Écarté (Lost Birds Book 4)

Part 28 Grounded

"Sabbatian." Aydan warned again.

"She wants to." Sab said back.

Instinctively I wanted to deny it. It seemed wrong for me to want something like that right now, after what had happened. It seemed even more wrong that I wanted both of them.

Sab's lips brushed across my shoulder with a teasing kiss. The subtle scrape of his unshaved chin was a perfect contrast to the softness of his lips. A small flicker of pain with the pleasure from his mouth. It was a perfect representation of him entirely.

The dull heat between my legs flared up even more. My face heated as well but I didn't dare look away from Aydan. I already owed Sabbatian one punishment for hiding. I didn't want to make it two. No matter how embarrassed I felt.

Aydan's blazing green eyes held mine for several moments too long. He didn't look at all conflicted about what he saw on my face but still he was calculating. Finally, after what felt like an eternity his eyes flickered up to Sab's. An unspoken command was exchanged, and Sab's wondering hand disappeared from my thigh.

Aydan was saying no. He didn't want to.

My embarrassment shifted to shame and I ducked my head in humiliation. I knew better than to want something so ridiculous.

Aydan sighed. His hand came down to rest on my cheek and his thumb pressed up against my chin so that I was looking back up at him.

"It's not a lack of desire. There is a time and place for this..." He gestured in circular motion to encompass the three of us. "And we will discuss when that should be but for right now you are grounded."

Aydan's words snuffed out the tendrils of heat almost as quickly as they had appeared.

Sab let out a grunt and laid back on the bed. He didn't argue or offer even a hint of disagreement. Clearly he agreed with Aydan's decision. Even I was slightly sure that I'd earned some form of punishment but grounding...

"W-why am I grounded?" I asked once I was able to find my voice again.

"Family policy. You get injured, you get grounded." Sab answered with a shrug.

"But..." Last time I had been grounded it meant not doing anything academy related or dangerous. Being with Sabbatian and Aydan seemed like the least dangerous thing I could be doing.

"Grounding means no uhm... sex?" I asked. I cleared my throat in hopes of speaking more clearly but my voice still wavered slightly toward the end.

"No." Aydan shook his head. "But what Sabbatian wants to do is very physically demanding and you need to take it easy for a few days. The only reason you're not at the hospital is because of how bad the roads are. We didn't want to risk getting stuck in the snow with you already being hypothermic."

I nodded slowly. That made sense. I couldn't recall seeing any hospitals on the way in so I was pretty sure there wasn't one close. It would be a long and dangerous drive. My eyes widened and shot back up to Aydan's as I thought about how dangerous the roads probably were.

"What about Tao and Theo?" I asked. They were out there driving on these roads right now.

"They are in Theo's truck. It's four-wheel drive so they have a much better shot of getting through." Aydan replied. He didn't sound worried at all which seemed strange after he had just told me the roads were to dangerous to drive. I knew better than to argue though, so I switched subjects.

"Where's Cam?" I asked. I really hoped he wasn't out there somewhere too.

"He's keeping a line of communication open just in case we needed to call in a favor." Aydan said.

"A favor like a trip to the hospital?" I guessed.

"Something like that." Aydan agreed.

"You think somethings wrong with me?" I asked a little concerned. I really felt fine considering. My chest was a little tight and my throat was a little sore but nothing bad enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.

"I think anyone else in this circumstance wouldn't be doing as well as you seem to be. Tori, I had to give you rescue breaths just to get you to breathe." Aydan said.

When he explained it like that I understood why Cameron basically had a team on standby. I still couldn't believe how stupid I had been. I guess Sab and Cam were right about the snow. I could love it for it's beauty but hate it for it's deadly freezing capabilities.

"I'm sorry." I said again.

Aydan sighed and wrapped his arms around me. He pressed a kiss against the top of my head and we all fell into a comfortable silence as we waited for Theo and Tao to get home.

Authors Note:

I know we were all looking forward to a heated threesome but unfortunately no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get Aydan to go along with it. These characters have a mind of their own and Aydan is a stickler for safety. 

Happy Saturday!