Page 209 of Tangled up in You

Shit. My heart jumps in my chest, the familiar surge of adrenaline hitting me like a shot of espresso. What the hell is happening? Are we under attack? Did they find us?

I sit up, my breathing heavy, trying to steady myself. My hand blindly fumbles for my phone on the bedside table, but my fingers grasp nothing but air. Building panic spreads through my veins, thoughts of my father’s men creeping into the corners of my mind.

“Guys?” I call out softly, my voice trembling despite myself. No answer. Only the deafening silence of a power outage.

I throw the covers off and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. There’s a strange chill in the air, and I feel exposed in nothing but one of the guys’ oversized cotton t-shirts and my underwear.

Just as I’m about to stand, the door creaks open, casting a thin sliver of light into the room. I barely have time to process it before I see their silhouettes—four shadowy figures entering the room, moving as one.

Vito steps forward first, his low voice rumbling through the silence. “It’s the power. Storm knocked it out.”

The relief that floods my system is immediate, but the rush of adrenaline hasn’t fully faded. My heart is still pounding, my skin tingling with unease—and something else. Because now that I can make out their forms, I notice the way they’re dressed, or rather, how little they are.

Low-hanging sweatpants, loose lounge pants, bare chests… Every single one of them looks like sin wrapped in muscle, and I swear the room feels smaller with their half naked forms in it. The scent of them, the heat from their bodies, fills the space.

Sal leans against the doorframe, his usual playful grin tugging at his lips. “Did we scare you, princess?”

I scoff, even as my pulse races. “I don’t scare that easily.”

DANNI

Goddamn, Isa looks good enough to eat. There’s something about her in nothing but one of our t-shirts that’s driving me fucking crazy. The hem skims her thighs, barely covering her curves, and every breath she takes makes the fabric cling to her chest just enough to show off what’s under.

I catch Misha’s eye, and I know he’s thinking the same thing. He’s staring at her like she’s prey, and we’re all hungry fucking wolves.

She stands there, breathing hard, and I know she’s still a little rattled from the outage, but there’s no mistaking the way her body responds to us. The room’s tense with the weight of what we all want.

I step closer, crowding her space, and I can see the way her eyes widen, her breath catching in her throat.

“You all right, sweetheart?” I murmur, my voice low, barely a whisper. My fingers trace the edge of her jaw, feeling the softness of her skin.

She nods, her full lips parting, her pulse jumping in her neck. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

But she’s not. Not really. She’s caught in this moment with all of us, and it’s about to get a hell of a lot hotter.

ISA

The second Danni touches me, my whole body reacts. My skin tingles where his fingers graze, and I realize I’m trembling—not from fear or cold, but from something much more primal. Much more dangerous.

Before I can respond, Vito steps in from the other side, his broad chest defined in the low light from the hallway. He moves in close, and I can feel the air between us thick and heavy. His voice rumbles deep in his chest as he speaks, his eyes locked on mine.

“You’re shaking, Isa. What are you scared of, baby?”

I open my mouth to answer, but no words come out. It’s not fear. It’s them. The way their presence fills the room, the way their eyes burn with a hunger like my own.

Sal, still leaning in the doorway, chuckles darkly. “She’s not scared. She’s fucking turned on.”

I want to argue, but I can’t. Because the truth is, I’m burning for them.

Misha moves in behind me, his breath hot against my neck, and I feel his big hands on my hips, his fingers brushing the skin under the t-shirt.

“Do you want us, Isa?” he whispers, his lips grazing my ear. The question hangs in the air, heavy, dangerous, and filled with promise.

I swallow hard, heat pooling in my belly, my breath coming out in shallow pants. There’s no use denying it. I want them. I’ve always wanted them.

“Yes,” I whisper.

And that’s all it takes.

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