Shaking my head at myself, I quickly brush my teeth and hair before heading out into the lobby to hunt down the elixir of life and the warrior who wields it. I zone out and don’t see where I’m going when I walk into Leo, who’s standing with his door closed, waiting for me.
When I look up, he offers his hand to me. I smile sadly at him and take his hand, still feeling ashamed about the incident in our house yesterday.
“I’m sorry for what I said yesterday, Lana. I know you were grieving and though you didn’t handle it the best way either, I feel like I need to apologize for calling you a bitch at least.” With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he bows and kisses my hand, much as he had yesterday at the lake. How was that only twenty-four hours ago? It feels like I’ve aged twenty years in the time that’s passed. “Will you accept your loyal servant's apology, my Queen?”
Deciding to meet him where he is, I tease back, with the truth ringing behind my words. “Your Queen accepts your humble apology … and admits she was being a horrid bitch yesterday.” Squeezing his hand, I say, “Will you forgive me?”
All traces of playfulness drop from his face, leaving me facing a serious man that I’m not quite sure what to do with. My heart drops for a second. Did I say something wrong? But before I can agonize, he grabs me by the back of my head with his other hand and stares intently into my eyes.
“I forgive you, Lana,” he sincerely states. “I will always forgive you.”
Slowly, he leans forward, clearly intending to kiss me but giving me a moment to say no. Bring it on.
Not wanting to wait on his sloth speed, I place my hands on his chest and reach up on my toes to meet him halfway. Contentment ropes itself around my soul, knotting our connection together, as our lips touch for the first time. In this life, a part of me says. I wonder now how I lasted this long without his kiss.
Getting lost in his lips, I walk him back and push him back against the wall, need overcoming me. His back hits the wall, his breath whooshes out of him, and I reclaim his open lips greedily sucking and licking as Hale had done to me. Being the aggressor in this situation fills me with a sense of accomplishment, reminding me that I have the confidence to take what I want.
I feel safe with all my guys and it shocks me that it doesn’t matter if I’m the dominant one or the submissive one—nothing any of them has done has triggered a flashback.
A cough startles us out of our steamy make-out session. Instead of jumping away from him, I place a little distance between us and glance over to find a smirking Luke, leaning against the wall and I take note of how his wound above his eye is completely healed now.
“Do I get a good morning kiss as well, my Queen?” the little devil says, mock-pouting at me with his hand outstretched.
With the confidence still flowing through me, I saunter up to him and grab him by his hair, pulling him down to my level. His face morphs into a picture of shock and masked nervousness, which fuels my dominance. I like being the one to make him squirm, making him unsure of what’s going to happen. I may rise on my toes for him but I want to keep him on his toes, always.
“Good morning, Luke,” I breathe against his lips before taking what I want.
After a brief moment of shock, he leaps into action, gripping me by the ass and picking me up. I wrap my legs around him as he walks me into the wall as I did with his brother. My back hits the wall as his hands roam my ass, his pelvis pushing into me.
I moan softly, enjoying how his hard length presses against my core, causing sparks of desire to light up my nerves. He bites and licks at my neck, causing interchangeable sensations of pain and pleasure that I didn’t realize was possible.
“Alright, guys, we’re in a hallway that anyone can come into and we need to grab breakfast before they shut the buffet down.”
Luke drops his head to nuzzle my neck and kisses it softly before lowering my feet back to the ground. I curse Leo for cutting this moment short. Lady blue balls. A-fucking-gain.
Luke lightly pokes my nose and says, “Good Morning.”
Did this fucker just boop me on the nose like a dog?
The twins start walking towards the lobby, making me scramble to keep up with their long strides. After a short, sexually-frustrated walk, we enter the lobby where the other three guys are sitting at a table, armed with plates piled high with food because fuck waiting for everyone else, I guess.
Eyeing the coffee station, I beeline towards it and watch as the dark liquid fills my cups. I bounce excitedly on my toes, whispering I love you, I love you, I love you multiple times over. I’m actually super fucking proud of myself for handling last night and this morning like a boss without a drop of coffee. This is my reward.
Whoever said love at first sight isn’t real is clearly not a diehard coffee fanatic.
Walking over to my guys while practically embracing my cup like a lover with my hand, I inhale the steam wafting up to my nose. This shit is liquid crack, I swear.
Pulling my chair out, I sit down and take my first glance at the guys, who are all staring at me. Should I have put makeup on or something? I shrug—the subtle art of not giving a fuck—and pick at the food on their plates, knowing they always got more for this exact reason.
“One day, Lana, I want you to look at me the way you look at coffee.” Leo shakes his head with a wistful expression on his face and sighs. “One day.”
The rest of the guys chuckle and nod in agreement, while Luke smirks. “Oh brother, I think she was looking at you like that in the hallway a few minutes ago.”
My cheeks flame and I drag the nearest plate to me, shoving food into my piehole to avoid having to speak. I still don’t know how we’re going to figure this relationship thing out. What if someone gets jealous that I kissed Leo like that? I pray that no one reads into his comment. This whole dynamic is still so new and I’m not sure where we all stand on the subject yet.
Stare at your coffee, Lana. Don’t make eye contact. Do not engage.
To my surprise, no one even blinks twice at his comment. I narrow my eyes, suspicious. Are they trying to put me at ease or do they really not care?
Before I can decide either way, the conversation shifts and my high spirits plummet.
“I hate to be the one to bring this up,” Hale says, “But what type of arrangements do you guys want to do for Beth?”
At the mention of Beth, we all fall into silence.
I don’t know if the guys have had a chance to think about what they want to do so I share my idea. “I think we should have her cremated and spread her ashes somewhere special. She enjoyed being in nature and prayed to Gaia in the end. That feels right.”
My answer causes a round of agreement and I feel weight lifting from my shoulders. I didn’t want to have to argue against a casket but the thought makes my skin crawl. I know Beth wouldn’t have wanted to be confined to a box in the ground.
The guys continue to talk, discussing places where we could spread her ashes. Eventually, the conversation shifts to everyone sharing their favorite memories of Beth. The times she’d get exasperated with Luke and Leo for never being ready on time—don’t we all—or how she often let Hale organize things in the house to satisfy his controlling nature. Or the time Ash refused to eat his vegetables as a kid and they had a standoff for an hour. None of us had imagined she could get as strict as she did with the brussels sprouts. Or the cooking disasters with Zedd.