Page 9 of Wild
5
Sam led me to the study, where the others were around a small table filled with papers. He pulled a chair up to the table and offered me a seat. This was the real reason he needed me. Me staying would be an added bonus . . . to all of us. Quite honestly, I’d never even considered the possibility of being asked to stay, but you always had to be prepared to change plans on the turn of a dime.
“This is the paperwork we filed a few years ago,” Sam said. “We have to refile every five years. It allows me to keep the land in trust so that it can never be taken away.”
“Someone’s threatening to take it?”
The guys looked at each other, looking to Sam to speak up. He did. “We believe in always being prepared for the unknown.”
Yeah, me too. I skimmed the papers, not missing that all eyes were on me and my body. I didn’t take their desires as a bunch of men being dogs and just wanting to fuck me. There was something deeper going on. “You still have another two years to refile. Why’re you doing it now?”
Flux slid another sheet of paper in front of me. “A local farmer’s group wants the land for their cattle.”
“They can’t do that if you own the rights.”
“They can if they’ve been paying off local officials,” Sam insisted.
I tried to read the document, but Rogue pulled it away and returned it to the pile in front of him.
“You want me to fight for you in court? It’s not just filing some paperwork.”
“Correct, if it comes to that,” Rogue said. “And before you ask, we can’t go. We can’t promise we won’t get into court and not change when we are angered.”
I leaned back and crossed my arms. “That’s reassuring. Is that the only time you change?”
“No, but anger interferes with our ability to control our shifting. It’s just safer we have someone else do this.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t really sure it was okay. What if they became angry at me? What if I lost the case if it went to court? “I can start the process Monday morning.”
They all sat back and sighed, obviously happy with my decision.
We spent the next several hours going over paperwork and reviewing the borders of the land they owned. We stopped for a quick and delicious lunch Flux whipped up, but even then, we talked about what would be expected in court.
When the sun began to set, everything began to change.
I watched the four men remove their clothes and take their clothes to separate rooms in the house. They returned naked with a renewed energy.
“We’ll be gone a few hours,” Sam said. “Our home is your home. Make yourself comfortable. You’ll stay in the master bedroom, where you had your shower.”
I thought about the massive bed and sleeping there alone. I didn’t like the idea, especially knowing four luscious men were in the house with me.
“Don’t wait up,” Mani said. “You need your sleep. We don’t.”
Rogue and I made eye contact, both of us recalling the conversation we’d had about him fucking in the woods. He shot me a quick smile, and I returned one of my own.
Each kissed me on the cheek before running out naked. I watched through the large living room windows as they disappeared, leaving me behind to contemplate what in the hell had just happened.
I’d never been one to stick my nose into other people’s business unless it was absolutely necessary, but they had told me to make myself at home.
The first thing I noticed was that there were no pictures anywhere in the house. I didn’t think it possible none of them ever had a family. Everyone had someone, even if that someone was a douche. And just like there were no signs of women being in the house, there were also no signs of kids. They really were simply four men living in the woods together.
I finally took a seat on the couch and stared out the windows at the trees in the darkness. The four men asked me to give up everything to live out my life in solitude with them. I had a feeling that meant no phones, no television, no shopping. Just them and me.
Maybe I could do it. Perhaps I could live a life of simplicity. But they were also animals, and I wasn’t sure how I would deal with that. But weren’t they also men? And hadn’t I planned for that anyway? They were animals, but it had been their animal forms I’d first met and quickly grew accustomed to. I had, after all, tried to carry on a conversation with them at the RV.
I wrapped my hands around my coffee cup and then noticed something spring from the trees. As the thing approached, I moved from the couch and walked to the window, rubbing my eyes as a naked man climbed the front steps. He saw me and nodded toward the front door.
“I’m lost,” the man said from the other side of the closed door. “Can you point me in the right direction?”
