Page 96 of Power Shift

“That’s it, Petal. That’s it.”

Ronan pulls free of Briar’s mouth and immediately drops to his haunches. He strokes her face, over her pink cheeks and swollen lips, still wet with his cum. She closes her eyes, inhaling heavily, chest rising faster than normal but her scent dulling.

Knowing that she’s okay now, I back up, removing myself from her entirely. A gnawing in my gut has me hesitating to leave, but I push past it, knowing damn well if I don’t leave now, I won’t at all. And fuck, these two are in their own world.

I refuse to hang around to watch them fall further in love while knowing I won’t ever get there with her. My steps are near silent as I creep away from them, a pit of emptiness growing in my chest.

“Landon,” Briar whispers, stopping me. “Thank you.”

I straighten my shoulders, evening out my expression as her appreciation strikes me deeper than I imagined it could.

There’s nothing that I can say right now that won’t betray me, so I stay silent, nodding once instead. Ronan meets my gaze, tilting his head slightly.

I don’t know what happened and what it means. All I do know is that I need to be alone somewhere I won’t be reminded of her everywhere I turn and with every breath I take.

So, I turn and leave before either of them can try and convince me to stay.

31

BRIAR

I driftout of sleep with the low sound of male voices in my ears.

It’s too hard to open my eyes, so I keep them closed and burrow further into the chest of whoever’s holding me. I’m weightless, my legs dangling free as I’m carried in strong arms.

Slowly, conscious thought comes back to me. I remember where I am and that the subconscious feeling of safety I have is because I’m surrounded by my mates. I must have fallen asleep after Ronan helped me back upstairs and tucked me beneath a blanket to finish the movie.

It’s Dash’s voice I hear first, the soft rumble comforting me. “Are you sure she’ll be okay with sleeping here?”

“Heat spikes are draining. She needs sleep, and I’m okay risking it so long as she gets as much as she needs,” Jasper whispers.

The chest beneath my cheek is firm, the arms steadfast. I know that even if the world shook beneath us, they’d stay banded around me.

From the intensity of the warm leather and whiskey in the fabric of the shirt rubbing against my cheek, it has to be Jasper carrying me.

There’s a beat of silence before Dash speaks again. “Should we check on Landon too?”

“I already did. He’s asleep in his room.”

“What?” He sounds as shocked as I feel.

“Whatever happened downstairs between them seemed to help him,” Jasper states.

“That’s good, right? We’re good?”

“Maybe. I hope so. We won’t know tonight.”

I wish he did. Falling asleep knowing that Landon was closer to accepting me would be a dream come true. Although, after what we did earlier, I’m positive the change has started, even just barely.

I’ve never felt so . . . cherished as I was spread out between Landon and Ronan. There wasn’t even anything romantic about what we did. It was purely a necessary burning of sexual tension and need, but somehow, it felt more beautiful than any other experience I’ve had.

“How do you think he’ll react when he finds out she stayed the night in the nest?” Dash asks.

My ears perk up, sleep fading fast.

Jasper jostles me slightly before we start ascending a set of stairs. “That depends on if you mean how he truly feels or how he pretends to feel.”

“There’s a difference?”

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