Page 54 of Give Me Peace

As much as the others have been more affectionate recently, the biggest difference has been the way Krew is acting. I thought he was going to blow a gasket when he saw me in his sweatshirt, which I had no idea was his when I put it on, but it’s like that moment shifted something. He still prefers his own company, I think. I didn’t even realize he was coming to the beach with us until I bumped into him. He’s quiet and keeps to his office more often than not, but the distance between us has definitely shrunk over the last week. Knowing he’s been wishy-washy before makes me cautious, though. Krew’s thumb strokes the outside of my thigh, causing me to wiggle.

“Tink,” he growls, slowing to a damn near stop. “Quit grinding your tight little body against me.” I choke on my own spit, shocked by his blunt words. But this is Krew. When he’s not being silent, he has no problem saying whatever comes to mind. He doesn’t screen his thoughts in the slightest.

“I wiggled.” He scoffs at my response but picks up the pace to catch back up with the rest of the guys. They’ve already dropped their stuff and started laying out towels by the time we get there. Krew stops a few feet away from the group, and in a move I couldn’t possibly have predicted, he tugs me from his back to his front. I blink at him, my face only inches from his.

In the slowest way possible, I slide down his body. I can make out every muscle he has as he controls the speed of my decent. My toes can’t even reach the ground yet, so this is all him. When I feel his erection, a startled groan escapes me. His hands slip over my butt then disappear, causing me to drop the rest of way. I take a deep breath and try to put some space between us, but he grabs the back of my head and pulls me in so he can speak without being overheard.

“I won’t play this push and pull game like the others, Tink. And I certainly don’t make a habit of depriving myself. You aren’t fragile, and I refuse to treat you that way. You need to be sure of what you want because I’m not a fan of teasing. Doling it out maybe, but receiving? Not so much.” He kisses my forehead and saunters off, like he didn’t just short-circuit my brain. I stand there, my back facing the guys as I try to work through the shock of Krew’s unexpected declaration.

I don’t understand my lack of reaction. I’m caught off guard by how straight forward he was, sure, but there’s no panic or urge to flee. The idea of a man hard and turned-on because of me should be repulsive. There might not be a timeline for every aspect of healing, but surely there is when it comes to sexual trauma. One word of his in particular sticks out like a glaring neon sign. Teasing? Is that what I’ve been doing to them? I was just contemplating a particular bikini with them in mind. God, how does this man have the ability to constantly make me question everything he says.

“Say! Get your fine ass over here,” Havok yells, making me jump. I whirl around, deciding to put a pin in my overthinking. I head to where they’ve set everything up, trying to appear cool and unaffected, but my body is still humming in response to Krew’s. I drop my towel, laying it out next to Lochlan’s. Roan quickly vacates the spot he’d already claimed in order to take my other side, shoving Havok out of the way in order to beat him to it. I laugh, happy the two of them are back on the right track. It would’ve killed me if their relationship was permanently damaged because of me. Directly or indirectly, I’d been the cause of that fight.

“Dad! Ro pushed me,” Havok whines, brushing sand from his face and body after climbing back to his feet.

“I need a goddamn vacation.” Lochlan put his sunglasses on, then reaches behind him and pulls his shirt over his head. One-handed. Why is that so hot? It’s not even sexual. His build is lean, but you can see the definition in his abdomen. He has no tattoos from what I can see, just a small trail of hair leading to his shorts. I look away, pretending the bird flying over the water is suddenly the most fascinating thing I’ve ever seen. Certainly not Lochlan.

But it doesn’t end there. One by one, the rest of the guys remove their shirts. I’m sure my jaw is on the ground by the time they’re finished. But Jesus Christ. There is a lot of skin on display. I can’t even look at Roan without wanting to run my fingers across his stomach, because there’s no way his abs are real. And Havok…I want to get a personal tour of all those tattoos that are typically hidden. When the twins stand side by side, I give up completely and close my eyes.

“You, okay?” Roan asks, a hint of laughter in his voice.

“Yep.” My answer comes out at a higher pitch than normal, but he doesn’t comment.

“Sunblock, sweetheart. I don’t want you getting burned again.”

“Right.” I hop to my feet and pull off the cover-up, turning to Lochlan to get the bottle he was waving at me. Five sets of eyes are focused on me, but I pretend I don’t notice or feel their stares. I’m able to get most of my body, but I can’t reach my back.

“Let me.” Lochlan takes the bottle back before I can protest. His hands work the sunscreen in, over my shoulders and down to the base of my spine. It’s over way too fast, but I try to conceal my disappointment.

“I’m gonna go cool off.” Roan power walks toward the water. The twins and Havok mumble something along the same line and take off after him. I flop back, ridding my mind of handsome men and the unsettling way my heart is racing. I soak up the sun, wiggling my toes as I hum. Lochlan is quiet beside me, like he somehow knows my thoughts are trying to spiral and I need a minute to get my crap together. I can hear them laughing and splashing around. It makes me smile. And then someone is flinging water all over me. I shriek, bolting up to find Roan shaking his body like a dog.

“Thought you could use a cool down, too.” He smiles big, revealing those dimples, and drops to his towel.

“Hey, Best Friend. Look what I brought you.” Kash digs through his snack bag until he finds what he’s looking for. He whips out an e-reader and passes it down. “It’s logged into my Kindle account, so borrow or buy whatever you want.”

“Really?” You can’t miss the excitement in my voice. Kash laughs, telling me it’s no big deal and to have at it. So that’s exactly what I do. I browse his library first, wanting to see what he’s been reading recently, especially after catching him in his room with alien smut. There are a few he hasn’t started yet, one of them being the first in a series. I decide to click the description because the cover catches my eye. It sounds good, so I give it a go.

I get lost in the digital pages, swiping my finger every few seconds as I get sucked into the story. It’s so good I wish I could slow my progress, but I’ve always been a fast reader. In second grade, my teacher actually gave me an A- on my report card because of it. In the comments section she’d written that it I failed to follow instructions when she told me to slow down. Mom pitched a fit and had it corrected in no time. I was moved to an accelerated program after that.

“Whatcha readin’?” Kash stands over me, his wet shorts dripping water along the backs of my heated thighs. At some point I flipped to my stomach, using my body to shield the screen from the glare of the sun. As soon as he catches the title he straightens, stepping to the side as he rubs the back of his neck. “Oh.”

Oh? What the heck does that mean and why say it like that?

“Sorry. Did you not want me to read from your library?” I sit up, placing the e-reader aside so I can face Kash fully.

“No, no. That’s fine. I’m just not sure that’s the right book for you.”

“Huh?” My nose scrunches in confusion. That doesn’t even make sense. “It’s about a witch.”

“Right. And her new group of guy friends.” He stares at me, like he’s expecting me to figure out his hang-up from a simple look.

“Yeaaahh…” I drawl, wondering what that has to do with anything. It’s a big part of why I like the book so much. It reminds me of how easily I connected with these five. Mostly. Krew’s iffy some days.

“Shit.” Kash swears, looking at the ground as he works his jaw in contemplation. “Um…well, they’re friends now, but they’ll eventually be more.”

“Who?” I sit up a little straighter, excited for a spoiler.

“All of them.”