Page 111 of Hunted

“I’m fine, Beck.” I grinned. “Beyond fine.”

“Oh, thank fuck,” he breathed, pulling out then plunging back in—slowly at first, gauging my reaction, then faster and faster, leading us both steadily towards that same magical, metaphorical cliff.

“Jesus Christ, Addie, I’m not going to last much longer,” he admitted, groaning as he tried to hold it off.

“Good, because neither am I.”

“And for those playing at home, neither am I,” Van admitted from somewhere nearby.

Beck thrust once—twice—three times, and then I shattered all over him. The waves of ecstasy rolled through me, and its effect was instantaneous. Beck followed me into the darkness, both of us seemingly blacking out for a moment as it pulsed through us in tandem, leaving all four of us clawing for breath.

Dek collapsed against the bed, Van over by the window, both of them grinning at each other.

“That was…” Van trailed off, struggling to find the right word.

“So fucking hot,” Dek finished, settling on the simplest ones. He raised his hand high in the air, and Van—also mentally wiped—high-fived it.

The resulting wet slap, in combination with their horrified expressions, had me cackling in Beck’s arms.

“Yuck!” Van shouted.

“Gross, bro.” Dek winced. “I was actually stretching…”

Van’s eyes bugged over the wire rim of his glasses, face blanching.

Dek howled at the reaction, choking out, “I’m kidding, dude,” between laughter. “I didn’t consider anything beyond the urge to high-five it out.”

I giggled until the night’s events pressed down on me with a weight that was suffocating. Exhaustion washed over me, turning my bones to jelly. I curled into Beck’s chest, my heart beating happily in time with his own as he cocoooned me in his arms.

A second set of arms wrapped around me from behind, and I smiled, happy in the knowledge that I was wanted—maybe even on the way to being loved—by all of these incredible men.

I didn’t ever want to leave this bubble—this pure, content moment with them.

I knew reality would come a’knocking eventually, but I just wanted a few hours of peace.

Blackwing Academy would never be the architect of peace, though.

What felt like minutes later—but must have been some time longer than that since Van was now curled up behind Dek, all of us taking up the entirety of Beck’s bed—three synchronised beeps chimed at once from various locations in the room.

No.

Beck rolled, reaching for his phone on the nightstand. It lit up his squinting face, illuminated the exact moment he slid from annoyance into trepidation.

“What is it?” Dek murmured, lifting his head when Beck didn’t immediately reply.

He clicked the screen off, shunting the world into darkness once more. “Nothing. Just protocol.”

That seemed to be enough for Dek. His head dropped back onto the pillow and he was snoring seconds later. But Beckett’s face had been enough to alarm me.

I pretended to, but I didn’t sleep another wink.

The sky grew lighter as the minutes dragged on, and my agitation simmered more and more as they passed.

The second those phones alerted, I was struck with the unshakeable feeling that the other red-sole was about to drop.

[ 41 ]

BECK