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“Yeah. Me too.”
“G
ood.” He kissed me again, then slapped my ass. “Now let’s go get Lach and Merrick before they accuse me of trying to steal you away from them.”
We slipped from his room and made our way down the hall, stopping first at Lachlan’s room. I knocked loud enough to wake him without disturbing the whole hall, but he must not’ve been sleeping yet, because footsteps started immediately toward the door.
As he opened it and caught sight of me, his eyes lit with heat, and a slow grin spread across his face. Then his gaze shifted over to Trace and a frown of jealousy sparked.
I rolled my eyes. These guys had all agreed to share—and judging from Lach’s response as they’d all made out with me in the cave, he’d been one hundred percent into it—but I had a feeling old habits died hard.
To be honest, I really did wish I was just here for sex. But I wasn’t. The reason for this late-night visit was far worse, and unfortunately, far more important than me getting laid.
“Down, boy,” I whispered. “No fighting, remember? We need to talk to you.”
Lachlan’s brows pulled together. “What? Now?”
“Yeah. It’s important. Let’s go to Merrick’s room.” I jerked my head down the hall. “He needs to be in on this too.”
Lachlan sighed and shut the door behind him, his jealousy seeming to fade as he took in the grim expression on my face. As quietly as we could, we hustled down the corridor to Merrick’s room.
My hand hesitated as I raised it to knock. Of all the men, Merrick was the one I was most nervous about approaching again. Over the past week, I had basically pulled a repeat of what I’d done the first time we’d dated, pulling away with no explanation and essentially ghosting him.
Would he forgive me like Trace and Lachlan had?
Before I could lose my nerve entirely, I rapped twice on the hard wood, then held my breath as we waited for Merrick to answer. The two warm, solid bodies beside me soothed me though, and I could feel Lach and Trace shifting closer to me as if they could sense my nervousness.
When Merrick opened the door, his eyes didn’t immediately light with heat the way Lachlan’s had. He looked like he’d been asleep too, although he seemed less groggy than Trace had been. Then again, that was just Merrick. He always seemed put together, confident, and controlled, even when he’d just woken up.
His gaze shifted over the three of us, his brows drawing together. “Is there a slumber party I wasn’t told about?”
“If there is, I call big spoon.”
Without waiting for an invitation, Lachlan strolled inside. Trace followed, keeping his fingers interlaced with mine. I kept my gaze on Merrick as I stepped over the threshold, searching desperately for a sign of how he was feeling.
“So, sweetheart.” Lachlan leaned against Merrick’s dresser, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are ye going to tell us what this is all about? What’s up?”
Tugging my attention away from Merrick, I let go of Trace’s hand and stepped into the middle of the room. Then I glanced between Merrick and Lachlan, filling them in on what Trace and I had talked about.
“It’s been on my mind ever since we got back from the challenge,” I concluded. “Something is weird here. I don’t know if Chetna or Knox feel like this, but I had to know if you guys do. Trace doesn’t think I’m crazy. What about you two?”
Merrick had settled into a chair by the desk along one wall, and now he slumped back in his seat, running a hand through his hair. All the guys had shaved as soon as they’d gotten back to the academy, but I noticed he had a shadow of stubble along his jaw.
His expression was serious as he turned to face me. “I don’t think you’re crazy, Aria. I wish you would’ve talked to us about this from the start though. Trusted us.”
I chewed on my lip, my heart thudding hard in my chest. But I didn’t look away. A surge of hope was slowly rising in my chest.
Merrick was talking to me. Despite my cowardice, he hadn’t written me off entirely.
And he had said “us.”
That was what the four of us were. Us.
We were more than a team. More than partners.
Things I’d never known I wanted but was beginning to crave with my whole soul were within my reach, right there in front of me if I was brave enough to grab hold of them.
If I was brave enough to risk my own heart too.
