Page 157 of Lock Up the Darkness

“Hmm, not at all ready to be fucked, are you, sugar? You’re dry as a bone. No matter, that’s never deterred me before.”

I felt his fingers slide to my entrance and I grabbed Jonah’s hand, squeezing, and bracing myself.

But then a commotion on the field ended it all, Samuel’s fingers ripping out of my underwear as he jumped to his feet to take in what was happening.

I sank back against the seat and crossed my legs tightly.

“I’m so sorry,” Jonah said, his eyes pained.

I was jolted from the memory when Killian’s hand neared me, near the belt of my jeans.

I jerked back and threw my hand up.

His eyes shot wide and he drew back. “Your phone is buzzing like crazy. I was just trying to get it for you, because you weren’t responding.”

“It’s not in my pants,” I snapped. “It’s in my jacket pocket this time.”

He held up both hands. “Okay. It’s all okay.”

I winced, realizing what had just happened. “I’m sorry, I just…”

Something occurred to me then.

Asher making excuses not to escalate things from that insane kiss outside… had that really been about this? He definitely knew, I had no doubt that Jonah would have filled him in. So he’d held off for me, thinking I needed that sort of protection? The idea of it being sweet quickly transformed to indignation that I wasn’t believed or trusted to know what was best for me, and that he’d had to make it so for me. That they all did.

I saw the pain in Jonah’s eyes. He scrubbed his hand over his face and looked away, trying to hide it.

But Killian wasn’t as good at hiding his emotions. Worry was all over him as he looked at me.

“Stop it,” I told them. “I’m fine. I was fine until you two brought it up.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you,” Jonah said.

The pain and regret bleeding from him was just making it all worse. It was making it real.

“It was me who couldn’t protect her,” a sleep infused voice came from the bed.

We all turned to see Asher sitting up, scrubbing a hand over his face. “You all had to stand down because of my orders.”

“No,” Jonah said. “Because of the Head Infidels. Don’t get it twisted.”

Asher looked at each of us in turn. “As I told Killian that day, the façade is over. I declared war. There’s no more pretense. There’s just the four of us. We’re in this together. We protect each other. That’s where the loyalty begins and ends.”

“Right on,” Jonah said.

Killian nodded. “Good.”

Asher looked to me for my confirmation.

“Tell me why the three of you kept the fact that you already cracked the codes from me, then we’ll get back to this loyalty stuff.”

His eye twitched.

“I didn’t tell anyone. You’re not left out in the cold.”

“You figured it out?” Jonah asked, excitedly.

“And you kept it from us?” Killian snapped.

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