Page 169 of Illusory

I melted into his kiss, the warmth and pressure quickly building until my body tensed, unable to hold it back for a second longer.

“This one is all mine,” he purred as my orgasm broke free, soaring through my body in delicious waves, his mouth swallowing every moan and whimper that slipped passed my lips.

As the last of my tremors slowly subsided, Dominic’s lips curved into a satisfied smile against mine, his hand still cupping me possessively. I sagged in his arms, my breath still ragged, and my skin warm all over as he held me close, peppering soft kisses along my jaw and neck.

The mattress dipped as Trace stirred beside me, his arm reaching out to snake around my waist before he paused, his head snapping up to look between the two of us. “What thefuck did I miss now?”

“Whatever do you mean?” asked Dominic, feigning ignorance and looking like a cat who’d already drank up all the milk.

“Alright. So, it’s like that now?” His dimples popped as he nodded at Dominic, his brilliant blue eyes sparking with challenge. “Alright, Goldilocks. It’s fucking on,” he said, and I instantly knew I was in for a world of trouble. But something told me it was going to be the very best kind.

* * *

“So, I was thinking we should start working on teaching me how to port today,” I announced suddenly at the breakfast table later that afternoon. Mostly because I needed Gabriel to focus on something else and stop staring at me like he was—all judgy and knowing

The number of times his gaze had snagged on the many bite marks littering my neck was enough to make me wish I was dead. The only saving grace was the fact that he couldn’t see the ones hidden underneath my clothes.

“I thought we agreed to wait?” questioned Gabriel, apprehension clouding his features as his gaze lifted from my neck to meet my eyes again.

“Right, but…what’s the point of waiting anymore? I’ve Ascended. I’m finally in control of my wings, and Jackie’s safe and sound in the basement dungeon,” I reminded, unable to remember why we’d decided to hold off in the first place. “We can’t just keep sitting around waiting.”

“She has a point, brother,” agreed Dominic as he fixed a plate of food for me, filling it with all my favorites. Even though it was well into the afternoon, Isa had been kind enough to prepare her famous breakfast spread for me since I’d been too busy to make it down to the first seating thatmorning.

I felt horrible about missing breakfast, but Isa reassured me that Tessa hadn’t let a single bit of it go to waste.

“The Horsemen aren’t going anywhere, and as long as they’re still here, I’m still at risk of being forced into becoming one of them,” I continued, feeling the thread of anxiety unfurl in my stomach. “And frankly, I’m really not interested in becoming a baby killing cowgirl. I think I have enough whacked out blood running through my veins as it is. We need the Sang Noir, and we need it now.”

Gabriel didn’t argue my point, but he still didn’t look convinced.

Luckily, I only needed to convinceoneperson at that table. I turned to Trace, who was eyeing me as if he were replaying last night in his mind on an endless loop. “That is, if you’re up to teaching me today?” I asked him.

His gaze flicked up to meet mine, darkness flitting through them. “I’m up to it,” he said as he gripped my thigh and squeezed, making my cheeks warm.

“Then it’s settled,” I said, turning back to Gabriel, fully determined to make this happen.

Gabriel looked as though he wanted to say more—as if he thought this was a really bad idea—but he buried it before I could be sure. “And you’re certain you’re ready to start training her in that capacity?” he asked Trace instead, a sharp line appearing between his brows.

Trace turned to me again, a maelstrom of emotions swirling in his eyes. His gaze flicked down to my mouth as he licked his own lips and nodded. “I’ll teach her anything she wants to know.”

I wasn’t sure why, but my heart raced at his words, at the way he was looking at me—like I waseverythingto him. Like he’d give me anything and everything I could ever want orneed, and all I had to do was ask.

I balled my hands into my lap, feeling like I was holding a whole lot of power in the palm of my hands.

Maybe too much power.

After finishing breakfast, Dominic, Trace, and I gathered in the living room as we waited for Gabriel to rejoin us. He’d gone to check on Tessa, who was still holed up in her room. Apparently, she was still feeling the aftereffects of her hangover from the other night and had tossed her breakfast shortly after eating it.

I sat on the sofa with my feet tucked into my side as I busied myself with my phone and the dozens of pages of spam I’d been ignoring in my inbox. Trace flopped down into the spot beside me, his legs spreading wide as he pushed his hands through his hair and then stretched his arms along the backrest of the sofa.

My gaze briefly drifted to Dominic, who was already fixing himself a drink, even though it was the middle of the afternoon. I couldn’t believe how easy things were between us. How nice it felt to be with them without all hell breaking loose.

For some reason, I knew I had Dominic to thank for that. That somehow, he’d made this happen by planting the seeds that had blossomed into the garden we now had. For the first time in my life, I felt truly happy, truly complete, like everything was finally right in my heart—and that terrified me more than anything. I couldn’t help but wonder when the other shoe would drop, as it inevitably always did.

“Care for a drink, angel?” he asked, as though he could feel me looking at him, even though his back was still turned to me. “It might help you relax a little.”

“I’m relaxed,” I lied as he turned around with his tumbler in his hand and smiled at me.

“You haven’t been relaxed since I removed my hand from between your legs this morning,” he informed lowly.

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