Page 69 of Forged in Rain

“LB! You’re up early. Don’t tell me you’re one of those freaks who’s up with the dawn,” he says with a playful shiver of disgust.

With a wan smile, I say, “We were always up with the sun on the compound. Farmer’s hours.”

“The horror.”

“Yeah.”

His face drops into a frown, and he stops before me, asking softly, “What’s wrong?”

Dropping my head, I hide my face behind my hair as I admit, “I’m afraid.”

“LB, we’ll figure this out. Just don’t go off on your own this time.”

Shrinking under his vehement stare, I nod and look away because what if it takes me doing this on my own to save the people around me?

“Rain?”

Raising my eyes at his warning tone, I sniffle back the tears and nod again, grateful when he turns away. I don’t mention the texts because for just a little while, I want to pretend and with Jig, it’s easier to give in to his playful personality than the others.

“Okay, breakfast,” he says, rubbing his hands together.

Bastion appears shortly after, and they move around the kitchen, making frozen waffles and brewing coffee. The way they interact with each other creates a bloom of warmth in my chest because I now know just how harsh their lives have been.

Bastion with his scars, Jig, who I suspect hides his loneliness behind his humor, and Cyn, my moody lover who fights his own demons who lurk in the forms of his cousin and father.

It’s good they found each other because I think this is what keeps them grounded. I just hope it stays that way in the days to come, because I’m afraid of what’s barreling down on us.

“Hey,” Cyn says in his gravelly voice from the door, and I turn in my seat, soaking him in.

He looks fantastic as always, and I pulse when he looks at me with a single-minded intensity before stalking forward and wrapping me up in his arms.

“Beast?” he growls in my ear, and I shiver, leaning into him and soaking up his warmth.

“Cyn,” I whisper, smiling into his chest.

Thankfully, he looks clearer today, and I hope he’s worked through whatever was bothering him. I just wish he hadn’t left me to do it.

The more time I spend with him, the harder it is to be apart, and I really hope it’s the same for him because I’m already lost.

When I raise my eyes to him, he tightens his grip around my waist, and he leans into me. And my heart pulses when he kisses my lips softly before turning away.

“What are you wearing?” he asks with a frown.

“Your shirt,” I say, and his eyes clear, taking on a heated intensity.

I squirm and consider telling him I’m not wearing panties under my jeans, but Jig drops something on the counter, and he turns away.

“Saturday,” Cyn says.

Jig averts his gaze, and Bastion frowns, but they both accept his decree.

“Can I go with you?” I ask.

“Beauty.” He searches my eyes with a tortured expression.

“Please,” I plead, needing to do this, to be with him. To be there for him.

He bows his head before nodding, and I sag against the counter. Despite what they’ve all said, I know he—all of them—wouldn’t be at risk if it wasn’t for me.

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