Page 31 of They Will Burn

But we don’t have a choice.

Charles has already called all the leaders, including Camilla’s uncle, to inform them of our actions, and without telling them we’ve fallen in love with her, I have no idea how we’re going to justify our actions.

“Crew?” Camilla whispers against my throat, her voice full of the uncertainty I hate hearing from her. She’s been through so much in the last two months, how can I possibly subject her to more?

I glance over at Bishop and Kovu, both sitting on the edge of the bed, watching us curiously. I’m sure for them, seeing me like this is strange. I’ve never been particularly interested in holding a woman when she’s upset, but clearly things have changed. “Get Kaos and meet me in my office. We need a family meeting.”

“I’m not leaving her alone,” Kovu growls, his hands immediately pulling into fists as he glares at me.

“I’ll get Camilla dressed and bring her up with me. She’s part of this family now and therefore will be included in meetings as such.”

Her body stills in my arms, but I don’t miss the slight smile against my bare skin.

I don’t bother watching them leave, instead crossing to the drawers with her still balanced in my arms and pulling out one of Kovu’s shirts. She seems to get the most comfort when she’s wearing the worn cotton, and right now I want to give her anything she needs, even if a part of me wants nothing more than to dress her in my own clothing.

When I carry her back to the bed, I pry her arms from around my neck and carefully lower her to the soft mattress. The towel is all but forgotten at this point, and when it drops from around her, I can’t help but peruse her naked body. She’s so fucking beautiful, I can barely believe she’s mine. Ours.

Camilla’s eyes flash with vulnerability at my perusal, but when she moves her arms to cover herself, I shake my head slowly. “No, Little Menace. All hiding from me is going to get you is a punishment.”

Her mouth drops open, and the prettiest blush moves across her cheeks, but she drops her arms, allowing my gaze full access to her beautiful body.

I carefully feed Kovu’s Guns N’ Roses shirt over her head, and as soon as I’ve covered her body, I’m tempted to tear it off again just so I can get my fill. But I refrain, just.

“I need panties,” she whispers.

“No.”

Her brows raise, and she stares at me in surprise. “Crew, please. I can’t walk around here in nothing but an oversized shirt.”

I chuckle and lean over, gripping her chin between my fingers, forcing her to hold my eyes. “What did I tell you the first time you let me play with your pretty body, Camilla?”

Her mouth pops open, and she presses her eyes closed for a moment. “That once I was on birth control, I wasn’t to wear panties anymore.”

“And why is that?”

For a moment, I wonder if she’s going to try to get out of responding. But then her stormy gaze locks on mine, and she says, “Because you want access to me at any time.”

I nod, a smirk tugging at my lips. “Exactly right, Little Menace. And after hearing Kovu fuck you this morning, I have a feeling I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you for long.”

By the time we make it up to my office, the others are already seated across the desk from my seat, with an extra chair pulled over for Camilla, I presume.

I bypass the chair and pull her along with me, not dropping my arm from around her for a moment in case she decides to take the seat. I didn’t even want to let her walk herself up here, but she insisted we couldn’t carry her around forever, and although I considered arguing because we certainly could do exactly that, I decided to pick my battles.

I settle in my oversized chair and tug Camilla so she’s sitting across my lap with one of my hands resting on her bare thigh and the other on her back to make sure she doesn’t try to escape. She needs to understand that at the best of times, we’re possessive assholes, but after she was taken, we’re going to need her with us as much as possible.

Bishop glares at me across the table, and I can’t help but smirk. At least riling them up is giving me some kind of joy while we’re in the midst of a storm.

“What did Noah say?” Kaos asks, looking anywhere but at Camilla. They need to sort their shit out, but neither of them is ready just yet, and it’s too fragile of a situation for us to force them into it.

“Charles has started calling the leaders of the other families to report that we stole his bride from her bed in the middle of the night.”

“Which is what we expected him to do,” Bishop says.

I nod and tug Camilla closer. “It is. But he’s insisting a meeting of the five families be organized. Without us.”

Camilla stiffens in my arms, and I rub her thigh softly, reveling in the goosebumps that appear in my hand’s wake.

“Surely he knows we’re going to crash that meeting,” Kovu chuckles, his eyes locked on the woman in my lap.

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