Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 203

Chapter 203

Evander

MCICA

魚燒

Sleep should be the easiest part of the night. But with four males, one bed, and a girl who has been through hell today… it becomes a tactical exercise. Not a

difficult one, at least not for all of us.

—

It’s just one that requires understanding, instinct, and the silent agreements we’ve somehow forged without ever truly discussing them. Before Cassian

joined us, the dynamic was simple: Rhaziel in the middle because he sees her the least, because she sleeps best curled against something ancient and

immovable. Allison draped over him, one leg tossed across his waist, her cheek on his chest. Kael on one side, me on the other a formation that felt

strangely natural from the first night it happened. But now? Now there are four of us and one bed, one girl to share. Most people would start drawing

straws. They’d argue, negotiate, and get territorial. Not us. We just… move. We adjust around her like orbiting moons around a sun that doesn’t realise it’s a

sun. Allison crawls into the centre of the mattress, blankets tangled around her arms, the little frown on her face softening as soon as she sinks into the

pillows. She settles on her stomach first… then rolls onto her side, right where she belongs in the heart of everything. Rhaziel slides in to her left,

shadows curling around them like contented animals marking their territory.

–

Kael flops beside him, dramatically, throwing an arm over Rhaziel’s waist like a drunk puppy claiming a pillow. I take the right side, lifting the covers and

easing in, careful not to jar her already-too-fresh wounds. That leaves Cassian. Poor, rigid, heartbreakingly dense Cassian Hill. He stands at the end of the

bed staring at us like he’s stumbled into the wrong universe. His eyes flick from my position… to Kael’s sprawl… to Rhaziel’s tail curled protectively over

Allison’s hip… and then drift to the couch in the corner. The fucking couch. He actually takes a step toward it.

The bond in my chest tightens sharply – not my own feelings, but hers. A little yank of no. A little ache of don’t go. A soft, quivering wisp of please stay near me. Kael feels it too, I know he does because he growls, low and warning, already tensing like he’ll physically drag the man back. Rhaziel’s shadows sweep across the tent like a hunting pack, darkening the floorboards, sealing the cracks, ready to barricade the exit if Cassian even thinks about trying to

sleep somewhere else. I fix him with a look.

“Cassian,” I say, voice dipping into that deep, grounding place I rarely use. “She wants you.”

He freezes. Allison lifts her head slightly at the sound of his name, her eyes heavy and glistening, her lip wobbling just enough to shatter whatever resolve he thought he had. Cassian’s breath leaves him in one fractured exhale. He turns from the couch and takes one slow step toward the bed. Then another. He stops at the edge, hesitating like the mattress is made of coals. I look over to see Rhaziel raise a brow, and Kael rolls his eyes. I sigh internally, already exhausted for him. I open the blankets, showing him the place between Allison and me. If he seriously thought she wouldn’t want him there, then he really shouldn’t be teaching students anything. Cassian climbs in stiff at first, careful not to touch anyone. He settles beside Allison, leaving far too much space between them. She immediately closes it, wriggling closer until her forehead rests against his chest and he goes still completely, utterly still- and every one of us fights a grin. Watching Cassian Hill malfunction is a quiet joy none of us expected to enjoy as much as we do.

–

Kael reaches right over everyone and nudges him with his foot.

“This is nice, isn’t it, Professor? We’re bonding.”

Cassian makes a strangled noise that might be agreement. Or despair. Hard to tell. I lie back down beside him, leaving a respectful inch or two of space for tonight. He’ll need time. Time to realise that sharing a bed with other men isn’t the end of the fucking world. Time to see that none of us view him as competition. Time to understand that this all of this is about Allison, not pride. He’ll learn. He will have to, because sharing a girl – this girl – means things are going to bump, brush, and tangle. It’s not a big deal. It’s not a threat. It’s not a challenge to dominance or territory. We’re not here for a pissing

contest. We’re here for her.

–

Rhaziel adjusts first, tugging a blanket over all three of them and pressing a kiss into her hairline. His shadows dim to a soft pulse, relaxed for the first time all day. Kael curls in close behind him, draping an arm over both their waists with a content hum. I stay on my back, not touching Cassian, but close enough that Allison’s scent calms my dragon. I want to do what Kael’s doing over on his side, just reach over and make some sort of contact with her, but I highly doubt that Cassian is ready for that. He would take it as a gesture that I want to snuggle him, not just touch our girl, Rhaziel got it the first night we slept together. He’d woken up with Kael’s head also on his chest next to Allison’s, and my leg was over his hip so that I could be against her too. No one questioned it because we love her. We’re bound to get close because there are only so many ways you can touch her without brushing someone else. Allison

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Chapter 203

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sighs once, long and soft, like her entire heart loosens when the last of us settles into place. Her breathing evens. Her shoulders unclench. She melts into us

like she knows that she is safe.

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