“And Two is Ezekiel,” I go on, eyeing him as I move closer.
His eyes run over my face, flicking to my lips once, as that steady hum of electricity changes just a little, and buzzes differently with him.
This is new. I like it.
“He loves nipples,” I add. “He’s the one who gets to touch me first, because I’ve spent a few years perfecting my fantasy. You’re doing everything out of order,” I go on.
Two finally smirks, his eyes lightening just a little as a hint of gold glistens in his eyes the way they did One’s earlier.
On a whim, I step through him. He sucks in a surprised breath, and I feel some weird tingles this time, something much stronger than the hum.
That’s interesting. I felt the same thing when I passed through One.
“Your eyes just did something,” Three tells him, moving closer and frowning over at me. “What’d you do to him?”
“Do it to me,” Four, my fearless boy, says to me, moving closer.
I pass through him, and I shudder at how good those tingles feel. It’s like they’re growing stronger.
“His eyes did it too,” Three states seriously.
Four looks serious now too when he turns to face me, which is not a look I see on him too often.
Three stalks toward me, his little Rafael things in his hands. Sai, I think they’re actually called. And it’s one of those words where that’s the plural and singular way to say it. I think.
Not the important part. The important part is that he’s wanting to use one of those sai to gut me. I can tell by that familiar murderous look in his eyes.
I’ve seen him use those weapons many times.
“Stop!” Four snaps, stepping in front of me before Three can pointlessly use those weapons.
“What’s she doing to you? You’re taking her side over mine?” Three growls.
“It’s not like that,” Four explains, as Two steps closer.
“I can’t sense an ounce of threat on her,” Two tells them. “She passed right through me, and you know I can feel a threat if I’m in close contact with it.”
“That’s why that guy went for One first, most likely. He sleeps the soundest, and you sleep like you’re at war,” I tell him.
“You watch us sleep?” Three asks incredulously.
“Don’t look so creeped out when you share a woman between the four of you.”
Four turns around to face me, his lips twitching again. “How often do you watch our activities?”
“Always, lately. The more I have eyes on you, the stronger I feel. I can stay longer that way. I fade away when I’m cut off from you for too long,” I explain.
“Fade away?” Two asks. “Where do you go?”
Sighing, I take a seat, though the bed doesn’t even dip or anything—again, I can’t put pressure on anything. “Into nothingness,” I answer. “There’s nothing until I return. Then there’s you. Since I can’t do anything but talk to you, and I’ve wanted to do that for a while, I’ll tell you all about it.”
Chapter 4
“I’ve told you all this countless times, but this is obviously the first time you’ve heard me,” I decide to inform them at the end of my long monologue.
After recapping my walk down memory lane, telling them how I watched them, when I watched them, how I enjoyed it…I sound like a total crazy girl in the bushes with binoculars and a rabbit. Not that furry-friend kind of rabbit.
I’d like to be able to use that battery-operated-boyfriend I’ve only seen them use on other women. I bet it would be awesome.
But, fortunately, they seem to not give a damn about the creepy aspect.
“If you can’t remember anything, then how do you even know English?” Three asks me skeptically.
Shit. I need to start calling them by their actual names.
“I just know things. They’re not like memories. There’s no recalling a certain thing like that. It’s just like bam; the information is there like it’s been there all along, but I didn’t know I knew it. Sort of like having an emotion and knowing what it is, without having a single memory of when you experienced it before. Things like that.”
They exchange a look.
“She could be another piece of the puzzle,” One says thoughtfully.
“Or she could be here to sabotage us,” Three, the prick, volleys.
“If she was here to sabotage us, she wouldn’t have saved my life,” One, my third favorite, reminds him.
Three has no retort to that.
Damn it. No more numbers.
“You never told us who was who. Just Two and Four. That story was hard to follow with all the numbers,” Jude says, smirking a little.
I told them who One was; they just weren’t paying attention when I referred to him, obviously.
“Are you in my head?” I ask him, since he sort of echoed my thoughts just now.
He frowns. “No.” Then he looks at them.
Then they all look at me.
“What?” I prompt.
“Why would you ask that?” Jude asks me.
“Because I was thinking I needed to start thinking about you with your names instead of your numbers. And you asked that.”
He bristles.
“Anyway, Two’s—I mean, Ezekiel’s room is where I usually stay at night, but I’ll start keeping watch in the hallway instead. Now that you can hear me, I’ll wake you up if I hear anything.”
Now I feel like I can finally do something for them. Protect them even.
“Who’s One?” Gage asks.
“You are,” I say without hesitation, causing his smile to grow as they all give Kai a look.
“I’m Three?” Kai asks dryly.
“The selfish one, yes,” I agree, even give him a little nod.
His eyes narrow, but I ignore him as I go on. “I’d ask you why you all need to share a woman when you have needs to sate, but I don’t really want to question my good luck. As soon as I’m whole, I’ll have you and see if it’s worth all the hype.”
Jude laughs quietly, his eyes raking over me.
“Any particular reason why you’re wearing that? Think it might be what you were wearing when this happened?” Kai asks me, gesturing to my skimpy little lingerie.
It’s been so long since someone could see me, that I forgot they could see what I’m also wearing. Or barely wearing.
“That’s actually one neat thing I learned early on. When I think of something I want to wear, it seems to just be there.”
I imagine a long, elegant silver gown, and it appears, making me look a little classier, if I do say so myself.
Kai takes a step back, and Jude takes a step closer, his eyes hungrily raking over me.
“It’s been my one constant source of entertainment, because I can do it all day and never get tired. I usually dress in something very sexy, just in case my dreams came true of being whole. I wanted to be ready. You know.”
I shrug a shoulder, and Ezekiel lets his eyes wander over me.
I remember that time he bought a girl a red lace slip, and I imagine it. The second it appears, he grips the chair he’s in hard enough to cause it to whine.
That’s certainly a confidence booster.