“Owen… I love being with all of you. The sex is… holy hell. It’s nothing like I’ve ever experienced. Sometimes, I wonder in the moment how I’ll ever survive it.”
I grinned with pride at her statement as I watched her cheeks flush with the memory of our activities only a few hours before.
“But would this be a sustainable thing? I mean, for the long term?”
I stood there in silence, not really knowing how to answer her. The truth was, I didn’t know. I didn’t know if we could keep this up for another month, much less the rest of our lives. It was so odd and so different and then there was Mark and how he would react. Surely, a mountain man like him would never approve of his daughter being with six men, much less six men that were her neighbors.
I could see him unloading all his shotgun shells into us in our sleep.
“There’s no way I could choose just one of you,” she said, sniffling. “It wouldn’t be good for me and it wouldn’t be good for any of you guys.”
“Please don’t cry,” I said as I stepped closer toward her. “It kills my heart when you do.”
I saw a tear leak down her face and I reached out to catch it with my finger. She leaned into my touch, my skin warming her cold cheek, and I took a chance and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She sighed, her body giving way as she leaned her cheek into my chest and I wrapped my arms around her shivering body.
She was freezing out here. She needed to get inside before she got sick.
“You don’t need to think about those things right now,” I said. “Today, all you need to do is get some rest. Your father needs you.”
I felt her nod into me before I took her hand and led her around the porch.
We walked up the outside steps to the second-story balcony. I opened the door to the room Ethan had laid her down in and led her back to her bed. Her body stopped shivering and, as I peeled the covers back for her, she scurried underneath the covers. Her body seemed so small compared to mine. So delicate underneath my fingertips. I tucked her in gently and kissed her forehead, watching her smile before she hunkered down into the pillows.
The way her honey-blonde hair spread along the white pillowcase caused me to hold my breath.
I sat on the edge of the bed and ran my fingers through her hair until she fell asleep. Her breathing evened out, her eyes fluttered closed, and every single part of me wanted to lay down next to her. I wanted her to know that she was safe here. That no matter what, she would always have me. I leaned over and kissed her cheek, smiling at its warmth before I went downstairs and gathered up the brothers.
It was time we had another serious talk.
“What’s up?” Blake asked.
“Yeah, it’s not like you to talk much,” Ethan said, grinning.
“Shut up,” Chance said. “Let the man talk.”
“Kyra was on the porch when I walked outside,” I said.
“Wait, and you didn’t tell us?” Harper asked.
“She didn’t really look like she wanted to be bothered,” I said.
“Or you just wanted her all to yourself,” Rowan said.
“And this is the issue,” I said. “We have to come to some kind of compromise. All of us. Together. Kyra is hurting… more than we could ever imagine. And this dick-measuring competition and these accusations of who’s trying to get more time with her stops now. We can’t let Kyra keep going like this. She’s not gonna make it with the stress that’s on her shoulders now. We’re not important. Right now, Mark’s the only one who’s important.”
I heard all my brothers sigh while Harper started stacking everyone’s plates with food.
“I’ll make her a plate and keep it in the microwave,” Harper said.
“That’s a good idea,” Chance said.
“Should we leave her a note on the fridge saying it’s in there?” Ethan asked.
“I’ll write her one real quick,” Blake said.
“Gonna leave one of your fun book quotes on it?” Rowan asked, grinning.
“So, what if I do?” Blake asked. “The fuck’s your problem?”