a moment before he nodded and returned to his work.
The sensation as he cranked the cut open wasn't pain. It didn't hurt at all, but it did send that creepy crawling sensation across my body. Last time we'd been here, I zoned out, worrying over the trio, so I'd missed the entire procedure. Apparently, I'd been smarter then.
Distraction. What can I distract myself with? I could remember some of the naked fighting I'd done with Trace or the sweet moments with Kian. Maybe go over the first time with Axton. No, that will only wind me up, and I do not have space for that.
I do need to figure out how I'm going to get so many to cooperate with me and haul the powerless souls back from Earth. We need a reason for them to want to do so since they could be grabbing souls that actually give them a power boost. Without Death's energy, I really have nothing to offer them. Maybe I can just scare the shit out of them. Fear is always a good motivator, right? I'm so fucked.
“You're done,” cut through my loud thoughts, and I focused on Enan. When our eyes met, he said, “You're finished. Now, remember, take care of the incision until it heals up. Here's the switch that is programmed for this device. Don't mix these up, or you'll be turning one of theirs off instead.”
When he slid the curved metal band across the table, I grabbed it and hopped up. Kian took my place while I wrestled my wrist into the small opening left between the band's ends. Deciding that Kian could handle it for a moment, I brought the band close to my face and studied it. The switch was nearly invisible in the silver metal. Enan hid the tiny piece on the portion that was on the underside of my wrist. If we ever needed to use it in front of others, we could activate it without drawing suspicion.
A shot of nervousness bounced through me, jangling in my gut. It wasn't my own, even though my heart thought it was. I took a step towards the source and draped my arm over Kian's shoulders.
“Hey,” I whispered. “Did you sleep well?”
“Not really.” His words were clipped and strained sounding, entirely at odds with his normal.
My finger traced along his ear, paying particular attention to the tip before I followed it down to his jaw. When I reached his chin, I gently pulled his head, so he looked at me rather than staring down at where Enan had begun slicing into Kian's wrist.
“Why not?” I asked as I moved closer.
“Because Trace wouldn't get his lazy ass up, and Axton decided that the bed could fit all three of us. It could not.” He huffed and cut his eyes to where the other two waited.
“Why didn't you get up? I'm sure we could have found you somewhere else.”
“Well, I tried to, but when you're shoved into the crack between the wall and the mattress, it makes it harder. When you have someone laying on top of you while you're squished into that crack, well, that makes it impossible.”
“And why didn't you just compel him to get up?” I would never understand Kian's code for using his compulsion abilities. It seemed so arbitrary.
“I can't do that. We swore we wouldn't, remember?”
“Good thing I haven't sworn anything because I would have made him roll onto Trace and piss his pants.” I lifted a shoulder.
Kian barked out a laugh, which only got me in trouble with Enan. Apparently, I couldn't do that again because it made Kian move too much. I widened my eyes in innocence, which didn't help. In the end, after a lecture from Enan, I stood, trying to behave. With Kian's free arm wrapped around me, his fingers tapping out that Fae lullaby he seemed to be so fond of, he rested his head on my chest and closed his eyes until Enan finished.
Axton followed next, and he decided he'd suddenly developed some sort of phobia as well. Of course, he hadn't, but I stayed and rubbed his back while he used my tits as pillows.
Trace just pulled me into his lap when I asked him if he wanted me to hold his hand. By the time we finished, we all had matching bracelets, and it was time to go to work. We left Enan with his payment, and I made a mental note to check on him the next chance