Ever Marked (Mystics of Mercy Ridge #1)

29. Ever

Chapter 29

Ever

H oly shit, this is really happening.

This time next month, I could be a hundred-thousandaire. I’ll never have to worry where my next meal will come from ever again with those kinds of savings.

If I can finish the controller before they call me with a contract offer, that is.

Turning on the water to heat up, I grab a towel and toss it on the counter beside the sink. As I strip, the sound of Ledger and Bellamy shouting at each other has me sighing. I know I should be grateful that they haven’t killed each other yet, but honestly? I’m exhausted. It’s been one thing after another, and I feel like I’m constantly walking on eggshells in my own home.

Leaving that for future Ever to deal with, I finish stripping off my clothes and step into the hot shower, pulling the curtain shut behind me. Grabbing the bodywash, I let my mind wander and attempt to tune out the rest of the world, if only for a few minutes.

But no matter how I try to turn my brain off, I keep circling back to Bell’s words. About him still being my friend, but open to exploring where things could go between us, and consider what that might look like. Our entire friendship, I’ve known without a shadow of a doubt he was in my corner.

I grab the shampoo, working it through my hair. If I’m being honest… I’ve had a crush on Bellamy for years, but never wanted to admit it, even to myself. That simply wasn’t a gamble I was willing to bet on. What if he didn’t feel the same? I would’ve lost my only friend. I could be happy as long as I had him in my life, but if I scared him off by being too needy? That’s a future I never wanted to consider.

Rinsing my hair, I let myself imagine it. Of Bellamy being not just my friend, but one of my mates. Of waking up every morning seeing his face, of fighting and yeah, make up sex. Of being there no matter what life throws at us, because in a perfect world, he’d never leave because I was too needy or too much. For one secret moment, just for me, I imagine what life would be like if Bellamy loved me.

Guilt rises in the next instant as I worry about the guys' feelings about everything. It doesn’t matter what I want; I don’t get to be selfish. Not in a relationship with five people. I may be a center, but it’s my job to worry about everyone, not just my own needs. I’m supposed to be the thing that connects them all, not tears them apart.

I scrub my hair harder, frustrated and overwhelmed. “Maybe I’m just frustrated and horny.”

Once I throw it out there, I can’t deny the logic. I’ve been bombarded by guys that claim to be devoted to me, and want to be with me, yet I can’t even remember the last time I had sex. If I take the edge off, I’ll be able to think more clearly without my libido clouding my judgment.

Releasing a long exhale, I slide my hand between my legs, closing my eyes. Flashes of Ledger, Myles, Arson, and Bellamy pinning me between them, touching me and kissing me like I’m the center of their universe play out behind my eyelids. Faster, I circle my clit, phantom touches caressing my skin as I imagine their hands on me, pushing me closer and closer to the edge with every invisible stroke.

A shudder snakes down my spine, and I pause with my hand between my thighs. “What happened to privacy, Casper?”

Arson curses. “Sorry, angel, I didn’t realize you were in here. I was going to shave, but I can come back later. Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything.”

Logically, I know it’s a bad idea…. But I’m horny and desperate for something real . To remind me that everything happening isn’t just in my head.

“Not like you can see anything through the curtain anyway,” I say, swallowing hard and feigning nonchalance. “I don’t mind if you stay.”

Arson hesitates, but a minute later, I hear the electric razor kick on. Giving him a minute to settle into a rhythm, I silently return to circling my clit, biting the inside of my cheek to stay quiet. As I bring myself closer to the edge, I slip two fingers inside of myself, hitching in a sharp breath as I brush that sweet spot. Instantly, I freeze, but it’s too late.

“Angel,” Arson growls on the other side of the shower curtain, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. “You’re killing me here. Do you have any idea how miserable it’s been since all your boy toys invaded the house? There’s nowhere to jack off anymore.”

“Isn’t that the damn truth.” Shutting off my brain, I circle my clit faster. Fuck it; he’s right. There isn’t an ounce of privacy left around here, and I’m over it. This is my house. If I have to have an audience to finally get off? So be it.

“Maybe,” I bite my lip. “Maybe we can help each other out, then.”

The razor shuts off. “Ever?”

“Arson.”

He groans. “You can’t say my name like that when I know you’re in there touching yourself.”

“Like what?”

“All breathless and mine.” Before I can talk myself out of what a terrible idea this is, a shadow slips between my thighs that I don’t push away, thrumming my clit as fast as a vibrator and leaving me clutching the shelf in the wall. My orgasm hits me hard and fast, my cries echoing around the bathroom as my legs threaten to give out beneath me.

“You can keep Snow White if you really like the bastard that much, angel. Hell, keep the wolf and my brother if they make you happy. But don't ever forget that you were mine first .”

Fast as lightning, Arson’s shadow snakes out from between my legs, flicking my clit teasingly in parting before wrapping around my waist and yanking me out of the shower. He’s naked, seated against the wall with his legs stretched out in front of him, and crutches abandoned on the tiled floor as he languidly strokes his cock.

“Fuck, that’s a beautiful sight,” he purrs, using his shadows to pull me to him.

Struggling to catch my breath as I come down from my high, the boneless pleasure offers me enough courage to ask for what I want. “Let me return the favor.”

“Oh, angel, we’ll never be even,” he chuckles, the sound dark and dangerous. “You’re so far above me it’ll take a lifetime to claw my way up from my sins.” Before I can argue, he jerks my hips to his face. “But I’m happy right here beneath you where I belong.”

His tongue curls around my clit and he sucks.

Hard enough that I forget my own name.

Fast enough that I couldn’t care less.

Every objection and reason I shouldn’t be doing this flies out the window as my hand slaps against the wall in a bid to keep me upright as I straddle his face, but it doesn’t matter. Arson’s fingers dig into my hips and ass so hard, there isn’t a chance in hell he’s going to let me go anywhere until he’s damn good and ready.

Feeling the tension leave my body, he growls, “Now you’re getting it,” the sound vibrating against my abused clit. All I can do is hold on for the ride as he eats me out like it’s his life’s mission, and when I’m begging for more? He doesn’t disappoint.

“That’s it, sweet girl,” he breathes, a cool pressure circling my pussy before pressing inside, rolling and curling up to stroke my g-spot as his shadow fucks me relentlessly while his hands are full grinding me against his face.

Arson doesn’t give a single shit that I’m dripping wet and soaking him and his cast, or that the shower’s still running. He devours me like he’s been dreaming of every way he can wreck me for anyone else.

“I hate it you know,” he whispers before doubling down on his efforts to make me come again. “That you think of him as your best friend when I know you so much better. You were my mate first,” he snarls, lapping at my pussy. “ I’m the one that was here through everything. Watching over you. Making sure you were safe.” Two of his fingers join the shadow tendril, stretching me full and curling against that sweet spot that has my vision blackening around the edges. “Sure, he came, but he wasn’t here when you needed someone. I was.” He latches onto my clit and rolls his tongue around it while relentlessly fucking me with his fingers, and I shatter.

When a burst of heat splashes across my ass and Arson groans? I roll right into another orgasm. Never in my life has someone gotten off just by getting me off, and it’s a heady feeling. Intoxicating. Addicting.

Arson came into my life like a whirlwind, but I can’t imagine it without him anymore.

It’s a startling revelation, but I can’t argue that it feels right.

Breathless, he pants, “Good luck trying to get rid of me now, angel.”

Swallowing hard, I thread my fingers through his hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”