Page 119 of Devoted

“Too soon?” I flopped my arms at my sides. “I thought you, of all people, would appreciate the humor.”

“Emberline,” Dante said sternly, “Why aren’t you sleeping? Once the adrenaline wears off, you’ll be sore. And exhausted.” His hand gripped my ankle through the covers. “If you want to go in with the first team, you have to be sharp.”

“I’m so sharp, I can’t stop thinking. It’s become a real problem.”

“Then walk me through the plan.” Gabriel curled up behind me, the length of him pressing against me before he dropped an arm over my waist.

Since he couldn’t see me, I rolled my eyes.

“It’s not my memorization skills that need work, but fine. Nico, Dante, and I go into La Sala with six Draconi soldiers. We kill everything that we come across, especially any Drax and Ashbound. We target any Summoners first, then weaken their security forces inside council headquarters. After one hour, you and Severin hit both sites at the same time with four thousand soldiers and Emilia’s priests while they are still scrambling to replace their fallen forces.” I listed everything in staccato bullet points, without a shred of emotion.

“And since our plan has more holes than a colander, I expect it will fall apart the second we step foot inside the building. And I’m quite sure one of those monsters will eat my face off. Hence, the not sleeping.”

“Nothing’s going to eat off your face.” Nico pushed off the wall and came around to the other side of the bed. “The house is clear. I checked.”

“Hmmm. That sounds slightly dirty, the way you say it,” I teased, hoping for at least a smile. “And you cannot possibly know that for sure.”

“I can, actually, since⁠—”

“The last time we were certain there were no more Drax,” I pointed out, “I literally got my face eaten off right after we discussed the fact there were no more Drax. So, you’ll forgive me if your certainty is not the comfort you intend it to be.”

“Well. That’s fair,” Nico conceded.

“She’s not going to sleep,” Dante said to no one in particular.

“Well, she needs to,” Gabriel grumbled against my throat. “We all do. It’s been a shit day, and we have about six hours to get ourselves rested and ready.”

“I can’t sleep either, and since Emberline can’t, and I can’t, and obviously, you two are going to keep talking,”—Nico crawled up beside me, so I was sandwiched between him and Gabriel—“perhaps we should pass the time doing something else.”

There was a small, charged pause, then Dante’s hand drifted up my calf, calloused fingers squeezing. “I have some ideas,” my husband purred suggestively.

“I’ll just fucking bet you do.” Gabriel laid his warm palm on my stomach, rolled me onto my back, then his lips were languidly moving against mine, tongue sliding between my lips.

Nothing about this was hurried. Not the way his other hand curved around my jaw to hold me in place, not the way he took his time, well aware we had an audience.

And finally—fucking finally—I felt that tightness in my chest loosen, fear draining from tensed-up muscles, and when he broke the kiss, I took my first full breath of air.

He pulled back and looked at me, his eyes that particular shade of blue that looked different in every light and every mood.

“Better, bella?” he asked.

“Much better,” I admitted, a golden warmth filling my chest like honey in the sun.

“Good.” The corner of his mouth lifted. A gentle smile, enough for me to know that kiss hadn’t just been for me. That Gabriel needed this, too. “Now. Whatever shall we do with the next two hours?”

Dante’s hand tightened on my calf, then Nico’s shadows crept beneath the covers, and I shivered, skin prickling as my husband parted my legs, shadows slipping up the tender insides of my thighs.

“Hold still, moglie, and let us make you feel good.”

CHAPTER 45

EMBERLINE

Heat pulsed between my legs as the looks on their faces—equal parts hunger, greed, and tenderness—sent my pulse racing, every piece of me contracting down to a series of desperate, throbbing points, aching for their touch.

Gods, I wanted them so badly it hurt.

No, I needed them, more than I needed air to breathe.