Toying with the ends of his hair, I point out, “Not to burst your bubble, but if my blood is already growing more potent, then wouldn’t that mean it’ll keep increasing? So while I may come off as one of you, it might get to the point that it doesn’t take cutting myself for someone to be drawn to me, like a super pheromone perfume, sort of thing.”
Stryker’s eyes close as I continue to run my fingers through his hair and stroke my fingers over the back of his neck. “Mmm, then I guess we’re just going to have to keep you our little secret, aren’t we?”
Bane rises up, bouncing on the balls of his feet like he slammed back a pot of coffee. “Or it’s as simple as the more regularly we feed from her, the more her body adapts to the routine. The same way people plateau with weight loss when they’re used to a certain routine and they’re forced to shake it up, or you build up a higher alcohol tolerance when you’re a daily drinker.”
Mason gets to his feet, stretching. “Makes sense to me. Like her body is producing not only enough blood to replenish what we’re taking from her, but catching on it needs to make more for the three of us so it’s intensifying the potency to meet our needs so we don’t need to take as much from her.”
Stryker hums in pleasure from the featherlight touches, looking like he might fall asleep sitting up. “Bond feels stronger too. Or I’m getting better at sensing her moods, which is entirely possible. It’s hard to tell the difference between sire bond, and being madly in love and obsessed with her every waking moment.”
Smiling, I bend down to kiss him. “Maybe that’s an incorruptible perk; get you addicted to my blood and make you stronger, while at the same time inspiring the need to protect me since I’m weaker. A symbiotic relationship where I sit back and act as your battery pack while you do all of the heavy lifting to keep me alive.”
What I originally meant as a joke has his eyes flying open, the others pausing. “That honestly makes a hell of a lot of sense, if you think about it. I’d bet hundreds of years ago shifters were drawn to incorruptibles’ blood and it started all of the vampire legends, so it isn’t much of a stretch to assume that over the years, the addiction and protective instincts developed as an evolutionary survival trait. Hell, look at how often that sort of thing happens in nature.”
Bane helps me up like he knew my leg was starting to fall asleep, grinning. “You’re a bona fide snake charmer.”
Laughing, I wiggle my toes, fighting the painful tingling sensation in my foot. “I wonder if there’s a limit to the amount of people before it’s not effective anymore.”
Three sets of eyes narrow on me, my stomach somersaulting in the face of their instant jealousy. I stow that fun tidbit away for later to see how much I can rile them up before they snap.
Bane’s voice is low, promising murder as he says, “Good thing it doesn’t matter, so no need to waste time worrying about it.”
Snickering, I walk past him, trailing a hand over his chest and shoulder as I go. “I’m going to get started on dinner. Want to browse some more listings so afterward we can start whittling down the list of possibilities of where we’re going to move?”
“Absolutely.” Pulling out his phone, he heads down the hall to lounge on one of the beds where it’s more comfortable.
Mason declares he’s going to take a bath since there isn’t much else to do, which leaves Stryker following me into the kitchen to keep me company. After a few minutes where he realizes he’s more in the way than actually helping, he takes up a seat at the card table in a folding chair we have for our temporary set up so we’re not stuck on the floor all day.
Resting his chin on his folded arms, he watches me grab the cutting board as the oven preheats. We stay there in amicable silence for a few minutes before he quietly asks, “You know everything he was saying today was utter bullshit, right?”
My hand stills for only a moment before I go back to slicing the carrots, swiping them into the roasting pan. “I know.”
“And you know as much as we say that you’re ours,” he carefully words, sounding incredibly nervous all of a sudden, “that we don’t mean it in the same way that he did?”
Looking over my shoulder, I give him a sad, understanding smile. “Absolutely. And I can promise you, when you say it? It makes me feel wanted; safe. I know you’d burn the world to the ground trying to protect me, because I’m yours as much as you three are mine. Family, not a possession. Very different concepts.”
The look of relief that crosses his face hurts my heart, but in a good way. He genuinely cares about making sure that I’m happy, always trying so hard to hype me up, the epitome of support.
I turn back to cut up the potatoes next. “When you stumbled across the accident,” I hesitantly bring up, “I was trapped in the trunk, right?” At his acknowledgment, I carefully riddle it out, the three of them never delving into the details. “But you turned me; not Bane or Mason. Which means you were the first to get to me before they could find a way to get me out of the trunk.”
His voice is cautiously confused as he answers, “Yeah?”
Focusing on chopping, I rush out, “Why? Why after what you went though would you climb in there instead of letting one of them do it? You didn’t even know me, and it’s not like my blood set you off back then.”
He doesn’t even hesitate, like the answer is so obvious there’s no need for him to analyze it deeper than surface level. “Because you needed me. I might not have been able to save myself, but I could still save you. And even if I couldn’t, I didn’t want you to die alone in the dark, thinking that nobody ever came for you.”
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.
Taking slow breaths until the burning in my eyes subsides, I slide the potatoes into the pan and move on to trimming the roast to add on top. “You know, it’s really not fair that you’re so goddamn dreamy and amazing. How am I supposed to compete with that?” Finishing up, I wash my hands and add seasonings before tossing the whole thing in the oven, setting a timer. “With a silver tongue like yours, Mason and Bane are going to end up leaving me for you.”
He simply rests his cheek on his folded arms, looking at me with a tender smile. “Not a chance. If only you could see the way they look at you when you’re lost in the moment; dancing, busy around the house. Hell, when you’re sleeping and your guard is completely down, knowing you trust us enough to be that vulnerable around us?” He sits up, shaking his head with a sigh. “Bane was right; you’re the real snake charmer. We’re fucking addicted to you Risa, and not just your blood.Youare intoxicating to be around.”
Washing my hands, I move on to the couple of dishes sitting in the sink. “See? How am I supposed to compete with that? All that pops into my head is ‘that’s so sweet, want to bone?’ Not nearly as romantic.”
Laughing, he joins me, grabbing a rag to dry. “The hell it’s not. Please, feel free to stop keeping that stuff to yourself, I love it.”
“Son of a bitch,” I hiss, dropping the knife in the sink and popping my finger in my mouth that I sliced open.
Frowning, Stryker grabs my wrist to inspect how bad it is, only for his nostrils to flare. Holding my gaze, he brings my hand to his face, flicking his tongue over the wound before sliding it into his mouth. Gently sucking on the digit, the pupils that had only just started returning to normal become slits once more, his other half rising to the surface and wrestling for control.
