Marcus is right. This isn’t healthy. It’s not normal.
This is the kind of love they talk about in history books as the reason wars are started. The reason empires rise and fall.
The connection that burns so hot between the four of us isn’t a gentle flame. It’s an inferno that could ignite the entire world.
My chest rises and falls as I try to catch my breath. My hand is resting on Marcus’s chest, and I fist his shirt, my fingers digging into the fabric. Then I haul him toward me, pulling harder against his grip on my hair and ignoring the pain that flares in my scalp as I crush my lips to his.
He kisses me back, plunging his tongue into my mouth like he’s trying to claim every piece of me. When we finally break apart to gasp for air, Ryland tilts my head toward his, slamming his lips into mine before I can even draw a breath.
I’m dizzy from lack of oxygen and the overwhelming feeling of being completely consumed by these men. My hand keeps clutching Marcus’s shirt as if I need it to anchor myself. Ryland’s lips still taste like the whiskey we drank earlier, and I whimper hungrily as my tongue battles with his.
When a strong hand closes around my jaw, I let it guide my motions, breaking my kiss with Ryland and turning to face Theo. I still haven’t drawn a complete breath, but I don’t think I care anymore.
Who needs fucking air when they can have this?
Would you do that, angel? Would you let us have all of you?
Marcus’s words from the day he fucked me in the shower pour through my mind.
I knew my answer then, and I’m fucking sure of it now.
Yes.
In every single way possible, I will give myself to these men.
It’s only been a few hours since Theo and I fucked in the bathroom, but my body doesn’t seem to care. It’s ravenous, and I grind against Marcus as Theo flicks his tongue over my lips, teasing me. Ryland’s mouth is on my shoulder, his teeth grazing my sensitive flesh as Marcus palms my breast, squeezing hard enough to make me groan.
A soft sound filters through the haze of desire clouding my mind.
It’s not my breath, or the men’s. It’s not the sound of our whimpers or groans.
It’s sharp and metallic, a strange ping that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
Something about it is wrong. I don’t know how, but the animal part of my brain is sure of it.
Beneath me, Marcus stiffens. All three of the men freeze, going absolutely still.
Then Marcus throws himself off the couch, his arms still wrapped tightly around me, as the door bursts open.
Chapter 14
We hit the ground with a heavy thud, wedged between the coffee table and the couch, as Theo and Ryland dive off the couch too. Another sharp pinging sound rings out, and I realize with a shock of recognition that it’s the sound of a gun firing through a silencer.
For a fraction of a second, Marcus’s gaze meets mine, the earth and air of his irises churning with emotion. Then he rolls off me in the cramped space, reaching into his suit jacket and pulling his gun from the holster.
The sounds of his shots are loud, and whoever breached the door falls back, taking cover behind the door frame on the outside of the house. From where I’m lying on the floor, I can see that part of the door is blown away near the knob, and I realize whoever it is must’ve shot out the lock. That’s what the first pinging noise was.
“Fucking hell!” Theo shouts as Marcus shoots again. “It’s goddamn Adrian.”
A bullet tears through one of the front windows of the house, shattering glass.
“Shit!”
Marcus snatches my gun off the coffee table and shoves it into my hand. Then he flips me over onto my stomach, shielding my body with his as he shoves over the coffee table to create a makeshift barrier.
“Get behind the couch. Go! Move!”
My dress catches around my legs, and it’s hard as fuck to army crawl with only three full limbs, but I manage to scramble around behind the couch, pressing my back to it as Marcus joins me. He peers around the edge, then glances at Theo, who’s taking cover behind a large chair nearby. Ryland is on my other side, tension radiating from him.
“At least two outside,” Marcus says quietly. “Adrian’s by the door, and there’s one more with him, I think.”
A bullet embeds itself into the couch with a cracking sound, and my heart lurches in my chest. Ryland pops around his side of the couch, firing two rounds at the door.
“How the fuck did he find us?” he mutters, sounding furious.
It’s a pointless question. It doesn’t matter how Adrian found out our location. All that matters is that he’s here now. We all knew this place wouldn’t be safe forever, but I damn sure hoped our security would last longer than this.
Luca really did unleash the wolves on us.
Breathing hard, I tighten my grip on my gun. The metal is comforting in my grip, cool and smooth against my heated skin. My finger rests lightly on the trigger, and I catch Marcus’s gaze as he glances over at me.
Something almost like pride flashes in his eyes, and I wonder fleetingly what I must look like right now. My hair is unkempt, I’ve got scrapes and bruises, and everything about me is at odds with the elegant beauty of the dress I’m wearing.
But I don’t think Marcus cares. All he sees is a warrior. A woman who’ll do whatever it takes to survive.
Two more quiet shots pierce the night, and I feel the impact reverberate through the couch as they hit. The distant sound of wood splintering hits my ears, and then a door bangs open somewhere in the back of the house.
Fuck. They’ve breached the back door too.
My head whips in that direction as heavy footsteps thud against the worn hardwood. Three more men come into view in the back hallway, guns raised.
Without thinking, my arm flies up, my finger squeezing the trigger. My shot catches one of the men in the shoulder, and he stumbles, letting out a pained grunt. The other two men let off shots just as a large hand clamps around my arm, yanking me sideways.
A bullet pierces the couch where my head was just a second earlier, and Ryland drags me behind him, firing at our attackers himself.
As Ryland and I break off from Marcus, all three of us scrambling to find new cover, I realize the standoff at the front of the house was meant to be a distraction, something to keep us occupied and focused in the direction while the second team moved to box us in.
I haven’t seen Michael or Gabriel, so I’m guessing Adrian and his team are working alone.
Fuck. How many are there? How big of a fucking team did he bring?
And how long can we last against them?
Ryland and I dive into the kitchen through the open doorway that connects it to the living room, taking cover behind the wall. A loud thud makes my heart jump, but when I peer around, I see that Theo and Marcus have tipped over the heavy bookshelf in the corner opposite us and are taking cover behind it.
Our attackers are relentless. We’re barely holding off the team at the front and the one that’s staked out the back hallway, but it’s only a matter of time before they break through our defenses. I always thought of Adrian as the weakest competitor in the game, but obviously there’s a damn reason he lasted this long.
Bullets are flying across the living room, coming from so many directions that it’s almost impossible to track them all. Theo catches a man in the knee, and when he goes down, another bullet goes through his skull. Blood stains the floor around him.