“And I can carry you,” he replies immediately, but there’s a weird undercurrent to his tone that’s giving me pause. There’s just a general air of...somethingthat feels off with him today, and I start to second guess my idea.
You’re doing it again. Looking for problems that aren’t there, trying to self-sabotage because you’re scared. I can trust that Kodiak would talk to me if something was up.
“Raiden’s office.”
He whistles low, the sound bouncing around the cavernous halls. “Color me intrigued, firefly. He must’ve really pissed you off if we’re going to move everything an inch to the left when he’s not looking. Are you the distraction or am I?”
A startled bark of laughter echoes around us, and I stop squirming against his hold. This is what I was hoping for when I roped him into my plan last minute to keep from chickening out; Kodiak’s unique brand of carefree confidence.
Grinning, I leave it vague. “Both of us.”
A few minutes later, he’s pushing open the door to Raiden’s office. Most of the chaos has been reined in, the stacks of folders already gone through cleared out of the room to make space for the remaining piles. Finally, things are looking less daunting and actually manageable. The stale air smell is gone, and Raiden seems... good. Busy, sure, but well-rested instead of hanging on by a thread.
Kodi takes his good sweet time sliding me down the front of his body to set me on my feet. He’s an infuriating mix of contradictions that makes me want to scream. He practically has me up on a pedestal, but my gods, I wish he would do terribly disrespectful things to me for once instead. He’s all jokes and love, lighthearted enough to combat the oppressive weight of the world, but serious enough to eradicate any doubt I may have about his intentions.
Kodiak Garrison was born to love, and be loved in return. He’s been searching for me for centuries, alone far longer than I’ve had to suffer, yet he never gave up hope. Never stopped believing he’d find me, believinginme.
His mate mark might get us killed, but I’m pretty proud to wear it for however long we have.
Raiden peers at the pair of us over his computer. “Something wrong?”
“Not at all. I’ve never been better.”
A few clicks later, he pauses whatever he’s working on to give me his undivided attention. “Then to what do I owe this lovely visit?”
Deep breaths, Amara, no need to be nervous. Who needs modesty with someone that’s already rearranged your guts?
“I'm probably going to fuck up all the pronunciations, but I know you've been feeling out of control lately so,fuair mé bronntanas duitc.”
He's quiet, so I turn to Kodi and cringe. “Thatwas‘I got you a present’, right? Or at least sort of close?”
His fingers tighten on my hip. “It was perfect.”
Raiden looks every bit the dragon about to ravage his virgin sacrifice, so even if they're both lying to spare my feelings, I didsomethingright simply by trying.
“And what gift would that be,mo chuisle?” he purrs.
Nervous as all get out, I pull the slim box from the pocket of my silken shorts and slide it across his desk. He opens it and looks as confused as I expected. Taking a deep breath, I strive for casual confidence, mooching off of Kodiak’s energy.
“It’s the remote to the toy I'm currently wearing.”
Raiden’s gaze whips up to meet mine, his low growl sending a thrill down my spine and between my legs as I toss a bottle of lube beside the remote. Kodiak’s dark rumbling at my side is a steady constant, relieving after how adamantly he’s been holding out.
Logically, I know it’s because of his twisted sense of chivalry. My vagina, on the other hand, is starting to take all of the rejections personally.
Tortured, grey eyes meet mine as Raiden groans as if physically in pain. “I can't cut out on work right now; I have a meeting in a few minutes.”
Humming under my breath, I lean into Kodi’s side. “Never asked you to. It's called multitasking, Raiden.”
Kodiak’s fingers are going to leave bruises at this rate, and the thought is more appealing than I want to admit. Holding Raiden’s heated gaze, I raise an eyebrow, waiting with a charged sense of energized silence.
“If you truly can’t afford the distraction, we’ll leave, and you can imagine the things I’m doing to your legion brother in the next room instead. Or we can stay, and you can tell me exactly what to do to him.”
A heavy beat of silence passes between us, the temperature in the room rising. “You’re more dangerous than you give yourself credit for.” Raiden rakes his rapidly darkening gaze over my face. “Any hard limits?”
Licking my lips, I nod. “Restraints, and not a fan of degradation. Kodi’s still caught up on the whole ‘can’t sleep with my very willing mate because she’s only horny for safety’ nonsense, so you shouldn’t put him in a position he feels uncomfortable with. A girl can only take so many rejections before she starts taking them personally.”
Raiden shares a look with Kodiak, the two of them communicating silently in the way only people that know each other inside and out can. Holding his gaze, a lazy smirk rises on Raiden’s face before his computer chimes with the incoming video call. Making himself comfortable in his chair, he grabs his mouse to prepare to answer, looking over the top of his monitor at me.
