to the floor as though composing his answer, his lower lip gripped in his teeth. A tuft of bristled beard dewy with rainwater fanned out just below his lip and I had the strangest urge to lick him there.
With a jolt, I realized that what I’d just asked for would never be enough for me but it would sound hypocritical to backtrack now. Besides, as much as I craved all six of them, I also knew without a doubt that I needed to learn how to manage this crazy magic without them before I could surrender myself to them at all. The dragons had given me enough of a taste of what that surrender would look and feel like. It was far from an undesirable experience, but I’d lose myself so easily if I wasn’t careful. The fact that Eddie and the other two ursa had their own strict limitations was a good excuse to take a step back.
“If that’s what you really want,” he said, pinning me again with his blue-eyed stare. My heart pounded harder as he studied me, daring me to come clean as if he knew my secrets without me telling. Steam rose up of his wet body, and the plain white T-shirt he wore was soaked through to the skin, leaving nothing to the imagination. He lifted a hand and brushed a damp curl from my cheek. My pulse quickened to the point I could barely breathe.
“Eddie …”
His fingertips grazed my jaw and my resolve snapped. With a soft curse I reached for him, leaning up to press my mouth to his. He had his arms around me before I could think twice about what I was doing, but god, did he feel good. His lush lips were at odds with the solid bulk of his muscular body, and his beard was twice as soft as I’d imagined.
I moaned into his mouth, gripping the wet fabric of his shirt and twisting it in my fists, not sure whether I wanted to pull him closer or push him away. When the twinge of magical need pulsed almost painfully in my core, I forced myself to pull back.
“Shit.” I pressed my forehead to his chest, breathing hard.
“Sorry,” he gruffed.
I laughed. “Dude. Not your fault. But to answer your question, no, it’s decidedly not what I want. But it’s what I need for right now, okay? I need to manage this magic myself before I can let go with all six of you. I need to know I have control. Does that make sense?”
He took a slow, deep breath and tightened his arms around me, tucking me in against him, heedless of the fact that his wet clothes were seeping into mine. I didn’t really care though, because his arms around me felt amazing.
“Makes perfect sense. We’ll be ready when you are.”
“Thanks,” I said, tilting my head back to smile up at him. I reluctantly pushed away, but it didn’t take more than a moment for the thrill of the project to replace that need with a different desire.
I turned toward the furnaces and took a deep breath. The warmth and scent of the studio gave me such a rush of pure joy it felt like coming home, even though I hadn’t had a real home since Dad and I moved away from the estate. When the rest of the guys joined us one by one a little later, the feeling intensified to the point my lower abdomen spasmed with another pang of need so acute I gasped out loud. I’d been in the middle of shaping a gather of glass at the end of the pipe and faltered, causing the glass to sag a little.
Gray was there, his comforting hand on my shoulder. “Breathe and focus. Picture your piece in your mind’s eye as if it’s a seed you’re nurturing to grow, and push some of that energy into it.”
I took a deep breath and did as he said. Murdoc moved into position at the end of the pipe, crouching down to blow when I needed. Then the world seemed to fall away as my attention fixated on the piece. Nothing existed but me and the glass and the six men who surrounded me.
“Blow,” I said, preparing to shape the glass as Murdoc pushed air through the pipe into the growing bubble. As he did, my magic flowed into the glass with a sensation so similar to exhaling, I felt like the two of us were connected.