“They either came to us, or we wore them down until they couldn’t help but give in to us.” Eli rubs the back of his neck and glances toward the bathroom. “Most girls are easy to convince. They’ve already done stuff. It’s just taking them to the next level.”
“But Harper—” I stop. I don’t even know where to begin with Harper. I wasn’t lying when I called her a freaking unicorn. “We’ve been working through our class since eighth grade. This summer the remaining girls either lost it to one or two of us or someone else, until only Harper remained.”
“It was unlucky for her then?” Nico’s mouth sets in a firm line. Fuck, if I had it bad for a girl and came back for her to find her being tag teamed by a bunch of dudes, even my friends, I’d be mad too.
“Yes, she’s the last, but she’s not like the other girls in our class.” My eyes are drawn to the door where the shower is now off. “We created her. Our rule made her hide herself away from everyone. She submitted to us, but not because she wanted to. Instead of crying and begging, she got angry. She defies us when she can.”
My lips twist up into a smile thinking about her defiance. The way she makes me feel inside is unexplainable, undefinable. I need to possess her. Control her. I want her to defy me and submit to me in the same breath. I want her to give in to me fully, completely.
I’m obsessed with her.
No, she’s not like other girls. She responds naturally and beautifully to our touch. She’s not shy about exploring and doesn’t stifle the noises she makes when she’s worked up. Not embarrassed of her sexuality, she owns it and she’s curious as hell about it too.
Nico nods. “As long as you don’t hurt her, I’m all in.”
My insides tense at his promise. The threat those words imply.
“But if you hurt her…” Nico lets it hang in the air around us.
I nod in acceptance of his threat, but have one of my own. “If you try to take her away from us…”
He may not know us as well now, but he knows who we became the day we all decided to become the horsemen. At the time, Apocalypse was our leader, but when he left, as Death, I took over. I won’t back down to him now.
Our eyes meet and he nods in acknowledgment. If I hurt her or if he tries to take her from us, we’ll no longer be brothers. We’ll be at war.
Harper
Caden hands me a toothbrush and toothpaste. The tears finally dried up, but he continued to take care of me. He started my shower. While I showered, he sat on the toilet seat and talked about his cook and what a pretentious dick the guy is. He wouldn’t even make Caden a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when he was eight, because in the cook’s words, “It’s too lowbrow.”
What fucker wouldn’t make a kid a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? That’s pretty shitty.
Caden handed me a towel when I stepped out. He hasn’t touched me the entire time. Just handed me my panties, bra, jeans, and one of his oversized t-shirts. And of course, my collar courtesy of Eli. I feel like a little kid swimming in his t-shirt while I brush my teeth with him watching.
After I rinse and wipe my mouth, Caden asks, “Doing better?”
I glance at my reflection. My eyes are still a little red around the edges. I don’t have any makeup with me to cover anything. Including the still healing hickeys.
I don’t feel the same as yesterday morning. But I guess that’s just part of growing up. And being in a quasi-relationship with five guys.
“I’m fine.” Moving to stand in front of Caden, I run my hand through his dark hair. Tugging his head back, I look into his green eyes. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
His arms drape around my waist, holding me loosely. He gives me a small smile. “You take care of me. I figure it’s only fair to take care of you.”
I lean down and press a kiss to his lips before I back away and take a breath. Time to face the others.
Caden stands and opens the bathroom door, leading the way out. The guys all look over at me.
“What’s the plan for today?” I stop myself from fidgeting.
“First thing is to get you out of those clothes.” Luke’s discerning eyes runs over me with a frown on his lips.
I almost shuffle backward. “Excuse me?”
Luke smirks as he meets my eyes. “You need to go to your place so you can change.”
“We need to check the basement for strays first.” Caden grabs his socks and shoes and sits in a chair to put them on.
“Strays?” I sit on the couch between Nico and Eli. Nico gives me a warm smile and I almost blush, remembering what happened last night and this morning. He and I went from zero to sixty in a few hours. Yeah, I didn’t really process anything while in the shower. I’m not sure if I can.
