I take a seat at the breakfast bar, watching them each move around the kitchen. Riot and Luc are sat either side of me, hot cocoa already in their hands. As soon as my ass hits the seat between them, Riot puts a hand on my thigh and squeezes comfortingly. Luc then grabs my hand. I don’t have the energy right now to do the whole distancing thing I decided to do at lunch and to be completely honest, I don’t fucking want to. I soak in their attention and comfort like the starved for affection person I am.
Rafe places a steaming mug in front of me, complete the whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate shavings, then starts signing.
“Here you go Ever. I perfected the recipe myself.” He smiles softly, “you got extra chocolate sprinkles” he winks at me before turning back around to get the others their mugs.
Riot snorts next to me having read what Rafe signed. I grin happily at my mug; I could get used to this. I take a sip of my hot cocoa knowing full well I’ve now got cream pretty much all over my face, but entirely unconcerned about it. I didn’t want to wait to eat the cream before I could have the hot cocoa. Patience has never been a virtue of mine.
As soon as the drink hits my tongue, the flavour explodes against my taste buds. I can’t remember hot cocoa ever tasting this good. My eyes close as I let out a breathy moan, I’d be embarrassed about the decidedly sexual nature of the moan, but it tastes so damn good that I don’t give a fuck. I open my eyes again so I can take another sip, my hand eye co-ordination has never been that good and I don’t want to spill a single drop or split open my healing lip again. I’ve actually given myself a split lip before by smacking a cup into my lip too quickly, my hand eye coordination is really that bad.
My eyes focus on the room again as I pick my mug back up, it pauses halfway up when my gaze lands on the guys. Riot’s hand his gripping my thigh tightly but not tight enough to bruise, his heated gaze running over my features, Luc is doing pretty much the same on the other side, Rafe is bent over the breakfast bar in front of me, his hands gripping the edge of the counter in a white knuckled grip, like he’s holding himself back, as a dirty fucking smirk lights up his features. Trick is stood just behind Rafe’s left shoulder, staring intently at my mouth. I can’t see the other two.
“Fucking hell, that’s a dangerous sound you just made” Jensen, groans quietly from behind me, causing me to jump and some of my hot cocoa to slip down the side of my mug.
I turn and glare at him in reproach, bastard made me spill my favourist drink. That’s a word, don’t argue with me on this.
“You spilt it” I pout which makes them all chuckle, I do not find this funny.
I keep an eye on Jensen in case he decides to make me jump again, as I bring my mug to my mouth and lick the spilt cocoa from the sides, I am not wasting a single fucking drop. Cash groans from where he’s walked up behind Jensen several of the guys echoing him, but my eyes are stuck on my Trickster as that feral heat I love so much, darkens his green eyes. Realising what I subconsciously did, I smirk dirtily at him. He returns it with a truly wicked one of his own as he darts forward, buries his head in my neck and bites down where my neck meets my shoulder, he rides the line between pleasure and pain perfectly, my head tilts back as my eyes close.
“Fuck” I moan huskily.
I feel Jensen smirk against my neck before he kisses my neck gently and then dances backwards, chuckling. When my eyes snap open the guys are all smirking, although heat blazes in their eyes as they watch me intently.
“Oh, it is so on boys” I grin in amusement, picking up my mug again and drinking the deliciousness.
The guys shoot each other looks before, shrugging.
“Can’t wait, Sweetheart” Trick smirks before changing the subject. “So, do you want to swim tonight or watch movies?”
“Mom and dad should be back around eight-ish. They said to order whatever we want for dinner” Cash says.
“I vote movies and Chinese food” Rafe signs.
“Works for me” I agree before adding to Rafe, “in case you hadn’t guessed already; this is the best damn hot cocoa I’ve ever had and that therefore means you’re mine forever” I shrug nonchalantly as everyone including Rafe cracks up laughing.
“Alright what’s everyone having then, I’ll call the Chinese place. Luc you get snacks” Trick orders.
Once Trick has placed our food order with the only Chinese takeout place in town, we all shuffle into the movie room and I sigh happily as I sink down onto one of the wide couch like seats, curling my feet up underneath me. Luc and Cash quickly snag the seats either side of me, shooting smug looks at the others, which has me hiding my grin behind my mug. We all start to get comfy, the guys choosing one of the new marvel movies to watch, when Jensen suddenly bounces up causing the rest of us to jump at the abruptness of the movement.
“Wait!” he exclaims as we all give him the universal, what the fuck look, “jammies, it’s movie night, we need jammies” he says excitedly.
I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me at his antics. The contrast between this light-hearted, goofy guy and the lethal one hiding within, is truly comical. We used to have pyjama and movie nights when we were kids, usually here because Cash had the cinema room. The guys all raise their eyebrows at Jensen giving him incredulous looks, Riot even scoffs.
“Come on guys” Jensen starts to whine, his eyes widening and his full lips popping out in a pout, they all laugh at him before settling back down and I see real disappoint flash in his eyes as the guys easily dismiss his idea. He quickly covers it up again, but I saw it.
Be brave Ever, I remind myself, it’s just pyjamas. Pretty damn pathetic to be scared about putting on freaking pyjamas. Besides, I can’t stand the disappointment in Jensen’s eyes.
“Sounds like a good idea to me, Jensen” I say smiling up at him as I lift my hands up so he can help pull me out from in between Cash and Luc. He smiles the biggest grin possible and pulls me straight into his arms, giving me a giant hug.
“Thanks, Ever” he whispers into my hair before he lets go.
“Come on guys, it’ll be like when we were kids” I grin.
They grumble at me, but all get up and make their way out the door to get their bags. Jensen gets so excited that he tries to rush out with them but in his excitement, his clumsy side comes out to play and he trips over something invisible on the floor, his arms start pin wheeling as he tries to unsuccessfully, stop himself from landing on the floor. All his efforts manage to accomplish is to send him careening into Rafe, Riot and Cash managing to knock all three of them down as he lands on top them. As they’re falling Rafe’s hand shoots out to catch the back of Riot’s head, so it doesn’t smack on the floor. Considering how hard Jensen fell into them it would’ve really hurt, my heart melts at the protective gesture.
“I’m ok!” Jensen yells grinning as gets up and runs out the room. Cash immediately jumps up and starts chasing after him, threatening him with bodily harm, the other guys follow, shouting encouragement.
I glance back down on the floor to see Riot staring at Rafe with questions in his amber eyes, Rafe’s hand still cradling the back of his head.
“Thanks, Rafe.” He says, his voice deeper than usual.
Rafe realising where his hand still is, gently moves it and sits up, running a hand over the back of his neck in a nervous gesture.
“No problem” his deep baritone growls out and Riot’s eyes widen in response, the same heat that usually descends on me when Rafe uses his voice, flares to life in Riot’s eyes and I grin happily at them both. I must make a noise or something because they both suddenly realise, I’m still there and pick themselves up off the floor.
“Wait, do you have any pyjamas to wear?” Riot suddenly asks.
“Yep, Jenny bought me some” I grin nervously.
As if sensing how hard this is for me, they each grab one of my hands and pull me towards our bags.
“Come on before Jensen gets impatient” Riot’s eyes widen comically, and I chuckle my tensi
on easing slightly.
As soon as I’m done changing in one of the upstairs bathrooms, I turn towards the mirror and realise I have an issue. These pyjamas show a lot of skin and whilst I’m not ashamed of my body, in fact I am damn proud of it; it’s been put through hell and I’m stronger for it. I have a feeling that my lovely, sweet, overprotective and let’s face it, downright lethal guys are going to have a problem with the scars that litter my body. Not for a superficial reason but more because of the reasons behind why I have the scars in the first place, the pain I’ve been put through. I’m not too ashamed to admit that a small part of me worries that they’ll think I’m unattractive because of them. I shut that little voice down quick, there’s no room for negativity right now. I’m nervous enough as it is.
I study myself in the mirror, assessing the scars. There’s the one on my thigh that they’ve already seen, there’s a thick one on my upper right arm from where a bullet grazed me, as well as two or three cigarette burns from when my father was pissed. My back though, is littered with scars of various depth and severity made with a variety of different weapons.
The tank top only shows the top half of my back but that’s enough to give them an idea of what the rest of it looks like. I sigh heavily as I lean back against the counter that holds his and hers sinks and think through my options.
I could chuck my hoody back on, but Cash’s parents keep the house super toasty and I’m not cold. I’ll only end up overheating when I’m squished between whatever two guys manage to snag the seats next to me. Along the same idea, I could just get dressed again but these pyjamas are so soft. I look down at my fluffy, sock covered feet, grinning as I wiggle my toes. I did promise myself I would be brave.
Of course, they all want to go swimming tomorrow and although it hadn’t occurred to me earlier, they’ll all see my scars then, more than what they’ll see now so it’d be kind of like easing them into it?
Fuck it, I’m going to be brave. The guys respect me, if I tell them I don’t want to talk about it right now, then they won’t make me. I do decide that I’ll tell them the vague story of what happened, rather than ruin the night by reliving the entire version. Taking a deep breath, I step towards the door. I’m not naive though, I know the guys reactions are going to be severe, they all care for me.
They must be back downstairs since the room is empty, so I gather my courage as I place my bag in Cash’s room. The guys all wanted sleep in the same room tonight, so there are temporary beds made up of blankets and comforters everywhere. I make my way downstairs and back to the movie room as quick as possible, not giving myself a chance to change my mind. As soon as I enter, all the conversation stops as they take me in starting from the tips of my fluffy sock covered feet all the way up. I know the instant they notice the scars on my arms as the mood in the room goes from heated, to tense in seconds.
I force myself to walk forward and take my seat back in between Cash and Luc, as I’m turning to walk towards my seat, knowing that it will expose my back to them, someone curses savagely. I feel the air shift behind me, and stay statue still, still turned in the direction of my seat. I flinch as someone gently runs the tip of their finger down one of the worst scars on my back. Instantly Cash and Luc have scooted forward, their hands gripping mine tightly. I feel their gazes on my face as I stare resolutely forward towards the back wall of the cinema room.
Trick and Jensen come up on either side of me.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, before I can even think about escaping back upstairs though, someone else comes up behind me and the first person shifts slightly to the side to let them in. I glance over my shoulder to see Rafe and Riot behind me, I’m completely surrounded by my guys and instead of feeling trapped I feel safe. Which considering my scars are so exposed right now, making me feel vulnerable, is surprising to say the least.
The sense of safety I feel surrounded by them gives me the confidence to look at the four guys in front of me instead of staring resolutely at the back wall of the cinema room. Rafe and Riot continue to stand behind me lending me their warmth. I glance down at the two in front of me first, Cash’s eyes are closed tightly as he grips my hand in an almost bruising grip. Luc’s chocolate brown eyes are running over my face, sorrow and worry dancing in their depths, fighting with the anger I can see trying to darken his gaze. I turn my head to the left, and I’m met by furious, storming grey eyes. Trick slowly reaches out and strokes my cheek.
“I’m so sorry Ever” he whispers brokenly.
I just shake my head in response, words failing me. He has nothing to be sorry for, none of them did this to me. I take a deep breath and turn to the right focusing on my Trickster. Jensen’s eyes are blazing with that feral violence again, even more severe than before and I know he’s seconds away from tearing this room apart. I gently pry my hands away from Cash and Luc and turn to place both of palms on Jensen’s cheeks. The guys look to me in question for a minute before Trick gets a good look at Jensen’s wild eyes and laboured breathing.
“Fuck!” he curses harshly, “Everleigh, I’m sure you’ve guessed it by now, but Jensen doesn’t get angry like normal people do. Seeing what he did when he was so young changed that for him.
My heart clenches painfully at the reminder and Jensen literally growls.
When he was around four years old, he was home with his mum and sister whilst his dad was at work. Two guys broke in and brutally beat his mum and sister, killing them both. They got scared off by some noise before they found Jensen, but by the time his father came home, Jensen was found kneeling besides his mother and sister covered in their blood. He was practically unresponsive and spent a long time in hospital and then therapy. We were all there for him and gradually he became the little boy who I remembered, it’s hardly surprising that it had some lasting effects, trauma like that always does.
“You need to step back from him Dragonfly. He would never hurt you, but he needs to go and let off some steam. When he gets like this he normally goes for a run for a couple of hours but fortunately Cash has a punching bag in the gym, so he can use that. Come on Sweetheart” Trick reaches out for me and Jensen’s hands snap up locking my hands to his face.
“Whoa Jensen, man you need to let her go” Cash says calmly, worriedly glancing at me, probably thinking it might trigger me, but this is Jensen he’d never hurt me, even in this state. I mean come on he’s like this because someone hurt me, he never would.
His green eyes are a swirling mass of anger, violence and pain but hidden behind it all is panic.
“I’m ok” I assure the guys. “Give me a moment?” I ask, knowing that in his current state of mind, he most likely doesn’t need to be surrounded by people.
The guys all glance at each other before, seeming to come to an agreement.
“Ok, we’ll be in the kitchen getting snacks but fucking yell if you need us ok?” Riot growls, “I trust him with your life Ever, that is the only reason why I’m agreeing to leave you alone with him whilst he’s like this.”
The others all make sounds of agreement before they all reluctantly leave. As soon as they’ve gone, I turn my attention back to Jensen. He’s lost in his own mind right now; his hands keep gripping my wrist’s almost tight enough to bruise before he quickly releases the pressure. Pain is one of the things that helps me come back from the edge, but obviously I don’t want to hurt Jensen. Maybe I can use that pleasure pain line he so adores to flirt with, to help bring him back to the here and now. Making sure he keeps his eyes on mine, I slowly move my hands around the back of his neck, running my hand up into the shorter blond hair on the back of his head. I grip a handful and tug sharply, his eyes clear slightly as his gaze sharpens on my face, his hands dropping to my hips and gripping tightly as he pulls me closer.
“Listen to me, I’m ok now. I’m safe, I’m with you, do you hear me?” I ask firmly, his eyes still aren’t fully cleared of the rage and he struggles to reign it in.
So, I do the only thing I can think
of. Since he wouldn’t let me go so he could run it off, I decide to help him expend his energy another way. I tug his head down to mine and bite his lip sharply, his chest grumbles with a growl as I pull back. His eyes are completely clear but that’s all I notice before he picks me up, my legs automatically wrap around his waist as his hands grip my ass tightly, he slams me up against the wall, his lips landing on mine in a frantic kiss. I meet him stroke for stroke as our tongues battle for dominance. With his hips pinning me to the wall, his hard length is in exactly the right place and is putting a delicious pressure against my clit through our thin pyjamas.
His warm hand reaches up, sliding up the front of my neck, tightening slightly and causing me to release a loud moan. My reaction causes him to let out a deep groan in response as he grinds his hips against me, increasing the ache and building the pressure, his hand moves from my neck and up into my long hair, just like I did to him he pulls it firmly making my head fall back and exposing my throat to him. I let out another moan of pleasure, my breaths coming out in ragged plumes. His lips make a scorching trail down my throat, alternatively nipping and then soothing the bite with his tongue.
“Fuck” I groan out, the sensations almost overwhelming.
My hands slowly move from his neck as I yank up his pyjama top, and start running my hands over his gorgeous sculpted muscles. He shivers as I lightly pinch one of his nipples, and he bites down on the top my breast in retaliation, grinning against me as it causes me to curse breathily.
Suddenly something bangs from the kitchen and someone starts cursing up a storm, as the rest of the guys burst out laughing, the sudden noise snaps us out of our lust filled haze. As the haze recedes it suddenly occurs to me that I just had a heavy make out session with Jensen.
Shit.
I slowly unwrap my legs from around him as he gently lowers me to the floor. He places a long, tanned finger under my chin and gently tilts my face up.
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