Page 62 of Hearts Storm

Deep down, I know what she’s saying is true. Now I just need to find the right time to do it. Not to mention my fucking balls. I’m going to need them.

Hopefully, I won’t lose them again in the process.

twenty-seven

“Outta my way, boys!”

The sound of Sasha’s voice drags me from the dark abyss of sleep, bouncing off the walls, getting louder as she makes her way down the hall.

Groggily, I sit up just as my door bursts open and Sasha, Noia, and Lizzy plow into my room.

“Sorry,” Lizzy sounds sheepish, but her expression tells me she’s anything but. “I told them what happened.”

“Logan said you were okay, and that you needed more rest, but we had to see for ourselves,” Sasha says, tone full of concern.

“How did you even get in here?” I ask, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

“Brex,” Lizzy says, perching on the edge of my bed. “He seemed worried about you. Logan tried to keep us from bugging you, but Brex talked him out of it.”

“Yeah, after you threatened to cut off his balls and toss them into the woods,” Noia snickers.

Lizzy’s face splits into an evil grin. “Anything for my girls.”

“Everyone’s worried about me,” I mumble. My head throbs as I run a hand over my tangled hair in an attempt to smooth it.

“I can’t believe you almost got crushed by a tree,” Noia exclaims, settling onto the chair at my desk. “That must have been terrifying.”

“It all happened so fast,” I admit as memories of the sound of cracking wood and how Brex’s body felt shielding mine come flooding back. “One second we were slugging through the mud, and the next I was on the ground with a giant pine tree inches from my face. Brex yanked me out of the way just in time.”

“He saved you?” Sasha asks, eyes wide with interest.

My cheeks warm. “Yeah.”

“That’s so hot,” Noia grins.

“What’s that look on your face?” Lizzy asks, studying me with a pair of sharp green eyes so much like her brothers, it’s kind of wigging me out.

“What look?” I scoff, trying to play it off. But my words only manage to sound incredulous as heat crawls traitorously up my neck and into my cheeks.

“One that says something else happened out there,” Sasha replies, plopping down on the bed next to Lizzy. “Spill.”

My throat tightens. How do I explain what happened between Brex and me without making it sound like I’m betraying Logan? Or like I’m some kind of hussy who’s messed around with both men?

“Nothing happened,” I lie, voice pitching into another stratosphere.

“Yeah, right.” This comes from Noia. “I might believe you...” She tilts her head, studying me closely. “...if your face and neck didn’t match the color of my favorite lipstick.”

I groan, dropping my face into my hands. “Fine. We kissed, okay? It was the adrenaline. It didn’t mean anything.”

The silence that follows is deafening. When I look up, all three of them are staring at me with varying degrees of shock.

“Brex kissed you?” Lizzy parrots.

“Yes,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “It just... happened. We were lying there in the aftermath, and he was on top of me⁠—”

“On top of you?” Sasha’s eyebrows shoot up.

“He saved me!” I quickly clarify. “He was shielding me with his body.”