“No, Mack. What do you mean?” Knox asks, a smirk on his face.
Bastard’s going to make me say it!
“Fine. You want me to say it? I’ll say it. I couldn’t get it up for anyone. I tried over the years, but when things would get hot and heavy, it was like my dick just shut down. Now it makes sense why! It wanted her. Only her. At least I can proudly say that I never strayed. I stayed true to her without even knowing she existed. Can you all say the same?”
Another round of silence greets my statement, and it’s my turn to throw a smug look around the table. “Now that we’ve found her again, I can definitely say that everything is back in working order. But there are five of us, and I know I’m not the only one that wants her or that she wants in return.”
Cole shifts slightly in his chair. The man doesn’t fidget. Ever.
“Even you, Cole,” I say softly.
There’s a look of hope in his eyes when they meet mine, and I nod in reassurance.
Cole shifts his gaze around the table. “I’m assuming all of us are interested?”
He receives four nods in confirmation.
“And we’re all okay...sharing her?” he asks, a little less certain.
I’m not sure what the past looked like for all of us. If we were confident in our relationship and easily shared ourselves, our time, with her, or if we had some sort of schedule, but something tells me things aren’t going to be quite so easy this time.
“I’ll take her any way I can get her,” Knox confirms. “If that means I have to share her with my brothers, the men I trust above all others, then that’s fine with me.”
The twins respond in unison, “Agreed!”
“Considering the situation and all of the unknowns still lingering out there, I’m honestly a little relieved to have you all at her back. Between all of us, we can better watch out and care for her. Let’s not forget that something happened to her one hundred years ago. There’s a very real possibility that whatever that was, that threat could still be out there.”
The level of seriousness at the table is honestly astounding. I’m not sure I can remember a time when all five of us had a conversation where someone, namely one of the twins, wasn’t throwing snark at every opportunity.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll take things at her pace, obviously, but anything goes.” Knox stands, clearing the plates from the table.
“I’m not sure I’d say anything goes,” Cole mutters, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Oh, come on, so you might see my dick on occasion. There are worse things, right?”
“Knox, your dick isn’t high on my list of things to see.”
“I don’t know. It is pretty impressive.”
“Not more impressive than mine,” Thad challenges.
“Or mine,” Levi quips.
“That’s not fair. Yours are probably identical, taint biscuits.”
Thad eyes me a moment. “What about you, Mack? Want in on this challenge?”
I simply smirk in response. They forget...I know everything. Height, weight, shoe size...and other personal stats. As long as it’s factual and somewhat static, it’s safe to bet it’s in my brain.
Thad and Levi’s brows raise in surprise.
Knox just chuckles. “Dammit. The nerd has us all beat. I can tell. I’m not betting against him.”
The twins share a look, doing that weird twin speak they always do that annoys Cole and Knox. When they look back at me, it's clear they think they’ve got one up on me. Little do they know.
“Alright then, let’s see it. We’re confident we’ve got you beat.”
“You’re all fucking taint biscuits,” Cole mutters, rolling his eyes, clearly exasperated with the lot of us. “What? Are you going to whip out a tape measure and verify?”
“Good idea. I’ll go grab one from the equipment room,” Knox states before running off down the hall.
“Fuck’s sake. I live with a bunch of imbeciles,” Cole gripes, but there’s a distinct undercurrent of amusement in his tone.
Knox comes running back in. “Alright, boys. Let’s see what you’ve got. Wait, what are we betting?”
The twins walk over, Thad to my left and Levi coming up next to him. Since it’s early, we’re all in jogging shorts or sweats, making this task easy peasy.
“Winner’s choice. No rules, no holds barred. You play, you pay,” I suggest.
“Mack, you’re really going through with this shit show?” Cole asks.
“Maybe it’s time I live a little.”
For the first time in years, I see a hint of a smile tilt his lips. “Fate really has twisted us right the fuck up, hasn’t she?”
“Yup,” Knox says, popping the ‘p.’ “And we all love it. Now stop stalling and drop ‘em.”
Grabbing the waistband of my shorts, I push the material down to my knees, hearing the twins mimicking the movement beside me.
The room is silent for a moment before Thad blurts out, “Bro, where the fuck have you been hiding that thing?”
The room bursts into laughter, and I start plotting my winnings. Sometimes it’s damn good to be the nerd.
If someone asked me to define ‘sexy as fuck,’ I’d show them a picture of Fate.
Even as she sits in the antique settee she had the guys haul down from the attic, curled up with her long, slim legs tucked under her, I can’t help but stare. Her silky hair is up in a messy bun. Wearing a simple white tank and short shorts, her feet are bare. She’s the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.
It’s been three days since the woman literally rose from the dead. Which, by the way, has me feeling so many fucked up emotions I can’t even begin to explain them all.
In those moments where I thought that we’d lost her for good, losing my shit doesn’t even come close to describing it. I was just damned glad we found her.
Now I get to keep her.
But we have to help her get back to her normally sassy self first.
It killed me to see the feisty, playful woman become quiet and withdrawn after the incident with that bitch Mandy. Knox said she was overwhelmed, or some shit like that, but I think she’s unsure. Of us. Can’t say I’d blame her. The girl’s been alone for ten years, and then we show up, and it’s been one clusterfuck of a whirlwind after another.
She chose a bedroom for herself that first night and locked herself away from all of us. We didn’t see her for over eighteen hours. Macklin said she needed sleep, as her body was unused to expending so much energy, and I guess that makes sense. Doesn’t mean I didn’t itch to check on her every few minutes though. Levi kept saying I was acting worse than a mother hen.
Huh. That would be a first.
I’m usually the love ‘em and leave ‘em sort. Not the spend-the-night-cuddling, talk-about-our-emotions sort, but she makes me want things I’ve never even considered before. The woman is under my skin. No doubt about it.
Instead of joining us in the study once she surfaced from her room, she’s been lounging in the overly feminine sitting room across the foyer, the one us guys avoid like the plague. With its antique tables lined with doilies — seriously, who uses fucking doilies anymore — an abundance of ridiculous pillows, and its fragile-looking chairs that couldn’t hold a lap dog let alone a real man, it’s like inviting a bull into a china shop. In other words, Levi and I should definitely steer clear.
From my spot on the leather sofa in the study, if I lean over far enough, I can see her sitting in her favorite seat. Having her in my line of sight comforts me. Yeah, Levi’s giving me shit for that too.
What the fuck, right?
I find myself leaning against the door jamb, just watching her, because spying on her from the other room wasn’t enough. Another first. I act. I don’t observe. I think she fucked with my DNA or something because I’m not sure I even recognize myself right now.
She fiddles with the small device in her hand, mumbling and grumbling the whole time. Macklin decided, in his infinite wisdom, tha
t she needed a cell phone, so we can all get a hold of her when we need to. Yeah. No problem at all.
Dumbass!
Once she figured out how to turn the damn thing on, he had to explain the basics to her. That was an interesting conversation. Oh, sure, she’s seen plenty of people using the devices, but when it came down to actually using one herself, without her powers, let’s just say that it was pretty damn hilarious. It’s kind of like checking out that Pincushion, or Pintacular, or whatever the hell it’s called website. Sure, they give you pictures and detailed instructions, but the end result isn’t always the gorgeous creation they achieved. More like an epic fail. Sometimes monkey see, but monkey can’t do. Now that she’s figured out texting and emojis, we’re all inundated day and night. I mean, a guy can only take so many eggplant emojis before he’s ready to show her the real thing, right?
As she bites her lower lip, intent on whatever it is she’s doing, softly cursing every few seconds, my dick takes notice and insists it should be us biting that pouty pink bit of sweetness. My hand drops down to give our pal a little more room. It’s getting a little restricted in there.
“Hey, woman. That phone still causing you grief?”
Any other person might startle at my sudden appearance, but not her. Our girl doesn’t even so much as flinch.
“This game is ridiculous. How am I supposed to move all of these little things across the screen when it’s so damn small?”
“What game are you playing?” I ask as I enter the room and try not to cringe. The carpet is a pale, pale pink. The wallpaper is cream with itty bitty roses scattered all over it. In one word...hideous. No, I take that back. Two words...fucking hideous.
“It’s something called Candy Crush,” she mutters, face still glued to her phone.
And there goes my mind. Right into the gutter.
“I have something that can crush your candy, woman.”
That makes her pause and look up at me out of the corner of her eye. A smirk appears, and I’ll be damned if that isn’t a welcome sight.
“You think you’ve got moves, do you? Think you can spread my jam?”
“Oh hell yeah. I can definitely fill up your soda.”
“Gonna release my honey?”
“You know it, girl. I’ll melt your ice so fast you won’t know what happened.”
“Are you two really flirting with Candy Crush innuendos right now?” my wankstain of a brother interrupts.
Fate just chuckles. It’s one of the sexiest damn sounds ever.
“Hey there, Levi.”
“Hi there, sweets. Hmm...guess that kinda fits with the Candy Crush theme, right? How are you feeling today?”
“Almost normal...” She pauses, tapping her chin with her index finger. “At least I think. Hard to know what normal is when I haven’t been normal for at least...oh...something like a hundred years give or take.”
She looks sad again, and the sight does funny things inside my chest. Levi and I share a look, one that requires no words because we can have entire conversations with our eyes alone.
“Your powers still giving you shit, babe?” I ask, walking over and crouching down in front of the settee. No way in hell will I sit my gigantic ass on it. It’d probably crumble to the ground.
My hand finds her calf, and my fingers begin absently rubbing circles lazily along her soft skin. She peers up at me, a sheepish look on her face.
“Maybe. I can’t figure out what’s wrong. Macklin’s been researching potential causes, but so far no luck. Reggie hasn’t been much help either.”
“We’ll work it out. Don’t you worry that pretty little head of yours.”
“You shatter a glass with a look or accidentally cause a vase to fly across the room all by itself, and it’s like you’ve got the plague or something. Just what I didn’t need - more things for Cole to grumble at me for,” she huffs. “I swear. I don’t know how I survived his moods the first time around without killing him.”
“Don’t worry about him,” my twin says, walking into the room and making it feel ten times smaller than it did before. “We all know that you’re feeling off right now, and damned well you should, all things considered. But I think I may have just what you need to take your mind off of it.”
Her eyes leave mine and focus on my brother.
“Oh! Now I’m intrigued. Do tell,” she says, sitting up a little straighter.
“Thad and I just got hired to clear a house about an hour south of here. Wanna tag along and see us in all our glory?”
Her eyes light up like we just offered her a million dollars. Or maybe coffee. Yeah, definitely coffee.
“Think Cole and Knox will let me go?”
“Who’s the boss around here?” I challenge with a smirk, knowing just how to get her fired up.
The feistiness that’s been missing the last few days once again sparks in her eyes. “That would be me,” she declares with a confidence I find sexy as fuck.
“Hell yes, you are,” Levi croons. “Don’t you let them forget it. Go grab the boots Knox bought you and throw on a pair of jeans too. Not sure what shape this place is going to be in.”
“Thanks, guys.” She pauses, placing a delicate hand on my bearded chin, the touch sending the good kind of electricity straight to my junk. “I appreciate you so fucking much right now.”
She leans forward and plants a soft kiss on my cheek before standing and doing the same to Levi. Still crouched in front of the settee, I watch her fine ass sway as she damn near skips out of the room. When she’s out of sight, I look up at my twin and see him enjoying the same view.
“Bro, you sure it’s a good idea to bring her along?”
“It’s time she sees what we’re about, Thad. Keeping her cooped up in this place isn’t doing her any good. Those jackasses need to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I agree one hundred fucking percent. Their excessive coddling is doing nothing but alienating her,” I respond, pausing long enough to put my thoughts together. “Just want to make sure we know what we’re getting ourselves into here.”
“It’ll be fine, brother. She needs to learn about us. About our abilities. Especially now that we don’t have to worry about our powers hurting her. The more she knows, the better off we all are.”
“You’re right. Not sure why I’m so worried about it.”
“Because you’ve become a regular fucking prick, that’s why.”
“Shut the fuck up, asshole!”
His laughter dispels my unease. He’s right. It’s time to show our girl what we can do. I trust my brother’s judgment more than I trust my own most of the time. He’s just as invested in Fate’s well-being as I am. He would never jeopardize that.
“You get all of our stuff loaded up?” I ask as I stand and head out of the god awful room.
“Yeah. It’s all in the SUV. Not sure if we’ll even need it based on the conversation I had with the client, but better safe than sorry.”
Cole walks out from the kitchen followed by Knox.
“You guys heading out to a call?” Cole probes.
“Yup. It’s just south of here. Couple says their young daughter keeps talking to her ‘imaginary friend,’ and it has them freaking the fuck out,” Levi responds.
“You need some back up?” Knox asks around a mouthful of pear. The dude is always fucking eating. How he manages to stay fit is another of life’s great mysteries.
Levi and I share another look before I respond simply, “Nope. We’re all good, bro.”
Cole’s eyes narrow slightly. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“No idea what you’re talking about, man,” Levi mutters.
“You two are acting shifty as fuck, which usually means you’re up to something, and that never bodes well for us.”
“I don’t know what the hell is up your ass,” I reply. “We go on calls without backup all the time.”
Just as Cole gets ready to open his mou
th to command we tell him what the fuck we’re up to, I see movement on the stairs.
My eyes lock onto her like a magnet to metal.
Her hair is falling loosely down her back, making my fingers itch to touch the silky waves. She covered the white tank with the cropped leather jacket I told Knox to add to the pile of shit he was buying. Her dark jeans look well-worn even though they’re brand new, with holes on her thighs and across one knee, showing hints of skin. Her black combat boots are laced up with hot pink laces and make her look more badass than I thought possible.
Her eyes find mine, and the smile I see there tells me she knows exactly how I’m feeling right now. Here’s a hint...it’s not saintly.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Cole demands.
The smile vanishes, and her eyes narrow.
“I’ll go wherever I damn well please. You’re not my daddy, Cole.”
She walks down the stairs, every male eye glued to each of her steps. Her shoulders are straight, and there’s a fire in her eyes that I would be leery of if I were Cole. That’s not a figure of speech either. There’s a hint of literal flames in her gorgeous gray eyes. Last time we saw that, Mandy almost got shish kabobbed by a bunch of butter knives.
As she reaches the last step, the candles on the table in the foyer all flare brightly. The flames are brighter than they should be naturally and seem to be growing larger by the second. Fate’s eyes widen in panic, and the flames flare higher.
Levi reaches out and wraps his large hand around her smaller one. She eyes the connection, and, as if that was all she needed, the flames are immediately extinguished - both the literal and the figurative ones.
“That’s exactly what I’m fucking talking about. You can’t control your powers and shouldn’t be leaving the house yet,” Cole snaps.
“How about you back the fuck off, Cole,” Levi barks, shocking the hell out of Cole and Knox. Levi is usually the mellow to my harsh. The calm to my storm. The sun to my rain. For him to go against our leader shows just how much Fate is affecting him too. “That’s exactly why I asked Fate to come with us. To get her out of this house so she can blow off some steam. Better to aim it at some ghosts rather than your cranky ass.”
A Fate Unknown: A PNR, Why Choose Novel (The Ghost Girl Series Book 1) Page 16
