by Sariah Skye
So far he hadn’t, but it didn’t stop me from hoping.
Brushing my hand over the smooth edge, I frowned. “I hope you’re okay… Dad.” I’d only known him a short time even though he’d been secretly watching over me for years and despite his fuck-ups, his heart was generally in the right place.
He didn’t respond of course; I saw nothing but my own haggard reflection in the shiny finish of the wood. I wrinkled my nose. “Yep…gotta shower.”
Even though Mathias’ dinner of homemade fettucine alfredo and garlic toast was delicious, I picked at it with my fork, each bite weighting like anvils in my stomach.
“What’s wrong, luv?” Trystan inquired from next to me at the table. Trystan had already polished off two plates of pasta and was anxiously eyeing mine.
I shoved my plate towards him. “All yours.”
Mathias appeared wounded from his spot on the other side of me until I nudged him; cooking was a way he showed he cared—even for the other assholes we lived with—so he took it personally when someone didn’t want to eat. Even though he tried not to, the disappointment on his face was obvious. “Sorry, it’s delicious but I’m just so terrified about the club opening tomorrow I can’t eat anything.”
He nodded knowingly and patted my arm. “I understand. Don’t worry about it.”
“Aye, I’ll make sure this doesn’t go ta waste,” Trystan said, grinning as he shoved a forkful of noodles in his mouth.
“We’ll be with you the entire time,” Xander said earnestly across the table from me. “Right, dude?” He elbowed Bash next to him, shooting him a nasty glare as he flipped through his phone.
“Yep!” Bash said quickly, feigning an innocent smile.
“Personally, I’m ready to get my freak on!” Rhys said, grinning widely, snapping his fingers and dancing in his seat.
“You’re not going,” Mathias said simply, glowering at him.
“Aww! Why not?” Rhys puffed out his lower lip and pouted.
“Because, we aren’t going to be baby-sitting you and helping Ava at the same time,” Xander retorted dryly at him.
“Baby-sit? You don’t need to baby-sit me! I’m centuries old!” Rhys insisted.
Xander snorted derisively. “Yeah, we’re gonna trust you. You’re lucky we haven’t killed you yet.”
“But—I helped bring Ava back!” Rhys groused. “She’s okay with me!”
I lifted a brow. “Am I?”
Bash leaned over Xander, glowering at the wizard. “And just how was she able to go through that portal in the first place, huh?”
Rhys sank in his seat but remained silent as he quietly sipped his drink. “I’m really not sure,” he said in a small voice, finally. “It had to be something with Morgaine. I’d think Lancelot but seeing his reaction to Ava going through—he flipped out, Ava,” he said to me, nodding his head frantically. “Just flipped. Only a reaction of a panicked parent has that when something happens to their kid.”
Xander grumbled. “Dude. We all flipped out.”
“Except Morgaine, right?” I suggested dryly. When no one responded, I snorted. “Yeah, I figured. Dumb bitch.”
“Forget about her, lassie,” Trystan said, as he wiped his mouth with a black napkin. He set it on the table and scooted his chair across the tile until he was practically sitting in my lap. I felt the heaviness of Xander’s glare from across the table as Trystan wrapped his arms around me, offering me comfort at the idea that my mother didn’t care about me. Yeah, it hurt, but I was okay with it. Mostly.
“You have us now. And you have me, and I’m worth ten times more than that skanky enchantress,” Trystan said. I giggled as the light beard he was growing on his chin tickled my cheek.
“Dude, do you have to do that here?” Xander groused. “What happened to ‘keeping everything private’?”
Trystan pulled his face away from mine to glower. “The fuck is your problem, man?”
Xander’s dark eyes that had been clouded with a mysterious anger, lightened slightly. Resting his elbows on the tabletop and cradling his head in his hands, he groaned. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“Trystan, back off,” Mathias commanded, staring at Trystan grimly.
“Aye,” Trystan said, slowly backing away into his seat, glancing back and forth between Mathias and Xander. Everyone sat in an awkward silence for a few moments, before I let out a light cough to break the tension.
“So, is everything in place for tomorrow? Bodyguards, bartenders—the works?” Xander inquired finally, forcing a smile.
Mathias eyed him carefully, but nodded. “Yes, I believe so. Link hired the strongest supes he could find. Apparently, the Stargazer has had a reputation in the past for rowdy behavior. There have been a lot of arrests there over the years since Morgaine has been in control.”
“Or, not in control,” I groused.
“Yeah, that,” Mathias agreed wryly. “The previous bartenders all wanted their jobs back. All but one. Tomorrow, Bash is going to be the extra one and oversee how things are going.”
“Aye, that’s right. The two of ye have some experience running clubs, eh?” Trystan asked.
“Obviously, it was their idea to turn the Underground into an actual speakeasy,” I said, as he filled my wine glass with a bottle of cabernet in front of him. I raised my glass at him in a thank-you and took a long sip. As the liquid warmed my throat and began to relax my shoulders, I realized just how tense I’d been during the conversation thinking about tomorrow.
“Yeah, but a speakeasy in the ‘20s is completely different than a club today,” Xander said. “There’s a lot more rules and regulations to follow. It’s a pain.”
I frowned. “Maybe I should have sold it after all…”
Xander reached over the counter and squeezed my arm. “It’ll be fine, Ava.”
Unconvinced, I answered by chugging my glass of wine, thankful for the light buzz now beginning to tingle my skin. “Right, right. You keep saying that word. I don’t think it means what you think it means.”
Bash flashed me a smirk as I inconspicuously referred to one of his favorite movies. “Just think, Ava. You’re doing the city a service and providing a safe place for people to go have fun. It’s a good thing.”
“That is until the demons are unleashed from underground, sure!” I retorted sarcastically.
“Hey, what havoc could anyone cause with the lean, mean, Roman machine here?” Rhys said, affectionately slapping the former gladiator in the shoulder.
I was in mid-sip of my wine, and I nearly spat it across the table as we all watched Mathias turn, giving the wizard a stone-faced expression. “Please refrain from touching me, Merlin,” he commanded.
Rhys swallowed thickly as the rest of us stifled laughter. “Uh oh. I’m no fool, I can see where I’m not wanted!” He snapped his fingers and in a puff of odorless smoke, he disappeared; assumedly for the back bedroom because we heard a “Oh shit! Lizzie!” from down the hallway.
Trystan grumbled. Sliding out of his seat, he finished the contents of his wine glass in one gulp. “I better go get her before he turns her into a frog like last time.” Before departing, he gave me a smoldering smile, his eyes resting briefly on the cleavage that was inadvertently on display from my blue V-neck tee as I had my arms crossed over my chest.
Secretly—or not so secretly pleased, I grinned.
“Oh, ew!” Rhys hollered.
“Och, shite. Coming!” Trystan grinned once more before running down the hallway, calling for the mischievous pup. I tried not to let my gaze linger at the Scot’s nice, round ass in his plaid pants before he disappeared from view.
Xander suddenly slammed his silverware on the table. “Well. I’ve had enough of this,” he said.
My gaze snapped back at him and I smiled innocently. “Sor—” I began.
Mathias was next to set his utensils down, narrowing his eyes at the storm-wielder briefly before softening as he turned to me. “No, Ava. Don’t apologize, this is ju
st the nature of the beast.”
“What’s your problem, man?” Bash asked suddenly. He’d been ignoring everything again, flipping through his phone intently. “You’ve been snapping at everyone lately. Need to change your man-pon, bro?”
Xander’s chair slid across the tile as he jumped out of it. Slamming his napkin on the tabletop, nearly knocking over my wine glass, he glowered at Bash. “Fuck you, man.” Without another word or glance at anyone else he stormed off in a fury of mysterious rage.
“Shit,” I said, under my breath. “What beast are we talking about here?”
Mathias calmly set his napkin on his empty plate before he took a long sip of water. Setting down the glass, he said to me, frowning, “A big green beast.”
Bash and he exchanged a knowing look at each other. “Yeah. I’ll go fucking apologize to him. Damn kids,” he added under his breath.
“Hey, I’m way younger than all of you!” I cringed. “Ew, that’s actually gross if you think about it.”
Bash chuckled. “Yeah, but you’re a woman. You’re automatically centuries more evolved than any of us,” he said, flashing me a wink before he went upstairs to go find his friend.
“Besides, we stopped maturing when we became cursed,” Mathias said blandly. “We’re all around twenty-eight, thirty years old, basically.”
“Yeah, with two-thousand years’ experience,” I quipped, raising a brow. “Should I—?” I pointed in the direction that Bash ran off in.
Mathias shook his head. “No, they have to work it out for themselves.” With a sigh, Mathias pushed his chair out and stood. “How are you feeling now? Still nervous? Are you heading to bed?” He asked, the irises of his eyes shading a deep red. I lifted a brow, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He outstretched his hand to me. “I’m going to go read. I’ll clean up this stuff later. Want to come?” His voice was low and husky, and a faint flush spread across his cheeks.
Grinning, I slid out of my chair, placing my hand in his large one. “Sure,” I said, feeling my skin tingle and heat under the weight of his lusty stare. The spat between the guys was forgotten as I followed him to his bedroom, and we shut the door behind us, relieved for a bit of…silence.
Chapter Three
Mathias’ hands roved over my naked back as I moaned loudly. I pressed myself against him; my bare breasts tingled and peaked with anticipation as my nipples brushed against his fevered skin. My hands snaked up his thick biceps and his firm shoulders, as I thoroughly enjoyed the sculpted hardness of his muscled body. Once upon a time I thought that stacked, built guys like Mathias were conceited and meat-headed, but the former gladiator showed me wrong. He was intense and intelligent, passionate and tender all at once. I absolutely loved how he relished in the attention I paid him when we were together; he didn’t take a single touch or look for granted.
My fingers roved behind his neck as I clawed gently at his nape. He breathed out a sigh into my shoulder, pausing as he tenderly pressed a trail of kisses down my neck and over my collarbone; his full, pouty lips searching out my breasts pressed between us.
His hands dipped into the waistband of my black satin undies, grazing over the top of my ass as I arched into him, rutting against his mass of hardness as I perched on his lap, my legs wrapped against his waist as we got hot and heavy in a blue armchair, Mathias’ book long forgotten.
“Yes…” I hissed, as his tongue eagerly sought a nipple. My body was charged and ready to go, but Mathias always liked to go slow and draw out the passion. But between the increasing dampness between my legs and the tingles low in my belly, I about had enough as I fumbled for the zipper on his khakis. “I can’t wait anymore…”
“Can’t wait for what?” a third voice inquired, bringing us out of a lust-induced haze.
“What the—” Mathias jumped up, startled, his hands still cradling my ass so I didn’t fall. He glowered. “Rhys!” He bellowed as I shrieked in surprise, suddenly seeing the wizard appear in the bedroom.
Rhys stood in the dark, biting a finger intensely as he leered. “Sorry, am I interrupting something? I just needed to get away from—”
Mathias quickly pushed me behind him, and in a panic I crossed my arms across my bare chest; hoping to reclaim a bit of modesty. Still glowering at the wizard, his right hand reached for the t-shirt that was slung haphazardly across the back of the chair. “Put this on while I kill a wizard.”
Rhys let out a high-pitched “eep!” and jumped. I quickly fumbled with the t-shirt, draping it over my boobs and stomach as I precariously watched Mathias. He was slowly growing in size—his body, not his crotch—and he stalked through the dark bedroom at the silhouette of Rhys across the bedroom. “You are never to transport into any of our bedrooms at any time, for any circumstance. You hear? Unless you want your eyes gouged out, and—”
Rhys held up panicked hands of surrender. “I’m gone!” He began to snap his fingers when he glanced around Mathias’ massive body ambling towards him. He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Nice rack, baby!”
“That’s it!” Mathias roared angrily, attempting to dive for the wizard. But before he could, Rhys disappeared with a snap of his fingers, leaving behind a puff of smoke… and a lot of disappointment.
He glanced back at me briefly, his face darkening with fury. “Sorry, we’ll have to cut this short. I have to go kill someone.”
I nodded, trying to push away the intense need that had begun to pulse between my legs. “I’m just going to go…yeah.” Before I could even point out the doorway, Mathias was gone and storming through the house, yelling the entire way.
Defeated, I reluctantly searched Mathias’ floor for my missing articles of clothing: leggings, bra, T-shirt. I re-dressed myself, tossing his shirt on the bed—for later maybe—and trying to ignore the unrequited desire low in my belly.
But hey, the good thing about having four boyfriends? Chances are there’s at least one of them around, available, and willing.
Knowing Mathias was on the war path and Trystan was hunting for Rhys, I decided my best bets were Bash or Xander who shared the second floor in their own respective bedrooms. I slid down the hallway, down the stairs and came to Bash’s bedroom first.
Leaning against the door, I was ready to knock when Mathias’ voice was booming loudly.
“Something needs to be done about that idiot!” He bellowed angrily. “That ass just transported into my bedroom, when Ava and I were—” I could just imagine how bright red his cheeks were turning at that moment, as he confessed to Bash we were about ready to “do the deed.”
I heard a snort from the bedroom. “Trystan said the same thing earlier—though he didn’t appear when he was boning Ava or anything—”
“Boning?” I mouthed silently, half grossed out and half ticked at the fact that I could be “boned.” Damn men…I guessed supe male or human male, some things just never changed.
“—but he was in front of the mirror, and apparently, he came in when he was admiring…” Bash snickered and burst into a loud laugh. I didn’t know what he was doing, but Mathias joined in after.
“Och, shut up ye right damn bastard!” Trystan’s thick Scottish accent threatened, and Bash laughed wildly. “Come on, you guys don’t manscape the ol’ parts down there?”
I smirked to myself. I actually knew the answer to that question; I knew Mathias did, Xander didn’t need to, Bash didn’t, and apparently it was something Trystan was starting. I pressed a hand to my lips to stifle my giggle.
“What I do with my ‘ol’’ parts, is none of your business,” Mathias said sternly.
“Well come on, you need a mirror!” Trystan protested, and Mathias and Bash burst into peals of laughter.
“Maybe Merlin has a spell for that!” Bash said, and they roared with amusement.
“Aye, maybe. ‘Remove-us pube-us!’” Trystan barely uttered before his words were clipped with his own laugh.
A giggle of my own escaped my mouth and the guys went silent.
“Is it that wizard dumbass?” Bash asked, and I heard three sets of footsteps storm through his room.
Not wanting to be found eavesdropping on their conversation, I quickly pulled at the pulsing magic that resided in the back of my mind, called for it, and threw my invisible shield up, taking a few steps back down the hallway so they wouldn’t run into me.
Mathias threw open the door and peered down the hallway, looking left, and then right again; his eyes never landing on me. Trystan and Bash peered around him; they looked at each other and shrugged.
“He’s gone now,” Mathias said.
“Maybe it was Xander, coming to ask someone to extract the stick from up his ass,” Bash griped, his voice low.
“Don’t make it worse, Sebastian,” Mathias said. “Anyway, you said you have something?” They disappeared from view, shutting the door behind them.
A sound of snapping fingers. “I have been working on something, come here…” I heard Bash say, and the voices grew quieter; I knew they had gone into Bash’s nerd lab.
Sighing, I left the boys to their— whatever they were doing.
Another door opened further down the hall, and Xander peeked his head out from his bathroom. “Did someone call me?” He asked, glancing around. A black bandanna was tied around his head, and he carried a large tote full of rags and other assorted cleaning supplies.
“Oh shit, you’re stress-cleaning,” I said, and Xander nearly jumped three feet in the air.
“Ava?!” He asked in surprise, and I realized I still had my shield up.
“Sorry!” I dropped the magic and walked briskly to the bathroom before he could disappear.
He let out a tense breath. “At least it’s just you.”
“Who else would I be?” I asked, raising a brow, his tone obviously indicating he wanted to say something more.
Xander frowned. “Ah, never mind. Anyway, I’m just—” he started into the bathroom with his cleaning supplies, when I clutched his arm and pinned him in place. Rather he allowed me to, because he could probably knock me on my ass if he wanted.