Chapter 20 Wren
CHAPTER TWENTY
WREN
As I stand under the warm spray of the shower, I start to grow nervous. Today has been the best day of my life. But tomorrow… Tomorrow we go to stake out Robert, and who knows what will happen.
That’s not what’s making my stomach twist with nerves, though. What has me feeling uneasy is the conversation I want to have with my boyfriends.
I’ve decided to confront them about the fact that we haven’t had sex yet. I feel more than ready, and I know none of them are virgins. And if they really haven’t had girlfriends, as they’ve said, then I don’t understand what the holdup is. It’s starting to make me feel self-conscious.
When I finish with my shower, I get dressed and take my time drying my hair before stepping into the bedroom. Pete and Dex are lying on the bed, watching TV, but their eyes immediately find me.
“Come join us, angel,” Pete says, patting the bed between them.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you guys, all four of you.”
“Is everything okay?” Dex asks, sitting up as concern etches his features.
“Yeah, I just want to talk to you about something important.”
“I’ll text Jagger and Sly to join us,” Pete says, quickly pulling out his phone and firing off a text.
I start to pace, but don’t make it four steps before Sly and Jagger arrive, looking worried.
“What’s wrong?” Sly asks, immediately eyeing me.
“Nothing, but can you two sit down? I have something to say.”
Jagger closes the door as Sly sits on the edge of the bed beside Dex. Jagger comes to sit at the end of the bed, where he’s only two feet away from me. He reaches for my hand, and I give it to him, giving it a small squeeze before I let go and start pacing again.
I know I’ll get it out more easily if I don’t look at them directly, so I take a deep breath and open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I huff out a growl and pace another few steps before I try again, but nerves wrap around my voice, keeping me silent.
“Wren, you can tell us anything,” Dex says when I try, unsuccessfully, for the third time.
“Unless you’re trying to break up with us, in that case I don’t want to hear it,” Pete says, looking like he’s half-teasing and half worried.
I look at him in alarm. “No! Of course not!”
“Then what is it you’re trying to tell us?” Sly asks.
“I…” Once again, my tongue gets tied, and being the men they are, they decide to help by guessing what I’m trying to say.
“You don’t want to wear the leash anymore?” Dex asks, and I shake my head.
“No, that’s fine.”
“You think Sly is too bossy?" Pete guesses, and I shake my head.
“You’re tired of Pete’s childish humor?” Sly asks, glaring at him.
I let out a sigh as Dex asks, “Is it about Elias?” All eyes turn to me, and I shake my head.
“No, it’s not about him, it’s about you guys.”
“What about us?” Pete asks, leaning toward me.
“Why won’t you have sex with me?” I finally blurt out, my eyes bouncing between their stunned expressions.
When nobody answers, I swallow nervously before asking, “Am I doing something wrong? Do you not want to sleep with me?”
Jagger stands and lifts me, settling back on the bed with me in his lap as we face the others.
“Baby, of course, we want to have sex with you,” Dex tells me as he reaches forward to squeeze my hand in reassurance.
“It’s pretty much all I think about,” Pete admits, making me huff out a laugh.
“Really?”
“Fuck yeah,” he says, a grin returning to his sexy mouth.
“We were waiting until you’re ready.”
“I’ve been ready for a while. I just wasn’t sure how to tell you,” I admit as each of them touches me somewhere, a foot, my leg, my hand.
“Thank you for telling us now,” Sly says with a nod. “But since this is your first time, we need to figure out how to do this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, who is going first?”
I blink, my brain short-circuiting at the thought. I hadn’t even considered that, and the idea of having to choose makes me grow a little anxious.
“I think it should be me,” Dex says, puffing out his chest. “I was the first to claim her as my girlfriend.”
“Fuck no, you’ll tear her open with your monster cock,” Pete says in alarm, his concern worrying me, before his tone turns serious. “It should obviously be me.”
“How did you come to that conclusion?” Sly asks in exasperation.
“I’m long and strong.” He looks at me and winks before looking back at the others. “You guys are too thick. I’ll do less damage, but my womb raider will be sure to show her a good time.”
Did he just call his dick a womb raider? My eyes widen, unsure if I’m horrified or intrigued.
“Please,” Dex says with a roll of his eyes. “You’ll be messy and are likely to finish before she’s even had a chance to orgasm once.”
I lift my hands to cover my red cheeks in embarrassment.
“You know the second you get inside her, you’ll lose your load,” Pete fires back.
“I have the most control, it should be me,” Sly says with a sigh, like it’s so obvious.
Jagger starts signing around my body, making it a little hard to translate, but luckily, Pete reads it aloud.
“You are too dominating to be her first. You might not realize if you push her too far.”
Sly’s eyes turn angry as he sets them on Jagger. “I would never push her past her hard limits. She’d do best with me. She needs a firm hand to guide her for the first time.”
“That’s bullshit,” Pete says at the same time Dex shakes his head, also disagreeing.
Is this really happening right now? Are they actually arguing over who is going to have sex with me first? Somehow, I hadn’t expected this. Of all the outcomes I anticipated, having them debate who did the deed was not one I had considered.
“It’s not. Wren needs control. She needs to know what to do and how to do it,” Sly says, staring down the others.
Suddenly, the door bangs open, and I jump into Jagger’s lap, only calming when I see it’s Elias.
His angry gaze moves around the room, slowly assessing each of the guys before his gaze settles on me.
He crosses the room in three strides, and I squeak in surprise when he grabs me under the arms, lifting me off Jagger’s lap and pulling me against him, my arms and legs wrapping around him on instinct as he uses one arm to support me under my ass.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Pete asks, jumping up as Elias carries me out of the room.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves. Debating who’s going to take her virginity… Did you even consider asking what Wren wants?”
I look over his shoulder to see Pete and Dex have the sense to look a little guilty as their eyes flick to mine.
“How did you even hear us? And where are you taking her?” Pete asks as they rush to keep up with us.
“You guys aren’t exactly quiet. I heard you all the way from my room. And I’m not going to just stand by and listen to you guys fuck this up for her. Is she even on birth control? Do you have condoms?”
Nobody answers as we enter the living room, and Elias finally stops moving as he gently sets me on the couch. I feel foolish for not thinking about any of that myself. He stands and turns to the others, acting as a protective wall between them and me, his arms crossed over his chest as he glares.
Sly moves around him, ignoring his glare as he comes to sit beside me and takes my hand, his voice gentle as he asks, “Would you like us to take you to a clinic? They can discuss birth control options with you, options less risky than condoms.”
“You wouldn’t mind?” I ask nervously.
He leans forward, pressing a kiss to my forehead before pulling back and reaching up to cup my cheek. “Of course not. Elias is right, we should have thought about this a while ago.”
“Sorry if we were talking around you back there,” Pete says as he shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks back on his heels.
“That’s okay, I know you weren’t trying to be rude,” I tell him with a small smile.
Jagger snaps his fingers to get our attention, waves his phone at us, then signs, “There’s a clinic open ten minutes from here.”
“You want to go now? It’s seven o’clock at night,” I say in surprise.
“We can do it another day if you prefer?” Sly asks. I take a second to consider it. It wasn’t something I’d thought about, but it would be good to get it out of the way now. I’m tired of waiting to be closer to them.
“No, let’s get it over with,” I say as I stand up.
“I’m coming,” Dex says as he moves to slip his shoes on.
“We’re all coming,” Pete says as Sly guides me to the front door. He helps me into my leather jacket as I slip on my shoes, and ten minutes later, we’re sitting in the clinic waiting room.
“You can’t all go in with her,” Elias says, as he eyes all four of them.
“How many can go in?” I ask, feeling a little nervous.
“Either go on your own, or take one of them, if it makes you feel safer.”
I look at each of them, but once again, I’m struck with the worry of having to choose. I turn to Elias as I whisper, “I don’t know who to choose.”
He eyes the guys before gesturing to Jagger. “Take him, he won’t speak over you, but you can ask his opinion if you want it.”
A woman comes out and calls my name, and I take Elias’s advice, bringing Jagger in with me. It doesn’t take her long to lay out all the options. In the end, I go with an IUD, and she implants it on the spot, making me happy I took Jagger in with me as he holds my hand tight through the whole thing.
When it’s over, we leave silently, and once we’re in the car, Pete asks me how it went.
I decide to tell them there, even though Elias is with us.
He might not be my boyfriend, but he’s my friend and clearly cares about me.
He was the only one who was smart enough to even think about contraceptives.
When we get back to the safe house, I start to grow nervous as I get ready for bed. When I come out of the bathroom, Sly is waiting for me.
“Come here.” He beckons me with his finger from where he’s seated alone at the side of the bed. I move closer, and he reaches out, grabbing my hips and pulling me to stand between his outstretched knees.
“Today has been a long day for all of us. And tomorrow is probably going to be stressful. I can see you’re already growing anxious, and I don’t want your first time to be anything but perfect.”
“But I—” He presses his finger to my lips, silencing me.
“Let me get this out first, then you can respond.” I nod, and he continues.
“I think it’s best we not make a plan for deepening our relationship.
That goes for all of us. We were wrong to try to pick who will be your first. So instead, let’s just let it happen naturally, like we’ve been doing so far.
If or when things progress with one of us, I don’t want you to worry that you’re choosing that person over the others.
It’s your choice, and none of us will be upset about it.
I already discussed it with them, and they agree. ”
My eyebrows raise in surprise. When he doesn’t continue, I ask, “Can I speak now?”
“Yes, little bird.”
I smile at the nickname and move closer, my hands finding their way around his neck as I look into his mesmerizing green eyes.
“Thank you for saying all of that. I appreciate it.” And I mean it. His words help remove most of the tension and nerves I was feeling.
“Of course.” He gives a tiny nod as his eyes roam my face.
“Are you sleeping in here tonight?” I ask, my fingers playing with the short hair at the back of his head.
“Yes, Pete will be joining us shortly. I asked him to give us a few minutes.”
“Was that so you could tell me everything you just said?” I ask, my heart hammering in my chest as if it thinks it can get closer to him that way. His large hands grip my hips, and he squeezes me possessively.
“Yes, but also, I wanted to tell you something else.”
I move closer, so there’s no room between our bodies now, the tension thick in the air as I whisper, “What is it, Sly?”
“I love you, Wren.” I inhale sharply, my heart practically leaping in my chest in excitement.
“I was completely smitten with your letters, and I didn’t think it was possible to like you even more in person.
But I do. You're sweet, and kind, and gorgeous, and so out of my league it’s not even funny. ”
“I beg to defer,” I whisper as he slides one hand up my back to the back of my neck.
“I feel honored that you want to keep me around, that even after everything I’ve done in my past, you still want me.”
“Sly, I wish you could see yourself the way I do. You kill bad men who do terrible things. You make this world better, and I am the lucky one. I don’t deserve your love, but I’d be damned if I don’t want it. I love you, too, Sly.”
We lean toward each other at the same time, our lips connecting as we come together with a mix of heat, passion, and need. When I part my lips and his tongue swoops in to caress mine, we both moan, our fingers tightening on each other’s neck as I press tightly to him.
I’m tempted to push this further, but I know that after everything that happened today, now isn’t the right time. I pull back just as Pete steps into the room, winking at me as he climbs into the bed.
Silently, Sly and I climb under the blankets, and they sandwich me between them. I’m passed my stuffed whale, Bluey, as I curl against Sly, with Pete curled around my back. My eyes close as I let out a contented sigh.
Tomorrow might be a difficult day, but today… Today was amazing.