“Hello?” Lunara’s call stopped their scuffle, his brother and cousin freezing.
It took all of Brand’s restraint not to reach out and clobber both of them for waking her up.
She rounded a nearby tree. When her eyes landed on Thad, her head tilted back and she muttered, “Stars and arses,” to the branches overhead.
For her, Thad had the decency to swallow and look away.
“Good morning, Thaddeus,” she said, joining them with a sigh. “We really must stop meeting like this.”
“This isn’t the same,” Thad mumbled.
“No?” She cocked her head to one side, waiting.
Thad slumped, his eyes closing. “Aye, fine. It is.”
Strange, to watch his fiery cousin concede so easily.
“We talked about this. At length, if I recall correctly.” Lunara raised a brow. “Leaving a note is just plain decency andyou’re not supposed to use your special tolls anymore. It’s too dangerous.”
Special tolls?
Thad broke away from Mag and sidled up to her, conveniently changing the subject. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to tell me what happened with Glynmor, since these two arseholes won’t?”
“Um…” She blinked and turned pleading eyes to Brand.
Naturally, he looked at his brother.
“Ach, fuck it.” Mag trudged off in the direction of the village. “Just keep your gob shut and have some respect.”
Then, they were gone, leaving him and Lunara alone.
Again.
This isn’t over, Lunara.
Brand knew he was staring, but couldn’t be bothered to care. She was locked on him just as fully.
Fuck, he could take the kiss they’d been denied right now. Could sink his fingers right into her flesh and drag her against him.
“Where’s Hedda?” His voice was hardly more than a scrape. If he didn’t want her so badly, he might’ve been embarrassed.
“Oh. Uh…”
Was that disappointment he heard? Good.Good.He was only asking because he didn’t want to be interrupted again.
They were set to spend the next few days scouring the surrounding land for clues, and he wanted one fucking moment of peace beforehand to ravage her mouth. To get lost in her and pretend that there was no such thing as the shite piling up on top of him. That he’d never heard that message, or seen the reality of it. Wasn’t feeling the threat of its words to his very bones.
Lunara blinked, shaking her head. “She was still snoring when I followed you here.”
That was about the only thing she could have said to quell his building lust.
His Second was the lightest sleeper he knew, the quickest to her feet when under threat, and she didn’t snore. Ever.
Brand should’ve realized something was wrong the instant Hedda wasn’t right beside them while dragging Thad away for an explanation.
The female before him had scrambled his head ten different ways.
“We’d better be waking her up and fetching Faldir, then. We have much to do.”
