Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
RILEY
To say I was disappointed I woke up fully clothed and horny was an understatement. The night before, after eating dinner, we skinny dipped in the heated pool. Despite the lack of clothing, not one of them had made a move.
I thought at first it was because Morgan was also doing his rehabilitation exercises, but once he was done and in human form again, we had just floated around like we weren't all naked.
After changing into pajamas, Blake made a fire in the fireplace and found some games for us to play. Then, stupid me had fallen asleep curled into a corner of the couch.
I know I didn't always need to have sex, but I was in a small space with my three really hot boyfriends. I thought at least Morgan would have woken me up for some fun times.
Morgan and Blake were asleep on either side of me and I slid out of bed, nearly stepping on Jax on the floor. They slept like the dead, despite the noise I was making. It was well past the time they normally woke up.
I tiptoed into the living room, shutting the door behind me. I wanted to cook them breakfast again since they were always cooking for me. I had just pulled eggs and bacon out of the refrigerator when my phone pinged with a text from my mom. I pressed the call button.
"Hey sweetie, how is your farm getaway?" I could tell she was smiling just from the sound of her voice.
"Well, we did goat yoga yesterday and just hung out the rest of the day after that." I started cracking eggs in a bowl. I was glad they liked their eggs scrambled because I didn't know any other way to cook them. "You sound happy."
"I am." I heard a door shut in the background. "I have a meeting with the FBI this morning. Finn is my alibi."
I was quiet for a moment, letting that sink in. "So, he's going to lie for you? What's his motive?"
"This is part of his apology to me for hurting you. I know it doesn't seem normal that I would trust him, but he's the same man I fell in love with all those years ago, maybe just a little rougher around the edges."
"I don't think I'll ever feel comfortable around him." I whisked the eggs and set them to the side as I turned on the oven to cook the bacon. "Maybe I'll make him punch himself repeatedly in the nuts with my siren mojo."
My mom laughed. "So, you've discovered your compulsion? Be careful with how you use it. It can become addictive."
"I have a question... about the knife." I cleared my throat, considering how to properly word my question. "Does being really close with a triton have the same effect?"
My mom stayed silent as I put the bacon in the oven and set the timer. I had a bit before I had to start the eggs, so I sat down on a bar stool.
"When I was a teenager I didn't notice, but I certainly notice it now. I haven't told Finn about it yet, but it makes sense; the original tritons are made from Poseidon's magic, just like the knives."
"What magic are we made from?"
"No idea. There's a lot my mother didn't tell me.
Having to acclimate to a life on land was tough for her.
" I heard a man's voice in the distant background.
"I have to go. Also, I wanted to let you know Finn took care of all the money that was owed for everything, so when this is all over, we can move back home. "
I hung up with my mom, unsure of how I felt about that. I had gotten into my routine of living with Jax, Morgan, and Blake. I had barely even thought about money issues in weeks, which was a big stress relief.
It had been a stressful situation all around, but I had learned a lot in a short time. Not just about what it takes to live on my own, but also about myself. I was literally a different person than I was only a few short months ago.
I just wondered when I'd find my first gray hair. I shuddered at the thought and went to the oven to peer in at the bacon.
"Cooking us breakfast again, vixen?" Morgan shut the bedroom door and stretched his arms over his head, his muscles pushing against his taut skin. "It's supposed to be my turn."
I put some butter in a pan and turned it on. "I know, but you looked so peaceful."
"I slept well." He was limping slightly as he popped a coffee pod into the coffee maker. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to learn to ride a horse today."
"Was the goat yoga too hard on you yesterday?" I dumped the eggs into the pan and put the bowl in the sink.
Morgan placed his hands on either side of me, trapping me against the counter. "I think a good stretch will help." He eyed my lips before moving away to lean against the opposite counter.
"Did I do something wrong?" I furrowed my brows as I began moving the eggs around the pan. "I feel like... I don't know, you guys are keeping me at arm’s length."
"We, uhh..." Morgan hopped onto the counter. "With three of us, we thought you could maybe use a little break."
"A break from sex?" I snorted and tapped the spatula on the side of the pan before pointing it at him. "Bullshit."
Morgan gave me a sheepish smile and looked toward the doors leading out into the back. "We weren't sure how it was going to work with the proximity. At home we all have our own rooms."
I stirred the eggs one last time before sprinkling cheese on top, turning them off, and putting a lid on them. "So, what exactly is the problem?"
I understood what the problem was, but I wanted to hear him say it. I was open to trying new things with all of them, but it seemed they weren't quite ready yet.
"It's awkward and complicated... are two of us supposed to stay out in the living room while you go have sex with the other in the bedroom? If two of us want you at the same time, does the other go hide out somewhere?" He slid off the counter slowly, flinching when his feet hit the ground.
The timer for the bacon went off and he turned off the oven before getting the bacon out and setting the pan on the stove. We moved around the kitchen quietly as I considered his point of view. We all needed to have a conversation about it instead of them pushing me away.
As if summoned by the bacon gods, Blake and Jax came out of the bedroom, both looking just as delicious as Morgan. It was nearly eight o'clock, which was quite late for them.
"Are you all feeling okay? You slept in." We made our plates at the stove and sat around the kitchen table.
"Just relaxed, I guess. That yoga yesterday really helped me center myself." Jax grinned before taking a drink of juice. "Sometimes we do sleep in, you know. It's been a rough couple of months."
I decided to rip the Band-Aid off and bring up the night before. "I don't want the sex situation to become awkward between the four of us."
Blake coughed as he swallowed a bite of bacon and then glared at Morgan. "You told her?"
Morgan shrugged. "She wasn't happy she got no sex yesterday. She should be involved in our conversations."
"I agree and think if you're going to be talking about it, I should have an opinion since I'm the one managing three dicks." They all gaped at me. "It's a tough job."
"We don't know how we feel about more than one of us at a time, so we didn't want to bother you with our issues." Jax's eyes didn't leave mine. "What do you want though?"
I looked away as my face heated. If they only knew the thoughts that sometimes went through my head, they'd be shocked. I didn't read young adult novels in my free time, that was for sure. "Would it be so bad to watch each other? That would be a start."
"I'm down for that." Morgan rubbed his hands. "I volunteer as tribute. Time to show these two what they're up against in the orgasm department."
I rolled my eyes and relaxed a bit. "It's not to compare each other. It's to build up to maybe, possibly, kind of having sex with more than one of you at a time."
"I maybe, possibly, kind of like that idea." Blake leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Jax, what are your thoughts?"
"I'm open to it." He continued to surprise me on a daily basis. He really did hide behind an asshole possessive exterior most of the time.
"No more withholding sex because you think I feel a certain way.
If this is going to work, we might have to have awkward conversations.
" I stood and started clearing the table as they muttered their agreement.
"Now that we're done discussing that, it's a beautiful day and we have some horses to ride. "
Morgan laughed. "I know a good way to save a horse..."
Getting on the horses was easy for the most part. The hard part was feeling comfortable and confident enough to control the massive beasts.
We'd started our lesson with horseback riding safety and then headed out to a circular corral where the horses were tethered to a center post. Morgan had decided to sit out and was sitting on a bale of hay outside the fenced-in area.
Once we got the hang of how to ride, the tethers were removed and the corral was opened to a bigger area we could ride around in. We wouldn't be going on any trails because none of us were experienced enough, but it was exciting, nonetheless.
My horse, Buttercup, was a beautiful black beauty that was used for horse therapy. It made me feel more comfortable knowing she was the best of the best.
Just as I had that thought, Buttercup began speeding up. "Um, is this normal?" I raised my voice and clutched the reins.
"Pull back on the reins, just like we practiced!" One of the instructors walked out to the middle of the small field we were in as Buttercup picked up speed, circling the fencing.
"Woah!" I leaned back slightly and pulled on the reins.
Buttercup picked up more speed and I held on to the saddle horn. There was commotion as we rounded the edge of the area and she took off at a gallop toward the opposite side.
"Hold on, Riley!" one of the instructors yelled, and I squeezed my legs tight.
I braced myself for Buttercup to turn again, but instead, she leapt, clearing the fence in a smooth movement that jolted me in the saddle. I shrieked and tried to stop her again by pulling on the reins, but she was already headed through a patch of trees.
I braved a glance backwards but couldn't see anything as the horse darted down a row of trees. We were headed far out into the avocado trees and would eventually come to another fence that was taller, I hoped.
I could jump from the horse, but we were going really fast, and I'd hit a tree.
I wasn't sure how my body would react to injury now that it had transitioned into shifting into a siren.
The last thing I wanted was to be injured like Morgan had been.
Would the triton doctors even treat me since I was a siren? They'd probably kill me on sight.
Buttercup was frothing at the mouth as we neared the edge of the property. I didn't know much about horses, but any type of frothing from an animal's mouth was never a good sign. I saw a rise ahead to what looked like a levee.
The horse slowed and ran up the side where a truck with a horse trailer sat idling. Buttercup wasted no time heading straight for it, and I had hardly enough time to flatten myself against her so I wouldn't hit my head.
My heart, that had been beating erratically, felt like it stopped. The ramp was immediately shut, leaving us in the dim light of the trailer.
I got off the horse, which was probably not a wise idea, but staying on her in a moving vehicle was even worse. She was content and stuck her face in a cubbyhole that had water in it.
"Hello!" I banged on the door and pushed on it, hoping it would open. "Help!"
I felt the walls closing in on me. My clothes stuck to my skin as the heat from Buttercup and the closed trailer melded together. The windows of the trailer were shut, but on the top were two vents, like those on school buses that were open to let in light and air.
I stumbled as the truck began moving and wondered if I would die being squashed by the horse. I put a hand against the side of the trailer as I made my way to the front and held on to a bar that was there. Buttercup eyed me with one of her big black eyes. She looked sad, and I patted her side.
I knew exactly what was happening. I had already come to terms with it before this had even happened; I was going to have to face Dylan whether I was ready to or not.