10. Mabel

Chapter 10

Imake it to the elevator, but before I can push the button, the door slides open.

Phineas gives me one look, and then a tired, irritated expression crosses his solemn face. "We were going to wait to tell you."

I try for a second to get past him, but he's not budging from the elevator. "Why wait, huh?" I snap sarcastically.

"To avoid this."

Zeb comes up behind me. "We're not a danger to you, Mabel."

I choke on a scoff and throw him an incredulous look. "No, you just think a perfect stranger is your—" Gods, we're in the hallway. I shouldn't be shouting this.

I press a hand to my mouth for a heartbeat, fighting to calm down. "It would never work, okay?"

"Are you saying you don't feel anything around us?" Zeb replies, not deterred in the slightest. "You don't want any of us at all?"

My teeth grind. Bastard. He knows the answer. I can read that on his calm, confident face. "I don't even know you," I snarl tightly. "But I know it won't work. You all have this life where you never stay in one place for more than five fucking minutes, and I'm… I won't… I don't want to leave my home."

My throat closes up on the last words, the fact the home in question just damn near burned to the ground making me want to sob.

Huck speaks up from behind Zeb, his voice sweet and hopeful. "We can figure it out."

I hold back a scoff because, of them all, I don't want to hurt Huck no matter how upset I am. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing to figure out. I'm not leaving town and you are, and I'm not…"

Gods, I don't know how to finish.

Zeb takes a step closer to me. "Mabel, we?—"

I try to retreat, but there's nowhere to go because Phineas is still between me and the elevator. "What, huh? You plan to trap me here till I agree?"

They all freeze.

"Of course not," Phineas says. He steps from the elevator and then past me, leaving my exit clear.

I tremble. I should go. Really. Find my car and find a hotel where I can stay by myself and just…

Go.

Creepy makes unhappy noises in the back of my mind.

"You're right," Zeb says quietly.

My eyes snap to him.

He shrugs. "You don't know us. Or vice versa, it's true. And… yeah, there are some logistical realities that…" He trails off as if seeing the anger on my face. "Point is, maybe we are moving fast. Finding you has been… unexpected. But we can't rush you. Or any of this. We know that."

I shift my weight a bit, but I can't make myself get in the damn elevator. Truth is, I don't really want to. I did, but only because I was panicking.

But the magnetic pull to them is real, and now…

Zeb steps back, and Huck does the same, leaving the path to the apartment door clear too.

"If you're willing," Zeb continues carefully. "Maybe we could start over? Go slower and get to know each other a bit?"

A quiver radiates through me, made of pain and longing and a need that I know can't ever be truly satisfied. "You're still leaving. I'll still stay. It won't change anything."

"We'd never make you leave your home," Huck promises earnestly.

Zeb and Phineas glance at him. He doesn't take his pale eyes from me.

And after a moment, Phineas nods, and Zeb does too.

"Like Huck said," Zeb agrees, turning back to me. "We can figure it out. But until then, maybe let us try to fix the rest, eh?"

He extends a hand for me to take.

I don't move, eyeing him warily. "What are you suggesting?"

Zeb smiles. "Trust us."

I'm not sure what I expected, but dinner was definitely not at the top of the list.

More fool me.

When we get back to the apartment, Zeb immediately kicks us out of anywhere near the kitchen or dining area. I retreat to the living room, not comfortable with returning to Phineas's bedroom, even if the guy in question isn't in it. Meanwhile, Phineas leaves the apartment briefly only to return a short while later with bags of groceries in his arms. He doesn't say a word as he deposits them in the kitchen and then disappears into what I think is an office.

That leaves me in the living room, sitting on one end of the couch while Huck sits on the other, and for a long while, nothing else happens.

Then I start picking up on smells coming from the kitchen.

Gods, are they good. Michelin-star good, not that I've ever eaten somewhere like that to compare. But my mouth waters and my stomach starts growling almost immediately, the latter reaction reminding me it's been hours since I've eaten and a whole lot has happened since then.

At just about the point when my hunger is about to break past all manners and politeness and send me into the kitchen to find out what smells so good, Zeb finally appears at the living room entry. With his cocksure grin well in place, he bows and gestures to the dining room in a flourish. "Dinner is served."

"Shouldn't that be lunch?" Huck points out.

Zeb straightens out of his bow. "You want food or not?"

Huck jumps up to follow me without another word.

Even as hungry as I am, I still stop at the doorway to the dining room, shocked by all he's made in the time I've been sitting on the couch. There's roast chicken surrounded by baked fruits. Potatoes and vegetables all cut decoratively and arranged like a bouquet in a bowl. Bread and salad and soup besides. Drinks glisten in glass goblets, set beside plates trimmed in gold.

Zeb pulls out a chair and gestures for me to take it, that devious grin once again hovering around his lips. The expression doesn't change when I sit down and he pushes the chair in beneath me, nor when he takes his own seat on the other side of the table. Huck quickly drops into a chair at my side, watching me the whole time, while Phineas comes in behind us and sits down carefully next to me, his gaze trained on me like he's just waiting to see what I'll do.

I've never been as self-conscious in my life as I am around these three right now.

"Well," Zeb says with a grin. "Dig in."

The others take up their spoons and forks, dishing out food onto their plates and mine. I open my mouth to remind them that I can serve up my own food, but a brief glance from Phineas stills my protest.

What are they all up to?

Uncertain what to think, I wait until Phineas sets the plate in front of me, and then I pick up my fork and take a bite of the chicken.

Flavors explode in my mouth. The meat is so tender and moist, I swear I've never tasted anything as good. I swallow it down and look up at Zeb with wide eyes. "That's amazing."

His grin spreads. "Glad you think so."

I devour several more bites before I pause long enough to ask, "Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

He shrugs. "I took a few courses at a culinary school before shifting my focus to law. Or, rather, agreeing to shift my focus. It was always my parents' plan. I'd be a lawyer, my brother would be a doctor, and my little sisters will be whatever's left after that. I just… needed to try something else first."

I can hear the complicated tension behind the words, and I opt for the lightest thing I can think to say in response. "Good call."

Zeb chuckles.

Phineas tears off a small piece of bread. "Try this." His voice is quiet, but there's an order in the tone too, and it does strange things to my insides while Creepy coos in the background.

But he doesn't put it on my plate. Instead, he just extends it toward my lips.

I tense, confused, but he only waits there, his brow rising as if silently repeating the order.

The others are watching me, I can tell. It feels like the room itself is holding its breath. But I can't take my eyes from Phineas, and I'm suddenly not sure what would happen if I said no.

But then, it's not like I want to be rude.

Carefully, I lean forward and take the bite from between his fingers.

The bread practically melts in my mouth in a delicious blend of sweetness and spice. My eyes close instinctively, it tastes so damn good.

"Here."

I open my eyes as his thumb traces from the corner of my mouth along my bottom lip, ostensibly cleaning a crumb of bread away.

My insides tremble.

At the center of my lower lip, he pauses and then tugs my lips apart ever so slightly.

My heart pounds. Even that tiny contact has me feeling bound to him, like I could no sooner move away than reverse gravity. On impulse, my tongue flicks out, brushing the pad of his thumb.

A hint of approval ghosts through his expression. "Good girl."

Heat rushes through me, going straight down to my core.

He releases me and I draw in a breath, pulling back, but I'm way too shaky for my own good. Worse, even that small moment has me wet for him.

I wonder if he knows that.

Dropping my gaze to my plate, I try to refocus on the meal. Whatever Phineas is after, this isn't what I'm supposed to be doing right now. This is "getting to know you" time. Not a preamble to fucking time.

Gods, it'd be a really good preamble to fucking time, though.

I clear my throat. "So, um…" I struggle to form words, let alone know what to say with them. "Your family owns an apothecary?"

I keep my eyes locked on my plate as I ask the question, and it takes a small eternity before Phineas replies neutrally. "They did, yes."

Nothing else comes, and I'm not sure how to read his tone—or the fact he just used the past tense when answering me. "Did you like it?"

Another pause, and when he speaks this time, his voice is quiet. "Yes."

My eyes dart up in spite of myself. There's a hint of a pained expression on his face.

Dread sinks over me. Okay, past tense should've been a stronger hint.

Fuck, I think I've stepped in a bad memory of some kind.

He seems to feel my attention, and his dark eyes flick over to meet mine. His pained expression melts away, leaving that same soft, strange look he gave me in the car. One that seems to see right through me, but not in a threatening way.

More like I'm one of those glass balls with an intricate flower sculpture inside, and he thinks I'm incredible.

I can't move. The way he's watching me makes me feel vulnerable and embarrassed and flattered all at the same time. I'm not sure what's going on that prompted such a look from him, but I feel like a fly caught in honey. Dark, deep honey so rich I won't even mind if I drown.

"You're one of the Cormier Creepys, aren't you?" His voice is still so quiet, so thoughtful.

Trepidation stirs in my middle. Where's this going?

I nod.

"We heard of your family, even in New York. You as well. Your reputation in the field of magical healing and esoteric techniques is unrivaled."

My cheeks heat, and in my mind, Creepy preens happily at the compliment.

But then a tinge of his pained look returns, mingled with that softness in a way I can't quite interpret. "What happened to your parents also happened to mine."

Shock makes everything in me suddenly go cold. Old memories, buried memories, flash from deep inside the box where Creepy and I buried them ages ago.

Mom's face so pale and drenched in sweat. The sound of Dad's wet and labored breathing in the night.

How silent the house was… after.

"What happened?" Huck asks into the silence.

I'm baffled for a moment by the question, and then I realize that of course he doesn't know. He grew up in a cage away from any of our kind.

Phineas's eyes go briefly to Huck, but return to mine so fast, I don't have a chance to look away. His brow twitches up in silent question.

I'm trembling and I can't find my voice to save my life, but I manage a tiny shrug because Phineas might as well tell him. It's not like I want to answer the question—now, later, or ever.

"There was an outbreak of disease," Phineas says to Huck. "Eight years ago. It affected the older generations the worst. A number of Jekylls died."

Gratitude flickers through me for the tight, concise way he describes hell.

Huck's lips part in shock, but he doesn't ask anything else. Instead, he looks at me, such empathy and compassion in his eyes, it's almost more than I can bear.

Phineas's hand takes mine where it rests on the table, and my focus snaps back to him. "You've done well to keep their legacy alive through your work—as well as in the other activities you do at La Fleur."

Something flutters in my chest at the kindness and the way his hand feels on mine. Warm. Stable. Calming somehow. It's such a tiny thing, it almost seems ridiculous the contact should have this much of an impact on me, except I can't actually recall the last time someone took my hand like this. Not to pull me anywhere or shake my hand professionally. Not because I was the one offering my comfort or support.

Just to be with me in the midst of a painful memory.

One that, in our own ways, we both share.

"Thank you." I smile at him. "I hope your parents would feel the same about you."

The kindness in his expression strengthens. "I hope so too."

We sit like that for a moment, and then he takes another piece of bread and extends it to me. "Eat."

It's another order, but somehow, I don't mind. I'm getting the impression this dominant attitude is how he shows his care.

I accept the bread from his fingers, and his smile takes on a dark edge that makes heat rush through me and sends my insides quivering all over again.

"So, um… your tattoo. What's that of?" I turn back to my plate, trying to remember that this dinner is still about getting to know them and not about what being near them is doing to me.

No matter how much Phineas appears to be working toward that result anyway.

"A protective sigil," he replies. "One from my family history."

I nod, but as fascinating as that is, I can't bring myself to look at him again for fear of losing control of myself entirely.

Maybe later, though. When I'm calmer. And when I have more than a few feet of distance from that incredibly attractive, dominant Jekyll.

I push onward. "And, uh, Zeb. That law firm you said you worked for. Is that real?"

Silence follows for just long enough that I can't stop my eyes from darting to him. Zeb smiles back at me, but I can tell somehow he isn't unaffected by the previous conversation. There's a serious note to his normally devilish expression. "Yeah. It's the family firm out in Boston, with offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco too."

I nod, trying to think what else to bring up that's not them fucking me on the table right now.

"Mabel?" Huck says.

I glance up.

He's holding a bowl of soup with a spoon in one hand and a hopeful look on his face.

My heart melts a little. I lean over carefully to take the spoon in my mouth, and he comes to meet me.

But he moves too fast and a little of the soup spills on my thigh.

I flinch, hissing through my teeth at the hot liquid on my skin, and Huck gasps. "I'm so sorry!" He grabs quickly for a napkin.

"It's okay," I assure him, but he's already crouched down, dabbing frantically at the splattered soup and lifting my leg a bit to get at the drips rolling down my thigh.

Which is when we both realize where he is.

Huck freezes, his expression mortified. He's still holding my leg. I'm suddenly so aware of the fact I'm in a skirt and how close he is to slipping beneath it.

Tingling runs through my skin, same as it did when I held his hand before. It's hot and enticing and though I struggle to find my voice to tell him it's fine, just move away… I can't.

My core throbs. My brain short-circuits.

And my knees inch a tad farther apart.

A tiny breath escapes Huck. His fingers move ever-so-slightly back and forth on my leg, almost as if he's testing to make sure this is happening and that I won't freak out. He's not looking at me, even while I can't take my eyes from him, but I can feel the pressure of the others' stares.

They don't say a word.

Barely seeming to breathe, Huck lets the napkin fall. Slowly, he slides his hand higher, his fingers drifting toward my inner thigh.

My clit aches, pulsing almost painfully in time with my heartbeat out of need for this.

"Is this okay?" he whispers.

I make a breathless sound of agreement.

His fingers roam higher. Brush my panties where they cover me.

I know I'm already wet, but when he feels that too, a low croon of need leaves him, the sound hungry and not hesitant at all.

My legs move farther apart in a silent plea for more. This isn't what this dinner was supposed to be about, some distant part of my mind reminds me.

Except… this feels like exactly what we should be doing.

His fingers steal past the thin layer of fabric between him and my pussy. For a moment, he just traces his fingers up and down my slit, teasing me and getting wet with my slick. Breathless, I push my hips forward, offering him more access to me.

He dips two fingers into me, and I give a small gasp. They feel longer than they should, but when he looks up at me, I only see Huck in those ice-pale eyes.

"I like touching you," he murmurs.

My breath catches as he crooks his fingers inside me, stroking me from within. "I like it too," I manage to whisper.

He smiles, devious and playful, and it thrills me. His fingers crook again, while his thumb pushes past my panties, finding my clit. "My good Mabel. My belle. Would you let me taste you, my belle?"

Gods, he always seems so nervous that he'll drive me away, but now that he's got me clenching around his fingers, he's focused as hell. Like he's going to use every second of this to bring me pleasure.

And I shouldn't say yes. I know I shouldn't. But I slide my hips to the edge of the chair without a word, even if I can't bring myself to look at the other men. "Please?" I breathe.

Huck slides my panties off and then moves my legs farther apart.

"So wet and glistening," he says, his eyes on my pussy. "Do you want the others to see how juicy and shiny you are for us?"

My body tingles with how dirty that feels. How dirty all of this probably is.

But my head twitches in a nod all the same.

Chairs scrape the dining room floor immediately. Zeb comes up behind Huck while Phineas stands behind me.

"Mmm," Zeb hums with his attention on my exposed core. "Perfect."

Phineas's hands slide around my shoulders and down to the buttons of my cardigan. "May we have more?"

At my tiny nod, he begins undoing the buttons, roaming his hands over me while Huck dips his fingers inside me again, tearing my attention between the two of them.

My cardigan falls away. My tank top whips over my head. My bra drops to the floor a moment later.

I'm topless between all three of them and reeling with the fact I'm letting this happen.

But gods, I couldn't stop myself if I tried.

"This is much better than dinner," Zeb comments.

I open my mouth to say something in response, but the gods only know what it would have been, because that's when Huck dives between my legs.

Gasping, I buck my hips involuntarily as he twists his tongue around my clit. His fingers start pumping inside me, curling and crooking against my G-spot with every thrust. Phineas's hands take my shoulders, holding me to the chair, while Zeb comes around to my side and flashes me a grin.

"Fuck yes, beautiful," he says. "Let's see you fall apart."

I strain against Phineas's grip, my breath coming in rapid gasps as Huck works me, his tongue curling and stroking my clit until I'm reeling.

Zeb trails his fingers along my cheek. "You want more?"

I don't know what the hell he means, but I nod.

He bends down, taking one of my nipples in his mouth while his fingers pinch the other.

A choked cry leaves me, but Phineas's hands keep me from lurching forward at the bolt of pleasure that shoots through my veins. He slides his grip up from my shoulders to wrap one hand around my throat, forcing me to lift my head to look at him.

"I want to watch your gorgeous face while you come," he says.

Holy fuck.

The other men don't stop, their hands and mouths devouring me like I'm their last meal on this earth. I rock and gasp beneath their combined ministrations while Phineas's grasp keeps my eyes locked on his, his fingers just tight enough around my throat to make the buzz building up in my body even stronger.

I cry out as an orgasm rips through me.

Phineas smiles down at me, all dominant and pleased. "That's our good girl."

I'm shaking with the aftershocks as Zeb moves away and Huck does too, but my eyes are locked on Phineas. The satisfaction in his gaze is mesmerizing. I want to see it shatter as he comes inside me.

I tremble at my own thoughts. None of this is going to work out. It won't and I know it.

But everything in my body is crying out for more, and not just from anyone. From them.

Plates clink beside me. I start to look toward the sound, but Phineas holds me in place.

"Time for dessert," he murmurs.

He releases me just as Zeb suddenly picks me up like I weigh nothing. My skirt falls back into place around my shaking legs, the only covering I still have on. I look around fast to find they've shoved our dinner to the far edges of the table, leaving an empty space near me.

"Will you let us fuck that sweet pussy, beautiful?" Zeb asks. "Do you want to be our dirty, sexy, good girl?"

This is so far beyond what I thought tonight would be like.

"Yes," I whisper.

In a flash, he spins me and bends me over the corner of the table. My breasts and middle press to the wood surface. My hands grip the edge near my shoulders. Cool air brushes my hot core as he flips my skirt up and then moves my legs apart, stroking a hand across my ass with an admiring sound.

I tremble. I'm on display for them, spread out like another dish for them to devour, and dammit, I think I love it. Creepy does too.

Zippers unzip. Fabric rustles, and then a condom wrapper does too. I glance over my shoulder to see Zeb return, every inch of him now deliciously naked with his cock standing at attention for me.

He's stunning. Huge. My needy pussy aches to have him in me this instant.

His hand runs over my ass again. "Such a good girl. So ready for me."

The praise sends a thrill racing through my veins. I spread my legs farther apart for him as he moves in behind me.

He drives himself into me with a single stroke.

A startled cry leaves me, my eyes going wide, and my hands tighten on the table's edge. But the stretch is delicious too, and need pulses through me as my body adjusts to accommodate him.

"We're not done yet," Phineas warns.

I turn my head to the side and see that he's stripped down as well. His cock stands at my eye level, enormous, and I know immediately what he wants.

And what I want to give to him too.

"Are you okay with this?" he asks me, running a hand along my back. My nerves thrill at the possessiveness in the movement, at how he's soothing me and yet pinning me to the wood beneath my chest and midsection.

I nod and open for him as Zeb rocks out of me and then pushes back in. My jaw stretches and I work to relax my throat as I take Phineas in inch by inch.

"That's right," Phineas praises me. "You like me fucking your mouth, don't you, gorgeous? You like us filling your holes."

My rational brain has totally checked out as I moan my agreement, and he tenses when the sound makes my throat vibrate around his cock. The reaction floods me with the awareness of how powerful I am in this moment. How beautiful and vulnerable this is.

How much I want him to come apart for me.

I press my tongue across the underside of his cock, and he tenses again. I'm giving this to him—to all of them—as much as they're giving it to me, and I love that. It feels right somehow. Like everything is in place, even if that makes no sense at all. I want more than just to fuck them or be fucked by them. I want them in me, with me, filling me up as I make them come undone, and then to never let that go.

Phineas's hand takes the back of my head, his fingers curling in my hair, and a thrill goes through me for the dominance in the gesture, even while I have his cock in my mouth. With a firm grip on my hair, he holds me in place as he begins thrusting.

"You're so amazing like this," Huck murmurs beside me.

My eyes slide to the side to find him watching us, still dressed but with his pants unzipped and his cock in his hand.

That's not enough for me.

I move slightly and reach out to him. Surprise makes him pause, and then he comes closer. I wrap my fingers around his cock and start pumping him too, determined to give him as much pleasure as I can.

"That's right," Phineas says, his voice tight with control. "That's our good girl. But if you want me to pull out, just?—"

I shift around and reach up with my other hand to cup his balls, massaging them, and he falls quiet with a gasp.

"You want our cum, beautiful?" Zeb grunts behind me. "You want us to fill you up?"

I want everything.

I moan again, trying to pour my yes into the sound. I'm spread out between them all, my breasts rocking against the wood table with every thrust, and I swear I've never felt more powerful.

Zeb's fingers find my clit, and I buck against him. Phineas's motions speed up, his fingers digging into my hair, and the pinpricks of pain only heighten what's happening.

It's sex but it feels like more. Like claiming. Like a shift inside, one I can't turn away from now that it's here.

Zeb begins thrusting harder, hitting me so right it makes my eyes roll back in my head. "That's it," he urges me. "You take our dicks like a good girl. Our good dirty girl, spread out for us because you can't get enough. Just—" A grunt of pleasure escapes him as his fingers tighten on my hips. "Just like that."

Gripping my hair tight, Phineas lets out a choked roar, and hot cum spills down my throat as his orgasm overtakes him.

I'm not far behind. I swallow him down and release him just in time to grab the edge of the table again, clutching it as hard as I can while a tidal wave of pleasure slams into me.

And then I'm boneless. Weightless. I think I cry out but my whole body is lost to a rush of white-hot light, everything drowning in sheer, blinding pleasure.

Holy shit, I've never come this hard in my life.

Shuddering all over, I return to earth just in time to feel ropes of Huck's cum splatter my skin, while behind me, Zeb thrusts into me hard and fast with a cry of his own.

Panting, I lie there between them all. My arm and side are sticky with Huck's release, and a moment later, he reaches over, smearing his cum even farther across my skin.

"Mine," he growls, and I hear his Hyde in his voice. "Ours."

A flutter of arousal pulses through me all over again at his possessive action. I feel every inch their dirty girl, and I think I'm in heaven over it. I never imagined anything like this, but right now, it's all I want.

Even if it won't work out.

I hate the thought. Hate that it's trying to steal this moment, and Creepy bats the whole idea away from her corner of my mind. But the ecstasy of this is now cracked and damaged, and I can't stop how my contentment fades when Phineas pulls me upright from the table.

Tonight was amazing, yes. I've never come like that, not ever. But I can't give up my life for sex. For orgasms. I can't walk away from everything just because these men fit something inside me I never knew needed fitting.

"Let's get you cleaned up," Phineas says, leading me toward the hall.

I nod and go with him, but it's a struggle not to feel like I'm lying when I smile. I want these men. Want more of what we shared.

But even though everything's shifted, nothing's changed.

And in the end, it's still going to fall apart.