by Callie Rose
I glance at the two boys but don’t hesitate, crawling into the middle of the bed and letting my head fall back on the pillows. The twins share a look, then slide onto the mattress on either side of me.
Dax flips a switch on the wall near the headboard, and the lights go out, plunging us into near-darkness.
Two large, firm bodies settle in next to me, encasing my body from either side. I lie on my back, gazing up at the shadowy ceiling as Dax’s hand rests on my stomach and Chase’s palm rests on my hip.
I could probably fall asleep right now—in fact, I can feel my body tugging me toward unconsciousness—but I suddenly find that I don’t want to.
I’m acutely aware of every inch of my body, of every place Dax or Chase brushes up against me, of the feel of their breath and the heat of their skin. It takes effort to keep my own breath from speeding up as I whisper into the darkness, “Thanks for letting me crash here.”
“Anytime.”
Dax’s lips brush against the shell of my ear, and my breath hitches. I can feel their bodies relax next to mine as they drift toward sleep, and I try to let myself go with them, try to let their comforting presence slow down my whirring brain.
But every time my eyelids droop closed, they pop back open again a few seconds later.
“Low.” Chase’s whispered voice holds an edge of amusement when he speaks up ten minutes later. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Uh…” I turn my head slightly to peer at him in the dim light. “Sleeping?”
“No, you’re not. You’re stiff as a fucking board, and you’re definitely not sleeping.”
“Oh. Sorry.” I shift a little on the soft mattress, willing my body to relax.
“Don’t be sorry.” He rises up onto his elbows to peer down at me, and I feel Dax move on my other side, indicating he’s awake too. “You had a crazy fucking day.”
“Yeah.” I let out a noise that can’t decide if it wants to be a laugh or a groan as I nod. “I just can’t stop thinking about it all.”
“Want help?”
“With what?”
“To stop thinking about it for a while. We could distract you.”
The room is dim, but my vision is adjusting to the darkness enough to make out his shadowy face. His eyes gleam in the moonlight that slips through the blinds, and there’s a rough edge to his voice that makes a slow burn of arousal spread through me.
The last time we did something to take our minds off everything we’re up against, I ended up fucking River in front of all three of the other kings, and the memory of that night turns the slow burn inside me into a torrent of fire.
“Yes. Please.”
I’m reaching for him even as I say the words, and his lips meet mine in a kiss that curls my toes. Chase kisses with the same sort of energy and gusto that he lives his life with, and it’s easy to get swept up in it, carried away by the feel of his lips and teeth and tongue.
When Dax brushes the hair off my shoulder and nips at my neck, I jerk and let out a strangled noise into Chase’s mouth.
Dax chuckles. “What? You thought I’d just lie here and watch while you kiss my brother like that?”
I squirm between them, kissing Chase harder as Dax’s words seem to travel straight to my clit. I’m still lying on my back, Chase’s upper body partially draped over mine, as Dax pushes back the covers slightly. I can feel him moving, but I can’t see quite what he’s doing, and I can’t make myself pull away from Chase long enough to look.
A second later, I find out anyway.
Large hands slide up under the oversized t-shirt I’m wearing, caressing the flat plane of my stomach and the roundness of my hips. When they reach the rolled waistband of my pants, two fingers hook the sides.
“Jesus. You look so fucking sexy in these. I like you in my clothes.”
Dax’s voice is muffled beneath the blanket, and I can’t tell if he’s really talking to me or just lost in his own thoughts, speaking them aloud.
I roll my hips restlessly, grabbing Chase’s shoulders and holding on tight as my tongue battles with his. When Dax tugs on the shorts, I shift my weight to help him pull them down, and then I feel him scoot even lower on the bed to settle between my legs, his hands gliding over my hips and down my thighs, mapping every inch of me.
They didn’t give me any underwear.
I was going commando in Dax’s shorts, and now I’m completely bared to him. He hasn’t even touched my pussy yet, and between the darkness of the room and the fact that he’s buried underneath the blankets, I doubt he can see much of anything down there.
But I can feel his focus on me like a laser, warming my skin, making me whimper into Chase’s greedy mouth.
When Dax finally grips my thighs and holds them open, I brace myself for the sensations I know are about to sweep me away. And when his tongue darts out and finds my already throbbing clit, brushing hard strokes across it, I rip my mouth away from Chase’s, biting my lower lip to muffle a raw cry.
“With me, Low. Stay with me.” Chase shifts on his elbow, using two fingers to turn my face back toward him. His grin beams in the darkness, like a sexy-as-fuck Cheshire cat. “And you can let go of your lip. You don’t have to worry about making noise. Nobody but us can hear you, and I promise you, we like it.”
Dax is still lapping at my clit like it’s his favorite kind of candy, and a flush of pleasure fills my body as I stare up into Chase’s eyes, completely drawn in by him.
With me, he said.
He wants to see. He wants to know what his brother is doing to me, wants to watch it on my face, feel it in my body.
I’m not used to this. I’ve had guys go down on me before, but never like this. Never when there was another boy present to witness my reaction to it, to absorb my pleasure and feed it back to me through hot, demanding kisses.
I like it.
No, fuck that. I love it.
It intensifies the feelings billowing through me, as if the number of bodies touching mine increases every sensation exponentially. As if sharing our pleasure makes it grow.
Dax’s tongue licks up and down my pussy, sliding over my folds before finding my clit again, and when he slips a finger inside me, my hips buck off the bed. I haul Chase’s head down to meet mine, kissing him desperately, hungrily—as though if I can just kiss him hard enough, I’ll be able to survive the sensations pummeling my body.
I’m not sure I will though.
I’ve been tense as a taut wire all day, and now it feels like I’m about to snap.
I can’t catch my breath, and I suck in gulps of air every time Chase and I break apart for a second. My fingernails scratch at the fabric of his worn t-shirt, scraping over the banded muscles underneath, and my hips lift off the mattress again, riding Dax’s face without an ounce of shame.
Dax murmurs something against my pussy, words I can’t hear but can feel. The vibration of his lips and the feel of his breath make me shake, and when he loops his hands under my thighs and holds me off the bed so he can feast on me, I lose it.
My hands grip Chase’s short copper hair so hard it has to hurt, and I bite his lips softly, kissing him over and over again as my orgasm flows through me, lighting up every nerve ending from my fingers to the tips of my toes.
“Fuck!”
My curse is almost as muffled as Dax’s words were earlier, and I can feel Chase smile against my lips when he hears it. He pulls back from my mouth and shifts his attention downward, pressing kisses to my jaw, neck, and shoulder as Dax moves upward, his tongue trailing over my lower abdomen to circle my belly button slowly. His lips and teeth brush over my hip bones and the sensitive lines of my hip flexors, eating me up in small bites.
Then Dax draws away and crawls to my left side again, sprawling next to me as his twin settles back on the right.
“What are you thinking about now?” Chase murmurs playfully, and I give a low, contented moan.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Good.” H
e chuckles, massaging my breast through my borrowed t-shirt, playing with my nipple and making a lingering zap of pleasure shoot through me. “Then our work here is done.”
Wait, what?
That doesn’t seem right.
They’re both hard. I can feel their arousal pressing against me, as if I couldn’t already tell they were turned on from the way their breathing picked up and their bodies tensed as they teased an orgasm out of me.
My hands slip down, ending up on either side of my still naked lower half. When I find two hard cocks straining against the confines of gym shorts, I stroke them lightly through the fabric.
Dax groans, sounding amused and tortured at the same time. His hand encircles my wrist, and he tugs it gently away from his dick.
“Not tonight, Low.”
“What?”
I sound highly incensed, offended almost, that he won’t let me at his cock, and he lets out a low laugh.
“Goddammit, you’re fucking awesome.”
Then he leans forward and kisses me, letting me taste myself on his lips and tongue.
“But you need to get some actual sleep,” he concludes, his mouth moving against mine as he speaks. “Besides, I can’t have you touch me right now without wanting to be inside you. And the first time we have sex, I don’t want to have to rush or worry that you might have a concussion.”
Fuck. Fair points, I guess.
But it doesn’t stop me from punishing him just a little by sucking his tongue into my mouth and pushing against his grip on my wrist to stroke his cock one more time.
He groans, thrusting into my touch, and Chase laughs.
“She’s got your number, dude.”
I punish Chase the same way, just to make sure he knows I’ve got his number too. But just like his brother, he doesn’t let me go farther than that.
“Sleep now, Low.” He drops a kiss to my nose. “There’s plenty of time for that later. Promise. We’re not going anywhere.”
And as if to prove their point, the twins both shift closer to me, wrapping me up in their embrace.
My body is strung out and exhausted, and thanks to the two of them, my mind is blissfully blank.
So I sleep.
5
I walk along a deserted, dark street just like Iris did the night she died. It’s almost like I am Iris, except when I look down, the hands and arms I catch sight of are my own.
I know it’s coming. I know the car is lying in wait for me. But as if the universe has already determined my fate, I can’t stop myself from stepping out into the street, from putting myself in the path of the dark sedan that screeches suddenly into view.
It hits me, and I fly into the air, landing with a jarring thud, my body broken and contorted.
I’m dying.
Or maybe I’m already dead.
But somehow, I can still see the man who emerges smoothly from the vehicle, dressed all in black. He should be wearing a mask, but it’s gone now. I can see every detail of his features. The lines in his forehead. His round face. The small dimple in his chin. His hazel eyes look pleasant even now—even as he’s committing a murder, stealing a life.
He walks over to me and crouches down, running his hands over my broken body before stopping at my neck to feel for a pulse.
There isn’t one.
I am dead.
But somehow, he knows I’m still watching him.
Something like amusement dances in Hollowell’s clear hazel eyes, and he lifts a finger to his lips.
Warning me to stay silent.
I snap awake in a cold sweat, sucking in a shocked gasp. Muddy dawn light filters in through the blinds, and for a horrible, terrifying moment, I have no idea where I am.
My heart thuds erratically in my chest, and my skin prickles with cold despite the two warm bodies next to me.
Warm bodies.
Dax and Chase.
The fear drains out of me, and I relax a little, coming out of the haze of the nightmare.
Fuck.
My heartbeat slowly returns to normal, and I peer at the twins sleeping next to me. Both of their bodies are still curled against mine, arms slung loosely over me. I shift my gaze from one to the other, noticing the slight differences and similarities in their features. Just like their personalities, it’s those little differences between their looks that make it impossible for anyone who knows them well to ever mistake one for the other.
Dax’s features are a little heavier, his shoulders a little more broad. It seems to match his character since, out of the two of them, he’s the one more prone to seriousness—although both of the Lauder boys can be total goofballs.
He’s got a little scar above his right eyebrow, barely noticeable but there, and I want to know how he got it. I doubt it was from playing football, considering the disdain he seems to have for Trent, Linwood Academy’s star quarterback. But maybe it was from some other sport. Dax strikes me as the type who would’ve been an athletic kid. Both he and Chase always seem to have energy to burn.
My gaze shifts to Chase, and his bergamot scent tickles my nostrils as I study him carefully. He’s got the same strong jaw, straight nose, and golden skin as his brother, but his features are just a little sharper, a bit more angular. Even in sleep, a small smile curves his lips, and I unconsciously mirror it.
This boy was born to smile. He was born to be happy, and unlike some people, whose happiness is reliant on external circumstances, on achievements and wealth and status, I think Chase could find happiness no matter where he is, no matter what life throws at him.
I like that. I don’t think I’m the same way, but having him in my life reminds me that happiness like that is possible.
As I gaze at him, the smile on his lips spreads wider, and his eyes suddenly pop open, clear azure irises shining.
“Quit starin’, ya perv.”
I yelp softly in surprise. Shit. How long has he been awake?
Dax’s arms tighten around me from the other side. “She’s probably just trying to figure out how identical twins can have a hot one and an ugly one.”
“Oh, come on,” Chase shoots back, grinning at me before glancing over my shoulder at his brother. “She’d never call you ugly to your face.”
Chuckling, I burrow deeper into their arms as they banter back and forth, good-naturedly disparaging each other’s hideous features.
I forgot the twins go from dead asleep to wide awake in seconds. The past few weeks at River’s house, I’ve gotten used to waking up in stages and giving him a bit of time to rejoin the land of the living before making any attempt at conversation.
Dax and Chase are like a mug of strong coffee upside the head.
The three of us stay in bed for a while, until the room brightens around us.
I check my bruise in the mirror and find that the swelling has gone down a bit, although the deep purple looks just as harsh in the light of day. When the twins lead me downstairs for breakfast. I can’t help but tread lightly, worried about running into their parents, but as it turns out, there’s no need for concern.
We bump into their mom on the way to the kitchen. She looks like she just got back from a run, in a designer tracksuit that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe combined. The guys introduce me, and if Mrs. Lauder notices that they’re each holding one of my hands as they do, she doesn’t say anything.
“Nice to meet you, Harlow.” She glances at my bruise, then tugs her gaze away and smiles, looking distracted already. She glances at Dax and Chase. “Your father and I have that party at the Masterson’s tonight. You’ll be on your own for dinner. I’ll have Cheryl cook something and leave it in the fridge.”
“Sure. Have fun.”
Dax nods, and he and Chase lead me away as their mom heads upstairs. She’s older than my mom, but she could probably pass for younger. Whatever plastic surgery she’s had is subtle but effective, peeling away the years as if they never existed.
I wonder if she’s trying to reclaim the you
th she “wasted” on raising her kids—that is, if giving birth and then basically ignoring the twins could be called raising.
“Told you.” Chase grins at me as we walk into the kitchen, which is huge and full of chrome and steel appliances. “She doesn’t give a shit.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
My stomach goes tight as I glance back toward the stairs where Mrs. Lauder disappeared.
I feel a sudden need to make up for the lack of affection the twins get from their mom and dad, to make sure they know that they’re cared about. Cherished. I rise up on my tiptoes to kiss him, and he returns it hungrily before walking to one of the fridges and rifling through it.
It’s strange. Their entire interaction with their mom was actually… pleasant. There didn’t seem to be any tension or anger on either side. But they also didn’t sound like they were talking to their mom—more like they were talking to a roommate they barely know.
A painful pressure builds in my chest, and I realize what I want to do today. What I have to do.
I need to go visit my own mom.
“Oh my God, Harlow! What happened?”
I barely pick up the phone receiver in time to hear my mom’s words. She shot to her feet the second I entered, and she’s staring at the purple bruise on my head with wide eyes.
“I got into a car accident.” I lift a hand to cut her off before she can say anything else. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”
“Is everyone else okay? What happened? Whose car was it?”
Her barrage of questions comes fast, and I bite back a smile as I realize one unexpected side benefit of my stupid car wreck is that at least it’s taking my mom’s mind off her impending trial with an incompetent lawyer as her only defender.
“No one else was hurt, it was just me. The roads were bad, and I spun out. It was… a friend’s car.”
She knows who River is, but I don’t mention his name. Dax and Chase drove me today, but they’re waiting outside like Linc used to.