It’s a consuming, burning desire that swarms you, making you desperate for touch like I never imagined possible. And if he doesn’t touch me everywhere—every inch of my skin—soon, I’m afraid I might actually cry.
His eyes do a quick sweep of my body, and a dark, daring grin tugs at one corner of his mouth before his eyes come back up.
His hand darts out, and I scream, just knowing he’s about to kill me on my first day being whole. Instead, he grabs the front of my gown and rips it down to my waist, baring my breasts to him.
Sensation washes over me, stealing my scream as my nipples harden almost painfully, and that ache intensifies as my body continues to heat.
I suck in a breath as he suddenly comes down on top of me, and shoves the rest of the gown up. Without warning, his lips come down on mine, hard and demanding as my eyes cross and I arch against him, needing contact. It feels like a jolt of electricity shoots through me when his daring tongue slips in and starts doing incredible things, electrifying every dormant nerve so that it wakes up and soaks in every feeling for the first time.
I’m moaning like an idiot just from him kissing me, grinding against nothing as I try to get as close as possible, touching everything at once. My hands glide over his strong, smooth back, and he reaches between us, his hand brushing my pussy as he rips down the front of his boxers.
The door flies open, and I jump, panicking a little as it crashes into the wall. A squeal pops out of me like a surprise hiccup, and I drop through the bed, the floor, and almost drop through the next floor before I remember how to stop.
I lie on the ground, panting heavily, Ezekiel’s touch still ghosting over me as a teasing reminder of what it’s like to actually feel. The thunderous sound of rushing footsteps come barreling down the stairs. I’m still dazed and confused, staring at my mostly transparent hand as my entire body throbs with need I can’t sate in this form.
I never had any idea just a kiss could be so drugging.
“Fucking get off me,” I hear Ezekiel bark.
“What the hell was going on? How did she turn whole?” Jude is snapping.
They all swing their gazes to me the second they finally reach the room where I am.
“What the hell is going on?” Kai asks, his eyes narrowing on me.
“I…I don’t sleep. Somehow I fell asleep next to Ezekiel, because he quit thrashing around when I touched him,” I babble.
Ezekiel shoves through Kai and Gage, moving toward me with eyes so gold it looks like his natural color.
He makes a grab for me, but his hand passes right through me, igniting those tingles that only serve to tease me more now.
The gown is still ripped down the front, and Jude is staring very obviously at where it’s still hanging above my hips as well.
“Just what the hell were you going to do with her, E? You know you can’t fuck her without us. All that bonding stuff or whatever,” Kai drawls.
“I could have fucked her,” he growls, looking over at them.
Confusion crosses their faces.
“First morning wood of my entire life,” he says, his eyes moving back to mine as frustration creases his brow.
“What’s going on?” I ask, imagining a pair of leggings and a long T-shirt that appears on my body, reeling back their distraction as I jump to my feet, still a little high on the rush of feeling so much at once.
“We can’t have a woman unless we share her,” Kai says, his jaw grinding as he looks at me then to Ezekiel. “We were impotent before—”
“Clearly not the thing to tell a woman,” Gage drawls.
“—but after we met,” Kai goes on, not acting like he was interrupted, “we felt the bond form. We’ve learned it’s a quad thing. There are several groups of four throughout the trials every year, and they experience the same little issue. They also always have the worst obstacles thrown at them before they can make it into the trials. We want to know why.”
“Sidetracked,” Jude butts in. “The point is, we can’t enjoy a woman, unless we enjoy her together. It’s part of the bond. None of us have ever had a woman on our own.”
“So if you were a boy band, you’d be One Erection,” I state, rambling because they have me nervous.
They don’t even acknowledge that. Kai eyes Ezekiel, who is straining to refrain from touching me, while the other two just glare at me.
“You’re sure?” Kai asks him, not sounding convinced or concerned.
“Fucking positive. Turn whole again,” Ezekiel spits out, turning that last part on me like an order.
“Gee, with that attitude, I’ll hop right on it,” I grumble, moving over to a couch. “You’re really ruining the first time I’ve felt touch like that by freaking out so much. All of you.”
“Touching him all night might have had something to do with it,” Kai suggests, his eyes raking over me differently for once.
“If we get her whole, I’m going first. You have no idea how worked up I am right now,” Ezekiel says, running a hand over the back of his neck as he starts pacing. “It’s never been this bad before.”
Well, that makes me a hint smug. Especially since he prefers redheads. But he’s also a little too scary now.
“Or you could fuck your hand,” I point out, frowning as I take a seat on the ground again. “I’m not sure I want you unleashed on me with all your strength while I’m whole. What if you break me?”
Ezekiel stops pacing to turn and arch an eyebrow at me.
“Touch us. Just try it,” Gage says as he kneels between my legs and looms over me.
“We’ll give you everything you’ve been fantasizing about if you get whole,” Jude says next to my ear.
When did he get behind me? And why does it sound like he is most certainly using his liar-voice?
Hands move over me, through me, stirring all those tingles to life. Nothing happens though. I feel like these savage beasts are trying to lure me out so they can kill me, which has my self-preservation skills likely hosing up my new level-up.
“Shit,” Gage groans when nothing happens for a while.
“I’m worked up and I didn’t even get to have my damn hands on her,” Jude says with a huff as he walks off.
“No erections without each other? So how do you get worked up?” I ask, trying to distract them.
“Usually, we want sex but can’t get aroused on our own. A date with the hand only works in the presence of each other, and it’s not as much fun without a—”
The doorbell rings, which is a first for me. No one ever rings the doorbell.
I didn’t know we had one.
Gage jogs out of the room, and Ezekiel stalks out behind him. Jude takes a seat beside me, his arm going behind my head. I lean back on it like he’s doing it to offer me comfort, though I highly doubt it.
When they return, Ezekiel walks over, holding two envelopes. Gage has two as well, handing one off to Kai.
Ezekiel hands over the other one, and he sits down really close to me, our sides touching and creating that tingle.
Jude and Kai exchange a look before casting a glance at our connection. Slowly, Jude withdraws his arm from around me, eyes still suspicious as he opens the envelope.
“So it’s official,” Jude says, closing the envelope as a calculated grin plays on his lips.