Page 16 of Black Widow's Bite

“I need a smoke,” Cain muttered, stalking out of the basement in a huff. Wyatt slapped Piper on the back, shaking his head and still chuckling.

“I’ll go see what Austin’s up to. Maybe he’d like to put you in your place.” he smirked, leaving Piper and me alone. I was still sitting on the lip of the table, and Piper handed me my drink, so I didn’t need to move. If anything, his confident swagger was more pronounced now, and he took a hearty swig of rum while I sipped mine, watching the bracelets slide up his wrist as he drank. He stepped close again, moving in between my legs. I shifted, my thighs opening wider to accommodate him. Hunger practically radiated off of him, making the air around us thick and heady. He tipped my chin up and captured my lips, his hands already sliding up my shirt. I felt the charms on his bracelets drift along my back, and he had my bra unhooked before I even realized what he was doing.

“They’re going to be back any second,” I whispered against his lips. I felt him smile under my lips as his fingers grazed along my breasts, making me shiver as heat rushed to my core. I could feel how hard he was through his jeans, and he rubbed against me, making me groan.

“Would you like that?” he murmured, kissing along my jaw, his fingers teasing my nipples until I arched against him with a whimper. “Maybe I’ll just take you right here on this table and they can gather around and watch.” Another shiver of pleasure curled down my spine, and he grabbed my hips, grinding me against him. He kissed me against before I could answer, and his hands slipped back up my shirt.

I heard footsteps on the stairs and someone cleared their throat as they walked in. Piper pulled away from me abruptly, and I moved to adjust my shirt - he’d somehow re-hooked my bra while we’d been making out.

“Alright Piper, that’s enough of that. It’s time for a re-match,” Cain announced. Piper lifted me off the table, giving me one last kiss, a cocky grin on his face. I moved over to lean against one of the chairs, letting the guys play this round. My heart was pounding in my chest. Would he have actually fucked me on that table if I had said yes? He met my eyes from across the table as the others argued about who would break.

Something in his eyes made me wonder how he knew that the next time he offered, I would say yes.

Chapter 18

Addison

It had been nearly three weeks since I’d sort of accidentally moved in with the guys. Every day I spent close to an hour on the phone with an assortment of unhelpful people, asking why my apartment was still a goddamn crime scene, and it seemed like no one had any actual answers for me. Finally, I talked someone into at least letting me inside to get more of my things, and another officer escorted me in and watched me shove a bunch of my clothes and my few remaining un-destroyed personal items in a bag to take back to the building. Wyatt came with me again, and at his suggestion, I grabbed a few of the remaining kitchen supplies to bolster the sad little collection they had in their own bare cupboards.

Cain still seemed annoyed by my presence in general, but I’d like to think he was beginning to come around. One day I returned from the lab to find that they had rearranged the basement. Someone had stapled sheets to the ceiling in one corner, and inside I found a mattress, ironically bare, and a worn-looking dresser for my clothes. Someone else, I suspected Austin, had strung faerie lights along the perimeter of the wall of sheets, adding a soft glow to my little cave.

I went out that evening and got a couple sets of sheets and some new pillows, and moved my bags of stuff out of Cain’s room. I tried to thank him, but he just grunted and slammed the door in my face, which I took as an acknowledgement. Mylittle room was a lot less impressive than my old room in my apartment, but it was cozy and private and didn’t have the stench of death in it.

I fell into an easy routine with the guys, finding my own space within the rhythm of the house. I woke up at 7:00 a.m. most days, so I could get dressed and ready for work in the basement before heading up to the kitchen. Wyatt was normally up late working, and he’d sleep until at least 8:00 a.m. or later in the morning. Coffee was first on his agenda, which he now would drink in the kitchen with me instead of out on the fire escape.

I took over grocery shopping from Piper permanently, because I was worried I might get a vitamin deficiency with the sheer lack of produce in the house. Now we had bread and fruit for breakfast, plus supplies for proper dinners. Austin, whose sleep seemed to vary depending on the weather and his work schedule, would always scramble downstairs to say goodbye before I left for the day. Most days, he would just scoop me up in a hug, but occasionally he would decide to kiss me until I was breathless. I still hadn’t figured out what guided his decision day to day. At first, I’d been a little embarrassed when he’d done that in front of Wyatt, but Wyatt just laughed, so I stopped worrying about it.

PDA in general didn’t seem to affect anyone in the house, except maybe Cain, but he just scowled at everything, anyway. Cain would normally wander out just as I was leaving the house, always under the guise of locking the door behind me, since I didn’t have my own key yet. Every day, he seemed to find some reason to touch me, just a bit. Maybe it was helping me with my coat, passing me my purse, or even brushing an invisible speck of dust off my cheek. That was his version of PDA, or maybe he just needed one last fix of the spell my skin wove before I left for the day.

After work, I’d either head to the market nearby or go straight home to the studio. Unless he was with a client, Austin always greeted me at the door when I arrived, giving me a big hug and helping me carry in the groceries, if there were any. Some days Piper met me at the door, and he always looked a little confused at first until he touched my cheek. Then his eyes would clear up and he’d kiss me with a fervour that made my knees weak before escorting me inside.

Sometimes I would cook dinner, because I personally liked to eat, and I would make enough for anyone who wandered in. Other times Cain would already be busy by the stove, and I would let him do his thing. Maybe it was the consistent groceries, or maybe he also realized that I at least needed regular meals, but he took great care in the dinners he prepared, and it seemed like he did know how to cook pretty well.

Cain and I would sit in silence and eat most nights, maybe exchanging a word or two, but it was mostly me driving any sort of conversation. I think he would make a good monk, since he could probably sit for years in silent contemplation. Wyatt would wander in if he had finished work or was taking a break, and he would grab a couple of bites and give me a quick kiss before disappearing downstairs. Austin rarely joined us for meals, and I don’t think I’d seen him eat more than once or twice since I’d arrived. I wasn’t sure if he even needed to eat, or if he just ate things that... weren’t found in our fridge. I preferred not to think about it. Sometimes Piper would find us in the kitchen, and he’d always be pleasantly surprised with the food. I figured out pretty quickly that he wouldn’t know right away which meal we were even eating.

Evening activities varied from day to day, but since I now lived in their common living room space, I often participated in whatever they got into. Most nights at least one or two of them would come down and have a beer, talking shit or describingtheir work for the day. I’d join in, and Wyatt in particular seemed fascinated with my work with the spiders in the lab. He’d ask me a lot of questions about my paper, which made me happy. Some nights, if there were at least three of us, we’d play cards or sometimes pool. Piper, depending on the day, was either amazing at cards or absolutely terrible. Any games of chance were his strong suit, but if he was having an off day, his mind would wander and he’d start reading things in our cards instead of playing the game.

I couldn’t be sure, but there might’ve been some kind of challenge going on that I wasn’t aware of. It felt like most nights, there was a race to be the one to sit with me on the couch. Austin was normally the winner because sometimes he’d camp out on the couch while we ate dinner, waiting for us to come downstairs. He would pull me into his lap and tickle my neck as we had our drinks, his hands drifting across my body as we talked. Occasionally Wyatt would beat him there, and he was much more subtle about it. Normally just an arm over my shoulder, or tracing little patterns along my thigh.

Piper might’ve also been in on the game, but if he won, I had to be careful. He would either forget or just not care that the other guys were around. His hands would sneak under my shirt, or roam over my lap as if they had minds of their own. Nobody ever said anything, though. In fact, nobody seemed to care. Occasionally I would look over and catch them watching with hungry eyes, but they all seemed to have agreed that jealousy was off the table, and that was nice. I liked all my guys, even Cain, and I didn’t want them acting like cavemen over this.

My space seemed to be the off-limits zone for the most part, and no one went inside except me. I thought Austin might try one of his late-night visits again once I moved downstairs, but I guess Cain had scared him off of that. I was grateful because I needed the sleep and the time to myself. Sometimes we’d stayup too late goofing around, and I was left with only a few hours before I had to get up for work.

I was happy in this new rhythm, and I’d never realized just how lonely I was before I met them.

Inevitably, because I had been staying there so long, my hormones caught up with me. One morning I woke up irritable and snippy, ready to fight with anyone who crossed my path. Poor Wyatt was shocked when I snapped at him for not making enough coffee and didn’t understand why I didn’t want to cuddle with him at the breakfast table. Realizing what was coming, I stayed home from work, hiding in my little makeshift space and snarling when my laptop refused to work fast enough. I needed a hot water bottle, an advil, and some goddamn chocolate, none of which were available in this godforsaken man-cave of a house.

Stalking upstairs into the kitchen, I groaned as pain began to ripple across my abdomen, causing me to double over at the kitchen counter while I waited for the water to boil in the kettle. Cain was the one who found me there. He seemed to have a sixth sense for when I was vulnerable or just not in the fucking mood and liked to appear, looking annoyed, ready to push my temper to its limits.

“What’s wrong with you?” he demanded, stomping towards me. I looked up from my bent-over position and glowered at him.

“I’m fucking dying, just leave me alone, alright?” I growled, shutting my eyes as the pain seemed to amplify, travelling down my thighs.

“Are you okay?” he asked, stepping closer, his hands running over my back.

“I’m fine!” I hissed. “Have none of you been around a woman for longer than a month before?” I tried to straighten up but failed, and gave up on my hopes for tea, turning off the burner and shuffling back towards the stairs.

“Hold on,” Cain snapped, grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around. “Are you - is this...” he frowned, making a gesture that only mimes could interpret.

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