Chapter 32 Wren #2
Quickly, before I can change my mind, I pull my crop top over my head and drop it in my bag.
I’m left with only my black bra covering my top half.
They’ve never seen this much of me before, and my skin starts to prickle with the sensation of being watched.
I swallow nervously and peek up through my lashes, finding all of them staring at my chest.
I glance down, worried that my bra isn’t on right or something, but everything seems normal. At least to me it is.
“Is something wrong?” I ask, hoping this isn’t another one of those things I’ve got wrong. “Am I wearing it wrong?”
Pete lets out a huff of laughter as Dex comments, “You could never wear anything wrong.”
“Then why are you looking at me like that?”
“'Cause your tits are fucking spectacular,” Pete blurts out, and I turn to him with wide eyes, my hands instantly shooting up to cover myself. Somehow, the compliment makes me even more self-conscious.
“Don’t cover them up, baby,” Dex whines from the front as my head turns back to him. I feel like my head’s on a permanent swivel, pinging back and forth between the two of them.
There’s a tap on my knee, and I turn to Jagger as he signs, “Your body is beautiful, you don’t need to hide it from us. But I don’t want anyone else seeing you like this, so let’s get you dressed.”
He grabs my dress and holds it up, so I just have to slip my head and arms through.
“Did you understand everything he just signed?” Sly asks, sounding a little impressed.
Sitting up a little taller as Jagger and I pull my dress down past my waist, I nod. “Yes. Once you know a lot of the basic words, it's easy to fill in the blanks.”
“What does this one mean?” He does a sign, and I blush.
“Beautiful.”
“Ahh, I’ll remember that one, my beautiful little bird.” He signs the last three words, making me blush again.
To avoid looking at him, I use the distraction of finishing getting dressed, moving to my knees, and undoing my skirt. I pull the dress down and the skirt off at the same time.
This time, I don’t look up to see if they’re staring at me. I already know they are. I peel the black thigh highs down my legs, then switch my shoes.
“Alright, all ready!” I smooth my dress under my butt, and I sit down and smile back at Pete.
“You sense for even a second that something's off or you’re in danger, you text or call instantly, you understand?” Sly tells us seriously.
“You’re not the boss of me, Sly,” Pete says as I open my side door.
“I know that. And I know you’ll protect her with your life. But we’re in this together, and she doesn’t just belong to you. She belongs to all of us. So, be smart out there and call us. Better safe than sorry where Wren is concerned.”
My skin heats with his declaration that I belong to all of them.
Part of me wonders if I should take offence to being referred to like property, especially since that’s how my brother had treated me.
But that’s only a very teeny-tiny part of me.
Mostly, I love it. The possessiveness they seem to share for me is something I’m coming to crave.
I want them to own me, to call me theirs.
It makes me feel wanted for once in my life, and for more than just my worth as a wife.
“I’ll be good, don't worry,” Pete says as he climbs out of the van behind me, immediately snatching up my hand. I see he’s taken off his gloves, and with his plain T-shirt and jeans, he looks almost normal.
Almost. He’s still a dangerous criminal who gets way too excited at the idea of mayhem. But that’s part of the reason I love him.
My eyes widen at that thought. Do I love him?
The van pulls away as he pulls me to the sidewalk, and I glance up at him. He flashes me his big, charming smile, and I melt a little. Yeah, I definitely do. I’m not sure when it happened, but my grinning psycho has wormed his way into the very depths of my heart and taken up home there.
He swings our hands gently between us as we walk down the street, subtly keeping our eyes on the house we’re here to watch.
“A lovely day for a stroll, isn’t it, miss?” he asks in a fake posh accent.
“Why yes, kind sir. A positively perfect day for a walk,” I reply with a matching accent of my own. I hook my arm through his, wanting to be closer to him, and grip his bicep with my free hand. He covers it with his and gives it a small squeeze.
“Would you ever want to live in suburbia? A place like this?” Pete gestures to the houses we pass in question.
I try to imagine us living here, but I can’t picture this feeling like home. Too many homes, too many eyes.
“I’ve been watched my entire life. Our home was filled with staff and guards, someone always watching. This place feels a bit like that. Nosey neighbors peeking through their blinds or looking over the fence.”
“I think you might like living on a farm.”
“Tell me about it?” I ask, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. I don’t know much about his time there, other than he loved working with animals.
“It’s peaceful. Nothing like a city or this. Here I can feel eyes on me, like we’re being watched.” I nod, having the same feeling myself. “Being on the farm feels free. Like you can relax and be yourself, not having to constantly watch over your shoulder.”
“What did you do there?”
“Pretty much everything. I helped the owner take care of the animals, clean them, feed them, stuff like that. I also helped with their crops.”
“What sort of things did they grow?”
“Depending on the season, we rotated between wheat, corn, cotton, and alfalfa.”
“Did you drive one of those big tracker things?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, the tractor and the harvester.”
“Do you miss it? The farm?”
“Well, it certainly beats prison.”
“I’m sorry you ended up in there.” I picture the four of them crammed into a cell together and squeeze his arm a little tighter, hating the thought of them being locked away. “Do you think it’s kind of weird that the four of you ended up sharing a cell?”
“I hadn’t thought so when we were in there, but that was before you figured out how we’re all connected.”
“It seems like an awfully big coincidence.”
“Everything that connects the five of us does seem like more than a coincidence.” He squeezes my hand and smiles down at me. “But since it led me to you, I’m not too worried.”
“You don’t think there’s something bigger at play here?”
“I think it’s fate.”
“You—” I swallow the lump in my throat before asking, “You think fate brought us together?”
“Sure. Don’t you believe in fate?”
“I’m not sure, I never really thought about it before.”
“Let’s turn here and head back down the street before we get too far away,” he says, turning us as we start heading back toward the house we’re watching. From here, I can see the driveway is still empty.
Above the house, I see the sky starting to turn orange in the distance. “The sun’s starting to set. I hope they come back soon.”
“They will, don’t worry.”
“So what do you think the deal is with this house? Who lives there? And why was the address the only one in that phone? Do you think fate led us here, too?”
“Maybe.”
We walk silently down the street, and I try to just enjoy the normality of the moment. Going for a walk seems like such a normal thing, but I’ve never been able to do it outside our own property before. And with Pete at my side, I don’t feel scared or worried. I feel safe.
I hope this feeling never goes away.
“Peter?”
“Yeah, angel cake?”
“A while ago, you said I was stuck with you. Do you still feel that way?”
He stops walking and turns to face me, his easy grin nowhere to be seen as he grips my shoulders. “Yeah, Wren. I meant it with every fiber of my being. If I don’t belong with you, I don’t belong anywhere. Why are you asking?”
“I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of you leaving one day, by choice or by force. And… I want to keep you, Peter.”
He crashes his lips down to mine, surprising me. He wraps his arms around me and I melt in his embrace. My fingers clench into fists in the front of his shirt as he kisses me with so much passion, I can feel it in the marrow of my bones.
He pulls back, all too soon, resting his forehead on mine as we both take in ragged breaths. His eyes dart up to the house we’re supposed to be watching before looking back at me and kissing my forehead.
“I’m not sure how I got so lucky. I certainly don’t deserve you, angel. But I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life trying to prove myself worthy.”
“I’m the one who’s not worthy of you.” I reach up and cup his cheek, and he nuzzles into my hand.
“There you go again, being all perfect. I promise you, Wren. You’re it for me. Where you go, I go. If somehow I get arrested again, I’ll just find a way to escape.”
“I’d visit you every day,” I swear, tears welling in my eyes. “I’ll bake a cake with a file in it. That’s a thing, right?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, angel. It’s a thing. And I promise I won’t let your brother get his hands on you. But if something ever does happen, know that I won’t stop until I get you back in my arms where you belong.”
“Sometimes you say the most romantic things.”
He grins at me, showing off his dazzling white teeth. “It’s easy with you. You bring this soft shit out of me.” I chuckle as he turns us to continue our walk. “But don’t tell the others, I don’t want to ruin my image.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
“You see?” he asks, raising my hand to kiss my knuckles. “That’s why I love you.”