“What conversation?” Sin asked, only a few steps behind her.
“I don’t have any knowledge that would be useful at present. If I did, they’d be long since dealt with.” Grim made a beeline for Merri, taking her wrist and tugging her along with him until he was sat in a chair, her perched on his lap.
“Dude. You just got her all to yourself for like hours. Give someone else a turn.” Sin made grabby hands at Merri, which made her laugh and Grim snarl.
A shadow form appeared between Sin and the other two. It took a menacing step forward, but Sin rolled his eyes and walked through the ephemeral figure. “You don’t scare me.” He scooped Merri up and carried her across the room before settling on the sofa. “Hi, kitten. Missed you.”
She let out the sweetest giggle and accepted his offered kiss before sliding off his lap and nuzzling into his side. “I missed you all.”
“We’re so sorry for all of this,” I said, my feet carrying me toward her almost of their own volition. I sat on her other side and placed a palm on her thigh. “It shouldn’t have happened in the first place, and then for us to take so bloody long to find you...”
Her expression was soft as she cupped my cheek. “No more apologies. We’ve had our apology tours. It’s in the past.”
“Does this mean you’re not going to try and run from us anymore?” Sin asked, giving her a squeeze.
“So long as you four don’t give me a reason to.”
“Never again,” Chaos vowed, his face fierce as he crossed the room to join us.
She smiled at him, then got to her feet before closing the distance between them. “So serious. My warrior.” Her palm stroked across his jaw, then down his neck, until she rested it over his heart.
He dropped a soft kiss to her forehead, and I’m not ashamed to admit jealousy lanced my heart. I sent out feelers to connectwith Merri’s mind, needing some sense of contact without making her feel guilty for giving the others physical affection. I’d only had the smallest of touches from her, but I knew I’d have time with her soon enough. A wave of emotion hit me as soon as I reached out. Externally she projected happiness and ease, but inside she was a tumult of conflict and guilt.
She stiffened, clearly aware of my presence in her head before she shut me out completely.
“Merri,” I murmured, unable to keep myself from speaking.
She shot me a look, silently begging me not to say anything further, but the damage was already done. This woman was the center of our existence, and we’d been without her for too long. There was no way a single one of us wouldn’t cotton on to the most minute shift in her mood.
“What is it?” Grim asked, sitting forward.
“What’s wrong?” Sin echoed.
Chaos swallowed before gently prompting, “Does it have anything to do with what happened between you and Lucifer in the dreamwalk?”
The memory of Merri astride Lucifer popped into the forefront of my mind, and I immediately stilled, a small frown playing at my lips. I understood why Chaos had asked the question. Merri must have unresolved feelings about what happened. It only made sense that the guilt I’d picked up on was tied to what she’d had to do with—and to—him.
“I’m fine, I promise. But there have been... developments, but I’m still processing so much of them. I’m not ready to talk about it yet, but I promise I will. I just need a little time to understand it myself.”
Without access to her mind, all I could go off were her tone and body language. Sincerity bled through her words, but she spoke with a slight hesitance that suggested she was choosing her words with extreme care.
Something had definitely happened. Something more, perhaps, than what we’d have noticed in the dream. But she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.
Chaos had clearly arrived at a similar conclusion because he growled. “Did he hurt you?”
Her eyes widened, a small gasp escaping her before she looked up at Chaos. “No. Nothing like that.”
If I were a betting man, I’d say all four of us went from DEFCON 1 to 3 at her response. The last thing anyone would do was harm our mate and live to tell the tale.
“Okay, kitten,” Sin said in a soothing tone. “Take all the time you need. We’re here to listen whenever you’re ready to talk.”
“No matter what it is,” Grim added, surprising me with his stalwart support.
It wasn’t what he said, I obviously shared the sentiment, but it was just such an about-face from him that it caught me off guard.
Merri looked like she wanted to say something, then reconsidered. “So all those people I just met, they all have ties to the horsewomen?”
“Some more than others, but yes.” Chaos crossed his arms over his offensively muscled chest.