by Elise Jae
But I can’t, so I reach up, instead. Softly pressing my fingers to his lips.
Before I can think better of it, I say. “Good.”
From the other side of the space Arc vacated, Risk chuckles. “It’s very good.”
As soon as Arc is back, Shock hands me over. Like I’m supposed to be in Arc’s arms. And it feels right… but Shock’s arms felt right too.
It’s that strange scent. I want to lean over and see if Risk has it too.
“Seriously, though. How is it possible you guys aren’t freezing?” I snuggle down into them wanting the spicy scent to wrap around me, to permeate my skin and never leave.
Arc laughs over my head, but it’s not amusement that colors his tone. “So neither of your sisters explained that the brotherhood is populated by genetic experiments?”
The way he says it. The utter disdain in his voice. It makes the other two flinch, but I don’t think he notices.
The odd sync they’ve been in suddenly shifts and everything is just a little bit off.
“Laurel did, sort of.” I take a drink of water, hoping they’ll fill in the gaps.
“The Maker altered us,” Shock says it carefully. “And one of the ways the three of us changed, was related to body temperature.”
“One of the ways?” Laurel and Jessica had both made it seem like the members of the Brotherhood had only had one mutation. Strength, healing, speed, sight… all that superhero stuff.
This time, when Arc looks at the others, it’s the sort of glance I’ve seen kids shoot at one another when they realize they’ve said something they shouldn’t.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.”
“No.” Shock says, looking just a little confused. “We can trust you with that secret.”
Arc breathes a little easier, his fingers tighten on me… just enough to remind me he’s there.
“The heat is a byproduct of other changes.” He smirks, but it shifts to a real smile by the time he meets my eyes. “When you meet the others, you may understand what we’re talking about.”
“Arc could probably lift all three of us up at once if he wanted to.” Shock says, and the way he looks at Arc makes me wonder if there’s something more than friendship there.
“What about you?”
“He’s almost as strong as I am, they both are.” Arc rubs circles on my back, the friction adding a little more warmth.
“It’s a little case of ‘anything you can do, I can do better.’” Risk says, “Except the one who can do it better varies.”
“Arc can last out in the snow longer… he doesn’t get tired”
“Shock hasn’t mentioned it, but he’s a literal genius.”
“I’m really not.”
I want to point out that it almost seems like they’re trying to sell each other. But I don’t.
“And this guy,” Arc jerks his head at Risk. “Can see the future.”
My full attention snaps to Risk. I need an explanation, and I need it now.
RISK
Of course Arc would say it like that. He’s enjoyed teasing me about it since we escaped that hellish nightmare of our youths.
“It’s not clairvoyance.” Nothing at all like that. “I just have an eerily accurate intuition.”
“So you didn't see me coming?”
I shake my head. “But I can see options for where this might lead.”
Her brows rise on the word “options” and the slight tic of her lips changes the likelihood of several of those options.
Because I know that Arc wants to keep her. It would be obvious even if he was willing to let her go for longer than five minutes.
And Shock likes her too. He doesn’t like anyone but the two of us—even if he can fake it for the meetings.
“When was the last time you ate?” I ask, standing and heading for the fridge because I already know the answer is too long ago.
It’s probably the same for Arc.
He’s been running himself ragged, and I’m still not certain why.
It’s been a while since I could clearly predict what was going on with Arc.
I’m half way to the refrigerator when the doorbell peals and every one in the room flinches—myself included—but none of us mention that it’s the first time we’ve heard that particular sound.
“I ordered some clothes.” I say, shaking off the ill-ease of the bell. “Nothing fancy. It probably won’t even fit. But it’ll be warmer than what you’re wearing now.
The box was dropped on the stoop, the delivery driver long gone. Who knew if the scary stories that sent him running were about us, or the monsters we hunt.
“Where did those come from?” Shock is glaring at the box as I set it on the floor in front of her. “And when the hell did you do that?”
Instead of answering right away, I grab a knife, and a tablet. The first is for the box, which I cut open for her before moving to sit down.
A silly part of me is desperate for her to like the things I’ve chosen… even if they don’t fit.
“There’s a service. You put in a bunch of parameters, make some choices. They send you a box.”
“Same day?” she asks as she pulls open the flaps.
“As far as I know it’s mostly automated.”
The first thing she pulls out is the same icy blue as the snow in the shadow of our compound. It might be too big for her, but it looked warm and even though I doubt Arc will let her spend too much time on her own—Shock and I will also have a hard time with it—I’d rather she have the ability to keep herself warm.
It’s just one outfit. Something more comfortable than what she’s currently in.
Soft pants, a plain long sleeve shirt to go beneath the wrap sweater.
She pulls the pair of shoes from the bottom of the box and pulls the paper wrappers off.
“You got me slippers.”
“They didn’t have anything I thought would work for out in the snow.” I queue up the site and hand the tablet over. “Look through it, make any changes to the profile you need or want, and we’ll make sure you’re ready for whatever you might need.”
Arc takes it for her and she glances at it, briefly. “I’m going to go try these on first.”
She slips out of Arc’s lap, gathering up the items, and disappears into the back.
“How do you pick stuff?”
I move to Arc’s side, and Shock moves closer too, I only have to show them once, and then, I get to sit back and watch as they each add items to the bag.
I manage not to chuckle when Arc slides them into the lingerie section and he freezes.
“We’ll let her pick those out for herself,” Shock says, sliding them into the next section.
I don’t let the statement stand for long. “This time.”
Arc looks at me, his face softening with… hope. Then he looks back at the options… and stops on a pair of pajamas that are covered in chubby purple unicorns.
He hesitates for a half second, and then taps it through with a ridiculous grin on his face.
Leaving them, I grab a handful of things from the fridge. I have no idea what she wants, but I know what Arc will eat, and right now, I actually think he’ll take it.
Shock manages to look away from the tablet when I set the plate down on the table, and we share a look when Arc takes a piece of nutloaf almost on auto-pilot.
He’s still sorting through clothing and I wonder if I could get him to eat a whole meal in our presence again, so long as she’s here.
I look up when movement catches my attention. Chris is leaning against the wall, arms crossed over her chest, holding the sweater closed as she watches us.
I wonder what she sees, but now’s not the right time to ask.
She might tell us the truth.
Instead, I hold out my hand, and she comes back, wearing everything I selected. It all fits… even if some things are a little big.
“The slippers are perfect.”
“I cheated. I
checked your shoes while you were asleep.”
This time, she sits on my lap, but she’s curled in a way that she’s also leaning against Arc too.
“I didn’t think I was gone that long?” She looks at the tablet with a raised brow, and I have to chuckle at the number beside the bag.
They’ve selected forty five things for her to look at.
“Guys, this is a little ridiculous.” she says as she opens the tiled list. “How do I pare it down?”
I reach around her to show her where to press and hold to remove, and she settles back into us. Narrowing things down. Shock switches the channel, and settles back to watch a news broadcast, and Arc drops his head to my shoulder, to watch as she scrolls.
It’s so utterly domestic, it almost makes me shiver.
Arc is content enough to let me hold on to her for now, and she’s content enough to stay, so, I work my fingers into the tight muscles of her knee.
It’s difficult to not let my mind wander.
But it’s already gone too far. My body wants her.
She yawns. It’s a full body movement that shifts her against me, and when the motion stutters, I know she can feel how painfully hard I am.
I give her a winced smile. “Sorry.”
Her eyes search mine. “It’s okay.”
I look away, at the list that still has Arc’s chubby unicorn pajamas, and then I look at him. He’s watching us, but there’s a calmness in his face….
Was it possible to have her, and have each other still?
We’d talked about it once. A drunken pipe dream. After all, the way sian biology was set up, there could be no more than one man and one woman…. It was a trick, a prison… one that still made my skin itch to think about.
I could see it...
If there was anyone we might be able to try with… Christina might be it.
Three
CHRISTINA
I wake up in the same bed as before, alone.
A tiny shiver wracks through me, and I pull my arm back under the covers.
I keep expecting to roll over and be able to snuggle into a wall of alien man. I’ve certainly dreamed about it enough in my fitful naps.
I’ve never been this tired in my life, and I know it’s not from the cold.
If I had to guess, I’d say it was leftovers from whatever my kidnappers drugged me with. But I feel better when I’m around them.
I have no idea what time it is. There’s a storm outside the windows, and I haven’t seen a clock since I got here, but I don’t want to be alone right now.
When I venture out, it's the first time no one’s there to greet me.
The living area is silent, empty… and I hesitate, but desire wins over caution, and I pad further into the back halls, pausing at the open doorways.
I find Shock’s room first, and his eyes open as soon as I pause on the threshold.
The others are across the hall. I can see them from where I stand.
They’re asleep, and that little urge tugs at me.
Turning back to Shock, I silently hold out my hand. I don’t have to ask, sliding from his bed, he comes to me.
Hand in hand, we cross the hall, and crawl into the overly large bed… Arc doesn’t wake when he turns and drags me closer to him… like a boy with a stuffed animal. But Risk stirs.
He turns into us, and the warmth that suffuses me drives away the ugly feelings that had begun to coalesce in my veins.
But there’s something else about being with them, with all of them, that is just… right.
I fall back asleep, wrapped in these three men….
I’ve never slept better.
When I wake again, I find I’m the only one who was still asleep. The others are watching me. Our legs are all tangled together, and for a moment, I wonder what it would be like for this to be how I wake up every day.
Arc smooths back my hair. “Good morning.”
“Good evening,” Shock corrects him.
I want to kiss the corner of his mouth that quirks up.
But that smile disappears and they all turn sharply toward the door. A quick conversation goes on over my head.
“We have a visitor we have to go deal with. We’ll be right back.” Arc kisses my hair.
They get up, tucking me in and surrounding me with pillows to take their place in so efficient a manner, I don’t have the opportunity to argue.
But I’m not about to be left out.
It takes a minute to unwrap myself, and I make my way down the hall as quietly as possible, peaking out to see a fourth man… so much like them, and so utterly different.
I’m certain I don’t make a sound, but Arc’s head turns to me, so sharply, no one would miss it.
And the other man doesn’t.
I see Shocks’ shoulders drop in a silent sigh before he says, “Christina, this is Drift, head of the shadow zone brotherhood.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Eyes narrowed, he looks me over, and then turns back to the others, his words sharp and biting.
They’re arguing about me.
I don’t need to understand the words to know that much.
“Hey!” I shout, because I know there’s no other way they’ll hear me, but when they go silent and turn to me, I drop my voice to an acceptable level. “If you’re going to talk about things relating to me. You’d better do it in a language I can understand.”
They blink, and Shock is the first to smile. Drift is the last.
“Now, what is the problem?” Because I’ll be damned if I’m left out of anything concerning what happens to me now.”
Risk is the first to talk, and as always, he’s calm, his voice low. “Drift would like to take you to one of your sisters.”
I didn’t realize he’d know who I was at a glance.
Drift doesn’t actually look at me. “And they’ve told me I can’t.”
“No,” Shock has placed himself between me and Drift. “We said you can’t make her go anywhere, and that we want her to stay.”
Again, they aren’t looking at me. Except for Arc.
“There’s no damn heat in this ice box, she’ll freeze.”
“I’ve managed to keep warm so far.”
“It’s unacceptable. You can’t stay here.”
Something Laurel said in a call months ago comes back to me. “What does your bondmate think about this ultimatum?”
His eyes flash, and I know I’ve hit the right mark.
Kimba is technically his second in command in the eyes of the Brotherhood, but I’d be willing to guess she holds more power over him than any of them would guess.
Turning to Arc, I ask, “Is there any way we could loop her in on this conversation without causing her too much inconvenience?”
He finishes pressing some buttons on the tablet in his hand, and a wall screen flickers to life.
Drift barely gets out a protest before a woman’s face appears as she walks around the long side of a table, her focus is on the surface in front of her, as though she’s reading something.
“What can I do for the ice palace?” She asks.
“Actually, it’s what you can do for me.”
Her head snaps up and she looks at me with narrowed eyes. Not judging, just cataloguing.
“Well then, I guess we’d better introduce ourselves. I’m Kimba, the one standing furthest behind you belongs to me.”
“He’s why I’m calling. And my name is Christina… you know my sisters.”
“Yes I do. I’ve heard a lot about you, which is why I’m so surprised by your presence. Why is it the first I’m hearing of it.” Her gaze shifts behind me, and I know she’s looking at Arc.
He’s standing close enough I can feel his body heat.
“My arrival was unexpected, but we can get into the details of that later. Drift is trying to demand that I move to one of my sisters’ homes for the foreseeable future.” Drift tries to interrupt, but I hold up a hand. “Even though he’s been informed I
don’t want to go anywhere.”
The sooner he is out of the house, the better.
Kimba studies me a moment longer, and then her eyes travel over the others behind me.
“As long as your three hosts agree to allow you to stay, there’s no reason to move you. But please, do tell us if there’s anything you need. Anything at all. A space heater, perhaps?”
I don’t mention that I already have three. “Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”
She looks over my head and a single brow quirks. “And I think it’s time for you to come home so we can have a little chat.”
She stabs a finger onto the table, and disappears from the screen.
I turn and see Shock smiling at the floor, trying not to snicker.
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Drift isn’t talking to me. He’s glaring at Arc. “Just remember, if you don’t play fair, you might wind up losing in ways you didn’t expect.
“You only got what you deserve.” Risk says angling himself so he’s between them.
Whether it’s conscious or not, they other two are protecting Arc.
Drift starts to turn for the door, but pauses, studying me for a long moment. “Just get all of the facts before you do something you can’t take back.”
He sweeps a look over the three again and leaves.
I’m left staring at the closed door, wondering how I’m supposed to take that.
Arc picks me up again. If it didn’t feel like he thought I was going to disappear, it might have annoyed me. I might have thought that he didn’t believe I could stand on my own two feet.
Risk says something to both of them—I definitely need to learn their language—and he and Shock disappear down a dark stairwell.
Alone, in the quiet of their living room, held snugly in Arc’s arms, I consider asking why they’re so adamant about my staying… but I think I know.
I don’t know where the others have gone. Don’t know when they’ll be back. But I need to taste him. To see if it’s only their scent that draws me in.
“Arc?” I look up at him. “Could you put me down for a minute?”
