Page 46 of Crushing Clover

Days later, I woke to the sound of birds making the most of the morning, which was already in full swing. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and baking bread made me slightly less resentful of the daylight.

I stretched, still luxuriating at the feel of waking up in an actual bed. It would be a long time before I took something so simple for granted again.

Lucky was curled around me, and Saint had accidentally woken me when he’d gotten out of bed earlier.

The shower was running, which meant he was probably in there.

It took a few minutes to disentangle myself from Lucky’s tentacle-like hold, but I eventually managed to slide out of bed and head to the bathroom, tucking my errant right breast back into my tank top and readjusting my underwear.

I let myself into the bathroom to pee, covertly watching Saint soap himself. It was better than any cable program I’d ever watched.

“You better not flush that toilet again, or I’m coming out there to make you regret it, bootlicker.”

I held up my hands in supplication. “It was an accident, I swear.”

He arched a skeptical brow at me, as though still convinced I was lying about the day before.

Smart, because I was.

“Besides, you can’t hold me responsible for things Lucky dares me to do.”

“I can absolutely hold you responsible for things Lucky dares you to do. You know better. If it happens again, I’m going to make you very sorry.”

“Yes, Saint.” Impulsively, I kissed the glass between us at his groin level as I got off the toilet and was surprised to see a flicker of interest in his gaze.

I washed my hands quickly and took off out the door before he could drag me in there to hold me accountable for my impulsive flirtation.

“Is Rush making bread?” Lucky asked groggily.

“Either that or we’ve woken up in heaven.”

“If you were still right here, it would be.” He patted the spot right in front of his chest where I’d been lying moments before.

“Go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up when the food is ready.” I crawled onto the bed and kissed his forehead.

He settled back into his pillow, smiling sleepily to himself. “Love you.”

“What?” I froze in place, waiting for him to repeat or deny what he’d said. Unfortunately, the only response I got was a snore.

He’d probably been mostly asleep and had said it automatically, but even so, the warmth that bloomed through me lightened my steps as I made my way down the hall to the kitchen. Rush looked immaculate, as though he’d showered and shaved before starting breakfast.

“You’re up early,” I said cheerily.

“Breakfast isn’t going to make itself.”

I thought of making a joke about Pop-Tarts, but the last thing I wanted to do was dissuade this man from making bread for me first thing in the morning—not that it was for me, necessarily, but I got to enjoy it, too.

My mouth watered simply thinking about it, and I inhaled appreciatively, wishing I could roll around in the scent.

“Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything,” I said honestly. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for any of them at this point.

“Do you know where the convenience store is down the street?”

My heart lurched into my throat, and I swallowed, but nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Can you please go get some butter? I didn’t realize we were running so low.”

“Yes, sir.” I hurried back to the bedroom, stripped off my tank top, and threw on a pretty dress.

He was letting me go alone. The idea was both exhilarating and terrifying. What if Annika’s people were watching? We hadn’t seen or heard from them, that I knew of, but that didn’t mean they weren’t keeping an eye on things.

What if the guys got in trouble for letting me do this?

I came out of the bedroom with my sandals already on, and my hair a mess of tangled curls. I ran my fingers through it, hoping for the best, but I didn’t want to delay breakfast. The horror of the bread cooling off before we had a chance to enjoy it hurried my steps.

“Grab money from my wallet.” He gestured toward the entryway and the bowl where they kept their keys and wallets.

“Yes, sir.”

I practically skipped over to it, feeling light and excited at the thought of taking a walk down the street all by myself, as though I were a kid running an errand for my dad for the first time.

I dug Rush’s wallet out of the bowl and opened it, surprised to find it completely stuffed with cash.

It barely closed. What was he doing with so much cash on hand?

They usually paid for everything with phone apps.

Hesitantly, I grabbed a twenty and tucked it in my dress’s pocket, not sure how much real butter would cost at a convenience store. I let myself out, closing the door quietly behind me.

It was a little disorienting when I got to the street, and I felt conspicuous walking down the sidewalk. Cars passed, their drivers seeming oblivious to me. The walk only took about ten minutes, but my paranoia made it feel much longer.

As I entered the store, I realized I’d forgotten to ask what kind of butter to get.

I stared into the cooler, trying to remember the label on the one that was in the fridge a few days ago.

Eventually, I chose one with salt and one without, not sure which he’d want.

It wasn’t like it would go bad in a house where someone was always cooking.

The man at the counter smiled at me more broadly than he had at the man who’d been in front of me in line.

“That’s a lot of butter,” he remarked. His eyes came back to me again as he took the money from my hand, and it didn’t seem like an accident when his fingers brushed against mine.

I gave a tight smile. “My husband is baking this morning. I wasn’t sure which kind to get.”

“Why don’t you text him?”

Duh.

My hand instinctively went to my pocket, which was silly because I hadn’t had a phone in months. Hell, even if I had a phone, I’d have no idea how to get a hold of the guys. I didn’t know their numbers.

“Forgot your phone at home, sweetheart? You could borrow mine if you want.”

“Oh, no thanks.”

“Do you have Insta? You should add me.”

I flushed. At one point this sort of interaction had been normal to me, but I was so used to having large men standing on top of me every time I left the house, I wasn’t sure how to do this anymore. I went with lying.

“Oh, I don’t have Insta. My husband is the jealous type.

” I wrinkled my nose like my husband was a bit of a pain in the ass.

Husband—what a weird idea. Which of the three of them would I have chosen in my old life?

Not Saint, that was for sure. He was too mean, even if I was hopelessly attracted to him.

“It could be our little secret.” He winked at me, and I shrugged helplessly as he returned my change.

“Sorry.”

He made a sour face, and I heard him mutter as I walked away, “Stuck up bitch.”

The comment straightened my spine, and I left the store with my bag of butter, the last dregs of excitement about this excursion crashing and burning.

I headed to the house, increasing my pace while trying to keep it slow enough that I didn’t arouse suspicion.

What if the guy followed me? He was working, so he probably wouldn’t leave the store, but he’d seemed pretty pissed.

By the time I got back to the house, I was sweating from the brisk walk and the heat of the morning, and my dress was clinging to my skin.

Was this dress too revealing? It was one of the ones Lucky had chosen, so it was a little low-cut but nothing risqué.

The skirt reached my knees. It was a bit on the sexy side, but mostly wholesome.

I let myself in and found Lucky standing in the middle of the living room looking concerned and subdued.

His eyes flashed with surprise when he saw me.

“What happened?” I asked, bringing the butter to Rush who was pulling the bread out of the oven.

He put the bread down on the stove with more care than was strictly necessary.

“Did I get the right kind of butter?” I asked even though there was no way they could have seen through the bag. Was I in trouble or something?

Rush turned and looked at me. “You’re here.”

“Sorry if I was slow, I couldn’t figure out what kind to get, so I got two,” I said, brows raised in confusion. I took the change out of my pocket and put it on the counter with the receipt. “It’s all there, sir.”

He huffed a laugh and grabbed the front of my dress, yanking me close. His beard tangled in my hair as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“You came back,” he said, smiling against my hair.

“What do you mean?”

“There was two thousand dollars in my wallet, Clove.”

“I took a twenty because I didn’t know how much it would be. I hope that’s okay.”

He kissed me, long and deep, and I was so confused that all I could do was tip my head back to give him better access to my mouth. I kissed him back, not about to complain. What on earth?

Every inch of me responded to him, melted into him like the butter I’d bought.

When he came up for air, the look in his blue eyes was pleased rather than heated. Affectionate instead of lustful.

“We thought you might take the money and run.” Lucky joined us, turning my chin so he could kiss me too.

“But Cygnet!” I said, shocked. “You have to keep me until you pay Warren back. I would never jeopardize that for you—and I’d never take your money. I figured it was part of the next payment, or maybe for supplies. Either way, it’s none of my business.”

“You wouldn’t take it and go…not even to give yourself a life?” Lucky asked.

I looked at him, incredulous. “Why would I want to leave you?”

The two of them laughed, and the heavy feeling in the room completely dissipated.

“So, you’re here because you’re choosing to be here,” Lucky said.

“You seriously thought…” I shook my head. “Even if I was going to take off, do you honestly think I would steal from you?”

“You’re both so fucking gullible. That red-headed viper doesn’t have anywhere else to be,” Saint said sourly, talking about me like I wasn’t in the room.

I hadn’t even noticed him leaning in the doorway—dark, brooding, and infinitely smackable.

“That’s the only reason she came back, so don’t go falling in love with her. ”

Viper? What the fuck had I done to deserve that? I thought of saying so, but there was no point—he wouldn’t change his mind, and the other two didn’t agree with him anyway.

Eventually, I simply said, “I don’t want to be anywhere else.” Weirdly, it was the truth.

“Sure.”

I half expected Rush or Lucky to defend me, but they opted for keeping the peace.

The private smile I got from Rush made it all better.