Page 4 of White Little Lies

I shook my head. “If you say so. So what’s up? Why are you here?”

“Mistral believes you are avoiding us. He believes you are embarrassed.”

I fought the urge to squirm, turning away to toss my bag onto my bed so he couldn’t see my expression. “Not embarrassed, just busy. I was in Emerald Heights all day.”

I sensed him stepping toward my back, his nearness and the fact that we were in my bedroom giving me a little thrill.

“Eva—”

I turned toward him abruptly, and he was closer than I had realized. “I’m not avoiding you, I swear.” Gods, was it ever lucky that I only had a bargain of truth with Mistral. “It’s just that we don’t have a lot of time. With things unstable in the Bogs—”

He took my hand, his big fingers swallowing mine up. “If you regret what happened—”

Even just the touch of his hand felt too damn good. “I don’t. Seriously, I don’t.” I took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. Sebastian I could skate around thetruth with, but Gabriel… He was just so earnest. It felt wrong. “I’ve just never dated two people at once, okay?”

His small smile tugged at my heart. For a while, I hadn’t even been sure that Gabriel could actually smile. And now, having that smile just for me?

“So we’re dating?”

I waved my free hand in the air. “In a vague, nebulous sense of the word.”

His smile shifted into a smirk. My opposite hand grew warm in his, my magic rising. He lifted my fingers, my skin gently glowing where it touched his. My magic reacted differently to each of the guys, and the glow mostly seemed to be for him. He leaned down, placing a kiss on my knuckles.

My heart fluttered. “You know, I can’t think straight when you do things like that.”

He kissed the next knuckle. “Come to the Bogs, Eva.”

“I have a delivery tonight.”

He turned my hand, extending it to kiss the underside of my wrist.

My breath hitched.

“In how long?” he muttered.

“Two hours.”

Another kiss, further up the inside of my arm. “And what do you intend to do until then?”

“Well I was thinking about having some alone time, but suddenly that doesn’t sound terribly appealing.”

He cradled my arm, kissing the inside of my elbow, leaving a soft glow behind.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, inhaling his earthy, smoky scent. “Mistral didn’t send you, did he?”

A flash of a smile again as he lowered my arm and stepped closer. “No, though he is aware I am here.”

“And he’s totally fine with that?”

He nodded, pushing my hair behind my ear, gazing down at me with heat in his dark eyes.

I saw a flash of blue as Ringo jumped near the door, turning the knob so he could scurry out of the room.

Gabriel cupped my jaw with his large hands and kissed me, tearing away my last shred of resistance. But really, I didn’t want to resist. As much as the whole situation made me nervous, I still wanted it. I still wanted both of them.

Gabriel’s tongue darted into my mouth and I opened for him, leaning my body against his. He took the invitation to lower his hands to my ass, lifting me so I could wrap my legs around him. The angle was better for both of our necks, and left one of his hands free to skim up my back beneath my shirt, making the rest of my skin ache to be touched in the same way.

He lowered us to the bed, leaning my body back so he could kiss down my neck. As our skin heated, the scent of him filled my nostrils again—earth, ozone, and a hint of woodsmoke. I gripped his chin, bringing his face back to mine for another kiss. His tongue dove into mymouth, his hips grinding against me, letting me feel him through his pants.

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