Chapter 31 #2
Warmth struck her first. She’d been outside for so long her ears were having a hard time readjusting.
She rubbed them, then removed Mellie’s cloak and hung it in a way that didn’t reveal the rips.
The hooks in this entryway were so high that she had to stand on her tippy toes and give it a little toss.
She pulled her wand free from the pocket, threw her hair up in a quick bun, and stabbed it through the knot.
Everett bent down, gathered her boots, and tucked them together. “You’re not very neat,” he noted.
“Upstairs,” ordered Westley, “both of you.” He started walking before finishing that thought. Ten or so shifters appeared in the foyer and were looking at him like he was a ghost. He ignored them all. She waved in some attempt to say hi; Everett used his arms to say give him space.
They walked up the extra-wide staircase, down the long hall, passed a dozen rooms, and stopped at the far end. West pivoted towards a door and rested his forehead against it. “How much longer, Ev?”
“The sun sets in four hours.”
West let out a long-suffering sigh, turned the handle, and made his way inside.
Winter was about to follow him, but Everett seized her by the waist, stopping her before she could. “His scent is all over you.”
She half-turned in his death grip, grinning. “Jealous?”
He leaned in for another whiff. “Yes.”
“Envy is a sin, Everett.”
“But it tastes so good, doesn’t it?”
Just as Winter’s toes curled, he pushed her across the threshold. She stumbled into a wall of steel named West. She gave Everett a what-the-fuck look, then turned back around. Her mate was staring at his reflection in the floor-length mirror. No—he was watching her flirt with his second.
The air grew hot, laced with enough cinnamon to scorch her nostrils. Everett came in, clicked the door shut, and stood against it. She was trapped and might very well burn alive.
West aimed for the edge of his giant bed and sat. “Sit with me?”
Her body just moved, joining him. No alpha voice necessary. Making eye-contact made her throat swell. The blue ring around his hazel iris complemented the navy quilt on his bed. Everything in this room did. The rug, the drapes, the bedding.
“Closer,” he urged.
She scooted until their thighs met and leaned into his shoulder for good measure. “Do you want to talk about tonight?”
His throat bobbed. “Not right now.” He put a hand on her knee, squeezing it. “This is all I want.”
“Then I’m not going anywhere.” Winter didn’t have to worry about Mellie killing her, West beat his sister to it.
A half hour of sitting and kissing turned into cuddling beneath his sheets.
The oversized bed swallowed her whole, as did his tongue.
Everett had gone from door guard to resting on the leather armchair across the way.
His feet were propped on the ottoman as he took a nap, or pretended to.
Winter didn’t mind if he watched them roll around in bed—she kind of liked the idea.
Keeping her mouth away from West’s was beginning to feel a lot like pulling two magnets apart. They were sweaty, out of breath, and tangled in the sheets.
“I know what you need,” she whispered over his lips, “but I’m just not ready.”
He swiped the hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “When I said I don’t want charity, I meant it.”
“But I can still help.” She put a hand on his chest, scrunching her fingers into his tunic. “My way. If you’re interested …”
Time must’ve stilled. While she waited for an answer, his smoldering gaze held hers. Finally, he spoke. “Don’t pity me.”
“It’s not pity. We’re mates, right? We can be mates-with-benefits.” She chewed on her sore lip and added, “Why not?”
“Benefits?”
She smirked. “Benefits.”
He gripped her waist, pulling her closer. “And what would that entail?”
“Whatever I say.” She ran a finger down his chest. “After we talk about consent, boundaries. All that.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Does it sound like I’m kidding?”
He glanced at the armchair. “And what about Everett?”
She scrunched her face. “What about him?”
“You won’t have sex with me, but you have no problem fucking him?”
“Shh,” she whispered, checking to see if he was still sleeping.
Everett was an excellent liar for a werewolf.
“Well?” asked West.
There was no need for his pouting. “Everett refused to have sex with me. I thought you knew that?” She squeezed West’s giant pec. “Can’t we focus on us?”
“He only refused because you weren’t marked.”
Her eyes flared wide. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Until you’re covered in my scent, he can’t touch you.”
Shouldn’t it be the other way around? What the actual fuck. She pushed him away, needing space. “So, I’m … your territory?”
“Ours. Everett and I are bonded in that way. But ultimately, it’s your decision.”
Winter quieted, recalling what his second had said before walking in this room. His scent is all over you.
“Fuck, West. You really marked me?”
He scrubbed his face. “I thought you knew what was happening against that tree.”
“I did not. So everyone’s going to know I’m, what? Yours?”
“Ours.”
Winter was used to lying, hiding, and conniving, but the lack of privacy in this culture was giving her a major migraine.
“Are you angry?”
“Yes!” she hissed.
“Well …” He smirked, holding her gaze. “We have two hours to fix that.”
The arrogance was top-notch. “You’re right.” She wiggled out of his hold, sat up abruptly, and shouted. “Everett, wake up!”
Winter paced back and forth in Westley’s bedroom.
“You two should be ashamed of yourselves for calling me a liar, a witch—a blah, blah, blah—at any opportunity when the entire time you’ve been keeping secrets of your own.
” She stopped to face Everett and said, “You’re an asshole for making me beg.
” Then she addressed Westley. “And I expected more from you. Why are you talking to me like I’m some object for both of you to share? ”
Everett tipped his head back like he wished to be elsewhere. “I didn’t make you do anything.”
West, seated on the edge of his bed, slapped the mattress. “And that’s not what I said. Stop twisting words. It’s very mage-y.”
She flashed her teeth, reminding him that he was speaking to the wolf. “Then tell me I’m wrong.”
“Everett and I made a pact long before I met you. That’s my blood in his veins, Winter. It’s not just a mate we share, it’s everything—death too. That’s the cost. Our bond is special, and goes beyond sex.” He gave her a pointed look. “And I think we both know that’s the part that scares you.”
Was he talking about love? She made fists. Love could mean nothing or everything depending on who was speaking.
Everett got up from the armchair, kicking the ottoman in. “I can leave.”
“No,” West and Winter replied in unison, neither of their tones pleasant.
Everett sat back quickly. “O-kay.”
She glared at West, her emotions boiling over.
Admitting the truth would make this real.
But she was a wolf today, not a witch. “You’re right, okay?
I’m scared to fall in love. I’ve spent so much of my life hiding behind different masks, and then I met you.
You make me want to feel, to love. Especially when you say sweet things.
” She rubbed her healing heart. “It’s cruel.
” She glanced at Everett. “And you have a talent for making me feel less, like pain medicine. Especially when you say not-so-sweet things.” She shook her head. “That’s cruel too.”
Her gaze fell to the rug. They weren’t talking, so she kept going. “I know it’s wrong to desire you both, but I won’t pretend I don’t. I’m just so sick of lying.”
In a few strides, West caged her in from behind. She zipped in a breath. He leaned down, grazing her ear with his warm lips. “You are so achingly attractive when you’re honest.”
A shuddering sigh escaped her. She leaned against him, reveling in his unyielding grip. There was no taking the words back.