The plan was a little too perfect, even for Lucille Brandt.
She knew something. She’d been involved, somehow.
That, and the fact that Skye’s father had not only known my parents, but was insistent that my mother wasn’t Key to the family Chain?
Something was wrong. If Skye wasn’t here, I’d be spiraling.
You okay?Skye asked, pausing in front of me since she’d sensed my momentary freak out.
It can wait, I replied. Skye looked me over quickly, then nodded.
This was something I needed to think about on a deeper level later, when I wasn’t about to confront a threat.
We turned the corner, and Skye stopped so abruptly that I almost barreled over her. She quickly shifted so that she stood in front of me protectively, which was so fucking cute my heart could have burst, and then I saw who was here, and my shoulders dropped. In…relief? Disappointment? I wasn’t immediately sure.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Skye said at full volume, her voice shattering the quiet of the night and startling both Rafe and Wyatt.
Both men jumped, Wyatt more than Rafe, and they spun around to face us. They stood in the living room, Rafe close to the coffee tablelike he’d been reaching for the book Skye had been reading before bed, with Wyatt closer to the kitchen door. It was a good thing they hadn’t made it further down the hall toward the utility room.
Wyatt opened his mouth to speak, and then his jaw snapped closed as he went rigid. Rafe froze in place as well, though he looked less shocked than Wyatt. Their eyes darted back and forth frantically, and I almost laughed when I realized Skye was the one holding them still.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” I said as I tightened the string on Zephyr’s sweats around my waist. His frame was bulkier than mine, though we were matched in height.
“You should have seen my mom’s face the first time I did it to Zephyr,” Skye replied.
“We could have a lot of fun with that,” I said lightly, knowing the comment would ruffle Skye’s feathers a bit, and maybe piss off the other men.
It worked.
Well, on Wyatt at least. Even while frozen, his jaw ticked.
A jolt of excitement went through me as his hazel eyes zeroed in on Skye, taking in my t-shirt she was wearing, her bare legs and–
Oh, shit.Her bare legs.
I leaned forward and tugged on the hem of my t-shirt Skye wore, trying and failing to hide a little more of her skin from my Link-mates, who were now both staring hungrily at Skye’s legs.
Seeing the dark look on Wyatt’s face had me acting stupid. After pulling the hem down further, I ran my hand over the back of her thigh, barely dipping between her legs for just a second before moving away.
Skye tensed, then slowly turned her head toward me, giving me a look ofare you fucking serious?
I grinned. If I was a dog, my tongue would be lolling while I panted. That’s how I felt, anyway.
The look Skye gave me was hard to read. Her eyes slid down my body again, and I felt a little like…prey? I shivered.
“What the fuck is going on?” Zephyr’s voice was deep from sleep as it echoed down the hallway. Skye and I blinked and the strangemoment between us was gone. She looked past me to her brother, then turned back to her other Links, still frozen.
“Intruders,” I explained.
Zephyr was not alarmed in the slightest, a testament to how deeply he trusted his sister and her affinity. He sleepily stumbled into the hall opening, wearing only a t-shirt with some sleep shorts, and his hair tucked under a bright blue silk bonnet. He ran a hand down his face and then froze when his eyes landed on Wyatt and Rafe. Wyatt blinked several times at the sight of him, and Rafe’s only seemed to widen.
“Oh, fuck me,” Zephyr grumbled. “What the hell is this douchebag doing here?”
I wasn’t sure which man he was referring to. It could have been either of them.
Although…Skye and Rafe had interacted just fine before the attack at the academy. I’d even seen her blush a few times when he grinned at her, so maybe it wasn’t Rafe. The Prince was a good looking dude, though. I’d probably blush if he grinned at me, too.
I looked to the Prince for a moment, freezing when I noticed his dark eyes on me. They dragged down my body once, then snapped back to my face, where I just knew my fucking cheeks were flaming.
