Was it possible that Abby’s father was truly responsible for causing all of these problems in town? Was he working for an escaped drug felon and spreading products throughout town to continue his business in the state of Alabama? And what did that mean for the way that Abby had been bullying me? Was that coincidental, or targeted? After all, it wasn’t exactly a secret that Wildberry Lane held a large amount, if not all, of the true power in the town that her father was possibly selling in.
I knew it seemed not nearly as important now, but I was even curious if it was possible to confirm that she was, in fact, the one sending all those messages. Had my instincts been correct? My head pulsed thinking about how much more my boys were going to want to know about my theory regarding her. Well, her and her brother, considering he had somehow known the guys had been keeping secrets.
They hadn’t been the only ones.
What would I say to my parents once they called about the disaster that had been yesterday? What would we say to the national media? My breathing went tight as anxiety began to poke through that numb barrier I had resurrected to deal with all of this.
Christ. Today was going to be a very long day.
So much for being positive, Dahlia.
“Bunny.” Yates’s sexy voice vibrated against my neck and caused me to still. I considered turning into him but let out a small squeak as he tightened his hold on me and nipped my shoulder, causing me to squirm against him in order to break free. Not that I really wanted that, but the idea of pushing Yates a bit was honestly sorta hot. I knew he wouldn’t like me trying to get away from him.
Proving my point, he bit down harder and let out a disapproving noise as his cock pressed against my butt and caused me to let out a soft moan. I attempted to hide my reaction, but his chuckle had me knowing I failed. I looked back at him, scowling, despite the blush lighting up my face and the way my entire body was broken into shivers. It was hardly fair that he affected me so much.
“What?” I asked, trying to sound indignant at his rough treatment of me but failing as his lips brushed along my neck, causing me to tilt it and expose myself further to his touch. I may have been honest with myself, admitting that I loved the way he handled me, but I would be damned if he knew the extent.
Which was why I had to find a way to get what I needed from him without directly asking. That ‘pushing’ concept didn’t seem far off… it hadn’t seemed to take a lot at his father’s office before he’d broken, so maybe the same principle could apply here? I wanted to ask him to kiss me more, to bite me more, literally just to touch me more, but I didn’t want to sound needy. Although, at least now I knew that my neediness for all of these men wasn’t bad or wrong, at least in their eyes.
How had I been the only one not aware of the fact that we had been essentially dating this entire time?Freakin’ boys.I swear. How I could be that oblivious was both embarrassing and infuriating, considering they had been completely on board.
My brow dipped as I once again went back to worrying about how I was going to explain this to my parents. I felt like stating that the guys and I were ‘dating’ was a gross misrepresentation of this situation and would probably confuse the heck out of them.
“I can hear you overthinking everything. Talk to me,” Yates murmured, a soft demand. His voice took on a gentler tone than normal, one that only existed in reference to me.
I turned into him, his grip loosening momentarily enough to allow me that, so I could curl against his chest and look up into his nearly metallic silver eyes. My leg rubbed against his as he brushed his nose against mine and let out a soft almost-hum from his throat. I felt dizzy at the action, the softness paired with the intensity between us making me wonder how we’d gone so long without kissing. I tilted my head back, offering my lips as he let out a soft groan and kissed me lightly.
It was teasing and light enough that I was clutching him to get closer. He smiled against me, locking me in place as the kiss turned a bit harder and more demanding. I whimpered as he pulled back, the searing action making me feel off balance as he flashed me that cocky smile I should have hated. Unfortunately, I did not.
How had I ever thought we could stay enemies? That was a horrible idea.
“Dahlia,” he said, his voice rough, “as much as I love kissing you, I need to know where your head is right now.”
“There is just so much I don’t understand,” I admitted. “I have a lot of questions.”
His hand slid up my jaw and into my hair as he offered a sexy, knowing smile. “You? Having questions? Shocking.”
I huffed, offering him a narrow-eyed look before sitting up and stretching my arms above my head. Yates let out a low, throaty sound, my gaze snapping to find his eyes tracing over the oversized shirt I slept in, the material nearly at my hips and my breasts pressed against the front, making it all too obvious how turned on I was. I felt my toes curl as his eyes darkened to nearly charcoal and his hand darted out to no doubt grab me. His attempt failed, much to his frustration, as I flashed him a smile and slipped from bed before he could catch me.
“Bunny.” His growl was low and dangerous as he sat up, the comforter falling to reveal his golden, muscular chest that was shown off by his unbuttoned dress shirt. It was a messier, sexier look than normal, and his platinum hair was unstyled and created an urge inside me to run my hands through it.
I stepped back from the bed and offered him a coy smile, trying to stop myself from giving into the desire to touch him, knowing I would never get answers if I did that.
“Shower,” I explained in a light voice.
Yates offered me a narrowed gaze before falling back on the bed, muttering something under his breath. He ran a hand over his face. “Fine. Back to bed after.”
“Bossy,” I sang, his lips twitching up in a smile as he offered me a look I didn’t fully understand. As if what I was saying was more accurate than I had intended it. I saved that thought for later, along with the fantasy of how else he could be bossy… specifically in the bed he was laying in.
Goodness, I really needed a cold shower.
Before I could turn for the en suite, my gaze fell on the rest of my room, the two-story tall space filling with light. It highlighted the cream walls, dark wood floors, and large arching windows, showcasing it in its best light, in my opinion. The plants that filled the space brought an earthy scent to the room that, paired with the humidity that came through the windows, left me with the feeling ofhome.That was what this room, this space, felt like. Home. It was a sanctuary from everything else outside of Wildberry Lane.
While I knew my six-estate community had its shadows, it was more comforting and safer than the exposed, raw ugliness that lived outside of our gates. Something that I was discovering more and more each day. I had never been so thankful for the privacy our lifestyle afforded us following such a large-scale social media attack. Unfortunately, I had no doubt that the national media would find out where we lived, but getting through the gates was a different story.
I was safe in Wildberry’s shadows, that I knew.
My heart squeezed tighter as a small surge of happiness and excitement ran through me, feeling almost alien after such a hard day. I couldn’t help it though. I hadn’t realized we weren’t alone in bed, and seeing the twins sleeping peacefully on the other side of Yates left me with a feeling of contentment and a sense of this situation beingright.This was how it was supposed to be.