I'd like to thank my readers for staying patient with me. I hope this submission was worth the wait and exactly what you were waiting for. If you have any suggestions or requests for the next chapter, please post a comment or send me some feedback!
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I felt wetness on my face, a sloppy tongue. I groaned sleepily but a hint of a smile was slowly gracing my lips. The licking stopped and I relaxed, sighing and rubbing my face into my pillow with the hopes of dozing back into a deep slumber. The wetness came again and, though I felt like giggling, the noise I made in response was a wispy moan. The licking stopped when I started shifting in bed and I opened my eyes just a smidge. I saw golden eyes looking down at me, with black lids and white eyelashes, surrounded by white fur. I closed my eyes and snuggled into my pillow.
Golden eyes, just like Everett's
, I thought.
I finally woke up - in that new bed, in that new room, in a house they lived in. I felt well rested for once since the nightmare of my life began. I felt comfy and warm under the comforter, the pillows were soft under my head, and I could feel Felix's form still asleep next to my leg. I smiled because I had the urge to, as the sun unobtrusively seeped past the protection of the blinds at the window. I stretched lazily and felt the cool air hit my skin, a little moan slipping past my lips as I rubbed my eyes open. I got up in a very unladylike manner and sleepily walked out the door and across the hallway to the bathroom. On my way there my eyes strayed to the living room where the guys were lounging on the couch and I smiled at them before entering the bathroom and closing the door. I turned to look in the mirror and wasn't disappointed at what I saw.
I looked nice. Ignoring the bandage covering the cut on my cheek, my skin looked dewey and supple. My hair was a little ruffled, but in a sexy way. My complexion was fair, with no redness or dark circles. My lips were plump and pink, my cheeks flushed, and my eyes swollen into slits. I stupidly grinned at my reflection, touching the palms of my hands to my face to relish how pretty I felt just from sleeping one night without dreading the morning. My eyes continued to fall down my form in the mirror and my bliss was abruptly ceased. Familiarity washed over me and my mind suddenly clouded with dark thoughts of misery when I spotted the marks on my skin, evidence of the many years of abuse. I had scars and burn marks distributed on my arms and chest, on my stomach too but that was covered by the worn out tank top I was dawning. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. I didn't look too bad, the marks had healed up well and the skin wasn't raised by much over each scar. But they were whiter than the rest of my skin, and it was all to obvious that they weren't self-inflicted.
It made me feel pathetic when I looked at them, they were nothing but proof that I was a wretched, unloved creature who was too weak to protect herself. I realized that I was safe now, but I wanted to be strong and independent. Three men were currently protecting me and, while I was immensely grateful, I didn't want to
need
their help. I wanted to be able to take care of myself, I didn't want to be seen as fragile. But I knew that I would be as soon as anyone saw my scars or heard my story. They'd see me as damaged goods, I just knew it.
I shook my head and sat on the toilet to relieve my bladder of its nightly burden. I didn't want to think about this first thing in the morning. I rubbed at my thighs nervously and tried to clear my thoughts. I stared down at my panties suspended on my calves, concentrated on them. There was something about them that bothered me. I stood up and pulled them up after flushing the toilet and let my fingers linger on the seam.
Something bothers me about this
, I thought. I then realized what it was. I'd walked from my room to the bathroom, walking past the living room where they were seated and even smiled at them, wearing nothing but a pair of panties and a tank. I smacked my forehead in despair and proceeded to wash my hands at the sink, dreading that I'd have to walk back to the room in the same state of dress.
I opened the door as quietly as I could manage and peeped past the door, the television was quieter than when I first walked past...or was that just my imagination? I leaned past the doorway and even took a tentative step into the hallway before I saw them. Erik's cheeky, lecherous smile made me shiver with delight. Oliver's bashful gaze directed at the floor and the red flush dawning his face made me feel a tad bit ashamed. And Everett's tight jaw and heated gaze on my form made my body heat and my breath hitch. I didn't know what to say, exactly. Didn't know whether this matter should be addressed and apologies should be made or if I should just act confident and casual. My thinking was that it happened, but so what? They'd probably seen a girl minimally clad before, this was nothing new or even scandalous. And I was sure guys like them had seen hotter girls in less clothes, I was nothing special. So I just ran away from the situation and headed to my room, shutting the door a little louder than I'd originally intended.
I sat on my bed for a while before getting up and slipping on a pair of jogging shorts to grab some personal effects and heading back to the bathroom. I didn't look toward the living room this time. I shut the bathroom door and smiled reassuringly at my reflection in the mirror.
I should take a shower, that will calm me down
, I thought with a nod. I started to strip and turned on the hot water. I grabbed my soap and shampoo, and my sponge and placed them on the built in shelving. Once naked I slipped in and practically moaned. The water was just warm enough to calm my nerves and I stood immobile for a while - just basking in the heat and steam.
Once I'd finished, I shut off the water and wrung my hair dry before wrapping myself in the towels I'd brought with me. I went up to the sink and started brushing my teeth. I stared at my flushed face and those forsaken eyebrows. I opened the bag of personal effects I'd brought and pulled out a pair of tweezers and started to pluck. They looked better now that they were groomed, less caveman-ish. I'd always had things like tweezers, I just didn't ever feel like pampering myself. I didn't have anyone to look pretty for, anyway. The fact that Erik's eyebrows looked better than mine had started to bother me, though.
I wasn't exactly shaved either. I'd never liked being anything but smooth, but again I just hadn't felt like dealing with the state of my legs before. I always covered myself up because, well, out of sight out of mind. I winced at the realization that I'd walked past them with this fur-cladden body fully exposed. The shame washed over me but I shook my head in an effort to disperse the thought. "It's okay, just pretend they don't care," I repeated to myself, promising to deal with my bodily hair at some point in the future. Lucky for me my hair was fine and fairly unnoticeable, they probably hadn't even noticed and wouldn't notice unless I pointed it out to them.
When I was finally dressed and ready, I walked out of the bathroom - throwing my personal effects onto my bed as I walked past my room - and seated myself on the couch next to Everett as that was the only open spot. Erik was sprawled on the loveseat and Oliver was sitting in the armchair. "Good morning," Everett purred with a warm smile, sliding his arm onto the back of the couch behind my head. A pleasant heat was radiating off his form and I tried to inch closer to him to bask in that warmth.
"Good morning," I replied with a smile, while looking up into his golden eyes that seemed to flicker with an inner flame and shine.
Tricky lighting
, I thought, my smile becoming broader.
"You're wearing barely anything, love. Haven't you noticed its snowing outside?" Everett asked.