“He’s right,” Saylor chimes in from beside Hunter, humor in his tone.
“I feel it a lot.” I shrug, my gaze dropping to my feet.
I feel sorry for way too much but mostly myself.
Having to be rescued from hyperthermia in September out of my broken van by someone who’s both a near stranger and sort of my boss?
Rock bottom.
“Come on, I’d sit you in the kitchen while I make you something warm, but with the fire in the living room, I think I’ll place you in front of that while you wait.”
He ushers me into the living room, and I’m greeted by Nash and North sitting on the couch, both in loungewear. Although my anxiety had ebbed away with Hunter, it’s coming back full force now. Both of their gazes come up to me.
North looks at me dismissively before looking back down at his phone. Nash stands and comes over to give me a hug.
“First coworker, now roomie. I must have been good in my past life.” He grins before pulling me close tightly.
“Ouch,” I whimper, my cold bones making everything sore and oversensitive, especially my ankle, which has been throbbing since it warmed up.
Nash looks at me with wide eyes, letting go of me in a second. “Fuck, did I hurt you?” His expression triggers a flashback to our night together.
And I already think about that night way more often than I should.
“Are you going to come again, Siren? Are you gonna milk my cock like that, make me come deep inside your tight little pussy, huh? You wanna make me come hard?”
“Attagirl, let go, come again for me. Come on my cock.”
His dirty words had buried themselves deeply into my consciousness. Having his scent on me the whole day didn’t help one bit, for that matter.
“No, don’t worry. I just hurt myself today.”
“What? Where?” Hunter asks, putting his hands on my shoulders and turning me to face him, scanning me from head to toe, even though the blanket covers me almost completely.
“Her ankle,” North answers for me in a bored tone.
At the same time, Nash says, “Her head.”
They exchange confused glances, then look at me.
I shrug. “Both.”
Saylor chuckles while I sit on the couch, as far from North as possible, and pull my feet up to hug the blanket around my knees.
“I’m going to make some hot chocolate for her. Do you guys want some too?”
“That’d be awesome, thanks,” Nash says, sitting beside me, putting his arm over the back of the couch behind me. His proximity sends a flutter through me just when the one Hunter gave me is ebbing.
North only blows out a breath, so Hunter turns and walks into the kitchen with an eye roll.
“What I’d give for one of his hot chocolates right now,” Saylor grumbles while sitting down on the other side of me.
We sit in silence while the fire crackles in the fireplace, and the warmth finally penetrates my whole body. It’s enough that I let the blanket slide down from my shoulders, allowing it to pool around me on the couch.
“Your lips aren’t blue anymore,” Saylor observes as he leans in to look at me. The memory of my cold lips makes me shudder again, and Nash scoots closer, pulling his arm around my shoulders. I turn my head to scowl at him, but he has a confident grin on his lips, and I have to admit, he looks cute with his tousled hair, dimples, and freshly shaven.
“Man, you’re beautiful,” he tells me, making North and Saylor scoff simultaneously. I glance at Saylor and suppress a laugh because his expression mirrors North’s, which makes me realize they look quite similar, except for Saylor being younger and much friendlier. Nash laughs, adding, “And you’re weird.”
Shrugging off his arm, I turn, creating more space between us. His comment sends a jolt of pain through me.
