the group. A mixture of groans and curse words shot through the room, and Damien took it as his cue to pull away. I swallowed down the mewl that wanted to break free, instead clinging to Joshua who backed me into the wall.
“Take care of her for us,” Theo rasped, his cerulean eyes eating up the sight of us for a moment before the door clicked shut behind my mates, leaving Joshua and me preciously alone.
“They told me they had a romantic evening set up for us, but I never imagined they’d have gone through all this trouble.” Joshua cupped my face, tracing his thumbs along the line of my jaw.
“They’ve really accepted you. Each of them missed you while you were gone. Nothing has felt right since we left you on that island. Having you here with us—with me—I feel complete again,” I admitted, my heart pounding in my chest.
“I’ll always come home to you, Nix. Promise me the same.”
“I promise, Joshua.”
“You were all I could think about when I was away. My sole motivation to wake up each morning and make it through the day. I wanted nothing more than to be right here with you. It’s… fuck, it’s almost surreal to be holding you.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead, then skimmed down to kiss the tip of my nose.
“I worried about you every second of every day. Just ask Ciarán how many times I bugged him for updates and any news about how you were doing. I never want to do that again.”
I gripped his shirt, holding him as close as I possibly could. “I won’t be separated from you or any of my mates.” I tilted my head up and found myself drowning in light blue eyes, though I could see a difference in one of his irises—a sheen of green that wasn’t there before. I filed it away to ask him about later, needing to tell him what was on my heart. “I love you, Joshua. I will every day for the rest of my life.”
“Nix,” he said hoarsely. “How did I get so goddamn lucky?” He brought my mouth to his, taking his time to taste me. “I love you too, honey. More than I think I’ll ever be able to show you. But I’m going to try. Every single day, I’ll try.” A second later, his hands were on my hips, lifting me up as he braced me against the wall. My legs wrapped around his waist, and I wiggled closer, loving the airy gasp that fled his lungs as I pressed my core against his cock. “Fuck me,” he rasped, as I rocked over him again and again, trying to entice him to take me to bed and shed a few articles of clothing.
“I fully intend to.” I smiled, enjoying the way his eyes darkened as his pupils expanded. Seeing the way I turned him on just drove my pleasure higher. “Take me to bed, Joshua.”
Gripping my ass, he carried me across the room effortlessly, as though I weighed nothing. The mattress bounced as he dropped me onto the soft comforter, the scent of roses wafting around us. I fingered a petal, rubbing the soft, velvety surface between my fingers. “I can’t believe they did all of this.”
Joshua stood, and I was transfixed as he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing the long, muscled lines of his body. A six pack was etched across his abdomen with that rope of a V angling into his jeans. I licked my lips, watching avidly as he worked the button and slid the zipper down to reveal black boxers underneath. His cock tented the fabric as best as it could behind the confines of his clothing, and I ached as I waited for him to remove the rest, whimpering when I realized he’d stopped.
His grin was wicked as he crawled over me. I breathed deeply, trying to shake away the slight panic that built from having a man on top of me, but Joshua wasn’t resting his weight on me, and as long as he didn’t settle, I knew I could handle it. His hand slipped under my shirt and slid up the gentle curve of my stomach until he reached the line of my bra, cupping his palm over the top. I hissed, wanting to feel his skin against mine rather than this muted feeling of pressure. Reaching down, I pulled my top off, and then brazenly reached behind me to