Page 16 of Awakened and Betrayed
Sabin leans into me and claims my mouth. His kiss is demanding and intense and everything I need right now. His lips tell me things my soul can only understand from this kind of communication. All the words in the world about acceptance, desire, belonging, fall short of the way Sabin’s lips communicate those sentiments to mine. It’s in the flick and twine of his tongue against mine, the way he gives and takes what we both need. He consumes me and allows himself to be consumed, and it’s a kiss I never want to end or forget. It’s the moment that my doubts about where I stand with Sabin, or how to move forward, burn away to nothing.
9
Our kiss slows, but neither of us seem in a hurry to put a stop to the makeout session that’s currently going on out here in the middle of the woods, in front of the rest of the guys. We languidly pull apart, and Sabin’s eyes dart back and forth between mine. He finds whatever he’s looking for and gives a slight nod before unlacing his hands from behind my neck and stepping back.
This whole showing affection in front of each other thing is still fairly new. So, I’m not really sure what to expect when Sabin steps out of my immediate line of sight, and I can once again see the others. None of them look like what just happened was too big of a deal. Smiles and some heated looks stare back at me, and I mentally tear up theno group sex ruleinto tiny little pieces and then set it on fire. I’ll have some fun sorting out the logistics of how I want that to work, but I’m confident my dirty mind is up for the task.
“So, uh...what’s going on with the house hunt?” I ask, attempting to focus on something else, other than the image of all of us naked and fucking over by the grouping of trees to my left. “I hope you guys fired Lucy Barton.”
“Yeah, she swore up and down that she didn’t say a word to the elders about our looking for a property, but someone in her office did. We hired a new guy this morning, and he’s already sent over some options,” Ryker tells me, handing me his phone.
I start scrolling through the listings of houses he’s pulled up.
“Your Jeep is in the shop. They should be done with it sometime today, so I’ll make sure they drop it off to Enoch’s house for you,” Sabin tells me, with a small sweet smile that does a good job of hiding the dominating sexy caster I know is lurking just under the surface.
I grumble and throw my head back. “I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to go back there,” I whine, my chin falling to my chest in frustrated defeat.
Sighs and chuckles sound off at my antics. Bastien flicks his knuckle under my chin playfully, and I lift my eyes up to meet his.
His hazel eyes sparkle with affection and his eyebrows tilt down over them making his features serious.
“Trust me, we all want you with us. But until we buy a house, bringing you back to Lachlan’s is not an option,” Bastien reminds me.
“We’d happily get you situated at one of our family’s houses, but the elders have anticipated that. Elder Nypan and Elder Albrecht made the rounds and had a chat with all of our home covens. Our families are aware of what’s going on, and they are not going to aid or ignore any defiance of the elders’ orders,” Knox tells me, gesturing to Ryker and Sabin.
Fuck. What must their families think of me, of this whole fucked up situation? I am so used to not having anyone who would care about what I’m up to, that I forget that’s not the case with these guys. Silva seemed really laid back and lenient when it came to the twins, but I know Sabin is close with his family. I realize that I never asked Ryker or Knox about their home situation or their families. I seriously suck at this whole relationship thing already.
“I saw Aydin,” I announce randomly.
“What the fuck did he want?” Knox grumbles.
“To apologize. Again. He told me that he and Evrin left the coven. Is that true?”
Eyes drop away from mine, and several of them rub their temples or the backs of their necks. I once again feel like shit for my part in showing up and wrecking their happy lives.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Don’t, Vinna; you have nothing to be sorry for,” Valen tells me sternly.
“This isn’t your fault. The way Lachlan has been the past month or so is very different from the caster we grew up with. I mean we knew that Vaughn’s disappearance fucked him up. I know I’d never recover if I lost Valen, but what he’s doing with you makes no sense. No one seems to be able to make him understand that. Who knows what his fucking problem is.”
Bastien’s eyes are filled with so much sorrow and confusion, and I wrap my arms around him, wishing I could somehow chase it all away.
“I think every time he looks at me, all he can see is what he’s lost, and not what he could gain. Maybe my being here just opens all his wounds over and over again. I don’t know.”
Bastien’s words about how horrible it would be to lose Valen make me ache. I can’t even imagine how devastating that would be. I try to put myself in Lachlan’s shoes; what would I do in his place? How would I feel and act? I want to think I wouldn’t be mistrustful or cold, but I can’t say that with complete certainty. It’s a fucked up situation, and unfortunately, there’s no getting around it.
Valen trails his hand down my arm and links his fingers with mine. “Things at the house are pretty tense right now. There was a huge blow up when everyone got back after the meeting with the elders. A lot of pretty awful things were said by everyone, and now we’re all just quietly trying to avoid each other. Aydin and Evrin moved out. Silva has been keeping to himself, and Lachlan and Keegan seem more determined than ever to figure out what happened to Vaughn and the other paladin,” he explains.
“Lachlan now knows everything that we do, from what Talon told you, and he’s working on some new potential leads. We’re steering clear of him, from all of it. We’ve been staying at either Sabin’s or Knox and Ryker’s house until we can find something more permanent,” Bastien adds. “See anything you like?”
I look back down to where I’m still clutching Ryker’s phone and the listings. “These two are good. They both have nice gyms and big bathtubs.”
Sabin starts to laugh. “Did you look at anything else inside of them?”
I shrug. “What? My criteria is shorter than most of yours. I’m the least picky out of all of you guys when it comes to where we live. The one that’s brick with ivy growing on the outside is pretty. Honestly, I just want somewhere safe, where we can all be together. I am super ready for some alone time.”
I mumble the last part under my breath, but Knox begins to snicker, indicating I wasn’t as quiet as I thought I was.
