“Baz,” I breathe, tears of relief stinging my eyes. I take his face in my hands, searching every inch of it. I’ve never seen him so drained. “You’re hurt.”
“Nothing I won’t survive.” He grabs my wrists and pulls my hands close, pressing a kiss to each palm, leaving my skin stained with blood. Before I can force him to sit down and let me check him over, he asks, “Where’s Kirin?”
“Right here.” Kirin comes out from the kitchen with a wet towel and bottle of water. Passing both to Baz, he shakes his head in disbelief. “Goddess, you look like hell.”
“I earned it, brother. Believe me.” Instead of drinking the water, Baz dumps it on his head and hands, wiping off the worst of the mess with the towel, then tossing it all on the floor behind him. It hits the hardwood with athwack.
“Do you want to… ah…” Kirin scratches the back of his neck. “Talk about it, or—”
“Nope.”
“Fair enough.” Kirin’s clearly relieved to skip the trip down Baz’s bad memory lane. Still, he pulls Baz in for a hug, holding on a little longer than usual this time. I expect Baz to pull away, to shake off the extra affection. But instead, he returns the embrace, resting his head on Kirin’s shoulder and letting out a deep sigh.
The sight of it makes my heart heavy. Not just with sadness for what we’ve already endured here, but with hope. With love—so much love for both of them, I’m practically bursting with it.
Goddess, I’m so blessed to have these men in my life…
After a long beat, Baz claps Kirin on the back, then finally turns to face me again, forcing a flirtatious grin. Maybe it’s a mask, maybe it’s a coping mechanism, but right now I’ll take it. It’s been far too long since I’ve seen that look in his eyes, and right now, the memories of everything we’ve shared together—every stolen kiss, every blissful night between the sheets—is just enough to keep me going.
And to keep him going too.
“Interesting outfit, Little Bird.” Baz looks me over slowly, his gaze burning a hot path down my shortened dress, lingering on my bare legs. “Put that together yourself, did you?”
“Sure, I do what I can.” I fluff my hair, losing a few more hyacinth flowers in the process, but Baz isn’t returning my teasing smile. He’s staring at me like he wants to eat me.
Liquid heat pools between my thighs, and for a moment I forget where we are, what we came here to do.
“Just so we’re clear,” he says, sliding his hands down my backside and pulling me close, “the minute we get out of this mess, you’re getting ravaged.”
“Is that so?”
“Put it in your calendar.” He makes a checkmark in the air. “Ravaging, Saturday, nine a.m. Ravaging again, ten-thirty. Noon is booked up too. In fact, you should probably just block out the whole week.”
“Are you going to wear those pants?” I lift a brow, biting back a laugh at his own super-special outfit, which at the moment consists of nothing but a pair ofreallytight PJ pants.
“The zombies glow in the dark,” he says.
“I bet they do.”
“So, about this ravaging…”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Less thinking. More…” His mouth descends on mine in an instant, capturing me in a fevered kiss I feel all the way to my toes. Visions of our meadow flicker in my mind, heat cresting between us as he slides his tongue into my mouth, tempting me with every stroke.
Goddess, I missed the taste of him. We’re not even naked, and I already feel like I’m about T-minus five seconds to a hot, screaming—
“Yes, and I’ll just be over here,” Kirin says loudly, “watching you two make out in the middle of a nightmare house in the desert. No, no, don’t worry about me, it’s fine. I’ve got plenty of thoughts to keep myself occupied, and the visuals you’re providing are just spectacular.”
Baz breaks our kiss just long enough to give Kirin a sly grin. “You’re welcome to join us, brother. We can make a sexy Stevie sandwich.”
Hot lips flutter over my neck, and I let out a tiny whimper of pleasure, my body melting against his chest as the images come unbidden…
Mmm, what I wouldn’t give to be the meat in their sexy sandwich…
“Yes, well…” Kirin lets out a laugh that turns into an adorably nervous cough. “Maybe some other time.”
“No time like the present,” I tease, and Baz quirks an eyebrow, his smile widening.
