“Well...I mean...we haven’t known each other that long yet.”
“I’m not asking for your undying devotion.”
“Fine.”
“Fine, you love me? Grudgingly?”
“That’s accurate.”
“And you don’t want me to leave yet because...you like fucking my ass?”
“I mean, that’s not exactly a drawback, but I don’t want you to leave because...well...you make me feel weird.”
“Weird?”
“Shhh. Enough talking.” He poured some bodywash into his hand. Rather than soaping himself, he started to soap me, and then there were four hands on me, and I was having trouble focusing on the discussion he was trying to end.
“Are you trying to distract me?” I accused through gritted teeth as Zero pressed against my back, his cock getting hard where it lay trapped in the groove of my spine.
“Me? No. I’m taking care of you. I may be a bastard, but I don’t usually leave aftercare entirely to the police.”
“Chickenshit.”
He groaned. “I like having you around, okay? You’re smart, you’re easy to look at, and you’ve got a cool brain. You’re as twisted as we are. You belong here with us—safe, fed, writing books, and ours. I don’t want you wandering around the country alone, or living in a shithole above a cockroach infested pizza parlor.”
For a man who made his money with words, he really didn’t know what to say to a woman. I could feel Zero shaking against my back as though Vandal’s little speech was the sorriest declaration of love he’d ever heard. The man wasn’t wrong.
“You’ve also proven about a million times that you deserve my trust,” he finished.
Vandal trusted me? That was almost better than anything else he’d said.
“How are you this famous and this awkward?” I asked in all honesty.
“He’s not like this with other people,” Zero explained.
I tried to think back to other interactions he’d had with people in my presence, and I had to agree that was true.
“You and Zero are the only two people who make me feel self-conscious like this. You may not believe it, but in university I had a reputation for being smooth.”
I snickered. “I’m guessing you had a reputation for being a creepy weirdo.”
“How did you know?” Zero asked me, chuckling.
Vandal flipped us off then washed himself, not saying another word as we kept teasing him. I had a feeling we’d be paying for it later, but the punishment would be worth it.
Zero dried my hair and I dried his, and we crawled into bed. Vandal grumbled something in annoyance and rolled me over him to the center of the bed, cocooning me between him and Zero. He had a king-sized bed, but it seemed almost small with two large men in it, plus me.
“I hope you don’t snore,” Vandal said to me, as though I might get voted off the bed.
“We’ve shared a bed before—in New York, remember? The second night we were there, after the party.”
“I barely remember it,” he admitted. “I was pretty drunk that night. You could have snored the whole time, and I never would have noticed.”
“She doesn’t snore, but the next time she hogs the blankets I’m locking her in the kennel again,” Zero replied, already sounding half asleep.
“I can’t help what I do when I’m sleeping.” I wiggled, trying to make a bit more room for myself.
“Fuck, are you looking to get laid again, little monster?” It was a threat, but Vandal seemed half interested in following through on it.
“No!” My body was way too sore for any more of that tonight.
“Then quit rubbing your ass against me. My dick needs a nap.”
“If the old man’s dick is too tired, mine’s available,” Zero murmured.
“Shut up. No fucking in this bed unless I’m involved, and right now I say we’re sleeping.”
I got the giggles. It had been a wild night, and I was ridiculously overtired.
Vandal groaned and pressed against my back, his cock hardening.
“I’m sorry, I’ll be quiet,” I promised, laughing. I bit my lips together and tried to stay still, but Vandal grabbed my hand and put it on Zero’s cock. Poor Zero jerked as though he’d already drifted off to sleep.
“I thought you wanted to go to sleep,” I complained to Vandal.
“Shh. We’re all sleeping,” he replied. “You’re just having a sex dream.”
I made a sound of protest, but then there were men kissing me and they were all clean and hard...
At this rate we were going to need another shower before we slept.
And I was going to need an ice pack.
Chapter 25
My fingers flew over the keyboard, feeling far too awkward and slow for the stream of thoughts coming out of my head. I kept having to backspace over my mistakes and grumbling under my breath about how real writers didn’t have to look at their fingers as they typed. I was only a small step up from the hunt-and-peck method.
Something creaked and I tensed, listening. Being alone here in the woods was helpful when I was on deadline, but it was creepy too. Zero’s parents should have been happy that he’d moved into an honest-to-goodness cottage, but apparently his ‘lifestyle’ was now the big issue for them instead of just his hair, his lodgings, and his life’s work.
Idiots.
I was glad we were seeing less of them, other than his grandmother.
Cold, I rewrapped the blanket around my shoulders then settled back in. Not even fear of a serial killer watching me through the grimy windows could slow me down. I had shit to do—goals to meet.
A stick squeaked against the wood siding outside, and I contemplated going out to look for it so I could snap it off. I tried to concentrate, but the sound came again. I held my breath, listening.
What if it really was a person? A bear I could deal with, but a person? I was all alone out here, with nothing to defend myself unless I could get my hands on a rock or something.
The door burst open, and a figure stood in the doorway, his large frame blocking the exit.
I jumped to my feet, knocking over the old wooden chair.
He was huge and wearing a ski mask. It was only October. He wore camouflage, which made me think, momentarily, that he might be a lost hunter—but if he was hunting why wasn’t he wearing an orange vest? He didn’t seem to have a rifle, though, only an aggressively sized hunting knife strapped to his belt.
“What do you want?” I whispered.
He shut the door and came toward me, not answering.
Fear tore through me, and I backed a step, then another, opening my mouth to scream, then remembering that absolutely no one would hear me out here. I could get a hold of Vandal and Zero on the radio, but they wouldn’t get here until it was too late.
“Who are you?” I scanned the small cabin for an impromptu weapon or even a way past him, but there was too much furniture and too little open space. I couldn’t get around him without jumping onto the bed. Going toward the bed felt far too much like an invitation.
“Leave me alone or I’ll scream!”
There was a low chuckle, and I felt like I might piss myself.