Page 49 of Shelter (The Wanderers 4)

He kissed her neck again, trailing up to her ear. “I can share,” he whispered.

“Can you?” Now that she was surrounded by all of them crowding around her with so many hands touching her that she didn’t even know who was who in the dark, uncertainty filled her. “I married you. I made vows to you. You’re my husband.”

“Mmm,” he murmured in her ear. “Marriage is kind of a silly thing these days. More of a social construct on its last leg exercised by no one but The Republic. It’s not practical in a world where women are so vastly outnumbered.”

She swallowed as he continued to kiss behind her ear, whispering to her.

“You may have walked toward me at that altar, but you met Storm first. I know that bodyguard of yours laid claim to you in his mind before I ever set eyes on you. And Riggs…”

Riggs chuckled.

“His eyesight is better than mine. He saw you coming up the aisle before I did and almost fell off the step when he swayed a bit too far.”

Riggs laughed harder. “Exaggerate much?”

Haley somehow managed to giggle.

Bray continued. “Rush took his sweet time finding us, but he managed to get you pregnant without even meeting you at all, so we can’t really leave him out, can we?”

Haley loved the fact that all of them chuckled, but especially Rush, who was still hovering over her, his body shaking against hers.

Storm reached over Riggs again and found her shoulder. “It’s gonna be really tough vying for your attention with so many of us crowding you, so maybe stop picking up strays, yeah?” he joked.

Rush laughed again. “Riggs, you got a joke about me too?”

Riggs snorted. “She’s set the bar pretty low on who she’ll welcome into the family considering the last guy was in jail when she met him.”

Rush’s body shook hers again. “Excellent round one. Who wants to go again?”

“If it’s not too much to ask,” Haley began, “this is the first time in my life I’ve felt comfortable enough to relax and enjoy human contact. That may sound crazy considering we’re on the run, we have no idea where we’re going next, nor do we know where we are. But, I feel confident no one is going to open that hatch anytime soon, and for once I’d like to be kissed without fear of getting caught.”

“We can do that, baby,” Bray assured her.

“And…” She inhaled slowly, forcing herself to be brave. “Maybe not just my lips.”

Everyone hesitated.

She groaned. “Do not coddle me. I’m not a child. I’m even pregnant, for God’s sake. It’s hardly fair that no one has touched me or had sex with me. Could we please rip that band-aid off so everyone can stop tiptoeing around me as if I’m some kind of virginal goddess?”

“Explain to me why none of you have had sex with her?” Rush asked.

Bray was the one to respond. “It wasn’t the right thing to do in the beginning. I couldn’t bring her to my bed like everyone believed I had the first night. She was scared out of her mind, and we didn’t know each other. Besides, it seemed unfair to claim her when I knew from the beginning that Storm and Riggs were falling for her too.”

“Okay. I get that,” Rush said, “but that was six months ago.”

Riggs cleared his throat. “Lorena kind of lost her mind after Haley and Bray married. She became a different person. She was obsessed with ensuring Haley got pregnant, while at the same time hovering around like a vulture to make sure no one got near her.”

“Not even you, Braylon?” Rush asked.

“She hadn’t expected me to have any real interest in Haley as a person. Her vision had been for me to get her pregnant without caring for her. She didn’t think it was necessary for me to spend time with her, and she went out of her way to ensure we were rarely alone. Except of course for nudging me to join my wife in her bed most evenings.”

“So, I’m confused,” Rush continued. “Did you go to her room at night?”

Storm chuckled. “Sure. But he was expected to get in and out in about fifteen minutes. Lorena was jealous of Bray’s relationship with Haley. She could tell he cared about her, and she didn’t like it.”

Bray sighed. “There was no way in hell I was going to claim Haley’s virginity in some sort of record-breaking whirlwind and then leave her alone all night unsatisfied. Nor did I feel I had the right to do that without Storm and Riggs.”

“Y’all are like saints,” Rush commended.

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