Page 4 of Room Seven

I don’t realize my hand has come up to my throat, until Mirsha snarls, “Did he hurt you?”

I drop my hand. “Don’t worry about him. My questions first. Why did you leave Chicago without saying goodbye? DidImake you leave?” Panic claws at my insides at the myriad of possible answers. I don’t want to hear they left Chicago because of me, but I have to know.

And then I want to know how to make them come back to me.

The hand resting over my hip tightens around the material of my dress. And for the first time, my godfather’s warm, firm lips find the dip in my shoulder. Teeth scrape along the tender flesh and I melt into him. My lashes fall closed and I mentally capture this moment for the dark moments I know will come.

Mirsha lifts his mouth from my skin to move his attention toward my other godfathers who have yet to leave their positions by the tree. They watch and wait. For now, they stand sentry while Mirsha cocoons me protectively against him.

Here with them, I don’t have to face the outside world in its full ugliness.

But Mirsha’s next words force me to face the reality I am trying to run from.

“Your father is right. You are better off without the likes of us in your life. Go home and forget about us. Do not force our hand. The last thing we want to do is hurt you.”

“What do you mean by he’s right?” I ask harshly. What the hell happened? “I can’t live with never seeing you again? Would you really hurt me if I disobeyed you? Would my other godfathers?” I angle my head just in time to see the angular lines of Mirsha’s chiseled jaw clench.

There’s a moment of silence.

“Yes,” he murmurs a few heartbeats later so deeply my heart hurts at the pain radiating back.

I narrow my eyes on him. “You’re lying. I don’t believe you,” I counter honestly and our words clash when he cuts me off.

“You don’t know what we are capable of.” His tone turns tortured, angry. My godfather’s lips linger over my bare shoulder. As he speaks, they feather over the skin in a way that wants me to throw us both on the ground, grass stains be damned.

“There are many pleasures to be found in pain.”

I strain to hear his words but I swear I hear reverence. Fascination.

He brushes away wisps of hair that have fallen across my face. “You should run from us. Don’t play with grown men wanting dirty things from a girl they should never touch.”

“I’m a full-grown woman with needs.”

“And you think three men who raised you are the ones who will fill your needs?”

The question is asked casually, but he forgets to shield the sparks and flames dancing deep in his eyes. If he’d done that, I might be back tracking so fast out of here I would time travel.

My heart quickens. But since he’s leaving his emotions front and center for me to discover, I push a little harder. I slip my hand over his and twine our fingers together. “Maybe you need to teach me the kind of pain that comes with pleasure. You know I always like to learn.”

Another low growl in my ear has every inch of skin suddenly burning hot. “Do you know what you are asking for?”

Not a freaking clue. “Show me. Teach me. I want to learn.”

“This is wrong. You know, right?” His expression turns pensive, but once again his true feelings are in his eyes. I know Mirsha, Luther and Viper to be men who never drop their shields. Seeing Mirsha reveal so much to me breathes life into the threads of energy between us.

“Enough to keep you from kissing me?”

Warm lips brush over my cheek until his mouth is back on the shell of my ear. “Didn’t I teach you not to go looking for trouble?”

Raw heat explodes through me.

No. That’s wrong. Not explode. No, what is happening inside me is so much more chaotic and all-consuming. There’s no other way to explain the sudden detonation of fire in my veins.

In front of me, Luther and Viper move from the darker recesses beneath the willow tree to reveal themselves slowly in the moonlight. I hold their gazes despite the low light as they prowl closer.

Silver light brushes against the midnight blackness of Viper’s long hair and Luther’s blond locks. Stealthy and lethal. Like Mirsha, tattoos drape over their fingers and the light of the moon glints off the rings on Viper’s right hand. How many times have I dreamed of having the cool, smooth silver caress over my heated skin?

Please let tonight be the one time my dreams come true.

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