Page 30 of The Mountain
“I don’t want any of us dating other people,” I blurt out.Mon dieu, if eloquence was the goal of my ridiculously expensive education, my parents truly wasted their money. “Outside thispetite familleor whatever. Not just Lily, but any of us.” I give Eddie a pointed look, mainly because I’m still not particularly happy with him, and also because I don’t dare look at Liam.
Eddie makes a choked sound, eyes going wide. Liam’s hand slides up my thigh, fingers tightening as he gives a dark chuckle.
“That’s fine by me,” Matty says earnestly, blue eyes soft as he smiles in Lily’s direction. “I just want Lily.”
Eddie scrubs at his face, kicking his feet out under the table as he leans back in his chair. “Same. Shit. Can you even imagine?” He gives an inelegant snort. “I just thought I was dating Lily, and now I’m apparently in a relationship with five people. No fucking way would I even contemplate adding another person to the mix.”
Lily twists in Seth’s lap, craning her neck to look up at him, then turning to throw a questioning glance at Liam. “You… you guys are okay with that?”
“Love.” Liam’s voice is heavy with wry amusement. “I think I’m pretty set on the dating front.” His hand slips higher up on my thigh, and heat races down my spine in response, making me shift under his touch. He chuckles, then adds: “Pretty fucking set.”
Seth, for some unknown reason, is smiling. Not his forced, flat-mouthed smile from earlier, but a real, broad smile that has the corners of his eyes turning up.
“Seth?” Lily peers up at him, her brow dipping in confusion.
His smile widens and he pulls her against him, rubbing the side of his face against the top of her head, like an overly affectionate cat. She wrinkles her nose, smiling and squirming in his hold.
“Lily. Hon. I’m more than okay with it. This is…” He squeezes his eyes shut, nostrils flaring as he takes several long breaths. “This is everything.” His voice drops, almost an inaudible whisper as he adds: “This is everything I ever hoped for.”
Chapter 10
Lily
Who knew having five boyfriends would involve so much talking and so little action?
I squirm in Seth’s lap and try to ignore the way his touch and closeness are making me feel.It’s just biological, I remind myself.A normal reaction. You’re just horny. It has nothing to do with him.
Liam gives me a knowing smile, and I narrow my eyes at him. If I’m keyed up and desperate, it’s entirely his fault. Well, mostly his fault. I frown at Eddie next to me.
Between the two of them, surely someone should have gotten me off last night, right? But after Eddie’s declaration, we’d all just fallen asleep, the three of us on Liam’s mattress on the floor, with me in the middle.
“Don’t fucking think about trying anything while I’m in here,” Eddie had grumbled, glowering at Liam. And that had been that.
“I think we should talk about safety,” Liam announces. Since apparently we’re all still having this conversation about ground rules or whatever. Which is important. Of course it’s important. Just, right now, it doesn’t feel quite as important as the ache that’s been building between my thighs for the past three days. “You know, for pregnancy and STDs and all that.”
My thoughts come to a screeching halt. Liam smirks at me from across the table. Beside him, Antoine gives a muffled squeak.
“Jesus Christ,” Eddie mutters, his chair creaking warningly as he throws himself back. “Are you serious right now?”
Liam stares coolly at Eddie, all traces of amusement gone. “Considering what I saw last night? Yeah, I’m fucking serious.”
I groan, my hands flying up to cover my face as white-hot embarrassment threatens to send me slinking under the table.
There had been a moment, just before the lights came on, where I thought me and Eddie were going to have sex. Where I’d felt his cock slip free of his boxers beneath me, and all it would have taken was for me to shift my sleeping shorts aside and sink down on him. God knows, I’d been more than ready to.
“What happened last night?” Matty asks. Antoine’s eyes are fixed on me, green and sparking with intensity, with none of the hurt from before.
“You don’t have to answer, if you don’t want to,” Seth reminds me, his strong arms banding around me, his scruff catching in my hair as he nuzzles his face against the top of my head.
“Liam?” Antoine asks, giving his boyfriend a sharp, expectant look.
To my surprise, Liam falls silent, a slight frown curving his lips as he looks between me and Antoine, deliberating. When he doesn’t answer, an unexpected burst of relief rushes through me at the realization that he’ll protect my privacy. Even when it comes to Antoine. I give him a small, grateful smile, dropping my hands to my lap, and take a steadying breath.
“We didn’t have sex,” I say, my voice tight with embarrassment as I force myself to meet Antoine’s gaze. “We didn’t, but we could have. Maybe…” I shoot Eddie a questioning look.
He grimaces, giving a curt nod in affirmation before dragging a palm over his face. “Uh. Yeah. That’s about right.”
“Without protection?” Matty asks, blue eyes widening, jaw tensing. “Eddie?” Matty’s voice is a low growl and I shift uncomfortably on Seth’s lap. “Tell me you didn’t put my girl at risk like that.”
