Chapter 14 Wren
Wren
THE SONGBIRD
Ican’t stop touching my face. Every time my fingertips brush the swelling, I get a sick feeling in my stomach.
I got punched. Actually fucking punched.
By Rich of all fucking people. Not that I can say I’m too surprised there.
All the signs were there. Now I’m sprawled out on this velvet couch, a complete mess of a girl, ice pack in hand, pretending I’m not vibrating from the inside out.
How I managed to make my way into Lennox’s lap is beyond me.
For someone who’s been nothing short of cold towards me since we met, he’s actually being really sweet right now.
My girls are hovering, though. Olive’s pacing, already fully prepared to tear someone’s throat out with her teeth.
Harper is kneeled beside me, her long fingers rubbing my arm as if she can pet the damage away.
I wish it was that easy. She doesn’t know how much damage there really is beneath the surface.
“You should drink some water,” Harper murmurs, her voice soft but clipped. You can tell she’s trying not to cry. Her hand brushes my cheek, gentle. Too gentle. It makes my throat tighten.
“I’m fine,” I mutter, pushing her hand away, not even convincing myself.
Lennox is gazing down at me, his presence the only thing holding me together at this moment.
He’s like a wall next to me, solid, hot…
inescapable. His arm rests along the back of the couch, his fingers trailing lightly through my hair, lazy and familiar.
It almost feels like he’s done this a thousand times with me before.
I should be panicking, pulling away and not letting him do what he’s doing to me after the way he treated me before, but I’m not.
My cheek still throbs from being punched, the taste of blood bitter in my mouth, but none of that is what has my heart racing.
It’s the heat from Lennox’s thigh under my head, the possessive way his fingertips curl into my hair, grounding me to him. Like I belong here.
I do. God help me, I want to.
I’m too tired to fight it anymore. Too drunk, too high on adrenaline and tequila, and the way they look at me as if I’m something precious and theirs.
Kage is across the room, grabbing ice, his shoulders tense like he’s one wrong breath away from fucking destroying something.
Lennox hasn’t moved since the second he dropped me onto this couch and sat down.
He’s guarding me with his whole damn body.
My mouth moves before my brain can catch up.
“You’re…kinda cute when you’re all…worried and shit,” I slur, my voice warm and fuzzy around the edges.
I feel Lennox chuckle behind me, dark and sinful. The sound curls through me like smoke in my lungs.
“Yeah?” he murmurs, a teasing glint in his voice I don’t even have to see to feel. “You’re not so bad yourself, little bird.”
I grin up at him, dazed and weightless as the room spins softly. “Good…cause I was thinking about keeping you.”
There’s a pause. A beat too long for comfort. Lightly tugging a strand of my hair, he shakes his head, quiet amusement tugging at the corner of his lips. “We’ll see, sweetheart.”
He doesn’t move or say a word after that. He just…stays here, looming over me like some kind of shadow I never saw coming but don’t want to leave. His hand slides lower, from my hair to my neck, a slow drag of fingertips across my skin. Possessive. Lethal. Gentle.
“I meant it,” I whisper. “about keeping you.”
Lennox exhales a soft laugh, but there’s nothing light about it. It’s a warning. “Drunk girls say all kinds of shit.”
I shift, tilting my head slightly, resting my cheek on his thigh. “Yeah? But I was thinking about it before I was drunk.”
That makes him still. I feel the tension ripple through him, the way his hand tightens just a little at the base of my neck. Not enough to hurt, just enough to let me know that he heard that.
He leans down so no one beside us can hear. “You were gonna let Kage fuck you with his mouth in the car,” he whispers into my ear, his voice full of gravel. “Don’t think I didn’t notice.”
Heat slams into my gut.
“I was,” I whisper. No shame or lies. “I wanted him to.”
Lennox leans closer, breath brushing my ear. “And now?”
I look up at him, mouth parted, heart thrumming like a goddamn drum. “Now I want both of you.”
His eyes go sharp and blaze right through me. His hand slides under my chin and tilts my head so I’m fully facing him. “Careful, little phoenix,” he says soft but dangerously. “You say that shit to the wrong men, and you don’t get to take it back.”
Why does he keep calling me that?
“I don’t want to take it back,” I pant. “I’m tired of pretending like I don’t want you.”
A low growl rumbles in his chest, dark and hungry, but he doesn’t move. I can feel how much he’s holding back, his fingers twitching against my chin. How tightly he’s gripping the leash. That restraint is what undoes me.
“I’ve been good,” he says, almost to himself. “Trying to stay the fuck out of it. Trying to let Kage have you.”
The words cut through me, sharp and unexpected. “What if I don’t want you to stay out of it?”
He’s staring at me like I’m something holy and forbidden all at once. Maybe I am. Maybe I want to be. For them.
“I’ll ruin you,” he says quietly. “He’ll love you, but I’ll fucking ruin you.”
“Then ruin me,” I whisper.
He opens his mouth, but a shadow falls over us before he can answer.
“Miss me?” Kage drawls, voice thick with tension.
Lennox just stares at me, breathing slow, the tendons in his neck bulging, a storm churning behind those piercing sage eyes.
But then he leans back, slamming the fucking vault shut.
That restraint clicks back into place, his arm draping across the back of the couch as if none of that just happened.
Like he didn’t just promise to destroy me.
But I felt it. I know he wants it just as much as I do.
He’s not backing out, he’s just…waiting.
Waiting to see if this is something I’m serious about, or if I’m just saying all of this because of the alcohol.
But I know what I want, I wanted it before the alcohol ever hit my system.
I wanted it the moment they walked into the bar and kicked Rich’s ass for touching me.
I knew it was inevitable, I think I was just trying to deny my heart the happiness, and orgasms, it deserves.
I shift again, thighs pressing together as heat coils low in my stomach. It’s maddening. He’s fucking maddening. I want to scream at him to touch me or leave me alone. But I know if he touches me, I won’t survive it. I’ll just crave more of him until I finally break.
Kage drops onto the opposite end of the couch with a wide grin and a plastic bag of ice wrapped in a cloth. “Look what I found, sweetheart. VIP ice, just for you.” He winks, smug as hell. “Imported. Fancy shit.”
Olive rolls her eyes from across the table. “Wow. Prince Charming.”
“I try,” Kage all but giggles and then shrugs, not even remotely offended. “Want some for your attitude?”
Harper snorts. “She’ll need more than that, bro.”
Taylor appears like a goddamn mosquito, buzzing in out of nowhere with her glittery top and glossy lips, drink in hand and eyes locked on the wrong men. My fucking men. Always looking to suck the blood out of someone's dick.
“Alright,” she purrs, her eyes sliding between Kage and Lennox, “which one of you is single and looking to make questionable decisions tonight? Being single is optional, of course.” She winks, taking a sip of her drink.
My stomach twists.
Kage raises a brow, a lazy grin tugging at his mouth. “Questionable, huh? That’s what you’re offering?” He says it as an insult, but I don’t think she gets it.
She giggles, running a finger along the rim of her glass. “Depends what you’re into. I can be a very bad idea.” And that’s putting it lightly.
Lennox makes a face looking like he just smelled something rotten. One brow arches completely unimpressed as he glances at Kage like you hearing this shit?
Kage chuckles, husky and indulgent. He leans back into the couch, arms spreading out as if lounging on a damn throne. His eyes drop to her mouth, then trail down her body with idle interest, before flicking to me and lighting up with something real.
“Well,” he drawls, “you’re definitely something.”
Taylor perks up. “Something good?”
He lets her dangle for a beat, then smiles, slow and devilishly.
“You’re kinda hot, I guess,” he admits, punching me right in the gut. “Probably wild. Could be fun…for someone,” Taylor beams. “but not for me.”
Her smile cracks instantly, causing mine to grow.
“I’m with Wren.”
The words land like a slap to her face. Taylor blinks, completely stunned. I take it she doesn’t get rejected very often. Lennox doesn’t bother hiding his smirk this time, and the disgust on his face twists into something sharper. Pure, rich amusement.
“You should go,” he says, his tone polite but hollow. “before you embarrass yourself further.”
Taylor blinks, clearly not ready to give up.
She laughs, that high pitched sound girls use when they think they’re the shit.
“Oh, come on. Let's just have a little fun. You’re telling me you two don’t have any room for one more?
” Um, hello? Does she need me to hold a sign over my head?
Am I fucking invisible to her or something? What’s her problem?
She leans in closer, her chest out, dragging her nasty tongue slowly along the edge of her straw, clearly thinking that’ll do the trick. Seriously, who fucking invited her?
Kage doesn’t even look at her.
Lennox’s jaw flexes, the muscle ticking before he shifts his gaze away, as though even acknowledging her would be giving too much.
“Taylor,” Olive snaps, crossing her arms, “read the fucking room.”
Taylor startles, her smile slipping as Olive closes in on her.