by KT Strange
I needed to put everything that had happened behind me, and move on. Even if it meant facing the trembling, frightening future of tapping into my powers for the first time ever. Chelsea had been too cryptic with me, just saying she needed to send a message to whichever witch she thought might be able to help me.
“You okay?” Cash sat down next to me. I was up near the front, our driver’s eyes on the highway. The sun was setting, setting the sky on fire as we rounded the I-5 and rolled past the Tacoma Dome.
“I think so. I still feel like we should’ve stayed on tour.”
Cash sighed at my words and stretched. His arm settled around my shoulders and I leaned into him willingly.
“There’ll be more tours. We’re still lined up for Wrecked next summer, even if Willa was pissed that Glory Rev kicked us off the tour.” He turned his head and I let my eyes fall shut as he kissed my forehead. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach every time he did that.
All the guys seemed to be touching me more than usual: Ace brushing up against me in the small galley hallway of our bunk area; Finn’s fingers lingering on the back of my neck or the small of my back as we cooked dinner together in the kitchenette; Charlie using any excuse to touch my shoulder, or grab my hand. Only Eli held back, though I had no idea why. He’d sent me more than one smoldering look that had my belly doing backflips and my imagination wondering just how kinky he was, really. Max had commented, one night when she’d burrowed into my bunk for some girl snuggle time, that it was like watching a fire, right before it was about to leap up a stack of kindling.
“Where’d you go?” Cash nuzzled the side of my face, and nipped at my ear. “I can practically hear your mind shifting gears.”
“Oh,” I swallowed. “Just thinking about stuff.”
“Yeah?” He smirked down at me. “Dirty stuff?”
My cheeks warmed.
“Cash, no, I am not,” I hissed. He snickered and dragged a finger down my shoulder and along my arm.
“I call bullshit. I think you were. So professional, fantasizing about your band.” His voice dropped to a soft, heated whisper and I squirmed in my seat.
Across from us, Charlie lounged on the couch there, a grin on his face as he scrolled on his phone. He had headphones in, but I knew he could hear us. Jerk.
“I could be thinking about pizza or sandwiches,” I countered. Cash’s tongue slid along the curve of my ear before he kissed me there.
“I know you’re thinking about us. How good we make you feel? Your scent changes—”
“Cash, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered, pulling away from him. That was way too mortifying.
“What? You smell amazing. Like dark honey, sweet, like us, like our mate.” He tugged me back and I let him, somewhat mollified. That didn’t sound so bad. “You’re perfect.”
Charlie made a noise, pulling his headphones out.
“She’s not perfect,” he said and Cash growled. “But she’s almost there.” Charlie rolled to his feet, leaning forward, his fingers brushing along my neck, finger tucking under my chin. I stared up at him. “You’ll be perfect when I’ve marked your right here.” His words made my stomach tighten and my skin tingle.
“Fuck off,” Cash snapped, slapping Charlie’s hand away. Cash pulled me into his chest, half onto his lap. Charlie grinned and laughed with a shake of his head.
“You old dogs are way too possessive,” he said with another smirk thrown at me. “I’ll let him have you for now.” He sauntered down the middle of the bus toward the back. Cash was making a low, grumbly, rumbling sound deep in his chest.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, shifting so I was fully in his lap, leaning back against him. He sighed, his arms wrapping around me. He dropped his head down so his face was resting on my shoulder. I watched the world slide by outside the bus, focused on his presence.
“I don’t mind sharing.” His breath was warm through the thin cotton of my shirt. I reached up to clasp my hand over his. “It’s best this way. A bunch of us to protect you, keep you safe. You’re our heart, Darcy.”
“You guys keep talking like that, my head’s gonna be so big I won’t be able to fit through the doors of the bus.” It felt good to matter, though, and I ached to melt into him, be with him and the rest of the pack, forever.
That was when I made up my mind. I’d do whatever I had to do, learn from this other, strange witch that Chelsea knew. I would master my powers.
I’d make a heartstone, do my part to keep the pack safe. I had to. I loved them too much not to.
“Your heart’s beating like crazy,” Cash murmured. I squeezed his hand tight.
“Just thinking about how much I love you.” It sounded cheesy, but it was true.
He sighed and kissed my cheek.
“You’re too good for us,” he said with another kiss, this time on my lips.
I really hoped he was right.
“Wake up, we’re here.”
Cash nudged me. My eyes cracked open. We’d hit a bad traffic accident and I’d drifted off, snuggling into Cash’s lap. Eli was standing near the front of the bus, Finn right behind him and stretching.
“You guys want to unload the trailer tomorrow?” Charlie hauled his backpack over one shoulder.
“Sounds good.” Ace yawned, then reached over to ruffle my hair. I sat up, my back stiff. Cash knew immediately, and he rubbed his fingers deep into the muscles along my spine. I sighed.
“I’m gonna grab an Uber home,” Max said as she walked up from the back of the bus, setting her backpack down on the couch next to me. She passed me my bag, and I hugged it to my chest as Cash continued rubbing me.
“Let’s just back the trailer into the loading-bay,” Eli said to our driver, who nodded in response.
“Time to move,” Cash’s voice buzzed in my ear. I stood up off of his lap and we poured out of the bus. I blinked at the low, long gray building we stood in front of.
“Home sweet jam space.” Ace jogged to the loading-bay door and punched a code into the wall, opening up a smaller, regular-sized door beside it.
“Me and Eli will help the driver with the trailer,” Charlie said to us. “You guys go get settled.” I glanced up at Cash, who nodded. Finn closed in on my other side, sticking near me as we followed Ace’s path. Max trailed us.
“This is where we live, we jam, we write,” Finn said, catching my fingers in his. I bumped up against him as we walked inside, my eyes going wide. It was one big room. There was a large loading bay where we came in for moving their gear in and out, and a drumming riser platform right across from it against a half-wall. Thick carpets were on the walls around the jamming area, with cables snaking across the glossy-painted floor. High, clerestory windows lit the place near the top of the twenty-foot ceiling. The windows all had bars on them. Oddly that made me feel more comfortable, especially given the thick cinder block walls that the heavy metal doors were set into.
Cash was watching my face. The space was fairly plain, painted, but not much in the way of personalization. There was a long kitchenette on the third wall, and a table with six chairs around it.
“You guys sleep here?” I asked.
“Industrial. Minimalistic. Nice,” Max said behind us. Ace took my bag from me with a grin.
“Beds are on the other side of the jam space,” he said with a toss of his head.
“You tired? Need to sleep more?” Cash asked, his fingers running along my arm before his fingers laced between mine. I was bookended by boys. Max wandered in front of me, and set her bag on the table.
“I’m good,” I said. “Bathroom, though?”
Ace pointed to the half-wall. “Back there, there’s a door.”
Cash and Finn let me go, Cash turning to Max with a question in his eyes.
“Are you sure you want to go back to the dorm tonight? You could crash here if you wanted.”
I heard her demur as I rounded the corner of the hall-wall. The space was smaller, windows set lower down in the wal
l here, with the same bars on it. There was a fire-exit, and a long, shaggy gray rug on the ground. The door to the bathroom was half-open, the inside dark with the light off.
The most immediate thought though, was that the guys had to sleep together at night. There were two king mattresses, pushed up against one another, directly on the floor. A heap of pillows were against the wall, and several blankets haphazardly scattered across the two mattresses. The sudden image of the five of them, quite literally sleeping in a puppy pile, filled me with a sense of unholy glee. I was so going to tease them about that. There was a set of dressers, low, the cheap kind that could be bought at Ikea.
The guys might have been in a band, but they were totally living a sparse, low-key life. I freshened up in the bathroom and nearly ran into Finn when I came out. He smiled down at him and bent to kiss me slowly.
“We got the trailer loaded in, and Max ordered up her Uber,” he paused.
“I’m staying,” I said. “With you.”
He let out a breath and kissed me again, hard. I had to wrap my fingers in his shirt to keep balanced.
“We wanted Max to stay too, keep her safe, but she’s stubborn,” Finn said when he finally let me go. “Kinda like you. I can see why you guys are friends.”
“She’ll be fine at the dorm, right? Like, safe?” I searched his face and he sighed.
“I don’t even know if we’re safe here. This building has a few more units, just like this, more jam spaces, and a guy who makes custom guitars. There’s not a lot of traffic, so it’s out of the way enough. Everybody’s got alarms, and the yard is gated. It does its job well enough.”
I nodded and gazed around the small sleeping area.
“You guys don’t have a lot of stuff.”
Finn laughed, humorless.
“You don’t say.” He cuddled me close. “Good thing we’ve got you. Work of art, right here. You’ll class up the joint for us.” His fingers cupped my ass and squeezed. I yipped and tugged away.
“Finn!” I scowled. “Seriously.”
“Hey!” Max’s voice echoed over the half-wall, and I pushed away from Finn, walking out into the jam space. She was by the door, giving Ace a big hug. “I’m going,” she called to me. I hurried over and we embraced hard.
“The boys had better take care of you,” she whispered.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”
She shook her head.
“I really, really don’t want to be a seventh wheel. But I’ll text you when I get back to the dorm. Maybe after I check in with my professor, I can come here tomorrow or something, hang out.” She gave a weak smile as she pulled away and then punched Charlie in the arm. He laughed and pretended to wince. “You guys look after my girl Darcy, okay?”
I felt Cash’s heavy hand come down on my shoulder, and I leaned back against him with a sigh. Eli crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’ll walk you out, lock the gate up behind you,” he said, and Max gave us all a little wave.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, or like, the next day,” she promised, and went out the door as Eli held it for her.
“She’ll be fine, right?” I asked as I leaned back, Cash letting me rest against him.
“She’s a firecracker, she’ll be fine. Plus she’s not a werewolf. Whatever made that hunter think she was?” Finn shrugged, his eyes running down my body. I shivered under the heat of it. “We got you alone in the wolf den, little witch. I think you should’ve gone with Max.” He smirked at me, and advanced on me. Cash dropped a kiss on the top of my head. Charlie rolled his eyes.
“Lord, all you guys think about is sex,” he said, although his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. Ace nudged him, hip-checking him.
“If you don’t like it, why don’t you unload the trailer, give us some time alone,” the youngest wolf in the pack said with a mischievous grin.
“Hey,” I protested, walking backward as Cash moved, his fingers circling my wrists. “What’re you guys up to?”
Finn bit his lip, meeting Cash’s eyes above my head.
“Nothin’ that you’re gonna wanna put as your Facebook status, that’s for sure.”
Twenty-One
Darcy
My heart was racing in my chest, a rapid galloping thud that wasn’t calmed at all when Finn leaned in to kiss me, his mouth catching mine.
“Give her a minute,” Ace grumbled, “Or some air, or something.”
I didn’t want air though. I knew exactly where this was going. I was way more than fine with it. I stumbled back, Cash catching me easily.
“Bed?” Finn asked.
“Bed,” Cash agreed. Behind Finn, I saw Charlie throw his hands up in the air. A laugh bubbled out of me. I was home.
“What are you giggling about?” Ace asked, stealing me out of Cash’s arms and sliding his hand up my back.
“This is just, well, right,” I said, leaning into him. “And it’s not giggling. That’s what little kids do.”
“Oh, kitten,” Cash’s voice was low, and dark, “You are little. Tiny, even, small—” He let out a grunt when I punched him in the side, however gentle.
“I am not,” I said, and yelped when the world went sideways. Finn picked me up from behind, twisting me until he had me in a bridal carry, snug against his chest.
“Enough talking, more undressing,” he said, as his long legs took us across the room and behind the half-wall partition. My heart made the journey up into my throat and I squirmed in Finn’s grip.
The mattresses were there. The pillows. The blankets. What was happening? Was I really doing this? The Darcy from a few months ago would have blushed, looked away, totally freaked out at the idea of handling one guy, let alone three at the—
“Wait.” I sat up in Finn’s arms, and he had to grab me tight so I wouldn’t fall. “Is this—are we all having sex, at the same time?”
Cash glanced at Ace, whose cheeks were pink, but his expression determined.
“You’re ours,” Ace said, “And we’re yours.” He shrugged one shoulder. “We’ll do whatever you want. If you don’t want—
“Do whatever I want?” A million ideas popped into my head and I smirked at him, squirming until Finn let me down.
“She’s got that look on her face,” Ace said, nervously.
“What look?” I glanced from him back to Finn and then at Cash.
“Trouble,” Cash answered me, licking his lower lip. “That look tells me you’re nothing but a pack of trouble and we’ve gotta make sure you don’t get up to any crazy antics.”
“Hey,” I said, “I do not get up to antics.”
Finn laughed and kissed me, until I was breathless, rocking back on the heels of my Converse. Heat tingled along my skin, and I got my hands under his shirt, feeling along the hard planes of his muscles, feeling how alive he was. Cash moved in behind me and I shivered hard. I was caught between them, Cash’s fingers wrapping around my wrists and tugging on them until my arms were above my head. My back arched, and both men made a noise; Finn muttered a curse and Cash growled in the back of his throat.
“Told you she was trouble,” Cash said, rubbing his cheek, stubble and all, against the soft inner skin of my arm.
“I knew that before you did.” Finn’s fingers wrapped around the hem of my shirt, his eyes on mine. I knew he was about to give me the whole if you say stop, it stops, we stop, no matter what Darcy, speech just by the serious expression in his face. I melted a little. He was sweet, but I didn’t need a consent talk. I just wanted him to take me, to have them together, make them mine as much as they’d made me theirs.
With a slow roll of my hips, I watched Finn’s gaze go from concerned to heated and he kissed me, tugging at my shirt. I got caught in it for a moment, and then was free, the cool air of their warehouse-like home hitting me.
“I like this,” Finn said, hand going to cup one of my breasts, thumbing over the lacy, purple material. My eyes fell closed and I rested back against Cash, trying not
to get too overwhelmed, to stay in the moment.
They were so powerful. I was so not. It felt good that way, though.
“Darcy,” Ace’s voice broke through the haze of Finn’s fingers on me, Cash’s lips moving up and down my arm. My eyes fluttered open. Ace tilted my head to the side, and leaned in to kiss me. Never in the history of ever had I imagined anything like it.
“Bed,” Finn growled, his fingers snapping my bra open before I could move.
“You guys gotta get naked too. This doesn’t work if I’m the only one, y’know, nude, and stuff.” I stumbled over as Cash tugged me to the bed, my bra ending up on the floor. Finn grinned.
“You want a show?” he teased.
“No, I just want you naked, like, hello, sexy times now, we’ve been waiting on this for what feels like forever—ack!” Cash tugged me down as I spoke, and I tumbled onto the thick mattress. The tingling had turned into a full out pulsing heat between my thighs, which was not at all put out when Cash moved over me, his clothing rasping on my bare skin.
“You’re bossy,” he said, blue eyes sweeping down me.
“Like what you see?” I asked, doing my best to wriggle my hips under him. I wanted to tease him. I loved making him go a little crazy but I wanted to know what it was like to drive him to that point where he just took and didn’t ask. They were always so good, so careful with me.
I wanted the opposite of careful. I wanted to remind them of what they were, that even if they couldn’t shift, I still saw them as wolves, and I could smell the strangeness on them, the hint of forest, of rain, of wild.
“Never seen such a beautiful sight in all my life,” Cash admitted after a moment, like it was painful to draw the words out. “Piece of home, burning in you, Darce. Our home.” He lowered himself, tugging his shirt off as he went, until we were skin-to-skin, nose-to-nose. I could feel each breath he took. “Let me be home in you,” he whispered.
A shudder ran through my body and my fingers came up, tangling in his hair. He kissed me hard, rocking his hips into mine, grinding between my thighs until my knees parted and I had to brace one of my hands above my head on the wall behind the bed.