Three Demons Ch. 08

"Freya."

"Mmm."

"Freya, wake up. We don't have much time."

I groaned and opened my eyes. Oliver was sitting beside me on my bed. "Oliver. What is it?" I asked.

"Damn, your hair looks horrible when you just wake up," he remarked.

I furrowed my eyebrows as I rubbed the sand from my eyes, with a huff of offense. "You wake me up to insult me?" I bellowed.

He laughed. "Poor girl, no need to take it badly. Might as well accept it," he said.

I sat up and exhaled forcibly. He smiled and turned away, leaning his elbows on his knees and looking at the ground as if to mull over something. I took the opportunity to quickly tame my hair with my fingers as best I could without the help of a mirror. When he turned back to look at me, I quickly put my hands at my sides. His mouth had been open as if he wanted to say something, but then he shut it and smiled. "What?" I asked, feigning oblivion.

He scooted closer and leaned in. I felt his fingers undoing the knotted tangles in my hair and smoothing the frizz. "You're sweet," he cooed, once he'd finished. His doe brown eyes fixated on mine and a happy-go-lucky smile graced his bearded mouth. He held my face between his strong hands, running his thumbs over my cheeks affectionately. His eyelashes shaded his face as he looked at my lips before kissing them. His lips were soft but sure against mine, his tongue skidded across my mouth to politely seek entrance. I let him in and when our tongues met I could clearly taste sweet mint. I had saliva pooled in the back of my mouth from my night's sleep and quickly swallowed, hoping my mouth didn't taste like drool. But if he did notice, he gave no sign of dislike toward me, none at all. One of his hands pressed against the side of my neck and slid down to massage my shoulder. There was no hunger behind the kiss as we continued to tie tongues, just patience and affection. My hands slid up his sides to grab at his back and I moaned against him.

Oliver had been waking me up this way for the past few days since our last 'encounter.' He woke about 15 minutes before everyone else did to give me secret kisses. He was always gentle despite his teasing words, always ending it with a quaint nibble to my lips. And there it was; I felt him pull away just enough to close his teeth around my lip. His fingers slid down my body, between my breasts and down my navel to rest at my hip. Only then did he release my lip from between his teeth and end the kiss. He got off the bed and stepped away before turning to the door. I quickly stood up and jumped in front of him, as I had every other day he'd visited me, to stand on my toes so I could reach my lips to his. He took hold of me at my waist to lift me up, so that my mouth was level with his, and I took the opportunity to wrap my legs around his torso and my arms around his neck. He pushed me against the wall and the kiss became hungrier, just as it had the past few days. He would press his pelvis against mine and just when I started feeling him getting hard, he would pull away and set me down on my feet before exiting the room and shutting the door behind him. I turned away then, to settle back down in bed. Felix was awake now, laying complacently by the foot of the bed. I affectionately pet his head and asked him if he needed to go out, to which he responded by immediately standing up and jumping onto the floor as if ready to go.

I led him out of the room and saw Everett emerge from his, half naked. He was big and brawny, a light dusting of blonde hair gracing his taut chest down to his ribs. A similar trail of hair started just under his navel and disappeared under his sweats. His hair was in its usual, messy braid and his jaw dawned its always two-day old stubble. He smiled at me, looking me over with my still undoubtedly messy hair and the white crust dried a few inches away from my mouth. "Good morning, Freya," he said. I was wearing a long, old shirt. His eyes flickered with their signature glow as his gaze shifted between my face and my body. I groaned when I finally realized my nipples beading as a result of what was becoming a morning ritual with Oliver. I crossed my arms over my chest and his smile turned into one very broad grin. "You're up early," he commented, slowly prowling closer.

"I've been having trouble sleeping lately," I explained, wiping the sand from the corner of my eye. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, his biceps bulging along with his taut chest. His white hair fell into his glowing, golden eyes but he didn't seem to notice.

"Maybe you're restless," he remarked, "I can help with that."

"Oh, really?" I asked, covering my yawning mouth with a hand, "Sorry," I muttered.

He smiled, lines forming around the corners of his mouth. "Maybe you could come with us when we go for runs in the evening," he suggested.

"I don't think so, I'm not much of an athlete. I mean, I enjoy some things. Running is too boring and difficult for me," I rambled. My eyes fixed on his arms. He didn't have any hair on the top half of them, bringing his visibly hard muscle to my attention. His forearms and hands had a pleasant golden fuzz about them and they flexed beautifully under my observance. His shoulders were wide, but his waist was small. His skin was a light caramel, shining though there was no light. I felt my knees weaken.

"I admit it can be a difficult task at first, but I don't think I'd have trouble keeping you entertained," he began, watching my trembling lower limbs with obvious concern, "but maybe we'll find another passtime that'll exhaust you."

"Right," I agreed awkwardly, before heading into the bathroom and quickly shutting the door behind me. That was horrible. You were horrible, Freya, I chastised myself. I wanted to talk to him as easily as I could talk to Erik or Oliver but he was rarely ever around and we barely knew each other as a result. He was always working or out in the evening on some sort of business venture. Sometimes I thought his boss was cruel to make him work that long, when Oliver had the same employer and didn't slave away endlessly like his coworker did. I turned on the faucet and wet my blue toothbrush before smearing it with toothpaste and shoving it into my mouth to scrub at my teeth as I thought.

In the past couple of days, Oliver and I had barely discussed our plans to get Everett and Erik to agree to...honestly, I didn't know what they were agreeing to. Or what I was agreeing to. Or even if what Oliver was suggesting was something I was interested in. Well, that's a lie. I was interested, I was just worried about how badly things could turn out if we weren't careful. Sometimes I wasn't even sure Everett was interested in me. He watched me quite a bit, hungrily I might add, but he never made a move like both Erik and Oliver had. A part of me was a little offended, for lack of a better word. I knew it was arrogant and childish to expect all three of them to want me badly. Wasn't it irresponsible to lead all three of them on once I had officially gained their interest? Perhaps not in Oliver's case as he was the one who suggested this mess. I spit the froth that had accumulated in my mouth into the sink and continued brushing.

Oliver had given me a lot of information on Erik that I had previously failed to notice. I assumed he was unemployed as all he seemed to do on a day to day basis was cook a few meals, watch TV shows, and nap. But Oliver assured me he did have a job. Apparently, Erik was employed under the same company as Oliver and Everett, but he worked at a different branch. He was a researcher, a security tech, a hacker, among other things. He worked on the cyber security of the company and gathered any digital intel that existed and could come of use. I was surprised by this, asking where he got the time. "He usually naps during the day so he can work at night," Oliver explained. And upon my inquiry as to why he worked at night, Oliver said, "Its how he works best. He's a nocturnal creature by default, Freya, best you remember that."

"So what do you do then? What is your official job title?" I asked.

"I'm part of the company's legal defense, officially, but I do a lot more than that. The company pays well enough to keep them as my only client, so I have all this free time on my hands. I secure relations with other businesses and banks. I basically schmooze whoever I can to keep the company's agenda in motion."

"Why would you do that?" I asked. "Are you getting paid to do that?"

"Well, no. But I own a large share of the company, its in my best interest to keep it up and running."

"Wow, you must be loaded. So why do you live here, in the middle of no where? With roommates, even!" I questioned him, unable to contain my bewilderment.

"Erik, Everett and I," he began, "We're the same," At my look of confusion he continued, "I know that sounds like a ridiculous notion at first, but the truth is that we are the same. There are many differences, quirks, that each of us have which separates us into individuals - to that there is no argument. We've known each other since we were children and have remained close friends until today. I have no doubt that we will continue to stand by each other like brothers to the day we die, no matter what troubles we face. When you strip away the quirks, the differences, what remains is the very core of our beings. That base part of us is what ties us together."

"That sounds..."

"Ridiculous, I know," he commended.

"I was going to say a head trip, but yes," I remarked, with a satiric laugh.

"You'll see for yourself one day," he returned, ending the conversation.

I spit out the froth from the toothpaste a second time and rinsed my mouth and the brush. I washed my face and dried it with a towel afterward. I left the bathroom and headed for my room, then sat on my bed before realizing that I'd forgotten to take Felix out. I quickly got up and started looking for him. I called out his name several times, but he was no where to be found. I heard Erik call out from the kitchen, "Everett took him out the back door!"

"Thank you!" I called back to him, before rushing to the hall closet to put on my boots and winter coat. After heading out the back of the house, I spotted Felix at the edge of the woods. I walked down the steps to the path in the backyard and there was Everett, leaning against the exterior of the house. The wind blew and bit cold into my bones. I zipped the coat up and lifted the hood, shivering where I stood. How stupid was I not to put pants on before coming out here. I huddled over to where Everett stood, watching Felix sniff around. Even he was shaking slightly, poor bastard. I turned my head to look at Everett and he wasn't wearing any outerwear, not even a sweater! He was still in his sweats from before, with the addition of his work boots and a thin gray tee. "Aren't you cold?" I blurted, trying my hardest to keep my teeth from chattering.

He turned his head and looked down at me. His smile was soft and he gently shook his head. "You are," he noted. His eyes flickered with that golden light again, I just turned and ignored it.

"I am," I confirmed, "Freezing."

He chuckled. "You should've put some pants on," he tutted. I looked at the ground to hide the blush heating my cheeks, making them as red as I'm sure my nose was at this point.

I turned and spotted the thermometer on the wall by the door. I squinted to see what the temperature was. "Its 40 degrees out!" I bellowed, astonished that he was comfortable in his attire.

He turned to look at the thermometer as well, before turning back to watch Felix. "So I gather."

"How in seven hells are you not cold?" I practically yelled. He just shrugged. I shut my mouth after that, unsure how to continue on to a different topic. I watched Felix as well, shivering the entire time, before progressively becoming agitated and then furious. Why the hell should I freeze to death while he's as comfortable as can be? I thought. A smile formed at my lips as a nasty thought crossed my mind. I sprinted the 5 feet of distance between us and slid my cold-as-ice hands under his shirt, feeling his skin burning under my touch. I would've removed my hands as soon as I saw his annoyed gaze directed at me, but my hands were warming up nicely and once they were at an optimal temperature, I kept them there to feel his marble muscle under my hands.

How does someone turn into a rock? I wondered, as I kept fondling his stomach. "Freya," he said. I looked up at him, my eyes meeting his gaze, yet my hands refused to move. "Freya," he repeated.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You're touching me," he answered.

I looked down at my hands and then back up at his face. "Yes," I agreed. He scoffed and smiled, tussling my newly brushed hair into a tangled mess with a heavy hand. I rubbed my face against it affectionately and he only laughed, pushing me away by my forehead. "You're warm," I protested.

"I am aware," he remarked, watching Felix trot back to us. He squatted down, Felix approaching him instead of me, and pet the mutt on the head, scratching behind his ears and showing Felix more kindness than I'd received from him in the past ten minutes. I wanted to ask him if there was a reason why he was so warm, if maybe he had a fever, just to be polite and create a means of conversation with him. He turned my way and interrupted me just as I was opening my mouth. "You should get him inside, maybe feed him. He seems hungry to me," he said, before standing up. The vibe he gave off was one that screamed disinterest, much to my annoyance.

"Yeah, I'll do that," I said, plastering a smile on my face. What are you, the dog whisperer? I thought maliciously. "Come on, Felix," I muttered, patting my leg and heading up the stairs. I opened the door and Felix trotted inside, following me around like a lost puppy. He nuzzled at my hand with his snout and I seethed from irritation, "Stop!" He dropped his head to the floor in a submissive crouch. If his tail had been longer, it would've been between his legs. The guilt hit me immediately. I dropped into a squat so that we were the same height and pet his head soothingly, paying special attention to his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm a horrible owner, I shouldn't lash out at you. You deserve better," I squealed, my words spilling out of my mouth.

I heard a snort. "You're not that bad," I head Erik say. I looked up at him. He had a steaming pot of coffee in one hand and an empty mug dangling off his fingers by it's handle in the other. "Coffee?" he asked.

I stood. "No, thanks," I replied, waving my hand dismissively. I walked over to the kitchen, opening the pantry where I kept the dog food, and filled Felix's bowl. Erik followed me the way there, leaning on the closest countertop to me.

He poured the coffee into the mug anyway, raising it up to his lips and saying, "Suit yourself," before taking a sip. His face twisted with distaste and he muttered, "Too bitter," as he trudged away to where the sugar was kept. I sat down at the dining table, dropping my head against it with a thud, passively watching Felix wolf his kibble down his throat. I heard Erik walk back over to the dining table, pull out a chair next to mine, and sit in it. "Why so glum, sweetheart?" he asked, leaning forward so that his chin rested on his crossed arms at the table.

"Don't laugh, okay?" I pleaded pathetically. My eyes shifted to meet his green gaze. He was such a handsome guy with perfect cheekbones and the prettiest eyes I'd ever seen. Sometimes, his face held an almost feminine look to it from the delicacy of his features. He was the complete opposite of Everett in almost every aspect.

"I promise," he agreed, leaning back just enough to trace a cross over his heart with his finger. His eyes crinkled with sincerity while his full lips stretched into their default predatory grin.

I sighed, smiling absentmindedly back at him. "I like you," I shared, my smile growing broader.

"I like you too," he replied, his smile mimicking mine.

"You know how you said you'd wait for me to make a decision?" I asked, "That I had to make the next move," I explained further.

His body visibly tensed and I saw his eye twitch. His sweet smile straightened into a serious line and I wanted to laugh at how nervous this made him in an instant. "Yes," he said.

"Well, I think I've made my decision," I began with a smile. I paused then, watching his pretty face and adoring ever part. I felt an inkling of love for this man, I cared for him. I'd wanted him from day one and I'd kept him waiting long enough, right? Right, I thought. "I-"

"Morning guys," Oliver practically shouted, interrupting me. "Gee, am I hungry," he continued.

Erik sat up straight and covered his face with his hands, digging into his skin with his nails. "I hate you, Ol," Erik groaned.

"Uh huh," Oliver said, opening the fridge and leaning over it to observe its contents. "So what are we eating?"

"There's food on the stove," I answered.

Oliver turned to look at it. "So there is," he mumbled. "Freya, can you find Everett and tell him breakfast is ready?" My face twisted with distaste; I didn't really want to endure another awkward conversation with Everett, but Oliver continued to look at me expectantly. I sighed.

"We'll talk later tonight, hon," I promised Erik, placing my hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. I sighed, not looking forward to speaking to Everett so soon. I walked to the back door and exited house. I didn't immediately see him. I started walking around, but I still couldn't find him. What I did find, however, was his clothes by the air conditioning unit. My eyebrows knit together in confusion. Odd, I thought. Why would his clothes be here? I sorted through them and, sure enough, his boxers were tucked in his sweats, underneath his shirt. His boots were beside the pile of his clothing on the air unit, his socks stuffed inside them. I stared at the clothes, then at the treeline just yonder, with the wheels in my head turning. I squinted at the treeline suspiciously. "What if..."

Then I spotted something. At first I didn't notice it because it blended in with the white of the snow. Far off there was what looked like a white wolf and it was staring right at me. It was beautiful, really. Shiny fur, big and obviously athletic. I watched it, mesmerized. I wasn't even aware that there were wolves in these parts. I smiled and took a few steps toward the woods to get a closer look at it. After that we both stood motionless, watching each other. It was as if he was just as interested in me as I was in him. I smiled and walked closer still, able to see its face better. Golden eyes.

"Freya, where are you?" I heard Erik call from inside. I heard the door open, "Oh, there you are," he said. I turned to look at him. "What are you doing out here?"

"I went to find Everett like Oliver told me to," I began, "But he wasn't here, just his clothes, and-" I turned to look at the forest but the wolf was gone.

"And?"

"Why are his clothes here?" I asked, still staring out toward the woods.

"Hmm," Erik said, his tone suggesting confusion, "Maybe he went out running before everyone woke up and was sweaty, then got undressed. He's eccentric, I don't know. He's probably taking a shower as we speak."

It was possible. He was very warm when I touched him earlier, maybe he'd come outside to cool off. There were no sweat stains, not even an odorous smell, to his clothing that might suggest he went out for a run. "Maybe," I agreed.

"Come inside, get that coat off," Erik suggested, waving me in with his hand. I did as he asked and slowly took each step. He held the door open for me until I could hold it open for myself and headed back inside. I looked out at the tree line again, one last time, and there was the white wolf. He was sitting on his hind legs, watching me curiously. It made me smile.