I loved living on the edge—and beyond it.
“Ohmyholyfuckingfuckfuck,” he grumbled. “You’re gonna fucking kill me, aren’t you?”
“At least you’ll come back to life,” I said on a chuckle, as if joking about our recent life-and-death issues was completely normal. Then again, I’d never been normal. And hadn’t Griffin admitted to feeling the exact same way just before he drove off the cliff near Raven’s Lagoon?
Neither one of us was normal, and that wasbeforewe discovered we were probably immortal.
Roughly, he yanked down the neckline of my camisole and hooked it under a breast. I was expecting—nay, fuckingneeding—his tongue and teeth on it, likestat, when he pressed up onto a hand just to … stare, apparently.
“I need the lights on,” he grumbled. “I need to see you.” He actually tried to loosen the grip of my legs to get up.
“Unh-unh,” I murmured. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to see you like this.” He pushed up onto his other hand as well. “Wait, fuck, is that a shitty thing to admit to? We were supposed to be just friends all this time, and I went and—”
“I went and fell for you too, you know,” I interjected. “And the others are apparently okay with it.”
“Yeah, they actually are.”
“So then, what are we waiting for?” Though it was dark, he was still staring at my boob. “Do you have nighttime vision you never told me about or something?”
He snorted and laughed a deep rumble, but he didn’t look away from the plump outline of my full breast. “No, I wish—fuck do I ever wish. I’ve just been picturing your titties in my head for so long, and now that they’re right here in front of my face, I need to fucking see them. I need to see if I imagined them just right. I know they’re totally perfect.”
“They totally are.” I wove my hands around his head, threading through his hair, preparing to bring it down to my straining nipple with a snarky comment about him doing his studying later, when—
Knuckles rapped at the door—a quickknock-knock—and the door cracked open.
Griffin scrambled off me so fast it was like our parents had caught us in the act. He was already lying beside me, both our chests heaving, when I quickly jerked my cami back into place and pulled the covers over both of us.
“Hey, Joss?” Layla’s tentative voice called through the gap in the door.
“Yeah?” I said, wanting to kick myself for sounding so breathy.
But Layla only pushed the door open all the way. “Oh good. I was worried you’d be asleep already. Is Griff with you?”
“Yep.” Anything more than monosyllables would give me away.
She turned to speak to Brady or Hunt, whoever was waiting behind her on the other side of the door. “They’re both in here.”
Then she, Brady,andHunt waltzed into my room. Layla jumped on the other side of the king bed and hollered, “Cuddle puddle!”
While Brady and Hunt were dragging twin mattresses in behind them, Layla bent down to whisper in my ear, “It’s been a lot lately. They don’t want to admit it, but the guys need a sleepover.”
I mightlovelove Griffin, and I might be lying there wet for his hard-on still within easy reach, but I loved Layla, Brady, and Hunt too.
I could all too easily understand their need for the bonding sleepovers we hadn’t shared in too long.
When life was shit, we drew even closer together. Crew forever.
So I did the only thing I could do when Hunt, ever observant, hesitated at the sight of Griffin already beside me in the bed. I echoed Layla’s call and shouted, “Cuddle puddle!”
11
It Reeks of Stardom
Istirred from a sleep so deep I couldn’t immediately tell what was happening. The room was dim, and I was cozy. Here—I remembered—I was safe.
Warmth pressed along my back. Probably Bobo. He knew he was supposed to remain at the foot of the bed, but my sweet boy liked snuggles. As much as I focused on consistency in his training, this was one area where I was lenient. I liked snuggling my pittie too much.
