And the world would burn before I ever let him go.
18: Practice
Posy
Leaving Emerson to make his own decision, I jumped out of the car and let my eyes roam the area for my mates.
I wasn't surprised to see them sprinting toward me in a little pack. They all wore giant smiles, even Mason! That made me so happy to see; he was usually stone-faced, even with his brothers.
I dropped my bag and ran to meet them. In seconds, I was squished in a group hug as all of the octopuses tried to get a tentacle around me. After they'd each had a chance to hug me, Ash used his height to pluck me out of the mass of limbs and sat me on his hip like I was a child.
"We missed you, cupcake! Did you miss us even a little bit? You didn't link with us very often."
Hearing the uncertainty in his voice, I grabbed two handfuls of his curls and tugged him closer, then kissed him until I needed air.
"I missed all of yousomuch," I said as I drank in his delicious scent. "I thought about you all the time. I didn't link because I was afraid I'd interrupt what you were doing. What if I distracted you while you were in the middle of a fight? I couldn't bear being the reason you lost focus and were hurt."
"Makes sense, I guess, but I missed your sweet voice. Did the betas take care of you?"
"Of course they did." I kissed his jaw. His five-o'clock shadow pricked my skin, and I pulled back and rubbed my nose. "Itchy, waffle!"
"Waffle?" Cole and Jayden chorused as Wyatt snickered and Mason snorted.
"He smells like maple syrup." I shrugged.
As I looked down at them, I realized how high up I was. I swung my wide eyes back to Ash.
"Is this what it's like to be so tall? Is this how you see the world all the time?"
"Yep! You want to be even taller?" His dark eyes snapped with mischief.
I wasn't sure what he meant, but I trusted him. Every day, I was growing more and more secure in the knowledge that none of these boys would deliberately hurt me or allow me to be hurt.
Still, the ground was already a long, long way down.
"Okay," I said hesitantly.
"Ash." Mason's voice was loaded with warning, and Ash rolled his eyes at him.
"Relax, Papa Bear."
Papa Bear?
That made me giggle, but as Ash suddenly swung me up on his shoulders, my giggles turned into a shriek.
Although his hands held my calves tightly, I was scared and clung to his head. My pulse sped up, my lungs weren't working right, and my whole body shook.
"How's the view, princess?" Ash chuckled.
With a whimper, I pried my death grip from his head and made grabby hands at the first person I saw, who happened to be Mason. He held his arms up for me, but I was too frightened to jump.
"Put her down, Ash. She's panicking."
"Shit!"
"Language!" Cole snarled.
As Ash crouched down, Mason slid his hands under my arms and pulled me to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso and held on tightly.