Page 105 of Sin

“So she’ll be camming?” Chaos asked, his expression unreadable but his disappointment palpable.

My, how things had changed. Just a couple of weeks ago, you couldn’t have paid the guy to fuck Merri, but now he was all but foaming at the mouth to volunteer. Glancing around the room, I realized it was the same for all of us. Without even trying—and despite our best efforts—she’d managed to wrap each and every one of us around her little finger.

“Don’t sound so sad, Chaos. She puts on one hell of a show.”

“How do you...” Merri’s eyes flew wide. “OriginalSin. I should have fucking known!”

I could have reacted one of two ways. Tried to hide the truth or owned up to it. Honesty was always the best policy.

Slipping into the southern accent I gave my persona, I smirked. “In the flesh, darlin’. I have to admit, I’ve been missing your outfit of the day posts. And that private session we hadwas”—I sucked in a sharp breath and let my eyes flutter closed—“fucking perfect.”

She gaped at me, her pouty lips opening and closing like a fish. “How... I... but...” She finally gave up trying to form a coherent sentence and just shook her head. Then something else seemed to occur to her because she scowled and cast a squinty-eyed glare at the rest of us. “Who else has been spying on me?”

“I mean, is it technically spying when it's on the internet?”

“Malice!”

He held up his hands. “That wasn’t an admission of guilt, just an honest question.”

“Your whole platform is based on anonymity, kitten. I was protecting my identity and feeding you at the same time.” I knew she wasn’t really that mad at me. If anything, I’d bet she was annoyed she hadn’t figured it out based on my handle alone.

“Ugh, fine. But you didn’t have to give me a fake-real name,Emmett.”

“Who said it was fake?”

She blinked at me, and I used her surprise to distract her further.

“Besides, if you think the expression ‘Death is always watching’ didn’t stem from somewhere, then you aren’t paying attention. Not a single one of us is innocent here.”

Grim’s brows pulled together as he straightened his shoulders. “Leave me out of your nonsense, Sin.”

“But throwing you under the bus is so much fun.”

Grim glared at me. “It seems you have the matter well in hand. I’ll be in the garden.”

He left before any of us could reply.

Merri took that opportunity to get to her feet. She swayed slightly, and I swear to God, all three of us moved at once to help her steady herself.

“I’m okay,” she protested.

“No, you’re not,” Chaos said, gripping her bicep.

“I will be.”

Chaos, Malice, and I all exchanged worried glances. Our dynamic with Merri had changed so dramatically since we’d almost lost her twice now. Each one of us seemed more devoted to our cause, but it was more than that. We weren’t just interested in fucking her.

I knew I really liked her now. I more than liked her, if I was being honest with myself. Icaredabout Merri. The thought of something happening to her made me ragey. I could only imagine what it did to Chaos. He’d run in here like the house was on fire when he thought she might have disappeared right under his nose. Chaos never worried about people like that. And Malice... Well, his heart may as well have been carved out of ice, he was so cold and indifferent most of the time. Still, even he was drawn to her warmth. She’d thawed him in a matter of weeks.

And that didn’t account for the changes in Grim. He was about as cuddly as the thorns on one of his prized rose bushes, and yet he followed her around like a sunflower chasing the sun. He was as obsessed with her as the rest of us. Even if he wasn’t prepared to admit it.

Poor girl.

If she’d thought we were insufferable when we were trying to keep her at a distance, she was in for one hell of an awakening now that she had our joint attention.

“I’ll be in my room. Thank you for your help, Mal. I’m sure after a session, I’ll feel a lot better.”

We watched her go, all of us quiet until she was out of sight.

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