Page 8 of Fractured Souls
He chuckled softly. “Lorcan, you’re already that—but I’m sure the pride would be more than happy to have you take on a more active role.”
I grumbled while pressing my forehead against his chest. I had totally been joking, for the record. I would continue to maintain that I had zero business being in charge of anyone.
“Maybe.” I murmured and stepped back, loving the way he tracked the movement. “Or maybe I’ll create utter chaos. Ever think about that? What if I mess shit up?”
Dean’s eyes flashed with humor, but before he could say anything, Rhett called out, “You could never mess anything up, bunny!”
“Well that’s not true,” I scoffed. Dean chuckled and stepped into the shower, and I squeaked as he backed me up against the wall, the shower soaking him as he cupped my jaw and kissing me hard.
“You do make everything better.”
Then the bastard was gone. I blinked, feeling a bit dazed from the kiss as I watched the steam from the room leave through the partially opened door.
Well, if I had been feeling sleepy before…I totally wasn’t now. Not at all, actually.
Hearing Rhett in the other room, I turned off the water and wrapped myself in a comfy robe. Putting my hair in a towel wrap, I walked into the bedroom and found him laying out on the bed, tossing a ball up into the air and catching it—his attention snagged by my entrance.
“Got bored?” I wagered, going over to my bag. I knew the others were talking game plan and about a ton of other important stuff, and I should have been out there… No. I was giving myself a bit of a break.
“Missed you.” He flashed a smile, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. I stepped closer so I was between them, and I loved the way his hands instantly ran up my legs, keeping me tightly pressed against him.
“I was only a room away,” I teased. Plus, he had been the one to literally carry me into the shower and demand I relax…although why he hadn’t joined me I still didn’t understand. Showers were literally always better together.
“Bunny, you seriously underestimate how missable you are.” His arctic eyes flashed with amusement and a bit of sadness. I knew where the other part came from and I was starting to believe that the Reid brothers had missed me when I’d gone to LA, possibly as much as I had missed them.
“Maybe I do,” I admitted and leaned forward, brushing my lips against his as his lemon scent wrapped around me. I had no idea how the beta to a lion pride was so damn relaxed and lighthearted…but I guess I did know, didn’t I?
There was a darker side to Rhett that wasn’t nearly as bright as the tattoos swirling across his chest, peeking out from under his shirt. The cosmic patterns of sea shades with metallic accents were some of my favorites, and the fact that he said he got it for me… It seemed almost unreal.
Rhett was so incredibly striking to look at, and I didn’t even hesitate anymore to run my fingers through his black curls. He kissed me back, practically stealing my breath away—although this was far from the only time he’d done that. The man’s mouth was dangerous, both in how he kissed and what he said when he was buried inside of me.
“Fuck,” he growled, pulling back. “If you keep kissing me like that, I’m going to forget how tired you are.”
“I’m notthattired. Pinky promise.”
“Pretty sure exhaustion can cause poor decision-making. Don’t trust her, Rhett.”
I turned to look at Cash, the third Reid brother and the pride’s enforcer. The leopard shifter, who I’d always thought of as rage-filled, was turning out to be an anchor for me, to the point where he’d literally picked me up off the floor at one of my lowest points. He must have seen where my head went because the amusement in his slate blue eyes softened into a deeper blue.
“I don’t trustmyselftill she gets dressed,” Rhett grumbled in response, and I laughed as he fell back on the bed with a grunt. I began to walk across the room to my bag, but before I’d even taken a full step Cash had flashed over and was handing me a sweater to wear along with the ripped jeans and t-shirt I’d chosen.
“It’s a bit chillier near the mountains,” he explained. My gaze moved over his golden skin and the way it complemented his rich auburn hair. Cash’s entire being spoke to warmth, and it made me gravitate towards him. It had ever since we were young, though you wouldn’t have known it with all the bickering we did back then.
“Yours?” I asked, adding the sweater to my pile of clothes. His rose scent—which should have been feminine but somehow wasn’t—was embedded in the soft fabric, and I found myself more than eager to wear it.
“Yes,” he mused. “Want you to smell like me.”
“I won’t complain.” I went up on my toes and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before going towards the bathroom. I made it one step before I was back in Cash’s arms and he was kissing me hard, my head dizzy from the surprise movement, and when his tongue slipped against my lips, the cold piercing had my center tightening.
Damn him.
He pulled back and winked. “Now you can go.”
Unfortunately for any possible sassy or sarcastic retort, my brain was a bit scrambled by the kiss, so I just grumbled and continued to the bathroom. Once inside, I closed the door partially, briefly listening to the guys’ conversation about how we were getting close to our location as I pulled on my clothes. My eyes ran over the gold bands on my skin that symbolized my connection to my bonded, absolutely loving what it represented between the Reid brothers, Desmond, Adriel, and me. As I pulled the sweater over my head, I adjusted Draven’s necklace, wishing that I had a mark from Zander as well.
Was that greedy of me? Probably. But I wanted to mark both Draven and Zander, and if Iwantedto do it, then it was nothing compared to theneedmy siren felt to do it. The bitch nodded eagerly, throwing up a ‘great idea’ sign in neon. I nearly rolled my eyes at that.
She and I actually needed to have a talk at some point about her being able to work separately from me… My biggest problem with it? I didn’t trust what trouble she could get up to with that ability.
