“So you’re using the boyfriend label with Cole and River, huh?” Wesley asked in a dry voice, his cheeks still stained pink but his gaze more confident now that is was just the two of us.
“Um, yeah. I don’t know. It just sort of slipped out one day, and I don’t really know what else to call... you know, all of us.” I nibbled at my lip, watching him from under my lashes. “Would you, um, be okay using labels, too? It’s totally cool if you’re not. This whole conversation is really juvenile; it’s just sort of uncharted territory for me, you know? Like I’ve never really had an official boyfriend before, let alone four...” I trailed off when I realized Wesley was grinning at me like he was just barely holding back laughter.
“Kit,” he finally chuckled, saving me from doing more rambling. “If you’re asking if I want to be your boyfriend, er one of your boyfriends, then the answer is yes.”
“Oh,” I sighed. “Good.”
He smiled at me like I’d done something really cute and kissed me lightly on the lips.
“Oh, God,” Austin interrupted us again. “You two are going public now too? Great, more PDA around the apartment.”
“Eat a dick, Austin,” I snapped back, dropping a bowl of noodles and one of meat sauce on the table. “Also, serve yourselves. I’ll go see if Cole and River are up.”
Cole and River had done some sort of night shift job for Jonathan and hadn’t been home before I’d left for class in the morning. When I’d arrived home a couple of hours ago, they were both asleep.
Wesley caught my arm on my way past him. “I have something else I need to talk to you about too. Can we talk after dinner? I’ll be gone before Caleb gets home. Promise.”
“Of course. My room after dinner?” I offered and he nodded. The curiosity was going to eat at me all through dinner, though. Somehow I knew this wasn’t just an excuse to make out a bit.
Much to my frustration, after dinner Wesley had gotten called onto a comms shift to help out another team and still wasn’t back in the morning. Lucy had messaged me saying she’d be ready to leave for our shopping trip in an hour, but I still hadn’t spoken to River about going alone.
“River?” I called out, tapping on the door to his room, then opening it a crack. It sounded like he was in the shower, so I let myself in and knocked on his bathroom door. Maybe if I could catch him off guard, he’d say yes without thinking about it too hard.
“Hey, River?” I called through the door. “Can you hear me?”
No answer came back, so I cracked the door open and tried again.
“Kitten?” he replied over the sound of pounding water. “I can’t hear you; just come inside.”
“Okay,” I muttered under my breath, mentally reminding myself that I was here to get him to say yes to me. Not the other way around.
Must not fall for sexy British accent. Must stay strong.
“What did you say?” he asked once I’d stepped inside the small ensuite bathroom and perched my butt on the vanity.
“I wanted to check with you if it’d be okay for me and Lucy to go shopping today. Wesley mentioned I might need a dress for this gala thing, so Luce thought we could have a girls day out.” I phrased it as casually as I could. If I didn’t make it out to be a big deal, then it wouldn’t be. Right?
“I can’t see why that’d be a problem,” River replied. “See if Cole can go with you; otherwise, I can get someone to cover me and I’ll come. Cole would be your best bet though, as he truly doesn’t mind women’s shopping.”
“Ah, no, that’s okay. We were planning just a girls day. Just me and Luce. I’ll let Cole know he’s off the hook; Okay thanks, River; I’ll see you tonight!” I hopped off the vanity, planning on making a quick exit before River could disagree, but his wet hand burst out from behind the shower curtain and grabbed me by the wrist with surprising accuracy.
All I had time to do was let out a short squeak of protest before I was hauled under the hot spray with a very strong, very naked Englishman.
“Kitten,” he scolded, running hungry eyes over me as the water turned my sleep shirt see through. “You didn’t really think you’d get away with that, did you?”
“It was worth a try,” I sulked. “Come on, Alpha. It’s daytime, and I’m a crazy, bad ass magical being. What harm can a bit of shopping do?”
“No,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “There have been far too many attempts on your life lately. I couldn’t live with myself if I let you go unprotected and something happened. I’m sorry, love. The answer is no.”
“River,” I coaxed. “Sir, we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. Don’t make me simply slip out when you’re not looking again.”
At this mention of the last time I’d slipped out past his guard, his golden eyes blazed with emotion, and he pinned me to the shower wall with his strong body.
“Don’t ever do that to us again, Kitten,” he demanded, but it sounded more like a plea. “You have no idea how worried I was about you. Anything could have happened. Please, love. Please never do that again.”
“Hey.” I smoothed a hand up his rough jaw, tipping his face up to meet my gaze. How self-centered was I that I hadn’t even considered how they would react when they found me gone? Considering it had only been a few weeks since I’d been kidnapped for real, it had been a pretty asshole move on my part to just take off without a word.
“I’m sorry, River,” I whispered. “I never meant to worry you. That message from Austin sounded so...”
“I know; you thought he was in trouble and you panicked.” He shook his head. “Please just come to me first next time. I don’t care if they say not to; you’re a part of me now. I honestly don’t think I would survive if anything happened to you. I don’t think any of us would.”
“River,” I sighed. “I feel the same way about you. All of you. So, I get it. If you really don’t want me and Lucy dress shopping alone, then we won’t.” Pulling his face down to me, I kissed his lips softly, and he stood dead still for a moment, letting me kiss him.
“Kitten,” he murmured in a voice so soft I could barely hear it over the sound of the shower. “I feel like I’m falling in love with you.”
Before I had a chance to pick my jaw up off the ground, let alone formulate the thought pattern or words necessary for a response to that, he was kissing me like it was the last time—or maybe the first. Either way, every touch of our lips, every stroke of our tongues was overflowing with so much emotion it felt like I was on the verge of tears.
River’s hands made quick work of my soaking sleep shirt, tossing it aside is a wet heap, and my panties soon followed. Once naked, my arms wrapped around his neck and his hands lifted me up, his hips driving his hot, hard cock straight into me while my legs crossed behind him.
“Fuck, love,” he swore, grunting as his shaft bottomed out, his hips flush to mine, and I groaned with the exquisite feeling of fullness. He pulled back out just an inch before pumping back into me a couple of times slowly, allowing my pussy to stretch and accommodate his sudden entry.