I shouldn’t be turned on by violence. But I am. I really, really am. What does that say about me?
Knox is suddenly stepping up behind me, his warmth seeping into my back as Cole pulls away slightly. My lady bits perk up again and take notice of the fact that I’m sandwiched in between these two, but then I feel Knox’s laughter and twist my head to look at him. My eyes narrow as curiosity flares with a hint of irritation.
“What’s so damn funny back there?”
“I’m getting the evil eye from Cole. He doesn’t want to see my dick.”
My eyebrows shoot up, and I turn to look at my scowling alpha. “What’s wrong with Knox’s dick? Is it disfigured or something?”
“Disfigured? What the fuck, Fate? My dick is just fine, thank you very much. Cranky pants just isn’t quite up for group sexy times yet.”
“Group sexy times? Hell yes. Sign me up!”
A chorus of groans follows.
Cole eyes me like I’ve lost my mind. “Not going to happen, love.” The term flows off his tongue with ease, and, just like every other time he says it, my soul swoons at the softness that’s in direct contrast to his normally brash demeanor.
“Should’ve mentioned that before you kissed me,” I mumble into his shirt.
“What was that?” he asks.
“Oh, nothing,” I reply quickly.
Mack snickers, and I quickly turn to glare at him. Cole does not need to know he just inadvertently tasted Mack’s cum. “But I mean, come on. What’s a little sword crossing amongst friends?”
“Yeah, Cole. You know you want to cross swords with us,” Thad snickers.
“Not in a million years. No telling where those swords have been.”
And just like that the temperature in the room drops dramatically. My power floods through me, stronger than it has before. My fingertips spark, a brighter pink this time with hints of silver shooting through it. Cole and Knox each take a step back, getting out of my power’s path.
“Oh, good going, Cole. Now you’ve pissed her off,” Levi grumbles.
The room is full of wary looks, all aimed at me. When will these guys figure out that I am one jealous bitch? Maybe I should add that to the handbook.
“Fate-”
Whatever Cole was going to say is cut off by a spark of electricity that zaps through the room. The guys all duck down. Good thing they have quick reflexes. Not sure my power would spare them at the moment.
“Here’s the thing…” I say as I slowly walk around the bed, my fingers trailing along the elegant wood four-poster, leaving a trail of pretty pink power in their wake. “I don’t like hearing about your past sex lives. Thad and Levi learned that little lesson already, but I guess the rest of you need to hear it. Logically, I know you had no idea I even existed, but we all know logic isn’t always my strong suit.” Walking up to Mack, who’s now standing, I turn around and face the rest of them, leaning back into my sexy nerd as his hands find my hips. “At least one of you doesn’t have any concerns as far as that goes.”
“Really, Mack? You played the celibacy card?” Thad rolls his eyes.
“Hell yes, I did.” His chin lands on the top of my head as his hands slide forward around my waist.
“So. If you don’t want me to zap your dicks off, please refrain from discussing past hookups. Okay?” I clap my hands together like a coach who just gave the world’s best motivational speech. “Okay, good chat! Now...if you all could see yourselves out. Mack and I have more...work...to do.”
“What the fuck, woman? You’re giving him another turn after just giving us that little speech?”
My eyes narrow on Thad.
“So we’re going there, are we? Fine. Show of hands. Who here has a problem with our current arrangement?”
The guys all stare back at me, no one saying a word or moving an inch.
“Then let me make myself clear. I won’t choose. Ever. I get that this might seem unfair, and that not all of you will be comfortable with the same arrangement this time around, but it’s the only way it can be. If you can’t handle that, then there’s a whole other discussion we need to be having.”
The room is silent. It might not show on the outside, gotta give the ol’ poker face a trial run, but on the inside, my stomach is in knots. I’m not sure what I’d do if any of them decided they couldn’t stick around for this. For us.
“You know I’m in, little ghost.” Knox walks up to me, wrapping one of his big hands around the back of my neck, his thumb caressing my cheek. “You can’t scare me away that easily. And if it means crossing swords with these fuckers, then so be it.” His kiss takes me by surprise. Instead of the soft and sensual attention I expected from my empath, this is hot as fuck with a hint of dominance that I can tell he’s struggling to keep under control. His facial hair tickles my skin as he changes angles and smashes his lips against mine even harder. As far as first kisses go, this one is killer. Mack’s arms are still around my waist as Knox’s hand snakes between us to grab a handful of my ass. Pretty sure his knuckles brush against Mack’s giant trouser snake, judging by my sexy nerd’s quick intake of breath, but I don’t have time to question it before Knox pulls back. My lips chase after his, and he nips my bottom lip. “Ah, ah, ah. Don’t be greedy. Greedy girls get punished.” He winks at me then whispers in my ear, “I haven’t forgotten about the paddle.”
I’m pretty sure my eyebrows have hit my hairline. He just smirks as he backs away.
I’m now a puddle of mush in Mack’s arms, and I feel him nuzzle my hair with his nose as he chuckles. Yup. Panties have a bigger puddle now too. Fuck. Me. Literally, please!
Levi’s suddenly in front of me, his index finger lifting my chin and closing my mouth. Apparently it dropped open after Knox’s little dom bombshell. Domshell? Yeah. Definitely Domshell. Light bulb moment! All these fabulously awesome Fate-isms need to be shared with the world. I make a mental note to have Reggie or Mack start adding them into...let’s call it the Thirsty Girls Survival Guide. And another mental note to copyright that. Geesh. I’m going to be busy.
“I’m not going anywhere, sweets,” Levi says, drawing my attention back to him. “You know that. And neither is my dipshit brother. We’ll always be here for you.” His kiss is soft and sweet, a promise really, and I’m disappointed when he pulls back. Not much in my life is soft and sweet these days, and I just want to dive into him.
He walks back over to stand next to Thad, giving him a look that tells me they’ll be discussing this later.
Thad’s sigh echoes around the quiet room. “I’m sorry, babe. You know you’re stuck with me, right?” It’s his turn to approach me, but he doesn’t settle for sharing me with Mack. He tugs me into his arms and gives me, quite possibly, the best hug I’ve ever received. His lips briefly drop to mine in a kiss that’s fast and rough before he sets me down. Leaning forward, he grips my chin in between his fingers. With serious eyes, he warns, “You better be ready, woman. Because I call dibs on next, and when I get my hands on you, I’m not stopping until neither of us has the strength to move anymore.”