I didn't care if the man was her father or the savior of the natural world. I was going to damage him. Especially for treating this moment like it was something on a game show.Sweetcheeks had never mentioned her father in all the time we'd known each other. Granted, it had only been a little more than a week, but still. For him to just traipse in here like this. I was going to shoot him. Hopefully soon. Not kill him. But let him see how it felt to have holes ripped into him without warning.Sweetcheeks shook her head. Her heart was pounding so hard, I could feel it against my chest. Along with the slight vibration of her body.I wrapped my arms around her, secured her to my body like I was the parachute and she was getting ready to jump from the plane.She settled slightly. Pushed herself further into my grip, tugged my arms around her tighter.I was afraid I was going to crush her lungs. But not my sweet girl. No. She was made of sterner stuff.She released a heavy sigh a
I clenched my fists to keep from erupting like a fucking volcano over this petite goddess. I had to count to ten a number of times to make sure I was able to talk instead of shout at her. I swallowed once more, just for good measure. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE ABOUT?!"Well, I had tried. She rocked back into her chair, her eyes wide. Right before they narrowed. Stretch made a noise in the back of her throat. She pulled the goddess' attention. Shook her head. Brigid's jaw flexed as she looked back at me. "Hollyn cannot afford for you to have divided attention. Therefore, my fellow gods and I have brought in people to make sure your day-to-day happenings are well seen to. We are doing you a favor. One for which you should be thanking me, not yelling." She stuck her nose up in the air. Stretch snorted. "You think you've done them a favor? I've known them less than two weeks and I know none of them would appreciate that kind of gesture. They are grown men. And whil
I spun around to Brigid. "Fix him! What the hell have you done to him, you spinach tossing lint licker?" I stabbed my finger back at Thane. My beautiful Thane. The spikes of bone that sprang from his spine looked so painful. The mangled web of wings that ran from his elbow to his midback reminded me of a bat-those horrid flying rats we had in the Valley. I looked back at this man who had saved me. My gaze trailed down the rest of his body. He had a spiked tail that curled between the counters of the kitchen. Watching it grow from his body had curdled my stomach. His beautiful brown skin was now shaded with an opalescent sheen as scales covered him from forehead to toes. His short brown hair was an odd covering on a head that was more elongated than square. His fiery golden eyes, those were the same. And they were sparking like he was getting ready to light the whole apartment on fire. "What the fuck?" He stared past me to the goddess who had ruined all of our lives in a ver
I came rushing back out of Tag's suite, his massive medical bag in hand. I hadn't heard that kind of terror in his voice in a very long time. The last had been when he'd been struggling with his nightmares. I would do just about anything to keep from hearing it again. Not to mention the fact that it was concerning Hols. I couldn't lose her. We'd just found her. If I had to lock her in one of our rooms until she finally figured out that we weren't going to toss her aside, I'd be willing to do that. Listening to her thoughts as she sat on top of Thane's new gargantuan body had been like having her shove knives into my eyeballs. Into my heart. She didn't know how we felt about her. Hell, how could she? Unless I was mistaken, none of us had shared anything of our emotions. Only the cravings of our bodies. I wasn't going to let a little thing like pride keep me from pronouncing my intentions. My pride could go jump off a fucking bridge. Fuck, saying I wanted Hols and that I'd
Torrential rain pounded against the glass. I let out the breath I'd been holding. Thank the stars it wasn't more gods and flaming goddesses. As lightning lit the black skies overhead, a shot of power burst through the room. As if I were walking outside in the storm, I felt the crackling electricity of it surge through me as it raised every hair on my body. I gasped as I felt the wounds on my body close and the pain slide away like water down the window panes. Tag and Tove jerked me to my feet and crushed me between them. Another crash of lightning and magic pulsed through the air as I reached out for Thane. As my hand landed on his scales, the room lit up like it was high noon instead of the dark of a storm. My eyes were blinded for a brief moment. Bright stars flickered in my vision as I blinked rapidly. When my sight was finally clear, there was Thane. Naked. Human. Hunger in his eyes. He pulled me from the sandwich his brothers had made of me and up into his arms. I s
"Bring her back," Thane yelled."She's having a flashback, you idiot. You know from my history that we have to wait it out," Tag snarled back. "Get her tucked in, turn the lights off, and leave her alone. She'll come back when her brain is ready."Thane helped maneuver our girl under the covers of his bed. We made sure to pull up the blankets so nothing was tucked too tight around her body, just in case.I climbed off the bed. Looming over her while terror etched its way across her face made me feel even worse than I'd thought possible. We kept screwing up with her. By accident, granted. But that was twice now in less than an hour that her mind had turned traitor.I was sick of it. Sick of hurting her feelings-even without meaning to. Sick of seeing the heartache and sorrow on her face-even if we weren't the direct cause. She should be loved, cherished, treated like a princess. Stopping at the door, I waited while Tag and Thane fussed around her. Seeing her lying there withi
I came back to myself in the dark. A soft beam of light came from the side of the room. It was also fully black outside. Rain still beat against the wall of windows, but it was softer. Slower.As if the weather had learned my mood, read my memories, it commiserated with me. It wept as I had wept that day. No tears had washed me clean. Nothing but the love from the man, the men, I'd crashed into. Barreled into their lives as if I were a gale, and they were the innocent trees of my forest.I was in the giant bed. Alone. Were all beds this comfy?"Hello?"The room was empty except for me. The bathroom light was on. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of Thane doing that so I wouldn't wake in the complete black. He'd watched out for me ever since that first night.Hello? I called out with my mind.Three knocks sounded on the bedroom door."Who is it?" I asked, even knowing who stood outside. My men. The knob turned, but the door didn't move. "Thane, sweet girl. Tag and Tove
I curled my arms around her tighter. She'd not waited, not faltered in her movements to hug me. To touch me. That, more than any words she could've said, showed me that she didn't hold me responsible for the pain I'd brought her. She'd touched each of us. Touched our hearts. Our lives. I just hoped we could be just as good for her. We sat there in a huddle on my bed. Everyone lost in their own thoughts. The weighty silence wasn't uncomfortable or awkward. If anything, I felt like it had been a long time in coming. From a young age, my brothers and I worked to stay busy. To keep our minds distracted. Our bodies occupied so the loss didn't swamp us. Our mother and sister had been the lights of our lives. They had been our people. When they'd been taken from us, ripped callously from our lives, we'd been left adrift in the raging waters of a tempestuous storm. No anchor. No port. Nothing. "Well, isn't this a touching little scene?" a man's voice came from the doorway. We