Chapter Ten #2
She frowned. “Well, it is if my mates don’t feel the same way. So I guess this is where I ask the million-dollar question. Do you?”
He peered at Hashtag, who stared at the flowers.
“I’ll be honest, I never thought of having kids.
I figured I’d be dead long before it ever became a thing.
But then again, I also never considered I’d have what I do now.
” He met Roadkill’s gaze. “For the first time in my life, I can actually see a future unfurling before me.” Hashtag cocked his head. “What about you?”
Roadkill huffed. “If you’d asked me a couple of years ago, I’d have told you kids weren’t part of the equation. But now?” He gave a shrug. “I’m not the same man anymore. And yeah, this man kinda likes the idea of tiny Hashtags and Eves clinging to my ankles.”
Hashtag grinned. “Looking at the size of you, any offspring you produce? Yeah, we’re really talking tiny.”
Roadkill gave him the finger.
“Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t always felt like this,” Eve told them. “When I was younger, I was dead set against motherhood.”
“Any reason why?” Roadkill asked.
She flung out her arm. “Because it was what was expected of me. I wasn’t supposed to join the military, remember?
It was decided—without the slightest bit of input from me—that my role was to stay home and care for the kids.
And honestly, I would have been okay with that if I’d been consulted, but I wasn’t, and that bugged the hell out of me.
I mean, really? This was my future they were planning.
So I chose my own route, because I figured it would piss off my family.
I was determined to show them I wasn’t just a woman. ”
Hashtag gazed at her with affection. “You’re not just anything. Never were, never will be.”
“Are you enjoying my gardens?”
Roadkill turned to find a slight man with longish brown hair and the most stunning eyes he’d ever seen, bronze-green, bright, and alive with intelligence. “Mr. Deveraux? Unless you have a title, and if that’s the case, my apologies, but no one has mentioned it.”
“Yes, I do, but I don’t use it.” Deveraux smiled. “Which is why no one has mentioned it. And please, call me Richard. I’m happy to be of help.” His gaze alighted on Eve, and he stilled. “And who are you?”
“Eve Duncan, our mate,” Roadkill blurted.
Richard beamed. “Then I am delighted to meet the three of you. I dream of finding my mate.”
Eve chuckled. “Be careful what you wish for. They seem to come in threes.”
He laughed. “Even better. Are you comfortable in your rooms? Do you need anything? ”
“You have a wonderful home, and we’ve got everything we could want,” Hashtag affirmed.
“Then I’ll leave you to enjoy the sunshine and the peace—while we have it.” His eyes sparkled. “You never know how long it will last around here.”
From someplace nearby, a riot of voices shattered the tranquility of the scene.
“Oh my God, you’re being invaded,” Hashtag gasped.
Richard laughed. “You’re right, and most of the invaders aren’t even four feet high.”
“I warned H about those sheep,” Hashtag remonstrated.
“It’s the children from the local orphanage.
They come here often to play in the open air, to run around where there’s plenty of space, to help out on the farm.
” He pointed to the left. “Part of Leighton Hall is a farm with chickens, goats, pigs, horses….” Richard’s face fell.
“Life has given these children a rough start, so I try to give them some pleasant moments. One of the barns has been turned into sleeping quarters, and they love to come here on trips.”
“You’re a good man,” Eve said in an earnest tone.
Richard flushed. “If any of you were in my position, I’m sure you’d do the same.” He gave them a nod, then headed back into the hall.
“Nice man,” Hashtag murmured.
Roadkill arched his eyebrows. “Nice as in merely nice —or as in, he’s a good-looking dude?”
Eve gave a mock gasp. “I’m seeing a whole new side to you today.”
“Me too.” To Roadkill’s surprise, Hashtag stood, hauled him to his feet, and kissed him, a no-holds-barred, toe-curling kinda kiss that sent heat surging through him.
To quote a song, I only have eyes for you—two ! Hashtag added hurriedly.
Roadkill was too busy enjoying Hashtag’s lips locked on his.
Care to make this a three-way kiss? Eve put her arms around them.
Only if we take this up to our room . Roadkill didn’t want sheep for an audience.
“Making love in a four-poster bed? What a hardship. But I guess I can put up with it for a few days,” Hashtag quipped. They walked toward the steps leading out of the garden.
Eve’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it from her jeans pocket. She came to a dead stop .
“Something’s wrong.” Roadkill’s senses went on high alert.
“Not wrong , exactly.” Eve sighed. “It’s a message from my dad. My grandfather died an hour ago.”
“Does his death change anything?” Hashtag asked.
Her face tightened. “I’m sorry he’s dead.
I do have some pleasant memories of him, but they’re overshadowed by what he stood for—or rather, who he stood with.
As for what it changes?” She let out another sigh.
“My future has a few more options, thanks to him.” She linked their arms. “Would you mind if we just got into bed and cuddled?”
Roadkill kissed her soft hair. “We can do whatever you want.”
Anything not to think about Eve walking into Thurland Castle.
“WE SHOULDN’T be doing this.” Brick couldn’t fight the feeling that he should be preparing for the incursion, checking his weapons, instead of lying in a gloriously comfortable bed, his mates curled up on either side of him.
“Yes, we should,” Aric declared in a decisive tone. “Tomorrow’s gonna come soon enough. Let’s make the most of this.” He gazed at the rich red velvet curtains hanging from the corners of the bed. “Talk about how the other half lives. I feel like I’m in a historical drama.”
Seth chuckled. “I know. This is so wild. I love it.”
Brick stroked Aric’s back. “Are you sure you’re okay with what I said the other day? About retiring?”
The glance Aric gave Seth told him there was a conversation coming.
“About that….” Seth sighed and leaned against Brick. “I know you told Horvan you want to retire, but, well, maybe think about it some more?”
He should have realized it wasn’t as cut-and-dried as he’d thought.
“Why, baby? Don’t you want me to be home with the two of you?”
Seth kissed him on the lips. “More than you know, but…. Okay, when you dream? Sometimes I see it.”
Aw fuck .
“Your heart says you want to quit and stay home,” Seth continued, “but I know that’s not you.
” He smiled. “You’re built to save the world, or at least people in it.
Like you did for me and Aric. The thought that someone out there could be hurt or worse because you’re not out there fighting for them? It kind of bothers me. ”
Somewhere deep in the recesses of Brick’s soul, it bothered him too.
“So what are you saying?”
Seth reached over him and took Aric’s hand. “We talked. You say you want to quit, but neither of us truly believes your heart is in it. You’re doing it because you think it’s the right thing for us.” Both of them snuggled against him. “But we can make it work no matter what you decide.”
“Don’t think I don’t love the idea of you being a stay-at-home bear, because I do,” Aric added.
Seth leaned over and kissed him. “That’s because you’re a stay-at-home kitty.” He pressed his lips to Brick’s chest, brushing them over his nipple. “But wherever we lay down some roots, we’ll need a place near space where I can shift.”
“We can do that.” Brick shivered when Seth tugged on his nipple, and it sent ripples of pleasure all the way to his dick.
Seth chuckled once more. “Ooh, you like that.”
“Can we be serious for another minute?” Lord knew the pair of them could distract him in a heartbeat.
“Of course.” Seth sat up. “What’s on your mind?”
“I just wanted to make sure Aric was okay about shifting and going into the castle.”
Aric blinked. “It was your idea. Of course I’m okay with it. And I’ll be fine. I’ll be your everyday moggy, strolling through the hallways, hunting for mice.”
“Moggy?” Brick frowned.
Aric laughed. “I got that from Eve. It’s British slang for a cat.” Then he slipped his hand around Brick’s hardening cock. “And this moggy wants to take a ride.”
Brick shivered at the thought of thrusting up into Aric’s tight body.
“And while he keeps your dick busy….” Seth shuffled across the bed and straddled Brick’s head. “ I’ll keep your tongue occupied.” He grinned. “Can polar bears multitask?”
Brick was going to give it a damn good try.
Yeah, I could be knee-deep in preparations for the mission, but right now being balls-deep in my mates is more important.
There was always a shadow that hung over missions, a cloud of uncertainty about the outcome. And while it might not be his last mission, he was going to make sure he came out of it alive.