Chapter Six #2
“Move over, jaguar,” Rylee says, pushing her way between us.
“There is a free seat on the other side,” he grits out.
“I know.” She smiles widely and squeezes in. “You had your time. I get some now. Maybe we should set up a custody agreement.”
“Seriously?” I laugh. “I’m going to get scheduled visits?”
“Sure. You were my friend first. I’m the one who’s going to lose my friend in the deal.
” She waves her hand toward Remy. “I have eyes. He’s a beautiful man.
Unfortunately, they all are. You’re going to fall under their spell and the bond.
I’ll be lucky to get you every other Sunday.
” I want to laugh again, yet her words spark jealousy in my stomach.
“See.” She points at me. “Saying they are beautiful pissed you off.”
“Nu-huh.” I glance at Hunter as he hands me water.
“Good,” he says, resuming his seat.
“I would never ignore you. Or forget why I came in the first place,” I say, ignoring Hunter’s response.
“We’ll see,” Rylee mumbles, glaring at Hunter.
“You need to eat.” I look at the plate of food he holds. “I didn’t know what you liked.”
“I’m not picky.” I stare at the little sandwiches. There is cheese, sausage, crackers, and chips piled around them. He picks up a wedge of cheese and holds it to my mouth.
“Eat,” he commands, and I blink. I meet his steady gaze. He acts as if it’s perfectly natural to feed me in a room full of people.
“Hunter.” He moves the food closer. What choice do I have? A sexy man wants to feed me, so I open my mouth.
“Good girl,” he says deeply, and my stomach clenches.
“She will be staying with me,” Rylee announces.
“We know,” Bane sighs, and I look at him. He stands against the wall beside Lawson, his focus on me and Hunter.
“I’ll allow visits, but no sleepovers,” she continues.
This time, Hunter holds a sandwich to my lips. I take a bite.
“Sleepovers are the best,” Sally chimes in as she sits at the table in front of us.
“Whose side are you on?” Rylee asks.
“Haven’s.” She smiles and winks at me.
“Rylee—” Hunter slides a cracker between my lips. Before he can remove his finger, I bite him. His eyes narrow.
“Careful, Princess,” he rumbles. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.” I make a show of chewing, and then I lick my lips. He tracks the motion of my tongue. A low growl comes from where Lawson is standing.
“I know what we should do.” Sally jumps up. “Dance.”
“No,” Sally’s mates say at the same time.
“Excuse me, boyfriends.” Sally puts her hands on her hips.
“Do you want us to kill someone?” Luca asks.
“It'll be fine,” she says. “Rylee?”
“I’m always up for a dance.” She gets up and looks down at me. “Haven.”
“Uh…no.” I scoot back on the couch. “I'm not a dancer.”
“We’ll dance around you,” Rylee says. She gives me a look, her eyes wide, and I’m not sure what she’s trying to say.
“No, really.” Being on display in front of strangers isn’t my idea of fun. I never learned how to dance. I was the one at the school dances standing in the corner.
“I think she wants girl time more than actually to dance,” Sally says.
“Sally,” Rylee hisses.
“What? Just trying to be helpful.” She grins and walks toward the door.
“This is a horrible idea,” Quinn says.
“I’m in,” Stephanie says.
“Mate,” he growls.
“Let’s do it,” Daisy says, joining Sally.
“Daisy,” Micah says softly.
“Don’t worry, Daddy,” Daisy says, gliding her hand across his chest as she moves away.
“Come on, Haven,” Rylee says, holding out her hand. My mind is stuck on what Daisy called Micah.
“We won’t dance,” Serenity says, leaving Ryker’s side.
“Just the girls,” Marie says, pressing her hand to Bash’s chest when he starts to follow her. I straighten and take Rylee’s hand.
“Sally, I don’t want to clean up the blood,” Ryker says.
“You love blood,” she says.
“Not on the floor,” he drawls.
“It’s just a group of girls talking away from their mates.”
“Yes, that’s the problem.” He glares at her.
“Don’t worry.” She grins.
Rylee pulls me away, and we slip out the door as a group.
Sally leads us down the stairs and through the bodies on the dance floor to the corner of the room.
My body protests as I get further away from the brothers.
How can I be so attached? We stop at a high-top table and settle around it.
I look back and see several bodies standing on the balcony watching us.
“Set boundaries now,” Sally says, and I focus on her. “If you don’t, they’ll put their manly spell on you. Let them crave you.”
“But don’t put yourself in danger,” Serenity adds. “They don’t like that.”
“If it’s for a good reason, they’ll forgive you,” Marie says.
“They won’t let you forget it, though,” Stephanie mutters.
“All you have to do is ask for forgiveness later,” Sally smirks. “Preferably naked.”
“Sometimes I fuck up just so Micah gets stern and demanding,” Daisy breathes. “It’s the best.”
I stare at them. They are just women. Even though they are shifters and vampires, they are women first. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t to feel as if I was talking to humans.
“Ladies, we need to talk about the real problem,” Rylee says, and we all look at her. “She has four mates. No one in the family has four mates. She’s human and not used to our world. Four men.” She scrunches up her nose.
“We should have invited Breeane or Harmony,” Serenity says, and I tilt my head. “They have three mates. I bet they have tons of advice.”
“We should plan to do that some night.” Sally nods, pulling out her phone.
“Men are men. One or two is one thing, but four.” Rylee shakes her head. “It doesn’t sound fun to me.”
“I can’t wait until you find your mate,” Daisy says.
“I can. No, thank you,” Rylee says, rubbing her arms.
“Why don’t we ask Haven how she feels?” Stephanie asks, and I freeze when I become the center of attention.
“How should I feel?” I look around us and back at the guys. “Can they hear us?” I ask, focusing on the woman staring at me.
“Probably not,” Marie says.
“The noise will help.” Daisy shrugs.
“Just in case, whisper,” Rylee suggests. “We’ll still be able to hear you.”
“I should be more overwhelmed than I am,” I whisper, crossing my arms on the table. “Shouldn’t I?”
“You feel whatever the fuck you want,” Sally says, putting her phone away.
“It’s shocking. All of it. I thought Rylee telling me about your world was the most life changing thing that would happen.
When I met them, something inside shifted.
I didn’t run away or deny their claim. Why?
It must be true. I could be dreaming. Four sexy men want me.
” Rylee opens her mouth, and I point at her.
“I don’t think I’m lacking. I have a nice body.
My hair is pretty, and I brush my teeth regularly.
” Sally laughs. “I think I’m pretty good at sex.
Not that I have it a lot, but I know when a man is enjoying himself. It’s just…odd.”
“But you like them,” Marie says softly.
“Yeah. I’m curious about their life.” I watch them exchange loaded glances. “What?”
“We don’t know much,” Rylee says.
“What we do know will take a strong woman to stay by their side.” Sally tilts her head. “Are you that woman?”
“I think I’d like to be,” I say softly. “I understand having pain in your past.”
“We won’t tell you what we know,” Sally says.
“I get it.” I nod. “They need to trust me.”
“It'll work out,” she continues, touching my arm lightly.
“What? Can you tell the future?” I laugh, but no one else does. “No shit?”
“No shit.” She grins.
“Rabbits have skills,” Serenity says.
“Damn right.” Sally slides her hand away.
“I'll say this…” She leans over the table.
“Trust the process. They'll never hurt you on purpose. Once they catch your scent, you become their priority, and they'll try to make you happy. They have demons, as we all do. A mating never goes smoothly, so expect bumps in the road. If you hang on, you’ll enjoy the ride, and in the end have a great love story, and four men who will die for you.”
“Shit,” I breathe.
“She’s good at the speeches,” Daisy says.
“Excellent,” Steph mutters.
“I guess.”
“You’re lucky.” Sally isn’t done. “You walked into a family. We aren’t your average women.
Yes, we have gifts that make us stronger, but our real strength is the bond of women.
We don’t talk badly behind your back or think of you as a threat.
At any time, you can call us. If you need to talk, we're here for you. We cheer you on and will bring you coffee whenever you need it. Need a flashy outfit? We got you. Pissed at your men, we'll sympathize and make you smile. Don’t hesitate to reach out.”
I almost want to cry.
“Sally was there for me,” Rylee whispers. “We are family. You are our family.”
“Thank you.” I swallow hard. “I’ve never had that. Rylee is my closest friend, even though we just met face-to-face. She's been there for me through some tough times. It'll take some time to realize this is my life now.”
“It is.” Rylee squeezes my hand.
Our table is rocked as two men crash into it. One of the men hits my side. Thankfully, Rylee has quick reflexes and yanks me toward her before I fall. Daisy growls and shoves the table into them as everyone moves away.
“Bitch, what the fuck?” the other man yells.
“What did you call me?” Daisy asks, her eyes narrowed.
“Damn,” the man beside me hums, looking at my chest. “Where’d you come from, sweets?” He takes a step toward me.
“I wouldn’t,” Sally says, grinning.
“It must be fate, running into you,” he says, ignoring Sally.
“Uh-oh.” Steph looks across the room.
“Let’s go, Dan. They aren’t worth our time.” His friend continues to glare at Daisy.
“Try it,” Daisy says, lifting her chin.
“Ladies, this isn’t going to end well,” Marie says.
“Not for them,” Serenity mumbles.
“Back off,” Rylee hisses at Dan.
He doesn’t listen, lifts his hand, and pinches my dress between his fingers.
I gasp, and Lawson appears between us. His brothers aren't far behind. Too fast for me to track, Dan is on the ground, and Lawson is hitting him. Bane’s arms surround me, pulling me away.
Micah is standing an inch away from Dan’s friend, an evil smile gracing his gorgeous face.
“Did you call her a bitch?” Micah asks softly, lifting his chin toward Daisy.
“Fuck,” Ryker drawls.
“Mate, come here,” Quinn growls, and she moves quickly toward him.
No one is pulling Lawson away. His hands are covered in Dan’s blood. He’s not fighting back. Hunter and Remy watch their brother, their arms crossed.
“Micah,” Bash says, and I look up. The other man is on his knees. Micah isn’t touching him. “Not here.”
Whatever Micah is doing, he doesn’t stop.
“That’s a lot of blood,” Serenity mumbles, scooting around the table.
“Here,” Ryker commands. She grins but doesn’t waste time going to him.
Bash walks around the crowd, reaching Marie, and holding her close.
“Rylee, take Haven home,” Bane orders, turning me away from the unreal scene in front of me. “Now.”
“Our nights out are the best,” Sally says, grinning. “We’ll walk you out.” I notice her mates are beside her, looking at the floor calmly. “We definitely need to do this again.”
Rylee circles my waist and guides me through the club. I move easily with her, yet my body wants to stay. I barely register the cold air on my face.
“Thanks, Sally,” Rylee says.
“Anytime.” She nudges my shoulder. “Don’t worry. They won’t get hurt.” I nod. “Tomorrow night, I’ll check in. The guys will protest if we go to the club again, but we could hang out at your place sometime.” She wiggles her fingers and walks away, her mates close to her side.
“Haven, get in.” I look at her and notice she’s holding open the car door.
She waits patiently as I sit slowly and slam the door.
I watch her jog around the front of the car.
Once she sits in the driver’s seat, she looks at me.
“Are you okay? Lawson was vicious, but the guy touched you. Don’t blame him. He’s protecting his mate.”
“No one has ever defended me,” I whisper, and she jerks back.
“Fuck.” She grins slowly. “The Princess doesn’t mind a little bloodshed in her honor.”
“Apparently.” My body feels funny.
I want to reward Lawson, not condemn him.