Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,17

agreed, reaching down and stripping his shirt over his head before folding it neatly and setting it aside. Wicked boy. Next he removed the soft fleece pants he’d been wearing, leaving him in a pair of… navy boxers with teal tentacles curving up from the bottom. I almost laughed, but the sight of his body was mouthwatering and distracting. Unconsciously, I shifted in bed, pressing my thighs together, and my dream with Joshua came rushing back. My center was already slick and ready, thanks to my Basilisk, but since the dream hadn’t truly been physical, it only served as foreplay, preparing me for my other mates.

Damien groaned and shoved my thoughts into the other guys’ minds, memories of the dream playing between us.

“How is Joshua?” my Gargoyle inquired, and Hiro smirked.

“He’s good,” I hedged, warmth flushing into my cheeks.

“I’d say he’s doing very well this morning if those images are any indication.” Hiro’s brown eyes smoldered as his gaze raked over my form, and my blush deepened.

“How is he really though?” Damien pressed, ignoring the sensual mood Hiro was trying to create. With a sigh, the Kitsune rifled through his suitcase, slung some clothing over his shoulder, sauntered over, and kissed the top of my head on his way to the bathroom. He knew D would fill him in, and I heard the shower kick on not a moment later.

I let out a weary sigh and answered Damien the best I could. “He didn’t let me see a lot, but I think that’s because he’s trying to protect me. I know he misses us. His longing was written all over him. I just… I don’t want him to feel trapped there.”

“I know.” Damien squeezed his large frame under the bunk, sitting on the mattress and pulling me, blankets and all, into this lap. I took comfort in his large, strong arms, nuzzling into his chest to listen to the steady beat of his heart. I breathed him in.

“I don’t like him in danger, Batman. I want him home. I want our family together again.” I gripped his shirt tightly, holding on for dear life. “I… I don’t know how much longer I can do this. Every night I lie in bed and wonder if his next meeting with Ciarán will be the one where he doesn’t show up… if Stepanov, Maldonado, Rahal, or Ishida will finally have figured out his game… if his blood is the next to spill across that damn marble floor.” A hiccupped breath shook through me, and Damien gripped my upper arms, moving me away from his chest so he could gaze down into my terrified eyes.

“I won’t let anything happen to him, Nix. You say the word, and I’m gone. I’ll go knock him out and drag him back here, rebellion intel be damned. It’s not worth the risk. I won’t allow them to take one more member of my family,” Damien swore, his fierce protectiveness shining through his eyes.

I stared up at Damien, noting the tightness of his mouth, his lips pressed into a firm line. His gaze was intense, but I didn’t miss the dark circles shadowed below, showing I wasn’t the only one not sleeping. His mother’s and father’s deaths had hit him hard, but I was proud of him for how he was handling everything. Instead of slipping into a deep depression, wallowing in guilt or remorse, or pulling away from me and the guys, he’d simply held on tighter. He was fighting against his own instincts to turn away, putting our family first, and as much as I mourned with him, it warmed my heart.

I was on the brink of agreeing to his asinine plan to extract Joshua when Theo piped up. Propped in the doorway of the bedroom, he leaned against the doorjamb with his hands in his pockets, watching us on the bed.

“We all want him back, but interfering with the plan is not going to do anyone any good unless Joshua sounds the alarm. We’ve been over the plan with him,” Theo reasoned, though I saw the toll it took on him to rein us in. “It would be more dangerous for one of us to show our faces at the commune again. Joshua has worked his way into their inner fold. He’s a Councilman, and as much as we all hate the idea, he and the team he’s managed to create there are our inside source. The intel he’s been feeding us has helped the rebellion