Everything inside me is hot and buzzing.
We take a few seconds to catch our breaths, then he’s shifting positions again, kissing his way back up my thighs, my stomach, my throat. He nuzzles against my neck, one hand spanning across my hips, the silence between us so comfortable and safe it nearly brings me to tears.
We lie together like that for a few long minutes, the candlelight throwing long, flickering shadows on the ceiling. Downstairs, I can hear the murmurs of whoever’s still awake, the soft clink of spoons stirring sugar into coffee, the click of keys on a computer keyboard as someone undoubtedly searches for more intel. More answers. More anything.
I let out a deep sigh—content, mostly, but a little sad as well. It’s such a simple thing, this feeling. Such a pure, everyday kind of magick—lying in the arms of someone you trust with your heart. The idea that anything could take this from me, that it won’t be here tomorrow… Goddess, just imagining it is enough to nearly wreck me.
“Whatever you’re thinking about,” Baz whispers against my skin, “let it go. Just for tonight. Can you do that for me?”
I nod silently, relaxing into his soft kisses, the gentle trail of his fingers back and forth across my abdomen. “I guess I shouldn’t get myself all stressed before going to sleep.”
Baz lets out a soft chuckle, kissing my neck and shoulder as he rolls me forward onto my hip, my back to his chest.
“What the hell is so funny?” I tease.
“Sleep.”
“And that’s funny because…?”
“It’s funny,” he says, lifting the hair off the back of my neck and running his nose up to my ear, “because it implies I’m letting you off the hook that easily.”
I swallow hard, a rush of new anticipation flooding my insides, making my stomach dip. “You’re… not?”
A possessive grip tightens on my hip, and a deep, feral rumble vibrates through Baz’s chest.
“Oh, Little Bird,” he warns. “I’m not evencloseto done with you tonight.”
Eight
STEVIE
A soft moan slips from my mouth, and Baz slides his hand around my hip and down between my thighs. With a featherlight touch, he draws slow, gentle circles over my clit, heating me up all over again.
“I guess you were right,” he teases. “Youareinsatiable for your mages.”
“Your fault. You touch me with your… your magick Devil-hands and I just… oh,fuck…” I shudder as he dips a finger inside me, then eases out again, slowly drawing up to circle my clit.
“You justwhat, Little Bird?”
“I… I just…”
I’m spared the torture of formulating a coherent response by the sudden creak of the bedroom door. A sliver of light slices through the darkness as Kirin steps inside, but Baz doesn’t stop touching me.
He dips inside me again.
And again.
Without a word, Kirin shuts the door, strips out of his clothes, and climbs into bed beside me, Baz’s perfect torture setting my nerves ablaze. Kirin meets my gaze, his lips just inches from mine. I nod once, letting him know it’s okay, and then he’s closing the distance, capturing my mouth in a long, soft kiss.
Once again, I’m safe and protected in the arms of two of my Arcana brothers. Their presence calms and strengthens me, but it also deepens the ache in my heart.
Kirin finally breaks our kiss, pulling back to look into my eyes. I see my own fears reflected in his pale green gaze.
“They should be here too,” I whisper, a lonely tear escaping, and of course the guys know who I’m talking about.
Kirin cups my face, his eyes searching mine in the soft amber light. The force of his love for me hits me hard, and it makes me believe—for just a moment—that anything is possible.
“They will be,” he says. “The next time we set foot in this house, they’ll be with us. I promise you.”
