Our dance was silent, driven by body language and need. If I spoke, the moment might vanish. So I stayed quiet, breathing in the fantasy.
Xan shut the binder of scrawl and declared us done for the evening. He and Ezra vanished into the kitchen. Their impressively tented pants were hard to ignore. I heard a pot crash to the floor before the odd silence of a spell gave them privacy.
I’d never been in a long-term relationship, but I was familiar with the issues couples faced: losing their spark, falling into routines, or being too busy to spend time together. Ezra clearly overworked himself. He hadn’t even had a chance to join us for dinner. As much as I wantedthem both to be interested in me, I was a tool, a crutch they leaned on to fix their own problems.
I wanted to see them in love again almost as much as I wanted control over my magic.
My body hummed with need, and a satisfied smile pulled at my mouth. It’s not like getting them both turned on to spice up their partnership hurt me at all. If anything, both their attention boosted my ego. And that first moment when Ezra slid his hands so close to my center. I swear I almost came just from his touch.
Why were all the hot ones gay?
I groaned and slinked off to the shower. Cold water helped settle my molten insides.
Names swirled in my head. I caught only fragments, but it was clear Xan dodged questions about my friends’ families. The Griersons remained a mystery. And the Lawsons, especially Cayden, were too private to trust rumors.
It was still a start.
I stepped out of the shower and looked at my green eyes, now swirling with prismatic crystal. Xan hadn’t mentioned the All-Important Architect once, which didn’t feel right.
Despite the cold shower, a wave of exhaustion hit me hard. With Ezra’s black tunic covering my upper body, I crawled back into the massive bed and passed out.
I woke early the next morning. Rain pattered against the window, and a chill filled the air. However, I was toasty warm, and not just from theblankets pulled up to my chin, but from the two bodies now sleeping on either side of me.
Ezra lay with his back to me, bare and still, his muscles mapped like a textbook. Each line of strength in perfect harmony. Xan faced me, one arm outstretched, the other gripping his forearm like he was holding himself back. Unlike Ezra, layers of blankets covered his lover. It was adorable.
I tried to get out of bed without waking either of them, but with my first movement, Ezra almost rolled on top of me, and Xan’s eyes opened.
Xan backed up; Ezra did not.
“Sorry, there’s only one bed,” Xan apologized.
I stuck a hand out. “But it could hold five. Not a big deal. I listen to Erick’s snores every night, and when he’s been drinking, they’re bad.”
Ezra grunted unhappily and rolled again, this time to the edge of the bed. He stood, back to me, with only a tiny pair of black boxers clinging to his fit butt.
I dropped my gaze and peeked at Xan to see if my ogling his guy bothered him, but he was too busy doing it as well.
“I guess maybe me talking about my roommate isn’t the best thing to start the day with,” I said, frowning at Ezra’s back.
“Well, no.” Xan chuckled. “But Ez hasn’t had coffee or exercise yet. Usually, he needs both before he wants to hear anything.”
I yawned. “Coffee. I’m with you on the coffee.”
Ezra vanished into the kitchen, and Xan sat up. Like Ezra, he slept bare-chested. A little bit of man fuzz covered his chest and disappeared into the covers, pooling around his waist. Ezra was a walking anatomy chart, but there was something soft and intimate about Xan’s rumpled, warm chest that pulled me in.
He brushed his fingers across my hand, and goosebumps ran down my arm. “Did you sleep okay? Did we bother you?”
I gathered my scattered brains. “I slept great. You didn’t bother me at all. I really enjoyed our, ah, evening.”
I grinned, and heat rose to my cheeks. They’d thoroughly used me and worked me up to get to each other, and I’d loved it. I needed another cold shower just thinking about it.
Xan’s face fell, and my pulse plummeted. Dread overtook the spark he’d ignited.
I’d said too much or done too much. I’d been right just to keep quiet last night. How did I mess this up already?
The door to the kitchen opened, and Ezra came out with three coffees. He took one look at Xan, and all three coffees went down on the bedside table. He leaned against the bedpost; his arms crossed over his chest.
“We need to talk, Quinn,” Xan said quietly.
