Amber's soulmates continued walking on eggshells when they spoke to her for the next hour or two. Mostly because they were new to the relationship as a group, and because the memory of her near-death experience was still fresh in their minds like a constant reminder of all their mistakes.
She could see it in the pain and tenderness that battled in their eyes whenever they looked at her, see it in the tension in their bodies and the slight awkwardness in the air. It was like a wall of fear and apprehension. As if they were locked in a cage that prevented them from touching her, only the cage was purely mental.
While they remained a little guarded, maybe a little aloof when they spoke to her, she could see it in their eyes that they wanted something more from her. Not in terms of her level of amicability, or her level of engagement in their conversations, but her affection. They wanted her attention; they wanted her love, and they yearned for it.
She could see it in their eyes when she agreed to what they said, when she smiled at them, when she laughed and giggled at their words. The way their eyes glazed over and something within them lifted and bubbled to dance in their beautiful eyes. A sweet, sweet look that coloured their cheeks and made them look happy.
Not that she wanted to degrade them, but it felt a little like feeding treats to puppy dogs. The way they seemed to preen and beam with pure joy whenever she paid attention to them. The way their eyes would glint and beg for her to look at them.
The only one unaffected by all of this was MinJae.
MinJae who was desperately trying to make everyone jealous.
It was a little amusing really, to see how their eyes shifted to MinJae whenever he hugged her and kissed her neck. Even a little cute when their brows would furrow with their envy to the sight of her in MinJae's arms, the muscles in their jaws trembling as they ground their teeth together.
She wanted to stop the snake coiling around her body, especially since he was still naked waist-up and the sight of his muscles did something to her brain making it fill with a pink clouded haze. But he seemed to be enjoying it too much. The way he basked in their jealousy, giggling and exaggerating everything, from the kisses in her hair to the nuzzles of his nose on her cheek as he cuddled with her, burrowing his head into the crook of her neck.
His cheeky fingers had even moved over her midsection to dance against the bump of her lower breast, just because he knew they were watching. Ezra looked as if he wanted to rip off MinJae's hands whenever they travelled a little too close to her nipples for comfort.
She would have said something, nudged MinJae to stop being so obvious about it at least, if not for the fact that he had whispered in her ear. His pretty voice had dipped into a sexual timbre that sent a shiver up her spine.
"Let's play with them a little. I'll show you exactly how much they want you."
He concealed his words with a kiss on her earlobe, followed by gentle flutters of his lips down the side of her neck, nestling his cheek against the crook of her neck. It was interesting, his suggestion, and Amber couldn't help but find it strangely exhilarating. It would be fun to see how riled up he could get her other soulmates. Her heart began to race in her chest, quickening in its pace. Her eyes flickered to his and he smiled, his tongue dancing out to lick at the side of a plump lip.
Seductive.
Dangerously so.
A good sort of chill ran up her spine, lighting up a fire over her skin. She decided to give him a funny look, hoping that he wouldn't catch the heated blush of her skin, before turning back to her other soulmates.
Her thumb was gently rubbing the back of the promise ring on her finger. The action gave her comfort. It reminded her of their promise and it made her strangely happy to feel the cool metal on her ring finger. It just solidified so many things and made things seem so much more real.
It made a thousand butterflies erupt in her belly and flutter up to her heart.
She glanced up to listen to the conversation, pinching herself to stop getting distracted. They were talking about living arrangements and future plans. Both were pretty important topics that she needed to pay attention to and should be paying attention to.
If only MinJae would let her.
The cheeky pervert was starting to nuzzle his nose in her neck, sniffing her skin. Sniffing sounded a little weird. She wrinkled her nose at the thought. Maybe that was the wrong word to use. He was inhaling her if that made any sense. Just smelling her scent at the nape of her neck, which he had declared to be the best smell he'd ever smelled in his entire life.
She gets it because she would say the same for each of her soulmates.
She would have been more than okay with it, however, the brush of the tips of his nose against the nape of her neck does things to her insides. It came in the form of jolts of pleasure through her skin, a trail of fire that danced in her lower belly and sent a gush of arousal through her system.
MinJae was deliberately pressing kisses to her sensitive spots, deliberately trying to figure out which parts of her skin turned her on. She knew that because he would giggle to himself whenever her body would involuntarily shiver from his touch.
Damn it.
She would have stopped him earlier if it were not for the fact that she liked how he could play her into his hands and she liked how touch-starved he was acting. In his neediness, she saw his love and affection for her and she just couldn't bring it in herself to stop him.
Even if it made her other soulmates jealous as hell.
"For now, it'll be good if you moved in with us at the dormitory." Oliver suggested leaning against the couch, with one leg propped up. He gave her a shy smile, the kind that lit up his face and turned him into a huge ball of energetic sunshine. The kind that made her feel as if cupid had just shot a gilded arrow of love into her body. The kind that made her heart skip a beat or two. "We just have to decide on where you sleep."
"We do have an empty guest room." Casper nodded in agreement, furrowing his brows. He rubbed his head as he pondered over what to do looking boyishly handsome in his seat. He was the tallest of all her soulmates, the tallest and the biggest. And somehow the way he lounged in his seat, dwarfing the chair...It was strangely attractive to Amber. "We'll just have to switch out the bed for something bigger so that MinJae can take a break."