Page 263 of Second Sets Omnibus

I do a twirl with my arms out wide. This is what true freedom feels like. It’s so damn liberating. Here I am in the middle of nowhere, nearly naked, with four sets of eyes glued to my every move. I swear, even through the sheets of rain, I see their eyes dilate with thick amounts of lust.

“I have,” Kieran remarks through the commotion.

I stop my spin, grinning at his memory. It’s funny how he forgot so much about me and our early childhood. Thanks to Nigel, Asher’s father. Yet, in times like this, his memories sneak up on him and slap him upside the head, reminding him of the ghost he left behind in the apartments.

I grin. “It was summertime. A random warm rain had just come through. We were on the hill behind our apartment building. It was either we stay dry…”

“Or my guitar does,” he marvels, scratching at his chin with a little chuckle.

“So, we chose your guitar to leave under the secret spot.”

“Then you grabbed my hand and led me out into the rain,” he says, blinking several times and watching me, curling my fingers in their direction.

“So. What do you say? Do you guys fancy a cold dance in the rain on our last night before we return to East Point?” I ask, moving to the center of the front yard with my arms stretched out wide. Leaning my head back, I take a deep breath.

A drum booms in my chest, knocking against my ribs when they sit in the car, darting their eyes at one another. After a few agonizing seconds, they slowly climb out, shutting the doors behind them with predatory intent in their eyes. One by one, they take their shirts, shoes, and pants off. Together, they collect my clothes and shut them in the SUV.

I suck in a breath at their unholy, ripped bodies on display for me and only me. Oxygen refuses to fill my lungs when they walk in unison toward me. No, not walking. They’re stalking toward me with hooded eyes. Each of them looks like they’re about to sink their teeth into my flesh and mark me as theirs. Fuck. Maybe that’s what I want. You know, a wall of man meat decked out in muscles and tattoos. And they’re all fucking mine.

Their feet squish in the grass, squelching with every step they take with vicious smirks lining their lips and eyeing each other when they finally stop before me. All their gazes fall on me, taking me in. Inch by miserable inch, flames lick at my flesh from the intensity of their stares. I no longer feel the icy burn of the rain—just the deep heat blossoming in my guts.

“This is for you, River Blue,” Kieran says over the noise. “Everything from here on out is for you. For Lyric.”

“We all agree,” Asher says, blinking rapidly as raindrops collect on his eyelashes.

“Everything we do is for you, Pretty Girl.”

“Never again will you wonder if we’re in this,” Callum says, licking his lips.

“We’re all in, River Blue. And you’ll never get rid of us now,” he says, discreetly eyeing the other boys. They nod in unison.

The entire world flips on its axis and stops spinning. One by one, they fall to their knees in worship, staring at me with lust dripping from their eyes. More than lust. It’s dedication. Once again, they’re proving to me that they’ll drop everything for me. Even to their knees in a time of uncertainty and chaos.

Fuck. My heart stops working. I’m a dead woman walking as I stare at them.

“What the hell are you doing?” I breathe, putting a hand on my chest.

“Kneeling before our queen,” Kieran says, grinning when he sees my expression.

“Long live our queen!” Rad hoots, tossing his fist into the soaked air.

“What the fuck,” I mutter. “You guys don’t have to do that.”

Although I had envisioned it a long time ago—them on their knees, begging me to forgive them for what they did. Only in that scenario, I turned my back on them with a humph. Back then, these boys could have done nothing to earn my forgiveness.

Oh, how the times have changed since they sauntered back into my life with cocky attitudes. They’ve proven themselves to me over and over again. There’s no way I could turn my back on them. Not after everything we’ve been through.

Our tale is fucked up, but it’s the kind of fucked up I never want to give up. No relationship is perfect, and we’re the prime example. Not only because there are four of them and one of me, but because of the past.

Callum smiles, shifting his weight. “We told you we’d get on our knees for you.” Wait…I don’t recall this conversation. Howdrunk was I before? Shit. Did I demand this of them? “And you said you better, Little Star.”

“Facts,” Rad agrees with a grin.

Well, shit. Maybe I was drunker than I thought after the show. I slightly recall asking them to kneel in the back room. But that was for a completely different reason.

“This is our devotion,” Asher says, clearing his throat. “We know you’ll have doubts, Little Brat. We know you’ll fall and break and cry. But we’ll always be here to pick you up when necessary. We’re your nets when you fall.”

Be still my beating heart.