Page 4 of Dubious (Darkly Ever After)

Why haven’t they attempted to be with me since then? Sure, they’ve been kind to me. We’ve exchanged light touches and had deep conversations, but nothing likethatnight.

“Charles must have some sort of power over Celeste,” River said as he plopped on the sofa beside me and shoved his hand into the popcorn bowl on my thighs.

“It is weird,” Asher agreed as he sat on my other side. He put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “Looks like it’s just us kids, all alone.”

Alaric’s eyes were fixed on the paused TV screen. “You gonna start the movie or yak all night?”

Asher rolled his eyes and hit play on Scream, one of my favorite movies. When the guys asked me what I wanted to watch, the title rolled off my tongue, but I was rethinking my choice as I clung to River or Asher every time there was a jump scare.

“Sorry,” I whispered, readjusting myself between them.

“No need to apologize. I like it,” River said with a wink.

My body heated, making me grateful that the lights were out because I was sure my face was an embarrassing shade of red.

I desperately tried to focus on the film, but River’s hand gripped my thigh while Asher’s fingers played mindlessly with my hair. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but them and the realization that my panties were damp with lust.

“I’ve gotta get some air,” Alaric announced, storming from the room.

“What’s his problem?” I asked, frustrated at how he always pushed me away and made everything so uncomfortable.

River chuckled. “You.”

“Me? I’ve only ever been kind to him. He’s the one who kisses and touches and follows me. How is it my fault?”

Asher tightened his arm around me, pulling me closer. “We’re not used to being gentle with someone we care about. Alaric cares more about being good than the two of us, so he’s fighting it.”

Anger bubbled within me. I was so sick and tired of Alaric’s hot and cold temperament. “He thinks being decent is a contrast to being good? Is this a sick joke the three of you are playing? Spinning me like a record or bouncing me like a yo-yo?”

The bowl of popcorn crashed to the floor as I jumped off the sofa and strode from the room after Alaric. I was done with him treating me like a toy he played with and discarded like garbage.

I barged out the back door and spied Alaric sitting on a deckchair by the pool. One hand held a whiskey bottle to his mouth while a cigarette dangled from the fingers of the other.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I demanded.

Alaric turned to me, his eyes eating me up silently as he slowly took a haul of his cigarette.

Apparently, the jerk thought he was too cool to answer me, which made me angrier. “Are you deaf? I asked you a question. What’s your problem?”

He cast his eyes to the shimmering water. “Isn’t it obvious? My problem is you, Princess.” He threw the bottle, and I watched in horror as it shattered into tiny pieces on the deck. Alaric stood and stepped forward until he was directly in my face. “I don’t know what to do with the way you make me feel.”

“How do I make you feel?” I demanded, holding my breath. I never knew if Alaric’s words would be a balm to my soul or a knife wedged deep in my heart.

“I’m stuck between suffocating when you’re around and wishing I was dead when you aren’t. I want you so bad I can’t see straight, and that’s a dangerous path. A path there’s no coming back from. We can’t give you what you need. Not regular shit like roses or chocolates, only three fucked up men with no moral compass and homicidal tendencies.”

I frowned. “We weren’t talking marriage and babies and happily ever after, Alaric. We were watching a movie, and you stormed out like a toddler who couldn’t get his way.”

Alaric smirked and stepped closer. “Trust me, Ella. I can get my way. I’m just not sure you can handle it.”

I didn’t retreat from his advance. I closed the small space between us and pressed my body flush to his. “I can handle it. I can handle all three of you.” I was unsure why I’d made that claim because the truth was, there was no way I could contend with them. But I wanted to. I had to if I wanted to discover what this was between the three of us. It could be a perverse attraction driven by curiosity, or it could be something tangible and mind-blowing. Either way, I wanted to find out.

“I need you to pick a word,” Alaric said. “We don’t acknowledge words like ‘no,’ ‘please,’ or ‘stop.’ We like those words and will only stop for one of your choosing. So pick.”

My gumption suddenly vanished, and I was wary of the pandora’s box I was attempting to open.

“That’s what I thought, Princess,” Alaric scoffed. “You can’t handle shit, so why don’t you scurry off?”

“Prick.”