25 #2
“Same.” Alby’s shy agreement is hardly audible, but I catch his voice as always.
“Of course,” Scotty says softly, his adoration pouring all over me.
Lastly, I shift my stare to Cooper.
He raises a dark brow. “What? I’m not about to say no, Vengeance. I never have, despite my . . .”
“Poor temper?” I supply.
He sighs. “Yeah, that.”
“Well . . .” They all stare at me when I do not continue.
But disgracefully, irksomely, humiliatingly, I cannot find the words.
Even worse, I feel my cheeks begin to heat under the weight of it all, and I am forced to dip my chin, true wrath storming through me in a way I have found to be usually lessening recently in answer.
My chin lifts back up as Cooper rises from his seat and approaches at a steady pace.
Alby follows more timidly, setting his fork down.
“We’re together now, Vengeance. We’re yours, and you’re ours.
We belong to each other.” He’s telling me how it is, voice almost firm, intense russet gaze locked on mine, unwavering.
My returning expression is challenging, and yet I make no objections. I do not think I can disagree with a single one of those statements.
Cooper hesitates then, and it is my turn to arch a brow.
Scowling in a familiar way, he marches forwards and closes the distance between us. Fingers grasping my chin, he crashes his mouth onto mine.
I do not pull away, but I do battle with his tongue when it slips into my mouth as a reminder that I am still the one in control here. And when he groans and tilts my head to deepen the kiss, I bite down on his lip hard enough to taste a metallic tang.
“Fuck!” He yanks his head back, hand snapping from my chin to his split lip.
Oh . . . I do not like any true damage being done to my men, but that is quite attractive, especially as his thumb swipes up the bead of blood I drew from him.
Stalling, his eyes whip back up to mine, thumb freezing in place. His pupils gradually expand. “I heard that, Vengeance,” he says lowly, arousal weaved through each syllable.
“We all did. Bite me next, my Havoc.” Tate shoves his neck in my face like he thinks I am some sort of vampire.
“That was not intended to cause arousal. I bit you because as much as I would like to repeat our night from the Halfway Ball, we are far behind on training. I do not . . .” The realisation slams into me as I speak it, and every inch of me stiffens.
“I do not even know the time.” And just for now, I have to whip the blinds closed in my mind, shutting my Bonds out.
They will not feel the deplorable weakness in me—
“Ezla . . . ?” Alby’s quiet voice is tiny. Hurt.
Tate’s voice is a little less tentative.
“Havoc,” my beast bites out. “Open your mind back up right now, or I’ll dig into your—”
“Put me down,” I order sharply, any disgusting vulnerable emotions turning to anger. “Put me—”
Large, gentle hands find my face, walm palms cupping my cheeks.
Scotty stares deeply into my eyes. “Please don’t do this again, Ezla.
We can’t handle you shutting us out again—you’ve only just let us in.
And we . . . I felt your panic, Love. Will you tell me what that’s about?
” Over his shoulder, he instructs, “Someone go check the clock in the living room.”
Dipping his chin, Cooper keeps his eyes on me for a few beats too long before he heads over to the open doorway and reports back after a short glance into the lounge, “Seven. Not too late.”
My heart rate climbs higher in an instant. “We are an hour behind schedule. I have been completely lacking on my—”
“Lacking?” Cooper echoes incredulously as he heads back over like a storm cloud. “Your— You were fucking gone, HC!”
My skin crawls. “Do not remind me,” I grit out. “I am aware of the embarrassment—”
“You—”
Scotty’s hand on his shoulder stops his outburst from making it the full way into the now-thick air.
“Don’t. We can’t afford to be arguing among ourselves at the moment.
We’re the most united we’ve ever been, and with our .
. . current situation”—he deliberately avoids any direct mention of the disease that is my father—“that’s how we need to stay.
That’s how we should always be. I’m not expecting this relationship to be perfect or easy all the time—that’s not how any relationship works.
” He looks at each of us meaningfully, gaze lingering on me.
“But as Cooper said, we’re together now. That changes the dynamics slightly.”
“I disagree,” I say bluntly. “You should all remain kneeling at my feet.”
He rubs his free hand over his mouth to try to hide his smirk.
“Love, I think we’re all perfectly happy to kneel for you at all times, but that’s not what I meant.
I guess we just . . . we don’t need to be so at odds with each other all the time.
I think we as a group need to get better at talking things out civilly instead of resorting to violence. ”
“I cherish violence.”
“Same, baby,” Tate grunts and lowers me slightly so he can shove the hard line of himself into my crotch. “Feel that? That’s what your violence does to me. Love it when you let loose on everyone—”
“Okay,” Scotty interrupts. He cannot seem to decide if he is losing his patience or amused. “Let’s just have a goal to talk things out calmly, okay?”
“Hm.”
Shaking his head at my short sound, Cooper says, “Sure. It’s not like I want to explode on you, Vengeance. I think it’s pretty clear I’ve got some anger issues, and I’m aware I need some work on that, so I’m all for trying.”
“But I so love our verbal sparring matches. They make me wish I could bring myself to hang you from the ceiling and spin you around with my daggers against your skin so that—”
“Jesus Christ, Vengeance,” Cooper hisses, shoving a hand through his deep brown hair, appearing mildly terrified for his life. “We get the picture.”
“Errr, just to double-check, you don’t want to do that, right?” Tiger speaks up, flashing a toothy smile when I look his way. “I mean, I’ve been pretty certain of your undying love for us, Ezzy, but that was very graphic and seemed quite thought out—”
Anger rises again in one great surge. “Do not question me. Have I not proved myself?”
“Oh no!” His hands wave about wildly, and he throws his arms around me, which is awkward when I am already smushed to Tate, who grumbles under his breath.
“No, DN! Of course you have! This is just all very new, and I think sometimes you still say very scary things. But don’t you worry, Wifey, that’s what I love about you! ”
“Hm. Put me down now, Tate.”
With a sneaked-in kiss to my cheek before he jumps back with a shriek when I pin him with a death glare in response, felling marginally overwhelmed with all of this at once—not that I would ever admit such a thing aloud—Tiger smiles and winks flirtatiously at me in that awful way of his.
He is too funny when I am trying to remain pissed off.
“But it’s my turn with you today,” my beast grunts in that deep voice of his, and I subtly inhale his scent, his natural musk mixed in with something dark and leathery that must come from his body wash.
I cannot believe I have allowed these men to reduce me to such a kind of person who does little things like this, but the odd pleasant shiver that rolls over me gratifies me too much to pass up on.
“Later,” I promise him, then add to get him moving faster as he is taking his sweet time, “If you set me on my feet right this instant. Believe it or not, I am attempting to have a . . . peaceful morning with you, and I am trying to listen to Scotty’s words.
However, I will not be able to keep myself from slamming you onto the floor if you do not get a move on. ”
His storm-grey eyes and nostrils flare in sync with desire.
“That was not me flirting,” I inform him when his thoughts try to convince him otherwise.
“Whatever you say, Havoc, baby,” he murmurs with a ravenous lick of his lips. Fortunately—or unfortunately for my outrageously aroused body, clearly—he does put me down, though, obsessive gaze roving all over me as he does.
“Good. Now—”
“Wait,” Cooper cuts me off, and I growl.
“My patience is starting to wear quite thin—”
“Vengeance, please. Please open the bond back up.” He doesn’t hide his vulnerability, and I falter.
“I want to know all of you, and I fucking will.” Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath to cool the heat that had once again tried to seep into his tone.
“Sorry,” he mutters as they open back up.
“Just . . . please, let us help you. Let us know you. I would give you anything, HC. I give you all of me, all I have to give. Please give me, give us, all of you in return.”
Jaw working, I internally rip him a new one, calling him every name under the sun.
Tiger’s hand slaps over his mouth in my peripheral.
“Ezla, Love.” Scotty’s tone struggles to keep his amusement from it. “Thank you for opening up the bond again, but verbally attacking Cooper through it isn’t too different from saying this all out loud.”