“Mm, I get that.” Emma pats my hand. “You were more harshly judged because of your position.”
I release a breath, calmed by her touch. “Yeah. It’s made me want to live more privately.”
“Hence the cabin in the middle of nowhere?” she asks.
Sebastian nods. “That, and we want to raise our kids where they have room to run. And no nosy in-laws who would want to mold them into perfect little alpha heirs just because that’s how things were done in the past.”
I study Emma from the corner of my eye. “Is that okay with you?”
She raises her eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“I thought you wanted a big family,” I say, watching her carefully.
“Yeah, but I meant lots of kids.” She shrugs. “Not necessarily a whole pack of relatives with questionable intentions.”
“You’ll still get those,” Sebastian says. “My mom will want to know everything about you.”
Emma’s scent acquires a whiff of nervousness. “She will?”
I hum, soothing her. “Yes, but there’s no rush. Everyone will understand that we need to spend time alone first. And we’ll be with you through it all. We’ll do everything at your pace.”
“Ah, that’s fine.” She relaxes again. “I can’t wait.”
I don’t ask about her family. She told Troy, so I expect she’ll share with Sebastian and me eventually, but the last thing I want to do is pry before she’s ready. She trusts us so easily, which likely means she’s feeling the same bond as us, though less strongly.
I won’t do anything to break that trust, and that includes not sticking my nose into her personal business.Like Troy said, we’ll have all our lives to get to know each other—not just the nine months before a baby arrives if we conceive during this full moon, but after that as well.
I’ll spend a lifetime learning how to make Emma happy.
“Are you done?” Troy rumbles, staring at Sebastian’s bowl. “You’re the world’s slowest eater.”
Sebastian flushes to the tips of his ears, his fair skin turning pink. “I don’t want to choke on my food, Troy.”
Troy looms over him, and Emma twitches in my lap, as if she wants to interfere.
I squeeze her thigh, then murmur in her ear, “Just watch.”
She glances at me curiously, then focuses back on our two mates. Trusting me again to know what my pack needs.
Troy puts his big arm around Sebastian’s shoulders and nuzzles his neck, trailing a line of kisses from his clavicle to his ear. Sebastian shivers but valiantly scoops up another spoonfulof noodles, though his hand shakes as he brings the spoon to his mouth.
“You’re not going to force me to—ah!” Sebastian’s protest turns into a moan.
I can’t see what Troy is doing with his other hand under the table, but Sebastian arches his back and drops his spoon with a clatter.
“Keep eating,” Troy commands. “You’ll need your strength, too.”
Emma squirms, her breathing growing faster. She loves this as much as I do. Her lips part, her cheeks flushing with desire, and her scent… Fuck, her scent will haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.
I’ll never get enough of her.
“Troy,” Sebastian gasps.
He gives up on his dinner and turns his face toward Troy, then grabs the big guy by the nape and draws him in for a kiss. It’s easy to forget that Sebastian is just as strong as the rest of us because of his lean frame and sweet manners, but he climbs into Troy’s lap and straddles his thighs, then maneuvers Troy so he has him pinned right where he wants him.
“How. Many. Times…” Sebastian punctuates his words with biting, open-mouthed kisses on Troy’s neck, “Have I told you to stop teasing me at the dinner table?”
He kisses Troy deeply, sucking on his tongue. Troy closes his eyes and sinks into the kiss, his palms roaming Sebastian’s naked back until he grasps his ass with both hands and rocks his hips up at the same time. The sound that comes from his chest is downright indecent, sending pure lust shooting through me.
