his cheek. She frowned and tried to remember what caused that depth of feeling. It took her groggy mind a moment to remember what had happened before she’d gone to sleep. The kitchen, Laed and the magic that resulted in her deep, dreamless sleep.
“About time you decided to wake up.” Linc’s arms tightened around her, pulling her closer. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“And since you’re glaring at me, I’d guess that’s my fault.” She licked her lips as she remembered Tyson and Lana’s words about them being furious.
Linc’s eyebrows lowered ominously over the hardening green gems of his eyes. “Yes.”
“Not the best time to wake up in a provoking mood, i’ma.” Colm’s arms tugged her back against him as Linc released her.
Colm nuzzled her hair away from her neck. His mouth moved along her neck, brushing soft kisses along the column before making his way down. Licking her lips, she tilted her head a bit to give him room. His teeth grazed over her shoulder. She shivered and pressed back against him. A sharp nip followed the stinging carress. She yelped and tried to draw away, but he held her right where he wanted her. She had a feeling if the herbal drug had faded a little more, he might be holding on with his teeth as well as arms.
“It was just a question, not actually meant to provoke.” She turned her head a little to glare at the man as her hand rubbed at the abused skin.
His lips brushed her fingertips. “Well, you succeeded in doing that anyway. We’re very tense right now, so perhaps it would be a good time to practice a little restraint or we might just try it.”
“Try what?” Maybe it was because she’d just woken up, but she’d obviously missed something. That last part confused her.
Linc chuckled drawing her attention to him. “Restraint, rah’ki. Specifically, restraining you.”
“It would at least keep you where you’d probably be safe.” Colm’s voice roughened to a growl.
“This is the part where you yell at me for—whatever you feel I did wrong.” She wasn’t going to give them any ideas. From the things Tyson and Lana had said, they didn’t need help. She’d ask them about that “haven” later.
“Whatever we feel you did wrong?” Linc raised an eyebrow. “You know why we’re angry, at least part of it. I know Tyson talked to you about it.”
“Yeah, he talked to me a little bit before the tiredness really took away the ability to concentrate.” She shrugged, but then gave what she hoped was a confident smile. “He said you’d be angry because using my magic in that way left me vulnerable afterward. I’ll admit that I wouldn’t have been able to stand against a light breeze. The other women took care of Laed, so I didn’t need to.”
Colm growled and urged her into a sitting position. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “The fact that the only one hurt was Laed does not diminish the fact that you put yourself in danger.”
“I wasn’t going to hide in some room and let him kill another woman.” She poked her finger against his chest. “Laed would have slit her throat open without a thought. At least I could delay him long enough to think of something to do or for help to get there. Which happened at about the same time as what I did.”
“The results and reasons don’t matter. You shouldn’t have left the room. You shouldn’t have confronted him. The chatar should have tied you to the chair instead of giving you advice on what to do.” Linc’s voice drew her attention. The mattress shifted and she turned her head to look at him. He stalked around the end of the bed and stood to the right of where Colm sat.
“Do you think I did that because I thought I’d be able to take him down and save everyone and be the hero?” She pushed at Colm’s arms, trying to get him to release her, but his hands didn’t budge. She growled in frustration and shook her head. “It was the only way to keep them safe long enough for someone to do something. At that point, I didn’t care if he got away or not. Do you think I wanted to be the cause of a massacre in your Thent?”
“Do you think we want to chance losing you?” Colm pulled her close in an almost suffocating hug. “You kept everyone