Embraced By Passion by Diana DeRicci

regardless of if she left or stayed. Though looking at them both, seeing their desirous wants starting to flicker over their features, she discovered she’d begun to touch their thoughts—thoughts she was suddenly very aware of, even though she knew deep inside, they weren’t projecting.
    Oh my God! I’m feeling them ! And none were trying. It only added weight to their argument, which for a split second, made her waver when the facts of their truth overwhelmed her. Firming her resolve, she shrugged out of the flannel and let it fall to the floor at the foot of the bed. In just her long sleep shirt, she crawled onto the bed and dug herself into a pillow.
    “Funny shirt,” Slone chuckled.
    Brigit smiled, knowing what was on it. It was the Happy Bunny saying ‘cute but kind of evil’. Both slipped into bed beside her. Slone pressed against her as Ja’Rol curled her into his shoulder, letting her head rest in the curve of his body. There wasn’t anything sexual in their touch, both stretching out to get comfortable. Slone tugged up the blanket and Ja’Rol covered them all.
    “Goodnight, pet,” Slone whispered before pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.
    Ja’Rol followed him, brushing his nose to hers, then he laid down with a relaxed sigh.
    “Goodnight,” she murmured and closed her eyes. The heat of their bodies engulfed her, comforted her, and within minutes, she felt the dragging weight of sleep pull her under.

 
     
    Chapter Eight
     
    Ja’Rol shifted and Brigit moved with him, her head on his chest. Shivers rocked his spine when she absently tapped the bar piercing his nipple. He loved it when she or Slone teased him with the twinge of pain. Ja’Rol knew Slone had loved it since the first time they’d come together. He was glad Brigit seemed equally fascinated and not repulsed by it. He curled an arm around her, enjoying her closeness.
    She drew a breath. “Seriously? He watches cartoons in the morning?”
    Ja’Rol chuckled, able to hear the TV in the front room as well. “He has a few favorites, guilty pleasures.”
    “You two amaze me,” she murmured, rocking her head to rub her cheek over his chest.
    Sunlight was blocked by the thick curtains, leaving the bedroom in a gray, pre-dawn dimness. By the theme music playing, and knowing Slone, he knew it was after nine. He sighed in pure contentment, and found it impossible to move.
    “Do you watch them?”
    “Sometimes, but I think he likes the quiet and sheer innocence involved.”
    “You’ve never asked him?” Big and sparkling blue, her eyes opened, her lashes fluttering as she regarded him, waking up about as quickly as he was—as in as slow as possible.
    “No, because he knows I love him, cartoons and all. He’s not the only one with quirks,” he told her, a single snicker on the end of his words.
    “Oh?” She lifted to rest her chin on the back of her hand to watch him. “What are your quirks?”
    “I love caffeine,” he whispered, as if it were a national secret.
    She giggled. “Don’t we all? I couldn’t live without it when I was working. I’m not a good morning person.”
    Ja’Rol slipped his fingers into her tousled curls. “In most cases, I’d be able to agree, but caffeine has an effect on me.”
    “Oh?” she asked, eyeing him with open curiosity.
    “It makes me horny. It’s an aphrodisiac for me. I can’t drink a lot of coffee, and on principle, I avoid sodas.”
    “Really?”
    “Completely. What about you? Any evil secrets?”
    He loved it when she laughed, so lighthearted and feminine.
    “Plenty, especially if you ask Mom.” Her eyes shot wide. “Oh crap! Mom! I promised I’d call her so we could go buy dresses for this weekend.”
    “Go find her number,” Ja’Rol urged her, though sorry he had to let her go. Her warmth was the kind that sunk into a man, into the skin and warmed him from his bones outward.
    Ja’Rol watched as she hopped out of the bed and scurried to her room. Sitting at the edge to