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The moon was high in the sky when we shimmed onto rocky ground. Thad held me tight, letting me regain my balance. “Okay?”
“Uh, yeah. But why are we in the woods in the middle of the night?” I shuddered, drawing closer to him. “I don’t think I like this.”
He held onto me with one arm as he searched into the bag for something and drew it out. I realized it was a high-powered spotlight. When he turned it on, I saw trees and shadows. I still hesitant even though it could light up the night. “Don’t be scared. I promise you there is nothing out here that can hurt us.
“Men, yes. Bugs, no.”
He chuckled as he waved the spotlight around until he stopped at a group of rocks where steam was rising. “Ah, there it is.”
Even in the dark I could see the formation of rocks surrounding a pool of water off to my right.
I held on when he moved. “No, Thad. Nu-uh.”
This time he didn’t hold back a laugh. “Is this coming from the woman who swam with sharks? Who jumped off bridges with her best friend?”
“That was in the daylight, Thad, when I was able to see danger. It’s fuckin’ pitch black, and I can’t see anything! It is not the same.”
“Okay. Well, would it help you to know that nothing can live in the hot spring? You’d be safe from the bugs out here if you got in there.”
“What about rocks and stuff? I’d cut my feet.”
This time he did kiss my head, letting his lips linger. “There’s sand at the bottom. Your feet will be fine. Come with me.”
He walked us over to some flat rocks which I could see were bare of any critters, and I toed off my shoes. I rubbed my arms while watching him angle the bright spot light on the medium-sized hot spring and felt relief when I could see the bottom and the other side.
“See?” he said as he hopped in, taking my hand to help me in as well. It was warm and the sand beneath my feet squished. I almost let out a giggle, but it caught in my throat as Thad pulled me in close.
His hand left mine as it lifted to trace the tattoo on my hip. It was a plain black tattoo that had filled my dreams enough that I had it marked into my skin when I found out Hannah had gotten a tattoo. It was my first one but not my last. “Where did you get this?” My hands met his shoulders as he twisted me toward the light. “It looks like one of mine. Cameron’s too, but... different.”
“I had a dream. This design was in it. I felt like I needed to put it down somewhere where I’d never forget it. A tattoo was the most logical thing to do.”
He chuckled and twisted to the side so I could see his hip where the same rope vine design was etched, but like he’d said, it was different. Two torn-edged pieces looped into a heart. I gave a small huff of a chuckle. Thad turned again, so his hip was away from the light. “What?”
I shook my head as I reached out to trace it. “It’s just, that’s your mate mark, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Why is it black and not silver like the others?”
“It happens when your mate dies before the bond is completed. I didn’t know my mate because she passed away before I could meet her. I’m a reject, a misfit. Someone who had a mate only for her to be taken away.” I withdrew from him, fuckin’ jealous of a girl or woman who had him but lost him as well. Thad brought me back to his body and dunked us both into the hot water, causing a shock to my system. I gave a small squeal. He ignored me and went on, “But with you... it feels like you’re mine. All those feelings, the possessiveness and awareness that come with meeting your bondmate, I have those with you. Now your tattoo, so similar to mine, just convinces me that you are mine as much as you are theirs.” The light within me snuggled down deep, content with what he was saying. The satisfied little fucker. Thad leaned back, and I went with him, letting my legs straddle his body.
“I’m glad you believe that. My light seems to think so too.”
He had been rubbing my back in slow circles and my hands were curled into his hair, but once he heard me say that about my light, he went still. “Your light, you can communicate with it?”
I shrugged, letting my fingers ease the muscles in his neck. “No, not really. It’s more of an emotional thing. Like, I can tell when it’s happy with me or when it’s angry. Those feelings consume me, and sometimes it’s hard to back down from them. The Spirit Whisperer said the gray light within me was my own darkness, not from Ivan. And Myra took the guilt away, but some of it is still there. The anger and desperation, too. I’m starting to think I will always carry a gray light. It’s not bad, it’s just... me.”
“Yeah, Juju.” He squeezed me tight. “You can have darkness in you and still be good.” He eased us away from the side of the small hot spring and gestured up to the starlit sky. “If there wasn’t darkness, how could we ever see the beauty that shines through?”
I leaned in and kissed the base of his throat. “Did you just say something nice to me and mean it? It sounded like poetry and shit.”
He smacked my hip, which was still above water. “Don’t go ruining this moment. You seem to do that when you're nervous or scared. Don’t do that with me. Don’t do that here. Relax. Enjoy this moment before the real world meets up with us. Let me give you this.”
I relaxed into him, realizing I had slowly been dancing in the middle of a hot tub underneath a starry sky with a hot, badass guy telling me sweet words. This—this was worth all the big-ass bugs that would be crawling in my shoes because I had a big-ass scary dude that would take care of them for me when we got out. And you know what? Tonight was perfect.
***
After parking the car at the guys’ apartment, we shimmed back to Gen’s home, where I felt like an intruder. All was quiet and dark as Thad led me up the stairs and past the room I had stayed in until we reached the one at the end of the hall. The door was cracked open and snoring could be heard from inside. I hesitated, wondering if it was Gen. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to sleep with him yet. I mean, it was awkward crawling into bed with someone you hardly knew or spent time with.
“Don’t worry, it’s just Justin,” Thad whispered as he pushed me through the doorway and guided me to another door. Once inside, he flipped the switch and turned on the light. It was a bathroom. One with a large shower and tub. Thad shut the door behind us and stepped past me to start up the shower. He had thrown his clothes on over his wet boxers, so his pants had dark wet spots where water had seeped through. His hair was half dry and going every which way, making him seem more desirable than he already was. It wasn’t fair.
He turned my way ready to say something and his eyes went wide as he took me in. He smirked. I bit my lip. He looked good. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it was dark, and I’ve never seen you after a shower or anything. But damn, your hair poofed. I can’t bel–”
I put up a palm and let my lip go. “Don’t go there. Not after you said such sweet things.”
“I was just going to say I can’t believe how sexy it is.”
Taken aback, my eyebrows scrunched up. “Really?”
He nodded and slowly made his way over to me. Thad wasn’t nice. He was a harsh, take no shit, badass guy, and he’d given me sweet words tonight. Now he was saying my puffy, red poodle hair was sexy? Was his head stuck in the eighties?
His chest met my hand. “You’re joking?”
He shook his head as his hands gripped my hips. “Juju, you’re in a fucking bikini that I held against my body the whole night, standing there with bigger than life hair biting your lip, looking like a goddess made for me.” He grabbed my hand and shifted it downward to his raging hard-on. “Does this seem like I’m lying?”
He let go of my hand and glanced down. I was still holding on to his decent-sized package. I squeezed. Very nice indeed.
Thad groaned, grabbing my hips again. “I’ll give you three seconds to let go of me or you’re going to find out tonight just how well we fit together.” I pulled my hand away. He grunted and let go of my hips, stepping back. His eyes were black with lust. He nodded to the shower. “Get in there. I’ll grab you a shirt and some boxers to wear to bed.” He moved toward the door. “I need to cool off,” I heard him mutter as he left.
I did as he asked and cleaned up, then put on the shirt and boxers he’d set out. I didn’t know whose they were, but they were a tad big, and I had to roll up the hem to make them fit better.
When I came out of the bathroom, I didn’t see him right away, but I heard Justin’s snores and went over to the bed and crawled in.
Justin didn’t register my presence, so I didn’t snuggle up. A brief light in the room told me Thad was back; he moved to my side of the bed. “Scoot over,” he whispered, lifting the blanket and getting ready to crawl in. “Scoot closer to Justin.”
I did as he asked, resting my back against Justin’s side. Thad crowded in beside me and drew me to him so my head rested on his chest and his arm was around my waist. The fuckin’ sweet asshole kissed my forehead. “Go to sleep.”
I sighed and slipped easily into sleep. I never even thought twice about what would happen tomorrow. What Nox had to tell me. Or how my life would change yet again.
***
I woke up alone in bed and made my way downstairs. I had slept in late, but by the smell of cooking bacon, I hadn’t slept in too long. What met me downstairs was overwhelming. I paused just inside the kitchen to find all of them there. Nox, Thad, Justin, Cameron, and Caleb were at the table talking and dressed like they had nowhere to go. All eyes turned to me and an array of smiles greeted me.
Nox stood first and came over. “Hey.” He took my hand in his, and I swallowed, now nervous.
What was going on? Would it always be like this? Would the love that I felt for them always be so overwhelming when I saw them together?
I... I loved them. My heart raced. My light was smug. I didn’t even hear what Nox was saying. I was in shock from my revelation. Could it happen so soon?
Nox led to me to a chair and sat me down. Someone handed me a glass of juice.
“Trace. Trace. Trace... Tracy! Come on, snap out of it.”
I shook myself out of my head and peered up into a lot of worried gazes. My heart squeezed. “Sorry, sorry. I–” I set the juice down on the table, avoiding their stares. Could they tell? Was it all over my fuckin’ face how much each one of them meant to me? “I just got lost in my head for a bit.”
“Did you hear my question?”
I focused on my glass. “Uh, no.”
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Justin asked from behind me.
“We promise not to crowd you,” Cameron said.
“This is what you wanted, right?” Caleb asked, worried.
I twisted back to them, unsure what they were talking about. They all seem confused, sad, and crestfallen. What had I missed? “Ahhh, I’m not sure what you guys are talking about? I didn’t hear you over my freak out.”
“So marrying us freaks you out?” Thad challenged, his gaze narrowed in on me.
What the fuck? “Um, excuse me? When did marriage come into play?”
Thad drew back, and Cameron shoved him.
Nox drew my attention his way with a question. “Tracy, will you marry us today?”
My mouth popped open and my eyes widened in shock. “Today? Like, not tomorrow, but within twenty-four hours, kind of today?
They chuckled, and Justin answered, “Yes, today. Like this evening, kind of today.”
My mouth closed. “No.”
This time they were shocked. Apparently, they all thought I would willingly say yes? Where’s my ‘I love you's’ and all of that?
Gen spoke first. “No?”
I nodded. “No.”
“Why?” This came from Cameron.
“Because... it seems forced. Yes, we lust after each other, but none of us–”
“I love you.” Justin spoke over me. My gaze swung to his. “I do. I think from the very first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you would wreck me.”
“I love you.” Cameron grinned. “From the very moment I saw your eyebrows.”
I chuckled.
“I love you,” Caleb spoke softly. “I tried not to, but you’re filled with a fire and passion that I couldn’t ignore, if even if I tried.”
“I never wanted to let you go,” Nox said plainly. “I might not have seen you coming, but I knew when I laid my eyes on you that you wouldn’t be going far.”
My gaze drew to Thad’s. “And you?”
“The very first time you called me an asshole. You didn’t take my shit. I liked that. It just got better from there.”
I took in a deep breath. “So, you all love me?” My voice broke at the end.
They all said, “Yes.”
“Good.” My voice wobbled like a fuckin’ turkey. “Because you all have not played fair. You wormed your way into my heart, and I don’t think I’d ever recover if you didn’t feel the fuckin’ same. Now one of you please kiss me before I start to cry.”
Nox leaned in and kissed me.
“Does that mean yes?” Cameron questioned.
“Dude, I think that meant yes,” Justin answered.
I just kissed Nox while the others waited their turn. My heart was in the right place. Theirs were too.
Reverse Harem for five, please. I think I’d found my right number.
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The End... for now.