Page 113 of A Trial of the Heart

Daxton, on the other hand, was harder to persuade, but they wore him down in the end. I admired the closeness they all shared, realizing they were a family. And somehow, aside from my relationship with Daxton, I had become a part of it too. I now had something more to fight for than my pack across the sea. I was fighting for my family here as well.

Walking into the arched opening, I smiled, seeing everyone scattered and relaxed on various cushions, warming themselves around a roaring fire in the stone hearth. While the Summit was open with cooling colors and decor, this enclosed space was warm with deep red walls and tapestries depicting the oranges and yellows of the fall season.

“There she is!” Gunnar beamed brightly. “And theretheyare!” he announced, leaping up to take one of the bottles from my hand.

“Haven’t you already finished one yourself,” Zola scoffed from her reclined position on the velvet sofa. Her frown turning upright as I slipped the second bottle onto the pillows next to her. She gave me a nod of thanks before Gunnar caught her attention again.

“Don’t be so jealous, Z. I intend to share this one,” Gunnar said. “But you have to be nice about it.” His grin, paired with the sultry raise of his brows, vaguely suggested something more than just Zola’s prickly attitude.

Zola, true to her character, kept her composure. Only a hint of a sly smile grew at the corner of her mouth as she stalked toward Gunnar’s chair. Her dark ebony braid swayed with her narrowed hips as her tawny brown skin shone with a golden glow from the roaring fire. She was a predator in this scenario. Her midnight eyes focused with an intense stare that made the hair on my neck stand upright.

“Come on, Z.” To my surprise, Gunnar simply laid back in his chair as Zola strode across the room to where he sat. His legs were spread wide as he looked up at her with a smug, overconfident expression only an arrogant male could achieve.

Bending over, Zola rested her hands on either side of the armrests. She looked him over, almost like she was sizing him up. “Do youreallythink you can handle what I have to offer? Did you not learn your lesson last time?” Zola purred the question in a low, seductive voice.

My jaw practically fell open. I gawked at the two of them, utterly dumbfounded.

“Remind me.” The flash of Gunnar’s white teeth was visible in his wide smile as he set the bottle of wine between his legs and laced his hands behind his head. “I’ve come a long way since then, Zola. Care to find out just how much?”

Shadows crawled up the legs of Gunnar’s recliner. I don’t know how or where they came from, but I knew Zola’s unique magic was somehow manipulating them.

“Props this time?” Gunnar chuckled, his eyes darkening. “How fun.”

Without warning, Zola moved the bottle and straddled Gunnar’s lap, pulling back on his top knot and forcing his head to fall backward as she snarled against his exposed throat. “Don’t bite off more than you can chew,General.”

“Biting, huh? Don’t tempt me with a good time.”

“Keep dreaming, brute,” Zola scoffed. “I told you it wouldneverhappen again.” She growled before slowly backing away and retaking her seat across the room, cast in shadows.

Gunnar didn’t look afraid. He almost seemed intrigued, perhaps even more enticed than he had been a moment ago.

“Miss me?” Daxton whispered in my ear.

Startled by his sudden appearance, I pivoted and smacked his shoulder. “I warned you about sneaking up on me like that.”

Daxton’s deep laughter rolled over me as his arms possessively looped around my waist.

“What’s so funny?” I asked as he pulled me against his chest.

“I’m imagining all the different ways I can surprise you,” he said with his lips nibbling the base of my ear as his fingers danced along the seam of my pants.

I swallowed heavily.

“Interested?”

“Do you honestly have to ask?” I turned and softly kissed his lips, grinding my backside against his hardening shaft.

“You catch on quick.” he answered as he tugged me closer to his frame.

“I’m a fast learner.”

“Ha ha…Indeed, you are.” His laugh was low, the vibrations in his chest snaking their way through my own. “Tonight, can’t come soon enough.”

I nodded; my eyes shining with longing and a promise to feed our ravenous desires.

“Oh, and by the way,that…” I inclined my head as Daxton reached for the bottle under my arm to set it on a side table. “I would’ve never guessed that Zola and Gunnar…”

“The history between those two would take all night to explain,” Daxton said as he pulled me back toward him. “Care to slip away early, Spitfire?”

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