by Ava Mason
I grinned back. All the adrenaline running through my body had been burned, pushed, fucked out.
Then his face grew serious. “Don’t ever die. It would kill me. It would kill us.”
I nodded. “You guys, too. I don’t know what would’ve happened if…” I still couldn’t say it, couldn’t think of what would’ve happened…
He grabbed some clean toilet paper from under the sink and handed me some. “Speaking of the guys.” He cleaned himself and buttoned up his pants. “We need to talk. Everyone together. The tension is getting too thick between us. And Avery, he…”
I put my hand against his mouth and he looked at me, reading me. I pulled him close and he wrapped his arms around me. I sighed and leaned into him. I just needed to feel him for a moment.
We stood there in silence and I took in a deep breath, calming my troubled heart. He didn’t say anything else for a while; he just let me hold him. I pressed my head against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart, wishing I could hold it in my hand, keep it close. He rubbed my back then moved his hands down to my ass and lifted me up. He gently sat me on the sink again.
He softly pulled my chin up. “Lizzy, look at me.”
I looked into his eyes and his gaze darkened. “Damn, woman. I can’t stand the way you look at me sometimes. I just want to bend you over and fuck you again.”
I bit my lip and noticed that he was getting hard again.
He closed his eyes, gripping my thighs, then he opened my legs and stood in between them. Gently tugging, he pulled my sports bra over my head then he traced his fingers down to my breasts, fondling them softly. Goosebumps broke out over my skin and I scooted closer to the edge of the sink, wanting to be near him. He stared at my boobs as his thumbs raked over the hardened tips, worshipping them with his touch. His fingers moved higher, up over my shoulders and up my neck. They stopped at my jaw and he tugged my head up to make me look into his eyes. “Lizzy, what is it that you want?”
His other hand trailed back down my body, in between my breasts and down to my bare pussy. “If you could have anything, what would it be?”
His fingers parted my outer lips, and he ran his finger through it. It was slippery with his cum. I moved my hips slowly, wanting more, taking in the sensations as he played with me.
“Lizzy.” His voice was dark and it made me shiver. “Tell me.”
“All of you.”
He leaned down to scrape his teeth against my ear. “All of us?”
I nodded, reveling in the sensations coursing through my body as his fingers worked me over again. Fuck, I needed to come again.
“I want you all. I can’t give any of you up.”
His breath moved over me. “Then why haven’t you told us yet?”
“It’s because—” My breath caught as he inserted two fingers inside me.
“Keep going baby, and I’ll make you come again.”
“I can’t tell anyone yet, because of Christian.”
He paused for a second, and then his thumb found my nub. He pressed it softly. “And why because of Christian?”
I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breathe, all I could think of was how I wanted him to touch me, to play with me. I moved my hips, strained against him but he held back, giving me a second to think.
“It’s cuz…” I took in a deep breath. “It’s cuz he doesn’t want to share.”
Easton stilled. “What?”
I opened my eyes.
“He told you that?” He moved his hand again, pressing against my clit.
I licked my lips. “Yes.” I breathed heavily. “Yes.” Shit, it felt so good.
“Lizzy?”
“Hmm?”
He raked his stubble against my cheek. “Remember how I told you that if you were going to choose us all, that you needed to have sex with all of us?”
“Yes.” My voice betrayed my want. “I want to fuck you all, but I just… I just don’t know how. I mean, Avery won’t even look at me again and Christian, I don’t want to hurt him.”
I closed my eyes as his thumb pressed tighter against my clit. I rubbed myself against his hand. “Shit, Easton, don’t stop.”
“Keeping the team together and happy is important to me. We need each other. You need to fuck us all to make that happen.”
I nodded. “Okay, yes. I want to.”
“Avery will work it out. He just needs some time. And Christian, I think if you give him a taste of your pussy, he won’t be able to turn you down.”
“I’m not a whore, Easton.” I opened my eyes to see his smoldering gaze on me.
“That’s right. You’re not a whore.” His voice was firm. “You belong to us. And only us.” He flicked my clit and I cried out, then he pushed his fingers in deeper, while rubbing against my clit, making my orgasm come to a head. I gripped his arms, leaning against his hold and convulsing.
He held me close. “You are ours. Only, you haven’t claimed us. So do it, Lizzy. Take what we’re offering you. Fuck Christian and fuck Avery. Let them taste what Hunter and I have. Show them how much you want them.”
I nodded, feeling warm in the afterglow of my orgasm. Then I put my feet on the ground, feeling his cum slide down my thighs. He watched me carefully as I stood and reached for the door, a smirk on my face.
He grabbed my hand. “Where are you going like that?”
“To go offer Christian my pussy.”
He growled, pulling me to him before I could open the door and I laughed.
“Not right now, you aren’t. Right now, you’re mine. Just one moment longer.” He nuzzled into my neck, kissing it softly, pressing me against the wall again. “Besides, Christian’s not here, remember?”
We could hear Hunter and Avery talking through the door. I opened my mouth to speak but Easton put his hand over my mouth. “Shh…”
I looked at the door, like I could see through it. Easton swiveled around so that we were leaning against the door. There was a pause, and then Hunter spoke again.
“That’s not the only thing I regret.”
I froze, and Easton’s hands gripped me harder. What the hell were they talking about?
I took in a breath, pressing closer to the door to listen in.
“No. Don’t do this.” Avery’s voice was hard, tortured.
“But it’s my fault. It’s my fault they brought you onto the team. It’s my fault they turned you into this.” Hunter burst this out like his confession had been eating him alive. I snuggled deeper into Easton, needing the contact. I felt a pang at Hunter’s voice. I’d never heard him so raw, so emotional and, it ate me up inside. I looked at Easton and whispered. “Hunter brought Avery on to the team?”
Easton nodded, gripping me tight. “He was the only one not chosen by Sophia.”
“Stop, Hunter. Don’t say that.”
“Sophia didn’t want to bring you in, but I insisted. Maybe if I’d left you in the hospital that day, you wouldn’t be here with us. You’d be living a better life, probably with a family by now.”
“You’re so full of shit. This isn’t on you. My choices aren’t on your back. I decided to join the team, to be what I am. And only I can answer for my sins.”
Hunter growled. “We all have to answer for our sins. For the things we’ve done. And bringing you on is one of mine.”
Avery was silent and I could hear Hunter begin to pace. Finally, Avery spoke and his voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear him.
“Hunter, you think that bringing me on was the wrong choice but in all reality, you saved me.”
What?
Hunter stopped pacing. “Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not. I know that I struggle to deal with my… job. But doing this job, at that time, when Mia died and I had nothing left in the world? This job is what kept me sane. It gave me a mission, a purpose in life. It kept me from giving in when all I wanted was to let the darkness swallow me whole. And I still miss her. God, I miss Mia so much sometimes. I can’t help it.”<
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I felt a trace of jealousy for the woman he loved. Would he ever feel that way about me? Did I even have a right to ask him for that? To ask him to rip out his beating heart and hand it over to me, when at the same time I couldn’t give up the rest of my guys?
“But this job gave me something to focus on. And eventually, it brought Lizzy to me. It brought the only woman I’ve ever wanted since Mia. And even having that hope that she could love me… That fleeting hope, a whisper of a promise that I can love again and be loved in return, it means everything to me.”
My stomach churned and Easton stroked my stomach with his thumb. So Avery did still want me.
He continued. “So don’t you dare say that my life would be better without this job. I would’ve died if it wasn’t for you, okay? And don’t you motherfucking act like you’re my grim reaper, because you’re not. You’re my savior, okay?”
I was stunned and apparently so was Hunter because he didn’t answer. And yet, I felt a bit of hope spark. I wanted to burst in the room, tell him I did love him. Give him my undying devotion. Force Avery to talk to me. To tell me what the fuck was going on. If he wanted me so much, why was he trying to leave?
But Easton’s grip tightened on me, as if he could read my mind.
“No, Lizzy, now isn’t the time. Let Hunter open him up. Let them work this out, this has been between them since before you got here.”
I opened my mouth to argue but decided against it. He was right. I wasn’t the center of this issue between them. I nodded, agreeing.
The room grew quiet and Easton ran his nose up my neck, taking in a deep breath. “You smell like me.” I flushed, and his hands fell on my hips. He pulled me around to face him. “Take a shower. I’ll wait a few minutes to let them finish, then leave.” His eyes darkened. “Remember what I told you. Right now, Avery’s acting like an ass, but he just needs to know that you still care about him. We’ll get this straightened out.”
I nodded and he turned me towards the shower. “Now get clean.” He slapped my ass and I jumped. I turned back around, grinning.
“Next time you do that, you’d better be ready to fucking take me again, cuz that is hot as hell.”
I saw his eyes darken, but I turned the water on, and waited for it to warm up.
The shower was refreshing but I rushed through it. Finding an old hand towel under the sink, I dried myself off. I made sure to get every drop, because it was going to be hella hard to get my uniform on if I was still wet.
I stilled as Christian’s voice came through the door. “Should we tell her?”
Then Hunter spoke. “We have to, the Queen trusted her with this.” So I was the she. I grabbed my uniform and peeled it back on; it was faster now that I knew how to do it.
Easton’s voice was angry. “She’s not responsible for what happened. The Queen obviously has a leak.”
“Andre did this. The men were too prepared, they had military grade weaponry. They had a fucking tank, for hell’s sake.” Hunter was angry too. “But how did he find out about it? Maybe one of the soldiers in her inner circle?”
I opened the door. “What’s going on?”
Avery was sitting by the window next to the monitors, holding a rifle and keeping an eye on the woods beyond us. Christian was sitting at the table, back from checking the woods, and Easton and Hunter were crowded around him. Their eyes were on me as I crossed the room.
They had the same look on their faces. Fear.
“What?” A nervousness slithered through my stomach. “Somebody tell me what happened.”
Hunter moved to the side and I slipped in between him and Easton. The case for the mask was open and the mask was shattered into five large pieces. Careful not to disturb the mask, I flipped the lid over. The bullet had pierced it, just enough to shatter the mask; it was still embedded into the cover.
“I thought the case was bulletproof.”
Hunter crossed his arms across his chest. “It is.”
I frowned. “What kind of bullet is this?” I reached for it.
“Stop!” Two sets of arms grabbed for me, pulling me back and Christian jerked the cover away.
“Don’t touch it. It could be poisoned. Or have a magic spell of some sort. That’s why we haven’t taken it out.”
I glanced at Avery, who hadn’t moved from his lookout spot and swallowed hard. “Would this bullet have pierced his vest?”
The room was quiet but Easton and Hunter nodded. A shiver ran up my spine. Hunter gripped my hand and Christian gently closed the case, avoiding the bullet, and slid it back in the bag. I looked at Hunter and caught the look between him and Easton.
“Is Avery okay?”
Hunter rubbed my arm, brushing off my concern. “He’s fine, this isn’t near the closest he’s come to death.”
“Avery still has ears, you know.” Avery’s voice was angry and rough.
“He does? I thought they were shot off.”
He peeked at me, his face turning back into his familiar scowl. “No, they still work. I can hear everything.”
I knew he was talking about Easton and me.
I crossed my arms, giving him an inviting look. “Too bad you didn’t join us.”
He scowled and I stuck my tongue out. He rolled his eyes and I sighed. I’d have to work harder to get a reaction out of him.
“I think the Queen needs to know about this.” Christian’s comment made me turn back to the mask. He faced me, a sympathetic look on his face. Hunter pulled me to him and put his arm around my waist protectively.
I leaned into him, loving being around my guys. Loving the way they looked at me, the way they touched me. I was so fucking lucky.
“I think she already knows.”
“How?” Easton was being protective too and I was so confused. Why were they being so weird?
“I think she can…” I tried to explain. “Feel it. It affects her magic when this happens. She’ll have known that we were on our mission tonight and would be paying attention to it.”
Easton grabbed my arm, pulling me away from Hunter to face me. His eyes intently stared into mine and his eyebrows drew in. “You’re not taking the fall for this. You’re not sacrificing us again to fix this.”
Understanding washed over me. Ohhh. That’s why they were being so protective. Christian stood up and gripped my arm tight. “We won’t let it happen. I don’t care about the relic.”
“Christian.” I frowned. “Of course, we have to fix this.” I knew the minute I saw it that I could fix it. But I hadn’t thought about what the guys would think.
“What? You think I don’t have strong feelings for you, Pinky?” He stepped closer and I was now in the middle of the three guys. “Do you think I don’t think of you in the night, wishing you were in my arms? That I don’t want you as badly as the rest of the team?” His finger traced my cheek softly but his eyes were fierce and intense.
Easton was right. I needed to address the tension that was building between us.
“No.” I shook my head. “I know you care for me.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Avery looking at us and I felt an overwhelming pressure on my chest. It was too much. There was too much attention on me. I looked around the room. It was so small, too small.
“Hunter, can I have a phone, please?” My voice came out a squeak.
He reached in his pocket and pulled out the phone. I took it and slipped through the circle of men crowding me. “Did Liam call yet?”
Hunter shook his head and I grabbed Christian’s arm. “I’m going outside to call him, and Christian,” I dragged him across the room. “You’re coming with me. We can fix this, but I want to talk to him first.”
7
As soon as we were outside, I took in a deep breath, smelling the scent that comes with the forest and it eased the tension in my shoulders. The door closed behind me with a click and silence settled around us. The moonlight filtered through the trees, casting a soft glow over the landscape. The sun
would be up in a few hours. But the coolness of the night didn’t stop the snow from melting. Water dripped from the trees with a trickling sound.
I looked up at Christian, who stared at me with a troubled look on his face. Ignoring it, I punched in Liam’s private number. Then I pulled Christian to me and leaned against the cabin.
Liam answered after the first ring. “Sorry I didn’t call you back. I was just dealing with… other issues. Tell me what happened.”
“Someone knew we were there.”
“Shit.”
“They came in military uniforms, with a tank.”
“What the hell?”
I heard noises in the background, like he was looking through a desk. “Do you have the artifact?”
“Yes, but it’s broken.” He was silent for a moment. A pulse of warmth flooded me and I traced my fingers over Christian’s chest. His hands were on my hips and he rubbed his lips over my forehead.
“There’s one more thing. There was someone else, using armor-piercing bullets. He almost killed Avery.”
“Is everyone okay?”
I took in a breath. “Yeah. You should know though, he was aiming for me. Avery jumped in front of me.” Christian’s arms around me tightened. “If he hadn’t had the relic strapped to his chest, he would’ve been hit.”
“What about the bullet? Anything special about it?”
“We’re not sure if it’s spelled or poisoned or anything.”
“Get it to Edward, he’ll be able to check it out.”
“Liam. You know Aria has a problem right?”
“Of course I know that.” His voice was tight, controlled, and I felt bad that my words came out as harsh as they did. I tried to soften my tone.
“Look, this actually will help us. Now we know that it’s deeper than Aria thought. Who else knew about the mission?”
He was quiet and I imagined he was facing some tough questions. Had they told anyone they really trusted? When he responded, his voice was low.
“I’ll look into this. In the meantime, I’ll check Aria’s rooms for any magical bugging spells. There could be other ways that Andre found out, if it’s him. He has access to the deepest resources. Plus I heard that he’s been involving himself with witches who use black magic.” He paused. “Or he could’ve just had someone watching the museum. Were they waiting for you?”
