One Family

by Smyth, R. A

  “Come on, love, I know you’ve got another one in you. I need you to strangle my dick while I give you everything I’ve got.” He continues to pump himself ruthlessly in and out of me, his pain long forgotten, replaced by the all-consuming need to connect with the other half of his heart.

  His firm touch and heated words send me over the edge again, and this time there is no holding back as I scream out into the room, my pussy clamping down on him like a vice, holding his dick hostage until he succumbs and empties himself inside of me.

  Completely spent, I drop down onto the mattress beside him. He quickly wraps his arm around me, drawing me into his side, and the two of us lie there in silence, enjoying our post-orgasmic bliss.

  “How are you feeling today?” I eventually ask, feeling bad that I didn’t check he was okay before our little sexcapades. He presses a kiss against my forehead, “I’ll be fine, love. Don’t worry about me.”

  We lapse back into silence, enjoying one another’s company and this rare moment with just the two of us. I can feel him absently running his finger up and down my arm, the light touch making me shiver.

  Taking advantage of the morning light shining through the window, I cast my eyes over his torso, taking him in properly for the first time today.

  His body is like a battered piece of art, a swirl of blues and purples covering most of his chest and abdomen. Now that the pheromones have worn off, I can see he’s not as fine as he claims to be. His breathing is shallow and his body is tense against mine, unable to get comfortable even against the soft surface of the mattress.

  “We need to get up,” I inform him, raising onto my elbow so I’m looking down at his beautifully handsome face. “You need painkillers and we all need to come up with a game plan.”

  “You’re right. Preston’s probably about to blow a gasket by now. I’m surprised he hasn’t come banging on the door.” I laugh as he rolls his eyes, moving away from him and shifting to the end of the bed. It’s only then that I realize I’ve no clothes. Literally, all I have is what I was wearing yesterday. The rest of my clothes are at the mansion and, well, I’m not going back there anytime soon.

  Not having much choice, I sift through Preston’s drawers until I find a pair of gym shorts that fall to my mid-calf, along with a muscle shirt, which I tie into a knot at my waist so it doesn’t drown me. I scrape my hair back into a messy bun and grab a pair of socks. Ty snorts when he sees the ensemble. Throwing a pair of balled up socks at his head, I make my way out of the room, his laughter echoing behind me as I descend the stairs.

  The sight before me when I enter the kitchen is an interesting one. Preston and Aiden sit silently on opposite sides of the kitchen table, glaring at the surrounding walls and counters like the kitchen has personally offended them. Barrett, ignoring the pair of them, is attempting to make breakfast while humming under his breath—probably to drown out the tension exuding from the two idiots behind him.

  “Morning,” I greet, casting my eyes over Aiden. Just like Ty, he looks so much worse in the harsh light of day, but despite how bad he looks, he gives me a small, reassuring smile over the lip of his coffee mug.

  Heading into the bathroom, I pause when I notice the toothbrush Preston bought me the last time I stayed here, sitting in the holder, along with two others. They kept it. I don’t know why, but I hadn’t expected that.

  Opening the vanity unit, I find the hairbrush he got me, and, sticking my head in the shower, my shampoo and shower gel are still there too. A stupid grin spreads across my face at the fact they not only kept my things, but they left them out, like perhaps they had hoped I would stay over again.

  I’ve come a long way with Preston and Barrett since they kidnapped me and held me hostage here. Preston may act indifferent most of the time, but he brought me these things the morning after the incident with Kurt, and he set aside his asshole personality to help me that day. He’s been...less of a dick since then, and his words in the woods yesterday...once we go there, I’ll be in love with you. His barriers were down and I could see the honesty and affection shining in his eyes. I think he’s genuinely come to care about me, and I know, despite how much I tried to fight it, he means more to me than I ever could’ve predicted.

  Thinking back to when we first met, the look of hatred and disgust on his face as he hovered over me in the classroom that day. It’s hard to believe that, over the last few months, those looks have turned from hate into indifference and now, something...more.

  I might not know how any of this will work out, or even if it will work out, but knowing that they all have my back, when no one has ever been there for me like this before, means everything to me.

  Once I’ve cleaned my teeth and brushed my hair, I head back into the kitchen where Preston and Aiden are still glaring like they would rather be anywhere else, while Ty sits at the breakfast bar, playing with his phone.

  “Sit,” Barrett urges, ushering me to the spare seat beside Aiden and setting a mug of coffee down in front of me. “I made you breakfast.”

  “I thought you were making breakfast for everyone?” Ty gripes, glaring at Barrett, who just ignores him, setting a plate of, uh, burnt toast in front of me.

  “What is this?” I laugh, picking up a piece of the crisp black toast and looking up at his sheepish expression.

  “I, uh, tried,” he mutters, rubbing his hand up the back of his neck and looking away from me. Standing up from my seat, I kiss him on the cheek and whisper into his ear. “I appreciate the effort. It’s the thought that counts.”

  Stepping away from him, I rummage through the cupboards. “I don’t think you have a future as a chef,” I laugh.

  “I agree,” Aiden unhelpfully pipes up, looking at the toast with disgust. “He’s probably more likely to poison us.”

  Rolling my eyes at him, I continue on my hunt for food. “I fed myself every day before I moved to Crescentwood, so I’m an okay cook,” I begin, finally finding what I’m looking for. “And, when you don’t feel like cooking, cereal is the perfect alternative.”

  I set two boxes of cereal down on the table before grabbing bowls and spoons for everyone and lifting milk out of the fridge. There are no guesses for who eats which cereal. One is a high-fibre bran type, while the other is basically sugar and food colouring.

  Ty climbs down from his bar stool, coming over to the table and snatching the box of sugary cereal as Barrett goes to reach for it.

  Barrett scowls at him, as Ty plunks his ass in the last remaining chair at the table, grabbing a bowl and filling it to the brim with cereal and milk.

  Preston and Aiden both fix themselves a bowl of the bran cereal and dig in. I just sit and take in the strange dynamic between the four of them, watching as Barrett yanks the cereal box out of Ty’s hand and pours it into his own bowl, all while Ty laughs his head off. Aiden shakes his head at their antics and Preston ignores the whole scene.

  They all sort of manage to get along, yet rile each other up all at the same time. Almost like I imagine a family does, ribbing on each other and pissing one another off, but they stand together when it matters.

  When they are all quietly munching away on their breakfast, I help myself to a box of the sugary cereal and the five of us eat in companionable silence. It’s the first time we have all sat round the table and had a meal together, if you don’t count the day after Kurt nearly raped me, which I don’t. I was too out of it then to appreciate the simple enjoyment of these moments.

  “I want in,” Preston blurts out, setting his spoon down in his now empty bowl, breaking the silence just as Ty reaches for the box of cereal again, wanting a top-up.

  When I lift my eyes from my bowl, I find Preston staring right at me, his pale grey eyes capturing me in their gaze, the meaning of his words suddenly abundantly clear. He wants to be a part of what I have with Aiden and Ty.

  This certainly wasn’t the way I intended to have this conversation with Aiden and Ty. I planned to tell them privately about what happened
with Preston in the forest yesterday, and about my kiss with Barrett. Whenever I try to play out the discussion in my head, it never started with Preston being the demanding asshole that he is.

  I’m pretty sure Aiden and Ty know that Preston and I had sex yesterday, and they seemed okay about it when we returned from the forest, but inviting other people into this relationship we have is a whole different issue, one that needed addressing with more tact than Preston is currently showing.

  I gape at him, having no idea what I’m supposed to say. Do I want him to be a part of this? I have strong feelings for him, yes, but I don’t want to mess up what I have with Aiden and Ty either, and adding another person, never mind someone they dislike most of the time, would be a big complication in an already complex relationship.

  Aiden’s eyes snapped to Preston’s the minute he declared his intentions, scowling at him from across the table. Ty abandons his goal of fixing another bowl of cereal and stares fixedly at Preston for a long moment before bursting out laughing, breaking the mounting tension within the room. Barrett is the only one who doesn’t seem surprised by Preston’s announcement, although he has also forgotten about his breakfast and is flicking his gaze back and forth between Aiden, Ty and I, clearly interested in seeing where this conversation is going. That makes two of us.

  “Took you long enough,” Ty snorts, shaking his head before focusing back on his task, grabbing the box of cereal and pouring it into his bowl, munching away on his food like we aren’t all in the middle of an awkward as fuck conversation. I do not understand him sometimes. How is he so laid back about all of this? My stomach is a riot of nerves right now, my mind a mess, trying to decide what I want.

  “Is that so?” Aiden questions, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair, lifting his chin in challenge to Preston. That standoffish behaviour is more the response I was expecting. “And you think you can just demand your way in?”

  Preston only glares at him, not responding to his barb, but not backing down either.

  When he realizes Preston isn’t going to take the bait, Aiden fixes his penetrating stare on Barrett. “I suppose you want in too?”

  Barrett just shrugs his shoulders, looking at me. “If Sophie wants me, then yeah, I want in too.” I feel my cheeks heat under his stare, my heart racing at his admission. Barrett promised to fight for me, and he has, but I’m pretty sure he was hoping to out-do Aiden and Ty and win me all for himself, so I’m surprised to hear him agree to share me with them. I honestly never thought he would accept what I have with them, or come to understand that I will never give them up, just like I know they would never let me go.

  All of them move to look at me. Having all four of their attentions is overwhelming. “Eh, what?...No. This isn’t solely my decision,” I stutter out, shaking my head, flustered and confused about how to handle this situation. I mean, what does a girl do when she’s got four guys that want to be with her? How does she go about adding new people to an already established relationship? I desperately need some sort of reverse harem ‘how-to’ manual. Why has no one thought to write one of those? I can’t be the only girl in this situation who has no idea what the fuck they are doing.

  I never thought I could maintain even one healthy romantic relationship, so it has been challenging enough to wrap my head around sustaining a relationship with two guys. The only reason it has succeeded so far is because Aiden and Ty are so easy to be in a relationship with. They don’t have any expectations or make demands. Yeah, we argue sometimes—well, Aiden and I argue—and we each have our issues, but, for the most part, the three of us just seem to click. We fit together.

  And now I’m supposed to decide if Preston and Barrett should be a part of this romantic entanglement? I really like them both, more than like them. They each complete a part of me in the same way Aiden and Ty do, and I can admit—at least to myself—that I do want all four of them, but I’m scared. Absolutely terrified. What if this overcomplicates things, and it blows up in our faces? I would lose all four of them, and I don’t know if I could survive that.

  Could this thing between the five of us ever work out? All four of them are alpha males, and they rarely get along. We’ve all been brought together because we each wanted our freedom—from our dads, The Feral Beasts, Crescentwood. What happens when we finally achieve that? Can the five of us survive together long term or do we go our separate ways? I’m getting a headache trying to think about it all, only coming up with more questions instead of some much needed answers.

  When they all just continue to look at me expectantly, I shake my head fervently, adamant that I am not making this decision alone.

  “Surely one of you has something to say about this,” I push, flicking my gaze between Aiden and Ty.

  “Sure,” Ty agrees, nodding his head. “Like I said, it’s about time they pulled their heads out of their asses and manned up.”

  “That’s all you have to say?” I squeak disbelievingly. Is he for real right now? I feel like I’m making the biggest decision of my life, and he’s as cool as a fucking cucumber.

  Not knowing how to respond to his nonsensical comment, I direct my gaze to Aiden. “I’m sure you have an opinion.”

  Aiden sighs, turning round in his seat beside me so we’re face to face. “What Ty is trying to say,” he starts, rolling his eyes at Ty’s antics, “is that we know you care about those two idiots. We already told them, and now I’m telling you...if you want them too, then we will make this work.” My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. The four of them have talked about this? When?

  “I don’t understand,” I murmur, trying to wrap my head around Aiden’s words. “You would really be okay with them? With all of us being together?”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I like it just the three of us,” he says, giving me one of his soft smiles that he reserves only for me, “but I know they mean something to you, and if they make you happy, then I’m sure we can learn to...tolerate them.”

  Preston snorts and mumbles something under his breath. I don’t hear what he says, but obviously Barrett and Ty, who are sitting on either side of him, do as they both snort under their breaths while Aiden glares at Preston.

  The moment serves to lift some of the heaviness that was residing within me, and a small smile tugs at the corner of my lips, watching them all gripe at one another.

  When it passes, I look to Ty, needing to hear from him that he’s on board with this whole insane idea. When he catches me looking at him, he gives me one of his full-blown grins. “As long as you still want me, love, I don’t care who else is involved.”

  I bite my lower lip, excitement building within me. Are we really going to do this?

  “Maybe, just keep it to the four of us though, yeah?” Aiden asks.

  A burst of laughter escapes me at the absurdity of all of this.

  “Yeah, you four are a handful as it is,” I chuckle. “We’re really going to do this?” I cast my eyes round the table, lingering on Preston and Barrett. Now that I know Aiden and Ty are on board, I need to be sure Preston and Barrett know what they are getting themselves into.

  “Yeah, we’re doing this,” Preston confirms. His eyes are burning with heat. I’m sure he can see the same heat in mine. Knowing he not only wants me, but is willing to share me with three other guys, two of whom I know he doesn’t see eye to eye with, makes me fall for him even more. Preston craves control in his life, so I know it can’t be easy for him to give some of that up. It means a lot that he’s willing to compromise for me.

  A huge grin crosses my face, one that is matched by Barrett and Ty. Of course, Aiden and Preston don’t give into the excitement I know they are feeling, but I don’t miss the slight lift of the corner of Aiden’s mouth and the softness in Preston’s eyes.

  “To doing this,” I cheer, lifting my half empty coffee mug and holding it out towards the centre of the table.

  “To doing this,” the others hail, clinking their cups against mine.


  Once he’s set his mug back on the table, Aiden reaches out and drags me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my temple. I snuggle in against him, careful to avoid pressing against his ribs, a stupid grin on my face as I absorb this moment of happiness, each of my guys helping themselves to second—or in Ty’s case, third—bowls of cereal and talking shit with one another.

  “So, what do we call ourselves?” Barrett asks around a mouthful of food.

  “What?” I question, confused as to what he’s talking about.

  “If we’re all going to be a thing, we need, like, a name or something.”

  “We really don’t,” Preston interjects, adamantly shaking his head.

  “You realize we aren’t in a relationship with each other, right? We’re each, individually, in a relationship with Sophie. You’re not getting anywhere near my dick,” Aiden informs Barrett, looking put out at the thought of Barrett coming on to him. I’d fucking pay to see that!

  “Dude, you fucking wish you could get your hands on my pleasure pumper,” Barrett laughs. “I’d give it to you so good, baby,” he purrs, giving Aiden a wink. Aiden wrinkles his nose in disgust while Ty and I laugh our heads off.

  “I’ve been doing some research on it,” Ty says, completely catching me by surprise. “Apparently, it’s called a quintuple.” Barrett frowns, clearly not a fan of the name.

  “That’s a bit...bland,” he states, pulling out his phone and tapping away on the screen. “Oh, we could call it a limerick,” he says enthusiastically. “Apparently it’s a word used to describe five of something, and isn’t that like a place in Ireland or something? So it totally fits!”

  I roll my eyes at his messed up logic. “I’m from Northern Ireland.”

  He just waves his hand, brushing off my words. “Yeah, yeah, same thing.” I snort, knowing he’s got no idea how insulting that statement would be to anyone from back home.