Chapter Six

JAMESON

A s the door closes, an awkward silence fills the space. Not wanting to risk scaring her off, I bow dramatically to Rue, giving her my most charming smile. "Welcome to our humble abode. It would be our pleasure to show you around the place."

Unable to tear my eyes off her for even a second, I peer up at her from under my lashes. Her grateful smile is so dazzling that I straighten and take a step toward her, barely stopping myself from reaching out to touch her, as if I could capture her joy.

I smirk when I notice the guys wearing the same poleaxed expression that is most likely on my face—like they've been beamed with a baseball bat—and I barely resist the urge to rub my hands together with glee.

We're heading off to our first year of college in a few weeks. Though the guys swear we're a family and that we'll always stay together, I know from experience that family isn't forever. They'll slowly drift away. It will start with a party here and a girlfriend there, then soon, we'll barely see each other once a week.

I won't survive losing another family, and I suspect a few of the others feel the same. We need something to tie us together and forge us into a family besides our tragic pasts. I've desperately searched for the elusive puzzle piece for the last six months and started to lose hope…until her.

Rue.

I'm not sure why I didn't realize the answer right away, or maybe my brain was waiting for the perfect woman who would fit each of us. My brother and I share a woman every once in a while when he gets the urge to fuck, but none of the others have ever been so inclined. We all have our own tastes and kinks. I wouldn't have thought we would ever agree on a single woman, but now that the spark of an idea has taken root, I can't get it out of my head.

It's the perfect plan.

I just have to convince the others of it as well.

Ellis is a secretive fucker. He never brings girls around the house. It's not that he's shy, but I suspect he might have more kinks than even Hicks, but I don't judge. Speaking of Hicks, he is a possessive asshole…if he ever allows himself to get attached.

Gunner likes getting down and dirty. For him, sex is just an itch to scratch. He has fuck buddies he calls when he's in the mood. If you ask me, I think he's terrified to get close to a woman, afraid he might follow in his father's footsteps, which is stupid as fuck.

The guy doesn't have a brutal bone in his body. He rarely indulges in even one beer, drinking it like a damn sippy cup, and he wouldn't touch drugs with a ten-foot pole. The only thing he and his old man have in common is their size, and both of them are massive. While his dear old fucktwat of a father loved to swing at his mother and son, Gunner takes his rage out in the ring.

He's a veritable machine when facing an opponent. If he didn't need the money, I suspect he would leave it behind in a second. Despite looking the fiercest of us, he's the gentlest. He'll release spiders outside and shoo away flies. He's just not capable of cruelty. Too bad he doesn't believe it.

Jace is nearly as bad. Though he enjoys women, I think they intimidate him, or maybe he just doesn't think they're worth the effort. He just doesn't seem to care…though he never turns down the chance to share a woman with me when I offer.

Having our mother run off with another man and leave us behind fucked him up. He's not comfortable around women in a one-on-one situation. I'm not sure if he's afraid they will leave or if he refuses to allow himself to feel anything for them, other than a fleeting release during sex. He's more than happy to use his own hand if the need arises, the weird fucker.

Now me, I'm the man whore of the group, and I freely admit it.

My cock is like a dowsing rod for the opposite sex, and I go where it leads.

It's no secret that I love women. Big or small, tits or flat chested, dark hair, red hair, or blonde, they fascinate me. Even their scents draw me to them like a bee to a flower, demanding that I take a taste.

I love the way I can make them feel, love when they look at me like I'm a god.

The women know the score before I place my hands on them, and despite my reputation, they seek me out. Many of the men in their lives don't live up to their fantasies, so I show them how they should be treated.

I worship them like they are goddesses come to life.

I've had more than one woman ask me to take their virginity just because they wanted it to be memorable and enjoyable. You'd be surprised how many men don't know how to use their cocks correctly.

When I find a good woman, I'll share her with Jace, but that's as far as I will take things with a girl.

I don't do relationships.

Why settle for one when there are so many women in the world?

I never understood monogamy when more is just so much better.

Yes, I'm a man whore.

I don't care.

Don't get me wrong, I do have standards. I don't steal a woman who's already claimed. I also avoid any girl the guys might like. I run hard and fast when I encounter those who are a little too needy or clingy or obsessive, and I don't prey on the weak or abused.

My trysts are always consensual.

It's an absolute must that a woman is willing.

No coercion.

Full stop.

I can't stand a man who has to ply a woman with wine to get them into bed. It's a pet peeve of mine, and I've stolen more than one girl away to protect her, but I never sleep with them after, not that anyone would believe that. Instead, I lecture them about self-worth and self-respect and that they can do better before releasing them back into the wild.

Otherwise, I don't care where or how I get my dick wet, but something tells me that was before I met Rue.

There is something about her, some otherworldly quality that I can't place.

She's the type of woman who would ruin a man, but they would still go to her willingly. As she wanders farther into the house, I lean back against the door and watch her completely destroy the men without even trying. Though she has an innocent air, she oozes sex appeal that has the guys panting after her like dogs.

When they saunter into the kitchen, Hicks showing her around the house, I slowly lock the door, the bolt sliding home with a finality that thuds in my chest. Maybe a smart man would run in fear, but anticipation heats my blood better than any drug.

I expected to die as a happy bachelor, but I was fucking wrong.

As I trail after them, I do so with a certainty that I'm looking at our future, and I can't fucking wait.

With a spring in my step, I observe the guys and try to decide the best course of action. If I told them my idea, I'm pretty sure they would shoot it down and earn me a few smacks for even suggesting such a thing.

They would see it as us just passing her around between us, which I find disrespectful and personally insulting. Not to mention a few of them are jealous fuckers, so they wouldn't do well with sharing.

No, I have to handle this delicately.

Maybe a hands-off rule until they each have a chance to fall in love with her would work. It wouldn't take much, since she pretty much has them under her spell already. I'll admit she's so stunning, it's a little intimidating, and I'm never shy around women.

Even Jaceson and Gunner are drawn to her, and they are the most reserved of our group. Jaceson normally just ignores women, never really talking to them or even noticing them in the room. They are like furniture to him. Gunner notices them and keeps his distance. I think he's terrified of accidentally hurting one.

Rue is a wounded soul, just like us. I think that appeals to each of the guys. We're suckers for damsels in distress, and more than a few of us have hero complexes.

Fuck, with our upbringings, it's unsurprising we have a weakness for those with souls as broken as ours. Some of us are just better at hiding it than others. Hell, Hicks practically runs from personal drama, but he's usually the first to throw money at the problem. Even Ellis has a soft spot for the quiet underdogs.

Seeing her bruised and battered has me struggling with my own demons.

The only thing that keeps me grounded is the fact that she needs me here and now.

I won't go off half-cocked.

I need information first, then I will destroy the fucker who dared to touch what is ours.

For now, I watch and wait.

There is something unusual about Rue, like she views the world differently than the rest of us. Her teal eyes can pierce a person's soul, seeing things better kept hidden, but she doesn't shy away from our darkness.

No, it's almost like she's drawn to it.

It matches her own.

Whether she knows it or not, Rue needs us just as much as we need her.

I've been best friends with the guys since kindergarten. They aren't bad men, just heavily flawed. Though they might seem impervious, they are more fragile than anyone realizes. They've been too hurt and damaged from life, and one more blow could shatter them.

Our future is at a turning point, even the others can sense change coming our way.

Rue has the power to either bring us together or shatter us completely.

It's both terrifying and exhilarating, and I'm determined to do everything in my power to make sure it's the first option, and not the second.