Page 47 of Uncharted

“Copy,” falls out of my mouth. “I’m not giving them up.”

His eyes dart to my lips. “Copy,” he repeats. Sam moves his hand from the side of my face to the back of my neck, and he pulls me to him. His lips brush mine, just a whisper at first, but then he’s like a starved man. His tongue teases against the seam of my lips, pressing its way into my mouth. My brain turns off. There’s no Sam vs the guys. At this moment, there’s only Sam. There’s only his mouth, his hand trailing down my back, pushing me into his cock. I rise onto my tiptoes, rubbing his hard length where I want it. I want all of him. I’m acting on reflex. Automatically my hands trail around the nape of his neck. His hair has gotten longer; it brushes the rim of his collar. I grip the back of his head, wanting him even closer than he already is. I’m on fire. I’ve stepped onto the highway, and now I’m driving at the speed of traffic. Scratch that—I’m speeding, and I want to be caught.

I’m thinking too hard. Do I want to be caught? What are the guys going to think?

Sam grabs both sides of my head and pulls away. “Haley?” His deep voice fills the wheelhouse. He brushes my hair away from my face again. I’m lost in his eyes. “Darling, are you okay?”

I smirk.

“What?”

“Was that a nickname?” My lips quiver.

He smiles, and then his lips are on mine again. He’s forceful and commanding, just as I remember. My clean panties aren’t clean anymore. I squeeze my legs together tightly. His hands haven’t roamed beyond my neck, and I want him to pull me in closer, feel me, touch me. Pinch me. I need more.

The port-side door creaks open. I’m not going to stop kissing Sam. I’m not going to flinch away from him like I’ve done something wrong. I haven’t. That’s getting easier to remember with each day. I haven’t promised any of them anything. Because... there’s a big part of me that doesn’t believe any of this is real. They’re saying things and doing things they don’t mean. Who could ever be this lucky? Four handsome guys—five. Five.

The door closes, and Sam pulls away. He doesn’t step back, though.

Calvin’s eyes peer over the top of Sam’s head, but I have no idea what he’s thinking.

“Hey Chiefie, Cap.”

“Calvin.” Sam’s tone has dropped.

“Do you have those manuals?” Calvin swings around the wheelhouse. “Right, here they are. I’ll see you downstairs, in the engine room. I’m forming a plan of attack. I’d like your opinion on it.” He nods at Sam, but his eyes are trained on me and my chest freezes. “Oh, whatever Dante is cooking on the grill smells amazing.”

“Lunch,” fumbles out of my mouth.

“I know it’s lunch, Chiefie.” He laughs. “I have no idea what he found to cook, but I’m here for it.”

“Yeah, I wonder too.” Sam doesn’t step away from me. “You mind closing the door? I’ll be downstairs... in a while to see your plan.”

“Sure thing, Sam.” Calvin winks at me. And you’d think that would give me some relief. But I’m on the point of passing out again. The door closes, and I’m not sure what to do.

“Haley? Are you okay? Of course you’re not okay. Fuck.” Sam scowls back at the closed door. “Sit.” He drops into a squat between my legs, and the rest of the blood drains from my head. He grabs a steel water bottle from the table next to his binoculars. “Here, drink some.”

I hold it with two hands and guzzle down some water. Sam hovers above the bottle. The water sloshes around in my gut. It’s like my hormones are inside of a yo-yo today. I hand the bottle back to Sam, and he sinks to the bench next to me.

His head hits the back of the wall. “Damn, Haley. This is confusing to me.” His eyes focus out the front of the Rock Candy at the cliff. “I can’t imagine what it’s doing to you.” He pinches his nose and shakes his head. “I can’t step aside and watch you have a relationship with all of them. Fuck, I should. But I can’t. And I hear you. You’re not going to choose me over them.”

“I’m not choosing them over you, either.” My chest tightens when I realize what I said. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Only I could have five guys one minute and then end up single.

“Yes, you said as much earlier.” He’s not looking at me.

I take his hand. “Are you going to?—”

“Be okay with you...datingfour other guys? Honestly, I don’t know. If you’d asked me that three months ago, I would have laughed. Now... now I’m not sure. But if that’s the only way I can have time with you, I’ll try. I’m not saying I’ll be good at it.” He shakes his head. “No, fuck, I know I’m going to suck at it. Green is okay with it?” Sam waves at the door Calvin disappeared out of.

“At first, no. He was super jealous of Easton. But he’s definitely come around.”

“How...”

“How is Calvin not jealous? He and Easton had a bunch of fights?—”

“I can totally see that, but no, how did it start? How did you start being with all of them?”

“I’m not really sure. It... it just happened.” I never thought it would last, actually. I didn’t think about what would happen next. “But I care for them all a lot now. I would never want to hurt any of them.” I put my hand on his chest. “Or you. This whole thing was so organic. I’d hate to... well, tarnish it.”

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