Page 20 of Tops
“Yes, sir, that’s the only,” I stalled, immediately knowing the mistake I had made. I cleared my throat and felt the intense heat of all three of their stares. “All my other classes are online. I’ll need food, of course, but the kitchen looks more than accommodating for what I cook.”
I knew my cheeks were on fire as pinpricks danced along the back of my neck. A very primal, ancient part of me screamed out that I had just made a critical error in attracting predators to my location. Of course, these kings among men would get off on being called sir.
The more recently awoken part of me that entertained the idea of sleeping with all of them stomped all over my instincts and rejoiced. Fucking them might not be as hard of a challenge as I thought. There were, of course, still moral and logical arguments, but they seemed to stay in the wings of my mind as my back straightened and I fought the fear of the unknown away.
These men thought they ruled over their kingdom. Now their job was to protect me. I didn’t need to fear them.
“I’m sorry, what were we talking about?” I asked when no one bothered to speak, and I had been too lost in my own mind to remember anything past the look they gave me when I said, sir.
“Other than Tuesdays and Thursdays, you have nowhere else to be than here, right, Vanessa?” Nik said, giving me a little smirk when I looked over at him.
“I guess not,” I sighed, thinking over my routine. Hannah was always coming and going, but I preferred to sit inside most days. Sometimes when the weather was nice, I liked to go to Central Park and try to forget the city for a while. “Tuesdays used to be movie night, but Hannah and I decided to change that to Fridays now that my class date and times are different,” I said as the thought crossed my mind. Anything to make it look a little less like I was an antisocial anxiety-filled cucumber.
“Did you have your tickets already when class was changed?” Nik asked, surprisingly tender for the man that had kicked out ninety percent of the class on his first day.
“No, we do movie night at home,” I said, realizing this wasn’t helping my case. I did have some semblance of life out of the abyss of my own company and the city’s noise.
Then again, I spent most of the day watching raindrops on glass.
“Any other fun hobbies, Vanessa? Maybe the occasional tryst in the library? Any boyfriends that would notice you suddenly never home?” Nik’s grin was a mocking one. He knew my life did not scream out boyfriend position filled.
Ah, fuck it.
“Actually, I’m a virgin.”
I heard the ancient, primal voice, my hoe-self stomped down, that badass bitch rearing up to warn me I had drawn too much attention with that statement. I thought it was the perfect way to get that out in the open moments ago. Particularly if I was considering sleeping with any of them, let alone the whole bunch. I honestly expected it to be a turnoff, but I was wrong.
It looked like I had just rung a damn dinner bell with the way hunger shined in their eyes. Tanner even licked his lip slightly. This was when I needed moral and logical arguments to come in and put a lid on things.
Tanner seemed to come to a decision as he smiled. His posture relaxed into the sofa, and I watched the other men as they did the same.
“Anything else that you can think of that we can use to protect you? Do you have any training of any kind?” Tanner asked, his voice steady and calm. As if I hadn’t just told him I was a virgin, his reaction was to lick his lips. We might have been able to put a lid on that one for now, but we would certainly be circling back to that when the time was right.
“I’m good with a gun,” I said as I shrugged my shoulders. Not that I had a gun on me, but my father had taught me how to shoot. I continued with it up until I left for college. But I had hit my fair share of soda cans.
“What kind of gun?” Nik asked.
I looked at him and smiled as I finally had a chance to make my dad proud. “Pistol or rifle doesn’t really matter to me. Depends on the situation, I guess. I would probably shoot a 9mm if I’m at the range.”
“Have you shot anything larger?” Nik’s eyes were wide as he looked like he wanted to talk guns. He even took his arms off the back of the couch to lean in closer. The big table with the glass top separated us, but I found myself leaning in too.
“Just a .45 once. It nearly took my arm off,” I laughed, remembering the time when my dad took me shooting a few weeks before he was killed. It was my idea to try out the .45, and I convinced my dad I could handle it. As soon as I pulled the trigger, I knew my stance was off. I was not appropriately braced for the kick. I had never seen my dad’s eyes so wide with fear and regret.
“You should be able to work your way up to a .45. Anytime I’m here, and you are bored, we can go to the range.” Nik smiled, and my heart thrummed like the beating wings of a butterfly in my chest.
Would that be somewhat like a date?
“Looks like we just need to figure out babysitting days,” Tanner said, breaking the little bubble I had found myself in with Nik. Tanner seemed a little on edge, yet he also seemed perfectly fine with the idea of sharing when he was texting me. Two men at once was all his idea.
“She is going to be here most of the time. Which means she’s under your protection whenever you’re in this building, Tanner,” Colten said, leaning forward again to talk.
I leaned back into the couch to give him a better view. I hadn’t realized how close my ass was to falling off the seat when talking to Nik. And just so that didn’t happen again, I pulled my legs up to half sit on them. Now all I needed was a blanket.
I realized the guys had continued talking, but I hadn’t heard a word of it. Even Nik was chiming in.
“I have her during the only time I have available. You have to remember I have a job I need to attend every day. The job in which you two,” Nik pointed to each of them, “need. I will stop by whenever I can because I think Vanessa prefers my company to either of yours.” He sat back with a smug grin before giving me a wink.
I wasn’t exactly sure whose company I would prefer. Since I would live with Tanner, I expected to spend a lot of time around him, since this was his work. I had to pretend I didn’t know Nik anytime we were on campus or at the lab. All part of that lovely NDA they had me sign. Being surrounded by them for the last few hours had made me forget the cold, hard reality of the situation. There was a dangerous man out there that had taken an interest in me. If I stayed here, I was protected, guaranteeing the job of my dreams and a life out of this city.
