Page 55 of Wrath

As I spoke, I cataloged the weapons I’d strapped to myself. A knife in a holster on my thigh. A gun in the waistband of my jeans. A bow and arrow strung over my shoulder. It might have been overkill, but this was war. One never knew what they needed to survive.

“Jax and I should go with you.” Bash met my stare stubbornly.

“We had this argument before.” I heaved out a breath. “You’re needed?—”

“With you.”

“Here,” I finished, ignoring him.

I understood where he was coming from, truly. If the situation was reversed, if I had to remain behind while my mates fought a deadly army, I would be losing my shit. But in the grand scheme of things, this made the most sense. Jax and Bash would be able to lead the army and collect information at the camp, and if, god forbid, something were to happen to us, the resistance wouldn’t fall to shambles.

Bash turned away from me, something haunted flickering in his eyes, and the sight had grief streaking through my chest.

“Z…” He swallowed. “I can’t lose you.”

I took a step closer and grasped his cheeks. “You won’t.”

“But—”

I cut his words off with a kiss—chaste, sweet, and full of everything I didn’t say out loud.

“You won’t,” I repeated.

Beneath my palms, a muscle began to thump.

“We’ll be okay,” I said firmly. “We’ll have an entire army to protect us. We won’t even engage unless we don’t have a choice.”

Bash looked as if he wanted to protest…before swearing loudly, cupping my face, and pulling my lips back to his. This time, the kiss was ravenous and wild, a gnashing of teeth and clashing of tongues. When Bash finally pulled away, we were both breathing embarrassingly heavy.

“You fucking better. Or so help me…” Bash allowed the growled words to taper off, to hang in the air as both a promise and a threat.

Goose bumps skittered across my arms, and a churning heat erupted low in my belly.

“Don’t promise a girl a good time if you don’t intend to follow through,” I warned with a slight smirk.

“Is that a challenge, baby?”

“Maybe…” I pecked his lips once more and then spun out of his arms.

I didn’t know what would happen if I stayed in them a second longer.

Probably the two of us, naked—nothing but rough nips, teasing bites, and fighting tongues. The prospect sent a thunderous jolt straight through me, and my body flushed hot with intense arousal.

Focus, Z.

I forced my gaze away from Bash to survey the rest of my mates. Devlin and Lupe were finishing loading the second van—we would need to take two to reach our destination—and Dair already sat in the back, a forlorn expression on his handsome face. Killian was conversing with Mali, and Ryland was…somewhere. I swore I saw a shadow behind me move andshimmer, but when I turned to look, there was nothing but darkness.

And there, standing a little bit away from the others, was Jax.

I made a beeline towards him.

His garnet eyes flicked over my face before he focused on the ground.

“I left you…a gift in our tent,” I whispered, stopping when I stood directly in front of him.

His head snapped up, eyes locking on my face. “Huh?”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and nestled my head on his chest. He went utterly frozen, as if unsure of what to do, before he returned the embrace with a harrowed, ragged exhale. He rested his cheek on the top of my head.

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