Chapter Nine
I clung to the man I’d just met… a man who’d just rocked my world without either of us needing to take off even a single piece of clothing.
“Can you carry her?” Rhodes’ question cut through the post-orgasmic bliss clouding my senses.
“Easily.” Evander scooped me into his arms and stood. “I’ve never felt this good.”
“I bet,” Rhodes growled under his breath. Leaning down, he looped his arm around Lochlan’s waist. “If you’ve got Axelle, I’ll help Loch.”
“Wait!” The word came out garbled, forcing me to clear my throat. “I haven’t healed him yet. It’s his turn!”
“And you can heal him—after you’ve had a chance to recharge,” Rhodes answered in a tone that was meant to end the conversation.
Well, too freaking bad. He wasn’t the boss of me.
“I’m fine. Let me heal him,” I protested, squirming in Evander’s arms.
My mind must have still been high on pleasure, otherwise I would’ve remembered I was a ghost and could easily get away from him.
Or maybe you like being held because you’re enjoying the physical contact and you aren’t ready for it to end…
It was true. I loved my books, but the tiniest part of me was questioning my determination to remain alone. Death didn’t scare me, but clearly attachments did.
Evander moved into the tunnels with the confidence of a man who’d traveled them countless times.
Tilting my head, I stared up at him. “Have you been down here before?”
He shook his head. “This was my first time.”
“Then how do you know which way to go?”
Evander shrugged. “I brought a map that showed the sewer system below the library. Only it wasn’t a sewer system that someone built. The blueprints were about these tunnels.”
“And then the boy genius memorized those blueprints as we navigated this maze, so he doesn’t need to check the map anymore.” Lochlan’s voice drifted through the tunnel from behind us.
Twisting in Evander’s arms, I peeked over his shoulder. Lochlan was leaning heavily on Rhodes, but his steps were steady and his color was good.
“Stop worrying, Axe. I’m fine. I’d rather have my turn, as you put it, at the house.” Loch’s wink had butterflies taking flight in my stomach.
Then his words settled in. “House?”
“We’re taking you home with us,” Rhodes stated.
I scoffed. “I’m not a stray cat you can just decide to adopt and take home.”
There were stacks of books that needed to be read. These men were messing up all my carefully laid plans for my future.
A lonely future…
“Boo, in case you hadn’t realized it, you belong with—” Loch hesitated for a moment. “Us. You’ll just have to accept it and tell us what we need to do to keep you happy.”
“Us?” Surely he didn’t mean what I thought he meant.
My gaze darted between the three men.
It was Evander who answered. “Our kind usually works in groups we call circles. It isn’t uncommon for our species to choose to only have one female in the circle.”
My brain began running a series of complicated math equations I didn’t have a hope of understanding as I struggled to process what he was saying. Surely he didn’t mean —
Loch snickered. “Yes. It works exactly how you’re thinking. The woman is kept satisfied by her own personal harem.”
My throat tightened. “And you three want to share… me?” My words came out as little more than a whispered squeak.
“We don’t want to, but we’re willing to go this route because none of us are willing to give you up.” The muscle in Rhodes’ jaw flexed.
Evander gave me a shy smile. “I like the idea of sharing. We often get distracted by our work and we each have our own quirks. This way, we can make sure you get everything you need and deserve… even when one of us is being an idiot.”
The tender sincerity in his voice chipped away at the walls I’d built to protect my heart.
“If you agree to give us a chance, we’ll need you to be patient. We aren’t used to sharing.” For the first time since I’d met him, Lochlan’s tone was serious.
I was being offered a harem of the three most beautiful guys I’d ever laid eyes on. Anyone in their right mind would jump at a chance like this. I read romance stories because I was obsessed with love. But when I got the chance to have my own happily ever after, I was too scared to take the risk.
Because I didn’t want to get a taste of being loved, only to end up alone. As an introvert, I’d struggled to make friends and my life had been painfully lonely.
Bloody Mary! It was so bad that when I died, none of the people I shared blood with, and who loved to remind me they were my family when they needed a favor, had cared enough to claim my body.
The city had buried me in an overgrown field, which I suspected used to be a landfill before the city decided to use it as a graveyard for the unclaimed. And since most citizens of Amberwood were born and raised here, and very few strangers moved into town, people weren’t exactly dying to get into the city’s graveyard.
So my grave, with the tiny metal plaque engraved with the identification number the coroner had assigned me, was the only grave on the entire ten-acre property. Even in death, I was all alone.
It would’ve been hilarious if it hadn’t been so pathetic.
Now, three sexy men wanted to claim me as theirs and treat me like a queen, and I was too scared to say yes.
“You don’t have to answer until you want to. I’m not going anywhere. Ever,” Evander assured me.
His words sent a trickle of happiness through me. Acting impulsively, I caught his face and brought his lips to mine in a soft kiss.
Pulling away, I gave him a small smile before hiding my face against his chest.
How could these men be strangers yet feel so familiar at the same time?
When we arrived at their house, Evander carried me to his room. He tucked me into his bed, then disappeared into the bathroom.
“You know ghosts don’t sleep, right?” I protested when he returned five minutes later.
Evander was wearing only a pair of flannel pajama pants. When he ran his fingers through his wet hair, causing droplets of water to slide down his bare chest, I lifted my finger to the corner of my mouth to make sure I hadn’t started drooling.
“I know a bit about ghosts.” He moved to an oak shelf in the corner of the room. Turning back around to face me, he held a book in each hand. “That’s why I figured we would read.”
I nearly swooned on the spot. “Will you marry me?”
Evander’s forehead creased. “What?”
I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
Thinking quickly, I stammered out, “Uh, I wanted to know if you would cuddle me?”
Smooth, Axelle. Not sus at all.
His eyes sparkled, and his lips twitched as if he were suppressing a smile. “There is nothing I want more than to marry you.”
“What?!” I yelped.
“I said there’s nothing I want more than to cuddle you while we read,” he answered innocently, handing me one of the books he’d pulled from the shelf.
But as he stretched out on the bed beside me, I caught his sexy smirk and couldn’t resist a smile of my own. The playful banter I shared with the men was doing a fantastic job of wrecking my resolve to distance myself from them.
I needed to decide if I was going to let them in, or push them away. And soon.
“Whatever you’re worrying about can wait. You’ve had a hard day, and it’s time to relax.” Evander grabbed his glasses from the nightstand beside the bed. He slid them on and opened his book.
Great Gatsby’s Glamorous Gambling Ghost!
I’d found Evander handsome before, but the whole sexy nerd vibe could have knocked my panties off. A wave of slick arousal rushed between my thighs, and my body ached with need. Evander turned a page, already lost in the book’s story.
Lying down beside him, I opened my book and tried not to think about all the things I wanted to do to him. The book was a fantasy about dragons and elves, and while I missed the romance, I was quickly drawn into the story.
We’d been reading for about half an hour when the bedroom door opened and Rhodes appeared with Loch behind him. Both men had changed into pajama pants, and without a word, they moved toward the bed.
Loch laid down beside me, pulling me against him. I murmured in pleasure as heat seeped into my cold body.
Rhodes stretched out across the bottom of the bed. Lifting my feet onto his stomach, he began to massage them with a gentleness that surprised me for such a large man.
Snuggled between their bodies, I relaxed, letting the tension drain from my body. I was protected. Instead of distracting me, the guys’ presence allowed me to let go of the world and fully devour chapter after chapter. Maybe there was a way I could have my cake and eat it too… or in my case, maybe I could have my romance and read it too.
The hours ticked by, and when I finally slipped the bookmark into the book and glanced out the window, I was surprised to see the sun was rising over the horizon.
Evander’s eyes were closed, and his book was slipping from his hand. I gently took it from him and placed it on the nightstand.
Rhodes’ palm slid up my calf. Sitting up, I looked at the giant man cradling my calf in his sleep. Did they crave physical touch as much as I did?
Shifting my attention to where Loch lay on my right side, I was startled to find his moss-green eyes fixed on me.
“You’re incredible.” His whispered comment sent excitement rippling through me.
Carefully extracting my leg from Rhodes’ grasp, I rolled over to face Loch and melded my body to his. “I bet you tell all the girls that.”
“No, I don’t.” His arm curled around my back, and he buried his nose against my neck. “You were magnificent facing off with the reaper, but I’ve never felt fear like that in my life. I thought I was going to watch you die.”
I huffed a soft laugh. “I already died, remember?”
His teeth nipped my neck, and he growled. “Yeah, but you can be ended in this form, too. Now, remind me, how did that happen?”
“I was target practicing with cupid and there was a freak accident.” I blew out a sigh. “It happens. Wrong place, wrong time. You know how it goes.”
Loch pulled back to stare at me. “You have a twisted sense of humor, boo.”
Eager to change the subject, I slipped my arms around his neck. “You haven’t fed. Now seems like a good time.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Hunger glowed in his eyes, but he was still worried. “You grabbed a reaper’s blade yesterday, then took a bite out of him, and followed that up by feeding Rhodes enough energy to heal a fatal wound. Not to mention taking care of Ev. I can wait another day or two.”
“I’m fine. Let me do this.” I didn’t tell him I was feeling tired, because I didn’t want him to worry.
My energy was replenishing itself, and I still had enough to feed him. Dark circles marred the skin beneath his eyes, and I’d caught the slight tremor of his hand. I was new to collectors, but you didn’t have to be an expert to see he was struggling.
Not giving him a chance to protest further, I pressed my lips to his. The energy that made up my entire being responded like a puppy eager to greet her master.
The moment the energy touched his tongue, Lochlan gave up fighting his hunger. He latched onto my mouth with a desperation that tore at my heart. Why hadn’t he let me feed him in the tunnels?
In a single smooth move, Loch rolled us so that I was trapped beneath his body. His left hand slipped from where it cupped my cheek, to curl his powerful fingers around the delicate column of my neck.
I knew he could have snapped my neck without effort, but I wasn’t worried. Not even when his kiss grew demanding, and he sucked the energy from me at a frantic pace. I didn’t think he’d ever kill to eat, but right now, I was still his prey and his body was in survival mode.
Rather than struggle, I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer. The oversized white T-shirt I’d created to sleep in rode up over my hips, leaving only a lacy thong covering me.
Loch’s thumb brushed along the bare skin of my neck. It was a tender gesture, and a sweet reminder that I was more than a meal to him and he wouldn’t hurt me.
I did my best to ignore the ache between my thighs that was growing more demanding. Apparently, I couldn’t share energy without getting turned on by the physical contact. Only, they didn’t call it sharing, they called it feeding. My brain swirled with questions. Was this something they needed often? Did they feed from other ghosts? And did those ghosts get turned on too? An uncomfortable surge of jealousy caused my chest to tighten and ache. It didn’t matter that I barely knew these guys, or that I’d been so determined about not wanting to make space in my life for them… I couldn’t stand the idea of another woman experiencing this with my guys.
My guys.
Were they mine? They’d made it clear they wanted me, and my heart knew we fit together. But how could this work?
Lochlan’s mouth pulled me from my thoughts as he moved from my lips, down to my neck. The hand that had gripped my throat moved to my thigh, then trailed over my butt.
“You need to focus on feeding,” I protested, my voice husky with need.
Unhooking my legs from around his waist, I dropped onto the mattress. He shifted slightly down the bed and I bent my legs and pulled them toward me to give him more room for whatever he was doing.
When his strong fingers gripped my legs and began parting them, I tried to wiggle away. Lochlan was having none of it and held me in place.
His eyes bore into mine. “If you don’t want this to go any further, say the word and I’ll let you go.”
I hesitated, still embarrassed over the raw neediness I’d shown with Evander while Lochlan and Rhodes watched.
As if reading my thoughts, Lochlan purred, “You were beautiful in your ecstasy. I was jealous, in awe, and painfully turned on watching the show you two put on. Getting to watch you being pleasured by him, put to rest any doubts about my ability to share you with another man. I still wanted to be the one touching you, but I enjoy watching you, too.”
“How did you know what I was thinking?” I asked in a hoarse whisper.
“Boo, your face is far too expressive. Plus, your blush, combined with the flickering overhead light, made it easy to guess. But you don’t need to feel embarrassed.” Loch leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to each of my legs. “Let me see you. Please.”
“What about your, um, you know… feeding?” My voice squeaked and my muscles trembled. “Shouldn’t we focus on that, instead of…”
The overhead light flashed on and off like it was at a rave. Until I’d met these men, I had no idea that ghostly embarrassment would take such an embarrassingly obvious form.
“Sweet, innocent woman. Collectors don’t need to kiss in order to feed.” Lochlan’s delighted rumble of laughter was laced with a positively wicked note. “Do you really think I’m going to kiss Rhodes or Ev? That isn’t going to happen even if I were in dire need of healing and they had the energy to spare. We can absorb energy through our skin.”
As if to illustrate his point, Lochlan rested his open palm against my stomach. The heat from his skin seeped into me as my energy lurched toward his touch. I sucked in a breath as the energy flowed from me and into Lochlan.
What the fright?!
They could’ve fed just by holding my hand or touching my arm? My gaze jumped to Evander to find he was awake, likely due to Loch and I moving around, but he was looking everywhere but in my direction. I glanced at Rhodes, who’d awakened as well, but instead of guilt, he grinned unashamedly at me.
Lochlan’s laughter deepened. “Yeah, he didn’t need to kiss you to feed. But cut him some slack. We thought you knew, and no man in his right mind is going to turn down the chance to kiss you.”
“Axe, I’m sorry. I was going to say something, but when you snuggled against me, I couldn’t even speak. At that moment, I forgot all about needing to feed. All I could think about was how desperately I wanted to taste your lips.”
Evander’s eyes swirled with guilt and hunger. His honesty made it hard to be upset with him. Especially when I’d wanted it too.
Pushing aside my shyness, I reached out and brushed my knuckles along his stubbled jaw. “I liked it. A lot.”
“Good.” Evander caught my hand and placed a soft kiss on each of my fingers.
“Alright, enough,” Loch grumbled, his laughter dying away. “You had your turn, Evander. I’m hungry and it’s my turn to feed.”
Slick arousal rushed between my thighs as the double meaning of his words sank in. In my old life, I was not what anyone would consider adventurous when it came to the bedroom tango. But this was my second chance to be whoever I wanted. Whoever said reading romance was a waste of time didn’t have a clue what they were talking about, because I was about to put my long hours of research to good use!
I could let go and boo gie.
Relaxing my locked muscles, I watched Lochlan’s tongue slide across his bottom lip as he guided my legs apart.