by L. E. Bross
I exhale a breath of relief. The olive branch offered may be small, but it’s a start. Luc moves down the hall but Riot stays still. When I look up, he’s staring down at me, the storm in his eyes a swirling madness of emotion and awe.
He ducks his head so that the wild is only a whisper away.
God he takes my breath away every time I look at him.
“You bring me to my fucking knees, Peep. I’d burn down the world for you.”
I lean in and press my lips to his.
I plan to do the same thing for them.
The door to the room opens and X sticks his head out.
“Uh, sweetheart. Bria’s on the phone. Looks like we forgot about dinner tonight.”
Chapter Twelve
“Fuck,” I growl under my breath.
Things have been so upside down that I’m not even sure what day it is. Thursday obviously.
X steps out into the hall and hands me his phone, then he and Riot step back into the room, giving me some privacy.
“Hello?”
“Ever? Hi this is Bria. Belle’s mom.” She doesn’t even hesitate calling herself that. “I’m just checking to make sure nothing’s wrong. I thought we had dinner plans tonight? Belle’s been asking since around four.”
I clear my thick throat. “Can I talk to her please?”
Bria pauses, then I hear her whispering.
“Ever? Are you almost here? I can’t wait to show you my room.”
I lean back against the wall and sink down to sit. “Tink, something came up and I need to reschedule tonight. I swear it’s an emergency, nothing else would keep me away. And I’ll be at your recital Saturday, I promise.”
“Oh. Yeah, I get it. It’s okay, things happen.” The excitement in her voice fades. I’ve disappointed her like all the other adults in her life, current foster parents aside.
My chest constricts and my eyes burn.
I’ve always been the one she can count on.
“Guess I’ll see you Saturday.”
It’s in her tone. She doesn’t believe I’ll be there.
I open my mouth to tell her I’m sorry again when Bria comes back on.
“Ever? It sounded like you can’t make it tonight? I hope everything’s okay.”
I clear my throat. “It will be. Will you tell Belle sorry for me one more time. I think she's mad at me and I don't blame her.”
“She’s just being a typical preteen. You’re her sister, she’ll forgive you. Will we see you Saturday?”
“I wouldn’t miss it. If you can text the directions that would be great.”
“No problem. It’s not far from the house. We’ll meet you there and we can sit together if you want?”
“That would be nice. Thanks.”
“Bye, Ever.”
I hit disconnect before she can so I don’t have to listen to the beat of silence on the line. I want to beat myself up for forgetting about dinner, but I can’t. Not yet. I’ve left five lions alone for too long.
I can feel the thick blanket of tension when I step back inside the room.
Bill paces back and forth in front of the sliding doors while Luc stands rigid on the opposite side of the room.
X looks at me, concern on his face, then his gaze slides to Ry. Something passes between them and Riot comes over to me, body blocking the rest of the room.
“Everything okay?” he asks low enough so that no one else hears him.
“Hopefully it will be. How are things going in here?”
Riot pulls a face. “Standing around looking at each other till you were done.” He slides his arm around my waist and turns to where Bill has stopped moving.
“Okay, we’re listening. Tell us what we need to know.”
The bite in Riot’s voice makes Bill cringe, and Luc clenches his jaw, making the muscle there tick. There’s so much anger in this room. I try to focus on getting us through it instead of on the way my stomach hurts for letting Belle down.
My little sister is as stubborn as me though, and can hold a hell of a grudge. I just hope I have the chance to make it up to her. I promised her I’d be at her recital, I just hope I didn’t lie to her again.
One by one, Bill looks into our eyes. When they settle on Luc, his face softens.
“First I need you to know that I loved your mother very much. I would have never disrespected her by stepping out on her. If she were still alive, we’d have grown old together happily, but that’s not our reality.”
The lines on his forehead deepen as the sadness fills his face now.
“I’ve known Wendi since third grade. I think I fell for her the moment she smiled at me. Nothing ever happened between us. We grew up, I was too chickenshit to tell her how I felt, but Pete knew. Anyway, we were all friends and it was senior year and I finally decided to man up and tell her how I felt. Before I could, she and Pete were dating. Fucking killed me but she was happy.”
I press my fingers to my lips and my heart aches for teenage Bill.
“We all went to college together. One night I got really drunk at a frat party and told her how I felt. Turns out she was waiting for me to ask her out all that time. She thought I wasn’t into her. But it was too late because Pete asked her to marry him and she said yes. He came from money and was on the verge of a breakthrough technology that would change the face of the security industry. He could give her everything she ever wanted and I was just a struggling college student.”
Luc has stopped glaring and he’s sitting in the chair facing his dad now. Riot leads me to the couch and sinks down, pulling me into his lap. His arms wind around me as Z shifts closer, putting his hand on my knee.
“I didn’t even try to fight for her.” He pauses and stares down at his hands. “Maybe if I had, things would have been different. I never knew she wasn’t happy. That Pete had been manipulating her the entire time. I knew he could be a selfish prick, but I thought maybe he changed. I thought he really loved her, but he only loves himself. He’s like a spoiled kid that refuses to grow up.”
He seems to lose himself in his memories for a moment, but then he looks up. Anger simmers under the surface now.
“The night she came to me, the night you saw us together Riot, she said she found something that would change everything. She was scared but happy that it would finally be over. That she and you boys could finally be free of him. That was the first and only time we ever kissed. It was the promise of a new beginning.”
His eyes grow haunted.
“I should have gone with her. She gave me her watch to keep safe until she came back and I should have known he’d do something to make her run.”
I look at Baz. He has to tell Bill the truth.
“She didn’t run,” he says. Bills gaze snaps to Baz. “Peter put her someplace where he’s been keeping her sedated since that night. Ever overheard him on the phone last week.”
I nod in confirmation and watch as it sinks in. Shock turns to anger that morphs into a fury unlike anything I’ve seen before.
“I’m going to fucking kill that bastard.”
He starts for the door but Baz jumps out of his seat to stop him.
“Not yet. We’ve got the upper hand right now. Peter wants the chip and it’s our only bargaining tool. If I can find out what he’s hiding we can use it. If you go after him, he could move her. I haven’t been able to find her and that’s using Panchard tech. He already set Ever up, he could do the same to everyone in this room. We have to play it smart. This might be our only chance.”
Bill looks like he still might barge out the door but he stays still, the battle playing out on his face. I don’t blame him at all.
If he goes off like this, there’s a very real chance that Peter will retaliate and there are too many people he can hurt now. Ones that mean the world to me and I can’t let that happen.
A plan forms in my head. It’s risky, but I think Peter has just as much to lose as we do. He’ll listen because I’ll make him.
�
��Before you do anything, you should know the whole story,” I say.
They all turn to look at me and Riots arms tighten around me. He doesn’t try to dissuade me. His silent support says more than any words he could give me.
Bill reluctantly moves to the chair closest to the door and sits. The guys let me lead and fill in the blanks that I might have forgotten. I tell him everything, including how Peter destroyed evidence that Trey threatened to hurt me. How he manipulated people into believing that Trey wasn’t the shooter and how he set me up.
When I’m done, the fury on Bills face is back. This time his movements are calculated as he pushes to his feet.
“You think there’s something on that chip we can use against him?” he asks Baz in a tight voice.
“I do.”
Bill pulls out his phone. “Then do it. He’s not going to get away with this.”
We watch as he steps out onto the balcony and shuts the door. I look at Baz. We can’t hear what he’s saying, but the call doesn’t last for more than a few minutes, then he’s back inside.
“Come on,” he says to Luc, “I’m booking us a room.” He pauses at the door and looks over his shoulder at Baz. “Tell me the minute you make any progress.”
“Who the hell did he just call?” X asks no one in particular.
“Fuck,” Ry mutters.
“I’ll go make sure he doesn't do anything crazy.” Baz jumps up and leaves the room.
“I think our time might be running out faster than we thought.”
I don’t think X knows just how right he is.
I grab my phone and walk into the bedroom, sending the text I’ve been dreading. Now all I can do is wait.
~
X orders room service, but I can only manage a few bites before the knot in my stomach makes it impossible to eat. There are so many balls in the air now, so many ways that something could go wrong.
I just want it to be over and have everyone safe.
Baz comes back and tells us that Bill agreed it was best if he went home instead of waiting around for answers.
I don't miss the way the guys look at each other, communicating in that silent way they do. I don't push. I know it was a lot to take in tonight. Maybe now that it’s out in the open, Riot and Luc can put everything behind them and find their way back to being friends.
Baz scarfs down his burger and fries and goes back to the computer, rubbing his red rimmed eyes before settling in front of the screen.
“When’s the last time he slept?” I ask Ry.
He shrugs. There are dark circles under his eyes too.
“When’s the last time any of you slept?”
“We can sleep when this is over,” X says fighting a yawn.
I hate the unease that seeps into me at those words.
When this is over.
There is so much that can go wrong. I have to focus on the here and now, the time I have with them. I stretch my arms over my head, making the knotted shirt ride up my stomach, exposing inches of skin above my waistband. I love the purely masculine appreciation that shines in their eyes.
“Guess I’ll just have to naked cuddle myself.”
X rolls off the couch and jumps to his feet. “Against the rules. Naked cuddling always has to be with at least two people.”
I look over my shoulder at Ry and wiggle my eyebrows.
“Not fucking cuddling with his naked ass. You’re on your own there, Peep.”
I laugh at the look of horror on his face.
I lace my fingers with X’s. “Guess it’s just you and me.”
“Fuck yeah. If the bed’s a rockin’, don’t come aknockin’,” he says over his shoulder.
When I smack him in the stomach, he reaches down and picks me up bridal style and carries me to my room, then kicks the door shut with his foot. After he sets me on his feet, he cups my face between his hands.
“I am so fucking sorry I forgot about dinner with Belle. I know how much it meant to you.”
I turn my head enough to press my lips to his wrist. He sucks in a breath and the amber flecks in his eyes darken.
“We need to take care of this first. Then I’ll have all the time in the world with her. She’ll get sick of me being around so much.”
“No one could ever get sick of being around you, sweetheart. You’re like the sun that everyone else orbits around.”
My eyes widen.
His hands press firmly, holding me so that he can look directly in my eyes.
“You have to know by now that you are the center of our fucking universe. The air we breathe. Hell, the reason we do anything.”
His lips come down on mine, urging me to open under him. I do without question, my heart starting to beat heavily in my chest. He guides my head, tilts it how he wants it, then dives deeper. I’m not sure where he ends and I begin. I curl my hands around his neck, lift up in my toes to get closer.
He groans into my mouth.
When he pulls back slightly, his eyes are heavy with emotion.
“You’re our heart walking around outside our bodies.”
The air leaves my lungs and lodges in my throat. My god. He is killing me. Tears burn my eyes and I drag his head down, kiss him desperately so he doesn’t see what his words are doing to me.
He can’t say that, not when are balancing on the precipice like this.
I pray that when this is over, we can find our way to a place where the future is bright and clear, and not filled with murky uncertainty.
Chapter Thirteen
The thought of what has to happen tomorrow night ignites a fire inside me that I can’t fight.
“Take my clothes off,” I whisper against X’s lips.
His hands are at my ribs, pushing my shirt up, before I even get done asking. A growl vibrates against my skin when he presses his lips to my bared collarbone.
I reach between us and tug at the button on his shorts. He reaches behind his head and pulls his shirt off just as his shorts slide down his legs. His erection strains against this black boxer briefs and I can’t resist dropping my hand to stroke him through the material.
“Fuck, sweetheart,” he groans, low and throaty.
When I try to slip my hand under the waistband he grabs my wrist.
“You touch me right now and I’m gonna go off like a fucking bottle rocket. Let me touch you first.”
He sinks to his knees and presses his lips against my stomach. The reverence in his gaze as he looks up at me is too much and I have to close my eyes. I want this so badly. This. Them. Every day from now on. Life is such a cruel bitch sometimes. Dangling our happiness like some kind of prize.
I curl my fingers in the top of his hair, using his for balance as he slides my shorts down and helps me step out of them. I don’t know what made me wear the black lacy bra and panty set Meri insisted I needed, but right now, I’m damned glad I did.
The dark pools of lust that have eaten away all the color in his eyes make me feel beautiful. Desirable. Wanted.
Using his hair I urge him back to kneeling, then step outside of his legs and sink down onto his lap. He winds his arms around my back, engulfing me in hot muscled skin as I wrap my legs around his ass.
I kiss everywhere I can reach. Under his chin. Along his jaw. Across his cheeks until I get back to his lips. The fire between us burns hotter, but he keeps his kiss slow. He devours and savors all at once.
I rock my hips, drag my center against the hardness between us.
He rips his mouth away.
“Fuck,” he pants. “You are so fucking perfect.”
I slide back on his thighs to make enough room to reach between us, freeing his cock. He hisses when I wrap my fingers around it, stroking once from base to tip.
With my free hand I reach down and push the tiny scrap of fabric to one side. When he sees what I’m doing, his pupils expand and now there is nothing but darkness in his eyes.
“Is this okay?” I ask, lining him up with my entrance.
He barks out a hoarse laugh. “Fuck yeah.”
I nestle him just inside, then wrap my hands around the back of his neck, sinking down on him slowly.
His hands come to my rest on my ass and dig in as a strangled growl falls from his lips. When he’s all the way inside me, as far as he can go, he rocks my hips forward.
Already I can feel my climax building.
He moves me faster, bouncing me up and down now, his grunts mixing with the moans he’s wringing from my throat. I dive back in, swirl my tongue with his as our breathing gets harder.
“X,” I pant.
Strain shows on his face.
He looks down between us and swears. When I look, I can see him slick with my excitement.
“Play with yourself, sweetheart. I want to feel you come.”
It’s not going to take much. At this angle, he’s pressing on that amazing spot inside that is making it hard to stay quiet. I put my hand between my legs, glide my fingers through the wetness as I circle my clit.
“Fuck, that’s hot,” he growls, watching my fingers move.
I’m too busy chasing my orgasm to pay attention anymore. It’s right there and I dance along the edges of it as X bounces me faster. He angles my upper body back just enough to make him sink in further.
I drive myself onto him, fully chasing my own release now.
I whimper his name. Dig my nails into the back of his neck. Everything inside me tightens and I hang there for one frozen moment, then crash over the edge in a shower of white sparks that electrify my entire body.
X grips my hips, uses me to chase his own release as I clamp down around him. A low, guttural groan rips from his throat and his arms go around my back, one hand at the back of my neck, pinning me down tight against him as he pulses inside me.
Our skin is covered in sweat and both of us are breathing hard.
I rest my forehead against his, rocking my hips every few seconds just to hear him groan again.
His hold loosens and he runs his fingers over the base of my neck, up and down my spine.
“Holy fuck,” he pants. “That was intense. I think I heard angels singing.” He pulls back and a wicked little grin tilts the corner of his lips up. “No wait, that was just you coming all over my dick.”