“You…”
That little growl, the way it forced her to put her mask aside for just a moment and let something real out. It was why I’d keep poking her, forcing a reaction until she was comfortable enough to let the spontaneous ones show. Fern didn’t bother cursing me out. Instead, she turned on her heel and marched out of the room.
With me following hot on her heels.
Lorien did as well. Dain looked up, muttered some curse and then dropped his bread onto his plate, trailing behind, but we all followed her right the way down to her door.
“You won’t be pushing your way into my suite now.” Her chest was heaving as she sucked in breaths, but I was willing to bet it wasn’t from the exertion. Part of her was readying itself for what was to come. But we couldn’t do anything until her heart was on board as well. “I’ll call for some riders?—”
“Call for them.” Getting close to Fern was as natural as breathing, so when my hand landed on her neck, feeling for her pulse, it felt inevitable that I’d find it racing. “Call them, Fern. Call every damn rider in the place, because it’d save me some time.”
“Us.”
Lorien settled against the wall beside Fern, his body turned towards hers.
Her eyes flicked from me to each one of my brothers and back again, trying to work out what we’d do next, but she knew. My hand slid down, forming a fist when it reached her collar. It took that clench of muscles to stop myself from sliding it downand discovering every single curve I’d traced so thoroughly with my eyes.
“Do you know what I’d tell them?” Just a slight shake of her head was enough for me to forge on. “That they can lay all the flowers, sweets, books, and art materials at your feet. Gods, maybe I should let them pay court, just so you know what I’d do.”
I was drowning in the details of her. The press and purse of her lips, the arch of her eyebrow and that impudent tilt of her nose.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Fern. Capable of making us men idiots as we try to impress you, but there is nothing any man in this keep can bring you, do for you, that will change what I know to be true.”
Gods, help me, my arm went around her waist and distantly I heard Slate’s roar in response. Tugging her closer felt so damn right, as did her hand coming to rest on my chest. The thin cotton of the cadet’s uniform was a good thing now, because I could feel the heat of her touch.
“We’re the men for you. If finding the nest is what makes you see that, then we won’t rest until we unearth it. We’ll plunder every damn ruin in Nevermere if that’s what it takes. Whatever you want…” My free hand slid down the side of her face, my fingertips barely skimming her skin as my head dropped lower. “Whatever you need and right now, it’s this.”
Was this what a kiss was? By all the gods, the feeling was electric. She was soft and I was hard, demanding more, more. Her little moan, that was music to my ears, egging me on. I was in heaven and so was she.
Right before it was snatched away.
Staring blankly, it took me seconds to realise what was happening. With a frown, I saw Fern had been plucked from my grip by Lorien.
“You’ll never catch me looking at another woman,” he told her. “Can’t when you’re in the room. There’s only you, Fern, and right now I really want to?—”
My grin was instantaneous. Fern’s hand snaked up, burying itself in my brother’s hair before tugging his mouth down on hers. Lorien was a quick study, though. He’d taken over things, pressing her into the wall, his body into hers, seconds later. I settled down beside them, watching my brother claim our girl, then glancing over my shoulder to see where Dain was the moment Lorien pulled back.
Only to find he was gone.
Fern looked like a woman waking from a dream, gasping, then blinking furiously before looking about herself.
“I… That…”
“Got you speechless with a kiss, lass?” My grin widened. “Imagine what else we can do if you let us inside that suite of yours.”
“Inside?” That frown was back. She pushed herself away from the wall, then smoothed down her uniform. “That will not be happening. Goodnight.”
“Sweet dreams.” Lorien came to stand beside me, both of us watching her jerk open her front door. “You can tell us all about what we do to you tomorrow when you dream of us.”
I couldn’t help but laugh when the door was slammed shut.
“I’m starting to see the wisdom of your approach, brother,” Lorien said. “Because that was…”
“That was,” I agreed, unable to find the right adjective to finish the sentence.
“Where’s Fern?” As we ambled back up the hallway, we were intercepted by Lance. The man was in a flap if his wild-eyed look was anything to go by.
“In her room, safe in bed,” I replied. “Which is more than you’ll be able to say if you repeat what happened in the dining hall.”
