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“I think so.” His hand drops down and squeezes my hip. “I’ve been reading a lot of the books and information Camille had at her house. It’s overwhelming, but helpful. It makes me feel less crazy.”

“I just want to feel normal.”

He laughs. “I wouldn’t even know what that looks like, would you?”

I push up on my toes and kiss him.

“What was that for?Notthat I’m complaining.”

“I like seeing you smile.”

He grins wider. “I like seeing you smile, too.”

“Are we going to be okay?” I ask. It’s a big question. But Levi is my Guide. He’s always been there to answer my questions and keep me on the path. It’s just now we’re on a different one than before. Before he can respond, I blurt out another one. “How long do you think will we have to hide?” Then another, “And where will we live when it’s over? Do you think we’ll have to testify against Anex?” My heart pounds, thudding hard against my chest. “What happens if no one believes us?”

He takes my face in his hands. “I want to answer all of those things for you, Imogene, but I can’t. And for the first time, I won’t lie or pretend that I can. That’s what I would have done before. Just made up something to convince you that I knew better than you did or spewed a bunch of Anex’s rhetoric to keep you in line.” His thumb strokes my cheek. “But I’m not that person anymore—or I’m trying not to be. I can’t tell you the future. I can’t promise that by doing the right thing Enlightenment will follow. I can’t do anything but tell you that I love you, and I’ll stay with you, and we’ll get through this together.”

Fresh tears build in my eyes and press my cheek against his chest. “That’s all I need, you know that, right?”

He nods and I hug him tight, maybe tighter than ever before and even not knowing what comes next, I feel more secure than I have in years.

I leave Levi and Silas downstairs reading and head to bed. I pause in the doorway of my darkened room, finding Rex under the covers, deep asleep. Even at rest, his face carries the weight of exhaustion.

“He’s beat.” I turn and see Elon coming down the hall. He’s shirtless and in a pair of black sweatpants. “He barely slept at the jail.”

An unease sits in my bones. Anex was relentless with him, mentally and physically. I want to go to him, make sure he’s okay but I feel the barrier between us. “Are you sure he’s okay?”We’re okay, I want to add, but don’t.

“All he wanted was to get back to you.” His hand slides behind my neck, and he pulls me against his chest. His tongue licks at my lips, seeking entrance. It’s easy to get lost in him, easy to want kisses and touches to last forever, but he pulls back and declares, “It’s all any of us wanted.”

“He made me a promise,” I say, looking into the room. Rex’s blond hair shines in the glow of the hallway light. “That he’d come home to me at night. No matter what.” I step into the room. “Like it or not, I’m upholding it now.” I reach out a hand. “Sleep with us?”

He looks between his best friend and me. “Are you sure? Because once you invite me in bed with the two of you, I’m not leaving.”

My cheeks heat at the thought of Rex and Elon together. What that means for them and me. “Until I know for sure that Anex isn’t going to come for me—for us—I want every minute I can get.”

“I’ll kill him first, Imogene.” It’s not a threat—it’s a promise.

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that,” I say, leaving him in the doorway. “At least not until we’re ready.” I cross the room and stop at the edge of the bed, removing my clothes, before climbing into the bed and shifting to the middle, close to my Mate. I leave the covers down, an invitation. His hesitation slips away, and he follows, dropping his pants. His cock bobs between his legs and it takes everything in me not to reach out and stroke it.

Rex doesn’t stir other than to wrap his arm around me, and I burrow against his warm skin, eyes pinned to Elon’s.

“Thank you for saving us,” he says quietly, hand gliding down my arm.

“Thank you for saving me,” I reply. “You pulled the veil from my eyes, and as difficult as that has been, I owe you everything.”

My own exhaustion supersedes the feel of want between my legs, and the way Elon struggles to keep his eyes open, I know he feels the same. I don’t know if it’s the sense of freedom, or the security of being between the two of them, but when sleep drags me under, I allow it to take me.

A tremor wakes me, running down my spine and between my legs. Hot breath at my neck, nipples pebbled and hard.

“Little Lamb, open up,” I hear, before my legs are pulled apart, a hot tongue licking a hot path up my inner thigh.

I blink, seeing the shine of blond hair between my legs. I’m barely awake, but a jolt of energy rushes through me when Rex’s warm tongue dives between my folds.

“God, you taste so good. Fuck I missed this.” His words are quiet–a whisper. “I missed you.”

My hips rise to meet him, a burst of desire shooting through me. My toes curl, fingers twisting into the bedsheets and a deep moan builds in my throat. With the gentlest of touches, he sucks at my clit and a cry rips from my throat.

“You like that?” he asks, lifting to his elbows. Rex’s eyes meet mine, his blue eyes liquid heat. “I thought about you the whole time I was in that cell. How you taste, what you feel like.” He palms my breast, lifting the nipple to his mouth. His tongue swirls around and around, building the heat between my legs, forcing my back to arch. “It’s better than I remember. You’re better.” He shifts and looks over his shoulder. “Don’t you think?”