Page 99 of Desire

“Together, we’ll free your sister,” Eadric added.

Focusing inward on the sticky layer of the spell she’d cast, I tried to imagine myself physically lifting it. However, my arms slid through it, finding no purchase regardless of how I tried. The shelves rattled more earnestly as I fought against the spell.

Daemon took my other hand. His love and desire sparked more energy, which crawled beneath my skin. The four points of contact forced a response from me, but not one I intended.

Instead of my eyes obeying my will, a small pained sound escaped me.

“Kitten?” Brandle said. “Are you hurt?”

I tried to answer as their hands ran over my limbs, but nothing worked as the energy they fed me continued to build just beneath the surface of my skin.

“Help me,” Brandle said. His fingers plucked at my lacings.

Garron gently lifted me, leaning me against his chest as they freed my arms then slowly worked the dress down my hips. Their handling of me felt so right—a comforting reminder that I wasn’t alone and that they cared.

“No cuts or marks,” Brandle said, running his hands over my arms.

Daemon’s hands smoothed up one leg while Darian checked the other.

Another involuntary moan escaped me.

“No cuts or marks here, either,” Daemon said.

“Get some water,” Brandle said.

A cup pressed to my lips a second later, but the water only dribbled down the front of my shift.

Their frustration grew. Edmund, Eadric, and Liam left. The low murmur of their conversation was marked with the sounds of their scuffles. Did they not know they would break my heart if they hurt each other because I wasn’t there to stop them?

A chair clattered to the floor.

“She’s upset,” Garron said.

“She’s been twice cursed, Garron,” Darian said. “I believe she’s more than upset.”

“My poor Lamb,” Daemon said. His hand traced up my leg, hooking around my knee to play with the sensitive skin behind it.

A spark ignited in the spell. Heat burned through me. My eyes snapped open, and I met Brandle’s shocked gaze.

“Kitten, are you all right?”

Daemon removed his hand, withdrawing the energy that had animated me. My eyes closed.

Unable to clench my hands in frustration, the emotion set the objects in the cottage rattling.

“Shh, my little Lamb. We’re here,” Daemon said, his hand returning to my leg. The spark the contact ignited wasn’t as strong as before, and my eyelids only fluttered.

“We’re here. We’re not going anywhere,” Brandle said. He kissed my brow.

I could feel the surge of energy. Four points of contact: one kissing, three simply touching. Yet, previously, it had been Daemon’s touch that had enabled me to open my eyes. What didit mean that I could feel their energy when they were protected from me by their amulets?

Worried, I tried to close myself off from it. I didn’t know how, though. The lid on my well was still firmly in place.

Rather than panic, I focused on my breathing until everything in the cottage stopped moving. Through it all, they continued to touch me in small, comforting ways.

“Dinner is almost done,” Liam said. “Any change?”

Dinner? Had so much time passed already?

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