God, he knew exactly how to touch me to drive me wild, willingly rising to the challenge of making an impression.
My lips curve, pure contentment washing over me. I probably shouldn’t feel so smug at having three guys falling at my feet, but I can’t help it. They’re everything I never knew I wanted, and being with Wes like that… it was amazing.
He snores softly behind me, his warm breath tickling my neck. He’s so different to the guy I thought he was, and I realize now, it’s all a front. A mask. A shield. Wes plays a part at school; the person people expect him to be. When really, he’s just trying to hold it all together.
A noise outside my bedroom catches my attention and I whip my head over to the door, listening. But there’s nothing. Still, I can’t sleep, so I gently ease myself out of Wes's arms and tiptoe across the room, slipping into the hall.
“What the—”
Dane stares up at me from his position on the floor outside my door, a weak smile on his face.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” I whisper-hiss.
He reaches for me, twining our hands together. “I couldn’t sleep…”
My stomach drops. “Another nightmare?”
Dane doesn’t reply. He just nods, his mouth in a grim line.
“Come on,” I tug his hand and he clambers to his feet.
When he realizes what I’m trying to do, he says, “I’m not sure this is a good idea, Sadie, girl.”
“So you’re sitting outside my bedroom, why exactly?” My brow lifts.
“Fine. But I’m not cuddling up to Noble.”
I suppress a smile as I pull him into my bedroom. The air turns thick as Dane closes the door behind him. “You must have worn him out good,” he says quietly.
“Jealous?”
“Jealous? No. Disappointed I didn’t get to watch? Fuck yeah.” His eyes flash with desire, sending a shiver racing down my spine.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “For earlier.”
“He needed you.”
“And now you need me,” I state.
“I just… I woke up and I reached for you—”
“Hey.” I step toward him, laying my hand on his cheek. “It’s okay. I’m here, Dane. I’m right here.”
He turns into my touch, inhaling a shuddering breath. “Come on,” he says. “It’s late, and I need my beauty sleep.”
He’s deflecting, covering up his pain with a joke. I wonder if he realizes how similar he and Wesley are. Sure, their demons might be different, but they handle it the same—by letting the world see what they want them to see.
He taps my ass gently as I climb into bed, snuggling up to Wes's sleeping form to give Dane room to get in next to me. His hand curves over my waist as he lowers his head to mine until we’re almost nose to nose.
“You make it quieter,” he whispers, the sincerity in his voice shredding my insides.
“Sleep,” I say, tracing my hand along his collarbone.
“Just a little taste first.” He captures my mouth in a slow, passionate kiss. Our tongues tangle in lazy licks as we devour each other. Heat rises inside me, but I’m still exhausted from being with Wes earlier, and Dane is right. It’s late—the middle of the night—and we should probably get some sleep.
He breaks away first. “Fuck, Sadie, girl. Kissing you will never get old.” Heat simmers between us, but Dane doesn’t act on it, pulling me closer instead.
I close my eyes, hyperaware of the two strong bodies on either side of me. Wes doesn’t even stir, and within seconds, Dane relaxes into me, falling into a deep sleep.
And I lay there until darkness claims me.
Light trickles over my face, coaxing me from my dreams. Legs tangle with mine, a hot body pressed up behind me and arms possessively slung over my hips. Wes and Dane are still sleeping, but I sense someone watching me.
“You’re lucky I’m not Ray,” Rhett says coolly from his position by my door.
I push up on one elbow and meet his scowl. “What time is it?”
“A little after eight.”
“Ugh,” I groan, pushing the hair from my face. “You came back.”
He nods curtly just as Dane stirs behind me.
“Are you going to stand there gawking, brother, or shut the fucking door and join us?” His hand drags me closer until his morning wood is pressed right up against my ass. “I reckon we could take her for a little morning ride,” he teases, grinding into me with torturous precision.
“Dane,” I hiss.
He chuckles, nuzzling my neck. “Mornin’ Sadie, girl.”
Rhett’s eyes turn black with anger… and what I want to believe is jealousy. He keeps resisting this, resisting me, but I know he feels it.
“You’re an asshole,” Rhett snaps at Dane.
“And you’re not fooling anyone with your ‘I don’t give a fuck’ routine. The sooner you get on board with us, the smoother things will go. Then we can really have some fun.” Dane’s fingers slip under the oversized t-shirt I pulled on last night, brushing the underside of my boobs.
“You’re a fucking dog.”
“Never claimed to be anything else.” Dane chuckles again.
“Can the two of you keep it the fuck down?” Wes grumbles, turning over to look at me. “Morning,” he mouths, his blond hair tumbling over his eyes.
“Hey.”
Silence descends over us, and I suddenly feel like everyone’s waiting on me to break the tension.
“So… this is nice.” I fight a smile, peeking over at a very silently fuming Rhett.
“It’s not exactly what I had in mind,” Wes adds, running his hand along the curve of my waist. “But I’m not complaining.”
“You need to get up and get dressed before Ray gets home.”
“He stayed at Aunt Dee’s?” I ask, and Rhett nods. “Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m hungry.”
“I’ve got something you can eat,” Dane teases, but his laughter is cut off when something flies across the room and skims his head.
“Asshole,” he murmurs, flipping Rhett off.
“I’ll be downstairs. You might want to be discreet… Ray isn’t here, but Jax and Pacman are. My sister too.”
“Yeah, yeah, we got the memo,” Dane says, pressing a kiss to my shoulder before he throws back the sheet and climbs out of bed.
“See you downstairs.” He shoulders past Rhett and disappears into the hall.
His eyes linger on me where the sheet has fallen off my body, my nipples pebbled against my t-shirt.
“Something you need?” I quip, growing tired of his hot and cold bullshit.
His eyes snap to mine, but anger isn’t the only thing I find burning there.
My brow arches as I await his reply. Dragging a hand down his face, he mutters something under his breath, then spins on his heel and storms from the room.
“Is he always so…”
“Grumpy?” I suggest. “Rhett isn’t used to not being in control.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t push him so much then,” Wes counters, leaning in to brush his nose along my jaw.