Everly put her hand over her mouth and waited for them to start talking again. “Sorry. You can do whatever you want, but I have questions! Please, just one more drink. What was the radio like? And rave bingo? Did you ever fly on an airplane?”
I squeezed Rowan’s leg under the table, hoping he understood my silent promise to talk later, before grinning at Everly. “I flew a few times. Honestly? Not that great…”
I ended up canceling on Ezra and spending the rest of the evening with my friends, who, with a little bit of adjusting, loved me for exactly who I was.
Chapter 24
Alexander
IawokewithQuinnstill beneath me in my mind. One drop of sweat hit her breastbone, and my lips followed, tasting her heat and salt. Lust. Her. Pure sex. I wasn’t the dominant one, but I woke Ezra and took him like she was the one beneath me.
The wave of my need cleared, and Ezra’s purple eyes looked up at me. I burst into tears.
“I’m so sorry, love.” I tried to control myself, but I was a mess. This woman’s heart beat next to mine, and I wanted to be a part of her life so badly that I’d used my lover. “It wasn’t you I saw; it was her.”
Ezra cupped my cheek and rolled us so I was cradled in his arms. ‘I was too.’
I’d never needed those three words more. Ezra captured my lips, and this time, he used me, whispering exactly how he wanted her between us. Reminding me of her little moans as we touched her until both of us were a spent mess.
I’d given Quinn time with her friends to prove her choices were her own. Today, I needed to talk about us: her, Ezra, and me. Not just touching and hoping, but actual communication.
I slogged through the morning, counting seconds till our one-on-one.
As usual, she slipped into the Alun right after me, and we began. She caught on fast but struggled to juggle the tasks. With one new instruction, the last fell out of her grip.
After several failures, she let out an exasperated cry. “It’s like reading and walking; some people can, some can’t. I can’t.”
I shook my head. “You can. You need practice.” An idea hit me so hard that I flinched.
“What?” Quinn asked.
I vehemently shook my head. “It’s nothing.”
Quinn leaned forward and put a hand on my knee. It was the first time we’d touched since she had teleported. Our eyes locked.
Quinn didn’t pull away. “You had an idea. Tell me.”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times. “Are you still studying the families?”
Quinn removed her hand and blinked a few times. A blush rose to her cheeks. “Um, not, um, so much… It’s not like there’s a book at the library.”
“There’s not.” I leaned forward. “My book’s full of private research. No one else touches it.”
Quinn nodded slowly, still trying to figure out if I’d changed the topic or not.
“I want you to practice focusing on two things at once.” I placed a hand on her knee this time and rubbed a circle with my thumb. “We miss you.”
Quinn blushed and pulled back. I followed, slower.
“Both of you?” Quinn asked.
I knew Ezra used their evening workouts as an excuse to show her everything he couldn’t say. I felt how much she enjoyed it.
“Yes.” A shy smile I wasn’t used to twisted my lips.
Quinn combed her fingers through bits of her sparkling hair. A brown stain on her wrist had me pulling her hand forward. Her nails were uneven, and her palms unexpectedly rough.
“What happened to your nails, and what’s that spot?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking.
