The Very Naughty List

27. Hailey

27

HAILEY

Waking up surrounded by male bodies is something that I’m quickly getting used to. When we got home after singing karaoke, Nick was the first one to fuck me, bending me over and letting his brothers watch as he made me scream his name. Then Sebastian and Reid shared me, taking turns fucking me until I was shaking like a leaf between them, before coming on my stomach and marking me up with a possessiveness that made me shiver.

The next night was more of the same. And the night after that.

After several more nights of sleeping nestled between all of the brothers, passing out after being fucked by all of them, I’m falling down a rabbit hole and becoming more and more certain that I never want to leave Wonderland.

It’s been a wild few days—hedonistic and perfect—as the guys have helped me explore my bucket list. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’ve also added a few items that I never even thought to put on my naughty list in the first place. I’ve loved every minute of it.

I’m sore, but in a good way. I think my body is finally starting to adjust to the constant sex, and my recovery time is a lot faster than it was after our first night together.

Yawning quietly, I try to stretch my arms, but there are limbs tangled up everywhere. I’m sandwiched in between Nick and Reid, with Sebastian on Reid’s other side, his arm draped along the base of the headboard and his fingers threaded through my hair. They’re all still dead asleep. I think they might have underestimated my sex drive, because I’ve definitely been wearing them out too.

Treating it sort of like a game of Tetris, I slide out strategically without waking up any of them and walk to the bathroom.

As I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I can see that I have a rocking case of sex hair. The back of it is so teased from rubbing against the pillow that I could pass as an eighties rockstar.

I strip down and start the water for the shower. After it gets warm enough, I step under the spray and stand there for a few minutes with my eyes closed, thinking about the last few days and how the four of us have fallen into such a comfortable rhythm together. It’s going to feel strange when it’s not like this anymore, as if there’s a chord missing in a song, and nothing hits quite right anymore.

When I open my eyes to reach for my shampoo, I come up short. It’s not on the shelf I’ve claimed as my own in the shower caddy.

“What the…?”

I frown, glancing around in confusion for a second before realizing that my shampoo bottle is on Reid’s shelf instead. Before I can question what it’s doing there, I hear the bathroom door open, and I open the shower curtain to peek out and see who it is.

My eyes are met with the tantalizing sight of Reid, fully naked as he pads across the small bathroom. I grin and pull the curtain open wider, inviting him inside.

“I thought you were asleep,” I say as he steps beneath the water with me.

He nods. “I was. I woke up and noticed you were gone, so I came to find you.”

“I’m glad you did. Now you can tell me why you stole my shampoo.”

Reid laughs as he takes the shampoo and squirts some onto his palm. I watch the inked lines on his chest move as he rubs his hands together to get a good lather.

“I might’ve used it the other day,” he admits, looking slightly sheepish.

“Really? Did you run out of your own?”

“No. I just…” He shrugs, and I raise an eyebrow.

“You just like the way it smells?” I finish for him, guessing where he was going with that.

His eyes flick down, catching with mine. The blue-gray color looks soft and warm in the morning light. “I like the way you smell.”

My heart gives a flutter. Sometimes the simplest little things he says knock me on my ass, leaving me feeling breathless and a little off-balance and completely unsure of how to respond. Before I can say anything, Reid grins, jerking his chin in a circular motion.

“Turn around so I can wash your hair.”

“Bossy,” I mutter.

I turn around just like he ordered, although I take my sweet time doing it.

“Sassy,” he shoots back, giving my ass a little slap with a shampoo covered palm when I move too slowly for him.

I chuckle, feeling more at ease as we slip into the comfortable dynamic that’s sprung up between us over the past week or so. It’s a lot like how we used to interact, but with a new undercurrent beneath it that makes sassing him and riling up his bossy side even more fun.

“Are you gonna sing for me?” he asks as he starts to wash my hair.

The sensation of having my scalp massaged by his strong fingers is so divine that I almost melt into a puddle. I’ve never had anyone wash my hair before, except at the hair salon. And this is so much better than that.

“Mm, maybe,” I murmur, letting my eyes drift closed. “But I think today might be an out of the shower singing day.”

“Good.” He chuckles. “I like those.”

Ever since my karaoke experience, I’ve been getting a bit bolder. I haven’t sung in front of a crowd again, but I’ve started singing around the house. Not just in the shower, but while I’m doing dishes or cooking in the kitchen, or playing with Bruno in front of the fireplace. The guys seem to love it, and I do too. I feel like I’m getting back a piece of myself that I lost for too long.

We stand together in silence for a few minutes, Reid gently lathering the shampoo through my hair, and as my mind wanders back to that night at The Old Oak and everything that came before it at the Christmas ball, I bite my lip, a question burning on the tip of my tongue.

“Can I ask you something?” I say quietly.

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t things work out with you and Sutton? I mean, you guys were together for a while, weren’t you?”

“Yes, we were.”

“So why did you break up? What ended it?”

He turns me around to rinse the shampoo out of my hair, his gaze a little out of focus and his expression thoughtful as he considers his answer. It’s a long moment before he speaks, and then he sighs.

“My parents were so in love with each other. I always loved the strength of connection that they had. I never wanted to be in a relationship that was anything less than that, especially after we lost them. I wanted to find a love like they had… and I realized that Sutton and I weren’t really like that. It wasn’t how I felt about her.”

I nod, resting my hands on his chest as I mull his answer over in my mind. I feel like I can relate to that, at least a bit.

“I don’t think that I ever had that kind of love with Dylan either,” I admit.

“Of course you didn’t.” He scowls, smoothing my wet hair back from my face. “You’re too good for that fucker. You always have been.”

“I wish I’d realized that sooner.” I blow out a breath, tracing the lines of his tattoos idly with my fingers. “If Dylan is trying to punish me for our break-up by getting his parents to raise the rent on my family’s diner, I’ll never forgive him. My family’s whole livelihood could be in jeopardy. It’s fucking awful.”

I’ve been stopping by the diner every day since I found out what was going on, doing my best to lend a hand and help out. But there’s nothing I can do to fix the rent situation, and I hate that feeling of powerlessness.

Reid leans down to press a kiss to the top of my head. “I’m sorry, trouble. That fucking sucks.”

“Thanks.”

I let out a breath, gazing at his chest as he straightens. My fingers follow the lines of the intricate design that covers his entire left pec and the meaty part of his shoulder. I’ve seen it dozens of times by now, but I’ve never really studied it this closely before.

“Are these daisies?” I ask, cocking my head to one side as I notice what looks like a twisting chain of flowers woven into a broader pattern of sharp lines and bold curves. The daisies are subtly hidden among the stronger elements, which include barbed wire coiling around a compass with the arrow pointing north.

“Yeah.”

“I never noticed them before.” I glance up at him, blinking water droplets out of my eyelashes. “I love daisies. They’re my favorite flower.”

“I know.”

Just like a few moments ago, his words are simple, but the effect they have on me is dizzying and complicated.

I swallow hard, licking my lips as he holds my gaze in the steamy little cocoon of the shower. He doesn’t say anything else about the tattoo, and I don’t ask if he knew that daisies were my favorite when he got it—or if that’s why he incorporated them.

I think I’m a little scared to ask, honestly. I’m scared to know the truth, whatever it might be, and even asking a probing question like that feels like it breaks the ‘casual, no-strings’ rule we implemented. It opens a door that I’m terrified to open, because on the other side of that door, everything could fall apart.

What’s happening between me and the Cooper brothers right now is simple and easy. As wild and debauched as it is, it still feels safe .

I’m not sure my heart could take anything more.

But even though I don’t say anything, I can’t stop my fingers from sliding over his wet skin, tracing the daisies woven into his tattoo. He drops his gaze to watch my fingers, then rests his hand over mine, flattening my palm against his chest. I can feel the heavy thud of his heartbeat as he leans down and?—

The shower curtain is ripped back as Sebastian pokes his head into the shower.

I let out a startled squeak at his sudden appearance, and Reid mutters a curse under his breath, dropping his hand away from mine.

“Dammit, Sebastian. We’ve been over this. You can’t just barge into the fucking bathroom when someone is showering.”

“Oh yeah?” Sebastian smirks. “Then how did you get in here?”

Reid snaps his mouth shut, glowering at his brother, and the youngest Cooper triplet laughs.

“You two sure look nice and cozy,” he observes, arching a brow.

“Yeah, so shut the curtain, you’re letting out our steam.” Reid tries to pull the curtain closed on him, but Sebastian just pushes it open again.

“Hey, shortcake.” He gives me a playful wink. “How about another dare?”

Reid looks like he’s about to strangle Sebastian, which I’m sure is at least half the reason his brother is still in here. I’m not the only one who enjoys pushing Reid’s buttons. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Yeah, what kind of dare?” I ask, intrigued.

“I dare you to streak through the woods behind the house. You’re already naked, and you’re nice and warm from the shower. So the cold air and fresh snow will be invigorating.” He grins. “Kind of like the polar plunge.”

Reid grimaces, but I’m already trying to guess whether this will be easier or harder than jumping into a freezing cold lake. My guess is easier, since nothing could be as cold as that water—and just like when we were kids and Sebastian would throw down a dare, there’s no way I’m going to back down.

“Okay, fine.” I shoot Sebastian a sweet smile. “I’ll do it… if all of you do it with me.”

“Done,” he agrees instantly, at the exact same moment that Reid says, “No fucking way.”

“Well, now you’re just being a party pooper like Nick,” Sebastian chides his brother just as the man in question walks into the bathroom to see what we’re all doing in here.

“Are you guys talking about me?” He frowns, his eyes groggy and his hair still messy from sleep. Nick is fucking adorable first thing in the morning, half mountain man and half teddy bear. “What are you all doing in here anyway?”

“We were enjoying a nice, relaxing shower,” Reid points out, irritation coloring his tone. But he clearly knows his brothers well enough to realize that the quiet moment is long gone, because he turns off the water and grabs me a towel from the rack, helping me wrap it around myself.

Sebastian laughs and explains the dare to Nick, who surprises me by nodding.

“The guys at the fire station did something similar on my first day,” he tells us. “So sure, I’m in.”

That leaves Reid as the only holdout, and he finally agrees—either because of the pleading look I give him or just because his pride won’t allow him to be the only brother who isn’t up to the challenge.

“Worried about shrinkage?” Sebastian teases as we all head downstairs and walk naked toward the back door of the house.

Reid snorts. “Even if there were shrinkage, I’d still be fine. I’d be more worried about all those metal piercings freezing your impaled dick.”

Sebastian howls with laughter, and even Nick chuckles at that. I can’t help but join in, amused by their banter.

At the back door, Nick lays out the rules: one lap around the entire wooded area behind the house, not taking shortcuts, and no covering up your naughty bits. There aren’t any neighbors too close by, and the chances of someone walking by at this time of morning are slim, so the risk of being spotted by anyone is negligible.

“The winner is the one who completes the whole streak without breaking any of the rules and makes it back to the house first.”

“That’s easy, I’m the smallest and the fastest.” I probably just jinxed myself by bragging, but I don’t even care.

Sebastian opens the back door to count us down. “Three… two… one…”

A gust of chilly air sweeps into the house, and I’m already anticipating frostbite.

“Go!”

All four of us take off running.

I make it out of the door first, followed by Sebastian. I glance quickly over my shoulder and see Reid and Nick get stuck trying to squeeze through the door at the same time. They struggle for a few seconds before pushing through and making a beeline after us.

As my bare feet pound through the snow, the cold makes me gasp and sucks my breath away. The frigid air burns my lungs as I run, and my toes go numb almost instantly. As much as I’ve never been a huge fan of running, I embrace it now because the physical exertion is the only thing keeping me warm.

For a few seconds, I’m in the lead. I wasn’t wrong about being the smallest, most agile, and lightest on my feet. But the loop around the back of the yard is studded with so many trees that there’s more weaving in and out than I expected. I can tell the men are coming up fast behind me, and as I put on a burst of speed, I trip over a tree root hidden under the white drifts and fall face first into a mound of snow.

“Hailey! Oh shit!” Sebastian laughs as he stops to help me up, brushing the snow out of my hair. “Are you okay?”

The other two men catch up to us and stop to make sure I’m all right.

I laugh breathlessly, my teeth chattering a little. “Other than my nipples being frozen solid, yes, I’m fine.”

“I’m happy to kiss them if that would help.” Reid smirks, giving me a filthy look, and Nick bends down to gather up a mound of snow in his hands.

Before anyone can ask what he’s doing, he molds the snow into a ball and pitches it at Reid’s head.

“Motherfucker!” Reid retaliates instantly, not even bothering to form the snow into a ball, just grabbing a handful and pitching it at Nick.

Within seconds, things have escalated into a full-blown snowball fight. And as cold as I was a moment ago, I can barely feel it anymore as I join in. We scream and shout and run around the yard, stopping to collect snow and throw snowballs at each other. The guys go lighter on me—except for the one that Reid hurls at my ass, which leaves a solid red welt.

“That’s for being a brat,” he tells me, his voice husky.

I smirk at him and get him back with two snowballs at once while Sebastian has him distracted with a snowball strike to the shoulder.

Just as I’m reaching down to scoop up another handful of snow, someone snatches me up by the waist. I’m thrown over a muscled shoulder, and I yelp as the world tilts around me.

“Nick! What are you?—”

“Someone is coming,” he informs me, striding quickly around the side of the house to get us out of sight. “And no one gets to see you like this, flushed and beautiful and naked. No one but us.”

Butterflies take off in my stomach, and I laugh at how much he acts like a guardian grizzly bear sometimes. From my upside down view, I catch sight of Sebastian and Reid as they join us to walk back inside. I can only imagine what we look like—three big, burly, naked men with their cocks hanging out, carrying a naked woman back to their house.

This would definitely be a good bit of juicy gossip— if anyone had actually seen us.