Scars (The Triad 1)

SCARLET

After we got home, Seb dropped onto his knees on the wood floors and begged to be able to sleep with me for the night. Elliot rolled his eyes but ruffled my hair, and he walked past us and down the hall, off to do god knew what with the rest of his night.

“I wanted to go play in the music room anyway. I have some shit to sort out.” Tristan kissed my cheek and then left Seb and me alone. I looked down at him, his brown eyes full of mischief.

“Seb, no sex.” He pouted. “I’m serious. My ass is on fire, and she is sore.”

“Fine,” he whined and picked me up as he stood. “Let’s get your ass taken care of first and then nothing but cuddles. Pinky promise.” I wrapped my pinky around his and then leaned my head against his shoulder. I could’ve walked to my bedroom, but when he was offering to carry me, why would I put out the effort? It was nice to be taken care of sometimes.

We lay in bed with my back to his front while he twirled his fingers through my hair. He had rubbed ointment gently across my stinging flesh before we both crawled into bed. I was physically, mentally, and sexually exhausted from the day, and feeling his solid body against mine had me drifting off within minutes.

“Scarlet.” His low voice jolted me out of sleep, and I felt him laugh behind me.

“Yes?” I looked over my shoulder, and he nuzzled into my hair.

“I want you to want to stay.”

I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure what to say. I figured that topic was going to come up eventually, seeing as I was getting closer and closer with all of them. And they seemed to be letting me in more each day. But would I actually want to stay with them if I didn’t have to? I didn’t know the answer to that.

“I want a life,” I finally managed.

“You could have a life with us if you promised not to run away, little pet.” He pulled me tighter to him and kissed my hair.

“Because the smartest dogs always come back?” I was half-joking, but he didn’t find it funny. He sighed and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him through the darkness.

“Because we need you. And I think you need us.” He kissed my nose. “Now stop making me angry or I’ll put your mouth to good use.”

I rolled back over and pulled the blanket under my chin. I waited until his breathing was slow and even before letting myself drift back off. But I needed to make a decision…and soon. Was I going to just give in and try to be happy in their world? Or was I going to try and run?

I wanted to have a life outside of them if I stayed. They couldn’t expect me to go from building to building, always one of them by my side, without having any freedom whatsoever.

God, I missed having Kenna to talk to. She had to be seriously freaking out over all of this. She knew enough to keep her mouth shut and not go looking for me, but I knew she would be terrified. And I had been so caught up in my own shit I hadn’t even tried to convince the guys to let me send her a message. I needed to let her know that I was okay.

I took a few deep breaths and tried to tell myself I didn’t have to decide what to do immediately. I was still injured, still technically on the run from my family, and it’s not like I had it so rough with the guys. I lay there and listened to Seb’s slow breathing, letting it calm me. I was beginning to depend on them much more than I had intended to.

Seb’s clean scent calmed me down, and I settled into him. I had never been one to cuddle, but something about these idiots made my insides turn to mush. It wasn’t something I would ever admit to them. They didn’t need to know that they had any kind of emotional sway over me. I brought his hand to my mouth and kissed his knuckles before finally drifting off to sleep.