Page 57 of Forging Bonds: Part Two

“Naked?” Reed asks, heat in his eyes and a smile playing around the edge of his lips.

I frown slightly, and then my eyes widen, “Shit, are my shields down? Can you read my mind?”

Reed chuckles and grabs my hand, pulling me further into the apartment and into a bedroom.

“No, you said that out loud.” He chuckles and points to the bed. “Get in, I’ll be in after my shower.”

I nod, too sleepy to bother trying to reply, and I swear before my head even hits the pillow, I’m fast asleep. I only vaguely wake up when the bed dips on either side of me, and I settle into the cuddles that I have desperately missed since coming to the castle. It’s amazing how quickly I got used to not sleeping alone.

I have really missed my men.

∞∞∞

The pulling sensation of the portal pulls me from dreamland, and I open my eyes just in time to catch myself as the ground rushes up to meet me.

“Fuck, shit, damn. That fucking hurt!” River exclaims colorfully from somewhere to my left.

I’m guessing from his reaction that he didn’t manage to catch himself before he face- planted the floor.

“Is everyone good?” Van asks, ignoring River’s outburst.

Standing up, I get a good look at our surroundings and try to work out what the task is and if we’re in any immediate danger. Thanks to my near miss with the floor, I’m not surprised to see that we’re standing in the middle of a forest. Huge trees tower around us, thick underbrush surrounds us completely, and there is a definite chill in the air. The tree canopy is pretty densely packed, but I can just about see the light filtering through the leaves, so it’s at least day time wherever we are.

“I’m good,” I reply to Evander, slightly delayed.

“Neith!” River exclaims happily as he runs over to me and picks me up, spinning me around in a circle. “I am so fucking happy that you are here.”

“Me too,” I grin, as he puts me back down. I can see in his expression that he wants to kiss me, but clearly thinks better of it because we’re on camera, which is the easiest way I have found to phrase that we’re being filmed.

He smirks when I pout and mutters, “Later.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” I reply, reaching up and rubbing some dirt off his nose from where he landed in it when we first arrived.

His expression softens, and he smiles, squeezing me once more before stepping back.

“Any idea what we’re supposed to be doing?” Reed asks, stretching and revealing a strip of toned stomach that has me practically drooling.

Holy fuck nuggets what is wrong with me this morning, I need to get my head in the game. This is no time to get distracted by wanting to climb them. Of course, my mind being, well, mine, throws the image of Coen with his face buried between my thighs, and I internally curse myself out as I reluctantly force the image away and refocus.

“I don’t think that we should stay here, we’re like sitting ducks,” Doc says.

“Good point,” Van says. Looking around us at the densely packed woodland, he adds with a frown, “But which way should we go?”

“Maybe we just need to start walking and hope that we get a clue about what we’re supposed to be doing?” Griff suggests.

“Alright, it’s as good a plan as any with the information that we’ve got. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, and weapons or magic at the ready, just in case we need them,” Evander orders. “I don’t like how quiet it is.”

“Agreed,” Raiden says.

We all follow Van’s lead as he heads in a direction that is completely random. I just hope he hasn’t done a ‘me’ and we’re not heading in the entirely wrong direction. Despite the fact that we all got to bed late last night and got pulled out of bed to come here, I am feeling surprisingly well-rested. Honestly, that’s probably because I had cuddles from the guy’s last night and so I slept better. I’m not sure which ones because I barely stirred when they got into bed, and we all sort of landed sporadically when we arrived, but the point is, I obviously sleep a lot better with cuddles.

I think most people do, or at least most people sleep better when sharing a bed. I must admit that I get to a point where I want my space while I sleep, and I’ll grab a hand, or put my foot on my bed partner instead. Maybe that’s just me though.

Chapter Twenty

Neith

Iwas so tired last night after the massive and very busy day that I didn’t even have time to worry that my nightmares would come back, thanks to my most recent panic attack. Again, I’m pretty sure that having the guys in the bed with me helped prevent the nightmares from resurfacing, and if any did, I don’t remember them.

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