Page 74 of The Lost Elemental

His hand slipped beneath the hem of the sweats they’d given me to sleep in. My lips parted on a hushed gasp as Phoenix’s fingers began to explore. As if he were in no hurry, just out for a leisurely stroll.

Overnight my body had grown accustomed to touching them. The hum in my muscles had faded. But it flared to life again now. As if every cell in my body vibrated.

“Damn,” Kai muttered, his fingers hooking in the strap of my tank top and pulling it down. My breasts popped free, and his mouth was there, lips closing over my nipple.

I arched and moaned as the vibrations within me intensified. Liquid heat pooled in my belly, spreading throughout my muscles.

“So damn pretty,” Atlas said, his thumb tracing my lips.

Phoenix’s fingers dove inside me as his thumb circled my clit and my mouth fell open. I was panting now, and I didn’t even care. He moved faster as Kai’s teeth grazed my nipple.

I let out a sound that wasn’t entirely human and Atlas swallowed it whole, his mouth crashing into mine. It wasn’t what I expected from my gentle Atlas. He took and he took, as if he was desperate for everything I would give.

I lost myself in the swirl of sensations. Drowning in them and still thirsty for every last drop. Everything in me tightened and still I reached for more.

The ground beneath us began to shake. At first, I thought it was my body trembling, but then the chandelier above began to sway back and forth. But it was too late. I was already cascading over the edge.

Light danced across my vision in an array of colors, and I was spiraling down. A loud boom sounded and every light in the room went out.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway and then the door flew open. Riven filled the doorway. His gaze jumped around the room, landing on me last. His eyes darkened and I quickly righted my clothes.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he bellowed. “She almost wipes out the entire campus yesterday and you’re in here seeing if you can make her go supernova?”

“Don’t be jealous, Riv,” Kai smirked. “You know you’re welcome to—”

“Pull your head out of your ass. This isn’t about getting laid. There’s so much more at stake here and you damn well know it.”

The entire room went silent, and guilt pricked at my insides.

Riven shook his head. “Grow up. All of you.”

“Shit,” Atlas muttered as Riven stormed out.

I threw off the covers, scooting to the end of the bed. Phoenix called my name, but I was already chasing after Riven. I hurried down the stairs towards the banging in the kitchen.

As I stepped inside, Riven sent me a murderous look. I didn’t let it stop me. “We’re still figuring this out. It’s going to take time—”

“You shouldn’t be messing with it at all.”

Anger flared in my belly. “Just because you think I’m less than the dirt on your shoe doesn’t mean the rest of them do. I know there’s a lot we’re still figuring out about my power, and we need to be careful, but that doesn’t mean I should have to do it alone. I care about Kai and Atlas and Phoenix. They make me feel safe and cherished and—”

Riven whirled, smashing his coffee cup into the wall. “And you’re going to get them all killed!”

I reared back. “They said they could handle my power.”

He scoffed. “Your power is so far down on the list of problems, it’s not even funny. Do you think that everyone in this realm wants to go back to the way things used to be? To have the royals share a mate? To tie us all together in a bind that can’t be broken?”

“I think it’s a little early to throw around the word mate. This is new and we’re just figuring out—”

“That’s not how the rest of the realm will see it. They’ll see the princes involved with one woman, and they’ll want to end you and them. Assassins will come. Guards from royal lines that don’t want to share the power. So much worse.”

I blanched.

Riven sneered in my direction. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself involved in. What the people in power here will do to keep it.”

In a flash, he tore his T-shirt in two and it fell to the floor. Scars. So many there was no way to count them all crisscrossed his chest. They were of varying sizes and shapes. Some looked like cigarette burns, others like they were caused by a belt.

“This is what my father would do to his own son when he didn’t like something I did. Imagine what he would do to the other royals. To you. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll leave and never look back.”