Greymoor Academy: I Accidentally Bonded With Four Lycan Royals!

Chapter 128: 128. Hiding

Maisie

"Ch-choose?" I stammered, fingers curling at my sides.

He nodded, and the action brought his mouth against the curve of my ear. "Whose bed you wish to sleep in tonight." His knuckle brushed my hair back from my shoulder and my brain turned to pudding. "Whose body you want pressed against yours... whose hands you want on or inside you while you fall asleep."

I spun, which brought us chest to chest. "I’m not having sex—"

"No one said anything about fucking, Adams. Unless you want to—"

"I just said I didn’t want to!"

"Well, if you change your mind—"

"I am NOT going to change my mind," I snapped.

"But if you do want to—"

I slammed my fist into his chest and he doubled over, wheezing. He was totally faking it. "I think you broke something." He was coughing extremely hard, and I frowned. I was sure I didn’t hit him that hard.

Then he grabbed my wrist and pushed it under his loose brown shirt, painstakingly rubbing it over his abs before he came to rest over his hard chest. "My heart."

I kicked his shin and slammed the door in his face, before running up the stairs, face burning.

And so here I was, waddling in the water like a penguin, hiding from my husbands in the hope that they might’ve fallen asleep before I had to make a choice. It was already well past midnight and I was sure I was turning blue, but I could wait out a few more hours.

I think.

I was running my hands through my hair and wiping at my eyes when I heard a distant splash and—

I screamed when large arms wrapped around me from behind, hijacking me out of the water.

"Beautiful, little coward," Soren laughed, pining me to his chest with a single arm me as I thrashed. "Are you trying to freeze to death? If the thought of sharing a bed frightens you so much, I’m sure we could come to some adjustments."

He was taking me up the stairs.

I shut my eyes, heart racing. With fear? Excitement? Goddess, but I needed therapy. "Why am I really here, Soren? If you wanted to sleep with me, I’m sure the bedrooms in the mansion are just as sturdy as the bedrooms here. Why bother with all of this?"

My voice was colder than I felt, miles steadier, too, and I was grateful for my newfound ability to remain looking unfazed, even if I was falling apart on the inside.

We reached the top of the stairs before he spoke again. "Because we have taken so much from you, Adams. Your peace. Your time. Your sleep. We thought we might give some of it back."

I stiffened.

He continued, his chin resting at the top of my head. "You are always running. Toward a goal. Away from a threat. Toward us. Away from us. Away from yourself. I do not think you have rested a single day in your life, Adams. We thought you deserved a chance to simply exist for a while. To breathe." Then he added, "Not everything is a prelude to taking things from you."

I felt warm and squishy inside. I didn’t like it. Not even a little bit. "So... you don’t want to have sex with me."

Why did that come out that way? Like I was... disappointed?

There was a small rattle in his chest. "What do you think, Adams?" Something hard poked against my ass and my inner walls clenched. "There’s not a world you exist in that I—we—wouldn’t want you. But when we fuck you again, it will be because you want it. Begged for it."

Like you did last night, he didn’t say.

"But we do need to be on the lookout, which is why one of us has to stay with you," he added, twisting the doorknob and letting us into the room. "For your safety, considering you have a knack for teasing trouble wherever you go. Fuck knows who might break in this time to stare at your ass."

My ears turned red. "Coming from you who has been stalking me for God knows how long, that’s rich."

He squeezed me against him like I was some fluffy teddy bear. His voice was heavy with lust as he rumbled close to my ear, "Go change. I’m not sure any of us could last through the night with you wearing that."

Maybe I spent a longer time showering than I usually would. Maybe I spent a little while oiling my hair and smearing my skin with pleasant smelling scents. Maybe my choice of a nightwear—another oversized shirt and shorts that were both free and obscene around my ass—was a little outrageous.

But I wasn’t doing it for them. I simply liked to look and smell nice when I went to bed.

When I eventually trudged back into the bedroom, it wasn’t Soren waiting for me by the couch, but Jericho.

My heart quickened with the same fear and excitement I felt around Soren. I lifted the sheets and got into bed. Jericho remained slouched over the couch, watching me with hooded eyes.

I twisted onto my side, heart hammering hard against my ribcage and I fisted the covers, listening for the fall of his feet against the floor, but I heard nothing. Nothing but his steady breathing and heartbeat.

When I couldn’t hold the suspense anymore, I sat up, glaring at him. "The bed is large enough for twenty, you know."

He licked his lips. "Is that an invitation, malyshka?"

Was it? No. Yes. No. I don’t know. "No. I can’t fall asleep with you watching me like that. It’s fucking creepy."

His eyes narrowed for a moment like he could see through my bullshit, and he ran his fingers through his hair. "It’d be best if I remained here. I have... nightmares. The side effects tend to be physical and I—I don’t want to hurt you."

I softened and the words were out my mouth before I could stop them. "I don’t think you could ever hurt me. Not like that at least." I bit the inside of my cheek, wishing I had more to say to soothe or comfort him, knowing every time he slept, he was probably back there, in that cage. But I couldn’t find the words. So I said, "Goodnight Jericho."

His gaze was filled with too much emotion to bear and I drew the covers over my shoulders, willing my eyes to stay shut and my heart to calm.

I’d drifted off when I felt the dip in the mattress and the warmth of his arms as he pulled me into him, burying my face in his chest.

My eyes were heavy with fatigue and I snuggled deeper into him without meaning to.