I lay in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling fan spinning lazily above me. The mansion was silent except for the distant hum of the air conditioning and the faint creak of old pipes. Sleep refused to come. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Marcus’s intense stare, heard Damien’s rough laughter, felt Lucas’s gentle eyes watching me like I was the only thing that mattered. My body still hummed from the pool house, but my mind wouldn’t quiet. *What am I doing? What if Derek finds out? What if this is just another cage?*
I sat up, the sheets pooling at my waist. My skin felt too warm, too restless. The clock on the nightstand read 2:47 a.m. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I slipped out of bed, pulled on the oversized shirt from Marcus’s room, and padded down the long hallway in bare feet. The
