by A. J. Snyder
"Totally squashed now?" Carter asks, and the two of them nod in agreement. "Good," he says with a grin, looking up at me.
I take my seat again, satisfied.
Lucas turns to me and asks, "But, Trinity, what did you mean when you said you didn't know how much time you had left here?"
Shrugging my shoulders, I take a sip of water to allow myself a minute to gather my emotions so I don't start crying all over the table. Setting down the glass, I stare down at my plate when I say, "I don't know how long you'll want to keep me here. I mean, I don't offer much. I can't even set a decent trap," I say, my voice shaking with worry.
Carter scoffs at my admission. "You do a lot around here, Trinity. You've helped all of us a lot around the farm. It takes time to learn the lay of the land, and you've done great so far." He leans across the table and gives me his famous shit-eating grin. "Besides, I don't know if you realized this or not, but we all kinda like having you around."
I look between Jack and Lucas with worry. "But what about what happened yesterday? I don't want that to happen ever again."
"It won't," Jack says simply as if that solves everything, but I believe him nonetheless.
Lucas takes his hand in mine. "We all like you Trinity, and you told me you like all of us. We want to take care of you and keep you safe."
Owen, always the quiet one, speaks up and says, "You're not leaving. You're a part of our family now."
His words have tears flooding my eyes. "You all want me to stay?"
Lucas glances around at the guys, and they all nod in confirmation. Then his eyes meet mine again. "We'd love for you to stay with us. For as long as you want to."
The idea of being shared between four men is something new to me, but it just seems right. And now that my future isn't up in the air like I thought it was, I can enjoy my time here, getting to know all of them on a personal and intimate level.
I can easily see myself falling for each and every one of them. And while that scares me a little, it thrills me more.
CHAPTER 19
TRINITY
OVER THE NEXT few days, I help Carter and Lucas plant and harvest in the garden and learn how to set more traps with Jack. I'm gradually getting better at everything, learning more than I ever thought possible; and spending time with each of the guys has been wonderful.
But there is still one man in my life that remains more of a mystery to me than any of them, and that's Owen. We haven't been able to spend too much time together since he's always locked away in the library or his room reading or trying to come up with a new invention that would work on the farm.
And so when he tells me after dinner that he wants to show me something in his room, I'm excited and intrigued at the same time.
I walk into his bedroom and call out, "Owen?", into the darkness.
"Over here, Trinity," he says, his voice coming from the open doors to a small balcony.
Crossing the room, I go to him. The night air is perfect — not too cold, not too warm — and I inhale it deeply, taking in the sight of the farm laid out below us. There are two balconies on this side of the house for Owen's and Carter's rooms, but Carter never seems to use his. I can see why Owen likes it out here.
It's very peaceful and calming.
"What did you want to show me?" I ask him, curiosity getting the better of me.
A grin breaks out on his face, and I feel my heart skip a beat. "Come on," he says, moving to the edge of the balcony towards the roof. There is a small rope ladder that he begins to climb. And once he's on the top, he looks down at me.
I step up, placing my feet carefully on the rope as I climb the short distance up to him. He helps me up at the top, and I fall into his chest, giggling. He immediately pulls away and flashes me a bashful look over his shoulder as he carefully walks over to the flat part of the roof. It's the highest point of the roof, surrounded by low wrought iron fencing and looks like a tiny terrace.
He has a blanket, pillows, even a telescope up here, and I can't help but wonder how long he's been planning this.
"Do you come up here often?" I ask him.
He gives me a small shrug. "Sometimes. Mostly if I can't sleep."
I hop over the fencing and sit down beside him on the blanket. "It's nice up here," I remark.
"Yeah." And then he points and says, "Look up."
I was too busy looking down that I didn't even notice the beautiful blanket of stars in the night sky above us. "Wow," I gasp. Without any lights nearby, you can see everything clearly, and it almost takes my breath away with its magnificence. "It's beautiful," I whisper.
He nods in agreement. "It is."
"Where did you find the telescope?" I ask as I watch him setting it up.
"On one of the supply runs we did a few months ago. It's my most valuable treasure now." He looks through the eyepiece, and I can almost feel the peace it brings him. "It's nice to forget about the world for a while."
He looks up and motions for me. I move over in front of him. When I look into the eyepiece, I see a round, ochre-colored object. "Is that Mars?" I ask, glancing at him.
"Yep," he says, beaming at me proudly.
"Wow," I mutter in fascination. I'd never really been into science or space before the world took a turn for the worst, but I always found it interesting when I read articles on the internet or saw reports on the news.
He shows me the moon next and then a couple other planets. He goes through explanations and fun facts that have me captivated. He even cracks a few jokes. And by the time we get to constellations, I've fallen a little more for Owen. He's funny and sexy and oh so brilliant.
He's irresistible.
Once we're done star-gazing, we lay down on the blanket together, side by side.
There's not a cloud in sight, and so we can see the stars easily with the naked eye. He raises his hand and points to the brightest star in the sky. "That's Polaris, the North Star."
"At the end of the Little Dipper's handle?"
He chuckles and says, "Yeah."
I may not know technical names, but I know the Big Dipper and Little Dipper.
"And there's the…Big…Dipper," he says the layman's term with difficulty, and it makes me laugh.
"Go ahead. You can get technical on me," I tell him.
"Okay," he says with a grin. Owen prattles off the real names of the stars — Ursa Major, meaning Great Bear and Ursa Minor, meaning Little Bear — and even gives me the Greek mythology behind both of them. Then, he moves his hand over in a different direction and tells me, "That's Hercules." He points out the stars one by one, and I get a picture in my mind of what it's supposed to look like.
I curl up beside him as he shows me star after star, constellation after constellation; his mind full of a billion facts about things I never knew about.
Leaning up on my elbow, I stare down at him as he stares at the sky. "How come you never had a girlfriend, Owen?" I ask softly.
His hazel eyes bounce from me and back to the stars. "Uh, I'm not really sure. Never had the time I guess. No one was ever really interested…or showed it anyway."
"Well, if I had met you before all of this, I would have been very interested," I admit to him.
He gives me a frown in response.
"What?"
"You would have never noticed me before. You're so out of my league."
I roll my eyes to the heavens. "Whatever. I am not out of your league."
"Yes. Yes, you are." He leans up on his elbow to match my posture. "We were thrown together in this god-awful circumstance. That's the only way I'd have a shot with someone like you."
I pick at imaginary threads on the blanket. Maybe he is right. Maybe I never would have noticed him before. But none of that matters, because we're here now. "I'll be honest, before you just confessed all of…that, I didn't think you even found me attractive."
"Are you kidding? God, Trinity, you're gorgeous."
I smile at his words and look up at him. "Well, it doesn't matter if we w
ouldn't have met in the world before this one. We're here now, aren't we?"
His dark brows furrow as he absorbs my words. "That's true. It's like the universe plucked us out of millions and millions of stars and decided to put us in the same galaxy together."
I bite back a grin. If he wants to use science analogies, then so be it. But there's something else I can think of him using his mouth for… "Owen?"
"Yeah?" he asks.
"Just kiss me already."
With a shy grin, he leans forward and captures my mouth with his, stealing the breath right from my lungs.
His kiss is hesitant at first, but then quickly grows more heated and bolder. I didn't realize Owen would be such a good kisser, but I could stay here for hours just doing this alone. His lips are so soft.
His tongue flicks at the seam of my lips, and I open for him, giving him unfettered access to my mouth. Our tongues battle together as he moans into my mouth and runs his fingers across my cheek and into my hair.
When he pulls me closer, I can feel the growing bulge of his cock pressing against my inner thigh; and my hips involuntary jerk towards him.
He groans in response, rolling us over until he's on top of me. With my back pressing against the hard surface under the blanket, Owen takes control of the kiss, kissing me until we're both needy and breathless.
Suddenly, Owen pulls back, leaving us both panting. And it feels like forever until he finally speaks. "Trinity, I-I've never…I'm…I'm a…" he stammers nervously, meeting my gaze.
I put my fingertips to his lips and give him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Owen. Let me take care of you," I tell him.
Pushing gently on his chest, he moves until his back is on the blanket. His eyes never leave mine as I reach to unbutton his jeans. With his help, we push the material down his legs, along with his shoes. Leaning up, he yanks his shirt up over his head in one quick move. His chest and arms are muscular, and I watch his toned abs clench as he sits up and then lies back.
"Now you're turn," he says with a sexy grin. "I want to see you, Trinity. All of you."
Standing, I slowly remove my clothes, doing a strip tease for Owen. I watch as his tongue darts out and runs over his bottom lip. His heavy cock is lying on his chiseled stomach, and it jumps when my eyes land upon it.
Running my hands over my body, I feel like some type of goddess on top of this roof under the night sky with only the stars and moon lighting up our dark universe and casting a glow over our bodies.
Owen's eyes slowly scan the length of my nakedness in a lazy perusal as he licks his plump lower lip again. I can see the heat in his gaze.
Dropping to my knees between his thighs, I take his thick length in my palm, enjoying the feeling of his hot, velvety flesh as I stroke him slowly.
His stare is searing as he watches my head lower. Opening my mouth, I take the tip of him inside of me, licking around his crown, which causes him to gasp out loud. I run my tongue down his shaft as I cup his heavy balls into my hand, kneading them softly.
While massaging his balls, I take as much of him as I can into my mouth, sucking gently and slowly.
"Oh, god, Trinity," he groans as he grabs fistfuls of the blanket into his hands.
His cock swells in my mouth as I taste him, licking, sucking and then running the edge of my teeth gently along his shaft, which causes him to hiss out a string of expletives and his hips to involuntarily lift off the blanket.
Not wanting him to finish in my mouth, I let him slip out of my mouth and then straddle his lean but powerful thighs. I run my wet slit along his length, allowing my arousal to coat him. I'm so turned on right now I can't even think straight.
"Trinity," he says, his palm pressed to my cheek and gazing into my eyes adoringly. "I'm glad I waited. And I'm happy that my first time is with you."
I smile down at him, leaning forward to kiss him sweetly. "I'm happy too," I whisper against his lips.
Sitting back, Owen's fingers find my clit, rubbing me until my arousal is dripping down my thighs. I rub myself against him, his cock hot and hard like steel between us.
Not being able to wait another second without him inside of me, I guide his cock to my entrance, sinking down on his length as he fills me inch by glorious inch.
With my hands planted on his rock-hard abs, I ride him, staring up at the stars in the night sky for a moment before my eyes drift close from the incredible feeling.
Owen's hands grip my hips, driving me down onto him harder and harder, our heavy pants the only sound in the quiet darkness.
I grind down on him with every thrust, the sensation hitting just right on my clit and bringing me ever closer to orgasm.
Owen's hand moves from my hip up to my stomach and then finally up to my breast. He pinches my pebbled nipple, creating a mixture of pleasure and pain that has me reaching the end of the abyss that much faster.
"Owen!" I cry out as the orgasm washes over me and liquid pleasure floods through my veins.
He pulls me down to him, clamping his lips down on mine, swallowing my cries. Then, he lifts his hips and drives his cock in and out of me while I lay on his chest, completely helpless to his relentless rhythm.
This new angle is hitting just the right spot inside of me, and I can feel another orgasm quickly flowing through me on the tail end of the first one. I cry out against his mouth as he holds me and consumes me.
Breaking the kiss, he cries out, "Trinity!", before pulling out and erupting between our bodies, bucking his hips one, two, three more times.
Completely exhausted, I lay there in his arms as Owen runs his fingertips over every inch of me as if he's trying to memorize my body.
I lift my head, and our eyes lock as his fingers graze down my spine. "That was incredible," he whispers before placing a sweet kiss against my forehead.
I drop my head back onto his hard chest, listening to the sound of his racing heart beat until it eventually slows, along with his breathing.
And with a smile on my face, I fall asleep in Owen's arms on the rooftop under the stars with the world in chaos all around us.
CHAPTER 20
LUCAS
I WAKE UP in the morning alone. I know she went to Owen's room last night. He had told me about his plan to woo Trinity under the stars on the rooftop. I guess his plan worked, because Trinity's side of my bed is cold, which can only mean one thing.
She spent the night with Owen last night.
I expect a pang of jealousy to hit me just then. But surprisingly, it doesn't. Ever since we had our little talk, I feel like everything's out in the open. It's a relief really to not feel that green little monster creeping into my mind and shading everything black around me.
I can share Trinity and be okay with it. The other guys are sharing her with me, after all. And I am always the one she runs to whenever she needs help or has a question. I mean that has to count for something, right?
She's extremely important to me, priority number one, and I know she feels the same way about me.
That's all that really matters.
After a shower, I go downstairs to find everyone in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Owen has a permanent, goofy grin on his face. And instead of feeling angry or resentful towards him, I'm actually happy that he finally got laid.
Owen had confessed to me a few months back that he'd never slept with a girl. And he truly didn't think he ever would, since the world went to hell in a handbasket.
So, I'm glad the guy finally got to experience something he should have a long time ago.
After breakfast, we all go our separate ways. I feed the animals and keep myself busy collecting eggs and milk.
And when I go into the house later that afternoon, I find Trinity sitting by the window in the living room. She has a bag of old beads and string in her hand, and she's making some type of jewelry. She looks so relaxed and…so damn perfect.
I walk over to her and plant a kiss to the top of her head. "I missed you in my bed last night," I confess,
sitting down across from her.
She slips another bead onto the string before cutting the end with a pair of scissors. "Jealous?" she asks hesitantly, her eyes looking up to search my face for clues.
"A little," I admit. "But I'll get over it," I assure her.
She gives me a relieved smile.
"I'm glad you were Owen's first," I whisper just in case he's near.
Her smile widens. "I'm glad too," she confesses. And then I watch as she ties the end of the string and slips the beaded necklace around her neck. "Do you like it?" she asks, gesturing towards her creation.
"It's perfect. Just like you."
She hops up from her chair and sits down on my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. "How did I get so lucky to find a house full of hot, gorgeous, wonderful men?"
"We're the lucky ones," I tell her, pulling her in for a deep, wet kiss.
When I pull back, I trail my fingers along the stitches on her forehead. "These are ready to come out."
"Will it hurt?" she asks, biting her lower lip, which drives me crazy.
"Don't worry. I'll make you feel all better afterwards."
Standing up and lifting her up in my arms at the same time, she squeals in surprise and then laughs. It's a melodic sound that I could listen to for the rest of my life.
And I plan on doing just that.
CHAPTER 21
TRINITY
LUCAS AND I are lying in bed, talking softly to one another in the dark, when suddenly the ceiling light flickers. We both sit up in surprise and stare at the bulb as it flickers again and then stays on.
"Holy shit, it worked," Lucas mutters incredulously under his breath. "He did it."
I can't help the big smile that spreads across my face in what can only be described as pure, undiluted pride. Owen has been working on perfecting a wind turbine for a while now, and he had been trying to figure out the wiring to the house that would be safe and efficient.
Lucas turns to me, and we share an unspoken agreement. We both bound out of bed and race down the stairs. Jack and Carter are already there, patting Owen on the back and congratulating him.
