Page 15 of A Flame of the Phoenix

Tynan gripped Izaiah’s throat again. The fight waging in his eyes twitched the ache of his length. The anticipation drove him nearly to the brink.

“Make no mistake—should she order you dead, I won’t hesitate.”

“You’re a male of commitment,” Izaiah said. “Now fucking commit.”

The flash cutting across Tynan’s features was the unleashing of that pent-up battle, and Tynan’s fingers hooked around Izaiah’s waistband before he dropped to his knees.

It would have been poetic, if twisted, to say he’d taken the risk of staying with the dark foes for Tynan. A person who could be his. He tried to imagine war in his name and burning the world for him.

But that kind of love…Izaiah didn’t think it existed in his heart.

CHAPTER FOUR

Zaiana

Zaiana stood in void without memory, but the peace it offered left her with little desire to question it.

She wasn’t alone.

From the dark depths, Maverick eased out. Her breath caught at his shirtless chest, eyes mapping the scars he wore. She tried to find her own within them, and where their paths of cruelty joined.

“What are you?—?”

He hushed her with a kiss to her neck that tipped her head back on a breath. His hand cupped her nape. It was then she realized all she was wearing was a dainty black silk nightgown. She couldn’t stop her desire to place hands on his abdomen.

“What’s one more night offantasy?” he murmured over her skin.

She almost nodded; lust clouded her senses to drive an immediate agreement.

“Why didn’t you kill him?”

Zaiana’s fluttering eyes snapped open at the question. She racked her mind for a name teetering right at the edge of her thoughts. “Who?” she asked, though a coil tightened in her gut.

“Me.”

Her breath drew sharp when Kyleer pressed into her from behind. Large hands dominated her waist, and hisscent.Zaiana’s eyes pricked.

“I couldn’t do it,” she whispered. Gods, she hated herself for the weakness, but more so, she was overwhelmed with need for him.

Her back curved into him, her body turning to clay that was his to mold.

Kyleer’s soft lips planted to her shoulder, and she bit back a pitiful whimper.

The heat from him—and from Maverick—encased her in two conflicting yearnings. She couldn’t push either one away, giving in to the greed of wanting them both.

Her hand reached behind her, and her head inclined sideways against Kyleer’s bare chest while two sets of hands explored her. Maverick’s kiss met her chest; Kyleer’s breath trickled over her ear. She was melting in the press between both of them.

“Why did you do it?” Kyleer’s hurt vibrated across her neck.

When she angled her head back to look at him, she came apart inside. The betrayal he pinned her with smothered her lust.

His moss-green irises swirled to hatred so fast. Both his hands wrapped around her throat, and she clawed at the vise grip.

“Ky—”

Darkness peppered her vision.

“You will always be cold and alone, Zaiana. Always lost and wandering with the choices you’ve made.”

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