Page 66 of Shrouded in the Dark
Sighing, I sat back in my spot. My hand was still covered so I licked it clean, watching Axel’s face. His lips parted. Even Cody moaned as he watched. My amusement showed as I looked at all of them.
“We are pack.”
* * *
Becca
The quick shower was cold as I rushed to get the dirt and grime off of me. The bath was calling my name. Even after making out, almost going further, with Cody, I needed to decompress in the hot water. My teeth chattered together as I stepped out of the shower. I checked the water temperature in the tub, noting it was cooling a tiny bit. I unplugged the bath for four seconds to let some drain, asking my Mom for forgiveness in my head. I turned the hot water all the way on while I grabbed a lavender bath bomb.
Stepping into the tub, my body started to feel like jello. I flipped off the water as I laid back, sighing in happiness. My muscles started to relax in the hot bath. I didn’t want to spend too much time in here, I still had questions and I needed to call Gary, but at the moment, I just wanted to stop thinking.
My lips were swollen from kissing Cody. He’d cockblocked himself, and me, which had been frustrating. At the same time, I was thankful he’d stopped. I wanted my first time with him when I wasn’t all nasty. I didn’t care about researching anymore. Not after all of this. I was going to follow my feelings and fuck society’s opinions. It was my body, and my heart. I wasn’t going to let anyone, including myself, stop my feelings anymore. Cody would never have kissed me like that, or said what he’d said, if he didn’t feel something toward me.
The water had turned slightly cool by the time I pulled myself out of the bath. Soreness, that I hadn’t noticed before, made my movements stiff at first, but they’d be worse if I hadn’t taken that hot bath.
The morning had just started, yet I wanted to feel comfortable so I dug through my clothes until I pulled out a fuzzy onesie that had a hood as well. I grinned at it. The twins had gotten it for my birthday last year, it was my favorite thing to wear when I needed to feel wrapped up. It was dark red with a long tail in the back. The ears were fuzzy with eyes on top of the hood. It was supposed to represent a red panda. The twins had felt bad they hadn’t been able to find a panda one, but figured a red panda was the next best thing. They’d gotten cookies for a straight week from me.
The best part of it, as I finished getting into it, was that the hands had gloves that made it look like I had paws. I slipped my phone into the front pocket before heading out. It would be entertaining to see the guys reactions to such a childish pajama set.
They were all talking quietly as I walked into the room. They all turned at the same time to smile at me. When their eyes widened, I bit my lip to stop the giggle I so wanted to let out.
“I call first cuddle dibs!” Cody sprang up but Jasper was faster.
He was in front of me in the blink of an eye. His emerald eyes sparked in mischief. “You are so friggin' cute.” He swung me up into his arms as I gave a small squeak. The strength these guys had was still surprising me. He sat back on the couch with me in his lap, with my legs sprawled across Axel's legs while my padded feet pressed against Seth’s leg.
“That’s not fair!” Cody whined as he faced us on the ottoman. I smiled at him as he grinned wickedly at me. My face flooded.
“You got to make her a bath. It’s my turn to spend a little time with her.” Jasper ran his left hand down my back as his right arm held me in his lap. A sigh slipped out because that felt good.
“How do you keep getting cuter?” Seth drew my attention. “I want to eat you up.” His expression was dark but I knew he was teasing.
“I wouldn’t taste very good. I’m all—”
“Don’t finish that sentence.” Jasper pressed his index finger to my lips. “We all know how good you’ll taste.”
The implication of his words had me looking up at him in shock.
Jasper kissed my forehead as he removed his finger from my lips. “That’s another discussion for another time, sweetie.”
Seth cleared his throat. “That was my fault.” He didn’t look sorry. “I was hoping you’d call your stepfather now? Would you allow us to speak with him?”
Digging around in the pocket, I held up my phone. “I don’t mind. I bet he’ll be thrilled.” I grinned. “I’m surrounded by four shifters. He’ll probably shit his pants.”
“Or something.” Axel coughed.
“Let’s just call him.” Jasper moved slightly as he wrapped both arms around my waist. “We’ll be quiet until it’s our turn.”
I found my head resting on his chest. I’d slept for a while earlier, but being surrounded by them and the warmth of my pajamas, I could have fallen asleep. Shaking my head once, I called Gary before I forgot what’d they’d ask me to do.
“Hello?” Gary’s voice was muffled and sleep filled. I forgot that we were an hour ahead of Pacific time.
“Gary? I’m sorry to wake you up. Something’s happened…” I trailed off.
“Becca?” I could hear him sitting up. “Are you alright? What happened? Wait.” There was the sound of shuffling feet and a door closing. “Okay, I’m in the office. I didn’t want to wake your mom up. What’s going on?”
I wasn’t sure where to start, so I winged. “Shifters are real. You were right. The guys are shifters. There’s a rogue wolf shifter that tried to kill Axel.” Word vomit continued to spew forth from me for several minutes as I tried to catch him up on everything that I knew.
Taking a breath once I was done, I waited to hear what he had to say.
