Page 52 of Fire Bird

“She’s back,” Sam says, leaning on the wall and looking out at the horizon.

“She’s back,” I repeat, positioning myself next to him. “But you don’t seem as happy as I expected you to be.”

Sam doesn’t look at me, just slots his fingers together and moistens his lip.

I nudge him with my elbow. “I thought you’d be floating on air, building castles in the sky, doing cartwheels, but you’re lost in your own thoughts.” I tap his head with my knuckles. “What’s going on in there?”

“Can’t you tell?” Sam straightens up and turns away from the view, resting his back on the low wall.

“I can tell you’re confused, worried, sad.”

“Aren’t you?” Sam says quickly. “After everything she said?”

“Confused and worried, yes. Sad?” I laugh and shake my head. “I’m not sad. I’m fucking ecstatic to have her back. All the demons and the hell being unleashed? They don’t seem to matter as much today as they did yesterday.” I shrug and rub the back of my neck. “But you don’t feel that way, and I can’t figure out why. She’s still our girl. She’s still Nova. Just with a few added powers.” I frown and try to meet Sam’s eyes. “Was it seeing her unalive the demon in the bar? Because personally, I thought that was smoking hot.”

“No,” Sam laughs darkly, “it wasn’t that.”

“Then…?”

He sighs. It’s a heavy sigh that makes his shoulders droop. He opens his mouth to speak but, before he can, whatever he’s about to say is lost because the door to the stairs flies open and Nova appears.

Holding her hands to her chest, she looks at us as if we’ve just given her the fright of her life. “I didn’t know where you were,” she says, hurrying over and wrapping an arm around each of our waists. “Why are you up here?”

“Needed some fresh air.” Sam kisses her forehead. “I better go check on Nico. Have you seen him?”

At the mention of Nico’s name, something surges from Nova’s aura. Like a splinter of panic, it’s so strong it makes me wince. But nothing shows on her face. Not a single thing. “Not yet,” she replies.

“Do you know what he is?” Sam asks, meeting Nova’s gaze.

She tilts her head to the side. Her heart is racing, yet it still doesn’t show. “I do.”

“Are you okay with him being here?” Sam takes Nova’s hand.

“I’m okay with it.” She squeezes his fingers, then lets go as he nods and moves toward the door. Before he enters the stairwell, he glances at the sky. “Almost sunrise.”

“We won’t be long.” Nova smiles until the door closes, then exhales loudly and folds herself into my arms.

“What’s going on?” I look down at her, trying not to get lost in the fact she’s here and she’s mine. “Sam’s got the wiggins and you nearly had a panic attack at the mention of Nico’s name.”

“Sam’s wigging out?” She pulls back but keeps her arms around me. “Why? What did he say?”

“Nothing. He was about to tell me something when you got here.”

Nova steps away from me and pinches the bridge of her nose. Then she leans on the wall, just like Sam did, and looks out at Phoenix Falls.

“Is it something to do with Nico?” I’m trying not to look at her ass. I’m trying to be serious for a hell-damned minute but all she’s wearing is a t-shirt and the flash of creamy skin peeking out from beneath it is practically making me salivate.

As if she can tell, she wriggles her hips slightly and looks at me over her shoulder.

“Don’t try to distract me, woman,” I tell her, sliding my hands up her body and over her soft stomach, then leaning in to nuzzle her neck. “I want answers.”

“I can’t give them to you, not yet. Not until I’ve spoken to Sam.” She smiles wickedly at me and presses back against my crotch. “I can give you something else, though.”

“Shouldn’t we be…?” I suck in a heavy breath. Who am I kidding? Like I’m going to say no.

“We’ll be fast.” Nova spins around at a freakish speed then back to face the wall. When I look down, I realize my pants and boxers are around my ankles and my cock is dangerously close to her behind.

“Fast? I can do fast,” I whisper, arching my body over hers, knowing it’ll take barely a minute for me to climax if I truly let go. Slipping one hand up beneath her t-shirt, I tease my thumb over her already-hard nipple. Nova sighs and sways her hips.