Page 78 of Four Times Forever

Ethan raised my hand to his lips. Only when he kissed the back of my hand and the tension eased did I realize that I'd been squeezing the hell out of his fingers the whole time.

"Me too," Eric assured me. "But wait till you see the second floor."

"Oh, it'll be nothing compared to you. You're breathtaking in that dress," Matt rumbled, making that flutter beat more rapidly.

"Okay, Mr. One-up," Eric rolled his eyes. "You do look divine in that dress. I can't wait to get you out of it." He moved closer to my ear and let his breath do crazy things to my body.

I thought the opportunity to dine in such luxury required an elegant dress. So I put on a long satin thin-strapped dark red dress with low-heeled sandals to match. When I stepped out, I felt like a fool as the guys were dressed in sweats. Assuring me that I definitely had the right idea, they hurried back in to get changed into trousers and button-down shirts.

Ryan went for a looser fit, opened at the chest. Ethan and Eric went for something closer to their bodies to accentuate their muscles. And Matt went for a crisp white long-sleeved shirt tucked into grayish-blue, steam-pressed pants to complement his eyes.

I couldn't even begin to imagine how much their colognes cost. Plus Eric popped out a fuckboy cross earring I'd never seen him wear. With his hair pulled back in a low bun and his reddish-brown beard trimmed not too low, it fucking suited him. Ryan's gold necklace and matching bracelet reflected the sun, and my tongue was somehow inspired to lick where they rested.

Ethan's arms were bursting out of his shirt. His only accessory was a white gold watch that must have cost more than all of my life's savings. And Matt went with a simpler silver necklace resting just above his chest hair. It was like I was surrounded by a walking catalog of sexy men, and they were definitely getting the looks. Was it any wonder that I wanted to jump on them every few seconds since we'd been here?

As the elevator jerked to a stop and the sliding doors creaked open, I kept hold of Ethan and Eric's hands. If I had more hands, I'd hold on to Matt's and Ryan's too. There was no harm in making sure everyone knew who they were with. Matt and Ryan didn't make it hard to tell though, walking close to me and taking time to look at me in utter and complete love...or was that lust? Either way, they had me convinced I was the most beautiful woman in Paris, even though I knew that was far from true.

But in comparison to the view ahead, no one gave a damn. Ethan wasn't wrong. Standing on solid unmoving ground again, I took a deep breath and moved closer. All thoughts, all fears, all weight left my body.

It was magical.

Despite the hundreds of tourists oohing and ahhing, amongst the view of the river, the bridge, the boats, the buildings, the lush, manicured landscape everywhere as if it was mandatory for it to look that pristine every single day, and the tiny cars on the road, and what seemed like all of Paris, I stood there with my men as if there was no one else around us. My fear of heights—well, I wouldn't say it was a fear of heights, more like a fear of a moving object floating hundreds of feet in the air— diminished as I walked toward the enclosed edge, the wind blowing my hair off my face.

"Is it immature if I stand on the railing and yell, 'I'm queen of the world!' for all of Paris to hear?" My hands tingled as I gripped the railing, and my feet started to sweat against the sole of my strappy sandals, sparking electricity through my nerves and tingling through every inch of my body.

"You're my queen." Ethan's arms wrapped around the small of my waist, and I eased back against him as he nuzzled my neck.

"Well, damn, Ethan. You took the words right out of my mouth." Eric leaned in to give me a quick kiss, smiling afterward in a way that made my blood heat.

"Same here," Matt and Ryan echoed together before looking at each other.

It was dangerous to be this hot and bothered in such a public place. I had to clench my legs together and pray no one could see how stiff my nipples were. It was a rather drafty dress, so they could think it had something to do with that. Next time, wear nipple covers.

"It's beautiful, Ethan. Thank you." I turned around to kiss him. "Now, you're not the only one with a surprise. I know I don't have a gift of this magnitude..."

"Being with you is the greatest gift I could ever ask for..." He held me tighter and pressed me against his tempting body. I blushed like I'd never heard him say these things to me before.

"Stop. You're making me wet. And I'm wearing satin," I whispered.

"Hmmm," he groaned.

"Ethan!" I grinned and took his hand. "Let's go take our seats. I have something to show you."

"Just him?" Matt echoed.

"Seriously. Behave. Until we get back to the hotel." I smiled back at him. I did not want to get up from my seat and leave here with a wet spot on the back of my dress, so I focused on my mother instead, and well, that dried me up. It was also a bad idea because it brought her negative voice back, trying to ruin things.

Matt ended up leading the way. As it turned out, I didn't know where I was going. When each of them grabbed hold of my chair to pull it out for me, I clamped my legs together to ease the pressure. Who knew I got off on being claimed in public like this? There was a time this would have had me cringing so hard.

"Okay, so..." I reached for my purse.

"Uh, uh. Hold on, you're not the only one who's come bearing gifts, and I'm sure yours is going to top mine. Then I'll be too embarrassed to share it." He scrunched his face.

"Oh, psh." I rolled my eyes. "There's no world in which that could be true."

"Oh, there is. We'll save the best for last," he insisted.

"Okay," I groaned. "I was wondering why you had that backpack over your shoulders. Thought you might be getting back into vlogging."