“Whoa,” Ollie breathes out.
My thoughts flash to getting away, but Milo’s palm connects with the bare skin on the small of my back as he keeps me locked against his chest. My body goes limp in his arms.
“Don’t let her go,” Ares warns, moving to stand behind Milo so he’s now blocking the door, just in case I was able to get free from Milo.
“I’m not, she’s not fighting me.”
Ollie’s face comes into view, his green eyes studying mine. “Hey, Muenster,” he says hesitantly.
“Don’t move your hand, Milo,” I order urgently. His body goes even more rigid if that’s even possible.
I’m so close, I hear when he swallows. “Okay,” he agrees.
Ares takes a step in our direction, his eyes narrowed on me. “There you are.” His relief is so obvious, he almost sighs.
I lick my dry lips and nod. “My mind cleared when Milo’s hand touched my skin.” My voice is a little hoarse from shouting.
Dante rushes out the door, not looking back. I scan my thoughts to see if I said or did something to hurt him. I did lunge at him; could that be it?
Dante returns with a bottle of water in his hands. He’s already cracking the lid off and tipping it to my lips before I can even respond. A little dribbles down my chin before I catch on and swallow the water.
I stare into his eyes as he holds the bottle to my lips. I tip my chin—pushing the bottle up with my mouth so he knows I’m done—to keep it from spilling all over Milo, more than it already has anyway.
“Better?” Dante asks, his eyes soft as he watches me.
I nod. “Thank you.” After clearing my throat again, I say, “You could probably put me down now, Milo.” When I feel his arms loosen, I rush to add, “Just make sure your hand stays touching me.”
He bends his knees until my feet hit the ground. I actually feel the carpet under my toes. I wiggle my feet. God, you don’t realize how much you miss something until it’s gone.
“Why are you so white? Is it coming back?” Ollie looks over at Ares like he has the answers.
“I’m fine, just a little dazed.” I lean my forehead against Milo’s wide chest. It’s like sensory overload. I can feel the cool air from the ceiling fan in the other room blowing across my skin, causing gooseflesh to dance across my arms. Milo’s calloused hand strokes higher up my back and under my shirt. I shiver in response. Now is not the time to be entranced with his touch.
“Are you ready to talk about it?” Ollie inquires, slowly encroaching into our space. I turn my face, keeping my forehead buried against Milo.
“Yeah, I guess, but I’m not ready to experience that again, so I’m not letting him go.”
“That’s fine, Cara, if you need a few minutes… I understand.” Ares makes eye contact with me. I see it then, the wildness in his eyes. He knows exactly what that cost me, the total loss of control. It must have been ten times worse for him.
“Let’s go upstairs.” Dante looks around like he doesn’t want to be in here anymore. Milo wraps his arms around me and lifts my feet right off the floor. I let out a small surprised sound as he turns and flees the closet, as if he feels the exact same way. I wrap my legs around his waist to make it easier to walk, and with my arms pinned to my sides, I just manage to cling to his shirt.
He takes the steps two at a time, almost jumping up as we go. Once we’re in the room, he turns and plops himself on the low bed, never once losing the connection with my skin.
A flush steals over my face as I bounce down on his lap. Our eyes meet, it seems the movement surprised both of us. Milo’s fingers dig into my back as he drags me closer.
“Are we sure it’s gone?” I look over to find Ollie pacing at the end of the bed. His eyes flick up to Milo and me then back away.
“I’m sure, Ollie. I don’t know if it would come back if Milo weren’t touching me, but it’s gone for now,” I assure him.
“How will we know when it’s completely gone?” he asks, posing the question to the others and not looking at me.
I answer anyway. “We could test it in a little bit. I’m not ready yet, but now that we know Milo’s touch makes it go away, we’ll know what to do if it’s still affecting me.”
Dante takes the seat next to me, then lifts my hand to his mouth and places a soft kiss against the back of my palm. “We’re never doing anything like that again,” he declares, his eyes still locked on mine. His voice is barely more than a growl.
“Agreed,” Milo rushes out.
Ares is standing near the door, like he doesn’t want to get too close to me just yet. He probably blames himself for letting me touch the stupid box. I shudder even thinking about it.
Milo’s hold tightens. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to see a pizza box again,” he mutters.
“Shit,” Dante curses.
I tuck myself closer to Milo. I’m straddling his waist and my head is tucked under his chin. I feel safe, protected. Removed from what happened in the closet. With my eyes locked on Ares, I begin to tell them what it felt like to be consumed with Leon’s influence.
“I actually felt it.” I lift my arms to see if there’s any evidence of his taint left behind. “I could feel it moving through me, and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop it.” Ares takes a step closer, his face pinched in worry.
“But then, those thoughts were gone, and I was left feeling…” I stumble, looking for the right words. “So very angry.”
“About what?” Dante squeezes my hand, reminding me he’s still holding it.
“I don’t know, I think that’s why I was so confused.” I shake my head, thinking back. “I felt alone, invisible, like I was a freak.” I look away from Ares, feeling ashamed. “It felt like it was you guys’ fault. I was pissed off at you guys,” I confess reluctantly.
I feel the bed dip and Ares takes the seat next to Milo. I still can’t bring myself to look at any of them. My mom said it couldn’t make you feel or do something that wasn’t part of you. Does that mean I really feel that way?
I dismiss the thoughts. There is no way I feel that way. I’m overjoyed to be with them, even if it makes me a freak. Finally looking up, I see Ares’s patient eyes waiting for me.
“It’s okay, Muenster, we know it’s not how you really feel.” I give Ollie a small, grateful smile.
“Where were you trying to go? You mentioned Leon, something changed in your expression, and then you tried to leave.” Ares watches me, waiting for my reply.
I don’t even know if I can explain this right. “It was like… like I wanted to be angry at you guys, but something kept breaking through. It felt wrong, but when you said something about the box…” I take a deep breath. “It was like I remembered Leon, and then all the rage had real emotion behind it. I don’t know if I would have stopped trying to get to him if Milo hadn’t touched my skin.”
“Did you have a destination in mind?” Ollie’s brows are furrowed.
“Not that I know of; it felt like I could find him, or maybe it was just determination. I don’t know. But… I wanted to hurt him,” I admit.
“Join the club.” Ollie throws himself on the end of the bed.
Chapter 13
“We didn’t even learn anything.” Milo lobs an empty water bottle across the room to land in the garbage bin.
“Well, we can assume his goal was just to make us fight.” Ollie shrugs, looking around for confirmation.
“That doesn’t even make sense, what would that accomplish? The influence lasted twenty, thirty minutes tops?” Dante is leaning his rump against the counter with an apple poised near his mouth, waiting for him to take a bite.
“I don’t think he understands a real Infinity.” Ares tugs at the bottom of his vest to straighten it.
“What do you mean?” Milo asks.
“Exactly what I said. Nothing else really makes sense. If he understood how a real Infinity worked, he’d know that once his influence expired, so would the anger.”
> “Do Infinities ever fight? Get…divorced?” I fumble, looking for the right words.
“Fight, sure. Separate, not that I know of.” Ollie looks over at Ares.
He sighs. “It happens—not often—but everyone faces challenges. And everyone deals with them differently. It never usually lasts though,” Ares explains.
“Wow. Let’s never be those idiots.” Ollie shakes his head like the thought alone is ridiculous.
“We won’t,” Milo confirms, moving on quickly. “Do you really think he could be that far gone that he doesn’t even understand the basic concept of Infinities? Are we sure there isn’t something we’re missing?”
I blow out a breath, wishing I could be more helpful. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I was pissed at you guys because you were the target, or if I was pissed at you because you were available. I do know that once the emotion locked on to Leon, someone I’m actually mad at, it was like putting fuel on a fire.”
After a short period of silence, I stand up from the lawn chair and stretch. I feel all their eyes on me. “I think I’m going to take a bath.”
“In that tiny tub?” Milo’s brow is furrowed.
“It’s a normal-size tub, Milo, you’re just jumbo size,” I tell him, already heading upstairs to grab some clothes.
“I’m not jumbo size,” I hear him mumble. I can just imagine his pouty face as he looks at the others for confirmation.
A small laugh escapes me as I push into the bedroom. I make my way over to the box labeled with my name and lift the lid off. We haven’t brought over much besides our personal stuff and clothing.
It’s easy to find a pair of sleep shorts and a t-shirt. I don’t even bother with a bra. Sleeping with a bra on is damn uncomfortable, and we’re past that point anyway. It’s not like they haven’t seen me without one.
Opening the door to the bathroom across the hall, I hear the voices of the guys downstairs, and it’s comforting to know they’re so close. I don’t bother closing the door completely.
After placing my clean clothes on the sink, I start the water, and it drowns out any noise from the guys below. I haven’t had a bath in ages, not since I was little when Mom got us a nicer hotel for the week. I look down, wondering if I overestimated how well I was going to fit in the tub. Maybe Milo was right.
Not willing to give up, I strip off my clothes and dip my toe in the steamy water. I hiss out a breath but continue until I’m as fully submerged as I’ll get. My knees are sticking out of the water because the tub is too short, but the rest of me is submerged to my neck. It takes a few minutes to adjust to the hot water, but finally I relax, letting the heat and steam soak into my body.
My eyes pop open. “Oh my God!” I sit up and hear thundering up the stairs. Dante’s chest is heaving when he throws open the door.
Dante searches the small room, his eyes landing quickly back on me. I see Ares behind his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“I can still feel.” I reach down and splash my hands in the water. A stupid giggle erupts from me when the water splashes my face.
Dante’s shoulders fall and a smile lights up his face. Ares pushes forward to stand next to his brother. His eyes are smoldering as he gazes at me. I lift my arms and cover my chest. The heat from the tub already has me hot, but a flush from another kind of heat ignites inside me.
“What’s going on?” Ollie leans around Ares’s shoulder, his mouth popping open when he sees me. “I like bath time. I’m a dirty, dirty boy.”
“Shut up.” Dante reaches over and swats him on the shoulder.
I see the top of Milo’s head as he peeks around Dante’s shoulder, his cheeks are pink, but he bites his bottom lip, not looking away.
“You guys can go now,” I urge.
“What do you mean, you can feel now?” Milo angles his way closer.
My stomach drops. “Let her finish her bath, then we can talk about it.” Ares’s voice is cajoling as he turns away from me. The others follow, but he’s the last to leave the doorway, his eyes raking over my heated skin, leaving the promise of more in their wake. He doesn’t even bother to partially close the door.
“You’re letting all the heat out.” I pout and slide back into the water, but a smile blossoms on my lips. I can actually feel the water moving around me. I lift my back and ride the tiny waves making me float.
I’ll never take touch for granted again. Just as quickly my happiness evaporates. I’m going to have to tell Milo and Ollie now, neither of them is going to like that I kept this from them. I slide down until the water is covering my head. The slight pressure in my ears builds the longer I hold my breath, but I stay under for a few seconds longer. When I shoot up out of the water, I’m gasping. But I can’t fight the grin tugging at my lips as I feel the rivulets of water running down from my face and hair. They won’t be that mad. Hopefully.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us!” Ollie barks. He looks over at Ares and Dante, his eyes narrowing. “You should have said something.” He directs his anger at them instead of me.
Milo still hasn’t said a word. After getting out of the tub and getting dressed, I found all four guys in the bedroom. Ollie and Milo were on the bed, while Ares and Dante were on the other side of the room in some sort of standoff. I knew I needed to take responsibility immediately and tell them the truth.
“I asked them not to say anything—made them promise,” I tell Ollie. He folds his arms over his chest and mumbles under his breath.
“Why?” Milo’s voice cracks, so he clears his throat.
I reach for his hand, but he pulls away from me. A splinter of hurt lashes at me, but I really don’t have the right to be angry this time. I kept it from him because I was trying to protect him, but I’m a fucking hypocrite, because I’ve been mad at all of them and my mother for doing the exact same thing to me.
Sniffing a little to hide the hurt, I admit, “It doesn’t matter why, I shouldn’t have done it.”
“You’re damn right,” Ollie grumbles. “Why did they get to know?” He gestures to Ares and Dante.
“Ares knows because he’s Ares.” I widen my hands. “And Dante heard Ares telling me that I should tell Milo about what happened.”
“Just Milo?” Ollie sounds hurt again.
“No, both of you, but he knew I should have talked to Milo first.”
Another round of grumbles from Ollie. He glares at me, but I can’t even hold his stare.
“That’s enough, Ollie.” Milo sounds defeated. “I know why you didn’t say anything, Laura.”
“Yeah, because she thought you would close yourself off again,” Ollie fires back. I glance over at him, concerned that he’s the one so upset. I thought Milo would take it harder.
“No, it’s fine. He’s entitled to be mad.” I look down at the mattress. “I wasn’t going to keep it from you guys forever. I just wanted a little time, and Ares suspected that it was only temporary, that I could learn to control it,” I confess, feeling guilty for bringing Ares up again.
“How do we make sure it doesn’t happen again?” Milo is looking to Ares for guidance.
“I don’t think we need to worry about it happening again. I think we need to figure out how to train her to use it.”
Milo’s head snaps back like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Why would you say that?”
“Because, it didn’t just stop her from feeling, Milo. It changed her skin, just like you guessed. She wouldn’t get hurt if she were in an accident.” Ares pauses. “No one else could hurt her if they tried,” he finishes his voice low, like he doesn’t want to admit his thoughts went there.
Milo’s eyes flash to mine. “That’s true?”
I nod eagerly. “I slammed my hand in the door and it was totally fine.” Milo blinks at me. “I didn’t do it on purpose,” I rush to add.
Milo bites his lip, looking unsure. I lift my hand to reach for him again. He flicks his eyes to my hand but doesn’t stop me from laying my palm over his for
earm. I let out a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, Milo.” I turn to include Ollie. “You too, Ollie, I shouldn’t have kept this from you guys.”
Ollie turns his face away from me. I don’t think my apology did much to soften him. I decide that I’ll talk to Ollie privately later, so I focus on Milo. “Just so you know, Milo, even if I could never feel anything but you guys again, it would be totally worth it. I would trade just about anything if it meant I had you—all of you.” I let him see the truth in my eyes before looking around, so they all know they’re included.
“Don’t talk like that, you shouldn’t have to give up anything for us,” Ollie adds, disgruntled.
I fight the smile trying to form on my lips, thinking maybe he’s not so far from forgiving me after all.
“We need to start working on your training again. I know things have been crazy, but now we have a full set of abilities we need to get under control.” Ares places his ankle over his knee, getting more comfortable. He looks a little out of place in his nice clothes, sitting in a lawn chair in our mostly empty bedroom.
“Might be a good idea if we all worked on our abilities. I know I’ve been dealing with a few changes since Laura.” Milo’s cheeks tinge pink. “Especially since we bonded.”
“You’re right,” Ares agrees.
Inwardly, I groan. Great, instead of just figuring out how not to zap the electricity and turn into a walking nightmare, I’ll need to make sure I don’t go all beasty and lose the sensation of touch too. No pressure.
Chapter 14
“Hey, what are you doing?” I look over my shoulder to see Ollie lurking in the doorway to the bedroom. He’s not wearing his usual smile.
I’m lying on my tummy looking at the laptop, so I roll onto my side so I can see him better. “Just checking Google classroom. What about you?”
Ollie leans his shoulder against the door. “I told Milo I had to shit, just so he’d let me out of the basement. Remind me never to work for him.”
Infinity Chronicles Book Four: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Series Page 12