It has been a week since that episode in the kitchen, and since then, no one has heard from Bion. The guys are all worried; from what Ceric says, Bion has never gone anywhere without telling anyone. If it was Burkhart, they wouldn’t have worried so much because he sometimes disappears without warning, but for Bion, it’s not normal.

Celmund tried to contact him, but his phone is off, and the tracker on his bike has been disconnected. The guys went to all the places he could be, but up till now, they haven’t had any luck finding him. I wouldn’t want to be in Bion’s shoes when he decides to make an appearance, as Draco is fit to be tied.

Most of us are sitting in the bar, waiting for Wulf, as Ceric and him are taking Brielle today to the bakery, as Bion isn’t around. She’s sitting at the table with Jasmine and me, but her happy disposition has been missing since the day in the kitchen. She blames herself for his disappearance and for everyone’s worry, and even though we continuously tell her that this isn’t her fault, she doesn’t seem to believe us.

Someone has done a number on her; her self-esteem is nearly non-existent. I wish I knew who it was, so I could toss Ceric on them. I smile at that thought when I think about my man going all berserker on their ass. My phone beeps. Looking down, I see a message from Sam, letting me know he’s on his way and should be here within the next thirty minutes.

I had hoped that Ceric and Wulf would have already left before Sam arrived, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. I hope he will be calmer in regard to Sam. I explained my life to him and how Sam and I see each other as siblings. Then I get an idea, and even though I know I shouldn’t, I can’t help myself. I can feel the smile stretch across my face, and Jasmine looks curiously at me. I wink and then look around.

“Caelius, what do you think about Sam?” Jasmine suddenly chokes behind me. I can also hear Brielle’s choked gasp. Caelius is sitting at the bar with Gloria stroking his hair and whispering in his ear. At my query, he turns with a raised eyebrow and looks at me.

“What do you mean?” he rasps.

“I mean, what do you think about him as a person? Sam said that out of all the guys here, you were the friendliest one.” At my comment, Cassius snickers, grabbing Caelius’s attention.

“It’s his sensitive side, doll. Behind closed doors, Caelius wears makeup and heals.” Caelius scowls at Cassius’s teasing as everyone starts to laugh. “Don’t tell anyone, but he sleeps with a teddy bear.”

Caelius just shakes his head and turns back to the bar without answering me and ignoring everyone else. “He’s actually on his way here right now. Should arrive in the next few minutes.” But before I can continue, Ceric stands up from the couch where he was sitting with Burkhart and Brandr and is now prowling towards me with an angry look on his face.

“When were you going to tell me?” he growls angrily.

“I wasn’t. I was hoping you would have left already,” I confess. When his mood darkens, I consider that maybe I should have lied. “Come on, don’t be upset. I thought you would be over this by now.”

“Over this?” he says angrily. “Over what, exactly? That he kissed you or that he’s coming here, and you weren’t going to tell me?” He’s now standing over me like an avenging angel, his eyes flashing in anger. I need to do damage control and quick before Sam arrives and Ceric attacks him again.

I stand up and place my hands on his chest, feeling the anger pulsing through his muscles. Dammit, all this passion flowing off him makes me want to forget everything and attack him in a mindless frenzy of lust. “I thought we resolved this,” I state in a placating voice. “You know there is no other man who could ever compare to you, don’t you?” With that, I bring one of my hands up his chest and around his neck, drawing his head down to mine.

He doesn’t try to pull away, but I can still feel the anger in him. When his lips are closed, I bite lightly on the bottom one until he opens it in response. “No one can ever make me feel like you do,” I whisper against his lips, nibbling gently until he takes over and kisses me with a passion that leaves us both wanting more.

“Don’t you ever forget it,” he rumbles as he holds me close to his body. I can feel his hardness poking into my stomach as he tightens his arms, letting me know what I do to him.

“You have nothing to worry about, hotness. After all, Sam has the hots for Caelius.” As the words leave my mouth, I see Caelius shoot out of his chair, overturning it as he turns. Gloria nearly falls to the floor at his sudden movements. If it wasn’t for his speed, she would be sprawled on the floor, but he grabs her arm before she can fall.

The others have all quietened at his reaction. Caelius’s nostrils flare in anger as he glares at me. Suddenly I wish I hadn’t said anything, because I feel as if I have just poked a sleeping bear and he’s about to chew my head off.

“There is no fucking way.” His voice is so deep that I hardly understood what he said; his beautiful dark-blue eyes look black with his anger. Ceric has pulled me behind him and is now standing protectively before me.

“Calm down, Brother,” Cassius calls from across the bar, a frown now also marring his forehead. At Cassius’s words, Caelius shakes his head as if to clear it. He takes in a deep breath and then turns and stalks out. Cassius hurries behind him, worry written all over his face.

“What was that all about?” I whisper to Ceric.

He simply shakes his head, pulling me against him again. “You need to stop provoking, Hellcat. One of these days, there will be problems. All of us have our own demons that we fight every day, and you don’t want to mess with those,” he says quietly as he kisses the top of my head.

“I wasn’t provoking. It’s the truth. Ask the girls. Sam has the hots for Caelius,” I declare in my defence. The last thing I wanted to do was upset Caelius.

“Well then, Hellcat, you should warn Sam that he mustn’t even think about making a move on Caelius unless he wants to stop breathing,” Ceric warns, and just as he finishes talking, Sven walks in, accompanied by a smiling Sam.

Anyone looking at Sam would never say he’s gay, but he’s as gay as they get. I love him, and I hope he finds himself someone who can see the wonderful man who hides behind all the talk.

“Hello, boys,” he calls happily from the door. I hear groaning from the men sitting on the couches. Turning my head, I glare at them. I know Sam can be a bit much, but he’s my friend. He gets a bit over the top, but that’s just to hide how sensitive he really is.

“Nunu,” he calls as he approaches. Ceric’s arms tighten around me, and he pulls me closer. “I thought He-man over here wasn’t going to be here?” Sam teases as he winks at Ceric. Ceric tenses in reaction but doesn’t say anything.

“I need you two to be friends; I can’t have my best friend and my man as enemies,” I grumble angrily. These two men are the most important people in my life. I can’t have them at each other’s throats all the time.

“He keeps his hands and his lips to himself, and I’ll be fine,” Ceric says. “No man kisses my woman except for me.” I roll my eyes in exasperation at Sam’s stunned face. I understand his surprise. He has already confirmed that he’s gay, but even like that, Ceric doesn’t want him touching me.

“I can’t even hug her?” he asks dejectedly.

“Of course you can,” I say instantly, and feel Ceric’s arms tense. Looking over my shoulder and up at him, I say, “Don’t do this. Sam and I have been together since we were five. You can’t expect us to stop being who we are.”

I see his indecision, and then he grimaces. “I don’t like this. Try to keep it to a minimum, and not when I’m around.” I hear snickers from behind us.

“Oh yeah, she has him by the balls too,” one of the guys tease.

“You’re one lucky girl,” Sam says. Winking, he walks around us and towards the guys sitting on the couches. I see him approach Celmund and then sit down next to him. “So what are you guys up to today?”

Just then, Wulf walks in, accompanied by Draco. They are making their way towards us when they both stop in their tracks, staring at the door. I look around, and there in the door is Bion. He looks as if he hasn’t been sleeping much. His clothes are wrinkled, and his hair is dishevelled. His eyes are staring at Brielle, but she’s talking quietly to Jasmine and hasn’t seen him yet.

At the silence, both women look up and then gasp when they see Bion. Brielle’s cheeks fill with colour at his steady gaze. “Where the fuck have you been?” Draco roars, and strides angrily towards Bion. His hand shoots out, and he has Bion against the door and off the floor. I’m sure my eyes must be as huge as saucers; I have never seen anyone pick up someone off the floor as he is doing except in the movies, and he is doing it with just one arm.

Bion doesn’t fight back; he keeps his arms down. “We looked all over for you, motherfucker. What did you think you were doing disappearing like that?”

Wulf comes behind Draco and places his hand on his shoulder. “Let him down, Brother,” he states, squeezing his shoulder in understanding. Draco continues scowling, but he slowly lets him slide back down and then finally lets go of his throat.

“I couldn’t contact you, or they would have found me,” Bion gasps breathlessly.

“Who would have found you? What are you talking about?” Wulf asks. Seeing movement from the corner of my eye, I notice that Brielle is standing, a hand around her throat, her eyes huge in horror.

“I went for a ride when I left here that day. When I got out of town, I decided to ride to the warehouse where they are supposed to be holding the women. I parked where we were before, but a couple hours later, when I was about to turn back, there was movement.” His voice is still hoarse.

They must have realised that everyone was listening to the conversation, including Sam and the Jezebels, because Draco interrupts him by calling a meeting. One minute they are all there; the next, Ceric is kissing my forehead and then following the others inside.

“Jeepers, Nunu, is this always like this here?” Sam asks curiously from his seat by the couch. “No wonder you like it here. You have excitement all the time. If it isn’t the eye candy, then it’s all the testosterone flying around, and if you don’t get enough of that, it’s the hot sex you’re getting, because, girl, I have never seen you so bowlegged as you are right now.”

At his comment, I gasp dramatically. “What do you mean bowlegged?” And then I look down at my legs and bow them exaggeratedly, making Jasmine and Sam laugh at my teasing. Brielle is still looking pale, but there is a slight smile on her face.

We continue to joke around for about an hour before we hear the men making their way towards us. When I see Ceric strapping on his weapons, my heart starts to race. Whatever it was that Bion had to say has got the men armed and, by the looks of it, ready to fight.

“Brielle, we won’t be going to the bakery today; we will make it for another day,” Ceric comments when he reaches us. “We are gonna go on a run. Should be back sometime tomorrow.” And then he places his hand behind my neck and pulls me towards him.

“Be good. I don’t want to have to worry about you,” he orders in a gruff voice before he lowers his head and takes my lips in a blistering kiss. I don’t know how long he kisses me, because I forget about everything and everyone when he touches me.

“Have some compassion for us poor sods over here,” I hear Sam quip teasingly. “I want myself one of those too.”

Ceric grunts against my lips. Lifting his head a little, I see his beautiful eyes heavy with lust as he stares at me.

“Be careful.” I hate it when I know he’s going out where there will be danger. I keep imagining him disappearing before my eyes as the Keres did. He strokes my cheek with his thumb and then kisses the tip of my nose.

“Walk me to my bike?” he asks. I don’t answer. I simply place my hand in his and turn towards the outside door, only then realizing that everyone has already gone outside except for the two Jezebels. Even Sam isn’t here.

Most of the guys are already sitting on their bikes. Wulf is holding Orion while he lovingly strokes Jasmine’s cheek. Brandr is standing next to his bike, hugging Aria goodbye. Looking around, I see that Bjarni isn’t here yet. “Isn’t Bjarni going?” I ask curiously. His bike is parked next to Burkhart’s.

“No, Gabriela isn’t feeling well,” Ceric states as he looks around.

“Who’s staying here?” I ask, as I see that Celmund is already mounted on his bike.

“Bjarni, Gunner, Bion, and the prospect. Don’t worry, Hellcat, you’ll be safe,” he declares as we walk towards his bike. I feel Ceric tense when we walk past Sam, who is standing to one side, seeing the guys leave. “When’s he leaving?”

I slap him playfully on the back. “Don’t be nasty. He’s just arrived.” I hear him grunt in response, but he doesn’t say anything else. Aria and I stand together as we see our men leave with the others. Brielle is standing next to Sam. I see his arm is around her shoulders while they both laugh at something he said. I have felt guilty leaving Sam since mating with Ceric. After all, he has always been there for me, but now it seems as if he may have found someone else to take under his wing.