53. The Vigil
The Vigil
Harper
The car ride to Caden’s was quiet. Caden and Nico were silent and I didn’t feel like talking. What would I even say? Zach’s after me.
We made our deal with Art. He gave us a few specifics that will help, but he’s never actually been out to the farm or the house. So, he couldn’t tell us where they are.
On the drive, my gaze lingered out the dark window, watching the night silently pass as we drove. If I tell my mom what they have planned, she’ll take me and run. There’s not a doubt in my mind. We’ll disappear, but can we really outrun any of this?
Maybe if we ran before, but now? I don’t want to leave my guys. I don’t see any way out with them. Their families would never let them go.
We enter the lower level of Caden’s house. I sink onto the couch and drag in a ragged breath. Fuck this.
I want to cry. I want to scream. I want to rage. Part of me wants to run. To escape before Zach can sink his claws into my skin. Luke walks over to the bar and takes a bottle from the liquor cabinet.
Nico lowers into a chair and rests his head back with his leg elevated. Caden looks ready to tear something apart, pacing while clenching and unclenching his fists. Eli is quiet and lost in his thoughts, cold and calculating as always.
Jack isn’t here yet. His car wasn’t outside. A piece of me is missing and I feel it deep inside. I need him here. I need them all here with me. Fuck, that sounds so greedy, but they made me this way.
They gave me all of their attention and time, until I crave it. Until I need it to breathe.
I was happy alone before them. Now all I can think about is when I’ll see them next.
Luke sits in front of me on the ottoman, startling me out of my thoughts. I lift my empty eyes to his, which are cold and piercing. I want to draw on his strength. He uncaps the bottle, tips it up to his mouth, and takes a drag right from it.
He hands me the bottle as I watch his throat work to swallow the liquor. I turn it in my hand to see the label. Vodka. He arches an eyebrow as if daring me to take a drink. That little pull of defiance digs at me almost as much as the need to give in to him.
Fuck it. I’m done thinking for tonight. Forget what I’ve heard. Forget what tomorrow will bring.
Holding his gaze, I take a swig and let it burn down my throat. Eli takes the bottle from me. His dark eyes hold mine captive as he takes a drink before handing it off to Nico.
Nico and I lock gazes. He takes a long drink before Caden comes over to claim the bottle. His green eyes sear into mine before he tips the bottle back and swallows.
I want to ask them what we’re going to do. What the plan is? Because we need a plan. How are we going to avoid this? But if we don’t show up at Homecoming, Zach will find another time to take me. Maybe at school. Or some night when I’m on my own.
When my guys are occupied and can’t help me. What if he sends me so far away they never find me? I twist the ring on my finger. It’s my lifeline to them, but will it be taken from me?
The bottle is in front of me again. Luke shakes it slightly, and I take it.
Again, I hold his gaze as I drink. The alcohol warms my insides, even though I’m cold and numb. I pass the bottle.
Everything is spiraling out of control. Except this. What the six of us have. This is solid. We’re solid. I just need Jack here, and we’re complete.
I belong here. I belong to them. All of me.
Standing, I take off Luke’s jersey and the t-shirt I have on underneath, leaving me in my bra. I long to be stripped bare before them. To be raw. To show them what they mean to me. Show them how terrified I am that what Zach has planned will take this from us.
Luke leans back on his hands, watching me with hooded eyes.
It’s quiet and dark in here. No one bothered to turn on the lights.
It suits our moods. The swish and swallow of alcohol are the only constants as they continue to pass the vodka, but I feel all their eyes on me even though I focus on Luke.
I undo my jeans and toe off my shoes. No one touches me. No one speaks.
After tossing my jeans with the jersey, I undo my bra, adding it to the pile, along with my panties. I’m naked before them, stripped of everything.
My world is crumbling at the edges. What I’ve always known to be true isn’t.
My father left us, but not of his own free will.
My home was my safe haven, but now it’s not. I can’t even go back there.
My mother would never leave me, but she had to, at least for a little while.
These boys are dangerous and uncontrollable, but they’re mine and they love me so fiercely.
I drag a breath into my starved lungs and climb onto Luke’s lap, straddling him. His denim scrapes the delicate skin inside my thighs, but I like the feel of it. The roughness. I settle against him and study him.
His gaze searches mine... for what? I don’t know. Maybe strength. Maybe will. Maybe an answer, but I don’t have one.
Because they claimed me, I love them.
Because they claimed me, I’m in danger.
Because they claimed me, I don’t have a way out of this.
The only way to survive is to fight back. But not tonight. Tonight, I want their strength. To lean on them and take from them the way everyone wants to take from me. I want to take control and rage. I want to face the death barreling down on me. Whether it’s physical or spiritual.
I grab the front of Luke’s shirt and tug him toward me. Death comes willingly, giving in to me. Something settles deep inside me as I lean in and take his mouth with mine. We collide, lips tangling and teeth bumping. He doesn’t touch me, doesn’t grab me, just follows my lead.
I hold him against me. Power and lust surges inside me, but something’s off. Something isn’t quite right. I pull away and look into his eyes, darkened with lust and need. He’s hard between my legs.
“What do you need, Harper?” Luke’s words are a whisper against my lips, barely breaking the silence.
I press my forehead against his and close my eyes. My mind is racing. They’re here. I’m safe. But I could lose them tomorrow. I could lose myself. This is all fucked up.
I just want to forget everything and be with them. Pretend everything is fine. Play our games that consume my every thought. Escape this fate without having to risk anything.
He strokes his hands up the outside of my thighs, tenderly.
“Fuck, princess,” he whispers as his hands cup my ass, cradling me against his erection. I moan softly as he surges his hips up against my pussy. He’s gentle, not forceful. He’s letting me control this.
The others are here. I feel them watching. Waiting on me. Fuck, I don’t know what to do. I just want someone else to tell me what to do.
For one word to make this all right. But nothing will make this right. This town is more fucked up than I realized. I’ve been on this collision course since I was born.
Luke and me. Caden and me. Nico and me. Jack and me. Eli and me.
I want to get out of this unscathed. But I’m so fucking scared. My breath shudders out of me as tears press against the backs of my eyes. I don’t want to cry.
“I’ll protect you with everything I am.” Luke’s words brush my lips before his touch mine. I sink into the kiss, the longing, the desire.
The ottoman shifts next to us. I turn to meet Jack’s blue eyes. Relief floods me even as I take him in to make sure he’s whole. Luke trails kisses along my jaw. Jack kisses me. Our kiss is soft and exploratory, shifting the energy in the room.
A hand skims down my back and the ottoman dips on the other side of Luke, next to my knee. Releasing Jack’s lips, I meet his eyes for a moment, letting him know I see him. I need him.
When I turn, Eli is there. He reaches out and brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. A shiver works through me. His gaze follows his fingertips as they caress my jaw and tip my chin up.
His mouth crashes on mine as Luke continues to kiss my neck. Jack trails kisses over my shoulder. Eli’s kiss is hot and needy, like he’s come to the same conclusion I have. The only thing we have for certain is tonight.
Luke massages my hips. That emptiness and coldness inside floods with heat. Their heat, the sparks they ignite beneath my skin, the desire they awaken in me.
Hot bare skin covers my back, and kisses settle on my shoulders as Caden circles my waist with his large hands. I break away from Eli’s kiss with a gasp at the heat of Caden’s skin against mine. Each of them trails kisses over me like I’m theirs to worship.
I lift my gaze to Nico. His eyes are warm as he watches us together. The vodka bottle dangles from his fingertips, all but forgotten.
If he could, he’d be over here with us. A part of us. Does he feel left out or is this enough for him?
He shakes his head with a smug smile, like he knows I’m worried about him. He rests his hands on the arms of the chair and slouches, his eyes hooded as he watches them kiss me. He brushes his fingers across his lips, sending a shiver cascading through me.
Lips press lightly against my jaw, my neck, my shoulders.
There’s no rush. No one reaches for my wet pussy or my aching breasts, content to just kiss me softly. Explore me like we have all night. I thread my hands into Luke’s hair and tug his head back up, finding his mouth with mine. Sinking into the kiss, I never want to come up for air.
But that anticipation of more sizzles along my veins. I need more. I want more. My fingers tremble as I work to free the buttons of Luke’s shirt while the others kiss me. Without releasing his mouth, I push his shirt over his shoulders.
My breasts rub against his chest, and he shrugs out of the shirt. I gasp at the electric buzz of our bare skin touching, and he takes advantage, pushing his hand into the back of my hair, cradling my head, and deepening the kiss.
I whimper softly, giving in to him. Jack and Eli move beside us, shedding their shirts without taking their mouths from my skin. The heat surrounding me intensifies.
I reach between Luke and me to undo his jeans. He lifts his mouth and presses his forehead to mine. We both watch my fingers work to free his cock from his pants. When I stroke down his length, his breath catches.
Power surges through me. This man is mine.
Lifting on my knees, I rub his cock through my slit before notching it at my entrance. Holding his eyes, I sink down over him. Ecstasy rolls across his face as I take him all the way inside me.
Our lips brush. Luke tightens his hand in my hair and pulls my head back, making me arch over him. Caden kisses me, claiming me, as Eli and Jack both take my nipples into their mouths.
I moan, so connected to all of them in this moment. Luke caresses my clit, and my pussy pulses around his thick cock, stretching me open.
They push my body past its limits every time, but I love it. I need it.
They block out every other thought until all that’s left are these men who love me. That’s all I want tonight. To feel how much they love me and pretend this night will never end.
A shudder runs through me as they push me over the edge and I shatter. Luke releases my hair and Caden trails kisses down my neck. When Luke leans back, his hooded eyes lower to where we’re still connected.
My insides burn with need, clutching around him.
Caden eases his hand down my stomach to press firmly against my clit. I gasp, lost to the sensations. “Ride him, little nympho. Show him how much you love him.”
I rock my hips, slowly at first and increase, until I fall slave to the rhythm and the need inside me grows with every stroke. Luke lets me lead for a little while before he begins to thrust up into me, pushing me higher.
“We’re just starting, baby,” Caden whispers against my neck.
“I’m going to fuck you until you can barely stand.
You made me lose the right to have my cock buried in that tight little cunt of yours all night.
But before Eli takes his winnings, you’ll be dripping my cum from every hole, little nympho. ”
My whole being buzzes, wanting what he’s offering. Needing it. “Yes, War.”
I soar over the edge again. My lips part on a silent scream. This time Luke comes with me, surging up into me and drawing my body against his as he claims my mouth and his cock pulses inside me, filling me. I can’t get enough of them. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of them.
They’re a part of me, and there’s no turning back. I love them and want to keep them. Always.