I walk into the bedroom and place her on her feet. Tucking her hair behind her ears, I whisper, “Next time, it’s my turn to explore you, sweetheart.”
She winks at me and when I turn, she jumps on her opportunity and smacks my ass, yelling, “Go team!”
Rolling my eyes and smiling at her playful antics and slightly confused, I retreat from the room and close the door behind me. As I stand in the hallway with the guys, I lean against the wall with a smirk, knowing they’re dying to know the details.
Deciding I’m not going to give them any, I amuse myself by fielding their questions with short responses.
“Did she suck you off?”
“Maybe.”
“Was it incredible?”
“Perhaps.”
“Was she fully naked?”
“Might have been.”
Closing my eyes and remembering the tantalizing view of her, I just smile as they beg for information. A gentleman doesn’t let a woman swallow and tell.
A thump to my chest makes my eyes fly open. Luke grumbles, “Seriously dude? You’re going to leave us hanging like that? What happened to bros before ho—” A sharp smack to the back of his head by Ash cuts him off. “You know what I meant! What happened to bro code?”
“You know that’s not going to work on me.” I pat him on the shoulder. “Good try though, bud.”
The bedroom door flies open and Lana motions us in. “Come in, kind sirs.”
We all take our seats where we had yesterday for the group talk. Creatures of habit, I suppose.
This time, however, Lana remains standing and begins pacing, as if unsure how to begin. After anxiously waiting in silence for a minute, she halts her walking and clasps her hands in front of her. “There’s no way to pussy around this so I’m just going to throw it out there.” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “So, when Zedd pulled me out of my little nap in the tub, he actually pulled me out of a conversation with Gaia.” Oh, my bad. “In this dream, I asked her why Serenity referred to you guys as my mates because I didn’t quite know what that meant.”
“I thought you were just going to throw it out there, Lana,” Ash interrupts her small tangent.
Lana throws him a glare. “Fine. I’ll spit it out. She said you guys are my legit soulmates.”
Hmm, that actually makes sense with the reincarnation and our draw to be with her.
Hale pipes up with the same sentiment. “I’m not surprised at all by that. Why else would we all be reincarnated together and have the same draw to you, Lana?”
She whirls on her feet to face him with an arched eyebrow. “Uh, maybe because I’m fucking awesome?”
Oh Goddess, don’t get her started. Wanting to placate her, I say, “Lana, what I think he means is what are the odds that we would all have the same draw to you and be willing to share you with each other. That isn’t normal. We’re territorial over you with everyone else, except each other.”
She beams up at me, as if she enjoys the thought of us being territorial of her.
Crisis averted. You’re welcome, Hale.
“What does it mean, to be soulmates?” Luke asks as he sits against the headboard next to Leo, cross-legged.
She shrugs her shoulders. “Honestly, all I know is that our souls were destined to find each other and that Beth felt the pull to us as well, bringing us together.”
My heart stings with the pang of grief as Luke and Leo both nod back, accepting the answer given to them.
Leo grins at her. “That means you’re stuck with us, my Queen.”
She gapes at them, open-mouthed, before placing the back of her hand on her forehead and falling to her knees as the twins have done many times. “Oh, the horror!”
We really are meant to fit together. Like puzzle pieces.
She completes what each of us needs and I know we would all lay our lives down for her.
In a heartbeat.
Leo
She really is meant to be our Queen.
The fire that burns deep in my soul for her makes complete sense all of a sudden. She isn’t just some woman that I’m pining over, desperate to love and be loved by. She might drive me insane sometimes but she also brings a happiness and lightness to me that I know I need to fight my internal demons.
She’s my mate.
Seeing her dramatics makes me want to play with her and I’m not one to hold back from indulging. I lunge off the bed and swiftly tackle her to the ground, making her gasp aloud, trapping her beneath me. My large frame covers her and I lower my pelvis to hers, leaning in close with my forearms on either side of her pretty little head. Her cheeks flush a light pink and she stares at me with narrowed, suspicious eyes, clearly caught off guard but not wanting to appear intimidated.
Whispering against the shell of her ear, I say, “The horror? Would you rather be stuck with other men as mates?”
Lifting my head to see her reaction, I see her arched brow and the defiance in her gaze. “And if I said yes?”
Fire burns in her eyes, challenging me, and I feel my own fire rising to meet it. As my body heats up, I feel an overwhelming need to prove to her how powerful I would be at her side and that she doesn’t need anyone to take my place.
Flames burst up around us, forming a barrier around our position on the floor, licking our skin but causing no damage. I know Lana holds the power to wield fire as well and I want to pull it out of her so we can play.
“Leo!” Lana gasps, her eyes bugging out of her head.
Be careful playing with fire, Lana. You don’t want to get burned.
My nerve endings tingle with the use of magic as I zone out and let my fire do as it wishes. In the distance, I feel I hear someone calling out to me but nothing matters other than my mate beneath me, her copper hair glowing under the light of my flames.
I stare deep into her eyes, losing all semblance of control over my urges and lean down to claim her soft lips. Before they can touch, she smacks my cheek.
What the fuck?
Her slap crashes me back into reality and the flames die down instantly. Fuck, what was that trance? It’s like the power was whispering seductively to my mind.
A tight grip on my chin draws me back down to looking at Lana, who looks both scared and disappointed. “Leo, you need to be careful with your emotions and intentions now that we have powers. I know that’s rich coming from me of all people but Serenity told me we’re dangerous in the sense that we merely need a thought to use our powers. We don’t need incantations or magical artifacts to wield them.”
My gaze goes to the dark scorch marks burned into the perimeter surrounding our bodies.
Shit. I could have hurt one of the guys or burned down the house.
Climbing to my feet and pulling Lana with me, I struggle to meet the guys’ eyes, who all look varying shades of wary of me. I force myself to look at them and take responsibility. “Guys, I’m so sorry. I’ll make sure I’m more aware of my powers creeping up in the future. I forgot I even had them before the flames burst up and I fell into a daze. I keep forgetting I’m not a regular human anymore.”
A loud whoop from my lounging brother lifts my spirits slightly. “Bro, that was so cool! I tried to summon water to put them out but couldn’t manage anything more than a puddle in my hands.”