Page 28

AURELIA

I feel like a new woman when I wake up in the middle of the night.

The feeling fades when I open my eyes and realize where I am—when I feel the heavy weight of a strong arm keeping me in place, and my pussy twinges at the same time with a reminder of what happened after Seth finished reading to me.

I’m in Khalil’s bed again, and he’s lying on his back next to me with his eyes closed. One muscled arm is bent under his head while his other hand rests on his abs. His braids are secured under a durag, the black satin material dark against the stark white pillow. He doesn’t have a shirt on, and I take one wild guess that he’s naked below the waist, too.

Finding Khalil sleeping in his own bed isn’t what surprises me.

Waking up in Khalil’s bed doesn’t shock me one bit, either.

The puff of air I feel blowing through my curls makes it even more obvious than the arm around me that Khalil and I aren’t alone in his bed. I dare to peer over my shoulder, and Seth’s face comes into view. It’s his arm holding me close. His dark lashes sweep his cheeks as he sleeps soundly, but remembering what happened the last time he didn’t, I gently push his hand off me.

Seth moans, and I flinch.

When he doesn’t wake up and strangle me again, I breathe a sigh of relief and quietly pull the covers aside. Since I’m in the middle, the sheets are pulled off Khalil’s waist where they’re draped, revealing that he’s wearing boxer shorts at least.

I wait a few seconds to see if the movement wakes him before sitting up.

Crawling to the foot of the bed without so much as jostling the mattress is tough, but I manage. I even get both feet on the cold floor and straighten.

But I don’t get more than a step toward the door before a deep, rumbling voice says, “I didn’t give you permission to leave my bed, Aurelia.”

Not sleeping deeply enough, apparently.

Spinning around, I have a lie spilling off my tongue by the time I face him. “I have to ask your leave to use the bathroom now?”

Khalil peeks one eye open and uses it to look me up and down. “Sure,” he says to be a dick.

Adopting my sweet tone—America’s sweetheart’s voice—I ask, “Can I go pee, master? Is that okay?”

My glower doesn’t faze him as he stretches his long body before rolling onto his stomach. “You may.” Teeth clenching, I start to leave the room when he adds, “And then come right back to bed.”

Damn it!

His voice was muffled by the pillow, but I know pretending I hadn’t heard him won’t work. No way out of it now, I leave to go pee, knowing he’ll be listening for evidence that I am. After I’m done, I stare in the mirror and look for signs that they’ve ruined me beyond repair.

Other than the sweet ache between my legs, I feel no worse for wear, so I shut off the light and leave the bathroom. I guess I took too long because Khalil is sitting up and resting against the headboard when I walk back inside the bedroom. Seth is still asleep, and I absently rub my neck as I pray to God he stays that way.

“Thanks for the shirt,” I say as I walk toward the bed and round the foot of it to stand on Khalil’s side.

“No problem…” His voice trails off and Khalil looks at me strangely when I continue to stand by the bed rather than climb over him. “What the fuck are you doing, Aurelia?”

“Scoot over.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to sleep next to him.”

“ Why? ” When I don’t respond, understanding dawns, and Khalil sighs before pointing at all the tiny light woven through the beautifully twisted canopy. “It’s safe, Goldilocks. He’s not going to hurt you.”

“Look…” I huff. “Seth told me why he has nightmares, so I’m not holding what happened against him. I’m truly not.” Resting a hand over my heart, I stare Khalil in his brown eyes and hope he can see the truth in mine. “But it makes no difference if Seth kills me accidentally or on purpose. I’ll still be dead.”

“He told you about Isaac?” Khalil sounds surprised.

“Not much, but enough.”

Khalil doesn’t respond. He just lifts me off my feet by my waist and dumps me on the bed next to him—between him and Seth. “Oh, my God,” I groan. “You guys are the biggest assholes! Does how I feel really not matter to any of you?”

I don’t wait for an answer and start to crawl to the end of the bed. I’ll take sleeping on the floor rather than with any of them at this point. God, they’re such jerks!

I don’t get far before Khalil wrestles me onto my back and between them again.

“Get off me!”

“How about you stop being such a worrisome pain in the ass and look .”

I hear something metal rattle against wood. When I turn my head, I see Khalil holding the slack in a short, thick chain attached to the headboard with cuffs at the end and Seth’s left hand dangling from it.

I gasp in horror. “You tied him up?”

Khalil narrows his gaze. “I’m starting to think you have what he has,” he remarks, referring to Seth’s DID.

“Screw you, okay? I don’t like this. Untie him. I can go sleep on the couch. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is to me. I want you in my bed where you belong, Goldilocks. And do you think you’re the first Seth almost killed in his sleep? Why do you think the cuffs were already there?” I hadn’t noticed them before, honestly. I’d always been so quick to leave Khalil’s bed whenever I found myself in it. “And anyway, tying Seth up tonight was his idea. He wanted to hold you and be there when you woke up to make sure you were okay after taking all three of us. I offered to let you both sleep here and keep an eye on the situation, but Thorin wouldn’t have it after what happened last time, so Seth let us cuff him.”

I bite my tongue when I feel myself about to ask why Thorin isn’t here, too. The bed is large enough to fit all four of us but barely. We’d have to get real close and personal to make it work, and I don’t think we’re there yet. I’m flipping out over waking up and finding myself sandwich between two of them. All three of my mountain men would have sent me into a spiral.

“Are you implying that there were times you cuffed Seth without his consent?”

Seeing an argument on the horizon, Khalil groans and rolls off me. He starts rubbing his eyes, pretending he’s suddenly too exhausted to talk. Sitting up, I shock us both when I straddle his waist until his strong body is locked between my thighs. Khalil’s hands automatically find my ass and start massaging. My body craves his touch, even if my heart and mind rebel against it.

Well, not so much my heart these days and only the untampered part of my brain that remembers I’m not here by choice.

Luckily, Khalil provides the perfect distraction.

“You don’t understand what he was like before you, Goldilocks. Seth didn’t only try to murder Thorin and me when he had a nightmare. He would do it just because he didn’t like the shape of the clouds in the sky that day. He’d say they were suspicious.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Actually, I’m sugarcoating it.” Khalil turns his head and pushes aside the ends of his braids peeking from the bottom of the durag. I can see a long scar on his throat, starting from under his ear that I’d never noticed before.

“Seth did that?”

“He tried to cut my throat once because I said I missed boxing.”

“Well, that makes sense,” I mumble without thinking. I don’t realize how odd it sounds until Khalil looks at me funny. “Seth told me he blamed you and Thorin for not being there for Zeke when Isaac tricked him. Saying you missed boxing must have triggered those impulses. He might have even thought you were planning to leave Zeke again.”

“Yeah.” Khalil stares off, and I can tell he’s blaming himself too. “I figured that might be the reason he hates us.”

“Khalil…” I grab his chin between my fingers and force his gaze to return to mine. “You do know it’s not your fault, right?”

He hums noncommittally and then glances at Seth before shrugging. “It doesn’t matter what I know or what’s true. What matters is that Seth blame us, and there’s nothing I can do to change what happened to Zeke—to both of them.”

“You’re right. There’s nothing you can do about that, but there’s plenty you can do to reassure him that you won’t leave again.”

Khalil smiles a little sarcastically, flashing straight, white teeth. “You mean like moving to the middle of nowhere and staying put for almost a decade?”

“Close. You’re here because you think you have to be, not because you want to be. Don’t you think Zeth knows that?”

“Who?”

“ Zeth . Zeke and Seth,” I explain when he continues to stare at me cluelessly.

Khalil’s expression turns wary. “They’re not the same person, Aurelia. You know that, right?”

“Of course. I’m shipping them.”

He pauses. “You’re what?”

“Damn, I forgot you’ve been up here forever. And let me tell you, you’ve missed a lot. But also…not a damn thing,” I ramble nervously when Khalil just continues to stare up at me like I’ve grown two heads. This might not be the right household to joke about that. “Shipping is when you pair two people—usually romantically, but not always—together.”

“And people do this because?”

“It’s fun and cute, and we’re lazy.”

“All right.” Khalil stares at me for a moment longer, and then he turns his head to stare at Seth like he’s seeing his frenemy through new eyes. Khalil’s eyes are calculating when his attention eventually returns to me. “So, you’re saying Thorin and I should stop acting like a captive, and Seth will stop treating us like one?”

I’m already nodding, and it’s not until Khalil grins that I realize I was setup. He looks triumphant and adorable as he playfully slaps my ass hard enough to make it wobble.

And now I want to murder him.

“Good night ,” I say tightly.

Sliding off Khalil’s body, I return to my spot between them while Khalil turns on his side, giving me his back. After a few minutes, I’m still staring at the canopy, admiring the woven lights that make Zeth feel safe. The fact that Khalil cared enough to do this for his friend and brother has me regarding him differently, and I don’t want to do that, so I finally give voice to the reason sleep evades me.

“What happened last night?” I ask, knowing Khalil is still awake. Even though he’s clearly a light sleeper, he won’t let himself fall back asleep until he’s sure I am. “I don’t remember anything after Seth…finished. Did I pass out? Did you…?” Fuck me .

I can’t bring myself to ask and give voice to this new violation that makes me feel all kinds of screwed up when I feel that familiar heat blooming in my belly.

Khalil lifts his head to peer over his shoulder at me. “Do you really want to know?”

My gaze drops. I stare at the blanket covering me, and I nod. “Yes.”

“I fucked you.”

“Oh.”

“Do you have a problem with that?” he asks curiously.

A dry laugh punches out of me. “Would it make a difference if I did?”

“No.”

“Then I’m not upset.”

At some point, I realized the only choice my mountain men had left me was anger. I could choose to hate them for the forbidden things they forced on me, or accept that I didn’t hate it as much as I’d like to.

Currently, I’m teetering somewhere in the middle.

“Did you like it?” I don’t know why I ask. I shouldn’t care. He’s a monster, and I’m one for liking that he is.

Khalil takes a while to answer. “It was cool.”

My stomach growls at that moment, and it’s hard to miss in the quiet room. I remember that I tapped out while they were fucking me and skipped dinner. Khalil sighs heavily, then leaves the bed and room without a word. He returns three minutes later with dinner and a glass of water.

“Who cooked?” I ask in surprise as I accept the plate of trout, wild rice, and carrots.

Khalil places my water on the nightstand. “Thor.”

Taking a tentative bite of the trout I’d thawed and seasoned earlier, I’m pleasantly surprised by the burst of flavor.

Holy shit, I’m getting better.

“This isn’t bad,” I say when I notice how tender the trout is. It’s pretty fucking easy to overcook fish, as I’ve learned the hard way. “Why doesn’t Thorin do the cooking since he’s clearly better at it than me?”

“Because it’s unfair to ask him to hunt the food and cook it too. We do take turns, though.”

“So you and Seth don’t hunt with him?” I ask.

“We do occasionally, but we rarely catch anything. We mostly go to keep Thorin company.”

“Hmm…”

Khalil notices the wheels turning in my head and says, “What?”

“Nothing.” I scarf down the food until the plate is empty, but when I go to leave the bed and take it back upstairs, Khalil takes it from me and leaves the room.

This is new—being pampered and cared for by them.

I’m curled up next to Seth, timidly running my fingers through his dark hair by the time Khalil returns. I see him pause in the doorway, but he doesn’t remark on my change of heart to snuggle with Seth as he goes to his side of the bed and climbs back in.

As soon as he does, Seth’s breathing changes, and he awakens with a groan. I force myself to stay where I am, to not leave his arms when he might need me, and to not be afraid. I’m just starting to relax when he mumbles with his eyes closed, “Sunshine?”

My fingers reach out of their own accord to caress his stubbled jaw. “I’m here, Seth.”

The chain rattles when he drops his cuffed hand. There’s just enough slack for him to circle my waist with both arms and pull me closer.

I let him.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” I scold when I remember how it felt to have him inside me, taking and owning what’s his. “Your first time should have been special. I would have made it special if you’d given me time.” It takes me a moment to realize I’m pouting.

Seth tucks an errant curl behind my ear without even opening his eyes. It’s the same one that’s always falling down the center of my forehead and brushing my top lip. “It was special, Sunshine. It was with you.” I’m quiet for a long time, so he peeks an eye open. “Was yours?”

I snort. “No.”

Behind me, I hear Khalil grumble sleepily, “What’s his name?”

“And would you like us to kill him slowly or quickly, Sunshine?”

I roll my eyes because, really ? Hypocrites much? My first time wasn’t good or memorable, but it was a hundred percent consensual, which is more than these two can say. “None of your business, creeps.”

Eyes closed once more, Seth brushes his cold lips over my forehead. His chest gives such a deep rumble in contentment that my toes curl in the sheets as he says, “We’re your creeps.”

“What’s this?” I ask as I hold the bottle of conditioner— my conditioner—that Thorin gave me after I made them breakfast and then waited on them while they ate, refilling the plates and mugs in my milkmaid costume like some kind of medieval tavern wench.

Some dark part of me I’m not yet ready to give credence to even liked it. It’s been fucking me up ever since, so I was grateful when Thorin pulled me aside and unknowingly took my mind off it.

How the hell had they found my expensive conditioner in all of that ? Thorin and I are standing by the floor-to-ceiling A-frame window that overlooks the upper deck and Cold Peaks. I still haven’t found it in me to enjoy the view, though I pretend I can’t get enough of it whenever I stand or sit here for minutes, sometimes hours at a time, looking for a search plane to flag down.

“It’s your reward for last night.”

I gape at it and then at him. “No, this isn’t enough.”

“Excuse me?”

I toss the conditioner, and it hits his chest before falling to the floor at our feet. “Need I remind you that I let all three of you fuck me last night? Rewarding me with the conditioner that I already own is not enough. I want more,” I say, like the spoiled princess they already think I am.

But fuck ’em. I bet none of them have ever taken it up the ass thrice in one night.

“Like what, Aurelia?”

I don’t even pretend to think about it as I cross my arms and pop my hip. “I want the loft.”

Thorin looks stumped for a moment, and then he just looks annoyed.

God, he’s such an asshole.

Out of three of them, he’s the only one I’m having a hard time waving the white flag for. He’s the only one who hasn’t tried to make me feel like he actually wants me here.

In my peripheral, I can see Khalil and Seth’s eyes darting back and forth as they silently watch Thorin and me go at it from the living room…again.

We’ve been fighting nonstop ever since we made it back to the cabin almost a week ago. Thorin’s pissed because I ran, and I’m pissed because I know if it were solely up to him, he would have let me die. And I still let him use me.

“For what?”

“To sleep? For a space to call my own? You all claim this is my home now, and I should get used to it, but there’s nothing here that’s mine.”

Shrugging, he says, “So, take the couch. We have two.”

“I want somewhere private to sleep and relax.”

“No. You want someplace you think we can’t get to you.”

My shoulders drop as I say a little despondently, “I didn’t fight any of you last night.”

“You fought a little.”

“Because I know you like it!”

Gripping my neck, Thorin drags me close, but he doesn’t squeeze. He just wants to remind me that he could . He just wants an excuse to touch me, and dammit, I’m panting for it.

“You liked it too, Aurelia. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re different from us,” he says in the low voice that I’ve come to know means sex is on his mind—hot, filthy, raw, animalistic sex .

My nostrils flare as I stomp down the urge to submit. My pussy will not be calling the shots this time, thank you.

With Seth, it feels like we’re two horny teenagers who’ve just discovered our bodies. With Khalil, I’m the outmatched novice being turned out and wrung dry by someone with far more experience. But with Thorin…God, it feels like we’re guided by carnal instinct alone. There’s no other reason why we feel the need to pick a fight whenever one of us wants the other. It’s foreplay that’s just for us.

“Those are my terms, Thorin .”

He shoves me away from him when he lets me go. “I’ll think about it.”

“Well, I’ll think about letting you touch me the next time your dick is hard.”

“As you love to remind us, wolf, what makes you think I’ll care if you want it?”

My nostrils flare. “Go to hell.”

“I’ll fucking run there if it means I don’t have to listen to your ungrateful ass.”

“Ungrateful?” I shriek. “Ooooh! What do I have to be grateful for? Huh? Tell me, Thorin. Please explain to me why coming inside me equates to a half-empty bottle of conditioner. Am I really worth so little to you?”

His blue eyes flare in shock as if I’d slapped him, but the reaction is gone as fast as it appeared. He shoves a hand through his blond hair, his jaw ticking as he looks away briefly before meeting my gaze again. “Fine. You want the loft? Take it,” he says through clenched teeth. “But make no mistake. When we tell you to sleep in our beds, your ass better fucking run to it.”

“Fine!”

“ Fine .” Tugging me forward by my corset, Thorin kisses me hard enough to bruise my lips before pulling back and glaring down at me. “And just so we’re clear, never imply that you mean nothing to me again. It’s a fucking lie, and I won’t tolerate it, wolf.”

“If you want me to believe it, Thorin, it’s not enough to say it. You have to show me. I want to feel it.”

Thorin stares at me, his gaze no longer angry. I’m unsure when he let me go and left me standing there alone.