Chapter Sixteen
I wake up before the others on day six and sigh.
Lila’s heat is over.
Last night, I could tell it was wavering, but I wasn’t sure if it was truly ending. This is the fifth heat of Lila’s I’ve been involved with, and none of them ever last this long. Usually, they’re only a day or two . As far as I know, only her first and second lasted this long. The first one is usually the longest, and the second equaled it because she went through it alone.
I can’t help wondering if it’s because of the men who joined us.
Another sigh slips out of me. As soon as Lila wakes up, she’s going to blow up, and it’s not going to be pretty.
Obviously, I understand why she’s so angry at Carter, Aidan, Ty, and Oliver, but I also think she should hear them out. I just don’t know if she’s ever going to get over her hurt and anger to do it.
Even in her sleep, I can feel the mixed emotions swirling around inside of her.
Yes, as an incubus, I can sense people’s emotions. We might be known for our sex and lust magic, but there’s so much more to my species than that. We can feel and influence all emotions but knowing that would make most people uncomfortable, so we don’t broadcast everything we can do.
Glancing at the other men in the bed, their emotions roll through me—almost as twisted up as Lila’s. Hurt, regret, anger, resentment, love. Without focusing, I can’t tell who is feeling which of the emotions, but as a collective, they’re fucked up.
Returning my focus to Lila, I find myself just watching her.
I’ve been in love with her almost since the first moment I saw her in the club. Her emotions called to me. They were a wild storm of hurt, loneliness, and rage mixed with a tinge of desperation. Beyond her physical beauty drawing me in—which, obviously, it did because my girl is a fucking wet dream—I had to know her story. I had to know the cause of the emotions .
I didn’t get her story that night or even in the next few weeks when I refused to let her blow me off. I’m surprised she didn’t call the cops on me with the way I was stalking her.
If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought she was a siren with the way she called to me. She was—and still is—always on my mind. I couldn’t forget her if I tried, but I’m not one to deny myself the things I want in life.
Over the last seven years, I’ve become her best friend and fuck buddy, but I want so much more with her.
I want forever.
She’s just never been ready to hear that, and the four men in the bed with us are the reason why.
No matter how much she denied it, not knowing what happened to them was killing her. She might not have known them for long, but there are just some people you click with. For Lila, it was the four of them. She fell in love with them in a week and has never been able to forget them, leaving me to take what she could give me.
Now that they’re back, there’s no way I’m going to let her keep pushing me away. She needs to hear them out and truly decide if she wants them in her life. Only then will she be able to move forward with me, and because I have access to her emotions, I know she loves me. She just can’t admit it—even to herself.
I hold my breath as Lila begins to wake, blinking her eyes open until they meet mine.
“Good morning, Lil,” I say with a half smile.
“Morning, Wy.” She stretches, her arm knocking into Ty, who’s asleep on her other side. Her eyes go wide as she shoots up in bed, disturbing the others.
Instead of saying anything, Lila scrambles down the bed and hustles into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her—leaving me alone with four sleepy, barely awake men who stare blurry-eyed after her.
“Her heat has broken, boys,” I say with a chuckle, easing myself down the bed until I can stand up. “Let the games begin.”
Ty frowns, rubbing his eyes before narrowing them at me—not because he’s mad but because he doesn’t have his glasses on. “What games?”
Carter leans over to grab Ty’s glasses from the bedside table and hands them to him before focusing back on me.
“Her heat is over. She said you could stay for that, and then she wanted you out.” I shrug. “I get the feeling she ducked into the bathroom to give you a chance to leave. If you’re not gone when she comes out, something tells me it isn’t going to be pretty.”
“But we need to tell her what happened,” Aidan argues, and I laugh.
“I agree, but I’m not sure now is the time. She’s angry, and she’s hurt. You’re going to have to do this on her timeline, not on yours.”
Oliver’s eyes narrow. “And why should we listen to you? It’s clear you’re in love with her and want her for yourself.”
“Of course, I’m in love with her. She’s an amazing woman, and I do want her, but that doesn’t mean I only want her for myself.” I shake my head, moving to the dresser to grab a pair of sweats I keep here and pulling them on. “I also know Lila has too big of a heart to only love one person. Being loved by her is my only goal—to be one of the men in her heart.”
The four of them just stare at me in disbelief.
Whatever.
I don’t need them to believe me. I don’t owe them a damn thing. The only reason I’m even speaking to them right now is because I know Lila loves them, and I don’t think she’s as done with them as she’s claiming. If I were a betting man, I’d put money on her ending up with the four of them. I just hope I also end up as part of the polycule.
“Believe what you want. Do what you want. You’re all grown-ass men.” Throwing my hands in the air, I head for the kitchen.
I’m starving, and I know Lila will be, too. It’s just what happens post-heat.
I always make the two of us breakfast while she throws out whatever whale shifters she’s invited over for the heat. It’s a tradition I don’t think we’ll be breaking today.
There’s no way she won’t be kicking them to the curb the minute she exits the bathroom—even if they don’t believe me.
Pancakes, eggs, and bacon sound perfect.
“What the hell are you still doing here?” Lila’s raised voice reaches my ears, and I wince in sympathy for the men on the receiving end of her words. “My heat is over, so get the hell out!”
I hear murmurs of other voices before Lila cuts them off.
“I never said I would listen to you. In fact, I told you that you’d be leaving as soon as my heat was over. If there’s any confusion, it’s only on your end. Get. The. Fuck. Out. ”
I can feel their surprise and disbelief from here, and I chuckle.
They really should’ve listened to me.
Lila steps into the kitchen, her face a mask, but I can feel her roiling emotions as she steps around to stand next to me. “Pancakes?”
“Of course, I’m making pancakes. I don’t want to be on the other end of a tongue-lashing.” I grin at her so she knows I’m giving her a hard time. “I’m also making eggs and bacon because we need the protein.”
I hear the four shifters step into the kitchen, not commenting on the way Lila stiffens.
“Lila,” Carter begins, cutting off when she spins on her heel.
“I told you, I have no desire to hear anything you have to say. Leave my house. While you’re at it, do us all a favor and disappear from my life again.”
A quick glance over my shoulder shows her words have hit them hard—hurt written all over their faces.
“You heard her,” Ty says, eyes dropping to the floor as he tries to hide his emotions. “She wants us gone, and we need to respect her wishes. ”
I can tell how much it hurts him to say those words, and I do a quick dive into his emotions. Wincing, I squeeze my eyes shut against the barrage of self-deprecation, utter heartbreak, sorrow, regret, and anguish.
I hope they’re keeping an eye on him because he’s a man on the edge, and if they’re not careful, they’ll lose him, too.
Thinking of what that would do to Lila, I know it’s not only going to be on the three other members of his pod to keep an eye on him. I’ll need to be sure his depression doesn’t drive him to do something none of them will be able to come back from.
There’s a moment of silence as the three other men glance at one another before they move toward the door. It’s Oliver who pauses in the doorway to glance back at Ty. “Are you coming?”
Ty nods, finally lifting his head to look at Lila. “I’m sorry if we’ve made this harder on you—it was never our intent. I will do what I can to keep them away if that’s what you want.”
There are tears in his eyes as he stares at her for another moment before following the others .
Lila doesn’t relax until we hear the door open and shut. She squeezes her eyes shut as she fights back tears she doesn’t want me to see.
Instead of commenting on it, I go back to making breakfast. I’ll let her roll it around in her head before I talk to her about it.
“Breakfast is ready,” I tell her softly, nudging her away from where she’s still leaning against the island. She lets me lead her to the table, sitting down and staring down at the plate of food I place before her. “You need to eat, babe.”
She takes a deep breath, lifting her head to meet my gaze. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“For all of it,” she says, waving her arms around. “The food. My heat. Dealing with the jackasses. Being my friend. I don’t think I thank you enough for putting up with my shit.”
I snort. “You don’t need to thank me for putting up with your shit. That’s what friends do, and while we might not be just friends, we are friends, right?”
She nods. “Of course we are. You’re my best friend.”
I try not to wince at that. Not because I don’t want to be her best friend, I do. I just want to be so much more than that .
One day.
“Eat,” is all I say, digging into my breakfast and smiling when she does the same.
We remain in a comfortable silence as we eat, and I keep my mouth shut until she finishes her breakfast. “So, are we going to talk about it?”
“Talk about what?”
I snort. “Don’t even, Lil. They walked back into your life out of the blue. You allowed them to help you through your heat and then kicked them out on their asses. Choose whatever part of that you’d like to start with.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She grabs her plate, heading for the sink.
Picking up my plate, I follow her. “That’s too bad, babe. You need to talk about it. I can tell it’s tearing you up inside.”
“Don’t fucking read my emotions, Wyatt.” She slams the plate into the sink, and I wince when it shatters. “Damn it.”
“Still think you don’t need to talk about it?” I ask, nudging her aside so I can clean out the sink.
Lila sighs, leaning back against the counter. “I said I don’t want to talk about it, and I still don’t.”
“Don’t care. ”
A small, frustrated yell sounds from her. “I don’t want them in my life.”
I snort again, turning to look at her. “Liar.”
“If you’re not going to believe me, then you can fuck right off, too.”
I laugh. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. One would think you would’ve learned by now, I’m not going anywhere. I’m never going to leave you—not ever . Do you hear me?”
Her mouth curls up at the corner for a moment as she raises her eyes to meet mine. “I hear you, and I appreciate you. But I don’t want to talk about them. Can’t you just let it go?”
“Not when I know it’s hurting you to keep it in. You need to talk about it, get it all out, so you can either move on or give them another chance.” Grabbing the last piece of broken plate, I toss them into the trash can before washing my hands. “Who else are you going to talk to about it if it’s not me?”
She licks her lips as I turn to face her, eyes wandering over my bare torso, and I already know what she’s thinking before she says a word.
“I can think of much better ways to occupy our time, can’t you? ”
I fight back a shiver as she traces her finger along the waistband of my sweats.
Am I really going to let her get away with this?
When she grabs hold of the sweats, pulling them down as she drops to her knees, I know I am.
At least for now.