I maneuvered the truck down the winding road, my grip firm on the steering wheel. The radio played some nameless tune, filling the cab with a melody that neither calmed nor excited me. My thoughts were too preoccupied for that, dancing around the elephant in the room—or, in this case, the lack of two very specific people and the sensations they would cause if they were even touching at that moment. Were they holding back for my sake? The thought kept repeating itself in my mind, turning over like a well-oiled cog in a ceaseless machine of worry and curiosity.That's when it hit me. A sudden, overwhelming flood of sensations made my heart race.They weren't holding back. I could feel it, almost see it—a vivid tapestry of emotion and physical sensation that unrolled in my mind. Intimate touches, a rhythm as old as time, the close proximity of their bodies in a particular configuration.It was electrifying, disconcerting, and downright incredible all at once. The mixture of excitemen
My body still hummed with the memory of intimacy, every cell vibrating on a frequency that only Luke and Clay seemed to tune into. I lay there on the bed, sandwiched between their solid forms, their slow breaths mimicking the cadence of my own. A sense of wonder washed over me, something like awe but more personal. Twice in four hours, it was both exhilarating and overwhelming. My body was tender to the touch, a testament to the intensity of our connections, physical and otherwise.The sensation of their skin against mine felt like home but different—like discovering a room you never knew existed in a house you'd lived in all your life. Luke, with his rugged edges, and Clay, with his polished charm, were distinct yet strangely complementary. They felt like two halves of a whole, like puzzle pieces that had been waiting for the right moment to interlock. I marveled at the architecture of their bodies. The finely sculpted planes of their muscles, the way every curve and angle aligned
I jolted awake, my heart hammering in my chest like a frenetic drumbeat. My senses screamed that something was wrong, dangerously wrong. Almost simultaneously, Clay sat up, barely avoiding my elbow."Lexi," I said, my voice thick with dread, eyes locking onto Clay's. He mirrored my concern, his eyes wide with alarm."Something's not right," he agreed, throwing off the covers. We both leapt out of bed, throwing on shirts and jogging to search the house.Each room we burst into seemed to echo back our desperation, empty and devoid of Lexi's presence. My eyes darted from corner to corner, my lungs felt tight as if they were being squeezed by an invisible hand. I was overwhelmed by a sense of doom that was not just foreboding but visceral, a dark wave that seemed to pour over me, leaving me drenched in a cold sweat.In our frenzied hunt, I found her phone on the nightstand, her purse dumped carelessly on the chair, and her keys still hanging by the door. My heart sank lower with each disc
My thoughts were jumbled, swirling around like leaves caught in a whirlpool. One moment, I was on the cold floor of a van, and the next, I felt myself being lifted. Arms, solid and sure, cradled me like I were fragile, and my eyes flickered open. For a brief second, I could have sworn it was Luke carrying me. The idea washed over me like a warm wave, filling me with an inexplicable sense of comfort. But then reality sank its teeth into me. Why would Luke be here? That didn't make sense. Nothing made sense. I was eased into the backseat of a car, still disoriented but becoming increasingly aware that I wasn't where I was supposed to be. The upholstery felt different beneath me—softer, more accommodating like it were trying to lull me into a false sense of security. "Luke?" The word escaped my lips as a whisper, almost a plea, as I leaned against the person beside me. Again, the sensation of familiarity washed over me. It felt like Luke, but I knew deep down that it wasn't. "You me
I lay there, shivering in that ice-cold room for an eternity. Each passing minute drew the heat from my bones, until my entire being was reduced to a trembling mass of frigid flesh. The chilling atmosphere seeped into my soul, rendering everything else into a frozen haze. Then the door creaked open, its groan sounding like a symphony in my sensory-deprived state. My first instinct was to recoil, anticipating the return of Adam, Luke's father. But then I felt it—heat. Arms enveloped me, arms radiating warmth like a campfire in winter. For a moment, I was too overwhelmed to even care who it was. Those arms felt like a lifeline, pulling me out of an abyss of despair. As the heat soaked into me, my senses started to awaken, and I became vaguely aware that these arms were slender, and feminine. My eyes adjusted, and I turned to see Kyla lying behind me on the bed, her face stained with tears. The sight of her brought a sense of piercing clarity, like a blaze cutting through fog. I sat u
We stormed back into the house, our collective anger a living, breathing entity. I felt it seep into the walls, heard it echo in the slam of the door behind us. Luke was a step ahead of me; he balled his fist and smashed it into the wall with a guttural roar. Plaster cracked. He turned, his eyes ablaze, and took out his fury on a table next, sending it crashing to the floor. Another swing of his fist found another wall.Inside, a war raged. I was grappling with an urge so strong it felt like a primal force, elemental in its ferocity. I wanted Adam's life; I wanted to see the light extinguish in his eyes, wanted to hear the ragged, futile gasps for breath as I choked the last remnants of life from him. I'd never considered myself a murderer, but what I felt now—this visceral need for retribution—had me questioning every moral code I'd ever followed.I glanced at Luke, who was taking deep, shuddering breaths, trying to rein in his emotions. He was at a precipice, and I knew that his fat
Lying in the fetal position in that icy room, shivering uncontrollably, I felt as if my very core were being hollowed out by the cold. Every muscle in my body was clenched in a futile attempt to generate warmth. The air felt like sharp needles against my skin. Each breath I took was a struggle, as if I were inhaling shards of glass. My thoughts were scattered, frozen fragments in a desolate landscape.And then, something changed. Deep within, an unfamiliar sensation emerged—a glimmer of warmth that defied the frigid atmosphere around me. It was not the dual source of comforting heat I'd come to associate with Clay and Luke, but it was unmistakable warmth, a radiant glow replacing the chilling void. My muscles relaxed a fraction, my clenched jaw softened, and my racing heart eased its frenetic pace.As I wondered about the source of this newfound warmth, my mark began to tingle. A soft, electric buzz that pulsed rhythmically, like a gentle heartbeat under my skin. I knew that tingle; t
Blinking my eyes open felt like pulling weights from my eyelids. A harsh light bore down on me, searing its brightness into my retinas. My head was a swirling cauldron of fog and confusion, every thought struggling to solidify. The smell that invaded my nostrils was overwhelmingly sterile, like an army of cleaning supplies had waged war in the room.The fog in my brain slowly began to lift, and awareness trickled in. I was in a room, a hospital room, to be precise. The beeping of machines was a staccato rhythm that mimicked my disorienting heartbeats. As my vision began to adjust to the light, I noticed that the room was far from empty.Luke and Clay were there, huddled together, asleep on a couch. Their brows were furrowed, even in slumber. Trevor and Kyla were curled up in an armchair, looking like they'd been through an emotional wringer. All of them were deeply asleep, an exhaustion that looked like it had been days in the making.Except for one person.Moro was sitting at the foo