I step off the stairs and hear male voices in the kitchen, so I tap the runes on my ear to spy. They’re talking about their classes that are going to be starting again soon, and grumbling about the end of their lazy summer. None of that has anything to do with me, so I turn the runes off and head towards the kitchen. I woke up early for breakfast and then escaped outside to walk around all morning.

I crept back into the house at lunchtime, and I’ve been in my room all afternoon reading about magic and basically hiding. Unfortunately, hunger has forced me to the kitchen where the boys are currently congregated. I guess there goes my plan to avoid them like the plague until I can convince my body parts to behave.

“There she is," Knox announces as I hesitantly round the corner and spot them all gathered around the kitchen island.

I curse my empty and demanding stomach as I cautiously approach the group. When I get closer, Knox puts an arm around my shoulder and tucks me into his side. His contact surprises me, and as usual, I tense up. He either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care because his arm stays draped around me. After a couple of seconds, I decide that it doesn’t bother me and I start to relax.

“All right, what are we ordering?”

Four sets of eyes turn to me.

“A yacht,” I randomly guess, completely clueless as to what they are asking me.

“No, pizza. What do you want on your pizza?” Knox clarifies, giving me an amused smile.

“Ahhh, you should really be more specific next time. Um, I’m good with anything as long as there’s no fish, olives, or mushrooms.”

I internally congratulate myself for formulating a coherent answer in the wake of Knox’s perfect smile.

“Sweet, let’s do two of the usual. One without mushrooms for the lady, two BBQ chicken, and a meatball and artichoke in case Sabin can make it,” one of the twins declares.

When there are no objections, he calls to place the order.

I’m a little confused as to why I’m being included in this process, but I’m starving, and pizza sounds amazing.

“Why a yacht?” the other twin asks me.

“Well, you’ve got a plane, the mega-mansion, and all the cars, I just figured it was the next logical purchase.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “I’ll tell Silva to get on it. Until then we’ll have to slum it and ask Evrin or Aydin to use one of their boats.”

I smile at the smart ass twin and raise my hand like I’m holding a drink. “Here’s to slumming it," I toast and laugh when they all mirror me.

“To slumming it,” choruses around the kitchen.

“Okay, so remind me which one of you is Valen and which is Bastien,” I ask.

“I’m Valen.”

“And I’m Bastien.”

I glance back and forth between the two looking for markers that will help me identify them separately. They are both in t-shirts and sweats, and their hair is pulled back into knots on the back of their heads. The only difference I can physically spot is that Bastien has a touch more green around his pupil than Valen does. I cling to that difference hoping it will help me correctly identify them in the future.

“Sabin is the last member of our boy band. He’s going to try and come by later, but he’s been caught up doing some family stuff," Valen tells me, and I nod. All of their eyes are back on me, and it takes me a minute to realize what they want.

“I’m Vinna,” I tell them, realizing that I never told them my name last night.

They nod at me, and I see Bastien silently mouth my name to get a taste for it.

“So, Vinna, tell us about yourself," Ryker says.

“Yeah, we’re all dying to know,” Knox adds, his thumb rubbing absently on my shoulder.

Ryker swats his arm, but Knox just chuckles and brushes him off.

“It’s kind of a long story,” I say dismissively, slinking out from under Knox’s arm and claiming one of the seats at the island.

“Oh no you don’t, you tried that evasive maneuver last night and then left us hanging. We’ve got time," Bastien calls me out.

I stare at the extra green in his hazel eyes and get lost for a moment.

“I don’t really know where to start,” I admit. I think back for a second and decide to start with the magic. “I’ve had these weird abilities since I was about twelve, but I never knew why. They’d show up off and on, usually when I was in trouble or super emotional, but what would happen was always unpredictable.

“I ran into my first lamia at fourteen, and since then my abilities have become more reliable. At sixteen the runes showed up, and four days ago I learned that all of this means I’m a caster. I have no idea who my parents are, and no idea why I was given to a woman who had no business caring for another living thing. To the paladin’s dismay, I come with more questions than answers, and I guess that about sums me up.”

I shrug.

“Well, now I feel like an even bigger asshole for hurting you," Bastien laments.

“You should," I tease and offer him a warm smile, so he knows I’m not holding a grudge. “You weren’t the first and probably won’t be the last, so no worries," I offer in jest, but it seems to make everyone in the room stiffen instead of lightening the mood like I was aiming for.

Ryker takes the seat next to me and motions to the runes that flow from my shoulder down my arm. “So these…they’re not tattoos?”

“Nope, they were my magic’s sweet sixteen present."

Ryker and Knox both lean in for a closer examination, and my heart speeds up. Knox takes my hand, flipping it over and then brings it closer to his face so he can get a better look at the runes on my fingers.

“Are they just on your arms and torso?” Valen inquires.

“No, they’re all over my body.”

He runs his gaze all over me, and for some reason it makes me shiver. Knox starts tracing the runes on my hand with his finger. His feather-light touch sends a whirling sensation throughout me, and the intensity of it builds with each caress. I focus on the unusual feeling, trying to figure out what’s going on when it dawns on me that it has something to do with my magic.

I scramble away, worried my magic is going to do something spazzy. I try to cover my panicked retreat by making it seem like I was just heading to the fridge to get a drink.

“You guys want anything?” I offer, trying and failing at coming off casual.

I pass around sodas and then resettle myself between Bastien and Valen. They don’t seem to be as touchy as the other two. Knox starts to chuckle, and I look over to him.

“We scare you away?” he teases.

“I’m not used to people touching me. Well, in a non-threatening way, I mean. Try to punch me, and I’m in my comfort zone, but hugs and cuddles aren’t exactly in my wheelhouse," I blurt awkwardly. His joking smile disappears.

“Sorry," he offers.

“No, I like it," I rush and then realize how that sounds. “I mean, the sisters have been hugging me a lot, being affectionate to help me get used to it. So it would probably help if you touch me, too," I stop, repeating my words in my head, and I cringe.

Knox gets a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“This is not coming out right," I groan and cover my face with my hands. Man, I am so glad I’m not a blusher. Easy laughter makes its way around the group, and I find I’m laughing awkwardly with them.

“What I mean is, be who you are. If you do anything that I am uncomfortable with I’ll tell you," I finally manage to clarify.

“So, what are the runes for, do you know?” Ryker asks, thankfully bringing everyone’s attention back to the previous subject.

“They all do different things. Some create weapons or enhance skills that I have.” I let my voice trail off not sure if I should get more specific than that.

“Is that how you know how to fight?” Bastien asks.

“Yes and no. I’ve trained and worked hard, so that’s part of it. I’ve been fighting for a living for years now, so that’s another part, but I think something about my magic definitely helps me. Fighting seems to come naturally to me. If I see something, somehow I’m able to do it, and my runes all seem to exist to help protect me in some way.”

“What did Lachlan say about them? Does he recognize anything?” Valen inquires.

“He just said I shouldn’t have them. I think he still thinks they’re tattoos even though I explained they’re not. None of his coven know what to make of them, or me for that matter.” I circle a finger over my head. “Like I said, I’m a big mystery.”

The doorbell rings and Knox heads off to answer it.

“Well at least you can feel a little better about Vinna kicking your ass," Valen offers his brother.

Bastien snorts and runs a hand over his formerly broken cheek and then winks at me. Knox returns with a stack of pizza boxes and each of us grab one to help lighten the load. Valen waves us downstairs, and I follow the boys to the theater room, pizza box and drink in hand. I create a little nest for myself in the corner of the gigantic bed-like sofa that takes up most of the room.

Bastien and Valen sit on either side of me, and Ryker and Knox take up space on the other side of the couch. After a heated debate, we all finally agree to watch The Rock. The consensus is that Nicolas Cage is annoying, but Sean Connery’s awesomeness cancels it out.

I’ve never seen it before, but twenty minutes in, I have to agree with their opinions about the actors. The guys laugh and heckle when I started rooting for the soldiers who are technically the bad guys in the movie.

“What?” I protest, throwing crumpled napkins at all of them. “They’re pissed that the government screwed them and their friends over. I’m with them," I explain, booing loudly as each of the soldiers are bested and killed off. The movie ends, and before number two can get started, I run out for a quick pee break.

When I get back, World War Z is queued up to play, and I crawl back towards my nest to find that Valen is laying in my spot. I catch Ryker and Knox watching me out of the corner of their eyes, clearly waiting to see what I’m going to do about it. I grab a slice of pizza and then plop my butt heavily on top of Valen’s chest. I hear him grunt and then feel his chest vibrating with laughter.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say innocently “I didn’t see you there in my spot.”

“Technically, it’s my spot. I always sit here when we watch movies. I just let you borrow it for the first movie because I’m a nice guy," Valen baits me.

“Well, keep that nice guy shit up and give me my spot back, I had a sweet pillow nest going.”

Valen stretches out and snuggles deeper into said pillow nest. “I know, thank you for getting my spot nice and comfy for me.”

I look around to the others and judging by their amused smiles they’re not going to be any help. I’m growing more aware that I’ve put myself in a bit of a precarious situation. I don’t know Valen, and now I’ve gone and sat on him which is probably crossing some kind of normal social boundary.

I’m perched on him awkwardly, now debating what to do. Valen laughs again like he can sense my internal dilemma and I bristle. Well, here’s to being a stubborn bitch, I muse as I wiggle around. I try to be as annoying as possible and wedge myself half on top of Valen and half against the back cushions of the sofa.

He doesn’t seem to object to my purposefully making things as uncomfortable as I can for him and adds further insult to injury by grabbing my hand and taking a bite of the pizza slice I’m holding.

“What kind of man-animal…first my spot, then my fucking pizza?”

I feel him laughing, the vibration and movement warm against my back. It feels nice, and I’m so focused on that, I forget to be incredulous. Someone presses play, and the movie starts, but I’m wrapped up in my head and can’t pay attention. Is it normal for things to feel this easy and comfortable with people I just met? Do I really even care if this is not normal if it involves cuddling that doesn’t freak me out?

I’ve never had many friends. I’m not socially awkward by any means, but as much as Beth moved us around, it was hard to make and keep friends. It feels nice joking around and sharing the same space. They’re the ones who keep initiating things I tell myself, getting a little more comfortable when Valen wraps an arm around my waist.

Now, If I can just get my attraction and my body’s reactions under control. Screaming draws my attention back to the screen, and I check back in to the movie, where people are scrambling to get away from the fastest zombies I’ve ever seen.

I wake up confused, not sure where I am. I really need to stop waking up like this. I take in my surroundings. The last thing I remember is watching movies. I realize I’m still in the theater room, but it’s completely dark.

I move slightly and feel a hand around my waist twitch. Apparently, I’m still laying on Valen, but at some point, I’ve moved from my back and am now tangled chest to chest around him. My head is resting on his chest, and my knee is hiked up over his hips. He has an arm wrapped around my waist, and the other is gripping my wrist which is resting dangerously low on his stomach.

He’s breathing slow and even, completely asleep. I slip my wrist free from Valen’s grip and place my arm on the other side of his chest. I lift the weight of my torso off of him and slowly try to slide off without waking him up. I hover above him, getting my leg to the other side of his body when I feel two hands grab my hips and bring them down on top of him.

I freeze for a moment, heat rushing to where our hips are now connected, but I think he’s still asleep. I wait for a minute, and when nothing else happens, I continue to slide myself off. I’ve barely moved when Valen grinds himself up into my straddling thighs.

His hardness connects with me perfectly, and an involuntary moan escapes my lips. He does it again, and I do everything I can not to make any more noise. I watch as his eyes open lazily taking in our position.

“Hey,” he greets me, his voice deep and gravelly from sleep.

“Hey. Sorry, I was trying to move without waking you up, but you’re not making it easy,” I explain, pointing to where he’s holding on to my hips. Valen chuckles sleepily and easily lifts me up and off of him.

“Don’t be sorry. I like waking up to a beautiful female on top of me.” He winks and stretches out.

I chuckle and offer him my hand. He takes it and pulls himself up. I should look away when he adjusts himself, but my raging hormones have apparently fried my brain, so I just gawk. Eventually, I look up to find Valen smirking at me.

“Sorry," I mumble contritely and then mentally execute a facepalm for getting caught staring at his dick.

I start to walk away before I do anything crazy like jump him. Valen chuckles and follows me up the stairs. I reach our level first and turn around to tell him good night. He pulls his eyes up quickly to my face, and I realize he was looking at my ass.

“Not sorry,” he mocks, with an innocent shrug of his shoulders. I shake my head smiling, and he chuckles as we head to our rooms.

“Goodnight," I whisper-shout over my shoulder.

“If you’re in the mood for more cuddling you know where I am," Valen calls back before he walks through his bedroom door, leaving it open a crack behind him.

I pause, my hand on my doorknob. Holy hell, it’s all I can do not to follow him into his room. I put my forehead against the cold wood of my door and breathe. The coolness feels amazing against my fevered skin and I again find myself wondering if something is messing with me.

Why is being around these guys with magic turning me into a lusty hot mess? I walk into my bedroom and strip out of my pants and bra. I crawl into my amazingly comfy bed, and I’m unconscious before I can make any sense of what’s going on with me.