5
Piper
There's a special place in hell for those who demand you come to them on such short notice. My nerves couldn't take it. Even with only a few short hours to prepare I had sweated through three shirts before I finally had to give up on trying to stay dry.
"Maybe you should stay naked until the car comes," Drake grabbed me by the waist and dragged me up against him. "Or better yet, I know just the way to relax you." He wagged his brow and his fingers playing with the strap of my bra.
"As fun as it sounds to watch you two get it on in front of me..." Rayne began from the bed as he flicked through his phone.
"Hey, no one said you had to just watch," Drake interjected, his hands cupping my ass through my jeans to grind his erection into me.
Rayne snorted. "As thrilling as the invitation is, I don't think showing up to meet the council smelling like sex is a good idea."
The bedroom door opened, and Darren appeared. "Are you almost ready?" He took one look at me in Drake's arms and pursed his lips. "We don't have time for whatever it is you're doing in here."
I grinned at him, clinging to Drake. "We weren't doing anything."
Darren arched a brow. "Uh-huh. I'm sure that's the case." He gave one more look at the lot of us before saying, "Get dressed," and left, closing the door behind him.
When he was gone, Drake returned to stroking and grinding against me, his lips finding the side of my neck. I let him for a moment before Rayne cleared his throat. I sighed. Pushing Drake's hands away from me, I stepped out of his arms.
"Unfortunately, Darren's right." I turned to the closet and grabbed the first thing I saw, a silk red sleeveless top. I moved to put it on, and Drake grabbed my hands. "What are you doing?"
"What if Darren's not right?" Drake stared down at me, the blouse between us. "Why don't we just forget the council and stay right here?"
"You can't be serious," I gaped at him, my brow furrowed. "We can't just not show up." I turned away from his grasp and pulled my shirt over my head.
"Why not?" Drake followed after me. "Why can't we just run away? Run away from all of this?"
Before I could answer, Rayne did.
"Because they would find us," he climbed off the bed and walked toward us. "If not the council, then the hunters. We can't just ignore our problems and hope they all go away. It doesn't work like that."
"And you would know, huh?" Drake snapped, he moved in close, so his height towered over Rayne. "You haven't met the council, I have. They did this for a reason and won't stop until they get what they want. Even if it means all of us are dead."
I understood Drake's concern. All of their concerns. They were afraid for me. And I was terrified for them. If I could tuck them all away to keep them safe from the hunters and the council I would. However, we tried that before and the hunters eventually found us. We couldn't keep running. We couldn't hide from our enemies. We had to stay and fight. Or at least, plead our case.
"Piper." Rayne glanced my way, not giving in to Drake's threat. "You've done enough already. It's our turn to protect you."
I huffed a laugh. "You're probably all wishing you'd left me to the master while you had the chance." I wrapped my arms around my middle and muttered, "Probably would have been a lot easier."
"No way," Drake stopped his huffing and puffing to take me by the hand. "We'd never change any of it. Not if it meant we didn't get to be with you." He lifted my hand to his mouth kissing the back of my hand. "No one liked that old coot anyway."
"Yeah," Rayne concurred. "The gnarly bastard was always on the death list. Even before you came into the picture. You just made it easier to kill him."
I cocked my head to the side and smiled. "You guys are so sweet."
"Alright, alright." Rayne lifted his hands and stepped back. "Enough with the kissy faces. Darren is out there debating how to light a fire under our asses.”
As one we moved toward the bedroom door. I reached for the doorknob, and it opened before any of us could. Darren looked up as the door opened. When he saw us, he paused.
"Oh, good. You're coming. At last."
"Did you ever doubt us?" I grinned and kissed him on the forehead before skipping past.
Rayne and Drake chuckled coming in close behind me. We all filtered down the hallway and toward the stairs. At the top of the stairs, Wynn waited, looking as tantalizing as ever.
"There she is," Wynn reached for me as we approached. "I was beginning to wonder if I would have to persuade you to come down, my love."