Page 44 of Cam's Treasure

"She takes after her daddy, doesn't she?" Cam said in that voice people used when talking to babies or animals. "All big and strong and sweet and gentle."

I swallowed hard at the adoration in Cam's voice, the fact that he was talking about Jodiandme making my stomach feel all fluttery.

In all my years of existence, my stomach had never feltfluttery. What were these two doing to me?

Clearing my throat, I said, "Come on. The living room is through there."

Our party of three supes and one dog slowly made its way down the short hallway and into the living room, where Cam and Micah settled on the couch as Jodi danced in front of them, unable to decide which one of them she wanted more pets from.

"Would you like something to drink? Water, soda, coffee, beer?"

"Water, please," Micah requested, back to his soft-spoken self when he glanced at me. I supposed it wasmewho made him act subdued. I hoped he'd feel comfortable enough to be himself around me someday.

"Me too," Cam joined in after humming thoughtfully, and I fetched water for all of us, topping up Jodi's food bowl while I was in the kitchen. She was one of those rare dogs who grazed attheir food without overeating, so I generally left her enough food for the day, just in case I was held back for some reason. Like crashing into my mates' backyard.

After giving them their water, I settled on the armchair on the right of the couch, twisting a little so I could face them better. They'd pushed the coffee table back a little to give Jodi more space to stand, and I smiled as I watched them play with her, content to soak in the soft murmured praise they gave her, and her happy pants as she enjoyed being petted and adored.

Movement in the corner of the room drew my attention, and I blinked as a black cat stepped out of the shadows, seemingly appearing from nowhere.

"Do either of you own a cat?" I asked as my body went on high alert. I couldn't sense any ill intent from the cat, but you could never be too careful.

Micah followed my gaze and grinned. "Saaya! Come meet Jodi!" Then he turned to me. "Saaya's my familiar. She can travel through shadows."

"And she's a pain in the ass," Cam added, making Saaya hiss at him. I got the feeling those two weren't the best of friends.

I offered Saaya my hand as she drew closer, and she sniffed at it before swiping with her claws, leaving three bright red streaks across my fingers.

Cam, the brat, snickered. "So it's not just me she hates," he said, sounding delighted, while Micah stared at my hand with wide, horrified eyes.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled, reaching out even though we were separated by the coffee table, and I waved him off. Grabbing a wet wipe from the box under the table—Jodi loved giving drooly kisses, so I always kept some in every room—I wiped the blood off my hand, showing him the unblemished skin.

"Wow, that's some fast healing," Cam said, and I grinned. Being a phoenix did havesomeperks.

Nineteen

Micah

"Did you have fun today?" Cam asked as he slid his arm over my waist, pulling me into him.

It was almost two in the morning, and we were finally in bed, though I was still too wired to sleep. And if I had too much energy, Cam most certainly did, so here we both lay, waiting for sleep to claim us, the large weight of Jodi pressing down on our legs.

When she'd followed us into the bedroom, Ember had offered to take her away, but we'd waved him off. If it was up to me, I'd take her back home with us. She was so cute with her huge size, the black spots scattered across her white fur, and the way her dark eyes watched us like we were the most important people in the world.

"I did."

Today had gone better than I'd been expecting, and I'd enjoyed every moment.

Ember had this way of quieting down my worries without doing much, and I was having trouble remembering why I'd been so hesitant about finding our mates. What had I been so afraid of?

In all the time we'd spent together so far, I'd never once felt like the odd man out. The three of us weregoodtogether, and I was... I was excited to see what came next.

"You really like him, don't you?" Cam had a smile on his face. Not the cheerful, ever-present smile but the genuine one I only ever saw when he was truly happy.

I nodded, and his grin widened. In my mind, I added,He's very kind. And gentle. I feel... comfortable around him.

He's also very hot, Cam added with a waggle of his brows, and I smacked his arm, though I couldn't deny he was right.I just want him to wrap me up in those big arms of his, preferably when we're naked. I wonder if he has chest hair. I bet he does.

Suddenly, images filled my mind through our link, and my cheeks flushed as I saw the scenes Cam's overactive imagination had cooked up.

---