“He’ll come after me,” I say. “But I made a bit of a mess on my way back. That might distract him for a few days.”
Rought stifles a laugh. Rath shakes his head at both of us.
“I felt you,” I say, pressing a light kiss to Rought’s lips. “So far away, but … it kept me …” My voice breaks, and my soul-bound mate doesn’t make me continue.
“Yes,” Rought whispers against my own lips. “That was enough to keep me going. Then I could feel you on your way back to me … and I knew you were okay.”
“I need that debrief, Zaya,” Rath repeats, voice gruff as he clearly struggles internally. Perhaps holding himself back, perhaps in frustration.
Rought loosens his grip, sliding me down his body until I get my feet under me.
I meet Rath’s gaze steadily. And for one of the first times in my life that I can remember, I ask for something solely for myself.
“And I need you, Rath. I need to fortify the bond the dragon holds. I need … I need us to have threads between us. I don’t ever want to watch you fall from the fucking sky and not know if you’re still alive or not.”
He stares at me. His expression is hard, inscrutable.
“With sex,” I say. “Just to be clear.”
Rought chuckles under his breath.
Rath huffs. “I know how it works, Zaya.”
I grin at him unrepentantly. “I should hope so.”
A slow grin transforms Rath’s face. And for a brief moment, I can see more of the boy, the teenager, from Mack’s photographs standing before me. “I think I can dust off one or two of our practice sessions, Tempest. Just give me a couple of hours to coordinate with the Outcast and, depending on that conversation, hopefully fortify our defenses.”
“I’m going to need those lesson plans,” I say, slightly unclear about how I can go from being devastated over losing a future I never knew was supposed to be mine with one soul-bound mate, to outright flirting — and demanding sex — with another. “For study purposes.”
Rath chuckles. An actual laugh.
I almost tease him about that too.
But he sobers quickly as his gaze shifts to Rought. “I’ll need you to work with Coda. Make sure we have eyes everywhere they can be, and that we’re ready to lock down if necessary.”
“Meet you back at the estate, my Marrow?” Rought presses the question along with a kiss to my temple.
I meet Rath’s intent gaze. “I’ll be there.”
“Go straight there now,” the bossy asshole says, ruining the playful vibe entirely. “Forget about Bellamy.”
“Sure,” I say flippantly. “I love ceding my autonomy to your directive.”
“The sooner I know you’re as safe as you can be,” he says, “the sooner you can have my cock.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Were you always like this?”
Rought opens his mouth, gleeful as he tries to respond.
Rath gets there first, though. “Since I lost you? Yes.”
“I can’t argue with that,” I murmur, running my hand down Rought’s arm and hooking my fingers through his even as I step away.
Our arms stretch between us until only our fingertips are brushing. Until I’ve put too much space between us. I exit the bar with both of their gazes resting on me heavily.
I’m barely a few steps beyond the exterior door of the bar when Coda shoves a new phone into my hand, not quite looking at me. “I’m so fucking angry with you.”
I take the device, careful to not touch the tech awry.
