“She’s Dripping, Cass. Look At Her.”

Chapter 2

I forced down two bites of eggs I couldn’t taste.

The kitchen stayed quiet except for the low sounds of them moving around me. Cassian refilled his coffee. Julian scrolled on his phone, but I felt him looking every few seconds. Rhys stayed where he was, arms crossed, watching me like he was waiting to see what I would do next.

My shorts were soaked. I could feel it every time I shifted on the stool. The thin fabric clung to me, sticky and cold now. The crop top might as well have been invisible with how hard my nipples were. I kept my thighs pressed together so tightly they ached, but it did nothing to stop the slow, heavy throb between my legs.

Julian set his phone down and stretched. The movement pulled his shirt tight across his chest.

“You going to finish that, princess, or just sit there looking like you’re about to come from the way we’re staring at you?”

Heat flooded my face. “Shut up.”

He grinned, slow and filthy. “I’m just saying. We’ve been protecting you for years. Feels a little wrong to let you leave the kitchen this worked up on your birthday.”

Cassian’s voice cut in, calm but edged. “Julian.”

“What? I’m being responsible. Looking after her.” Julian’s eyes dropped openly to my lap. “She’s dripping, Cass. Look at her.”

I wanted to slide off the stool and run. Instead I stayed frozen, pulse hammering, while Rhys pushed off the counter and walked around the island. He stopped beside me, close enough that I could smell the clean sweat from his run and the soap he used. His voice came low, almost gentle.

“You walked down here dressed like that on purpose. You wanted us to see. Now you’re sitting here soaked and shaking because we did.” He tilted his head, studying my face. “Still want us to keep pretending we’re only here to protect you?”

My throat felt tight. “I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Cassian set his mug down and came to stand on my other side. The two of them boxed me in without touching me. Julian stayed where he was, clearly enjoying the show.

“Eat,” Cassian said quietly. “Then you’re going to go upstairs, change into something that actually covers you, and come back down. We’re taking you out for your birthday later. Until then, you’re going to stop testing how long we can stay good.”

The command should have made me angry. It made another rush of wetness soak through the shorts. I stared at the plate, breathing too fast. I could feel how slick I was every time I shifted.

Julian leaned forward on his elbows, voice soft and teasing. “Or you could stay exactly like that and let us keep looking. We’re very good at looking after you, Sienna. We’ve had practice.”

I stood up too fast. The stool scraped loudly against the floor. All three of them watched the way the tiny shorts rode up even higher when I moved. I tugged them down, which only made Julian’s smile widen.

“I need to… shower,” I muttered.

Rhys’s voice followed me as I turned toward the doorway. “Door open.”

I stopped.

Cassian added, still calm, “You leave it open every other morning. Don’t start closing it now just because we’re done pretending not to notice.”

My face burned. I didn’t look back. I walked out of the kitchen on legs that felt unsteady, the wet fabric of the shorts rubbing against my clit with every step. Behind me I heard Julian’s low laugh and Cassian saying something too quiet to catch.

I made it to the stairs before I had to stop and press my thighs together hard. The ache was worse now. My clit felt swollen and sensitive. Every movement sent another little pulse of need through me. I climbed the stairs slowly, knowing they could probably still see me from the kitchen if they stepped into the hallway.

I left the bedroom door wide open.

Exactly like they told me to.

The second I was inside I leaned against the wall, shoved my hand down the front of the tiny shorts, and almost came from the first touch. I was soaked. Slippery. My fingers slid over my clit and a broken sound escaped before I could stop it. I bit my lip hard and listened.

No footsteps on the stairs.

They were still down there. Letting me suffer.

I pulled my hand away, shaking, and forced myself into the bathroom. I didn’t close that door either. I turned the shower on cold and stepped under it still wearing the crop top and shorts, hoping the water would shock the need out of me. It didn’t. The cold made my nipples tighten even more, and the wet fabric clung to every curve. I braced my hands on the tile and tried to breathe through it, imagining them standing in the kitchen knowing exactly what I was doing up here.

Cassian’s calm voice telling me to be good while he watched.  

Julian’s teasing mouth saying filthy things against my ear.  

Rhys calling me baby while he held me open for them.

I lasted maybe two minutes before my hand was back between my legs. I rubbed myself in tight, desperate circles under the cold water, forehead pressed to the tile, trying to stay quiet. The orgasm built fast and mean. My thighs started shaking. I was so close—

A floorboard creaked in the hallway.

I froze, fingers still pressed against my clit, water running down my body. My heart slammed so hard I felt dizzy.

No one spoke. No one stepped into the bathroom. But someone was out there. Close enough to hear the water. Close enough to hear me if I made a sound.

I slowly pulled my hand away, turned the water off, and stood there dripping, crop top and shorts plastered to my skin, so turned on it hurt. I grabbed a towel with shaking hands and wrapped it around myself without bothering to take the wet clothes off first.

When I stepped back into the bedroom, the hallway was empty.

But the air still felt heavy, like whoever had been there had only just left.

I sat on the edge of the bed, towel clutched around me, and stared at the open doorway. My body was still throbbing. The cold shower had done nothing. If anything, the idea that one of them had stood out there listening made everything worse.

Downstairs I heard movement again. The low rumble of Rhys’s voice. Julian’s quieter reply. Cassian’s calm tone cutting through both.

They were still looking after me.

And for the first time, I wasn’t sure how much longer any of us were going to survive it.