Claimed by Three by Rebecca Airies Page B

Six
    Sephanie eased out of the bed and looked back at them. Kassius turned over onto his back on one side of the bed. Berenger and Teague slept on the other side of the huge bed.
    Kassius had woken her, albeit unintentionally. The feel of his arm dragging across her side had drawn her out of sleep. She wasn’t used to someone wrapped around her while she slept. It felt good to fall asleep in his embrace. The moment she opened her eyes, the strange place and situation started a cascade of worry and near panic, which spurred her to action. Had she moved too fast by falling into bed with them? Would it cause problems later in their relationship?
    She’d feared she would nudge someone or bump a leg. She didn’t want to wake them. Not the least because the relationship meant so much to her. She’d loved going out on a date with them.
    Kassius, Berenger, and Teague were abundantly clear they intended this relationship to be long-term. She wanted that too but thought they should build to a commitment, not jump from first date to talking about marriage.
    She shook her head as she slipped out of the room and into the hallway. Who was she kidding? It was fabulous. She’d dreamed of nights like that before, but nothing had lived up to those fantasies until last night and those three men. But was it all too good to last?
    She wouldn’t walk away from them, but she needed to think. Her heart thudded. She couldn’t completely understand why she was panicking. Was it because last night had been so great? Did she want the connection to them too much?
    They said they planned to marry her. They thought they knew her from a few instances where they’d seen her do something good or nice. Would they still feel that way after they did learn more of her? Padding down the dimly lit hall, she looked for her clothes.
    Clothes, and then she’d find a holo-comm to call someone to come pick her up. They would wake up at some point and realize she’d left the bed. Space, time to think, none of that would happen if she was here when Kassius, Berenger, or Teague came looking. Not because of their presence. She wanted them too much to be close and not touch them.
    She found her dress in the living room, hanging over a chair. Once she’d pulled it over her head, she searched for her panties while she looked for the holo-comm. She had a compact version in her purse, but she couldn’t find her bag so continued to search for the house holo-comm. There was usually one in the main living area of a house. She found it in a corner.
    Pushing the button to activate it, she hoped she didn’t need a code to use it. Sometimes if a private holo-comm was in a public area, the owner locked it. A white field popped up over the holo-comm. The time blinked in one corner.
    She groaned. It was the middle of the night. She’d hoped it was closer to dawn. Who could she call to come get her? Natalie, her sister, would be asleep. She worked the evening shift at her job at the hospital. Most of her friends also wouldn’t be awake at this time of night. Placing a call to one of her brothers, either Cooper or Brand, was not a good idea. She couldn’t answer the questions they’d have. Even if she had to stay here, she wasn’t calling Cooper. She thought and then finally came up with one person who normally did most of his work at night.
    She pushed in the sequence to contact her friend and waited. He was an artist and swore his creative juices flowed during the darkest hours. As time passed, she thought he wouldn’t answer. Then his image appeared in the white field. He brushed his dark hair back from his face.
    “Sephanie? That isn’t your holo-comm.” Jack Dawes frowned.
    “No, I’m using someone else’s comm. I need a favor, Jack,” Sephanie said. “Could you come get me?”
    “Come get you? Where? Why?” Jack sat forward.
    “It’s a long story. I went out on a date, and I’m at their house. Could you come get me, please?” She glanced back toward the