Page 15

“What happened?” Without waiting another moment, I guided him into my arms and sighed when he burrowed his face against my chest.

Arthur glared at me, turning to B when he reached for a triple chocolate chip ice cream sandwich cookie and slapped his hand away.

“I’m guessing you two, since he’s lost the ability to speak. If you broke his heart, I’m going to find a boning knife and?—”

“I slept three hours last night. It wasn’t their fault.”

“Were you working late?” B asked.

Another shake of his head against me and I shivered at his touch. When I inhaled him in, another part of me melted.

After making a pivotal, split second decision to tell him the truth, I rubbed the younger man’s back in a circular pattern.

“Sunshine, both of us slept horribly last night and we know it’s because you weren’t with us. This isn’t a decision you should make lightly, but I?—”

“And me, too,” B added.

“What do you think about staying overnight with us and then I’ll drive you back here every morning?” I asked.

He leaned back from my chest and my hands froze on his back as he blinked at me. I growled at the sight of his red-rimmed eyes and puffy face. My finger traced over his cheek before I cupped his face, savoring his sigh and his touch when he leaned against my hand.

“I wake up so early, I’d disturb you two.”

“Ah, Petal,” B stepped closer and pressed a kiss to his mouth, lingering when Phoenix didn’t pull back, before he shivered as the younger man licked his bottom lip. “We’d sacrifice just about anything, even sleep, which it’s obvious we aren’t getting, because we weren’t in Luka’s bed together last night.”

“Wait,” Phoenix said. He rose on his tiptoes and tilted his head, giving me a fierce kiss, ending with a brief swipe of his tongue inside my mouth, leaving me panting and clutching him tighter to me.

When I spoke next, my voice rumbled out, “What, Sunshine?”

“You… two didn’t sleep together?”

“This is interesting,” Arthur said, shoving his face near ours.

I turned at the interruption, but Phoenix’s best friend’s face was far closer than I believed and I jerked back, taking Phoenix and B with me.

“Personal space would be great,” I grumbled.

“Yeah, he doesn’t know what that is. He’s seen me naked more times than I’m comfortable admitting and he comments on my grooming techniques. Every single time. It gets old because I’m never going to grow hair down there, only to trim it into a pattern. So stop asking me!”

Arthur winked at me before he patted my cheek, a wicked smirk on his face.

Phoenix stiffened against me as he sucked in a harsh breath, shaking his head. His friend froze when Phoenix exhaled a snarl.

Making no sudden movements, Arthur stepped back and moved his hand away from my face as our man bared his teeth. His eyes, wide and concerned, stayed on our man until he was out of Phoenix’s striking range when a wide smile broke the serious expression on his face.

Phoenix yanked on B’s shirt, despite the man already standing next to us, and brought his face close as he stared down at his friend.

“These two are off limits for teasing, walking in naked on, or wherever your sexually active imagination leads you, in order to see them in the buff. Which willneverhappen! I’ve never asked for anything, but the tenuous hold I have on my sanity at this moment leads me to believe I’ll either become murderous or sink down to the floor and weep. So, please?”

“Ah, honey, I wasn’t trying to cause you stress. I promise, I’ll behave.”

Tears formed in Phoenix’s eyes, and we wrapped him up close.

“Where can we find the stairs to his apartment?” I asked.

Arthur whispered, “Head through the kitchen. You’ll find stairs on your left. The key is in his back left pocket.”

Both B and I nodded at the man.