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There was no way to tell how long I’d slept for. After days of traveling, little sleep, and the emotional roller coaster I’d been on, exhaustion had dragged me under. Not to mention the release Alden and Torque had given me before they’d tucked me into my bed.
The small lamp was on, its dim light glowing through the darkness. I turned in Torque’s arms and peered over his shoulder. Alden and Keller were sitting on another bottom bunk, side by side, going over paperwork. They were speaking in hushed tones and I could see that Rush was asleep in the bunk above them.
I had just closed my eyes again, content to fall back asleep in Torque’s protective hold when my phone’s alarm went off. It startled me so badly, I sat up.
Stars floated in front of my eyes as my head smacked into the bars of the bunk above me. I gasped and rubbed my forehead.
“Fuck, Kitten. You okay?” Torque asked, sitting up while still hunching enough to ensure he didn’t do the same thing I had.
“I’m fine,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure why since all three of the other men were watching us. The sound of my skull connecting with metal had even woken Rush. My cheeks heated and I felt like crawling under the blankets and never coming out.
Scrambling over Torque, I slipped from my bed and grabbed my bag. My phone was in the front pouch and I turned the alarm off. Taking my bag, I left the men and went over to another area to use the bathroom. It was just past sunset. I wanted the chance to clean up before settling in for bed.
I locked the door and set my bag on the floor. Staring into the mirror, I gave myself a stern look. “If you want them all, you need to tell them.” It was time to talk some sense into myself. That was easy enough to do while I was in the bathroom alone. The thought of coming out and telling four men that I wanted to be in a relationship with all of them was scary as hell. I couldn’t just wait for them to walk in on me fucking each of them one by one and see if they’d join in. Well, I could, but…no.
Sighing, because I knew I didn’t have the courage to tell them yet, I filled up a small paper cup with some water and took my birth control pill. I’d brought enough to last me a few months out here. I didn’t expect that we’d be on the mission for that long, but you never knew.
I pulled fresh clothes and a towel from my backpack and started up the shower. It was a small space so thankfully it was only the five of us using it. If Keller stuck to the plan—and he would because he was neurotic like that—we’d be leaving early in the morning. It was best for me to take a shower now, rather than try to do so in the morning when the guys were going to be using it.
The water ran down over me, it was lukewarm and barely a trickle, but it was hot inside our area. There was an AC, but it wasn’t keeping up very well with the heat, even at night.
I finished up my shower and hurried back to the sleeping area. Torque was passed back out and the others had gone to bed as well, though they left the light on for me. Torque had rolled over toward the wall, so I crawled into my bunk and clicked the light off.
* * *
The men shuffling around wokeme the next morning. I was careful about sitting up this time, and sat rubbing my bleary eyes as they hustled around.
Alden dropped into a squat next to me. “Get dressed. We’re leaving in twenty minutes.” He gave me a quick peck on the lips and before my brain had enough time to respond he was gone.
I stood up and stretched, then peeked around. All the guys had left, so I stripped where I stood and pulled on the tan pants and t-shirt the guys had given me. It fit well, but wasn’t the most flattering thing I’d ever worn. Out here, it was better that way. I didn’t want to call attention to myself, unless it was from my teammates. I had more than enough attention coming from them, I couldn’t handle any more just yet.
Not to mention they might rip someone in half for taking an interest in me.
Pulling my hair back into a tight bun, I tugged on a tan baseball cap. It was better if I looked more like a man while we traveled, so I’d keep my hair hidden unless we were at our camp.
It didn’t take me long before I stepped out of the containers that had been our temporary housing. Stopping in shock, I stared at the camels that were shifting impatiently next to the group of men.
“Where did you get those?” I asked as I walked up to them.
“There’s a guy selling them not too far from here,” Alden told me. “Had one of the soldiers drive us over to get them. Great pack animals. They’ll be able to haul us and all our gear.”
I silently looked down the line. There were four loose who had saddles and reins, and three who were already loaded up with supplies. “Am I going to be walking?” I asked, tone dry as I looked back at the group.
“You’ll be riding with us,” Keller said, not looking up from a paper in his hands.
My eyes narrowed on him. “Why?”
That had him looking up. “Because I said so.”
Now my eyebrows shot all the way up. “I’m not a child, Keller. I’m a part of this team.”
“I’m aware of that,” he replied with a wry expression.
I didn’t miss the way his eyes skated over my body. Maybe Alden knew something I didn’t. His words from yesterday echoed in my mind. My men. The guys had been right, Keller seemed to have relaxed a little since we’d left the U.S. He hadn’t bitten my head off in nearly forty-eight hours. A new record. Something about being over here had changed both Keller and Alden.
“Then why can’t I ride on my own?”
“We need the other three camels to carry this one’s luggage,” he said, pointing at Alden.
