Page 69 of Claimed

“We’d noticed,” Gage drawls as he moves closer. I peek out and see he’s pulled his own shirt off and is holding it up for me.

Nervousness fills me. He saw me naked when we snuggled on the couch together. His hand was even on my breast the entire time we made out. So I take a deep breath of courage and pull myself away from Chase. Turning to Gage, I don’t cover myself. I let him look as I raise my arms.

His eyes heat as they travel across my skin. When they land on my face, he whispers, “Beautiful,” through the bond, making me blush, then pulls the shirt down over my arms and thighs.

He holds out his hand, and I place mine in his, letting him help me off the bed. “Whoa,” I whisper when I’m standing almost toe to toe with him. “You’re really tall.”

He smiles in amusement. “You have three mates taller than me.”

“Yeah, and you’re all so tall. I’ve really had no chance to stand around you yet.”

“That’s because you’re clumsy,” Chase says as he swoops me up into his arms.

“Chase!” I say in mock annoyance. “I need to practice.”

“You need to eat,” Bain says as he leads the way out of the bedroom and into the hall.

Hunter pulls out a chair, and I think Chase is going to set me down in it, but instead, Hunter takes a seat and reaches up for me.

I try not to smile, not wanting to encourage them to constantly pass me around, but I can’t seem to care. I kind of love the way someone always seems to be needing to hold me. After years of being alone, it’s impossible to resist.

Bain and Chase move into the kitchen and start pulling things from the fridge as Maddox and Gage stand in front of us, staring down at me.

“What?” I ask nervously. “You look like you’re thinking really hard about something.”

They glance at each other then back at me and my cheeks heat. Why does their attention do that to me?

When it was Bain and Maddox together last night, I felt their possessive, protective gazes. But Gage and Maddox… it’s like two chess players on the same team, calculating and scheming on the best way to… do what, exactly?

“Do you think you can shift?” Gage asks, making my brows furrow.

“You want me to shift back into a wolf?” I can’t help but feel a little hurt. I’m finally able to shift and he prefers my wolf?

“Sweetheart,” Maddox says, stepping closer and caressing my face. “We just want to know if you have full control now. We all prefer you in this body.”

Hunter dips his head, kissing my neck right over Maddox’s mating bite, and I suck in a sharp breath as a pulse of desire shoots through me.

“Stop working her up while we’re cooking!” Chase yells. “You’re gonna make me burn the eggs!”

I realize he can smell my arousal, and I press my legs together, trying to pull my shirt lower.

“Cherry?” Maddox asks as I glance back up at him. “Can you shift for me? Just for a moment, then you can shift back again.”

Desperate to do anything he asks, I nod, and he pulls his hand back as he praises me. “Good girl.”

Wanting to hide my blush, I tell my body to shift, and as I do, Hunter’s arms shoot around me, keeping my wolf form from falling from his lap.

“You did it!” Hunter says with a laugh before kissing the side of my head.

“Now try to shift back,” Gage says, leveling me with a serious stare. I keep his gaze for as long as I can before my eyes shut and I shift.

“I’m proud of you, angel.” I glance over at Bain, and the look he gives me confirms what he just said through the bond. I look inside and find his emotions are bursting with pride.

“Good girl,” Maddox says. I turn to him and he leans down and kisses me. It’s quick but enough to make me forget what I’d just been thinking about.

The sound of raindrops hitting the window reaches my ears, and I turn toward the windows and see it’s starting to rain. I haven’t felt rain on my skin in over a decade. I used to love a good rainstorm. Suddenly, the need to feel it is the only thing I can think of.

I unhook Hunter’s arms from around my waist and slip off his lap. “Where are you going?” he asks, but I don’t answer. I can’t. The need to feel the rain is my sole focus.