Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,116

opened up and said something, we could have worked this out ages ago.”

“I don’t want you to think I don’t love you!” I blurted. “Nix, I can’t live without you.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Okay, so her snarling at me shouldn’t be turning me on. I was definitely twisted. With the way her dark eyes flashed and color flushed her cheeks, I wanted to devour her despite the fact that she looked only seconds away from shaking me. “Ryder, I know how you feel about me. I haven’t wavered in that in the slightest. But I’m completely pissed that you let yourself fret over this so badly that you’re mired in depression just because you wouldn’t talk about it!”

“I didn’t know how,” I admitted quietly, color flaring in my cheeks. Her eyes softened as she gently framed my face, brushing a tender kiss on my lips first, then on Hiro’s.

“I have six mates. Do you really think I would believe there was only room in your heart for me?” she whispered. “I’ve known how you two feel about each other from the beginning. I won’t lie, I had some reservations at first, but that’s why I talked about it.”

“So what do you want, Ry?” Hiro questioned, his voice calm now. “All of it. Not what you think you should want, the truth.”

I sighed, shifting slightly. I knew the others were still listening, though they stayed across the room, giving us this moment. “I want you as my mate. I don’t want to share you with them,” I confessed with a wince. “With Nix, yes. But I don’t want you touching or kissing or, well, fucking any of the rest of them.”

“Do you not want to join in if we’re all together?” Nix asked, cocking her head. “Do you want Hiro to avoid participating?”

I shook my head, searching for the right words. “No, that’s not it. Um…”

“Casual brushes, passing touches as we move around each other, nudity, you can handle that?” Hiro guessed, studying me as he adjusted his glasses.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Yeah, he got it. “Yeah. Like… like how Killian is, I guess.” I heard Killian grumble, but I shrugged. “He’s fine being together with all of us, but he doesn’t seek another male’s touch.”

“If that’s what you need, that’s what we’ll do,” Nix assured me. “Right, Hiro?”

“I’d do anything for you two.” Hiro kissed me softly. “It’s not a hardship not to touch the others if it means I have the both of you.”

“Is that really all that was bothering you, Ryder?” Nix’s chocolate eyes searched mine, worry still pinching her features.

“Sort of. I mean… sometimes there’s no real logic to it. I’ll be perfectly fine and then, all of a sudden, I’m just being swallowed again. Anything and everything at that point is overwhelming.”

“That’s the depression, Ryder,” Theo spoke up. His tone was calm and without censure.

Nix nodded. “I get that way too. But just like you expect me to fight it, I want you to keep fighting it too. Promise me that, Ry. I don’t care how stupid you think the problem is. How self-conscious you are about it. How deep the secret is. Hell, I don’t care if you don’t even know the reason for it. Talk to one of us.”

My Ceraptor reared in my head, relief flowing through him at the acceptance of my brothers and mates. “I’ll try.”

“Good. You’ve got two mates now who are going to make sure you stick to that.” She wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing tightly. “I love you, Twilight Sparkle.”

“I love you, mikró pouláki.”

She stepped back and turned to face the others. “Okay, since I’m sure this is going to come up in the future, I need the rest of your middle names. I can’t yell at you effectively without them.” The others burst into laughter, shoving against each other as they pretended to refuse her request.

Hiro wrapped his arm around my waist, nuzzling into my neck. “I’ll punish you for making me worry later, mate,” he whispered, his tongue darting quickly across my ear, making me shiver. Oh, I really, really hoped he would.

Twenty-Six

Nix

The sounds of high-pitched giggles sent a smile spreading across my face as I stepped out of the lodge. The sun was low on the horizon, the rays sparkling off the snow like tiny diamonds. Crisp winter air surrounded me, and I pulled my jacket closer, letting my Phoenix send heat throughout my veins so I wouldn’t freeze my