Page 23 of Imbalance
I leveled the Reaper with a look, "Just had a run-in with a local, but we got the rooms. Did you guys get clothes?"
They each carried a few packs, and when Finias tossed me one, I nodded in thanks. I looked to Jace, who was eyeing a restaurant across the street. "Do you think you can all manage to not get in a fucking fight so we can get some food? I suspect Ama, Adrien, and Damien will be done relatively soon."
"Yeah, we can manage," I muttered, but I wasn’t sure if that was true. You could never be sure with our group.
As we strode towards the restaurant, my gaze moved towards the salt chambers, wondering when Ama was going to be done. I knew I needed to apologize about earlier, but more than that, I needed to find a way to make up for what had happened to her all this time, even at the Summit.
I just had no idea how I was going to manage that, when I seemed to put my foot in my mouth every time I spoke to her.
CHAPTER TEN
Ama
We lingered in the salt pools a bit longer to let the water work its magic on our bodies, and before I knew it, I had dozed off while sitting on a ledge in the pool with my head against the deck.
Adrien didn't let me stay that way for long, though, because as soon as I felt the bliss of dreams creeping in at the edges of my brain, he shook me awake. "Beauty, you can't sleep in a pool of water. That's dangerous," he chastised gently, his thumb brushing across my cheek softly, causing me to open my eyes and peer at him groggily from under my long lashes.
Between the orgasm and the warmth of the pool, the exhaustion from the day had caught up to me. I had been running on adrenaline from the fight at the capital and then the appearance of the hybrid city, but all I wanted to do now was sleep. It had been a long fucking day, to say the least.
"I've got you, beauty," Adrien whispered as my eyes closed once more, and he scooped me into his arms. He climbed out of the pool, and I heard Damien rise from the water behind us.
My head lolled against Adrien’s warm chest, not enjoying the cold air on my wet skin and seeking out any warmth I could find. I wanted to burrow into him and wrap my body around him, but that might bring extra attention to us as we walked by the other pools on our way out.
I sighed as Adrien lowered me and my feet touched the ground, making it necessary to open my eyes once more. Towels and robes had appeared at one of the entrances to our private pool, and Damien was quick to grab them and bring them over.
When I moved to grab one of the towels from him, he narrowed his eyes as if I'd offended him. "What?" I asked, confused by his demeanor. What was wrong with wanting to dry off?
As he wrapped the towel around me from behind and began to dry me off, he muttered, "I wanted to take care of you."
My eyes widened, and my mouth parted slightly as I breathed out an eloquent, "Oh."
He halted his ministrations, and I rushed to turn around and face him, laying a hand on his tribal chest tattoo. As much as he was feared by the others, I knew deep down he was one of my more sensitive men, and I didn't want him to take my shock as anything other than that.
"I didn't mean that in a bad way..." I trailed off, unsure of how to word it. My lashes fluttered as I searched for the words and finally looked up at him. "I've just never had anyone want to take care of me like that. It surprised me."
He was good at guarding his emotions when he felt rebuffed, but thankfully, his mask fell at my words. His eyes softened, and he continued to dry me as he responded, "It's in my nature to take care of you, little flame. You're my mate."
My breath caught at the sound of the term on his tongue, and I tugged my bottom lip between my teeth to fight off the grin that threatened. I was turning into a puddle of goo with these men.
I felt Adrien's presence behind me a second before he raised a towel to my hair and began to gently rub it dry. Honestly, I was in a bit of shock as I stood there and allowed two men—no, two mates—to take care of me in such an intimate way. I had no idea what to expect when it came to having mates, but the contentedness I felt around the two of them seemed more than right.
"I know we haven't known each other long," Adrien began softly, his breath tickling my ear, "But we're in it for the long haul, beauty. You are ours to cherish and protect."
My toes curled as a new kind of warmth spread through my entire body, and my heart began to race as I placed the reason behind the warmth: I felt...loved. Deeply loved and cared for.
The recognition of the emotion swirling through me took my breath away, and I fought the urge to hide from them. Was I ready to face it?
I felt like every day that had passed since meeting them felt like a month, and that would have been a much more understanding timeline in which to have developed such deep emotions. Was I insane? Possibly. But, call me crazy, because I had never felt more at peace with myself, despite being anxious as hell about how my dad and the other monarchs were being treated back home.
Between slowly accepting both halves of my powers and finding out these men were my mates, I had an inner calmness that had never been present before. Accepting myself was like discovering a love that was irreplaceable. Not even your mate could fulfill that inner need. But then, to also be told by the universe—in the form of my mates—that I would never be alone again brought tears to my eyes.
I felt the prickle of those tears threatening to spill over as the towels left my body and Adrien guided my arms through the silk robe in his hands. As it settled around me, his arms pulled the sash around my waist, and I glanced down to watch him tie it so that the front was closed.
"All done," he said softly before pressing a kiss to the top of my head at the same time Damien moved forward and kissed my forehead.
I preened under the gentle affection, and a satisfied sigh came from me as they moved away to dry themselves off and get into their own robes. We headed out of our private alcove and followed the path towards the entrance. The woman who had assisted us nodded her goodbye as we thanked her for her help.
As we stepped outside, my stomach rumbled in a reminder that it required sustenance before I could pass out for the night. I followed the smell of food, figuring that would be where the rest of the guys had gone. We approached what looked like a high-end restaurant, and I frowned at our attire, figuring we probably wouldn't be allowed in there.
