Page 143 of Illusory

This was so bad.So wrong.

Despite all my effort and pushback, we were skirting dangerously close to the line of no return. I needed to vacate the bed at once. Perhaps if I just slipped away quietly, neither one of them would notice, and we could all just pretend that none of it happened.

Before I could map out my exit, Dominic’s hand came up to my face and brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek, instantly calming me.

‘Happy birthday, angel,’he said to my mind as he slipped his arms around my waist and dragged me toward him, pressing my back against his chest while he nuzzled his face into my neck.

God, it felt really nice.

Maybe this isn’t theworstthing imaginable, I thought to myself as I released the breath that had been trapped in my lungs and relaxed into his arms.I mean, itismy birthday, after all.

My gaze lifted to Trace as he stirred awake beside me. He rolled his head to the side and looked at me, his loving eyes still sleepy and unfocused, before suddenly jerking back, as though struck by a whip.

Black shadows poured into his eyes as he reared back and tried to scramble off the bed, but Dominic quickly reached over me and grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Easy,” he commanded, his voice low and steady.

“What happened? Are you okay?” I asked, panic rising in my chest at his sudden outburst.

“He needs to feed,” informed Dominic, still holding Trace’s arm and keeping him firmly in place as his bare chest heaved before me. “Calm yourself,” he ordered, and I looked back at him, thinking he was talking to me, but his eyes were on Trace.

Trace squeezed his eyes shut, his jaw muscle pumping violently as he struggled to slow his breathing. His brows were pinched together, as though he were in pain, and his nose was wide and flared. I wanted so badly to reach out to comfort him, but I didn’t dare make a move.

Snatching his arm back from Dominic, he raked his fingers through his hair and then he lay back down on the pillow beside us, staring up at the ceiling. I couldn’t tell if his eyes were still dark from the position I was in, but he still hadn’t turned to meet my eyes, so I imagined that they probably were.

“Trace, are…are you okay?”

“Don’t talk,” he ordered woodenly, still staring upward.Still not looking at me. “Just give me a minute.”

I opened my mouth to apologize and then slammed it back shut. He was trying to control the bloodlust, to quiet the beast and take control again, and he really didn’t need me yapping in his ear, distracting him. I watched the rise and fall of his bare chest, waiting for it to return to normal.

After a few tense beats of silence, his body finally appeared to relax before he turned to look at me. Brilliant blue eyes drank me in as he smiled victoriously, setting off both his dimples and making my heart warm and race at the same time. The look of pride on his face was delicious enough to eat.

“You’re getting really good at that,” I mused as I took in the blue depths of his clear, sparkling eyes.

“It’s easier now that I have a good reason to.” Smiling, he reached out and took my hand, interlacing our fingers. “It just takes me a second to remember, and then I hold onto that whenever the bloodlust starts to take over.”

“Hold on to what?”

“You,” he stated simply, making my stomach swarm with butterflies. I started to shake my head, but he just squeezed my hand and moved closer to me. “I know I’m not there yet, but I will be,” he said with conviction, as though he knew the bloodlust wasn’t going to control him forever—because he wouldn’t let it.

“That’s quite a gripping speech, Romeo, but youdostill need to feed if you plan on making it through the day without attacking everything with a pulse,” reminded Dominic as I jammed my elbow into his stomach. “What? It’s the truth, is it not?”

“I know, but do you have to be so crass about it?”

“I was being direct,” he said beside my ear and then buried his face in my hair again, breathing me in. “Go on, Romeo. We don’t have all day.”

Trace cocked his brow as he watched him, the muscle in his jaw bouncing. “Then can you maybe stop pawing at her for a second?”

“And why would I want to do that?” asked Dominic lazily, his face still nestled against me.

“So that I don’t biteyourneck instead of hers.” Trace shrugged indifferently. “But hey, it’s no skin off my back.”

Dominic hesitated and then pressed a soft kiss against the side of my neck before pulling back, though only slightly. His chest was still flush against my back and his right arm was still draped around my waist, while his other arm rested on the pillow, his head propped onto his closed fist as he watched me. Always watching. “Better?”

“Close enough,” said Trace without taking his eyes from mine.

Pushing up on his elbow, he inched closer until our chests were touching and then moved my hair over my shoulder, his eyes running mercilessly over my face—unraveling me and putting me back together again with just the sweep of his soft, loving gaze.

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