I nodded my head.
I was tired and no longer wanted to argue. I pulled my hand away from his very firm, muscular chest. Hard not to notice with my hand flat against him.
After climbing into bed, I pulled the blankets up to my shoulders and turned off the light. I heard him moving around. His footfalls were light, though. Seconds later, he climbed in beside me.
My bed was large, but he seemed to make it so much smaller.
I couldn’t help but smile, only to freeze up as he curved his body around mine. His pelvis and a very hard cock pressed against my back. I bolted upright, turned my light on, and glared.
“What the hell?”
“You say that a lot.”
“I didn’t … we’re not going to have sex.”
“Baby, I told you, you’re safe with me, but don’t think I’m not going to get turned on. I am.”
“Why?”
The smug smirk was back in place as he put a hand on my knee. “Would it be so hard for you to believe it’s because you’re fucking hot?”
“I don’t … huh?”
“Emily, you’ve got a body that I want naked, beneath me. I’m not going to force you though. You’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t want that, and I’m not into rape.”
“But you are into holding me, so Gael can lift my dress?”
“I’m into finding out all the answers to what makes you tick. It’s what I’m good at. You won’t like it, but the truth is I don’t give a flying fuck. I like you. This is me stating that to you.”
“Okay, you like me. I don’t know what that means because you know I can’t … we can’t…”
“Not yet, but it’s your life.”
“Don’t sound like an idiot, Vadik, it doesn’t suit you. None of this is my life. I don’t have a choice. My choices were wiped away the moment my mom gave birth to me in this shithole. You saw her. She’s as good as dead inside.” I stared down at his hand. He still touched me. “That will be me one day.”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
I hated that tears filled my eyes. I didn’t allow them to fall as I gritted my teeth. “You need to learn not to give people false hope. It’s not very nice.”
With that, I pushed his hand off my thigh, turned off the light, and settled back into bed. Vadik wasn’t done.
His arm banded around my waist, and he got himself comfortable right against my back. At first, I was tense, but the truth was, it was the safest I’d felt in a really long time.
****
River
Vadik arrived at our meeting spot near the lake looking too damn happy.
Caleb stared, as did Gael.
“You went back to her place,” Caleb said.
“I didn’t hear any instructions not to.”
“You fuck her?” Gael asked.
The smile on Vadik’s face vanished.
Gael held his hands up. “Got to wonder. One minute she can’t stand us, the next she’s offering you a space in her bed. A guy’s got to be curious about the sudden change of heart.”
“No, I didn’t fuck her.”
“But you want to,” Caleb said.
“I think it’s safe to say we all want a piece of her,” I said, speaking up.
School would be starting in half an hour. I didn’t want us to be arguing about these little facts for too long.
Caleb stood tall. “So we all want her?”
We all responded with a nod. Me? I didn’t completely know the other guys’ deal with Emily. I only knew my interest. It wasn’t so much interest as curiosity. I didn’t know who I was trying to kid. I wanted her, period.
I’d noticed her a few years ago. Her long, blonde hair captured my attention. Then the curves of her ass. I happened to love a nice, juicy ass, and Emily, she had one. It had gotten bigger in the past two years, and her hips as well. Her body was a wet dream.
“It appears that way.”
“Is this going to be a problem?” Caleb asked.
“I don’t see why it should be,” I said. I looked at my best friends, my brothers. “We’ve shared a woman before. It’s not like we don’t know how this is going to go. We all want a piece of her, and so long as we learn to be nice, I don’t see why this can’t work.”
“We’re talking about sharing a woman. Is this for a short time, or are we really going to do this?” Vadik asked.
“I say we share her,” Gael said.
“I don’t see why not. All four of us want her, and we know how to share. We’ve been doing this shit since we were first born. A woman will be easy.”
“She’s not going to be easy to win over,” Vadik said.
“That’s not a problem,” Caleb said. “We’re all very patient men. She’s got to know who she is dealing with.” He smiled.