Page 271 of Red Ruin

Suddenly, his silks stiffen.

I catch his spiking shock.

“What?” I grab Remy’s hand, ready to soothe him or order him to wink us far away, fast. “You remembered something?”

“Not a memory. Instinct.” Remy’s gaze never breaks from the egg.

Shivering, I drag him and Vhex away. We stop almost at the cavern wall, where I can’t see or feel the egg’s pulsing light. “Is it a threat?”

“It’s dying,” Vhex says, already curling himself around my shoulders.

I squint. “How do you know?”

“I have instincts, too,” Vhex answers. He weaves the end of my pony tail between his fingers, tugging my scalp and baring my neck to his kiss. He nips up from my nape until his hot breath curls into my ear. “Same instinct says you want to do bad things to me. Almost as bad as the things I want to do to you.”

A rock skips through my stomach.

“Soon,” I answer breathily.

I can’t lean into the feeling until Remy stops staring at the egg. Letting Vhex keep his anchor on my hair, I tug Remy into my arms.

His eyes are red when his gaze snaps to me, but I sense his lingering wariness. The inner vampire stays on high alert.

I shift his hands to my waist, freeing me to cup his chin. “Remy. Is the egg a threat right now?”

After a pause, his answer rumbles my fingertips.

“No.”

“Then relax.” As I stroke his jaw, I connect to Cherise through my badge. I’ve gotten better at connecting to its powers. Now, I can even send full thoughts. I repeat the same orders I send to her out loud for Remy and Vhex to hear. “We’ll pause the excavation. Let’s post a unit to observe the egg from the cavern entrance. No magic and no touching.”

I receive Cherise’s acknowledgement. It comes with her approval and something too complex to communicate through the badge.

I’m pretty sure she’s laughing at me for clocking out and leaving her another mess while I spend the night having wild, non-essential sex with my Sentinels.

We all have our roles to fill.

“Done.” I close the channel, then take my own advice, relaxing the tension in my shoulders.It’s been a day. A week. A whole lifetime. “Let’s go. I want to take a bath?—”

Darkness cocoons me.

Remy and Ipoofinto the bathroom of my guiding suite so quickly that the -thsound is still hissing off my teeth.

Remy sets me on the counter. While shadows flick the taps to draw a bath, he drops to his knees. As if everything is normal, he pulls my foot against his lap and starts to untie my boot-laces.

I shiver through the aftershocks of the sudden shift.

“Where’s Vhex?” I can’t let Remy restart this habit—he’s been better about winking us in a group.

“Bathing. In the lake.” Single-focused, Remy pulls off my boot. “Let him shed a layer of spider blood before he dirties your water.”

I shudder.Fair. “A warning would be nice.”

“He was warned,” Remy says absently. “Many times.”

His cool thumbs press along the arch of my foot, making my toes curl. I fall forward with pleasure, digging my fingers into his shoulders.

“Mmm.” He leans into my grip as he massages my foot.