Sinless (Deadly Omen Book 1)

by Jenica Saren

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “I’m gonna make some food, want any?” He offered.

  I just shook my head. “No, that’s fine. Thank you, though.” I grinned and started back up the stairway, and I could have sworn I heard him say “goodnight”, but when I looked back, he was nowhere in sight.

  Back in my room, with the door firmly shut behind me, I turned on the lamp by my bed and started rifling through my bags for something with more sleep appeal and less cornered-by-six-guys-in-the-kitchen appeal. I quickly slipped into some capri yoga pants and a tank top, went to my adjoined bathroom and brushed my teeth, then curled up under the covers like a cat.

  The idea of sleep was an attractive one, but the reality was evading me. My door didn’t have a lock, so what if one of them decided to try something? My mind was at war with itself, the rational side fighting with my paranoia for dominance.

  I decided to focus on counting the shadows of leaves on my floor, trying to make out the individual shapes and taking guesses at how many were in each indecipherable blob.

  After who knows how long, I began drifting, dreaming of dark blue eyes and even darker hair.

  * * *

  I opened my eyes to bright morning sunlight and was half tempted to pull the covers over my eyes and go back to sleep. Mornings weren’t my thing, I was a creature of the night. I rolled over to check the time on my phone and saw a glass of orange juice and two little white tablets, with a small folded paper sitting beside them.

  I reached over and grabbed the note, propping myself up on my elbow.

  Good morning,

  I don’t know how much you drank last night, but you didn’t eat, so I assume you’re hungover.

  Thought this might help a little, and there’s breakfast downstairs, if you can stomach it.

  Oh, and the guys want to talk.

  K

  Okay, I’d have to be a complete moron not to think that was the absolute cutest thing ever. On one hand, the very thing I was afraid of happened and one of the guys came in while I was sleeping. On the other hand, that note was so sweet, and from someone who didn’t even know my last name. It was like every girl’s fantasy one-night stand with the perfect prince, sans sexy times.

  Groaning, I rolled onto my back and threw my arm over my eyes. How I could have forgotten my roommate troubles so easily was beyond me. I hadn’t even talked to clove, and believe me, I was definitely going to have a serious talk with her about necessary information and how to properly share it with the parties involved. But to do that I’d have to get out of bed and moving didn’t exactly appeal to me at the moment. Even my little inner self was still snoring soundly. Not that I snored, because I didn’t, but she definitely did.

  Deciding that I was a one hundred percent capable and mature woman, I threw back my covers and walked to the bathroom. I got to washing my face, noting that my fair skin was slightly flushed, but since I didn’t ever get acne, I knew it was just my nerves. I blotted my face with the hand towel on the side of the sink while I tried to collect my thoughts.

  I knew who Beck and Kellan were, so that made things a little easier. However, I had no clue what the others were all about and that just didn’t sit right with me. A house full of men that I knew absolutely nothing about was most certainly cause for nervousness, right?

  I went back into my room and hunted for my hair brush. While pulling through the small tangles, I looked at the orange juice and aspirin again, feeling unreasonably guilty. I almost never had issues with hangovers so there was no need for the aspirin, and I really didn’t like orange juice in the mornings because it made my mouth feel weird.

  I decided that dumping the orange juice was the best course of action, and quickly poured it down the bathroom sink before taking the glass with me down the stairs.

  Once I rounded the corner into the kitchen, I prayed to anyone listening that my heart wasn’t pounding loud enough for everyone to hear, because five pseudo-familiar sets of eyes landed on me all at once, locking me in place.

  Move. Just move. Fuck.

  I gave a little smile and waved. “Morning, boys.” I greeted, as nonchalantly as I could manage. I focused very intently on walking to the sink to rinse my glass. “Is the dishwasher clean or dirty?” I was still avoiding eye contact, and I was doing a pretty great job of it, if I do say so myself.

  “It’s empty.” I heard Kellan say, my knight in shining armour.

  I simply nodded and opened the dishwasher, placing my glass up top and taking my time closing the door.

  “Coffee?” I heard Beck ask.

  Believe me when I say I turned around and nodded so fast that the world started going off kilter. “Please!” I replied excitedly. Coffee is love, coffee is life.

  The purple-haired man got up from his seat and leaned across me to pull a mug from the cabinet. As he stretched, his loose black t-shirt rode up just enough for me to catch a mouthwatering glimpse of some seriously chiseled lower abs. Yum.

  After getting the mug, he walked over to the Keurig in the corner and all but summoned a k-cup.

  “Beck…” Another voice warned. I turned and found it was the soft-spoken guy with the long hair.

  Beck continued making the coffee. “Gray…” He mocked back, never turning around.

  The guy – Gray – narrowed his eyes at Beck’s back, “E’s going to be pissed if you use his coffee.” He warned.

  Beck made a talking motion with his hand and set the coffee to brew. “Well, then two things can happen.” He held up one finger. “One, he can get the fuck over it and be a gentleman.” He said. Then he held up the second finger while putting cream and sugar on the counter in front of me. “Or two, he can act like the brit he is and drink tea or some shit after I throw the whole lot into sea.” He handed me the mug of steaming joe and retrieved a spoon from the drawer.

  Kellan and the heavily tattooed guy snickered behind their mounds of pancakes, and I heard footsteps in the doorway.

  “Well then,” the brit in question began. “How’s that for irony?” He yawned as he walked further into the kitchen making a beeline for me.

  I nearly started flapping my mouth about, trying to figure out what to do or say. Maybe if I handed over the offending coffee, he’d leave it at that. Before I had time to formulate a rational thought, he was in front of me.

  “Care to move, love? You’re in my way.” He said without a hint of the anger that I had been expecting I scooted to the side, dragging the creamer with me and reaching for the sugar when his hand caught mine. I gasped and froze, his fingers pulsing little bolts of lightning through my body in the strangest way. “Trust me, it’s better without sugar.” That’s all he said before he released my hand and went back to making his own caffeinated beverage, taking his electric touch with him.

  With slightly unsteady hands, I started pouring my cream and paused before grabbing the sugar, shooting a sideways glance at the British guy. Hot didn’t even begin to cover it.

  He had multihued dirty blonde hair that had a stylized messiness, as though he worked really hard to make it look that effortless. And his body was absolutely godly from what I could see, with wiry muscles banding around his arms and is sculpted collarbone. And, ugh, that jaw and five o’clock shadow; I was on the verge of swooning, while my inner self was already doing so, dramatic sigh and all.

  I took a sip of the coffee sans sugar and my eyes widened. It had a smoky, chocolatey taste to it and I was completely hooked.

  Kellan chuckled from his place at the table. “You’ve turned her over to the dark roast side, E.” He teased.

  The British guy turned to face me and I momentarily forgot how to draw breath. His eyes were the strangest, most exotic shade of violet that I had ever seen. I was pretty sure that if I stared too long, I’d be lost forever.

  He smirked at me, showing off a cute little dimple that snapped me out of my brief daze. “I told you so, didn’t I?”

  I nodded and smiled a friendly smile. At least, I hoped it was
friendly. “It’s really good. What is it?” I asked, needing to stock up on a lifetime supply of the caffeinated goodness.

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “I flavour it myself.” He said simply. “That’s why I don’t let that glutton over there touch the stuff. It’s perfect, so enjoy.”

  Beck snorted. “I touched it.” He chortled like he had gotten away with some big feat.

  The guy rolled his eyes at Beck’s childish behavior. “Come, we would like to speak with you.” He gestured to the breakfast bar, where I obligingly took a seat on one of the barstools.

  “Chert, chuvak,” Gray groaned. “It’s too early for this der'mo.” He planted his face in his arms like he was about to fall asleep in class.

  His use of foreign words had me curious. British accents were all over the place on the west coast, so that wasn’t exactly surprising; I had even met a hot British guy at a marina in California once. Talk about a dream boat.

  I leaned over and boldly poked the long-haired man’s shoulder. He peeked up from his arm pillow with a question in his eyes. “I can’t place your accent. Where are you from?” Okay, that was a safe question to ask, right? People got asked where they were from all the time.

  He eyed me with both curiosity and wariness. “I spent my entire life all over, but my family was Russian.” He explained quietly, as though we were in a fragile bubble. “Quiet, E’s ready to get on with it and I need a nap.”

  Knowing damn well that it was only about eleven in the morning, I held back a snort. Boys.

  E clapped his hands together once, getting the room’s attention. “First thing’s first: introductions.” He said smoothly, sitting the opposite way on a dining chair. “I’m Eliam.” I was surprised by how much his name didn’t surprise me. It just seemed to fit. “You’ve met Kellan and Beck.” He nodded to each of them who nodded back.

  “My name is Rafe.” The heavily tattooed guy said. “Sorry about last night.” He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. I smiled at him and nodded my head once.

  “And this is Gatlin.” Eliam gestured to the one I had called an angel, with his steely eyes and overall smouldering sexiness. He pinned Eliam with an angry glare, as though he was offended that he couldn’t introduce himself.

  There was silence in the kitchen as everyone looked at Gray’s still form.

  “And that sleeping heap of hair is Gray.” Kellan finally supplied. Eliam shot him a glare that said he didn’t appreciate his role as the introducer being usurped.

  “I’m Ria.” I said, looking to each set of eyes, except Gray’s.

  Eliam leaned forward on the back of his chair. “Good, now that all that is done, let’s make one thing very clear: I don’t dislike you, but I really don’t want you here, or anywhere near my brothers.” He said in a low voice. “All of our votes have to be unanimous, and the vote to remove you was not. So, here’s the deal,” he leaned closer toward me. “If there is any amount of money that will make you leave, name it and it shall be yours, so long as you just go and don’t come back.”

  I jolted in my seat as though I’d been slapped. I’d been propositioned many times in my life for different activities and differing sums of money, but never had anyone attempted to chase me out of town with the promise of money for my cooperation. My face flushed with heat as I slowly stood from my seat, fixing Eliam with a glare that would make the devil sweat in hell.

  And then there was the loud snap of my hand cracking across his face, my body shaking with rage and indignation.

  “How dare you?” I hissed at him curling my fists. “I didn’t choose to be here with you, but a stranger was kind enough to offer me a place to stay during a very difficult time in my life. I don’t need your bullshit, you pig!.”

  I turned and stalked from the room, pushing past the men standing in the doorway, staring on in complete shock. My bare feet made a very unthreatening and undignified sound on the wooden stairs, but I couldn’t bring myself to care very much.

  Once in my room, I closed the door and went directly to the bathroom, which had a door with a lock and provided the moment of privacy that I needed so badly.

  And then I cried and cried, loud enough that I could ignore the pounding on the door, the pain in my chest, and the worried male voices only a few feet away, separated from me only by a piece of wood.

  7

  Gatlin

  I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head. The beautiful girl with the reddish-blonde hair, blazing green eyes, and ethereal beauty.

  From the moment I saw her, that I caught her backward retreat and turned her to face me, I was a goner. If I had ever needed redemption or forgiveness, it was for the dreams I had of her last night in my arms. Like the angel that she had called me, the dreams kept the line at snuggling… And stuff.

  “Earth to Gat.” Kellan called, waving his hand in front of my face.

  I locked my gaze onto his, angry at him for disrupting my nefarious thoughts of the sleeping girl upstairs. “What?” I snapped.

  Kellan notched his chin on his massive fist. “I want to be thinking whatever you’re thinking because it’s apparently very… Entrancing.” He drawled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at me.

  Rolling my eyes, I stuffed another giant bite of pancakes in my mouth before I could say anything that might cause a fight. Strike three meant I had monitor duty for a month, and I was already on strike number two.

  For a guy who compulsively ate every damn thing he could get his hands on, Beck was a damn good fucking cook, somehow managing to make enough to feed an entire army. So, basically, the six of us.

  I had an entire mouth full of the fluffy, sweet creations when the object of my mental focus waltzed into the kitchen. I completely froze, as did my typically fearless brothers. She looked terrified, and I wanted so badly to erase that look from her face, to comfort her and tell her everything was okay. But I obviously couldn’t, being a total stranger that she was so clearly afraid of. I had known the woman all of five seconds, and I’d already be willing to knock flat the sorry piece of shit that dared hurt or frighten her. Unfortunately for me, I was one of those pieces of shit and it was tearing me up inside.

  She smiled meekly at the five of us in the kitchen, somehow looking sexy in her awkwardness. “Morning, boys.” She greeted, her tone friendly, but her voice quiet, nervous.

  She set about rinsing a glass, taking entirely too long to do so. She was stalling for time, but the reason escaped me. I knew I could be dense at times, but her skittishness still took me by surprise; I didn’t get the sense that she was the timid type.

  Eventually, she asked a question and Kellan answered, but I was tuning out. I couldn’t stand to see her look at me that way, in fear and fascination. So, I took advantage of my own silence and used the time to appreciate the view.

  She was dressed in tight capri yoga pants that shaped and clung to her ass like cling wrap. Her tank top was so form fitting that in the brief moments she turned in my direction, I could see her delicate buds straining through the thin fabric, drawing my attention to her perfect mounds and flat stomach. She was built like a gymnast, but with far more curves in all the right places. She was like a road map that I would kill to get the chance to explore.

  Lost in my thoughts as I was, I didn’t even see Eliam come into the room until he was giving a singular clap for attention.

  We had spent the majority of the night holed up in E’s room while we discussed the situation with our new houseguest. Obviously, E wanted her gone and we all understood his reasons, and we respected them. Rafe really didn’t care so long as she didn’t touch his things, big surprise there, and Gray approved her staying, seeing he probably wouldn’t see her much anyway. Beck was all for her being our new roommate, insisting that we needed a female presence around. No ulterior motives there. Kellan explained that, after spending a little time with her at the coffee shop, he thought she was a pretty decent person, and he wanted that kind of energy around. We all figured that his decision
was more for Drea’s benefit than his own, since they were pretty attached to one another.

  However, I didn’t say a word.

  I wasn’t against her staying, but the image of her in nothing but a white t-shirt and panties, sprawled on our kitchen floor, was forever burned into my mind and too great of a temptation.

  Needless to say, there was no conclusive vote, seeing as all votes needed to be unanimous in nature. It was the way it had been ever since her.

  I heard E speaking again and turned my focus to the present just in time to hear him introduce me, and I shot him a glare.

  I can speak for myself, dickhead. I told him in my mind.

  He shot me a look back that said, yeah, sure you can. He didn’t even bother to use our connection to actually respond. Asshole.

  Caught in a silent battle with Eliam – yeah, he was Eliam when I was mad at him – I missed the next part of the conversation.

  “I’m Ria.” She said kindly, gently. She looked both shy and assertive, and I wasn’t really sure how to approach her due to the conflicted energies I was getting from this end.

  I watched as E’s eyes hardened, though his face remained open and friendly as he leaned in closer to the confusing girl. I knew what was coming, and I had to clench my teeth hard enough to hear a crack to keep from lashing out at my brother. “Good, now that all that is done, let’s make one thing very clear: I don’t dislike you, but I really don’t want you here, or anywhere near my brothers.” That fucking dickhead! “All of our votes have to be unanimous, and the vote to remove you was not. So, here’s the deal,” E leaned in closer, and I clenched my fists under the table. “If there is any amount of money that will make you leave, name it and it shall be yours, so long as you just go and don’t come back.”

  I was a split second from standing up and beating the shit out of my lousy brother for what he just said and the look he put on Ria’s face, but she began rising to her feet, almost like she was simply floating there, looking every bit as sinfully gorgeous as she had in our kitchen the night before, but with an expression that made my palms sweat a little, no easy feat.