“Why did you run?” Dean breaks the silence, his voice slightly shaky. “That night, you took off without a word.”
“I-I …” And suddenly, every single word fails me. I’ve run this moment through my mind so many times tonight, leading up to this, but I can’t form the words, let alone speak them. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Is it because of who we are? You kind of freaked out after that,” Asher admits, and Dean smacks his arm. “Sorry … you were caught off guard.” He rewords it nicely.
A smile twitches on my lips regardless of the discomfort coursing through me. It’s hard not to smile around them.
I’m not sure how honest I should be. If I tell them the truth—that I can’t be with them because of my stepmother or external circumstances—they won’t quit.
They’re stubborn, I’ve come to learn, and if I give them a crumb of a reason to fight, they will. I know it.
Which is why I’m going to lie.
“That night was great,” I start off, feeling the emotion heavily in my chest, bubbling up my throat. I avoid their gazes, looking between them and around the space. “It was everything I hadn’t known I was missing. You both are so goddamn incredible …”
“But,” Dean whispers.
“But …” I force the words out, each one harder than the last. “I don’t want anything else to happen again.”
Asher’s eyebrows furrow, and he studies me intently, his expression unwavering and stern. And then it softens completely, melting me to my core.
It’s written on his face—he doesn’t believe a single word I just said.
When he strides forward, I expect him to storm out of the gazebo and never look back, tired of dealing with a girl who won’t even tell him the truth.
But he doesn’t leave.
Instead, he walks past me before spinning around, planting himself straight behind me and blocking me in.
I take a deep breath and feel his chest and abs at my back, his fingertips finding the soft underside of my wrists.
His warm breath hits my ear, and my eyes drift shut.
A shiver snakes down my spine as he whispers, “You don’t feel anything for us, Princess?Really?”
Dean’s warmth greets my front, and my eyes fly open, immediately finding his hooded stare and smirk.
“You look like you’re feeling an awful lot right now, and we haven’t even touched you … yet.”
Being sandwiched between them is overwhelming. I can’t think clearly. I might not be able to think at all.
Dean’s long fingers slide under my chin, tilting my head up. With his proximity and his height, I have to crane my neck way back.
“Stop lying to yourself and to us. You don’t feel anything at all?”
“Not even when I do this?” Asher murmurs, his lips pressing against the shell of my ear.
That’s the only warning I have before his fingers dig into my hip and his tongue runs up the length of my neck, both hands now gripping my waist tightly.
A breathy whimper betrays me as my eyes flutter shut from the sensation. My sound is enough to pull me from my stupor. “I-I can’t.”
Mustering up every fiber of strength I have left, I slide out from between them and walk away from them, positioning myself against the far wall, opposite the exit.
Okay, so this was maybe a terrible plan since I’ll have to go through them to leave. But it doesn’t matter. I know the second I tell them to move aside, they absolutely will.
“Did we go too far?” Asher asks timidly, his eyes wide with worry.
“No, no. I wanted it. Don’t feel bad,” I assure him, confusing myself even more.
