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I close my eyes and give myself over to his touch, to his care. A girl could get used to pampering by gargoyles. So much for keeping my heart from them. I think it’s already slipped and fallen down the slippery slope of loving Jace…with Atticus not far behind.
The rest of our problems can wait for us to figure out together as Atticus said. But oh, will our discoveries always be this decadent and sensual along the way?
As if thinking of Atticus conjures him, his voice comes from just outside the shower.
“My turn,” he says. His shadows pulse around him like fingertips reaching for me.
Lala taught me the only way out of darkness is through, but what if I’m starting to prefer the dark?
22
ATTICUS
THE CHARIOT: ONLY THROUGH CONTROL, FOCUS, AND COMMITMENT CAN YOU FORGE THE VICTORIOUS PATH
If only Rosemarie understood how our instinctive need to take care of her is part of the mating ritual, she might not have been so relaxed in letting Jace wash her, having us put her in the bath with ritual oils, or curling into my arms when I carried her to the bed. From the look on my brother’s face, he knows the mating dance has begun and where this could lead, but he’s still too broken to realize he has a shot at winning her. Even if I don’t, I’ll do everything I can to make sure he does.
But we’ll need to play this slow and calculated. I can’t risk it all falling apart. If we lose Rosemarie, we lose everything.
Candles light my bedroom, the smells of oils and beeswax heady beneath the scent of Rosemarie’s arousal and contentment. The fact that she came into my arms when the rest of the world made no sense to her? It staggers me. I hold her a heartbeat longer than I should before tucking her against the pillows.
“You good?” I ask her, wanting to make her as comfortable as possible before we begin the ritual.
“Better than good,” she says on a sigh.
Jace sits on the bed, opposite to me. His damn tail curls near her legs, wrapping around an ankle.
“Feel any better after the clearing charm?” he asks her.
The silver disc Rona gave him lies nestled between Rosemarie’s breasts where the sheet I wrapped around her dips in the front. She doesn’t tug at it to cover herself, and I’m humbled at her vulnerability with us. I hate the night’s events that got us to this point, but the outcome’s better than I could have accomplished with months of planning.
“Having you two with me did most of the work of clearing my head,” she says. “The charm got rid of the last of it while I was in the bath.”
She credits us with keeping her safe. The woman’s a living dream of a mate. Trying to concentrate on intentions for the spell, I light the last candle we’ll need. “The charm has to come off before we draw the runes.”
Slipping off the charm, she glances toward the flame while I shake the match until it goes out. “Will the ritual hurt?” she asks.
My shocked stare must come as a surprise to her because she glances from me to Jace.
“We would never do anything to hurt you,” he promises, and then the asshole grins. “Unless you ask us very nicely.”
She laughs, and the rich sound has me wanting to drown in it. Jace may have no real experience in physical pleasure, but the bastard has a powerful imagination, and as good as he is in a fight, I’m sure he’ll catch on soon. It’s not like I had any experience with matters of the heart until we found Rosemarie.
“It’s just paint and incantations,” I tell her. “Speaking of which, I need the spell book.” The one thing I’d forgotten in setting up the room. I cross to my desk, hating to leave her side for the few seconds it takes to unlock the rolltop where I stash spells.
She sits upright, staring at my desk while her hair tumbles around her, dark and lush against the white sheet. “Are those the books you mentioned earlier?” Excitement laces her tone with a bubbly giddiness that I want to taste on my tongue. “The ones from my realm?”
“Yes, along with spell books.” I gather the last few paperbacks and bring them with me since she sounds so interested. Whatever it takes to keep her calm and relaxed throughout the ritual. “Here, I grabbed these on the last trip. I haven’t finished the one with the man wearing a suit on the cover, but the other was an in-depth study in the alphaholes your gender seems to prefer in modern times.”
She picks up the last, flips through the pages, concentrates on the back cover, and then laughs a happy and bright sound that sends a wave of pleasure rolling over my senses.
“Do it again,” Jace tells her with a nudge as if she can make the sound upon command.
“What’s funny?” I ask so I can recreate whatever caused the laugh.
“My friend Meg read this one.” She pulls the paperback closer as if she could connect with her friend through it. “I listened to some of the audiobook with her. It’s a dark romance.”
“A romance, yes.” I nod, still not understanding what triggered her initial reaction. Perhaps it was the reminder of her friend, although that seems to bring a bit of sadness I need to chase away. “The two women I heard discussing it sounded so pleased that I figured it must be illustrative of what modern women want.”
