“Maybe not to you, but it means a lot to me.”
Wiley stared at Baer for a moment, ignoring his own feelings of embarrassment. Baer meant it. Every word. “I’ll do anything to help.”
“I know.” Baer’s voice was a rough whisper that set off little sparks along his nerve endings. They continued to stare at each other, the rest of the world fading away.
Wiley licked his lips, preparing to say something, but the words became caught in his throat as Baer’s hot eyes followed that motion and locked on his mouth.
Oh, God! Is Baer going to kiss me?
Yes, he wanted this kiss. He wanted this kiss more than he wanted air, chocolate, and possibly even sex ever again. He needed to feel that strong mouth moving against his, commanding him, draining away all his will to do anything beyond Baer’s wishes.
Every muscle was nearly frozen. He could only manage to tilt his head up a little, offering his lips to Baer. He couldn’t be the one to initiate the kiss. If he started it, he’d lose all control. He’d climb into Baer’s lap and devour the man whole.
There was a soft hitch in Baer’s breathing, and Wiley was sure that sound alone made him hard as a rock. Fuck, if Baer kissed him, he was going to come, and he didn’t care.
Across the room, someone loudly cleared their throat, slamming Wiley down into reality. They weren’t alone.
Jerking his head around, he found Clay, Dane, Flo, Grey, and Lucien staring at them. Several people had broad, knowing smiles on their faces, which only made Wiley’s face hotter. Oh yeah, they were definitely the center of attention now.
“I’m sorry to break this up, but can we borrow you for a moment?” Flo inquired. “It’s time for Lucien to get his powers.”
“Yeah, sure. Of course.” Baer pulled away from Wiley, and the smaller man instantly felt colder. He remained on the sofa with his arms wrapped around his middle as if that alone could help to keep Baer’s warmth against his skin.
The Animal Weaver crossed the room to stand on Lucien’s right side while Clay took the left. Both men grabbed his arms, and Lucien raised a sculpted eyebrow at them before looking over at the tiny old woman.
“What’s going on? What’s this for?” Lucien demanded.
“To make sure you don’t try to change your mind halfway through,” Flo said. She lifted both wrinkled hands to cup the sides of his neck, her thumbs grazing along his clean-shaven jaw.
Lucien jerked under her touch once, his entire body going stiff. A shout of pain erupted from his lips and he pulled. Both Clay and Baer gripped him hard, holding him in place while Flo kept her hands pressed to his skin.
Wiley’s heart jumped, and he quickly got to his feet. Lucien was shouting and cursing violently, fighting to get free of the two men, but neither was willing to release him. This didn’t make sense. Baer called this man brother, and he was willingly hurting him?
A hand landed on Wiley’s shoulder, and he looked up to find Grey suddenly standing beside him.
“What…” he breathed, but he wasn’t even sure what he wanted to know as his eyes fell on the quartet. Sweat glistened on Lucien’s skin, which seemed to be growing paler. Lines of pain were digging deep in his handsome face.
“It’s okay, Wiley. This is how we get our powers back.”
Wiley couldn’t tear his eyes away from Lucien. He was twitching and shaking now. His shouts had turned to painful pleading. “It’s always painful like this?”
“That’s my understanding. Baer and Clay had their powers before I showed up. Mine…was different, but painful as well.”
After what felt like forever, Flo released Lucien and took a wobbly step back. Dane was there in an instant, wrapping an arm around her thin shoulders and helping her into a chair. Clay and Baer were supporting Lucien’s full weight between them, his long body completely slumped.
“Floor,” Lucien panted. “Just put me on the floor.”
Very carefully, Clay and Baer laid the tall man out on the carpet and stepped away. They both looked a little worried, but there was no sense of panic. Maybe this was how it was all supposed to happen.
“Why do the goddesses hold your magic?”
Grey’s gaze snapped over to Baer, and he frowned. Wiley knew there were big chunks of information they weren’t telling him, but this seemed like a pretty big oversight.
“These are the same six men who have always made up the Weavers Circle,” Flo said.
A choked laugh left Wiley. “Yeah, but that would mean they’re thousands of years old.” His eyes widened and returned to Baer. “Are you…?”
“Hell, no!” Baer grumbled. “I just turned thirty-one.”
Wiley couldn’t stop the sigh of relief that tripped past his parted lips.
“Reincarnation,” Grey said.
“That’s real?” Wiley gasped.
Grey shrugged. “It is for us, at least. We die in battle and our powers return to the aunts. Meanwhile, our souls are reborn into new bodies. When we’re old enough, we travel to the spot the aunts have selected. It’s then that we get our powers back.”