by Chrissy Jaye
With a huff, I easily grabbed my toe as I folded myself in half until my upper body was flush with my leg. I wasn’t a nut about sports, but I was fit. If I hadn’t been too busy trying to survive in high school, I might have found the ‘give a damn’ others seemed to have and gone for track. “This good?” I asked sharply, equal parts annoyed with him and distracted by Flynn and Lucien whispering again as they observed us.
“Yep. If you’re that flexible, you should umm, you should—” he stuttered behind me. “You should, fuck, just push as far as your body will let you.” His hands slid around to my waist before he dropped them to the grass and stood up. I turned my head to look at him but before our eyes could meet, he turned his away. “Okay, that should be enough stretching. Let’s work with air today, guys,” he called to the others. “Should be the easiest thing for her.” He stepped away as I climbed to my feet.
Stretching, I could do, but once they started practicing forms, I faltered. No matter how many times I watched Liam or one of the others as they ran through the simple movements, I could not get it right. I was awkward and completely ungraceful, unlike Brooke who performed it perfectly and was rewarded with a small buffet of wind that kept distracting me.
“You look like a duck taking its first waddle,” Flynn snorted as I lost my balance for the hundredth time. He strolled over and tapped one of my legs on the inner thigh. “Lean into this leg more and arch your back.” I followed his instructions, trying not to think about his hand on my lower spine. “Good, now bring your arm up a bit more.” His chest pressed against my back as he lunged behind me, shaping his body to mine, making my brain freeze. Only to be electrified as his arms came around me and one of his hands skimmed under my arm, bringing it up in an arc. “Perfect,” he said against my hair. I trembled; he was so close; I could hardly think.
His arm dropped away as he stepped back and Liam crossed in front of me, checking my limbs. “Very good,” he said, giving me a wide smile. “Take a quick look at Brooke and watch the lines of her body.” I glanced over to the blonde in question. Her longer limbs were graceful as she focused on her center of gravity. There was no way I could ever look like that. “Do you see her shoulders, how they’re squared, and her spine is perfectly aligned. That’s to help the energy flow.”
Something inside me snapped as I watched her spin on her front leg and another gust of wind rushed past me. My arms dropped to my sides and I brought myself up to my full height. “If you’re just going to point out how inept I am, then you can fuck off,” I bit out glaring at him. My eyes started to burn, and I closed them. They could walk me through the moves a million more times and talk about expanding capabilities until they were all blue in the face but I would never master it the way Brooke had.
“That’s not what—” he started but I shook my head.
“Give me a second,” I grit out. One breath. Then another. Letting my hurt wash though me but trying to not hold on to it. When I felt calm enough, I opened my eyes to see Liam standing in front of me still.
“It just takes practice,” Liam said quietly. I cut my eyes around, finding Flynn nowhere near us. He and the rest of the guys were taking a break while Liam used Brooke to show me what I should look like. Vian was the only one openly watching us with concern on his face. The rest of them were huddled in a quiet conversation. “Hey,” Liam called softly, drawing my eyes back to him. “No one is judging you here, Kitten. If you got it right away, it would be a shock.”
I shook my head at him. We’d been at this for what felt like hours and I was exhausted. I had a new respect for dancers, since what we were doing seemed closer to ballet than martial arts. At least for now when I had to go through the movements so slowly.
“Try one more time and then we’ll break for the day,” he said, giving me an encouraging smile that I couldn’t return.
Blinking, I pushed everything else out of my mind and dropped my center of gravity, moving into the lunge and arching my spine. My right arm swept up in front of me as I put more weight onto my front leg and then swept my leg around me in a full pivot. The only thing I forgot was to focus on what I wanted to happen. Instead, all I thought about was how tired I was, that I wanted this torture to be over with. Something rushed through me, lighting up inside me and I let out a giddy laugh.
“Holy shit!” Lucien cried, heading toward me in a dead sprint just as I finished my spin.
Someone grabbed me from behind and hoisted me into the air, pulling me back. I squeaked in surprise and looked down only to see a perfect circle of dead grass. Lucien paused at the edge and stared up at me in shock.
I swatted at the arm holding me up. “Put me down!” My head turned only to meet Flynn’s eyes over my shoulder. How the hell did he get over here so fast?
“Don’t get shitty with me, Princess. You’re the one killing the yard.”
Liam appeared in my line of sight with a grim look as he stared at the grass. “You were tired and you… hell. Pushed her too hard.” Then to me,” How do you feel now?”
“Fine, I guess. I don’t know.” I smacked at Flynn’s arm again until he reluctantly lowered me to the ground.
I spun around and put a finger in his face. “Minus ten points, Asshole. Do not grab me like that.”
“How are you keeping track of that?” Ben asked. I looked at him over my shoulder. He was squatting by the circle of dead grass I wanted to ignore.
“I’ll put a board up in the kitchen. Brooke can we get me a white board?” I asked her sweetly.
She grinned and rolled her eyes. “Fucking done. Just don’t put me on there.”
“Deal,” I said. I lightly pushed Flynn away from me and inspected the grass. “I—can we fix it?” The idea of killing grass bothered me. What if I hadn’t pulled from the grass? What if it had been a person? I shook my head to clear the thoughts from my head.
“Flynn can fix it later,” Kieran said, offering me a smile. “Try it again but think about your intent this time. I was watching. You did the movements perfectly.”
I blew a breath out between my teeth, hoping we could be done with practice for the day, but I could try once more. I waited for them to back up before dropping into my stance and focused on making a gust of wind. This time, something within me aligned. Instead of the giddy surge from before, something rushed through me as I spun. A brutal wind swept through the yard. Everyone stumbled back or fell over entirely except Kieran who looked like he’d braced himself. His grin was wide as he turned to steady Lucien.
I clapped my hands over my mouth as I straightened, both elated and horrified. “I’m so sorry!”
Ben was the first to recover, climbing quickly to his feet before he stalked toward me. I backed up, fear rising to the surface, but I didn’t get far before he grabbed me around the middle and hoisted me up against him in a crushing hug.
“That was spectacular!” he exclaimed, pulling back to stare at me. “I can’t wait to run some tests.” His jewel-toned eyes lit up as he ran his gaze over my stunned expression.
“I can’t believe it,” I finally said as it sank in. I’d done it. Killing grass was one thing, but somehow this made it all real. More real than meeting a cat and having a full conversation with him. Ben let me down slowly and stepped back. As soon as my feet were on the ground I started bouncing on my toes. “I did magic!”
Liam groaned, burying his face in his hands. “It’s not magic, Kitten.”
“Shut up,” I said, swatting at him. “Do not ruin this for me. I did magic. Wait, did I hurt anyone?” I scanned everyone from head to toe just to make sure no one was limping or bleeding, relieved when I found none.
“Come on, Doll. Help me make dinner tonight,” Lucien said through a devilish smile as he grabbed me around the middle and hoisted me over his shoulder.
I smacked at his back with a screech. “Put me down, you caveman. I know how to walk.”
“I know, but it’s more fun to carry you,” he said with a laugh that had his shoulder digg
ing into my stomach as he marched toward the house.
I grunted as the blood rushed to my head. “You’re making me dizzy,” I complained, trying to lift myself upright, but dropping back down when we passed through the door. He didn’t set me down until we were in the kitchen proper.
And by set down, I mean propped me on the counter and straightened, caging me between his arms. I backed away until the back of my head hit the overhead cabinets. “Hey,” he breathed, his eyes catching mine. “Great job. Really, you did better than you think.” He spoke quietly as the others trickled through the kitchen, heading for the stairs.
“Luc, bring her up in a minute,” Flynn called from the bottom step. “I’ll help you cook after.”
“Oh right, I forgot,” he said with a sheepish laugh.
“Forgot what?” I mumbled, completely transfixed by the light in his eyes.
“Your surprise,” he replied before rubbing his thumb against my chin.
I blinked at him before I remembered. He’d mentioned it at breakfast and lunch, but with everything going on I hadn’t the energy to try weaseling details out of him.
“Do you prefer Lucien or Luc?” I asked suddenly. I’d been calling him Lucien this whole time, but Flynn’s comment and my earlier rant about nicknames had alerted me to the possibilities of other names.
He smiled at me again, flashing me with his dazzling teeth. “Luc, but whatever you want to call me is fine.”
I snorted at him. “Luc it is, then. What do the others prefer to be called?”
He edged away from me and collected bottles of water from the refrigerator. “Honestly, don’t worry about that.” He handed me one after cracking it open.
I rolled my eyes. Jesus, I could handle opening a bottle on my own. I snatched it from his hand and downed half of it in one go. “Fine. I won’t worry about it. Except Asshole. I’m never changing that.”
Lucien threw his head back and laughed. “Trust me, love, it doesn’t bother him at all.”
“Oh.” I muttered. “Damn, I’ll have to think of something else he’ll hate.”
“I might have a way for you to mess with him…” he teased.
“Really?” I asked. “Tell me.”
“It’s gonna cost you,” he replied in a sing-song voice that didn’t match his expression. He was still in my space and the way he looked at me had my breath catching in my throat. We were being playful, flirting almost, but it didn’t feel like a game.
“What’s the cost,” I asked softly,
“Just a favor.” He smirked, tilting his head closer.
“A favor…” He was so close. All I would have to do is lean into him and his lips would be on mine. I wouldn’t, but I wanted too. “I reserve the right to decline if I don’t like the favor.”
“You’ve got a deal. I’m sure we can find a favor to your liking.” His eyes grew dark with mischief before he leaned in to whisper in my ear. His breath tickled against my skin as I listened. I tried to ignore how the brush of his lips made my insides clench. When he leaned away, I sat back on my hands with a slow smile.
“Really?”
“Oh yeah,” he said with a dark chuckle.
My lips split into a huge grin.
Chapter 19
Lucien led me up the stairs and through the upper floor with a secret smile on his lips. It was a bit infectious, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the others had in store for me. Every few seconds, his eyes would meet mine and I’d have to look away, reminding myself that if things were different, if I were still in school, I would have stayed far away from him. I knew I shouldn’t be entertaining crushes, there were so many other problems taking up space in my head. But Luc was a handsome guy, all sharp lines and perfect angles. Paired with his features, it was his personality that drew me in the most. He was sweet, flirty, like a ray of warmth from the sun.
I couldn’t take it any longer, both his beautiful face and the excitement of figuring out the surprise. “What are you guys doing?” I asked.
“You’ll see, Doll. Come on before you combust with curiosity,” he said, grinning.
We turned a corner at the end of the hall and headed in a direction of the house I hadn’t been back to since the night I woke up here. We bypassed Flynn’s closed door and paused at a door at the very end of the hall. He rapped on the wood lightly. Inside, I could hear muffled voices before someone cracked the door open. One of Kieran’s blue eyes peered out before crinkling with what I thought might be a smile. “Cover her eyes first.”
I froze as Lucien stepped around me and put both hands over my eyes. His body—still shirtless, I might add—pressed against my back, sending a shiver up my spine. He smelled like lemons and something crisp that I couldn’t identify right away.
“Is this really necessary?” I said, trying for a bored tone even though I was anything but and knew I failed. I sounded breathy. My body was coiled tight with Luc’s heat wrapped around me.
“Patience is a virtue,” Kieran stated with a laugh. I heard the door scrape against carpet as it opened.
“A doctrine I’ve never subscribed to,” I muttered. Lucien pressed into me and someone took my hands, leading me forward. I was led several steps in before being turned around. A few seconds passed and I let out a nervous laugh. “Is this where you guys murder me…” My sentence drifted off as my eyes were uncovered and I blinked several times before they adjusted to the sudden light.
It was a bedroom—more specifically, one painted in my favorite color, mint green with a darker olive green to accent the room. Slowly, I spun in a circle on the beige carpet, luxuriating in the soft feel of it between my toes. The first thing to draw my eye was the enormous four poster bed that took up most of the space. It had gauzy black curtains that hung down and were pulled back to reveal the white bedding and cushioned headboard. As I turned, I took in a set of French doors with heavy blinds and a mahogany desk, already set up with a laptop and stereo system. Along another wall were two doors, one of which was open. Inside was a walk-in closet, already filled with the things Brooke and Lucien had purchased for me the other day.
“When…I…” I spun again, taking in more details. “This is…”
“All yours,” Lucien said as I came face to face with his wide smile.
“Does that mean you like it?” Ben asked. Glancing in his direction, I saw an openly nervous look on his face as he chewed the corner of his index finger.
“It’s…” I couldn’t seem to articulate how I felt in that moment. The room was beautiful. I was having trouble believing my eyes.
“I think she’s speechless,” Flynn drawled.
I moved to the bed, pressing down on the mattress before flopping onto my back, letting out a small squeal at how soft it was. Later, when no one was around, I was going to lay on it and kick my feet into the air. “I love it,” I finally said, fighting the urge to cry. I barely got those words out before my throat closed down. I wanted to thank them, but I knew if I did, I’d break down. Tears were not something I wanted when I was so happy.
“Good,” Liam said as he crossed the room, making himself comfortable on the bed before he pressed a kiss to my forehead and then rolled back onto the mattress.
Propping my head up, I gazed around again. Let’s be real, I was going to do that several times before it really sank in. This was my room. My own space. I’d never had that before. Ever. Vian and I had shared a room when we were little. We’d had a playroom that could have been a second room, but we’d never wanted that. It was obvious they had designed the room to fit my taste, and my gaze continually swept the room trying to memorize every detail, afraid that at any moment someone would say that this was just a joke and I didn’t actually get to keep the room. As I looked around, I found one problem.
“Why aren’t there any locks?”
“We don’t need them. The bathroom locks from the inside, but the rest of the house doesn’t have any,” Liam said grinning up at me.
Lucien bu
sted into a fit of laughter. As if it were funny that I’d be worried about locking my door. It wasn’t, but then, they’d probably never prayed for a locked door to hold before. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice that before.”
“What do you do when you have girls over?” I forced myself to ask, instead of focusing on my own need to have a lock. I didn’t want to bring it up. Instead, I asked something equally stupid because it bothered me more than the missing locks. Sure, they were all about me now, but eventually, there would be girls. They were young, handsome. A sick feeling filled me at the thought, and I hated those nameless girls. “Bet that gets awkward… Unless you use the sock method, I suppose.” I tried to chuckle, but it sounded much darker than the light tone I’d been aiming for.
Liam’s smile slipped away, morphing into a guarded look. “That’s not something you’ll have to worry about,” he answered lightly.
My head cocked to the side. Why wouldn’t that be something to worry about? I swept a look over the four other guys in the room and I realized that Brooke and Vian weren’t here. “Where are the lovers at?” I could have kicked myself for not seeing their absence before now. But then again, these guys were distracting. It was like they seemed to suck up all my attention when they were in the same room together.
“They got called away. They’ll be back for dinner,” Liam said quickly. Too quickly.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What? Are they off having sex or something?” I cringed as I said it, but Flynn’s face turned red as he fought not to laugh at me. Kieran’s hand whipped out as he hit his brother with the back of his hand in the stomach, which left Flynn doubled over, wheezing. I flinched at the sudden display of violence and had to stop myself from yelling at Kieran. Flynn might not be my favorite person, but that didn’t mean anyone had the right to hit him, no matter how much of a jackass he was being. There didn’t seem to be any anger between them, which puzzled me more.
I opened my mouth to say something, but snapped it shut. I’d gone from happy to tense in a matter of seconds by that single act. Looking around the room, I noticed the others chuckling. Maybe I was reading the situation wrong?