“That didn’t last long,” I heard Michael say. “I’m sorry, babe.”

Erika chuckled, out of breath. “It’s okay. I came.” And then some kissing sounds. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he said.

Opening my eyes, I looked down at Alex, her stomach rising and falling in heavy breaths, and I bent over, resting my forehead on her chest.

She ran her hands over my back, holding me tight.

In another moment, Kai’s wife came, whimpering into the dark train car, and I almost smiled, but I didn’t have the energy.

Never would I have imagined I’d do something like this, but I wasn’t embarrassed. Not in the least. They followed us, all of us leaping over the edge, too.

I was about to rise back up and face Will, but just at that moment, something slipped around my neck and I was yanked up, an itchy rope squeezing my skin.

Will pulled me against his body, and I tipped my head back, looking up at him as he leaned down, his lips brushing my ear.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” he whispered in a raspy voice. “You haven’t left prison yet.”

He grabbed my breast, squeezing it like it was his property, and chills spread out over my body as the train started moving under us again.

His hot breath filled my ear. “It’s time you saw the catacombs.”

A shiver ran down my spine, and my nipples pebbled as I turned and looked at him. “I don’t want to grow up anymore,” I told him. “Take me back to Thunder Bay.”

Back to Neverland.

I’m ready.

Will

Present

“You gonna fight?” I said to her as David led her off the train.

She smirked, the rope I had around her neck last night tied around her wrists now. “I’ll never stop,” she taunted. “Promise.”

A smile threatened, and I jerked my chin at David to get her out of here before she saw how much power she still had over me.

Last night was insane. What was she doing to me?

She was incredible. To see her like that, alive like she was in the greenhouse, too, and to know that the lies I carried around to make myself feel better about losing her all those years ago were completely untrue.

She fit with us.

She was made for us.

What wouldn’t people do if they felt safe enough to dive in headfirst? She did it. She didn’t have to, but the best part about it was I didn’t think she was thinking about it at all. She just let go.

I wanted to wrap my body around hers so badly I refrained, because I knew that I’d squeeze the life out of her, wanting her so much. My cock was so hard last night, watching them.

And Alex… The way Emmy took control of her was even more of a surprise, because I knew Alex wasn’t used to it. It was beautiful to see her dominated and seduced and taken charge of, so she could just revel instead of feeling the pressure to give others pleasure when it was high time for her turn.

Luckily, Emmy hadn’t seemed to wake up yet, even though nightfall had passed hours ago. The spell hadn’t broken, and she was still…divine.

We arrived in Thunder Bay around eight this morning. Lev and David were instructed to take Emory to St. Killian’s and they walked across the platform, followed by Misha and the girls. The guys stayed behind with me in the emptying car.

I spotted a courier outside and opened my mouth to tell the guys I’d see them in a while, but then, all of a sudden, a punch landed in my gut, and I hunched over, barely registering Damon moving to Kai, and then Michael next. He threw a punch across Kai’s jaw and landed an uppercut right in Michael’s stomach.

“Ugh!” Michael growled as I winced.

“Man, what the fuck?” Kai barked, rubbing his face.

I looked up at Damon, the pain in my abs like a knot tightening over and over again.

He inhaled a deep breath, fixing the lapels of his suit jacket. “I’d rather not walk in on my sisters in some weirdo, bacchanalian sex fest ever again,” he stated. “Understand?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. Spinning around with his lips tight, he stalked off the train as the rest of us tried to stand up straight again.

Shit. He saw that last night? Fuck.

“I keep forgetting those are his sisters,” Michael said, rubbing his stomach.

Kai started laughing, shaking his head. “Crap…”

We all started laughing, an image of him walking in and then promptly back out replaying over and over again in my head. How had we not seen him?

Poor D.

I held out my hand to Kai. “Give me your keys,” I told him. “Ride with Michael. I have a few things to do.”

He nodded and dropped his keys into my palm, grabbing the back of my neck and bringing me in. “Welcome home,” he said and then left the train.

It felt good to be home. I think.

“Take Emory with you,” I told Michael. “Lock her up downstairs. I’ll be back in a while.”

“Okay.”

Micah, Rory, and I headed off the train, and I grabbed the envelope from the courier as I passed, not stopping for anything as I ripped open the package and dug out a cell phone. Turning it on, I clicked to my keypad, my thumb hovering over the numbers, but…

I wasn’t ready. I didn’t want to face the world yet, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to my parents if I did call them.

Or my grandfather, brothers, or other friends...

Slowly…

Clicking the key fob, I saw the taillights of a black Porsche Panamera light up, and the three of us climbed in, my body tingling at the feel of a car.

God, it had been so long. The leather seats grinded under my weight, and I inhaled the scent of the new vehicle, instant euphoria calming my brain.

Fuck, this felt good.

Starting it up, I hit the clutch, turned up the radio as some new song from Thousand Foot Krutch started playing, and punched the shift into reverse, hitting the gas.

We peeled out of the parking lot, the speed and music taking over as Rory let his head fall back and his eyes close, exhaling for the first time since I’d met him. Micah sat in the passenger seat next to me, his head tipped out the open window, smiling and sighing at the same time as the wind blew over his face.

How we’d missed the simple pleasures of speed and wind and freedom.

I just needed a decent cheeseburger now, and I was home.

We raced into town, past the Cove, past Cold Point, and through the neighborhoods, a For Sale sign sitting on the lawn of Emmy’s old house. The yard looked like shit, and I knew Martin Scott was spending more of his time in Meridian City as he moved up the ranks of public service, but I did a double take, not expecting to see that. Did Emmy know the house was for sale?

How long had it been on the market? It was a great house in a quaint, little neighborhood. There would be interest soon, if not already.

Turning right, we passed the village and the cathedral, turning left up into the hills and past my old high school as we headed up to my parents’ house.

I kind of wished I could put this off a while longer, especially since I wouldn’t get out of there easily with my mom whining about how worried she’d been, and my dad grilling me about every detail until he was good and satisfied. But if they found out I was in town and hadn’t touched base, it would be worse.