I hear Orion rustle around in a bag, making me look over my shoulder at him. “What are you doing?” I ask as he pulls a box out of a plastic bag.
“Ryland got her a phone, so I am going to set it up. Lana gave Evelyn her number.”
I nod, rolling over onto my back. Evelyn places her head on my chest, and I hear Ryland groan, making me look at him. A smirk spreads on my face when I realize her ass is pressing against his cock, which I know is hard from the arousal of her movement flooding through the bond.
“So, what is this Lana like? Evelyn seems protective of her?” I ask as I look over at Orion tapping the screen with his fingers.
“She seems sweet, maybe fourteen. She called Evelyn Evie; it must be a nickname. Argh, I don’t know Evelyn’s email to set this up.”
“Just use mine; you can change it later,” Ryland tells him. Orion nods and types away.
“Are you coming to bed?” I ask him, making him look up.
“I will wait until you two fall asleep, then I will probably go inside and see Theo, seeing as he doesn’t sleep either. It might kill the boredom of watching you two snore; might also go buy her some clothes. Amara is right; she has none,” he says, his lips tugging up into a small smile.
Pulling Evelyn onto my chest, I move over for him, and Orion sits next to me. Evelyn moves, draping her legs over either side of me, making herself comfortable.
“Your parents really like her,” Orion states.
“Wouldn’t care if they didn’t; she is ours,” I tell him.
“I know, but it is good she gets along with them. Amara fancies her,” Orion chuckles softly.
“What do you mean?” I ask, wondering if I need to give my sister a beat down.
“She knows Evelyn is ours, and she would never do that to you. Your sister loves you, Thaddeus.” Orion is quick to point that out.
I sigh. “I know. I just worry someone will take her away from us.”
“I don’t think that will happen; the bond is pretty strong, Thaddeus. And not only that, where would she go? She may hate the way we control her, but I don’t think she wants to leave; she feels safe with us,” Ryland says, and I nod.
“You think she will after she finds out I am the reason her parents are dead, and she ended up in foster care?”
Nervousness comes through the bond.
“She might surprise us. Probably be hurt if anything. She didn’t know them, so she didn’t have an attachment. Besides, what kind of life would she have had with drug addict parents anyway?”
“Yeah, but they probably wouldn’t have raped her,” I mutter to myself. I can’t stop the growl that leaves me, as her memories are still fresh in my mind. The things she had to endure sickens me. And it’s all my fault. It is because of me she ended up in that monster’s home.
“We will deal with it when it comes. Sleep, Thaddeus. You don’t need to be agitated when you tell her,” Ryland tells me, and I nod, closing my eyes.
E
velyn
The next morning, my head is pounding to its own beat. My hand instantly moves to my head, trying to lessen its throbbing. Thaddeus and Ryland are both in bed, asleep still. Crawling over Thaddeus, I walk into the bathroom. I am so thirsty I drink from the tap; I gulp the water running into my mouth like an animal. My mouth feels dry, and I feel so dehydrated.
Hearing someone clear their throat behind me, I spin around and notice Orion, leaning against the door. I didn’t see him when I got up, so he must have just come back from wherever he came from.
He holds up a bottle of juice. Clutching my head, I take it from him. I twist off the cap and chug down the entire bottle as if I hadn’t just had a drink. The juice is cold, refreshing, and somehow rids me of the foul taste of the wine in my mouth.
“A little hungover?” Orion teases.
His voice makes my head pound at the noise. “Argh,” I groan, as my head pounds against my skull. Orion walks in, handing me a box of Tylenol. I pop four out of the foil and swallow them down with more water from the sink.
“Why does it hurt so much?” I whine. My head is killing me and all I want to do is go back to bed.
Making my way back out to the bed, I flop down on it, not even caring that I just flopped on top of Thaddeus. He grunts from the impact and his eyes snap open as I roll back to the center of the bed, pulling the pillow over my head to block out the horrendous light coming in through the window.
I hear Orion laugh and feel Thaddeus roll over to face me. Thaddeus tugs the pillow, and I grip it tighter. “Let me sleep; my head is pounding,” I whine, thinking of anything other than the pain and thirst.
“You know you could just ask?” Thaddeus says.
“No? Let me sleep,” I tell him, confused. My brain feels like mush.
Thaddeus chuckles, yanking my pillow off. “I have something stronger than Tylenol,” he says, making me look up at him. Thaddeus bites into his wrist, offering it to me, and I don’t hesitate. Grabbing his wrist, I bring it to my lips and drink his blood. My headache instantly soothes.
“Now, why do that? You should have let her suffer the consequences of drinking that much.”
Ignoring the scolding, I climb on top of Thaddeus and slump on top of him.