Page 46 of Cam's Treasure

Ember

After Cam and Micah left, the house felt empty in a way it never had before. I'd lived here for more than twenty years, and I'd never found it lacking until now.

But now that I'd had Cam and Micah here, the house felt incomplete without them.

"This is strange, isn't it, Jodi?"

Even Jodi seemed a little sad that they'd left, her eyes sliding to the front door every few minutes as if she was hoping they'd be back. It was sweet how quickly she'd bonded with them, since she tended to take time to warm up to people. Clearly, she'd sensed their goodness the way only animals could.

As I washed the dishes—they'd offered to help, but I'd waved them off—I thought about Cam and Micah.

At first, I'd assumed they were opposites, completely different from each other in most ways. But after spending time withthem, I was starting to realize they were notthatdifferent after all.

They were both kind, sweet, and optimistic. Micah might be hesitant at first, but there wasn't a negative bone in that man's body.

They were also both extremely attractive, and I hadn't really slept much last night knowing they were in the next room. I'd wished I could join them, even though I knew we needed to get to know each other better before that ever happened.

Once the dishes were taken care of, I found myself in the guest bedroom, my eyes roaming over the rumpled bedding as my imagination went on overdrive picturing Cam and Micah under the sheets, wrapped up in an embrace.

I dragged in a deep breath to calm myself, but that turned out to be the wrong thing to do because suddenly my lungs were full of their delicious scents. Cam's crisp dragon scent melded perfectly with Micah's softer, sweeter scent, and together they filled my senses, making me wish they were back here so I could kiss them.

My cock twitched in my trousers, and I bit back a groan, realizing this room was a danger zone.

Stepping outside, I closed the door behind me, then leaned back against it, exhaling loudly.

Jodi, who'd been trailing me like always, gazed up at me, her dark eyes curious and questioning.

I'd daydreamed about finding my mate quite a lot, mostly on the days when the loneliness got to me.

I'd imagined what it would feel like to hold my mate in my arms, to kiss them or make love to them.

Nothing I'd imagined came anywhere close to how Cam and Micah made me feel. I'd only met them a few days ago, and already they were all I could think about.

If I wasn't so eager to see where this road led, I might've been afraid of losing myself in all these feelings. I'd never felt like this before, which made sense since I'd never met my mates before.

My hand erupted in flames, and I sighed as I raised it to eye level, Jodi barking at it.

"Shh." I petted her with my flame-free hand as I waited for the flames to go out. Jodi hadn't seen much of my magic, mostly because fire freaked her out, and I was sad she had to see it now. I tried my best to keep it out of her sight, but since my symptoms weren't on a schedule, I couldn't always manage it.

Yeah, I was excited about building something with Cam and Micah, and whoever our other mate was. But I couldn't help wishing I'd met them a year or so later, once I was done with this cycle instead of in the worst part.

Cam and Micah didn't deserve to deal with all the troubles that came with it, but I knew that once our relationship grew stronger, they'd insist on it.

I wasn't strong or selfless enough to hit pause on our relationship until I was better equipped for it, and I had a feeling they wouldn't allow me to anyway.

If Fate had thought it prudent to introduce us now, I needed to put my faith in her and take every day as it came.

I exhaled roughly when the flame went out, glaring down at my hand as if it'd offended me.

I didn't know why the symptoms were the way they were, if they were preparing my body for the change or just being a nuisance.

When I'd hatched, I'd been alone, and I hadn't met another phoenix in all the years I'd lived.

All I knew about phoenixes was what I'd heard from humans or read in books written by them, and they'd gotten most of it wrong.

I'd put together all I knew from my own experiences, but right then, it felt like it wasn't enough.

Would Raiden know more? Hadn't Cam said he was more than 2,000 years old? Maybe he'd met a phoenix at some point. I'd ask him later.

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