raina?" he asked. I blushed, because it wasn't really Raina I was spending time with.
"Yeah," I told him, not looking him in the eyes. His eyes narrowed as he got down to the last step, but I didn't wait for his assessment on why I blushed. I rushed past him and up the stairs, avoiding the questions I knew he would ask. When I came back down, I met up with Sarah. She was coming in from one of her runs.
"Hey," she said, bending down to put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She then started to do some stretching, trying to loosen up the muscles that had become tense with her jog.
"Hey," I answered back.
She smiled. "You should come with me sometime," she suggested as she finished up stretching. Sarah ran all the time, just not in the evenings lately. At least that’s what I got from Brady.
"Yeah, I don't think so."
"It would be good for you to stretch your lungs and get some clean air into them."
"Maybe," I told her as she finished. All that running was why she was so fit, but she had muscle too. I guess you needed to be fit to keep up with Brady. She and Brady would run together sometimes, but they'd never get me to do that.
I didn’t seem to have a problem with running, just not the type of running they did. Maybe it was time for a change. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to change from running away, to running out my frustrations.
I ate breakfast then went back upstairs. I needed to work and send an email out to my professors, asking for an exception for all the homework I had missed. I was stressing because I needed those classes. I had gotten a scholarship, and because I missed so many days, it could affect whether I could continue or not. I might end up having to pay for it, and I was worried about that. Thinking about money made me think about getting a job once again. I wondered if the antique store was still hiring.
When Monday morning came, Tyler picked me up, and I went to my classes again. At the end of each class, I talked to my professors, asking if they had gotten my email. All of them agreed to let me continue with my classes with the opportunity of getting my credits back and a passing score if I turned in my work promptly. On top of that, I had been given extra work to complete.
I was grateful, but also stressed. I had so much work to get done that when school was over, I didn't hang around with the guys or Raina. I went upstairs and worked until dinner time, ate and then went back to my paperwork.
I worked diligently, well after nightfall. It was close to midnight when I noticed my ribs had started to hurt from sitting upright, and my head pounded. I shut off my light and went to get my pj's on when I heard a tapping noise. HotShot picked up his head as his ears extended upright on high alert. He growled when he heard it again, and shot out of my bedroom. I was kind of curious. The tapping wasn't at my window, but more off to the side almost as if....
Then I heard it again.
It was definitely pebbles being thrown at a window. I heard some grumbling down the hall and then the creak of a window being pulled up. Brady's voice grumbled out to the noise maker down below. His irritation was clear.
"Wrong window, Tyler."
Rushing to my window, I peeked out and saw Brady leaning his head out of his window and Tyler down on the ground below in the backyard with his hand behind his neck rubbing it embarrassed.
"We have a front door," Brady growled to him. "And cell phones."
"Sorry, sir!"
"Try the window two spots over," he suggested, "Or better yet, call her." Then he shut his window.
I laughed as Tyler shifted uncomfortably and wished I had a camera to record this moment. How did Tyler keep getting himself in these situations, I didn't know, but I could assume life with him would never be boring.
I pushed up my window and poked my head out. "Yes, Tyler McGuire?" I said in the happiest voice. "What are you doing, coming around trying to get poor Brady's attention at this time of night? Shame on you. Don't you know he's already taken?" I couldn't contain the laughter in my voice.
"Shut up, Daniels, and get down here," he growled. "Fast."
"Alright, hold on to your rocks. I'll be there in a sec."
***
Finding my shoes, I quickly put them on and then grabbed a jacket for warmth before I made my way downstairs, still chuckling about Tyler’s mistake. I slipped through the kitchen towards the back of the house where the laundry room was located and then went over to the back door that led outside. This was where Tyler was waiting.
"You know," I whispered softly, as he walked towards me, "that you're technically trespassing?" I had reached the bottom of the cracked concrete steps when he got to me.
"I wanted to spend some time with you and talk. Brady will get over it." His deep voice, while low, vibrated, making me shiver. I slid my hands into my jacket pockets for warmth as he wrapped his arm around me and propelled me towards a swing-set left by the previous owners.
"What are we doing?" I asked, when he guided me to sit down.
"Talking," he said again.
I wrapped my hands around the cold metal chains that held up the seat of a swing and sat down as Tyler went behind me.
"Now? This late at night?" I felt his hands on my back. He gave me a soft push, making the swing move. What in the world could he possibly want to talk about tonight that couldn't wait until morning?
"Yes," he spoke, and I felt his hand once more give me another push. While I was only swinging softly, I still could feel the breeze on my face and the damp coolness that lingered in the air. It should be a few more weeks before the weather would start shifting into winter.
"Yes. Is that it? Why?" My fingers tightened on the chain, and I put my feet down to stop the swing. I turned to see him behind me.
He placed his hands above mine on the chains, almost encompassing me with his body. His chest was at my back, with his arms just above where mine rested. He bent down to peer into my eyes. He looked intense and unsure.
"You were so distant today. You have a lot of work to get done, and that's why I didn't bother you." He looked up at the sky and the stars, and chuckled. "Would you laugh if I told you that Kayden came into my room and said he couldn't sleep, followed by Lincoln, which led to me coming over here. They're worried that the talk Raina gave you about our relatives, and the talk you had with Kayden, has you rethinking about things. That you might be trying to distance yourself from us." My breath caught as he told me this. Was I? I had a lot of work assignments to finish, but I never once thought about not being with them.
; He looked back down as his midnight eyes were shadowed by the darkness and softly questioned, "Are you, Daniels? Do you want us to back off?"
I turned around shaking my head. "No. I just have a lot of work ahead of me. My professors gave me extra assignments, and I'm going crazy with it. We haven't actually talked about all of this, together. I heard what Lincoln wants and Kayden, but what about you Tyler? Are you on board with this?"
Even though it was late at night and darkness surrounded us, the stars gave me enough light to see him. His eyes widened, the whites of his eyes almost glowed in the dark, as he realized he hadn’t talked to me about this yet.
"Yes." His voice came out strong as his hands left the chains, and he leaned down to cradle my head. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize I hadn't told you how I felt. I want to hold hands, steal kisses from you and keep you safely tucked between my brothers and me. I want you, Faith Daniels. We want you. Will you give us a chance to prove that you can count on us? That you have my heart, so you never have to lose yours. If my idiot brothers make a mistake, you will have me. I will always be there for you."
His confession was similar to what his brothers had told me, and I never questioned it, but I was now. "How can you and your brothers be so sure that this relationship will work? That you won't get sick of sharing me and leave? How can you know?"
Tyler got close to me. His nose almost touched mine as he bent down. I could see his eyes now. They were intense as he whispered, "Because it's not about sex." A shiver raced down my spine. "It's not about lust. It's about you." His midnight blue eyes bore into mine as he spoke his next words, making my heart skip. "It's about how your eyes light up when you laugh, or how you care if one of us gets hurt like you did with me at the diner before you went off on me"—I snorted—"Or when Brady came over asking me where you were, to finding out you ran. I had made up my mind when I realized that you ran, that I was going to find you and bring you back. To me. To my brothers. I was a mess when I realized that you left, but to see you in that hospital bed and not knowing who I was, that was the worst. I felt what it was like to almost lose you, and I didn't like it. Not one bit," he said, as his lips brushed against mine. "You're it for me, and I'm not letting you leave me again." With that, his lips pressed against mine as if he demanded control.
He tilted my head back, as one of his hands went to my neck and he circled his palm around the curve of my neck, with his thumb at my chin, tilting it up even further. His lips were warm as they opened under mine. My hands gripped the chains, afraid to let go so that I wouldn’t fall. He really had me at his mercy, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he meant to do that. The emotions in me rose up as I put in all I could to his kiss. He drew back a little, nipping at my lip, then sucked it to dull the sting and went back for more.
I was heating up with all of his attentions. When he pulled back, I was in a daze. My crazy hormones told me to jump him right then, but thankfully my mind had some sense left as I swallowed back my lustful thoughts.
"Wow," I whispered. He had me down to one-word sentences. He was dangerous with those kisses.
He gave out a husky laugh and murmured, "Yeah, well, you completely undo me."
I bushed. Did I say that out loud?
Chapter 9
Tyler left shortly after that, even though we didn’t want to leave each other. But as police officer ‘Fathers’ go, Brady once again popped his head out his window and told me to get inside and get warm and for Tyler to go back home; that we had classes in the morning.
The next morning went great. I felt pretty good about all the assignments I had gotten done the night before, even with Tyler’s visit. Wendy and Kane seemed to be on task in our morning lecture, which was unusual for them, but good for me. The two of them could be very distracting at times.
I had all but forgotten the Tucker and Tyler episode with everything that had been going on at home, but even that would come back to haunt me. I was too focused on my problems at home, along with my unique relationship with my guys, to even worry about being that idiot’s conquest. So I forgot that it was another issue I had. I messed up.
Badly.
Who knew that Tucker was waiting for his moment to get me alone? Waiting to ‘talk’ to me. I had no idea. It happened after my afternoon class, in which we had a lecture on algebraic functions, not that it mattered anyways, but as I headed down the hall to my next lecture, a hand shot out from the door across the hall and pulled me inside. Scared and frozen, I just went through the movements until I saw him.
"Don’t be scared. I just want to talk," he told me as he was locking the door behind him.
Talk, huh. Then why was he locking the door?
I. Was. Freaking. Out.
It was now at this point that I should have screamed. Run. Or gotten out of there sooner, but no, I just stood there like an idiot, not doing much of anything, frozen. What the hell, Faith! I yelled at myself, but my feet wouldn’t move. My mouth, though, was another story.
"About what?" I growled, as my legs started to work, and I shifted myself backward, further into the empty lecture hall.
I could have used you earlier, I scolded myself, as my limbs came back to life. I knew there had to be another exit. The guy turned towards me and must have noticed me looking for a way out, because he put up his hands in a defensive gesture. The idiot in question was Tucker.
"Hey, Hey, I’m not going to hurt you."
I laughed a nervous laugh, looking around once again, until I saw the second exit sign on the other side of the room. "And I’m Cinderella." I needed to make my way there I thought. I tightened my hands, readying myself for a fight if it came to that. I would have to break my promise to Brady about punching people and making friends, but in my defense, Tucker didn't seem very friendly right now.
He grinned, as he put his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the door he locked. "Hello, Rella." He snickered at his own joke, which had me turning back to him. "I always wanted to meet you," he continued.
I paused as I looked him over. He had a weird sense of humor, and I wondered if he knew that I knew who he was. "What do you want?"
He shrugged. "I noticed you around. Wanted to talk to you, but then you were gone. You’ve been gone, and now you're back. I wasn’t going to miss my chance again."
I let out a ‘un-lady like’ snort and glared at him. "So you pull me into an empty lecture room and lock me in? You’re doing really good at impressing me," I told him as I stressed my sarcasm.
"Do you even know who I am?" he asked, amused, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
He confused me. First, he confessed that he noticed when I was gone from school, then changed tactics by asking if I knew him? What was this guy getting at?
"No," I lied and then dished it back. "But you seem to know who I am." I stepped back more, and it landed me in the middle of the main floor. I looked briefly to my left where the open stadium seating stretched upwards and back towards the other exit. My escape. I had no idea what this guy had planned for me, and I wasn’t too keen on finding out.
"Look," he said again, and I turned back to him, but not before noticing all the glass cages that looked like dry aquariums towards the front of the room. "I’ve tried to talk to you, but I’m always being cock-blocked by that asshole Tyler."
My eyes narrowed. I didn’t like him talking about Tyler like that, and I wanted him to get to the point of all of this. "First off, don’t talk about Tyler like that and second, what do you want from me?"
He started to walk towards me with a cheeky grin, "Name’s Tucker and I wanted to see if you," he shrugged as he continued my way, his eyes amused at my retreat, "wanted to go out sometime."
I shifted my bag in front of me allowing it to act like a barrier as I continued to retreat, keeping one hand ready to defend myself.
"No."
He looked annoyed with my answer, but not put off as he kept his slow gait towards me. "Why? Are you putting out for someone else? Maybe... Tyler?"<
br />
Tucker was tall. His ebony black hair was cut close to his head, with the hair in the front a little longer so it could be lifted into a faux-hawk. His eyes were just as deadly and almost as dark as his hair. Muscle wise, he was full of them, just like Tyler. This guy could hurt me. I didn’t want to take my eyes off of him for fear he’d strike, so I fumbled blindly for my phone in the side pocket of my bag as I made my retreat. I'd run first, and then fight if I needed to.
"That is none of your business," I told him trying to keep my voice strong.
"I beg to differ." And he lunged for me. I turned and ran, barely missing his hand.
"What happened to, I’m not going to hurt you?!" I screeched as I bolted for the exit sign to push the door open, but I never got that far. Tucker tackled me to the ground with a thud. I was going to have to fight.
"HELP! HELP!" I yelled as I struggled to get out from beneath him. I was face down on the ground with my hands out in front of me trying to crawl away. I elbowed him in the gut, and he grunted. His burly body was heavy as he pinned me to the floor. His hands snapped up and caught mine, so he literally surrounded me. I was pinned and was freaking out! I couldn't even get in a decent punch. I should have taken those defense lessons Brady offered me before. My chest hurt where I landed, and it was getting harder to breathe as I tried to scream once more.
"Geez, stop, I’m not going to hurt you! There’s a loose snake in here!"
"And I'm Frosty the Snowman!" I yelled back. "Help!"
"I'm being serious, Babe! It's one of the red ones. We need to hurry!"
I paused. What?
"Damn his ass. Are you done? We need to get out of here so I can call Van," he grumbled, getting up off of me then pulling me to stand up.
"A snake? Van?" I got up quickly and punched him in the gut not holding back. He grunted taking it. "And don't call me babe." I stepped back and it was then I heard the hissing. I looked towards the front of the room where I saw the glass tanks or cages. Then I looked past him and saw the black and red snake coming towards us. I didn’t waste my time as I let out a loud screech and booked it out of there as fast as my legs could carry me. I wasn't staying. Tucker was scary, but a snake? I'd split.
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