Page 24 of The Last Aether

A little of the fire receded. It was a miracle the house hadn’t gone up in flames, but I had a feeling that was thanks to Riven and Kai containing the blaze with their gifts.

I held Phoenix tighter. “Come back to me.”

The tension thrumming through him eased a fraction. He nuzzled my neck.

My hand slipped under his shirt, skating back and forth across his skin. “I’m right here. Come back.”

Phoenix’s mouth skimmed my neck, tasting me. That fire eased some more. As if he could feel the pulse beneath his lips and it assured him I was alive and breathing.

“I’m right here.”

Phoenix let out a low, rumbling growl.

“Phoenix, you gotta let Aura go. You’re scaring her,” Kai said.

That only made Phoenix grip me tighter.

“I’m fine, Kai. Give us a little room.”

Atlas shot the rest of the guys a look. “I don’t think that’s a great idea.”

“We’ll be fine. Right, Phee?”

He didn’t say a word.

I ran my hand over his buzzed hair, and Phoenix let out another rumble. I let my lips skim his ear. “Can you pull back your flame? I want to get us cleaned up.”

He gripped me tighter and I let out a squeak.

“Just you and me. No one else.”

Phoenix’s hold on me eased a fraction, the fire around us giving way to smoke.

I threaded my fingers through his. “Let’s go to your room.”

“Aura…” Riven began.

I shot them all a look. “We’re going to get cleaned up. We’ll be back.”

Phoenix didn’t say a word as I guided him up the stairs and into his suite. The room itself fit him. Dark wood furniture and deep maroon bedding. It smelled like him. A scent that had come to mean home to me. That blend of smoke and woods. Roots that ran deeper than I could imagine.

I shut the door behind us. Phoenix didn’t move. Fear licked through me at his unresponsiveness, my imagination filling in the worst possible scenarios for what could’ve caused this.

Gently, I tugged him towards the bathroom. When I flicked on the lights, he flinched. I quickly shut off half of them, and the lines around Phoenix’s eyes eased.

Moving to the shower, I switched on the water, giving it a chance to warm. My gaze roamed over Phoenix as I turned back to him. My heart hammered in my chest as I took in his torn clothes and the blood that had grown tacky as it clung to him.

“I’m going to undress you.”

Phoenix didn’t respond, simply stood in the middle of the bathroom outfitted in dark marble and silver finishes.

I hoped he could at least hear me. My fingers hooked around the hem of his T-shirt, lifting it. “Arms up.”

He followed my instructions, and I peeled the shirt off, throwing it to the corner. These clothes would never be worn again. I scanned his chest. Riven was wrong about Phoenix being injured. Slices crisscrossed his pecs and abdomen.

A rage built in me, seeing fresh wounds over his old scars. I hoped those who inflicted them had suffered.

I did my best to swallow down my anger, knowing it would help nothing. I let out a shaky breath and moved to his jeans. Unbuttoning them, I tugged them down over muscular thighs. I tapped his calf in a silent command to lift his foot. When he did, I removed one boot and then the other. His jeans were a battle, but I finally won.