Chapter 4
After a long night of avoiding Warren, Lucas, and Andrew, I had a crappy night of sleep, interrupted by an alarm blaring at the crack of dawn.
Macy. I was going to murder her. She loved yoga and had decided that a morning yoga session was just what her bridal party needed.
I could attest that I didn’t need a morning yoga session.
I needed sleep. Still, I dressed in leggings and a T-shirt and made my way down to the gym.
The scent of eucalyptus welcomed me and I stopped to breathe it in before pushing into the gym and searching for Macy.
Bent over, stretching in the middle of the room, she stood out in a vibrant yellow outfit.
Beside her, Megan stared into the distance, exhaustion clear on her face.
A few of Macy’s other friends from college and work were there, some of them peppier than others.
Most of them, I noticed, were staring at the other end of the gym, mouths dropped open.
I knew I shouldn’t look. I felt eyes on me almost immediately, and it was the same feeling from when I was a kid, knowing that the triplets were headed my way.
I looked. What a mistake that was. The three of them stood around a set of weight machines with a couple of other guys.
Shirtless. I’d seen Warren in all his shirtless glory, and my core pulsed from the memory.
His body had kept me tossing and turning the entire night.
I could also see the remains of scratch marks on his shoulders.
I wanted to screech at him to put a fucking shirt on, but it was too late.
Lucas shirtless was a work of art. Black tattoos covered his chest and back, down to his waist. The art went under the waistband of his shorts and came out the other side on his calves. I wondered where else he was covered, if those tattoos went close to his cock
, and if I could see them. That thought forced me to turn away from the men. I was acting like some sort of loose woman, lusting after multiple brothers at the same time. I didn’t even trust myself to look at Andrew. I kept my back to them and rubbed my face.
“Sleepy?” Macy squeezed my shoulder and laughed. “You’re up before this for the bakery.”
“I guess I didn’t sleep well. I’ll be fine, though.”
Macy grinned. “You haven’t done one of my yoga classes before. You don’t know what you’re in for.”
Groaning, I pretended to do stretches with the rest of the group while trying to navigate my way to the back.
Maybe I could slip away without Macy noticing.
Yoga just wasn’t my thing. I baked. I baked, and that meant I taste-tested a lot of sweets.
I exercised enough to keep most of the weight off, but it wasn’t for fun.
I didn’t want to be physical, especially so early in the morning.
I especially didn’t want to be physical when my core still ached from where Warren had stretched me so thoroughly.
After the first few forward bends, I had to stop to rub my thighs. I wanted to run, but Macy was watching me. She kept giving me the finger stare salute, and I had no choice but to act like I was athletic. It sucked.
When the poses got too hard, I slipped away with a signal to Macy that I needed water. I grabbed a bottle of water and kept walking, making the decision to save my rubbery thighs from any more abuse. Macy would have to understand.
I was almost in my room when a big hand caressed my hip and pulled me back into a strong chest. Warren. I melted against him before remembering myself and jerking away. “I told you, it was just one—”
Lucas grinned down at me and raised his eyebrows. “It was just one what, Cupcake?”
I blanched and took a big step away from him. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I have to go. Bye!”
I rushed away from him, the feel of his arms around my waist burned onto my skin. I slammed my door closed behind me and locked it just to be safe. I was losing my mind. I hadn’t been any less aroused once I saw that it wasn’t Warren. I didn’t understand what was happening to me.
Until the day before, I’d been a five-dates-before-sex woman. Milo had to date me for three months before I put out for him. What a disappointment that’d been.
Milo. I hadn’t thought much about him since walking into Warren’s suite.
It was like the old saying was true. You have to get under someone to get over someone.
Boy, had I gotten under someone. It was only awful that I wanted to get over him, next to him, beside him.
I still wanted him any way I could get him, despite knowing better.
I didn’t understand Lucas touching me like he had.
Maybe they really were all messing with me still.
Maybe their childhood games had transformed into something vastly different.
I didn’t want to be the center of their games again.
I just had to strengthen my restraint and stay the hell away from them.
It wasn’t exactly going to be easy, seeing as how we were all there for Macy’s wedding, but I’d make it work.
The rest of that day was easy because Macy arranged for us to go shopping in the city. The men all stayed behind to do whatever it was they wanted to do, and the women escaped. Or maybe I was the only one escaping. The rest of the women seemed sad to lose a chance at hanging out with the guys.
I relieved some stress by shopping. I bought things I didn’t need and came back to the hotel with an embarrassing collection of clothes that I would never get a chance to wear while still working at the bakery.
The one thing that I actually needed I hadn’t bought.
Lingerie. My closet was down to the laundry day panties and bras, things chosen for their comfort, not sex appeal.
Knowing that any part of me was thinking about the brothers while shopping had kept me from buying anything that would go so close to my downstairs area, though.
I ordered dinner in my room that night to avoid everyone and begged off with a headache.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to avoid the guys the next day, so I needed to rest up and recover while I still could.
I passed out early and slept like the dead, not waking up until the sound of someone banging on my door startled me out of a raunchy dream.
I checked the clock and swore. Stumbling out of bed, I rushed to the door and pulled it open. Andrew stood on the other side, a frown on his face. I was too groggy to accept that he was standing there for a bit.
When I didn’t say anything, he brushed past me and into my room. “You’re five minutes away from missing the bus to the hot springs.”
I gasped and then swore. I didn’t want to miss any of Macy’s events, but I especially didn’t want to miss the hot springs.
Running over to my suitcase, I threw it open and grabbed my swimsuit.
I changed in the bathroom and brushed my teeth before coming back into my room and finally realizing that Andrew was still there.
His eyes moved over my body and, if possible, his jaw set even harder. “Three minutes.”
I pulled on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt, then shoved my feet into boots. “Who voted you the Sara fetcher?”
“You need a jacket.”
Without thinking, I started searching for a jacket to throw on.
Bending down, I searched through my suitcase for a few seconds before realizing that I was blindly following Andrew’s directions.
Snapping back upright, I put my hands on my hips and turned around to face him.
“I don’t need a jacket. I’m only going to be outside for a few minutes. ”
He arched a dark eyebrow. “Get a jacket.”
I mimicked his eyebrow move and shook my head. “No.”
He checked his watch and crossed his arms over his chest, his shoulders looking even larger. “One and a half minutes.”
“I’m ready to go now.”
Andrew just stared at me, a muscle in his jaw working.
He was so put together that it drove me crazy.
His black hair was perfectly combed and coifed, his clothes were perfectly styled and rested beautifully over his muscles.
He was a majestic creature, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t an idiot.
He couldn’t come into my room and boss me around.
I glanced around the room, trying to think if I needed anything else, but it was hard to think with Andrew standing in my room, looking so stern. “Do I need to bring a towel?”
“Just a jacket.”
I rolled my eyes and moved towards the door, but Andrew caught my arm and pulled me into his chest. Tilting my head back to see his face, I felt a pleasant shiver run down my spine and center itself in my core.
He leaned into me, his strong thigh pressed between mine. It had to be an accident; he couldn’t actually mean to brush his thigh against me there. “You don’t like listening, do you?”
I swallowed and shook my head. “Not to you.”
His eyes flashed and darkened. “I’d enjoy teaching you to follow directions, Cupcake.”
Anything smart I could’ve said flew out of my head and I found myself just staring up at him.
Something in me responded to the silent challenge in his voice and the idea of pleasing him sounded too good.
Before I could get anywhere with that fantasy, though, Andrew gently pushed me away and shrugged out of his own jacket.
“You either bring your own jacket, or you wear mine.”
I eyed the expensive coat that I knew would smell like him and frowned. I couldn’t wear his jacket. Growling, I stormed over to my suitcase and grabbed the first jacket I could get my hands on. “Fine. Let’s go.”
He walked to the door and grabbed the handle. “Too bad. I’d have liked seeing you in mine.”
I chose to ignore him and hurry down the hallway. Despite my speed, Andrew had no issues keeping up with me. His long legs covered twice as much ground as mine. My heart was racing, but I was ignoring that, too.
I didn’t stop walking until I got to the bus and hurried to the back, scooting past Lucas and Warren on the way. I made no eye contact and didn’t even breathe until I was sitting down in the back, next to another of the bridesmaids.
Karly looked up at me and smiled. “Hey! You okay? You look like you’re going to pass out.”
I watched Andrew get on the bus and sit with his brothers. He mumbled something to them, and Lucas glanced back at me, a smirk on his handsome face. Forcing myself to look back at Karly, I smiled and shrugged. “Just tired. I overslept.”
“And you had that headache last night. Today will make you feel better, though. These hot springs are apparently amazing. Did you read about them?”
Getting some distance from Andrew allowed me to clear my head enough to have a conversation. I shrugged off the last haze of lust and grinned. “Are you kidding? This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I read the brochure front, back, and sideways. I can quote the damn thing.”
“Same! Being rich must be so nice.”
“They say money can’t buy happiness, but I think this outing at the hot springs is going to show me differently.” I spotted Macy talking with Megan a few rows ahead and winked at her.
She raised up on her knees to lean over and talk to us. “You almost missed the hot springs!”
“In our next life, you need to learn to sleep in.”
We bantered back and forth on the way to the hot springs, with me doing everything in my power to not look at the brothers. It was an hour-long drive up the mountain to reach the hot springs. Once we got there, I wasn’t disappointed.
A tall cabin-like structure sat in front of us, on the peak of the mountain. The space around the cabin wasn’t large, and I knew from the brochure that the hot springs were behind it, the view off the back of the mountain stunning.
Snow covered the ground, and I was thankful for the jacket Andrew had forced on me. With that thought, I looked over at him and found him studying me. My cheeks reddened and I jerked my head straight ahead to avoid looking at him again.
Glossy pale wood welcomed us into the cabin, the temperature nice and warm.
Andrew made his way through the crowd of us to speak to the woman at the front desk, and I watched as she swooned under his gaze.
I crossed my arms and looked away, yet again.
Only when I looked away, I met Warren’s hot gaze.
He closed the distance between us and smiled down at me.
“Hey, Cupcake. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were avoiding me.”
I glanced around and saw that no one was paying any attention to us. “I’m not avoiding you.”
“You sure about that?” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “The suite isn’t the same without you.”
Lucas walked over to us and grinned down at me. “I wanted to come get you this morning, but Andrew insisted it be him. He probably lectured you about being a good girl who shows up on time.”
A flutter hit low in my stomach and I crossed my arms over my chest. I met Warren’s gaze again and saw the smirk on his mouth stretch wider. It was like he knew what was happening to my body.
I was saved from having to own up to anything when the group of us were shown around the place.
On each side of the cabin was a changing room, one for women and one for men.
Doors at the back of the changing rooms led into a glass atrium that held a smaller hot spring for the fainter of heart.
Outside the atrium was the larger hot springs.
People willing to walk through the low temperature and snow could brave the more spectacular springs, but I was pretty sure I was sticking to the inside spring.
Everything was absolutely stunning and I couldn’t wait to slip my tired body into the water.
I stripped down to my bikini in the changing room and pulled a robe on to walk out.
I saw Macy and Jason heading out to the outdoor springs as I tossed my robe over one of the chairs nearby and slipped into the water.
I let out a low moan as the water came up over my thighs and then my waist. It was hot, and my skin tingled, but I loved it. I settled on one of the rock seats at the side of it and sank down until just my head was out of the water. I sighed and let it work its magic.
The sound of someone joining me made me open my eyes and it was just in time to see Warren sitting next to me. Lucas and Andrew weren’t far behind. They settled in the spring across from me, and I instantly felt naked under their glances.
Warren leaned over and pressed his fingers over my shoulder. “You’re still wearing my mark, Cupcake.”