Page 218 of Beasts of Mine

A deeper purr sounded behind him.

Tavian eased back, and I looked over his shoulder to find Malek standing at the edge of the courtyard with his golden-brown eyes fixed on me. His shoulders were motionless, but cedar and damp earth had already grown stronger around him.

His control lasted a few seconds. I went to him before he made it halfway across the courtyard. Malek's arms closed firmly around me, one broad palm spanning my back while the other moved into my hair. I pressed my face against his chest and breathed in cedar, damp earth, and faint smoke, realizing immediately how little of him had actually remained in the shirt I'd carried across Patagonia.

“I missed you.” Malek told me as he pressed his mouth against my temple, the deep vibration of his purr moving through his chest into mine.

“I missed you too.” I answered Malek as my arms tightened around his waist, the words catching unexpectedly now that I could actually touch him. Malek scented my hair and cheek before his nose moved beneath my jaw. He took enough time with it that my emotional reunion eventually became ridiculous.

“Are you going to smell every inch of me?” I asked Malek as his beard scraped lightly over sensitive skin and sent a shiver through my shoulders.

“Probably.” Malek replied against my neck without a trace of embarrassment, which made me laugh into his shoulder. His mouth brushed the skin beneath my jaw without biting, and I stayed against him until his arms loosened enough for me to look toward the other side of the courtyard.

Luca was waiting several feet away. His dark hair had grown past his shoulders during the three months I'd been gone, and his usual composure wasn't hiding much today. Sandalwood and herbs had strengthened around him, but he hadn't stepped in or reached for me.

Of course he hadn't.

I crossed the distance myself.

“You made it.” Luca told me as his hands lifted only after I reached him, his green-gold eyes moving over my face before I wrapped my arms around him.

“I did.” I answered Luca as I pressed against his chest and closed the small distance he'd deliberately left for me to choose. His restraint disappeared as soon as I touched him. Luca held me tightly with one palm over the back of my head and the other at my waist, and I spent several seconds listening to his purr before leaning back.

“I need to tell you something awful.” I told Luca as I kept my palms against his sides and watched concern appear before I'd even finished the sentence.

“What happened?” Luca asked me as his arms loosened immediately, giving me room while his eyes searched my face.

“The cable wrap worked perfectly.” I informed Luca as I watched the worry disappear and tried not to grin. He stared at me for one beat and then laughed.

“You scared me for that?” Luca asked as he shook his head and cupped my cheek, the laughter loosening something in his face I hadn't realized was tense.

“I've been saving that review for three months. I needed to make the delivery memorable.” I told Luca as I leaned into his palm, rubbing my thumb across the inside of his wrist.

“That still isn't a complaint.” Luca pointed out as his thumb passed beneath my eye, amusement replacing the last of his concern.

“I'll come up with one eventually.” I promised Luca as I leaned forward and kissed him. An elder capuchin appeared on the ruined wall behind him, stopped to inspect the four of us, then scratched absently at its ribs.

Spotted ones were loud while you were gone, the capuchin informed me as its attention moved between the three men.

“I believe you.” I told the capuchin as Tavian made an offended noise beside me.

Especially that one, the capuchin added as it stared directly at Tavian before starting along the wall again.

“I heard you.” Tavian complained to the capuchin as his brows pulled together, apparently unconcerned that the monkey couldn't understand a word he said. The capuchin continued without acknowledging him, and I laughed while Luca's shoulders shook beside me.

By then Malek had moved close again, leaving me surrounded by all three familiar Alpha scents. My own honey, jasmine, and warm vanilla grew stronger in response despite the blockers. The glands beneath my jaw started aching, and heat gathered between my thighs as three months of faint scent trapped in fabric was replaced by the actual men.

My Omega wanted the nest with an urgency that wasn't remotely subtle.

“Inside.” I told Malek, Tavian, and Luca as I caught Tavian's wrist in one hand and Luca's in the other, turning toward the sleeping room with Malek close behind me.

“Best idea you've had since you got here.” Tavian told me as he linked our fingers and followed without hesitation, his usual energy returning now that he'd apparently accepted I wasn't disappearing again.

“She's been here less than fifteen minutes.” Luca reminded Tavian as he walked beside me, his shoulder brushing mine.

“Exactly. Very efficient.” Tavian replied as he squeezed my fingers and nodded with complete confidence in his own logic. I almost answered, but the words disappeared when I reached the sleeping-room doorway.

The soft shirt I'd deliberately left behind was still folded inside my drawer. My old lens cloth remained near the nest, and Tavian's dark stone sat on the shelf beside my spare hair tie and empty memory-card cases. Nobody had filled the open shelf space or decided the drawer had been unused long enough to take back.