Chapter Eleven
River
I wanted to do everything, too, but in the back of my mind, there was always someone else here—Flora. I’d sort of sprung the Zevo is watching you thing on her. She didn’t seem to mind, and it wasn’t like he was a stranger, but also, she started her new school in the morning. Being there for her was my first priority.
Even if I just found my two mates.
Even if my tiger was clamoring to mark them.
Even if all I wanted to do was to be enveloped by their scents and bodies.
She was asleep, and it just didn’t seem right to keep Zevo there longer than necessary.
Nights had been the worst for her since the beginning. They were when she woke up—not as often anymore, but this was someplace new. If she woke up, she deserved to have me there for her. And Zevo didn’t sign on to the sobs and trembling she woke with, thankfully with less frequency.
As much as I longed to be with my mates, my guys, Flora was my priority.
I bit my bottom lip, already angry at myself for what I was about to say, but knowing it needed to be said anyway.
“I—I think I need to go back to the room…alone.”
“Because of Flora?” Allen asked
“Yeah, because of Flora. One day, I’ll tell you all the details, but her life hasn’t been great. And we’re brand new here, and—”
“Of course she needs you.” Matthew rested a hand on Allen’s shoulder. “You need to go. We have time. There’s no rush.”
My tiger disagreed. He was ready to pounce, to mark them, to make them ours. And me? I wanted was to kiss them, taste them, rub my scent all over them.
“She’s pretty amazing,” Matthew said, rubbing himself on Allen’s side. He was so very much his house cat in all ways.
“She starts her new school tomorrow. I’ll have all day. I don’t know what your schedules are like…”
Allen was the first to let me know he didn’t have anything scheduled. Matthew, after a few seconds where it looked like maybe he was struggling with deciding finally settled on his calendar being clear too. I wasn’t sure if that was true or if he was calling it a sick day.
“So, a daytime date it is.” I leaned in to kiss Allen. The kiss turned passionate very quickly, and as our lips broke apart, I found them replaced with Matthew’s. His were soft and teasing—not the same, but no less spectacular.
They were making it very difficult to leave.
But with school the next day, and us being new here, I didn’t see any better way.
“We can walk you back,” Matthew offered.
“No.” I shook my head. “Because if you do, well, I’ll want to bring you in. And Flora doesn’t even know Allen yet. But tomorrow, we have all day. I can show you my place, for sure.”
I made sure everybody had everybody’s phone numbers, and then we all went our separate ways.
Or maybe they went together. I wasn’t even sure.
But thinking about them together as I walked back to our apartment had me far more hot and bothered than I should be. I ended up thinking about a show I watched—a dystopian one where people lived in the sewers and all the gross things they discovered down there—just to pull myself together enough to go inside.
These mates were going to be the death of me.
When I opened the door, Zevo was at the stove, putting the kettle on.
“Hey,” he said. “Oh, she’s asleep. Probably asleep enough you could check on her without waking her.”
And so I did.
Sure enough, she was hugging her stuffie close, looking like she didn’t have a care in the world.
When I came back out, there were two cups of tea on the counter.
“Thought you could use one.”
I took it gratefully.
“May I ask why you don’t look ecstatic?”
“Oh, I am.” I played with the tea bag, collecting my thoughts.
“It’s just…I’m not just me, you know. And as much as my instincts say to go to them, be with them…I’m her Uncle Daddy. I gotta do that first. But I don’t want them to resent me for that.”
“Oh, River. Dear, sweet River.” He shook his head with a soft smile.
“That’s not how mates work. That little girl is gonna have three people spoiling her rotten. Trust me, they will be all about her too. I bet they didn’t even try to talk you out of it when you said you were leaving.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way.
Had they not cared about her, they definitely would have, right? We were going from a three-way to brunch. That was a pretty big leap.
“That makes sense.” Zevo took a long sip of his tea. “She’s a good kid, and you’re a good uncle. Let them be your good mates.”
“Let—I will,” I promised.
“And I—I’m gonna get going, but if you need me to watch the kiddos anytime, I can. Or I have a list of sitters.”
“Kiddos?” Last I checked, Flora was one tiger.
“ Well, there’s Flora now. And I have a feeling you’re gonna have a whole entire house full.”
“Maybe we could take a few steps back, considering we’re not even mated yet.”
“I’m just saying, the offer is out there.”
And off he went.
When I climbed into bed a half hour later, all I could think about was having the two of them in there with me. Not even for sex—although, yes, for sex—but just their warmth and their scent, hugging me all night long.
It sounded absolutely delightful.
And Zevo was right. Why would they be upset about Flora? She was a part of my life. We were a package deal.
Short answer: they wouldn’t.