Chapter 18
ASHLEY
Official [SECURED]: Jocelyn, out of courtesy for your long service, we are granting you forty-eight hours to turn in all access cards and data drives. Funding to your project has been cut, effective immediately, and all illegal actions taken hereafter will no longer be protected by our department.
Jocelyn: Kiss my ass, Richard. This is MY PROJECT and no one will take it away from me. I’d rather destroy the data and test subjects entirely than hand them all over.
T he sound of a rooster crowing was what woke us up the next morning, and it took a good minute to realize the sound was being played through a speaker. There was no actual rooster standing in the middle of our cabin, screaming his lungs out.
“So they gave us all the supplies for a filthy night but no shower?” I muttered, grumpy as fuck while I did my best to clean up using a wet cloth from the sink. “That’s some cruel-and-unusual-punishment shit right there.”
“At least they gave us some food and water,” Royce replied with a grin, filling his suit pockets with protein bars before tossing one to Nate. “And some of these other supplies have to be relevant. I think we take as much as possible.”
Nate ripped open the bar with his teeth, casually watching me with dark eyes as I gave up on the washcloth and hunted for my panties. They had to be tangled in the sheets somewhere because I’d kicked them off while already in bed, hadn’t I?
“Yeah, well, I’m not much help there. My stupid dress has no pockets,” I muttered, then gave a little cry of success when I found my black panties. “Yay! Found them.”
“Yay,” Royce deadpanned with a pout as he scooped up my dress to hand over.
Nate grinned at his friend and shook his head, mouth full of protein bar. He tore another open and offered it to me as I stepped into my designer ball gown once more, and I gratefully accepted it. Even I could acknowledge the fact that I was hangry.
“Where are we going today?” I asked, trying to choke down my crappy mood with the dry bar. I also really didn’t want to discuss what’d happened between the three of us because I couldn’t shake the feeling Nate would change his mind if we addressed it too directly.
Royce scooped up the fresh map that he’d found nailed to the door when he stepped out to pee earlier.
“We’re heading to a little lake…which maybe brings the inflatable into play.
You got that pump, Nate?” We’d unwrapped the package we’d been given earlier and found what seemed like a deflated pool floaty.
“Sure do,” Nate confirmed, patting his jacket pocket. He’d put his shirt and jacket on, but made no move to button the fabric up. Dirty tease. “I also grabbed the first-aid kit, lighter, and flashlight.”
I winced as I put my shoes back on and grumbled curses about what a crappy idea it was to wear high heels. Then glared at both the boys since they were responsible for my outfit.
Royce raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, we didn’t know this was in the cards.” He didn’t even try to hide his grin, though.
Fucker. He’d been grinning like a maniac since the moment we woke up.
Groaning, I finished dressing and tied my hair up in a messy, tangled ponytail. “Okay, let’s get this game over with. Is it time?”
Our map had come with instructions not to leave the cabin until the bell sounded at eight o’clock, and Nate checked his watch—my grandfather's watch, which I had pretended not to notice he was still wearing.
“Should be…” A moment later, the chime of a bell sounded through the hidden speaker in the ceiling, and the three of us launched into motion.
As casual as we’d all been about the game, we also really wanted to win. Mainly for gloating rights over Carter, Heath, and Carly. Beating Jade’s and Paige’s teams was also on my personal goal list.
The hike through the forest in our evening wear was nowhere near as challenging in the light of day, and I found if I stuck to the trail, I didn’t trip quite so often. As it was, the boys only had to catch me a handful of times as we followed the map for an hour or so in relative silence.
It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence by any means, but there was definitely still an elephant lurking in the woods with us.
When I finally admitted there was a blister on my heel—making me limp—Nate immediately crouched down and ordered me to hop on his back.
It’s a testament to how much that blister hurt that I climbed on and wrapped my arms around his neck as he adjusted his grip on my thighs through the bulky fabric of my skirt.
“So now that I have you captive,” he said quietly a few minutes later, “can I ask something important?” I didn’t hide my groan, and he chuckled.
“Fine, I guess…since you are literally carrying me right now.”
“Had I known, I’d have picked you up ages ago,” he murmured. Ahead of us, Royce glanced back and gave me a little brow raise like he was asking if I needed saving. As tempting as it was, I shot back a small headshake to reassure him I was fine. Sort of.
“What do you want to know?” I asked on a sigh.
No doubt it was going to be a tough question about how I thought it was okay to be romantically—and sexually—involved with all four of them at the same time.
Which I dreaded because I didn’t have any answers that sounded reasonable in the least. If they told me they were going to start fucking Paige on the side, I would lose my shit .
Nate’s fingers seemed to tighten on my thighs, or maybe that was my imagination? “You said last night that my apology was accepted…”
Ah. That. “I did…” I agreed slowly.
“But?” he prompted with a heavy edge of dread. “We’re not good , are we?”
Damn it. “No,” I confirmed. “We’re not. I was very invested in forgiving you last night, but it’d be a lie to say everything is forgiven and forgotten today.”
He nodded, humming a sound of understanding.
We were both silent for some time, then I pressed a kiss to the back of his neck. “We’re better than we were, though. If that counts for anything?”
A heavy sigh gusted out of him, and his whole body seemed to relax ever so slightly beneath me. “Yeah. That counts. I guess I just have some work to do.”
Thank fuck . I’d been stressing out that he was going to decide it was too hard and not worth it. That we weren’t worth it. Hearing him say that, though? All the warm fuzzies.
“I guess you do,” I agreed in a husky voice, snuggling in closer to his back as he piggybacked me through the woods.
Ten minutes later, we popped out on the side of a lake, and Nate let me slide down off his back. Royce squinted down the shoreline and pointed out what seemed to be a wooden dock about two hundred yards away.
“Let’s head down there,” he suggested. “It’ll be easier than climbing down this part.”
He had a valid point since we stood at the top of what seemed like a thirty-foot sheer drop down to the water. We carefully picked our way along the shoreline until we approached the dock at the same time as several other teams that had appeared farther along the lake.
“Well, well, well, fancy meeting you here,” Royce crowed as Carter, Heath, and Carly approached from the trees. “Team Spider-Man! How was your romantic night in the woods?”
Heath quirked a brow with confusion. “You consider bunk beds and sleeping bags romantic ? I knew you were a bit kinky but that’s a new one.”
“Spark, baby,” Carter greeted me as he swept me up into his arms. “I missed you so fucking much.”
I laughed as he crushed his lips to mine in a bruising kiss. “I missed you too, Sir Carter. But wait, you guys had bunks and sleeping bags?”
“Mmm,” he replied, kissing my throat and holding me tight against his body, not letting my feet touch the ground.
“Yeah, didn’t you?” Carly asked with a curious expression. “Our cabin was set up like a summer camp with board games and s’mores. It was cute as shit.”
“Ours was different,” Nate muttered, then nudged Royce. “Let’s work out what we do next.”
“Yes, let’s work it out,” Heath agreed, poking Carter. “Put our gorgeous girl down so we can win this thing.”
Carter kissed me again, then put me back on my feet. “Sorry, babe, we are going to beat you on this.” Then he and Heath followed Royce and Nate to where they were unrolling our pool floaty at the edge of the lake.
Heath glanced over his shoulder to Carly and gestured for her to come with. “Carly, this is a team activity.”
She just flapped a hand back at him. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there in a minute. I want to talk to Ash for a sec. Come on, girl. I dunno about you, but my feet are killing me.”
The two of us made our way to the end of the wooden dock, taking our shoes off and dangling our feet in the water. It felt so good, I was sorely tempted to jump in and take a little bath. If it didn’t mean I’d then be stuck in a saturated dress, I’d have done it.
“So…” Carly murmured. “How have things been?”
I lay back on the dock, closing my eyes against the bright sunshine. “Fine. You?”
Carly gave a vexed sound and poked my ribs. “Don’t give me that shit. The tension between you and Nate this week has been so thick, it's practically choking all of us when you’re in the same room together. Now you’re stranded in the woods and spending the night together?”
I bit the inside of my cheek to fight what I was sure might be a dazed and well-fucked smile. “Not just us. Royce was there too, remember?”
Carly scoffed. “Oh, yes, I totally forgot bestie was there. Because he would be so against anything sexy happening in his presence. As if Royce would ever say no to anything you asked of him…ever. You could ask him to murder someone in cold blood, and he’d do it with a smile just to make you happy. That boy is so in love with you.”
The feeling was mutual. “So you think he’d somehow be okay with me and Nate hooking up in front of him? That’s crazy .” I tried to force out a laugh as though it was the most absurd thing I’d ever heard, but it fell so flat. I cringed, and Carly gasped.
“Oh my god,” she exclaimed in a strangled whisper. “I was joking, but holy shit, you guys actually?—”
“Shhhhh!” I scolded, sitting up to clap a hand over her mouth. “We aren’t talking about this. Nothing happened.”
Her eyes wide, she nodded back just as we heard Heath ask clear as a damn bell, “Nate, why do you have a fresh bite mark on your neck?”
Fuck . I froze.
A moment later, a splash sounded, and I released Carly to see what’d happened only to discover all four boys still on dry land.
“That was childish,” Royce drawled, giving Carter a pissed-off look.
Carter just shrugged. “Using an air compressor was cheating, Roycey baby. I just evened out the playing field.”
Royce extended his middle fingers with a sneer. “That’s fine. We didn’t need it anyway. Right, Nate? Get blowing.”
Nate glowered but raised the inflatable to his lips and started to blow it up as Heath did the same with their own floaty. At least that distracted them from discussing our new sex-life dynamic, so that was…something.
“Wanna bet neither of us will win this thing?” Carly asked with a laugh.
I grinned back at her. “Almost guaranteed. They’re more focused on sabotage than winning.” Especially seeing as more and more teams had appeared along the shoreline and were hard at work inflating their own floaties.
It was only then, as the air started to fill out the plastic, that I realized what the pool floaties even were. Ducks. Giant rubber ducks in our team colors.