Chapter 22
SKY
It started with little touches; Adam brushing his hand against the small of my back, Fletcher’s fingers running along the nape of my neck. Lingering looks with secretive smiles, like they liked what they saw, made me heat up like a hundred-watt bulb.
Then came the gifts.
Adam and I went out shopping on a scorching August afternoon.
It was a record high heatwave for Greymercy, but honestly?
After being kept isolated in a cold white cell with nothing comforting, nothing soft, nothing to warm up with?
I loved the feeling of the sun beating down on my shoulders and back.
Loved the feeling of the warmth soaking through me. Even sweating didn’t bother me much.
Blistering hot freedom was better than icy containment any day of the week.
Adam treated me to a new pair of Chucks, because I’d worn holes in the soles of mine. I grinned so big, my face hurt. “Thank you so much. I love them.” They were bright cherry red, but red was my favorite color. It always had been, since I was a little boy.
“Of course,” Adam said easily as he chucked my old shoes, as well as the box the new ones came in, into the nearest outdoor trash can. They landed with a solid thud at the bottom. “One more stop. I promised Fletcher something sweet for dessert tonight, and I really don’t feel like baking.”
I laughed. “So you’re cheating?”
“Basically.” He grinned.
I waited outside the bakery while Adam ran inside to fetch whatever confection he was going to buy for tonight.
In the alley next door, a couple of kittens were wrestling around in the dirt.
One was white with black splotches, and the other was a little smaller and orange.
Brothers, probably. My chest gave a pang, reminded of all the antics River and I got into as children, but before my mind wandered off down that long and lonely road, Adam came back out.
“Here.” He held out a chocolate cake pop with a cute teddy bear face, complete with little fondant ears. I stared at it a moment, biting down on my lip before taking the offered treat.
“For me?”
“Don’t tell Fletcher,” Adam said conspiratorially. “I don’t need him getting jealous.”
I rolled my eyes. “I think this is hush money, to keep me quiet about you buying whatever’s in that bag.” When Adam only shrugged in a “what can you do?” way, I shook my head and took a bite of the treat. The chocolate cake was soft and rich and decadent. I let out a soft hum of approval. “Yum.”
We walked down the sidewalk, my heart skipping along. I had the urge to reach out and take Adam’s hand, but I didn’t. That, somehow, felt far too intimate.
That night, Fletcher came home from work to the meal Adam and I prepared for him—plus the small chocolate cake that Adam had moved onto a cake platter, the box it came in having disappeared—and the smile on Fletcher’s face was so worth it.
Adam and I shared a look as he bit into the delightfully-fudgy cake and wiggled in his seat. “Adam, you outdid yourself again! This is delicious.” I raised my brow. Adam shot me a look, and I just smiled.
Hush money, remember?
The nightly cuddles were probably the best part of this new relationship. During TV time, we piled on the couch together, plus I’d been sleeping in Adam and Fletcher’s bed since my heat ended. They cuddled me every night, like a puppy pile in human form.
The kisses started on my cheeks, but Fletcher and Adam both began stealing little pecks on my lips, pecks that had my inner-wolf wiggling all over with delight.
God, I loved it. My heart ached with how full it was, how wanted I felt. These two men made me feel desired in a way I’d never felt before.
How could two gorgeous married men want someone like me? I wasn’t quite sure. I wasn’t much to look at and I had a myriad of problems which, granted, I was trying to sort out in therapy, but the way they looked at me?
Had they looked at me this way the entire time, and I’d been too buried in pain and self-loathing to notice? Because this couldn’t have been a sudden interest, or triggered by my heat flaring up. No. This was the result of months of spending time together. It had to be.
Which meant I was oblivious, as always.
Oh well.
I sat on the couch with my legs propped up on the coffee table, my phoenix journal propped up on my bent knees.
I’d filled a lot of the pages with things I wanted to remember, little stories and tales about Fletcher and Adam.
Today, I was writing about the way my soul hummed whenever my boyfriends were near—I was still getting used to that word in the plural—when I heard the door.
Fletcher pranced in wearing distressed jean shorts and a t-shirt with a melting rainbow ice cream cone on it that said “I Got Drip.” He tied his red hair back in a ponytail, something he’d been doing all summer long.
I had to admit, I liked his hair long. When he first got out of the shower, it curled into these tiny ringlets that made me want to bury my fingers in them. His hair was beautiful, not your typical ginger, but a deeper auburn that had brighter, ruby tones when the sun hit it just right.
Fletcher paused halfway to me, a strange look on his face. “What?”
I blinked twice, and my cheeks grew hot when I realized he’d caught me openly gawking at him. “Nothing,” I blurted.
He giggled. “Take a picture, it lasts longer,” he teased, then crossed the room to greet me. Only then did I realize he had a small shopping bag dangling from one hand. He opened it and reached inside. “I got something for you.”
“What is it?”
He pulled out a cute leather bracelet with teal and red glass beads that glistened in the sunlight. In the center was a small metal charm—a wolf’s paw. My smile stretched from ear to ear as I stared at it, my heart all over the place. I wasn’t used to getting so much attention.
“I saw it and felt like it matched your vibe,” he said, as if it were just that simple. “What do you think?”
“Fletcher, I… It’s beautiful,” I murmured.
“Want help putting it on?”
I quickly closed my journal and set the book aside, then held out my left arm. Fletcher carefully clasped the bracelet around my wrist with the lobster claw and then gently turned my hand over so that we could both admire it.
It looked perfect.
My heart ached. “It’s beautiful.”
Fletcher’s expression took on a soft fondness as he leaned in. “So are you.” Curling two fingers beneath my chin, he gently tipped my face towards his and pressed his lips to mine. Not a peck—a real kiss. Soft. Gentle. Tender.
It left me reeling.
As he pulled away, I stared at him, my jaw slack. I touched my tingling lips, my heart a pinball in my chest. “Fletch, I…” But the words got stuck in my throat, and all I could do was look at him.
Fletcher’s brows knitted. “What’s wrong?”
I swallowed. “Nothing, just… That was my first kiss.”
He tilted his head. “We kissed you plenty during your heat.”
“I don’t really remember it. It’s fuzzy, like looking through a steamed-up shower door, but this…” I licked my bottom lip, tasting the hint of Fletcher’s sweetness left behind. “Can we do it again?”
He grinned. Moving closer, he cupped the side of my face with one hand. My heart picked up speed. The scent of Fletcher filled my senses as he leaned in and did exactly as I asked. He kissed me again. Our lips moved together, slow and soft, until I was spinning right out of orbit.
He pulled away. “Better?”
“Wow,” I breathed, and he laughed.
I wore a smile for the rest of the day.