I regretted pulling away. But regrets were for people with no future. I leaned forward and locked Xan’s lips with mine for a sweet, chaste kiss.
Quinn bit her lower lip, and her gaze heated. I’d left my shirt off after my workout, just for her. My body was still pumped, muscles swollen and taut. Xan ran a hand down my chest before pulling away and smiling at Quinn.
She blushed and clicked her bare heels together adorably.
My lover settled facing the maps on the far side of me, and I sank with him, leaving a Quinn-sized space between us.
Xan cocked his head to the side, clearly surprised.
I flexed my back, rippling my chest muscles. ‘Do you want me to leave?’
My lover’s gaze flicked down, as did Quinn’s.
‘No. I’m just surprised. You didn’t join us for dinner… so I assumed…’
“Um,” Quinn said, watching us speak in each other’s minds.
I looked away from my lover and held out a hand to Quinn. “Between us.”
Quinn flushed but crawled onto the bed. Unlike Xan and me, with one leg out and the other bent toward the middle of the map, Quinn tucked her legs tight, carefully not to touch. She looked so small between us.
Xan shifted, giving her space. I did not.
“There are four families who control Edinburgh and surround my castle.” Xan pointed at different sections of the map. “The McDonald Clan has the largest area, including farmland to the south. The Abernathys control the castle at the bottom of The Mile and all of Holyrood to our west. The Griersons to our north hold Leith and most of the coast, though most of the old city is abandoned betweenus and them.” He cleared his throat. “Finally, the Westwaters control central Edinburgh and skirt the edges of The Green.”
“What about the Tate family and the Moores?” Quinn bit the side of her lip. “And the Lawsons?”
I held back a growl at her reference to the other men in her life.
“The Moores’ control is in London,” my lover explained. “Which technically means little here, but overall, their family has more power and money than those just in Edinburgh.” He pointed to a single spot on the northern outskirts. “The Tates trace their roots from before BT. But they’ve fallen. They still own their family home and have enough wealth to survive, but their relevance has vanished. Rowan’s exit from his unfulfilled contract has sealed their fate.”
Quinn wrinkled her nose and dropped her gaze.
My lover opened our carefully curated book of scrawl, detailing family connections, and put it on top of the map. He gave me another little nod of thanks for including it, and I pointedly looked at Quinn.
Xan took a breath and gestured to the first page. “We’ll start with the Abernathys…”
Quinn’s breathing was steady, if a little shallow, as she leaned closer to the glowing scrawl and listened. Xan’s lecture on the families naturally transitioned into the source of magic itself. Her fidgeting between us eased the longer Xan talked, and she slowly relaxed her legs. Her knee brushed mine.
She needed to know how I felt. I needed to know what my lover wanted. If either of them said no, I’d back away.
But someone had to break this endless stalemate.
I set my hand on her thigh. Calluses against cream. She didn’t flinch.
Xan’s voice caught, and his next word came out as a squeak.
Quinn flushed and didn’t look at me or my hand. “Is the theory, then, that the tremors created magic? Or is magic a natural part of evolution?”
Xan took an almost desperate breath before controlling himself. “That’s a hot debate. I prefer the idea that magic had been evolving inside humans for years before the tremors. Others believe magic is a direct result of the tremors.”
Quinn’s gaze unfocused.
My hand stayed on her thigh. I slid a finger under her tunic.
Her blush was the only sign she felt it.
She didn’t stop me, just leaned forward, pointing at the Lawson bloodline, what little of it we knew.
