“Snuggling me is going to help somehow?” I don’t unfold my arms to him even though I secretly love the way he feels pressed against me.
“Hmm, it couldn’t hurt.” A primitive sound hums through his chest and the corner of his lips tip up in a smirk. “I think your power is something else.”
“Something else?” Dax leans his shoulder against the wall as he gets comfortable. He’s still shirtless. The other two men have sadly put on their shirts while Dax lets the morning sunlight skim across the etched lines of his abdomen.
“When I worked with Mesa at the Iron Bar a few years ago, she told me about this fae she met there. She said he washeavens blessed. Different than the others. Not in appearance, but in power.” Ryder’s attention is held intently on the depths of my eyes. Darrio steps closer once more.
My nerves tingle through me, my magic swirling until the anxiety makes me feel like I might throw up.
“Stop being mysterious and tell me what you’re thinking.” My gaze narrows on his pale eyes.
“I think you have the ability to mimic others.”
“Mimic?” Darrio cocks a brow at Ryder.
All the repetitive words are making the anxious energy grow within me. I swallow down the nervous feeling churning my stomach.
“Fae have special powers. Some have a few special traits, but not an abundance. I can shudder and I can heal, but that’s it. That’s all I have to rely on in life. Other than my charm, of course.” Another cheesy wink has me groaning with annoyance. “But when you did your fire show, you were worried about Dax and Darrio.” A small pause fills his voice. “They were probably all you were thinking about.”
Finally, I do release my arms, letting them linger against his chest. The steady beat of his heart meets my fingertips.
“That wasn’t all that was on my mind,” I say quietly. The building angst between Ryder and I kept my mind busy when I wasn’t worrying over Darrio and Daxdyn every waking hour.
A knowing smile consumes his features. Lines crease his pretty eyes making a fluttering energy course through my chest.
“Right, right, Ryder’s glorious junk was also on your mind. Can we get to the point here?” Daxdyn shoots me a taunting look and I glare back at him from over my shoulder.
“I think she has the ability to mimic someone’s power. I don’t know if she has to be thinking of them or has to have made contact with them. It could be anything really, but we have a little bit of time to figure it out.” Once again, Ryder pulls me closer, making my body align with every inch of his.
“You really think I could shudder just because I’m pressed up against a shuddering fae?”
“Well I hope you wouldn’t take just any shuddering fae.” Ryder dips his head low, his lips just a breath away from mine.
“I don’t know, my current shuddering fae’s ego is too big for me to really wrap my arms around him.”
His tongue rolls slowly across his lips.
“Mmm, tell me again how I’m too big for you to wrap yourself around.”
“Seriously?” Darrio cocks a brow at his friend.
“Is there possibly a less disturbingly sexy way for you two to do this?” Daxdyn says with little interest in the matter.
A smile pulls at the corner of my mouth for a moment before I really focus on what he just told me. If I put all of my thoughts into someone else’s powers, could I really mimic them?
He keeps his palms firmly against my hips and ever so slowly he starts to flicker out of focus. His touch feels like waves drifting back and forth against my skin. His magic is strong. It’s something that shivers right through me like a current.
“You sure that’s safe, to have your magic going through her?” Dax suddenly seems concerned. The steady stride of his boots leads him over to me once again.
His palm brushes against my side, his thumb sweeping back and forth over my hipbone.
He’s so careful with me now. Since we were separated he’s done nothing but worry over me, it seems like.
“I’m fine, Dax.” I force myself to look away from the depths of his silver eyes.
Daxdyn’s hand slips away but he doesn’t step back.
My eyes close and I focus on the shuddering feel of Ryder’s hands on my body. The tingling feel of his magic is all I can think about.
