Lucas always seemed to read my damn mind, though.
"Harder," he snapped at Zed as his own fingers gripped my ass tight enough to bruise.
"What?" Zed snarled back.
Lucas gave a low chuckle. "She wants it harder," he elaborated. "I can tell. Get rough."
Zed's grip on my hair immediately released, but I gripped his hips tighter, pulling him closer and peering up with wide eyes.
"Fuck," he hissed, looking down at me. "Seriously?"
Lucas slammed up into me, making me jolt in the best way. "Seriously, bro. Fuck her throat and pull her damn hair."
I shuddered with an intense wave of pre-climax. Lucas knew me so well already. Zed arched a brow, but when I dug my nails into his skin, he groaned and tightened his fingers in my hair.
"Yes, Boss," he muttered, holding my gaze as he said it, then did as he was told.
It was all I could do to just hold on for the damn ride as Lucas fucked me hard from underneath and Zed pummeled my throat, his grip on my hair holding my head in just the right position, then occasionally forcing me to take him so deep I thought I couldn't breathe.
When I came, it was the kind of orgasm the poets would have written masterpieces about. Filthy, dirty masterpieces. Zed finished himself into my throat with some rough thrusts, filling my whole damn mouth with his cock as a trickle of blood ran down my chin from my broken lip.
Lucas only lasted a fraction of a second longer, like he was trying to prove something himself, then exploded inside me with gasping moans.
Boneless and aching, I collapsed off Lucas and swiped a hand over my sweaty forehead as I blinked up at Zed, who was tucking his dick back into his pants.
"Alright. You win." My statement was a hoarse croak, but Zed heard me, nonetheless. His smirk was pure victory as he leaned down to kiss me soundly.
"Did you expect anything less?"
30
Breakfast the next morning was a surreal sort of experience. The guys let me sleep in, and when I dragged my aching body down to the kitchen, I found Zed plating up smashed avocado on seeded toast with a perfectly poached egg on top.
Lucas was at the island with his textbooks spread out in front of him and was reading out a question that my brain was far too foggy to even comprehend. Zed understood, though, shooting back an answer as casually as if they'd been doing this all morning.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked with a yawn, tucking my arms around myself. My split lip was throbbing, but hopefully that was just it healing itself up. I’d dabbed it with antiseptic cream and knew from experience that lip cuts healed crazy fast anyway.
"Gumdrop has exams coming up," Zed replied, leaning down to kiss me softly before continuing with his task.
Lucas gave me a grin. "Zed was helping me study, but I feel pretty confident with this one." He closed the textbook he'd been reading from and moved it to the pile at his side.
I swung my gaze between the two of them, feeling like I'd just woken up in some weird kind of reverse Stepford Wives situation. They were way too freaking comfortable. Was this what happened to dudes after they shared a girl in bed, like some kind of magical bro bond?
I peered at the thick spines of the books Lucas had been using and gave him a curious look. "Those seem like advanced subjects for high school."
Zed snorted a laugh, and Lucas shrugged. "I took a couple of extra online courses," he admitted, and I vaguely remembered him mentioning something about it to me before.
"Gumdrop is studying emergency medicine, Boss," Zed told me with an arched brow and something strangely close to respect in his eyes when he nodded to Lucas. "Tell her why."
Lucas gave me a sheepish look. "I need a practical skill to become a more useful member of Team Hades, and, uh, no offense but you guys all kinds of suck at first aid. Which, given how often you all get hurt? Is a bit worrying."
My lips parted in surprise. He wasn't totally wrong, but… "I do not suck at first aid," I protested. "I patch Zed up all the time."
Lucas bit back a smile. "Well... anyway, it seems like a skill gap in our crew, and I thought I could fill it. I was studying for my normal school classes anyway." He gave a shrug like it made no difference to add an online EMT program to his existing coursework.
Zed placed a plate of food down in front of Lucas, then slid one across to me and nodded to the empty seat I was standing near. I slid my butt onto the stool and accepted the cutlery Zed passed across.
"Did you know Gumdrop wants to go to medical school?" Zed asked casually as he set about making coffees.
I swiveled in my seat to peer at Lucas curiously. "No, I didn't. Since when? And when did you two become such good friends?"
Lucas arched a smile at me as he took a bite of his breakfast. "Um, it was a recent idea. You were the one who actually got me thinking about it when you suggested becoming a psychologist. But I think I want to do more practical medicine, at least to start off. Zed got Dallas to forge me a GED so I could enroll in the EMT program early."
"Also, we're not suddenly friends," Zed corrected, passing a coffee to me. "But I decided to ask some questions and get to know the Gumdrop."
Lucas rolled his eyes. "He interrogated me, Hayden. It was brutal."
Zed gave an easy smile as he leaned his elbows on the counter opposite us. "You're not bleeding; it wasn't an interrogation. Besides, I wanted to clear the suspicion that Lucas was older than he seems."
I lowered one brow. "I didn't realize you were serious about that."
"When it comes to your safety? Always. But with Lucas's cooperation I found enough of a paper and photo trail to verify his story." Zed met my eyes, unapologetic.
Lucas placed his hand on my knee, giving me a reassuring squeeze. "It's fine; he wasn't a total dick about it. And I was curious, too. At least now we know that wasn't something my mom lied about."
I was still frowning, though. "Yeah but, how freaking early did you wake up?"
Lucas laughed, and Zed grinned.
"You do sleep like the dead, Boss," Zed teased. "Anyway, eat up. I've organized for Alexi and Bulldog to meet us over at the Anarchy training room. It's about time we ramp up Gumdrop's training and make him less of a target for Chase."
I couldn't argue with that fact. Luckily, Lucas's prior athletic training had him progressing with leaps and bounds under Zed's guidance. I was proud of him, but I still cringed to think how the day might turn out. If Zed had called Alexi and Bulldog for help, he was moving Lucas into more realistic attack situations.
"I'm excited," Lucas confessed with a small grin.
The gate buzzer sounded through the kitchen, and I jerked my face up toward Zed. "Cass and Seph aren't due to arrive until tonight."
He arched his brow, inclining his head. "Their flight should only just be leaving now." Because Cass was a dead man, he couldn't fly commercial. They'd needed to wait for a less legal means of travel in order to avoid detection.
Zed headed over to the security panel, which would give him a video feed of the front gate, and pressed the intercom. "Yes?"
"Delivery for Hayden Darling Timber," the woman at the gate announced. "I'm from Grove Gardens."