“I don’t remember offering to share, and I got here first,” I say with some annoyance as the vampire slips into the bed completely naked, sliding in next to Violet on her other side.

When the hell did he remove the rest of his clothes?

“I had a baby to drop off before I could make it this far,” he tells me in an unconcerned tone.

His arm goes around her middle, dragging her closer to him. Fucking vampire.

Her hand and leg stay on me, but she unconsciously curves her other arm up around Arion’s neck, her fingers slipping through his hair and stilling.

His grin is subtle, but I see the glint in his eyes.

“She certainly does need us. She guards her needs more than she guards her body, though,” he murmurs, kissing a trail down her arm.

She makes a content sound, even as she remains asleep.

“Where the hell are you going to fit?” I ask on a tired breath, as Damien shrugs and starts slipping out of his own clothes.

“Looks like she needs something to sleep on top of,” he notes.

Arion moves in a blur before I can, and Damien curses, as the smirking vampire ends up under Violet like a full-body pillow.

“Excellent suggestion,” Arion states, as Violet tucks her head under his chin. “I run cold, like her, so it makes more sense for it to be me she’s on.”

I still have her touching me; although, now the naked vampire is too damn close for comfort.

“How pissed will she be when she wakes and finds the three of us decided to sleep with her in her bed?” Damien muses as he slips in next to Arion.

My attention goes to the arm she immediately drapes over him, as though she senses him the way she sensed the other two of us.

He catches her hand, kissing her fingertips, and then threads his fingers with hers.

“I’m glad Emit is paralyzed. It’d be a pain in the ass to squeeze him in,” Damien states on a yawn.

“Really? You paralyzed her mate?” Arion asks in a tsking tone.

Rolling my eyes, I let my lids flutter shut. Damn wolf.

He didn’t even have to try to get her to mate him. She gave in to soothe his beast without much hesitation at all, regardless of the lasting consequences.

“Because Emit marked Idun, she refused to be my Flame,” Damien murmurs, following his words up with a shudder. “Thank fuck for that. We only get one Flame.”

“She never even considered being my bride, not that I bothered asking,” Arion states so quietly I almost miss it. “Violet won’t be so cruel.”

My eyes crack open to see his hands grab her ass, and I clear my throat.

“She’ll not be upset about us sleeping here so much as she’d be upset with getting groped in her sleep,” I point out.

“I was considering fucking her and getting this party started,” Arion states very seriously, blinking over at me.

Damien laughs humorlessly, as I groan and toss an arm over my eyes.

“You’re an idiot if you think that’s a good idea. Damien’s the sexual deviant. He’s the only one who’d get a free pass over something like that,” I point out.

“For the first time ever, I envy you, Morpheous,” Arion bites out.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Damn girl yells at me when I sneak into her room without permission,” Damien grumbles. “I’d have to be my monster to get away with something like that. Maybe I’ll provoke the damn thing just to see how she treats it.”

“Don’t be a fool,” I mumble. “You’re both tempting me to stab you right now.”

“She’s going to need a bigger bed,” Arion notes.

“Her last one was broken. She had a bigger one,” Damien gripes.

“Children, go to sleep or I’ll make you sleep in your own fucking beds,” I snap.

When it goes silent, my head roams to harder times, remembering the worst flaw with the last woman we all fought for.

“What about you, Van Helsing? Idun favored you. Would she have been the Dark Knight’s lady?” Arion muses aloud, cutting through the silence.

I don’t respond at first. They both know the answer. We all know why things truly fell apart long before Idun lost her sense of humanity. Arion lost his humanity, yet here he lies, leashed to the girl with a heart so big she can’t really stand all the nonsensical violence.

I was the only one Idun truly wanted, and I didn’t want her unless she wanted all four of us. It’s my secret that will remain my secret, because I don’t mind if I have to share. It’s less stressful to share, because I have enough responsibility. I can’t be everything she needs all the time, and still fulfill all my many obligations.

Not to mention, I still hate all three of them for never understanding the misery of my own curse.

“Unlike the three of you, I never really cared what Idun wanted. I was too cold to love her the way she wanted to be loved by me. She only made me colder,” I state quietly.

Violet’s hand chills against my heart, as though she’s soothing pain that isn’t there, and a ghost of a smile tugs at my lips. Even in her sleep, she’s still protective.

I’ve never had anyone but the three of them willing to protect me. Everyone else has always needed me to protect them.

Idun included, even though she was capable of taking better care of herself.