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“I am not a man,” Roman muttered.
“Play nice,” I said. “I like Hudson too, you know.”
Roman gave an exaggerated sigh. “I will . . . play nice.”
Phoebe came over and Hudson offered her a coffee and a muffin. She eyed all these guys and their attention on me, and she raised an eyebrow. “Do I even want to ask what’s going on?”
I forced a smile. “This is Levi and his brother Roman. They came to help us with the house.” I realized I knew exactly which of the twins was who, and I didn’t need to look for a chipped tooth or scars or anything like that. I just knew. Their personalities were really different.
“You’re recruiting for The Two Woman Crew now?” Phoebe asked, sipping her coffee. The look in her eye told me she knew exactly who Levi was, from this morning.
I took a coffee and a muffin from Hudson and went back to sit on the step. I didn’t know how I could possibly explain what had happened here. I wasn’t sure I even knew exactly.
Phoebe sat beside me and whispered, “Did you fuck them inside Pepper’s house?”
My mouth gaped. “You had your music on!”
She laughed. “And you cum very loudly.”
I felt blood rushing to my cheeks. “It was just one of them.”
“But tonight it will be all of them?” she whispered.
I looked away from her, not willing to answer. Phoebe and I had talked about Pepper’s mate situation before, and we both thought it was amazing. But that was different than admitting I was going to have an orgy to my older sister.
“She’s our mate,” Hudson said, sitting down on the grass with the last of the coffees and a couple of muffins. He very clearly hadn’t gotten anything for the vampires.
I hadn’t known many vampires so I didn’t actually know if they could eat human food.
“Mate?” Phoebe asked, turning to me. Her look very clearly said that I was going to have to tell her everything as soon as we were alone.
I just stuffed half a muffin in my mouth so I wouldn’t have to say anything.
The guys were very motivated to get the work done. With two speedy vampires and a strong shifter, we had the primer applied and were ready to start the first coat before noon.
“We could start the first coat,” Phoebe mused, and then she laughed at the expression on the guys’ faces. “Go on your date, then. But Delphy, you owe me.”
We headed out. Levi and Roman wanted me in the truck with them, but when Hudson offered me a ride on the back of his motorcycle, I couldn’t say no.
I thought I’d be cold—so much so that I’d considered asking Phoebe to give me a warming spell—but as soon as I touched him I knew that would not be my problem. I wrapped my arms around Hudson’s waist and pressed myself against his back, leaning my cheek against it. “You’re so warm.”
He chuckled, but didn’t complain about my closeness. “We’re going to stop and grab some lunch from the food truck.”
“Sounds good,” I said, sitting up. “Did you let Levi and Roman know?”
“Naw,” he said. “Let them sweat it.” He adjusted my helmet and then put on his own.
Then I wrapped my arms around him again. The motorcycle vibrated against my thighs. We took off, the motor roaring. The world felt closer riding this way, the trees, the pavement, even the passersby. Without the separation of a vehicle around us, we were more at one with the world. The wind that hadn’t been strong when we were standing still rolled over us, and I was absurdly thankful for the helmet holding my hair down. It was exhilarating.
I was also insanely aware of Hudson’s body tucked close to mine. My arms wrapped around his solid torso, and breathed in his outdoorsy scent, woodsy with a hint of citrus.He’d tossed a windbreaker over his flannel jacket, and the material was smooth against my cheek.
We pulled to a stop in front of Shanna’s Food Truck, which was parked just on the corner of Main Street. We ordered two Silver Springs Specials, which were just three items off the menu and mixed up in a to-go box, and I thought it sounded a bit disgusting. But the orders were ready, they smelled amazing. I took a few bites before Hudson tucked them into the motorcycle’s saddlebag.
“Are you okay, Hudson?” I asked, rubbing my neck. “Roman didn’t . . .?”
“Shifters are tougher than we look.”
“I won’t stand for him treating you badly,” I insisted. When did I go from not sure I even wanted a relationship with these guys to defending them? I didn’t know, but I was sure I wanted some ground rules.
