Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Imogen

Here I was, feeling too raw, too needy, and holding a box that contained my sex toys, none of which I intended to happen today. Make some dinner for the nice man who was going to swap out my door, then try and create a home from the apartment I'd rented, that was my plan. Instead, I just stood there, heart racing as I clutched the box hard. These guys were perfect, guardian angels come to life, and that had me on edge, no matter what they had to say about it.

"Did you want the books out here or in your bedroom, Imogen?"

My stash of smut books? I shoved my box into the top cupboard of my new wardrobe, the stale smell of old wood making me wince, before I slammed the door shut and then emerged into the lounge room.

"I…"

Lucas had picked up the box, because of course he had, and there in all its lurid glory was one of my faves. A sassy looking girl wearing a whole lot of leather stood, all airbrushed and perfect, a massive black wolf at her feet, and he was studying it like it was the Mona Lisa.

"I'll put them in the spare room," I said, moving to take the box from him, but his hands dug in.

"You… like this kind of thing?"

"Paranormal romance?" All the hesitation went out of me at the sound of his voice. Mike and his mates teased me mercilessly for my taste in books, but it was a hill I was ready to die on. "Damn straight I do. A world where women find their fated mate, the one guy meant for her, and then he spends his life looking after her, him and his animal protecting her, making sure she has super orgasms?" I shrugged, finally wrestling the box free. "What's not to like? Guys like porn movies, girls like porn books where the heroes are everything men aren't."

I stepped back.

"Sometimes a girl needs the promise of a happily ever after, and if that comes in the form of a werewolf or a werebear, I'm OK with that. There was a were-eagle once, though that was a little weird. The dragon ones were kinda hot."

"Dragons?"

Asher asked that in a dark tone.

"A big fuck off beast that can flambé a girl's enemies?" I was on a roll now, the words spewing out. "One with that weird dick attachment that stays locked inside the heroine until she has multiple orgasms? You have to admit, that's kinda hot. What can I say?" I stood tall, surveying the lot of them, all three men staring now. "If I had to choose between a man or a bear, I'd choose the bear any day of the week. I'd either get mauled to death quickly or he'd shift in front of me into something a whole lot nicer than some bloke."

I hoisted the box higher in my arms.

"Look, each box is labelled for the room its supposed to go in. If you just dump the boxes into the right rooms, I can sort out the contents from there."

"We can help—" Lucas said finally.

"And then I'll never know where you've put things. This is fine." I went and put the box in the spare room and returned. "It'll be a big help getting those heavy boxes put into place." He wanted to argue, so I put my hands on my hips. "If you're a good boy and do as you're told, I'll lend you one of my books. It'll teach you how to be the perfect boyfriend when you find Miss Right."

And she was out there, I had to remind myself as I returned back to the spare room, opening the box and slotting books into the wardrobe shelves. Some woman with a lot less baggage than me, literally. I pushed thoughts of the guys' prospective partners to one side as I went to work.

One of the worst things about living with Mike was feeling like I had to hide my books. I'd found the covers torn off, crude caricatures drawn over the illustrations when I'd woken up after he'd had his buddies around for the night. Then came the comments. They all had a helluva lot to say for a group of men who didn't do much other than binge drink and work.

I'd learned to sneak them into our place, hide them under the bed or in a cupboard, because god knew that Mike never looked inside one of them with any sort of care, but now… Now I lined my pretties up one by one inside the cupboard, remembering each storyline, but more than that, how each had made me feel. That drove the weird emptiness of the room out, the stale stink of old wood. Book after book was slotted into place, the box I'd stacked them in broken down flat only for me to walk back into a dance party.

The tinny sounds of a phone speaker played some track that was popular twenty years ago, and I had to laugh as I watched Kyle bump and grind his way through the dishes. He handed each one to a frankly bemused Lucas who wiped it and then put it away in my new kitchen cupboards. Kyle moved curiously well, his hips as mobile as a snake's as he thrust against the sink, then went to work scrubbing the pots.

"So do you always have a dance party when doing the dishes?" I asked.

Asher emerged from the bathroom, obviously having left a box in there.

"This is your housewarming," Kyle replied, and when his eyes met mine, I took a step backwards. That smile, that intent gaze told me something I really didn't want to deal with.

"No…" He shimmied on over to me. "No…" I waved my hands in the air, but he grabbed them and pulled me forward, his palms damp from the sink water. "No housewarming. No dancing." He paid me no mind, spinning me out effortlessly before pulling me back in.

I was reminded then of why I never went to school dances, because I could never just relax. His hands landed on my hips, helping them swivel along with his, but it felt like my body didn't know how. I was stiff, awkward, weird, feeling like every eye was on me as he slid in behind me, wrapped my arms around his neck and took over.

As Lucas and Asher watched.

There was something so perfectly still about the two of them. They reminded me of the way big cats watched their prey, right before they struck. I was no spindle-legged antelope out on the plains, instead lumbering around the lounge room like a baby elephant, right until Kyle spun me out and into Lucas.

"Oh god, sorry!" I yelped as I collided with the other man. "I suck at this. I'm?—"

"Not sorry."

Lucas pulled me close, his body shifting from side to side, like this was a slow dance, not some bouncy pop song on the radio. He stared down at me, and my eyes couldn't help but fall to his lips, remembering the way they'd felt. He was right and I was wrong, it was too soon, so why did it take everything I had not to go back for more? As if sensing that, Asher cut in, grabbing my hand and pulling me free, but what I didn't expect was this. For him to cradle me against his chest, his mouth going to my ear.

"Do you want this to stop?" His tone was quiet and tense at the same time, as if asking me this cost him something. "You don't look like you're super comfortable."

For a moment, my mind fought to formulate an answer. His size, his presence, the feel of a strange man's body against mine all competed for my attention. No, not just a man. It would take me 2.5 seconds to push myself away from Phil if he grabbed me. I was pressed against a strange, attractive man's body. I sucked in a breath of his piney scent and then pushed myself away with a smile.

"Not much of a dancer," I said. "Two left feet, but my hands work just fine. Thanks for upgrading the door and installing the security system, but I better get a start on unpacking."

This was an invitation for him to leave, for all of them, but they didn't, not even when I scurried off into the bathroom, putting make-up and toiletries away in the drawers. Instead, they took the boxes I emptied, breaking them down with all the ones the security equipment came in until they formed a neat pile by the door. We all moved now to the beat of the songs played on Kyle's phone, but this dance was far more productive than the one from before, and it was one I knew how to do well. I emerged with the last box to find the kitchen sparkling, all my groceries put away along with the bags, and all the rubbish removed. I was done and that had me blinking at the three of them.

"That's everything," I announced, something that was redundant because they could all see that.

"We'll dispose of the boxes and rubbish," Asher told me. "And one of us will be just downstairs."

"I'm on Imogen-watch duty tonight," Kyle said with the kind of impish grin that made me think it wasn't such a chore.

"You're going to sleep in your car?" Shut up , a small voice inside my head said. Shut the hell up . "There's a perfectly good bed in the spare room. I mean it's got some weird stains on the mattress but…"

Yeah, I should've taken my own advice and stayed quiet.

"Are you comfortable with that?" Suddenly Kyle was a lot more serious.

"I mean, yeah. Giving you a bed to sleep in if you're determined to keep an eye on my place, keep me safe, seems like the least I can do." I was talking too much, explaining stuff that didn't need explaining, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. "I'll grab some sheets."

"Kyle will keep an eye on things tonight," Asher informed me. "Do you have work tomorrow?" I nodded. "We'll be there at the end of your shift. Share your schedule with Kyle in the morning before you leave."

"Right. Right."

They weren't friends, they weren't really guests, so I wasn't sure what to do with them, walking Lucas and Asher to the door as they hoisted the flattened boxes into their arms with little effort.

"Sweet dreams."

I felt skittish around Lucas, that kiss an almost tangible presence between us, but he pushed it aside as he came closer. My eyes widened as he leaned in, my tongue flicking over my bottom lip as if readying myself for what was to come, but instead of another searing kiss, I got a small one pressed to my cheek. The skin flamed bright red at my misread of the situation, but his shy smile helped alleviate my fears.

Instead, I was grinning like a goddamn idiot as he was dragged out the door by a dour Asher. When I turned around, it was to find Kyle waiting there for me to organise his bedding, so I dove into the linen cupboard, pulling out blankets and pillows. I shoved them into his arms, as if this would make things less awkward, but he just smiled.

"So how're we feeling, Imogen? I'm happy to sleep downstairs in the car if that'll make you feel more comfortable."

No, I wanted to snap, grabbing his arm and holding him right where he was. Anything other than being left alone in an unfamiliar place. Instead, I kept things light.

"Me?" I looked around, the clash of familiar belongings in an unfamiliar place still a little jarring, but that would ease, I was sure of it. "I'm feeling… hopeful. Yeah, hopeful. Good night."