Chapter 21: Briar

brIAR

Malachi leads me inside his room before letting go of my hand. "You can use my bathroom to get ready for bed. I'll use one of the guest bathrooms."

I bite my lip, wondering how I'm going to get ready for bed when I don't have any clothes or toiletries. Malachi notices my silence and raises a brow in question. "No need to be a showoff," I grumble, a little jealous I can't move my eyebrows independently.

A startled laugh bursts out of him. My lips tip up at seeing him laugh. Malachi can be almost as serious as Xander. "How am I a showoff?"

"The eyebrow thing," I tell him begrudgingly. Biting my lip again, I try to figure out what to say. "I don't have anything to change into to sleep in."

He smirks at me before striding over to his large walnut dresser. Malachi opens a drawer and pulls out a soft-looking black T-shirt. "Catch," he advises as he wads it up and throws it at me. Thanks to my fast reflexes, I don't get whacked in the face with his shirt. I aim a glare his way before uncrumpling the tee.

I don't know how I feel about sleeping in his shirt.

I snort internally. That's a lie. While I'll lie my ass off to others to keep Ava safe, I try to be honest with myself. In the spirit of honesty, I have to admit that I love the thought of sleeping in his shirt again. I'm wary of how much I like it, though. It's probably unhealthy how much I love being wrapped up in his scent, or Bastian's or Xander's.

Between wearing his shirt or sleeping in my uniform, the shirt wins hands down. Pants would be nice, though. "Do you have any PJ pants I can borrow?"

"None that will fit," he tells me with a shake of his head.

I sigh. "Alrighty. Guess I'll go get changed." I hitch a thumb over my shoulder to indicate the bathroom before hurrying toward it. My cheeks flame at my awkwardness.

When I close the door behind me, I rest my forehead against it. Today has been a day. Christ. That's the understatement of the century. I should freak out about telling them what Patrick does. I should freak out that they're the Wyldhart heirs. I should freak out about going home with them. I should freak out about a lot of things, but I'm just too tired. Briar of tomorrow can deal with everything after a good night's sleep. Hopefully I'm too exhausted to have nightmares tonight.

Turning around, I take in the spacious en suite. Slate tile floors compliment the dark wood vanity and calming dusty blue walls. There's a separate bathtub and shower, both of which are big enough to fit multiple people.

Looking at the dark gray granite counter, I see a wrapped toothbrush and travel-sized toothpaste sitting out for me.

It takes me less than ten minutes to brush and change. I don't expect anyone to be in Malachi's room yet when I open the door. Instead of an empty room, I see all three Wyldhart brothers in Malachi's massive bed. And they're all shirtless.

Are they pantless?

No, bad Briar. I do not need to be wondering if they're in just their boxers under the covers.

I stand there staring at them until Bastian asks, "You gonna stand there all night, pretty girl?" His blond head pops up to look at me over Malachi as he speaks.

"No. I'm just not sure where to sleep."

"Right here." Bastian pats the empty spot between him and Malachi.

My mouth pops open in surprise. They want me to sleep in the same bed as them? That sounds like a terrible idea. "Uh, I can just sleep in a guest room. I'm sure you have plenty of them."

"Nope, we're fresh out of guest rooms. You have to sleep in here," Bastian informs me with a cheeky smile.

My brows rise at that. I'm pretty certain he's lying. If they want me to sleep in the same room as them, I can take the couch. "I'll just sleep on the sofa."

Malachi lets out a sigh before fixing his midnight ocean blues on me. "Don't make me toss you over my shoulder and put you in bed myself."

I bristle at Malachi's threat.

Before I can say anything, Xander grouses, "Briar, get your ass over here. I'm tired and don't want to listen to you and Kai argue. Kai's going to win. Just save everyone time and get in the fucking bed." Xander's outburst stuns me into silence. I figured he would be on board with me sleeping somewhere else.

Hesitantly, I walk toward the foot of Malachi's massive bed. I smile softly as I take in Xander and Bastian. They're both on their sides with Xander behind Bastian. Xander has one arm wrapped under and around his twin's shoulders in a comforting embrace. Their sibling snuggling makes my chest ache. I know today dredged up bad memories for Bastian. He probably needs all the comfort he can get.

Xander notices my staring. "What?"

I wipe the smile from my face before responding, "Nothing."

"What, Briar?" Xander lifts onto his elbow to glare at me better.

"I just think it's sweet, is all," I tell him before he can get any angrier at me. "It's been an aggressively shitty day for all of us. I'd give almost anything to cuddle with Ava after the day I've had, so I get it."

Whenever Ava or I had a bad day, we'd pile into my bed with candy, chocolate, and popcorn. We'd snuggle and watch HGTV or Food Network competition shows that are so bad, they're good. If Ava had a nightmare, she'd crawl into my bed for comfort, too. I'd rub her back until she fell asleep like my mom used to do. She's spent more nights in my bed than her own, honestly. Patrick's house is excellent at breeding nightmares.

I miss both Ava and my mom so much it hurts.

"Oh," Xander says a little sheepishly for jumping down my throat. My lips tilt up in a half smile at his lack of an apology while I rub my chest, hoping it will ease the ache there.

"What's wrong?" Xander asks, noticing my hand pressing against my breastbone. I shake my head in answer, not wanting to tell him. "Briar, just tell me." His voice is thick with exasperation. I guess we've circled back to Xander's default setting when it comes to me.

"I just miss Ava is all," I whisper, throat tightening from the pain of it. I'm not ready to talk to them about my mom yet, so I give Xander a half-truth.

"I'm sorry," Xander tells me quietly. Because what else is there to say? Nothing he says can fix any of it. I stare at the ground, willing the tears pricking the corners of my eyes to go away. I won't cry in front of them. They already think I'm weak after seeing what Patrick does. Crying will just confirm that.

"You gonna get in bed, pretty girl? I won't bite, I promise. Unless you ask me nicely," Bastian says. I snort at his horribly corny line. Looking up, I see him grinning at me and waggling his eyebrows. The smile doesn't reach his deep green eyes, so I know he's trying to lighten the mood for my benefit.

Rolling my lips between my teeth, I contemplate whether to get in bed with them or insist on sleeping on the couch. With all my bruising, the bed is going to be so much more comfortable. It's just sleeping. The bed's gigantic, so I won't even have to touch them.

It'll be like a sleepover. With my three hot professors.

What could go wrong?

Sighing, I pull on my big girl panties and get in the bed. I walk on my knees across Malachi's super soft navy comforter. Bastian pulls back the covers for me, revealing more of his ripped torso. I try not to stare at all those muscles on display.

I fail.

Scrambling under the covers to avoid making eye contact with Bastian, I get situated and lie on my back. Malachi's bed is so soft and fluffy. This is probably what lying on a cloud feels like. I wish my bed were this comfortable.

"Turn over," Malachi rumbles while gently pushing my shoulder toward Bastian. Xander reaches over and turns off the light while Malachi speaks. It plunges the room into darkness, but I can still see everything fine. Pale moonlight spilling through the windows softly lights the room.

Huffing at Malachi's bossiness, I do as he says. As soon as I lie on my side, he scoots up behind me and spoons me. He settles his hand at the base of my throat with his forearm resting between my boobs. Malachi also shoves one of his thighs between my bent legs, nestling it against my sex.

My eyes widen at the feel of his strong leg against my core. I try to scoot away, but he tightens his hand on my throat, stopping my movement.

"Um," I start, unsure what to say. Please stop touching my pussy? Please rub your thigh against me harder?

Yeah, no. There's not a snowball's chance in hell I'm saying either of those.

"Stop moving. Go to sleep," Malachi grumbles with his face against my neck. His nose brushes my nape and his hot breath fans across the sensitive skin there. I still at his command. Bastian takes that opportunity to press against me from the front. He snags my hand and holds it between us. Xander scoots with Bastian. He stretches out his free hand to rest on my hip.

"Night, sweet girl," Bastian whispers to me and squeezes my hand.

"Night, Bastian."

"Good night, baby girl," Malachi rasps behind me.

"Night, Malachi."

"Good night, Briar," Xander mumbles from behind Bastian. My heart pangs uncomfortably at him using my name instead of an endearment.

"Night, Xander," I breathe, voice not even a whisper.

Smushed between the three of them, with each of them touching me in some way, it's going to be impossible to sleep, even with how safe they make me feel like this. After a few minutes, my eyelids feel so heavy I can't keep them open anymore. I close them and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.