Chapter Two #2
“The master suite is through that door to the left of the kitchen,” Aleksy pointed out, then turned to face a wide hallway. “Our rooms are down that hall, along with an office and a guest bathroom.”
Interesting. Neither of them had taken the master suite.
Her gaze moved across it slowly as she walked in a little further, taking in the space without hiding that she was doing it. The layout was open, with clean lines and functional comfort. The furniture was massive, not a surprise considering the size of the two men, but comfortable.
Her lips curved slightly.
“Nice,” she said. “You’ve found furniture that not only fits the space, but fits you too. That is surprising.”
Jarek snorted. “We aim to please.”
“Do you?” she murmured, glancing over her shoulder just long enough to let that land before turning away again.
Aleksy didn’t react. Not outwardly. But she felt it, that shift in awareness, and not just through the bond.
Annoying.
Her attention moved back to the space, slower this time. More deliberate. She liked it. More than she should, and that irritated her. She needed to stay focused.
“When do I speak to Elara?” she asked, cutting straight through the quiet.
Aleksy answered. “In the morning.”
She turned slightly.
“Morning,” she repeated. “Define that.”
“We’ve called a meeting,” he said. “Full E.S.E. Elara will be there.”
Tamsin nodded once. That would work. It would be both efficient and direct to brief them all at once. Her kind of approach.
“Good,” she said. “Because what I pulled from that lab—”
She cut herself off. Her fingers flexed once at her side.
“—needs more than one brain to fix.”
Aleksy’s gaze sharpened slightly.
Jarek leaned back against the counter, watching her like she was something he hadn’t quite decided how to handle yet.
“So,” he said, casual on the surface, not even close underneath, “you going to tell us how you’ve been shutting us out?”
Tamsin’s lips curved. She’d known that question was coming.
She turned fully this time, leaning her hip lightly against the edge of the table, ignoring the way her shoulder protested the shift.
She exhaled slowly, letting the edge of it settle before she spoke again.
“I grew up in an orphanage,” she said. “Not exactly your standard setup. A few of the kids there were shifters.”
Both men stilled, but didn’t speak, but she felt their interest in focus when she spoke.
“During that time, I learned a lot,” she continued. “About how you live. About bonds. About what happens when they hit.”
Her gaze held theirs. Steady and unflinching.
“I know what a mating bond is. I also know it doesn’t ask for permission,” she added. “And it doesn’t complete unless the female accepts it.”
Jarek’s jaw tightened slightly, but Aleksy’s expression didn’t change.
She pushed on.
“And I knew,” she said, quieter now, more deliberate, “that once it hit, you’d be able to find me.”
Truth. Clean and simple.
“So, I shut it down.”
She thought for a moment. “Or at least ... suppressed it enough to give myself some breathing room.”
Jarek straightened slightly. “How?”
Tamsin shrugged.
“Tricks of the trade,” she said. “Focus. Control. A few things I picked up along the way.”
Not a lie. But not entirely the truth either. She could see that he didn’t like that.
“I needed time,” she continued, tone sharpening now. “Time to get into Chimera’s system. Time to pull what they’ve done to my work. And time to figure out how to stop it.” Her gaze didn’t waver. “I wasn’t dragging you into that until I had something worth bringing you into.”
Aleksy spoke first. “You knew you had a fuck off big target on your back.”
“Yes.”
“And yet, you chose to face it alone.”
Tamsin’s lips curved. “I usually do.”
Jarek pushed off the counter, stepping closer now. Not crowding or pushing, just holding space.
“And how do you feel about the mating bond?” he asked.
There it was. The real question.
Tamsin tilted her head slightly, considering them both for a moment.
“I’m not against it,” she said, her lips curved faintly. “You’re definitely my type.”
Jarek’s grin flashed, and Aleksy didn’t move.
“And?” Jarek prompted.
Tamsin’s expression didn’t soften. Didn’t waver.
“But,” she said, “I don’t let fate decide who I spend my life with. I will make that call.”
The words settled between them.
Jarek held her gaze, then nodded once. “Fair.”
Aleksy’s voice came quieter. “We respect that.”
Tamsin’s brows lifted slightly. “Good.”
A beat.
Then Jarek’s grin came back. “Doesn’t mean we’re not going to give you a reason to choose us.”
Her brow arched as her heart kicked a beat. “Well, good luck with that.”
She pushed off the table before they could respond, turning and heading toward the master suite without hesitation, like the space already belonged to her.
Because in that moment? It did. Her hand hit the door, pushing it open before she stepped inside. Paused.
Just for a second.
Then glanced back over her shoulder.
“Try not to miss me too much while I’m gone,” she said lightly.
Then she stepped in—and closed the door. She exhaled slowly, gaze moving across the space as she stepped further inside. It was large, comfortable and secure
Her shoulders eased.
“Damn,” she muttered. “This is like my dream suite.” Living area, fireplace, large bed, walk-in wardrobe, a door she assumed led to an ensuite, and views over the city.
She liked it. Too much.
Her hand brushed her shoulder again, slower this time, the pain settling deeper now that she wasn’t actively ignoring it.
“Tomorrow,” she said quietly.
Elara. And hopefully some answers to her questions. Solutions to her problems even better. That was what mattered.
Not—her breath caught slightly as her mind flicked back. To them. The heat. The way they moved. The way she’d fit between them like—
She huffed a quiet breath.
“Yeah,” she muttered. “That’s going to be a problem.”
Her breath exhaled sharply as she moved further into the room.
“Keep it professional, Tamsin,” she told herself.
A beat.
Then—
“Bitch, good luck with that.”