Page 73 of On The Edge
Placing his hands on my hips, he holds me close, and quietly says–just for me–but loud enough that they guys can hear him.
“We’ll figure this out. Together. Always, together.” His words seal our new commitment and he kisses me in front of them all for the first time.
Kai whoops, Adam chuckles through his nose, and Markus nods in approval. It feels like this is Reis telling me he’s serious about this, that he’s not afraid of it anymore.
“I love you,” I say, and look at them all, “I love you all. I have for years.”
“I love you, Mel.” Reis smiles brightly, like he can’t quite believe I love him but wants to.
“I love you too, Echo.” Adam kisses my cheek, his shoulders lighter than I’ve seen them.
“You know I love you more than life when I catapulted over the railing at the store,” Kai says with a cocky smirk, puffing his chest out because as far as romantic gestures go, it was pretty kick-ass. A dangerous, reckless one, but one I won’t ever forget. I laugh, but nod. I do know it.
Markus holds his hand out to me, and I gladly take it. Like we’re in a fucking romance movie, he twirls me around, right into his arms.
“I love you, more than ever,” he says, touching our foreheads together softly, cradling our clasped hands in between us.
Surrounded by love, I feel better, lighter and more alive than ever.
There’sa tension building between us all. A burning need that all of us are succumbing to. Adam’s eyes are heavy as he licks his lower lip, staring at me with those blue eyes full of filthy promise. I can almost see the memory of that night in the bathroom playing in his mind.
Kai has a similar look, but he’s much less subtle with his staring. I canfeelhis gaze as I clear my throat, a blush heating me all over. Having them all, well… I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. I’ve gotten off on that fantasy many, many,manynights both in high school and the lonely years since, but am I actually ready for it?
It looks like they are all thinking the same thing; that they want to devour me whole.
“What else was it that you needed to talk to us about?” I cringe as I hear my voice break under the heavy tension. The bubble around us doesn’t necessarily break, but my question lessens the tension enough for me to breathe.
Adam grabs my arm and pulls me to him, falling with me onto the couch. Kai sits at my feet, pulling my legs onto his lap while Markus goes back to his spot in the armchair glaring at the two guys that made their move first. Reis stands in the middle, takes a deep breath and shakes his head with a small smile. His expression is soft and like he’s in awe, but he shakes his head and looks at me.
He’s happy. The grumpy asshole that drugged me, that was so fucking awful, he’s gone in this moment. The man before me is the guy I fell in love with in high school, the one I still love.
“Well, I understand you have a job that you want to get back to. I was able to get Louis to overnight your computer and all your stuff from your apartment. You should have all your stuff tomorrow.” Reis bites the inside of his lip, and I know then that that’s not all he has to say.
“All of my stuff?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“Money talks, baby.” Markus shrugs. “We can do or get anything we want whenever we want… for a price.”
“That’s incredibly convenient and disgusting,” I say with a chuckle. “But why are you… Wait, you’re moving me here?” A sharp inhale of understanding makes my nostrils flare and my fingers twitch, uncertain whether to reach out or pull back.
“Hell yes, we are,” Kai cheers, fist pumping the air before he leans over and presses a sting of kisses down my leg a lá Gomez Addams.
“Be serious right now.” I look around, trying to convince myself that I’m hearing them wrong. But instead, Adam rubs the back of his neck and shrugs, Markus nods with a flat, tight-lipped smirk, Kai’s smiling brightly like this is the best thing ever, regardless of the tension in the room and Reis… Reis sits up straighter, and looks me dead-on.
They just did this? And obviously they all fucking knew about it, discussed it and made it happen.
“We said we wanted you with us. So, we made it happen.” Reis rolls his shoulders back, addressing the room. “I also… I made a decision.”
“Oh fuck,” Markus mutters, rubbing his eyes.
“Here we go,” Adam snaps behind me, his hand resting on my waist protectively.
“I know you want to get back to work, Melody. I get that, and so, I…” Reis' words trail off as he restructures the sentence in his brain. “From now on, you work exclusively for us. It doesn’t make much sense for you to live in Haven when we’re based out of New York City. You’ll live with us, tour with us, and run all our social media accounts and programs–” Reis announces. My eyes widen, and I stand up, stepping closer, before cutting him off mid sentence.
“I’m sorry, you just decided this?”
