“What about the game tomorrow night? Coach will be upset if we don’t get sleep.” Jack leans back.
“We’ll each get plenty of sleep.” Luke blows out a breath. “We need to talk about Harper and Tanner.”
“She’s not happy with us currently.” I know my sunshine. She’s off and definitely mad at me, if not all of us. In this case, I disagreed with her trying to handle Tanner on her own.
“She still thinks we’re using her,” Jack says quietly. He glances toward the school. “It’s easy to see why she feels that way.”
Last night was something else. Watching her come over and over again, feeling her hot mouth and tight cunt wrapped around me… She was amazing.
“She can’t keep secrets from us,” Caden growls.
“At least she did it to protect you.” I yank the black mask off my face. She’s right. I’m supposed to be her friend, but I can’t be both. My loyalty will always be divided between them and her, and when push came to shove, I chose them.
“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Luke lifts his black mask. His eyes spear me, but I’m not afraid of him.
“Because she asked me not to.” This tug-of-war back and forth between the guys and Harper might be too much. “She was my friend before you guys.”
“I think that’s part of our problem.” Jack sits forward. “There shouldn’t be an us against her thing. If she’s ours, then she’s ours all the way. No more dicking around.”
Luke glares at Jack. “Of course she’s ours.”
He laughs. “No, she’s our pet. We claimed her. She has very little say in her relationship with us. Fuck, she doesn’t even think we have a relationship.”
Luke scowls but says nothing. Jack’s not wrong. Yes, she gave in to us willingly, but I wasn’t here to wear her down with the rest of them. She seemed eager to take whatever we could give her. Still does, but that doesn’t mean she feels like an equal.
“Fuck that. I’ve told her she’s mine.” Caden folds his arms over his chest.
“Exactly. We own her. She’s not a part of the group,” Jack says.
“He’s right.” Eli hits his hand on the steering wheel. “She’s willing, but that doesn’t make her part of us. She’s holding herself back.”
“Fuck. I’m done talking about feelings. She’s ours. She’ll deal with it.” Luke jerks his head toward the others. “Jack and Caden, stay here with Grant. We’ll bring one of your cars over. We need sleep so we can win tomorrow.”
Luke
The house is quiet. Harper’s asleep, but I couldn’t resist coming here. I lay in my bed for almost an hour before giving in to my compulsion.My bed was too big, too cold, too empty. Fuck, she’s already in my head.
I push her door open and see Kenz first. She and Harper share the bed, each curled away from the other. On silent feet, I round to Harper’s side and draw the covers away from her body.
She’s wearing shorts and a tank top. When I lift her into my arms, she barely wakes before rolling her head against my chest. Something settles inside me at having her in my arms.
I don’t mind sharing a bed with one of the guys on Harper’s other side, but I draw the line at her friend. There’s a guest bedroom right next to hers we can sleep in. Last night was a lot for her, but all I want tonight is sleep.
Pushing open the guest room door, I balance her against my shoulder to pull the covers down and chuck the decorative pillows on the floor. When I lay her on the cold bed, she shivers and curls into herself.
I tug off my shirt and ditch my jeans before sliding in behind her. As soon as I pull her into my arms, she sighs and settles. I draw in a deep breath of her and exhale.
Fuck. I shouldn’t need her in my arms to sleep, but my body instantly relaxes.
It doesn’t matter if she believes we’re using her. She’s mine and that’s not changing. I understand what Jack said. Nico is a prime example of why keeping aher versus usmentality will cause problems.
My arm traps her against me, but she doesn’t struggle to get free. Instead, she snuggles back into me. Her vanilla scent surrounds me. Her warmth draws me down into sleep.
A scream wakes me up, and I tighten my arms around Harper, but she’s not the one screaming.
“Let me go, Luke.” She pries at my hands. “Kenz.”
I release her and roll out of bed. “Stay here.”
