“You’re back!” Ax cried out in excitement before realizing who he was in front of, then relaxed his face and said, “I knew you would be fine.”
I was about to let out something snarky when Falcon asked, “Why are you and Cosmo naked?”
Instead of having the cool and collected answer I should’ve given, I threw myself back against the pillow and groaned out my frustration.
I heard a rustle of fabric before a tug on my comforter, then lean fingers wrapped around my foot, and skilled thumbs rubbed circles into my arches. Avery’s smooth, playful voice called out as he took pity on me. “Our little Ray is tired and just had to explain to someone, who was the last one on the boat, why they don’t get preferential treatment just because they got a ticket first.”
“So, that finally happened,” Falcon huffed, making a beeline for the desk off to the left of me, sitting down, back straight and legs wide like he was attending an important summit or something.I guess that’s how he gets comfy? Weird.
“What has finally happened?” Ax’s head bounced between Avery and Falcon, trying to figure out what they were talking about.
Avery rubbing my feet caused me to relax and feel less pressured. I settled into my pillow, finding the right spot as I made it very clear for Ax. “Cosmo and I just had sex, and I also told him that I enjoyed my time with each of you and didn’t plan on giving that up just because he barged into my shower and gave me something that was long overdue.”
As I was explaining, Ax’s face tightened, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his fists clenched. I was about to put the smack down on him, like I did Cosmo, but Avery beat me to the punch.
“He skedaddled after I told him I enjoyed a little competition and wasn’t planning on stopping anything with Rayla just because he had a stick up his ass.” He looked back at me, moving those fingers up to my calf as he cooed, “Plus, I’m confident in my skills. I don’t care if you play around with these men here because I know I’ll be the one you think about long after we’re done. Hell, bring them in with us, and I will show you how I directly compare. I’m sure you will be very pleased, Fierce Girl.”
“Mmmm.” I closed my eyes as I let out a tight-lipped moan at the pressure he was releasing in my legs. “So good.” I cracked open my eyes as I gave him a sultry look. “Are you bucking for the favorite spot? Because you’re making a compelling case.”
He lifted my foot up slightly, keeping eye contact as he bent down and placed a kiss on my foot. “Always.”
Ax scoffed as he stomped his way over to me, plopped on the bed so hard I bounced, and grabbed my other foot. “Give me this.” His meaty hands were surprisingly gentle and knew when to be firm and when to let up. I let out a long noise of appreciation at his work, and he mumbled out, “I’m going to be the favorite. Just you watch, pretty boy.”
My head lolled to the side as I looked at Falcon and winked. I had a feeling displays of dominance or affection were not his thing, but I wanted him to know I did appreciate our time together. That I felt something strong with him, too, and didn’t want it to end until we found out what it really was. My heart skipped a beat when he gave me a small smirk and winked back.
A freshly dressed Cosmo and Rick walked into my room while two men rubbed down my legs and feet as the other instructed on the importance of pressure points and when to use them, and I lay in bed, eyes closed, while bouncing between mumbling out praise for the two at the bed and acknowledging Falcon’s words of wisdom.
“What the hell, Rayla?”
“Way to go, Ray!”
I much more appreciated Rick’s enthusiasm versus Cosmo’s irritation. “Shhhhh,” I whined. “Don’t disrupt the ecosystem. They just got a good rhythm going.”
“Rayla.” Cosmo’s warning came out loud and clear. “I think it’s time for you to explain where you have been the last thirty-eight hours.”
“Oh, well that’s simple. I was kidnapped.” All the foot rubbing stopped, and the air in the room changed so violently I opened my eyes, and all the men stared at me with murder flooding their faces.
“I think you’re going to need to give us a little more context, Rayla.” Falcon’s voice was as calm and steady as it always was, but he was actively trying to breathe slower. I knew this because there was exactly three seconds before each inhale and exhale. I also noticed him scratching at a spot on his left hand, but a glove was covering it. Why didn’t he take the glove off? I shook my head, realizing that was not important right now.
“I don’t know why you are all in a tizzy about it. I’m here and obviously fine.” Sliding up the bed, I leaned back against the headboard, realizing this would be a sitting-up conversation with how angry they all appeared. I knew I would need to calm them down. “Look, it’s not that big of a deal. Lex just—”
“I knew it. I fucking knew I should’ve been on your team. I bet he has been planning this the whole time.” Cosmo shoved his arms together as he filled the room with his accusations. That wasn’t good because I was trying to get Lex to come here. Who knew, he might already be awake and heading this way.
“No, he hasn’t...” I remembered that he did have that knockout juice ready for me, also the house with the barrier that had my name... Ya, I needed to cover that up or else they would be pissed at Lex. “Well, at least I don’t think he was planning on it.”
Avery smacked his hand to his face, and a frustrated humor bled from his voice. “That is not helping your case, Fierce Girl.”
I threw out my hands. “Wait! Just... let me get it all out and then we can... discuss some things.”
“Discuss things? Awe, RayRay, did you make a deal with him already? That’s your excuse when you make deals.” I glared at Rick and his snitching ways as the guys’ faces took an even darker edge.
“Deal?! What kind of fucking—”
“I said wait!” I glared at Ax for interrupting. Jesus, you fuck a guy, and then, all of a sudden, he feels like he gets to run this shit. That would not work with this girly. “Now. The short version, since you all seem to be impatient, is that I talked to neighboring communities—”
“We know that, as well as you going to the basin, which we will talk about later, and that you had a fight with about thirty hooded figures where you were the only one left alive.” Cosmo finished, cutting to the chase and deflating my whole speech.
“Well, aren’t you all so fucking efficient,” I grumbled, not enjoying the wind taken out of my sails, but took a big breath before rushing through the part I knew they would have an issue with.
