Page 35 of Their Dark Rose

I stay in bed. I tuck the phone under my pillow and pull the covers up to my neck.

My lungs beg for air. Tingles erupt on my skin.

Here they come.

CHAPTER NINE

“Briar!” Finn storms in first, same as he had that night a year ago.

He’s in his sweats and nothing else. Again.

But this is the only resemblance. Nothing else is the same when everything’s changed between the four of us.

Lightning illuminates the room, highlighting the muscles on his taut chest, the veins pumping on his tattooed arms.

Each thorn seems to be brought to life by the harsh, white flash. Each looks more deadly than it ever has.

I’m drawn to them. To him. For a second.

Another thunder erupts.

This time, it’s far from being the loudest sound in the room.

“Who’s in here?” Falk barges in second, Mason right behind him.

I can’t talk. They won’t let me with their dominant energy.

Like I’d have any idea what to tell them, anyway.

My silence fuels Falk’s uncontrolled rage. The shirtless man storms toward my window, pulling on the handle. When he finds it locked, he spins toward me.

“Nothing?” Mason asks, his voice rough from sleep.

“Locked.” Falk looks directly at me as he speaks. “She’s been good.”

His green eyes darken the closer he gets to the foot of my bed. No amount of light from the hallway can brighten them. The sun couldn’t brighten his eyes tonight.

The sinister side of him has swept in, setting the pure, unadulterated anger aside. And he’s coming for me.

I swallow around the lump in my throat when he stops at the foot of my bed.

I stop breathing at his undivided attention when he crosses his arms over his chest.

His attention…and theirs.

My godfathers checked that no one broke into my room. Made sure the room is clear of any threats.

All that’s left to hunt here is me.

Finn’s and Mason’s large frames approach my bed. Blocking out the light from the hallway. Hovering, always hovering.

Finn positions himself precariously close to my pillow. Mason stops about a foot next to his brother, his broad, naked chest straining as fierce as his face is.

The pattering of the rain is dull in comparison to their heavy breaths.

The scents of their colognes are faint and indiscernible compared to the feral smell on their bodies. A wicked scent carries from the three of them to me, heavy and laden with lust and cruelty.

A frightening realization dawns on me.

---