I was staring at her while she ate. I kept telling myself not to be so fucking creepy, but I couldn’t help it.
And Syn, of course, noticed. There was a flush to her cheeks and she kept catching us staring every time she lifted a spoon to her mouth. Had she always been so hot while she was eating? I was sporting a woody watching her sip her soup.
That was kind of…weird.
She cleared her throat and had just opened her mouth to say something when a blur of movement burst past me and Syn was almost tackled out of her chair. I reared out of my seat, calming only slightly to see that it was Eliza who had her arms wrapped around Syn.
I ignored the fact that my skin was itching seeing Eliza touch her. Evidently, my line where I shared Syn with others only extended around my brothers.
I was proud of my self-control, because after a minute that felt like an eternity, Hendrix barked, “That’s enough.”
Eliza jumped back from Syn, terrified.
“Let her eat,” he commanded more gently, or at least he tried more gently. The fierce scowl on his face probably wasn’t giving off those vibes.
Eliza got the message though, and she scurried out of the room.
“She’s my friend,” Syn chided, her chin upturned in that stubborn way that I loved.
“We’re going to be territorial for a while, love,” I explained, pushing the bread bowl towards her since she’d lost far too much weight in our separation. “It’s an alpha thing.”
Hendrix snorted, and I winked at her. Because we all knew that possessiveness wasn’t something that would just go away. But I could pretend, right?
Syn seemed shy as she ate, casting us furtive glances as we continued to watch her.
River grew more sullen and withdrawn as the meal progressed for some reason, and as soon as he finished dessert, he stood up and excused himself from the table, striding out of the room without a glance back.
She watched him, with hurt and confusion marring her gorgeous features. River might need to talk to her about his issues…
Nighttime was falling rapidly, and I knew she was probably tired. But I was desperate for more time with her.
“Want to take a walk?” I asked, soaking in the warmth of her answering smile.
She nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
I moved to her chair and held out my arm. She stood up and linked arms with me.
Hendrix stared at us grumpily. “You got your alone time with her already,” I jabbed haughtily. “And I’m sure you used it.”
That perked him right up, I’m sure thinking of the hot sex he’d had with her most likely the moment he’d seen her again.
Or at least that’s what I would have been doing. I was hard just thinking about it. All of my instincts were telling me to do it now, but I was trying to be a gentleman.
We would see how long that lasted.
Hendrix huffed as he stood up from the chair and sauntered over to where we were standing. He gave me a wink before abruptly pulling Syn away and laying the deepest, wettest, most erotic kiss I’d ever seen on her lips. She moaned, pressing into him.
And I didn’t even try to be discreet as I adjusted myself, growing harder just from watching her get so turned on.
I was really debating if our walk needed to end in the bedroom.
I coughed loudly when Hendrix’s hand slid up her shirt. Syn pulled away from him and glanced at me sheepishly. I chuckled at the dark blush to her cheeks. What was she going to do when we started taking her at the same time? I didn’t know if River was going to be into it, but I could see Hendrix and I playing that game.
Fuck. Okay. We needed to go on that walk.
I wrapped an arm around Syn’s waist and led her to the exit, holding a middle finger up above my head so Hendrix could know exactly how I felt about his little show.
Asshole.
We made it outside and Syn threw her head back, inhaling deeply. “I’d forgotten how good it smelled here. The city was so…”
“Noxious. Annoying. Smelly?” I offered, cheering at the laugh she gave me.
“Well, it certainly didn’t smell like flowers.”
Vulnerability gripped my insides suddenly at the faraway look in her gaze. I knew she was thinking about her time in the city.
“Will you miss it?” I asked tentatively, trying to withstand the urge to grab her, haul her over my shoulder, and lock her in a room somewhere with me so she couldn’t ever leave.
She cocked her head, deep in thought as she stared at the waves as we got to the path on the edge of the compound that looked out over the water. “I think something’s wrong with me,” she finally said. “Because I don’t think I will.”
“Why do you think something’s wrong with you?”
She shot me a look, like it was obvious. But I didn’t see anything wrong with her falling for me…and my brothers. I was quite happy about that, in fact.
“You know as well as I do that I didn’t exactly come to this place under the most ordinary of circumstances.”
“Hmm. I’ll have to make a note in my journal that kidnapping isn’t considered normal in your eyes.”
She shot me a glare, and I winked, loving how her blush extended down her neck and all over her pretty chest.
Don’t think about her boobs, Caspian.
“A normal person would hate you, all of you. But I think—” her voice trailed off and she frowned, biting her lip like she was trying to hold her words in.
I slid my hands up her arms and gently turned her towards me, unable to keep my words in, even if she was trying not to say it.
“I love you, Emersyn,” I murmured. Her eyes lit up in wonder, and doubt, like she didn’t think someone was capable of loving her. “I love every part of you.” I leaned forward and kissed a freckle on her cheek. “I love this.” I kissed her collarbone. “And this.” I slid down to my knees and kissed her stomach. “And this…” I said once more before gently pressing a kiss through her shorts in between her legs.
Her breaths were labored, her gaze tracking my movements as I stood and laid a kiss over her heart. “And I definitely…love this.”
A tear slid down her cheek and I kissed it away reverently, feeling like my heart was going to explode with how much fucking emotion I was experiencing.
It reminded me slightly of the Grinch character in that Christmas book; hadn’t his heart grown a few sizes?
Mine felt like it had grown at least that much, if not more.
“I—” A slight sob burst out of her chest before she cleared her throat and stood up straighter. “I love you too, Caspian.” She pressed against me, her entire body quivering. I wasn’t much better. I was struggling with the overflow of emotion.
I’d never said I love you to anyone else. I tried to think if anyone had ever said it to me. Definitely not my brothers—they struggled with emotion just as much as I did. And obviously not my bastard father—may his soul rest in hell.
Had my mother loved me? When I thought of her, there was just a blurry face and a warm feeling.
Nothing like this.
It was like my soul had begun existing outside my body.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” I murmured. And she sighed as my arms draped around her and lifted her towards me.
* * *