Chapter 31 #2
Cyrus’s eyes flick to me standing there awkwardly. This scenario has never once entered my mind; now that it has, it feels more uncomfortable than I could have predicted.
“Just do what you usually do. Try anything with my mate, and there are plenty of places on this property to bury your body,” Cyrus tells him, shutting the door before walking off into the kitchen.
“Coffee?” I ask, not knowing what else to say.
Sam watches Cyrus walking into the kitchen before nodding. Sam helps me make the coffee while Cyrus sits at the dining table reading his newspaper, pretending to ignore us, though I know he is paying avid attention to everything.
“Well, this isn’t awkward at all,” Sam mutters, and I bump him with my hip shaking my head.
“Body parts to yourselves,” Cyrus says, looking at us.
Clearly, my bumping him hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Kind of feels like a chaperoned date,” Sam taunts, and I hear Cyrus growl low in the back of his throat.
“There will be no dating, be grateful I didn’t kill you because Eli wanted to. Maybe next time, I will allow it.”
“Where is your mate?” Sam asks him, looking around before looking back toward the foyer like he is expecting Eli to pop out at any moment.
“Right beside you,” Cyrus tells him.
Sam rolls his eyes at his answer before clicking his tongue. “I meant your other mate.”
“That would be none of your business,” Cyrus answers.
I walk over, placing Cyrus’s coffee on the table next to him, when he suddenly reaches up so quickly that I have no time to react. Cyrus’s hand goes to the back of my neck, bringing my face to his and kissing me.
“Cyrus…” I mumble against his lips. My face turns red because I can’t believe he would do that in front of Sam, though I know he is doing it deliberately to show him I belong to them and no one else.
Cyrus pushes my hair back and dumps it on my other shoulder, which I think is weird until I hear Sam gasp behind me.
“You let him mark you?” Sam says, not even hiding his disgust as he eyes the mark on my neck.
I pull my hair back down and glare at Cyrus. “Yes, Cyrus marked me,” I tell him while still glaring at Cyrus, who is watching Sam’s reaction, amused.
I look over at Sam, feeling guilty and a little embarrassed by his actions.
“Don’t feel guilty, Addie. You belong to us just as we belong to you. Sam needs to realize that,” Cyrus says, not taking his eyes off Sam.
Sam swallows and looks away, and I can see how badly Cyrus’s words hurt him.
“Go with your friend, and the doors stay open,” Cyrus tells me.
I raise an eyebrow at him. Really? Are we in high school? He sounds like my father.
“Actually, I think I might head off. I have work to do,” Sam says, and I turn to face him.
“Sam?”
“Don’t, Addie. I am fine, but I think I should go,” he says, turning around to leave.
“Wait, are you going to come back?” I ask him, and he stops, looking over at me before looking at Cyrus.
“You can see each other, but only as long as one of us is present,” Cyrus tells him.
“Maybe tomorrow. Can you at least unblock me from her phone?” Sam asks him.
“I will ask Eli if he will allow it,” Cyrus says, looking back down at his newspaper as he unfolds it.
I follow Sam to the door. He gives me a quick hug, pressing me against his body, and I wave goodbye to him from the door as he leaves. Closing the door, I turn around to bump into Cyrus, who is standing directly behind me.
“Did you have to be so rude?” I ask him, annoyed at his possessive display in front of Sam.
“Rude is him thinking he can take what’s mine. He needs to know his place, and that will never be by your side.”
I go to say something when he cuts me off, grabbing my hand.
“Come, you should shower. His scent is all over you, and I don’t particularly like that,” he says in a cold voice.
“You made him feel awkward, and he left.”
“And if he is smart, he won’t come back, Addie.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Sam isn’t meant to be in Soya, Addie. He followed you here. I wouldn’t be so cozy around him. You have no idea who he truly is.”
“And what, you do?” I ask.
Cyrus growls, stepping closer, his chest pressing against mine. “I know him better than you do, and I also know what he is capable of, and it isn’t anything good,” he says before turning on his heel and walking up the stairs.
I ponder his words. What he’s said makes me feel uncomfortable.
“Addie. Shower. Now,” Cyrus says over his shoulder.
I huff, annoyed, before following him up the steps.
Walking into the bathroom, I wait for him to leave, staring at him expectantly. Cyrus raises his eyebrow at me as we stand off, neither of us willing to avert our gaze. His lips press into a line as he looks me up and down.
“Strip, or I will do it for you,” he says, reaching for the hem of my shirt.
I step back toward the door and away from him.
“Addie!” he snaps at me coldly.
“Don’t be all snappy with me. You want me to shower, get out, and I will.”
“I didn’t kill your boy toy, did I? So come here before I change my mind about you seeing him again,” Cyrus snaps before reaching down and pulling my shirt up and over my head. “See, wasn’t so hard now, was it?”
“Clearly, you have never heard of privacy,” I tell him, stripping my pants off and placing them in the dirty wash hamper. “Or personal space.”
I turn the shower on, checking the temperature before hopping in. I wet my hair when I feel Cyrus step in. He pushes me against the cold tiles, and I shriek, making him laugh.
“Come here then,” he says, tugging me against him. He grabs the soap and loofah, lathering the loofah with soap before scrubbing my skin with it.
“Ouch, not so rough. I haven’t got titanium skin like you. That bloody hurts,” I tell him as he scrubs my skin raw.
“You shouldn’t have hugged him, and you wouldn’t reek of him,” he mutters, refusing to let up as he scrubs my skin off.
“Where is Eli?” I ask, looking up at him.
His eyes dart to mine before returning to his task of skinning me.
“Work,” he says, but I don’t believe him, a strange feeling coming through the bond.
“Are you lying?” I ask him.
“It doesn’t matter where he is, Addie. He is fine, and that’s all you need to know,” he says, placing the loofah back in the niche along with the soap.
“When will he be back?”
“When he gets back. Hopefully, tonight,” he says, and I can feel him becoming annoyed at my questions.
I am about to ask him why he is lying to me when he speaks again.
“No more questions, Addie,” he says, hopping out of the shower.
“You’re both liars,” I mutter under my breath.
“Says the queen of deception. Now, lose the attitude, Addie, and hop out.”
I mimic him; my tone even matches his. Cyrus apparently doesn’t find it as funny as I do. A threatening noise escapes him, which makes me jump, startled, not expecting it as it echoes off the tiles.
He walks out, slamming the door, and I flip him the bird. After finishing my shower, I hop out before walking into the room.
Cyrus is sitting on the end of the bed in just his shorts. I stop, staring at his mouth-watering body before realizing I am marveling at him and avert my gaze.
“Now what’s wrong?” I ask him as he watches me walk into the walk-in.
“Nothing and everything. Do you love Sam?”
“This again,” I groan.
So sick and tired of being asked the same thing over and over again.
“Well then, do you have feelings for Sam?”
“No, Cyrus, I used to. Not anymore.”
“What about us then? Do you feel anything for us?”
“I barely know you,” I tell him, though that is a lie.
As soon as the words leave my lips, I know I don’t mean them, making me pause and question myself.
“Hmm…”
I shake my head, wondering if it is just the bond making me question myself or if I really do have feelings for them.
“You will learn to love us,” Cyrus says, making me turn around and walk out while pulling one of his shirts on.
“When will Eli be home?” I ask again, hoping for an answer this time.
“Been home for five minutes,” Eli says from the doorway, making me jump.
“You’re back?” Cyrus says, a little shocked that he is here as well.
I don’t hear him come in, and clearly, neither does Cyrus.
“Yeah, I was in the basement.”
“What did they say?” Cyrus asks him, confusing me as I look between them.
“Green light,” Eli tells him, and Cyrus’s eyes dart to me nervously before returning to Eli.
“What is a green light?” I ask, staring between them and also wondering what the hell is in the basement.
“When?” Cyrus asks him, ignoring my question.
“After she is mated.”
“Wait, am I not mated yet? And what are you talking about? What happens after?”
“No, you’re marked, not mated. Mated means we mark you while mating you,” Eli answers.
“So, what is in the basement?” I ask, curious why he’s been down there.
“Tools mostly,” Eli answers too quickly.
“What’s going on?” I ask again but am ignored.
“They don’t want to speak to her first?” Cyrus asks.
“No, I took care of it. We have the go-ahead, and that’s it.”
“Can someone tell me what’s going on?”
Both of them look at me but don’t answer.