Chapter 17 Eris
Idon’t just wake.
I rise.
Warm and rested in a way that feels wrong for someone who slept in a stranger’s—no, Kieran’s—bed after a break-in, a fistfight, and a suspicion coming to life before my eyes.
But the sheets are soft, the room is quiet, and the shirt I’m wearing smells like him.
I stretch, toes curling in the blankets, and for a split second my mind flashes with the briefest clips of scattered memories…
Kieran’s weight pinning me to a hotel bed.
Jace’s breath against my throat.
Silas’s hands all over me, slow and deliberate.
Heat pools low in my stomach, and I shake my head. Drunk actions and sober thoughts are not the way I want to start this morning.
But I wouldn’t mind revisiting those actions while sober and able to fully acknowledge who they are… Though I can honestly say, the stalking might be part of the fantasy for me.
God, get a fucking grip.
I stand, letting the hem of Kieran’s shirt brush my thighs. There’s no point in bothering with pants because they’ve all seen me naked.
The door to the hall is open an inch, but it wasn’t like that when I went to sleep. So, someone came to check on me.
I won’t pretend that knowledge doesn’t make my chest tighten.
I step into the bathroom and raise a brow at the new teal toothbrush and the minty toothpaste sitting on the counter… in my favorite brands.
Emotions war with my thoughts, stuck somewhere between this is so fucking sweet and I will gag on whoever was this thoughtful.
I won’t say it aloud just yet, but I do wonder who bought this stuff the entire time I’m brushing my teeth.
After a quick face wash, I search for deodorant and find only Kieran’s…
but whatever. It works, even though it’s a gel, and I spend five minutes awkwardly fanning my armpits because I hate the way it feels.
My hair goes into a messy bun atop my head, and I pad barefoot down the hallway, ready to welcome the chaos. The concrete floor is chilly, a sharp juxtaposition to the warmth in my fingers. My pulse stirs a little faster as I listen to the guys.
Somewhere in the loft, a pan shifts, clanging against something metal, and a cupboard closes as a coffee machine beeps. Low voices murmur in a rhythm I could almost fall back asleep to.
Domestic.
Terrifyingly domestic.
The moment I step into the open living space, all three guys turn like I’m a gravitational pull they can’t avoid instead of a person.
Silas is sitting at the table with an open laptop and a coffee mug against his bottom lip, pausing mid-sip.
Jace perches on a stool at the kitchen island, eyes sliding down my legs before snapping back to my face.
And Kieran is at the stove, spatula in hand, absolutely forgetting how lungs work.
“Is this the part where you pretend you weren’t talking about me?” I ask, a little sassy from lack of sleep.
“No,” Silas says, stretching the word as he closes a laptop. “This is the part where we offer you breakfast.”
There’s a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast at the end of the table, and an assortment of jellies and jams in the center. A mug of steaming coffee sits opposite the utensils.
It looks domestic in a way that shouldn’t be dangerous but absolutely is.
I move toward the seat but stop dead in my tracks, my eyes locking onto the counter near the fridge.
My phone.
My keys.
My wallet.
My gun.
“I have questions,” I mention absently, wondering when they went back to my apartment to get my things and if they got any clothes while they were there. “And how many you answer honestly will determine how the rest of this day plays out.”
Silas stands, pulling out a chair for me. “Ask. We’ll answer.”
“How long have you been watching me?”
“Since you downloaded the app,” Kieran admits with a shrug.
“Before that,” I state and shake my head. “Did you know who I was before I downloaded the app?”
There’s a beat of silence, like collectively they’re waiting to see who wants to answer this one…
Jace sighs. “Once we saw you in person, we recognized you. We didn’t know your name, though.”
“How?” Curiosity is going to get me killed one day, but I can’t fucking help it. “Are you saying you saw me in person before you hacked my phone to follow me around?”
“You go to the same cafe I visit sometimes.” Jace scratches his jaw, a slight grimace on his face. “I’ve never seen you sit at the same table or talk to anyone except your red-headed friend.”
My stomach twists. “Roo. Her name is Roo.”
“We know her name,” Silas adds, tipping his head toward the wall of windows. “You used to run past our building every morning at seven. You rarely missed a day, even on weekends. Then it dwindled to a few days a week until recently… Then it became none.”
“Stalking ex,” I mumble as an explanation because I can’t tell them why my exercise routine went from a posh indoor gym at my apartment complex to a sweaty gym in the warehouse district.
“And me,” Kieran says quietly, leaning against the kitchen counter. “I used to live in your complex. Two floors up. I moved out last year, but I saw you come and go a few times. The entry is still the same. They never deactivated my fob, so that’s how we got into the building last night.”
I blink at him, my eyelids moving in slow motion. “You lived in my building?”
He nods once, and I frown, feeling exposed for all the wrong reasons. They haven’t yet mentioned anything that leads me to believe they know what I do for a living, but that doesn’t mean they don’t know.
And if they know, who else does?
Have I been that sloppy?
No. No, I haven’t.
I shake the thoughts away, redirecting the conversation. “And none of you were going to say anything? Like then… or now, if I didn’t ask?”
“We didn’t think you wanted strangers walking up to you,” Jace replies with a snort that he tries to hide with a cough. “You don’t exactly… invite conversation.”
I fight a grin, my cheeks burning with the effort.
They weren’t stalking me before the app. They were intrigued, and my resting bitch face made them hesitant. So, they just watched me…
Watching isn’t stalking.
They’re miles apart in definition.
Or millimeters.
Depending on the perspective.
“And the app?” I inquire. “How much of it was… you?”
“It’s a real AI application we built as a boyfriend simulator,” Silas elaborates. “Still is for every user who has downloaded the app. But the system flagged you as an anomaly because you didn’t follow the prescribed route. Once we saw how you responded to the prompts, we stepped in.”
“In shifts,” Jace adds. “We were curious at first, hoping it wasn’t a suicide watch kind of moment, because I couldn’t find any information on you without hacking into your phone.”
“You pretended to be it,” I fill in, nodding.
“No,” Kieran corrects. “We spoke through it. Normal users don’t normally interact with Locke unless they have a problem the admin team needs to fix.
Messages about updates and new features come from Locke.
Users get the option of renaming the AI boyfriend they build, and of including preferences and biometrics.
Occasionally, they don’t rename him, but that’s not important. ”
I think his explanation makes it worse somehow.
Maybe better?
Terrifying?
I don’t know how to feel about this yet.
That wasn’t my experience when I first opened the HimLock app.
“And the sex?” I ask because I’m done pretending this isn’t the part that truly haunts me. “I’ve slept with all three of you now.”
Silas doesn’t even blink. “You have.”
“Was that planned?”
“We didn’t plan on having sex with you. It just happened.” Jace shakes his head like he can’t believe what he just said. “But none of us are pretending it didn’t happen… or that it didn’t affect us.”
Now that I’m looking at them fully awake, not drunk or riding adrenaline, I’m remembering more and more from the nights I spent with them.
“You’re undivided attention,” Jace said to me as he smirked and rolled his hips.
“You can be louder for me,” Kieran encouraged, working me into another orgasm.
“You won’t forget me,” Silas murmured, sliding inside me so slowly it felt like torture.
If that was them holding back… Fuck.
A fresh wave of heat rolls through me, and I lick my lips. I’m not sure if it’s my inner whore or that retroactive anger I love so much… But I’m going to ride the high.
“I’m not scared of you,” I say, just to keep the air clear of any suspicions.
“We know,” Jace comments.
I hold my hand up. “And I’m not running.”
Silas leans forward. “Good.”
“But I’m still angry,” I admit. “And slightly confused about some things. And maybe a little—”
“Attached?” Kieran smiles as he finishes it for me.
I purse my lips and narrow my eyes at them. “Maybe.”
Jace takes my cold coffee and passes it to Kieran. Without a word spoken between them, my mug gets replaced with hot coffee. I just stare at it for a minute, processing the conversation.
“Eris,” Jace calls gently. “Ask your next question. I see it spinning in your mind. Just say it.”
I wrap my hands around the mug, using the heat to center myself.
“Am I a project you got too invested in?” I inquire, my tone matter-of-fact, keeping all emotion at a distance because I don’t know if I’ll like the answer. “Or do you actually—”
“Want you?” Silas interrupts, not giving me time to finish. “We want you.”
“In ways you’re not yet ready to hear,” Kieran states, ruffling his hair as he glances at the untouched food in front of me.
“And we’re not letting you go,” Jace tells me, raising his brow like he dares me to argue.
That feral thing inside me stretches languidly, warmth curling around the edges, eagerly reaching for those stirring emotions in my chest.
Possessive.
Obsessive.
Hopeful.
I’m not going anywhere.
Not today, anyway…