"ONE HOUSE FOUR MEN MY CHOICE"

THE FIRST NIGHT

CHAPTER 6

ZADE POV

The house didn’t feel like a house anymore.

It felt like a waiting room.

Dex was in the hospital. Maeve was there with him.

Knox was locked in his office with 6 screens and a bottle he hadn’t touched.

Riven was downstairs, cleaning the same spot on the counter for the 20th time.

Vale was sitting outside Veyla’s door. Again.

And me?

I was in my studio with the lights off and a whiskey that tasted like guilt.

It was past 10.

The text was still burned in my head: _“ONLY ONE NIGHT EACH. CHOOSE NEXT CAREFULLY.”_

One night.

Like we were items on a menu.

Like she had to pick which of us got to keep her alive for 24 hours.

I took another drink. It didn’t help.

The door opened.

Veyla.

She wasn’t wearing much. Just my old black band t-shirt. It came down to her thighs. Her hair was wet, like she’d tried to wash the day off. Her eyes were red. Not from crying. From wine.

She swayed a little when she closed the door behind her.

"ZADE," she said. My name in her voice sounded broken.

"What are you doing up?" I asked. I put the glass down. "YOU SHOULD BE SLEEPING."

"I tried," she said. She walked to the couch and sat. Too close to me. "EVERY TIME I CLOSE MY EYES I SEE DEX ON THE FLOOR."

I nodded. I knew that feeling.

For a minute neither of us spoke. The only sound was the rain hitting the studio window.

Then she moved.

She turned toward me. Pulled her knees up on the couch. And then, without asking, she reached for me.

Her fingers went to the first button of my shirt.

I caught her wrist. "VEYLA."

"SHHH," she whispered. "DON’T."

She undid it anyway.

Then the second.

Then the third.

Cool air hit my chest. Her hand followed.

Her palm was warm. Shaking. She laid it flat over my heart and I realized it was beating way too fast.

Her thumb traced a slow line down. Over my ribs. Over my abs. Back up again.

"YOU’RE COLD," she murmured.

"I’m not cold," I said. My voice came out rough. "I’M TRYING TO BE A GOOD PERSON RIGHT NOW."

She laughed. It was a sad, quiet laugh. "THAT’S THE PROBLEM. ALL OF YOU ARE TRYING TO BE GOOD. AND I’M THE REASON SOMEONE GOT HURT."

"THAT WASN’T YOU."

"THEN WHO?" she asked. Her eyes met mine. "BECAUSE I DIDN’T CHOOSE. AND THE RULE SAID I HAD TO."

I didn’t have an answer.

So she gave me one.

She leaned in and kissed me.

It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t soft. It was desperate.

Her lips were warm from wine. Her hands came up to my face, my hair, like she was afraid I’d disappear if she let go.

I should have stopped it.

I tried to.

I pulled back an inch. "VEYLA. LOOK AT ME. YOU’VE BEEN DRINKING. TOMORROW—"

"TOMORROW I MIGHT HAVE TO CHOOSE SOMEONE ELSE," she cut me off. "TOMORROW ONE OF YOU MIGHT DIE. SO DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT TOMORROW."

That broke me.

Because she was right.

I stopped thinking.

I stopped being the guy who makes jokes to avoid feelings.

I kissed her back.

Moving down to her jawline and neck i started leaving hickeys marking her as mine. Soft whimpers left her mouth after i sucked at her sensitive spot.

This time I was the one pulling her closer. My hands found her waist under the t-shirt. She was smaller than I remembered. Or maybe I was just more aware of it now.

She made a sound against my mouth and it went straight through me.

She shifted, climbing into my lap. The t-shirt rode up. My hands didn’t.

I kept them on her back, on her shoulders, like I was trying to memorize her through touch.

Because what if this was the only time?

Than I unhooked her bra throwing it on the ground as well, i took one of her n****e in my mouth and started sucking on it.

Taking other boob in my other hand and started massaging it. Low moans started leaving her mouth as I continued sucking on her n****e.

Her fingers were back at my shirt. She pushed it off my shoulders. It fell to the floor.

Then her hands were on me. Really on me.

Chest. Shoulders. Down.

Everywhere she touched felt like fire and I was burning for it.

"ZADE," she breathed. "PLEASE. JUST TONIGHT."

God.

I stood up with her in my arms. She was light. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face there.

I carried her to the bed.

The room was dark. The lamp was the only light.

I laid her down and for a second I just looked at her.

Hair spread out. Lips swollen. Eyes asking me not to think.

I didn’t.

I touched her like she was something I’d been afraid to lose.

Face. Neck. Arms.

She touched me back. Everywhere.

No words. Just breathing. Just the sound of us trying to forget the world outside that door.

Time stopped making sense.

____

When it was over, she didn’t move. She just curled into my side and fell asleep.

Like the weight of the last 4 days had finally let her go for a few hours.

I didn’t sleep.

I watched her.

I watched the way her breathing slowed. The way her hand stayed on my chest even in sleep.

And I hated that a text message was going to decide if I got to do this again.

At 3:17 AM my phone lit up on the table.

Unknown number.

One photo.

Us.

Asleep.

Her head on my chest. My arm around her.

Caption:

_“DAY 4 COMPLETE. ONE NIGHT USED. THREE REMAIN. CHOOSE WISELY, VEYLA.”_

My blood went cold.

Someone was in the house. Again.

Someone was watching. Again.

I looked down at her. She mumbled something and pulled closer.

I pulled the blanket over both of us and made a decision.

If the rules said one night each, then I was going to make sure mine counted.

So that when she had to choose again, she remembered this.

Not the fear. Not the curse.

*VEYLA POV - THE NEXT MORNING*

I woke up to sunlight and the weight of an arm around my waist.

For a second I didn’t remember where I was.

Then I did.

Zade’s studio. Zade’s bed. Zade’s t-shirt still on me, wrinkled and too big.

And last night came back to me all at once.

My face went hot.

I had done that. I had walked into his room. I had opened his shirt. I had asked him to forget with me.

“Morning,” his voice rumbled from behind me.

I didn’t turn around. “Hi.”

“You okay?”

I nodded, then realized he couldn’t see me. “Yeah. I’m okay. I’m just... scared.”

He shifted so he could see my face. “Of what?”

“Of choosing wrong,” I said honestly. “Of tonight. Of the text. Of all of it.”

He reached out and brushed my hair back. His thumb lingered on my cheek.

“Then don’t choose with your head,” he said. “Choose with this.”

He put my hand over his heart. It was steady.

I closed my eyes. I didn’t regret last night. God, I didn’t. But I was terrified of what it meant.

There was a knock on the door. Hard.

“Knox,” Zade said without looking. “We’ll be down in a minute.”

I got up and went to the bathroom. The mirror showed me exactly what I felt. Tired. Guilty. Wanted.

There was a hickey mark on my collarbone and I pulled the collar of the t-shirt up to cover it.

My phone buzzed on the counter.

Unknown number.

_“GOOD MORNING, WIFE. NIGHT ONE IS DONE. WHO IS NEXT? YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT TO DECIDE. OR I WILL DECIDE FOR YOU.”_

My hands started shaking.

I dropped the phone in the sink.

Downstairs I could hear Knox yelling. Probably about the photo.

Riven was making coffee. Vale hadn’t moved.

And I had 14 hours to decide which one of them I was going to spend my next night with.

Or someone else would decide for me.

To be continued....