Page 8 of Triplets for the Barbarians

“They’re not my mates,” I say, gritting my teeth beneath my apparent composure.

He chuckles dryly and picks his bag off the floor. “Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that one before. They said the same thing.”

He leaves, and the silence that keeps me company makes me feel rather uneasy. I’ve heard that so many times before. I’m pretty sure I said it to Alicia once. And Cynthia. Not long before they got together with their Fire Tribe warriors. “Stop lying to yourself,” I used to laugh. “It’s obvious the three of you are nuts for one another.”

Dammit. It’s my turn now.

I feel bad. In this silence, after that wretched skirmish, and with a constant burning pain engulfing my calf, I’m reminded of how vulnerable I truly was out there. For a moment, I damn near lost my freedom. My soul. That Sky Tribe asshole almost had his way with me. Had Yossul not caught up with me, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to reach for my pistol or any of my knives.

The guy was too big and strong, even for a nimble devil like me. Armed to my teeth and relentless… and I still would’ve lost the fight. I don’t like this. I don’t appreciate this vulnerability.

Worse even, it’s not like I had a better choice. I know Yossul and Fadai are mad that I went off on my own again, but it really was the only way to get those fuckers away from Opal City. Maybe they’ll understand. Maybe tomorrow, once we’re all rested, I could try talking to them again.

A knock on my door startles me. “Yes?” I call out.

“It’s me,” Fadai says.

“Come in.”

Slowly, the door opens and closes behind him. He stands there for a while, watching me with shadows dancing in the red pools of his eyes. His tribal garments are slightly tattered, parts of them revealing way more of his glorious thigh muscles than they normally would.

I lick my lower lip, then take a deep breath and somehow find the strength to look away, wondering why I’m having an increasingly harder time being around Fadai and Yossul lately. It’s the desire. Deep down, I know it. I’m drawn to them on a deeper level, and my body is merely playing the catch-up game at a time when I’d do a lot better with a clear head.

“How are you feeling?” Fadai asks.

I give him a weak smile. “I’m okay. It’s just a burn. It’ll heal.”

“We almost lost you again.”

“Don’t—”

“What? Don’t say that? I’m sorry, Jewel, but you have no right to tell me what I can and cannot say,” Fadai replies, then walks over to the foot of my bed.

The closer he gets, the faster my heart hammers in my chest. “I’m okay,” I say, my shoulders dropping slightly. “I had no choice, Fadai. I had to draw the rest of them away from the city.”

“I know,” he says, kneeling in front of me. His height puts our eyes in perfect alignment, and I almost lose myself in his burning gaze. “I’m not here to scold you, Jewel. I just need you to understand that no matter what we agreed on, we can no longer continue with this charade. We almost lost you again tonight, dammit. And it fucking hurt.”

“Fadai, I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too. I understand why you did it. I understand why you do a lot of things,” he replies, his hands slowly moving up the sides of my calves, carefully avoiding the burn, before they gently settle on my bare knees. “We’re friends and partners, yes. We’re going to honor this all the way through to the end. Get this through that thick, beautiful head of yours. I’m in love with you, and so is Yossul. You’re not indifferent to us, either.”

I try to look away, but his hand shoots up, fingers clasping my chin to keep our gazes locked on one another. “Fadai…” My protest is nimble, almost laughable.

“You can’t deny it.”

“No…”

“And we have every right to express our concern, to tell you we want you. All of you, Jewel, in one piece. I will never hold you back from the battlefield. It’s not easy for me, though. Every instinct I have keeps screaming at me whenever we go out on a mission, but I let you do your thing because you’re a fierce fighter and a brilliant pilot. Your contribution to this war has been fucking priceless. But I can’t keep quiet anymore.”

His eyes drill holes into my soul, and my body is quick to respond. His hand moves slowly to cup my cheek. I hold my breath in anticipation. I know what’s coming. I have been dreaming of this for years, something I’ve forbidden myself from wishing for, something that will forever change the way it works between us.

“I cannot lose you, Jewel,” Fadai says, a single black curl resting on his temple.

We’re so close that there’s no air left between us. The atoms of my being vibrate at a higher frequency as he obliterates the gap and captures my mouth in a kiss—the kind of kiss that sets fire to my blood and sends my heart tumbling all over the place. His lips are soft, and his musky scent fills my nostrils and turns my senses upside down. I am helpless.

It quickly devolves into something primal.

Control is lost, and we’re devouring one another as though it’s the last time we’ll ever get to do this. His tongue slips through and wrestles mine, tasting and conquering me, his mouth making love to mine as his hands begin their descent. His fingers slide down my back, digging into my hips as he deepens the kiss. I welcome him fully, arousal sparking a fiery wetness between my legs.

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