95

Enrique gets up, dusts off the sand from his pants, and then walks to where the boys started a big bonfire on the beach.
I look at Damion talking to Logan. As if he feels my eyes on him, he lifts his head and looks straight back at me with so much intensity I can feel the heat even over the distance.
“Mel, that man really loves you. I mean the way he looks at you is the same way a toddler looks at its teddy bear.” Kiara draws a heart in the sand.
Every fiber in my body wants to get up and run, away from Harry and D and the loony sister, but my stubborn mind keeps me frozen to the spot. I refuse to give that jerk-head the satisfaction of seeing how he affects me.
I force my lips into a tight smile and swallow down the tears in my throat. I don’t want the boys to know that D is slowly getting me to lose my mind. How scared I actually am. Mostly because I’m afraid that something bad is going to happen to them. Especially Damion – I can’t lose him most of all – not that I will ever tell my brothers that.
Damion suddenly pulls his brows together, his eyes now cold, as if he’s reading my thoughts from there. My heartbeat synchronizes with the peck-peck-pecking of a woodpecker hiding somewhere in the trees above.
“Mel, are you trying not to cry?” Kiara takes my hand in hers and she looks concerned. I gulp down the lump in my throat.
“Is the guy still harassing you?” Ava asks sympathetically. We both look at her, surprised that she knows about this.
“Ilkay told me you have a stalker,” she says quickly.
“I’m scared,” I confess, “But I don’t want the boys to know.” I wipe my face and they nod their heads slowly.
“They’re lunatics. What if they kill one of us … I can’t lose anybody else.”
Kiara squeezes my hand softly, “But most of all I’m scared that something will happen to my man.”
Ava grins. “I’m guessing Damion is your hunk … he can’t take his eyes off you.”
Kiara snorts like a baby hippo. “Yeah, and you heard it …. he’s more important than me. And her brothers.”
Ava chuckles. “Okay, I must admit … I’ve never seen so much male perfection grouped so closely together.”
“Oh, I would not use perfection so easily … wait till you get to know them,” Kiara rips. “They are overbearing, macho, Alpha, man-whores, whose egos can cause entire solar systems to collapse.”
“And don’t forget their dominating bossy natures … oh, and the best is their mind-reading abilities. Don’t forget that,” I add with a smirk.
Ava laughs. “Are they really all that bad?”
“Worse,” I answer and titter. “But I love them all the same.”
“Liar,” Kiara crows. “You love one more.” I get the pun.
“I don’t believe Ilkay is a playboy,” Ava says. “Almost every female in that hospital has tried to get into his pants, but I don’t think even one got further than a gruff hello.”
“Yeah,” I sigh, “He lost his heart to some girl in some cabin in some European country, and now he’s seriously mopey, poor thing.”
“Yeah, he told me about her. Amy, right?” Kiara and I both nod. “September when he went to that conference.” Seems my brother shares with her a lot.
“Okay, and what about the others? They’re not all brothers, are they?” I’m not big on talking about my brothers, but at least it keeps me distracted and not focused on D and his fucked up family.
“Not by blood, no. But by heart and soul.” A sudden shiver runs down my spine. Maybe it’s the soft spray of the waterfall or the sudden drop in temperature. “Eh, let’s get closer to the fire. I’m cold.” I stand up. Kiara grabs my right arm and Ava the other as we walk towards the men.
I introduce Ava to the others while we sit on the sand beside the fire.
“Let’s play never-have-I-ever … the truth-or-dare version,” Kiara shouts and motions for everybody to move into a small circle. Alejandro comes to sit on my left side while Axel squashes in between Kiara and me.
“This is how it works,” Kiara explains the rules of the game. “It’s the typical never-have-I-ever … you say something you have never done before in your life and the rest of the people have to drink if they HAVE done it. However, in this version, you have the option to lie – BUT if someone calls you out, you have to play truth-or-dare.”
“Okay, I’ll start,” Enrique picks up his glass, “Never have I ever been in love.” Great start brother. While I take a sip, I glance over my glass and notice that Damion, Ilkay, and Jesse each take a small sip. As expected. But then Axel drinks. And Jackson. I never expected that in a million years.
“Aw sis, don’t tell me you really were in love with that jerk,” Logan teases, and I almost drop my glass before I realize he’s talking about Ren, not knowing that it’s his best friend who’s the keeper of my heart. “Or do you have a sudden crush on D-boy over here?” He flips his head to gesture to the man sitting next to him. Alejandro winks at me, knowing my secret. I smirk at my brother and shrug my shoulders, avoiding Damion’s cold stare.
“Ilkay I understand … but Axel and Jackson, when were you in love?” I have to know.
“Long ago,” Axel sighs with a broody pout. Jackson shrugs and stares at the sand. Sometimes these boys are so weird.
“And that one -” Enrique harps pointing at Damion, “- is just a pussy-whipped monk, but he doesn’t want to share the details. Like who she is.” He glares at my boy, who holds the best poker face in history.
“Maybe he’s scared she will fall for one of us. After all, we’re all much prettier than him,” Jackson snips. They wish.
“Or maybe he’s just scared that she will run for the hills when she meets his egotistical asshole friends,” I chip in. I need to help out my man at least.
It’s Logan’s turn and he goes with “Never have I ever kissed a dude.” All the girls drink for obvious reasons, but then Jesse, Damion, and Axel drink too. And only one of them makes sense.
“Are you guys gay?” Ava asks hesitantly, looking between the three. Jesse puts up his hand.
“Guilty as charged,” he confesses.
“Nah, it’s not what it seems like,” Axel laughs looking at Damion who is still sitting like a mummified sphinx.
“It was at some party,” Axel explains, the amusement still lingering in his voice. “I got a dare to kiss Damion,” he shakes his head and looks at the latter whose eyes burn like the inside of hell.
“Worst kiss of my life.” The one side of Damion’s mouth pulls up to create a seductive dimple in his cheek. That little hollow can stir up a hotness-earthquake launching much more than 20 on the Richter scale, all by itself.
“Okay, my turn,” Ilkay says.
“Wait a minute … ” Enrique suddenly speaks up. “I want to call Logan out … didn’t he make out with that girl that turned out to have a penis?”
All the guys suddenly dissolve into laughter. I swear sometimes I think they are high on drugs or something.
“Shit, yeah,” Jackson chucks, “I remember that one.”