63 #2
“But it’s so funny,” Tiger snickers, snatching Cooper’s towel from him, then taking the rest of ours when we hold them out to him.
He hops off the bed to take them to the laundry basket, picking up the one I threw from the floor along the way, before settling back into the obsidian silks as calmly as possible.
I’m admittedly impressed by his devotion to the task.
He sticks his face right in front of Ezla’s.
Scotty sighs, rubbing a hand over his own face. “Careful, Tiger. Don’t wake her.”
“I wasn’t going to. But look how pretty,” he coos, running his fingers ever so carefully over her cheek. It’s more delicacy than I knew he could muster when he’s like a bull in a china shop most of the time.
Alby yawns then, awkwardly covering his mouth with a pale hand. “Sorry . . . Are we sleeping now? In here? I don’t . . . I want to stay in here,” he whispers with a blush that shocks no one.
“Yeah,” Scotty replies. “I think she’ll be okay with it. Where does everyone want to—”
“Dibs!” Like a shot, Tiger dives for her right side.
Scotty catches him before he can slam into her and wake her up.
“Fucker,” I hiss as I quickly, but far more gently than Tiger attempted to, slot myself on Havoc’s left, running my nose along her neck and shifting her as gently as possible so that she’s on her side, tucked securely into my arms. Inhaling the spicy-yet-sweet scent of her, I let out a contented groan that I muffle in her skin.
“As I was saying . . . Who wants her other side, I guess?” Scotty asks as he lets his pouting brother go.
Cooper glances at Alby. “You want the spot?”
He gulps loudly. “U-uh . . . y-yeah . . . ?” he says hesitantly, like he thinks that was a trick question. “But not if you want it!” he rushes to add.
“Of course I do,” he scoffs, and Alby’s face drops, though he tries to hide his disappointment.
“But I’m offering it to you,” Cooper continues, and Alby blinks twice, seemingly wondering if he misheard him.
“We’re all wanting to be close to her, but there’s no point arguing over it when there’s plenty of nights to go around after this.
” He shrugs. Before rethinking and adding, “Hopefully.”
I grumble under my breath.
Hopefully, my ass. Havoc’s given herself to us, and we’re not giving her back. She even called us hers, finally acknowledging what I’ve known for years, the other guys since they met her, no doubt. My baby’s irresistible like that.
“Okay . . .” Alby breathes with a small smile.
He hesitates a moment longer before another look at Ezla has his resolve visibly firming.
He shrugs off his clothes until he’s only a tad more covered than the rest of us in his boxer briefs, and I close my eyes to sleep as I snuggle deeper into my Havoc, unconcerned by whatever the guys will do next as long as they don’t bother me or her.
Honestly though, it pisses me off how Alby is still so insecure, and protective instincts kick in every time I see it, which I still find odd. It’s not as strong as it is with Ezla, and there’s obviously not the same feelings involved there, but I know I’d kill for the smaller guy.
“Ummmm . . . Tate? Is this okay?” he asks nervously, and I manage to grunt an affirmative in response.
I peek an eye open when I hear the whispery rustling of sheets, and I rumble, “Stop moving so much. You’ll wake her.”
“Sorry.” Alby’s squeak is quieter than a mouse’s as he nervously slots himself against our Bonded’s front.
But then his features almost immediately lose their tension, a soft, contented smile appearing on his face as he settles into her. He closes his eyes, disappearing from sight as he buries his face in Ezla’s chest.
Tiger sprawls out on his back like a starfish beside him, and Scotty and Cooper both move to my side of the bed.
A fair amount of space is left on the silk-clad mattress, even with so many men on it.
No movements are restricted either—that’s how fucking humongous this thing is.
And none of us are under the sheets, having not wanted to move our Bonded, but in most buildings, the temperature is neither hot nor cold these days, advanced technology keeping most inside places at a perfectly neutral temperature no matter the degrees outside, so we’re all good in that aspect, too.
It’s on the warmer side with all our body heat, though, all nice and cosy for my Havoc—another thing my new brothers are useful for, I’ll give them that.
“Night, Ezzy,” Tiger says quietly around a yawn.
Cooper or Scotty must turn the knob that’s on the wall by the headboard—we have one in each room that allows us to adjust how bright the glow of the Avri strips around our Bonded chambers are—because the luminance of the white, red, and green energy in the bedroom gets dimmer and dimmer, and soon, I can hardly see before me. “Love you.”
And even though our Bonded is asleep, Tiger’s sleepy words are echoed throughout the room in multiple different formats. Then everything falls still, and I quickly fade into dreams, finding my Havoc there too. Just like I always do.