Page 112 of Quiet Burn

I don’t want to scare him, but I definitely don’t want to break away.

“Um, Salem?” he whispers almost into my mouth. “Are we… is this…”

The poor guy issonervous and unsure. It makes me want to rip whoever did this to him into tiny pieces and feed them to Slash in his shark form as chum. I don’t care if I have to share with my brothers as they climb on board this train one by one—I just want to help KK heal. His awkward, broken pieces call to mine in a way I’ve never felt before.

“I think we are, roomie. Is that okay?”

His silence makes my gut clench, but I wait as patiently as I can while he muddles through it. When he gets there, he murmurs, “I think so. I’m not panicking and… I like you, Salem. But…”

Leaning forward, I bite his lower lip gently, then pull back. “But what?”

The shiver makes me smile, but Kit’s hands hold on tightly as he replies. “I… like… others, too. And I don’t want to hurt?—”

Oh, this problem. Luckily, it’s not one at all.

“Kit Kat, you’re one of us now—that means all of us. No one else is invited, but you belong with our caliphate and anything within our family is okay. Does that make sense?”

He sighs, his fingers pressing into my sides rhythmically as he thinks. I know this is hard for him on so many levels—his kind aren’t often polyamorous, plus he’s got buckets of trauma toboot. But I think I’ve gotten through to him when he raises his dark lashes enough for me to see his eyes sparkling with gold flecks that I’m pretty sure are his magic.

“You’re sure that’s going to fly with… whomever?”

I grin, moving my hand to brush my knuckles over his cheek. “Yep. I’m very sure, and I wouldn’t lie to you. In fact, some may enjoy more… group-focused activities in the future.” Kit lookslike a demon being yanked to the pits, his expression full of shock and fear. I tilt my head, smirking a little as I whisper, “Like… maybe if Oriel joined our hugs sometimes?”

I feel the second he tenses, then the subsequent relaxation as his brain catches up. Kit nods a little and the flush on his face spreads as it gets redder. “I don’t think I’d mind that. I mean, you know. When we’re, um, alone in the room. I don’t think I can… not with other people watching.”

Laughing, I boop his nose playfully. “You’re not ready for an audience when you hug someone? Dear me, whatever shall I do with you, you miniature prude?”

“I’m not a prude,” Kit pouts, his brows drawing together in a dark frown. “But I am fucked up in so many ways I can’t count them, and you’re probably better offnottying your boat to my ramshackle dock.”

Feeling saucy and a little drunk with the excitement about this conversation, I pinch his hip lightly. “Listen up, you tiny firecracker. I’ll let you run the show when it comes to being comfortable and feeling safe, but I willnotput up with you downing yourself. I know you have more self-esteem than that, so I’m going to believe that it’s because this situation makes you nervous.”

Kit Kat nods, brushing our noses and lips as he moves, then murmurs huskily, “There was… a lot of self-hatred I had to work through after the… thing. And um, when I reported it, that sort of ramped up from outside people, too. So it’s hard not to fall back into that place, I guess.”

I pull back, though I don’t want to, cupping his jaw in my palm. “That motherfucker was a dirty son of a bitch and anyone who said a damn thing to you isn’t worth a damn. I know you’re not ready to tell that story yet and that’s okay, but when you are, all of the caliphate will support you, KK, even Prince Dickhead.”

“Oh no,” he says and his eyes close. “We don’t have to tell him about this, right? I’m just… not with the trip today, and…”

“Kit, calm down. No, we don’t have to tell him.”

His eyes open and he gives me a shy, grateful smile as he looks up at me. “Um, but if he’s not okay, we can tell Oriel. He’s approved.”

My lips twist and I arch a brow. “I’m not enough already? You’re breaking my heart, firecracker.”

“Ugh, is that going to stick? I know you guys said a pet name for each of you, but…”

I shrug, brushing hair out of his eyes. “I kinda like it, so maybe. You definitely blow up when your fuse is lit.”

He’s about to respond when I hear footsteps in the hallway. It would take a shifter hearing to pick it up, but I let go, moving back reluctantly to honor his request about being discreet for a while. “Salem!”

I frown, not understanding why he’s saying my name like that. “What?”

“Did you pull away because there was stomping in the hall?”

My eyes widen and I nod, grinning again. “I did. You said you wanted?—”

“I heard them, too.”

Hot damn. Nowthat’swhat I call a good fucking morning.

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