Chapter Twenty-Nine
Maddie
“Sssh,” I plead through silent laughter, pressing my finger over my mouth while I try to get Laylah to stop giggling, sure she’ll give our hiding spot away if she keeps it up.
It’s a lost cause, because apparently there’s something incredibly funny to the girl about hiding in a closet on the second shelf that seemed sturdy enough to hold us both. We haven’t collapsed onto the floor just yet, so I have incredibly high hopes for it.
I’ve lost track of time entirely, unsure how long we’ve been in here hiding, but we’re still yet to be found. If Laylah keeps giggling the way she is, that won’t take long at all.
“They’re going to find us,” I remind her, my hushed whisper seeming to make things that much funnier for the girl, and I face-palm when her giggle turns into a beautiful laugh that I don’t doubt will be heard from outside.
Sure enough, the door swings open so suddenly that both Laylah and I scream, right before falling into a fit of laughter when the silhouette of a very unimpressed Rayne Cloud appears in the doorway.
“Silly goose,” Laylah giggles, pointing at Rayne just as her dad appears, shaking his head and looking a lot more amused than Rayne does at present.
“Madison Fowler playing hide-and-seek with a four-and-a-half-year-old. I’ve seen it all,” the blond pretty boy snickers, shoving past Rayne and holding his arms out for Laylah, who goes willingly.
Awkwardly trying to squeeze myself out of my own hiding spot, attempting and failing to drag my body from its expertly origami-like folding, I comment, “To be fair, it was that or let her hear Billy call Rayne a s-h-i-t sniffer and tell him to gargle on a d-i-c-k. You didn’t seem too impressed with the last insult she parroted, so you’re most welcome for this distraction. ”
Mikey actually laughs, looking at his daughter with an amused shake of his head before turning to me and saying, “I appreciate it. You need help?”
I’m about to mutter confirmation, wondering how the hell I even got into this spot in the first place, but then Rayne blandly notes, “I’ve got her. I’m a bit of an expert when it comes to getting Lady Satan out of tight spots.”
I sigh, because I definitely had that coming, and I can only be grateful that the guy doesn’t divulge exactly what that could mean. Instead, Mikey nods and walks out of the spacious closet with Laylah, leaving Rayne and me alone without a backward glance.
Silence descends upon us the moment we’re alone, and in its awkwardness, I decide to keep trying to crawl out of my hiding spot.
It’s a lost cause, resulting in only a lot of unladylike grunting and huffing, before Rayne finally takes pity on me.
Wouldn’t be the first time, and I can hear the laughter in his voice when he says, “Why does this always happen?”
I snicker, because I can only find humor in it, and mutter, “Because it’s me. Why else would this happen? I was so confident getting in here, too.”
Rayne snorts loudly before he comes over, wrapping his arms around me and tugging me out of the hiding spot that is much smaller than I originally believed it to be. No wonder Laylah had no trouble chilling in her spot, damn it.
With expert precision, almost like he’s done this before, Rayne pulls me from the shelf and slowly deposits me to my feet, keeping his arms around me as I find my balance again.
Huffing a laugh, my hands pressed against his chest, I mutter, “At least I’m not covered in pussy-burning lube, cream, strawberry juice, and the odd noodle this time, huh?”
Rayne huffs what I think is a laugh, but then I’m completely distracted when I realize just how close we’ve suddenly become.
I’m pressed snugly against his front, my hands pressed against his pecs, where I feel his thundering heart beating to the same rhythm as mine.
I’m so close that I feel the puff of air that escapes him blow over my face as I look up at him, his warmth bleeding into me with little effort, his hands against my spine almost scalding with their touch.
Swallowing hard and willing my heart to calm the hell down from its sudden pounding, my pulse skitters when Rayne’s hand drags over my back, tugging me impossibly closer.
The door has closed enough that only a sliver of light creeps through the crack, highlighting a strip of closet.
In that strip, I catch a glimpse of Rayne’s face, and my breath catches when I find him watching me with a look I don’t think I’ve ever seen on his face.
Piercing eyes watch me with a hunger and desperation I’ve never seen on a man’s face before, especially not directed at me.
Toby certainly never gave me that look, and he absolutely didn’t conjure the maddening flurry of emotions and sensations I’m suddenly bombarded with from that single look from Rayne.
My mouth turns dry as my heart does its best to crash out of my chest, and I’m forced to lick my lips to try to moisten them. That small action brings out a very subtle growl that vibrates under my fingertips right before Rayne cups the back of my neck and tugs my lips to his.
I’m absorbed in a kiss that has my toes curling the next moment, the memory of last night’s collision not doing the man justice.
His lips are soft and yielding, molding against mine like they were made for me, and my fingers turn into fists with Rayne’s shirt clutched tightly in my grasp as I kiss him back with equal amounts of vigor.
The sound that escapes this man sends me into oblivion, flipping a switch inside me that sets my blood on fire, my insides lighting up like freshly lit fireworks.
I don’t even know when I relinquish my hold on his shirt, one of my hands sinking into the silky hair at the nape of his neck, while the other grips his waist as I try to drag him closer.
Not that it’s possible, because there isn’t a chance a piece of paper could fit between Rayne and me, our bodies practically melded together while Rayne kisses me so thoroughly that my mind sparks and those butterflies in my stomach explode like dynamite.
I’m pretty sure I die and go straight to heaven when Rayne nips my lower lip, soothing the sting with a cheeky lick right before kissing me harder.
I forget everything as that tricky tongue swipes against mine.
My name is a long-lost memory when his flavor fills all of my senses, and I’m a sunken ship in the depths of the roughest sea when Rayne sighs against my mouth as he kisses me as though he’s been dying to do just that.
Time escapes me while I lose myself to drugging kisses and needy touches, my brain short-circuiting with every nip, lick, and press of his mouth on mine.
It’s Rayne who finds the willpower to pull away, both of us breathless as soon as we part.
He doesn’t release his hold on me, though, keeping me snug against his hard-built body.
Not that I make any move to escape. I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to.
With a hushed tone that seems a little airy, smug satisfaction filling my chest at hearing how affected he is by me, Rayne says, “To answer the thoughts you were having earlier, I meant what I said. We all like you. Baxter, Caiden, Ryan… Me. We all have feelings for you, Maddie.”
Hearing him repeat it doesn’t make it sound any less surreal, and I swallow hard while the beating of my heart triples, almost sending me into cardiac arrest.
And then the ass smirks, a flash of it appearing in the sliver of light that still beams into the closet. “And if the little happy squealing I heard this morning is anything to consider, you like us, too, right?”
Well, hell, I didn’t think he heard that.
But since he did, there’s no use in denying it. Because I do. I like all four of them, more than I’ve liked any guy who’s ever crossed my path. So, I nod and whisper, “Yeah. I like you.”
“All of us?”
“All of you,” I agree, and I’m pretty sure my heart stops right then and there with that confession.
Rayne drags his hands over my back, rubbing gently as he says, “Then that’s all there is to it. We like you, you like us, we’ll all date. Problem solved.”
I pause, my mind reeling over the suggestion, because that is not the direction I was expecting this conversation to head.
I had a funny feeling I was going to be told to try dating each of them and decide which man I prefer.
I was even braced for it, despite the heavy reluctance to choose dangling over my head like a thundercloud, and I’m left sputtering at his blunt suggestion.
Shaking my head, I blurt, “Wait, what?”
Rayne chuckles, that same maddening sound he gave me last night while I was drunkenly climbing Mount Everest, and he cups the back of my neck with both hands, mine dropping to hold on to his trim waist. His thumbs brush over my jaw as he explains, “Look, I know it’s unconventional, but we’ve spoken about it and come to an agreement that we’re happy to date you as a group.
But only us, because the idea of you being with anyone but us sends all four of us into a rage that’s hard to come down from. ”
“You guys talked about it?” I wonder, my voice a hushed whisper, disbelief bleeding from every syllable.
I feel more than see him nod, and he explains, “Caiden forced the conversation, but we’re all in agreement.
Each of us wants you, and we’re good with you wanting us, but anything outside of our little unit is off-limits.
No other dudes, no other chicks. We don’t want to share with anyone else, and we don’t want any other woman but you. ”
That declaration melts me from the inside out, and I can’t help but lean a little farther into him, feeling a little light-headed and dizzy hearing that four drop-dead gorgeous guys do actually want me and are willing to date me at the same time. What in the romance book is this shit?
Jaw hanging open, I eye what little of Rayne I can see and ask, “You’re all okay with that? With me dating each of you?”