The Ruckus

God, who knew this was going to turn into a reunion?

“We’ve tried to call you a hundred times,” Muriel said, looking more than a little pissed as her gaze flicked between me, Axel, and Micah. “The sheriff even called to see if we could go out looking for you. You really didn’t get any of our messages?”

I shook my head and even checked my waterlogged phone for good measure, but it still took some convincing before my friends visibly relaxed a little.

“We even stopped by your family’s property before we came here,” Nolan said.

Oh, God.

“Oh, God,” I echoed my thought. I didn’t even want to think about the reception they probably received. My family barely even tolerated me most of the time. So four of my friends showing up there with no warning during a storm was... less than ideal. “I feel like I should probably apologize for whatever they said or did.”

Cooper snorted. “It was your uncle, so—”

“So yes,” I groaned, as he basically validated all of my internal fears. “I should definitely apologize. Was he mean?” They tried to act as if it were nothing, but I saw it on their faces. “I’m sorry, y’all. I honestly had no idea you were out looking for me. I guess I don’t even know what time it is, now that I’m thinking about it.”

My guys—I mean Axel and Micah—both watched me, staying close but letting me handle most of the talking, which was probably for the best since they had literally been caught with their pants down.

I could tell they both felt a little awkward, maybe embarrassed, but it was cute how they were both hovering around protectively.

It made me feel warm inside, in spite of the drafty warehouse. And I liked the feeling.

My friends seemed to pick up on the protective vibe as well. Poppy and Muriel both kept shooting me knowing looks, and I hadn’t even made eye contact with Nolan or Cooper. Heaven knew what they’d made of the scene they’d stumbled into.

With me dressed like a proper Southern belle and the guys in their long underwear... yeah, I wasn’t sure if it seemed kinky or comical, but in no way did the three of us pass as innocent. We couldn’t have looked more sexed-up if we’d been wearing strappy leather outfits with cuffs and collars.

Poppy half-sighed, half-yawned, and mumbled something about calling it a night. “Do you want to come back with us?”

I probably would have jumped at the opportunity if she’d asked me a couple of hours earlier. I probably should have taken her up on the offer anyway, since God, what was I even doing here?

Playing dress-up in the little fantasy world Axel and Micah had created?

Yeah, that was exactly what I’d been doing. And why not? It wasn’t as if we had a wedding to go to. As silly as it might have seemed, I wasn’t ready to let go of that fantasy.

Not yet.

Not while we still might have had a few more hours to ourselves.

“No, I don’t think so.” I shook my head and glanced over my shoulder to see my bo—to see Axel and Micah—start to smile. “I want to see more of what these guys are doing here. They have some really beautiful concepts.” And some really beautiful cocks. My cheeks instantly started to flush at the memory of what we’d been doing earlier. “But thank you for coming out here. I appreciate it, and I feel bad that y’all were worried.”

Muriel’s eyes crinkled at the edges. God, she definitely knew, like she was reading my mind right then.

I was going to get all kinds of shit for this later, but it was hard to care about that when I had these hot guys hulking around me so protectively.

“We’re just glad you’re safe, Jas. Give one of us a call if you need a ride when you’re ready.” She paused, then grinned outright. Yep. There it was. I could only imagine the conversation they’d all have when they walked out the door. “I assume Axel or Micah can let you use one of their phones?”

“Yeah, of course,” Axel answered quickly. Probably a little too quickly, but whatever. Now that my friends knew I was safe, I just wanted them to leave us to get back to... everything.

But then a thought struck me. “Oh, you mentioned the sheriff was involved. Out of curiosity, who reported me as missing in the first place? I would’ve expected you all to call the police when you couldn’t find me, and not the other way around.”

Four blank faces looked back at me—four people who were all equally as clueless.

Cooper, who happened to be the sheriff’s brother, pulled out his phone. “One second. I’m on it.” Moments later, his phone vibrated, and he flashed it in our direction. “Vic says it was Randy Johnson who made the initial missing person call.”