AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don't let him fool you, he's always starving,” I said. “But we would love for you two to join us for some dinner. My treat.”
Zath grinned and stood up. “Free food? Count me in.
She gasped and threw a pillow at him. “You’d change your loyalty over some food?”
“Right now?” he asked drily. “Yes. So, get your ass up.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, hoping that would motivate her before El got truly hangry.
“You pick,” El said. He was grinning and already heading for the door. The brat knew we’d already won this particular fight and wasn’t even trying to hide his pleasure.
Nyla narrowed her eyes at his retreating form but got up and grabbed her suitcase, heading for the bathroom.
“I’ll be out in ten.”
ChapterNine
Nyla
Just two days ago, the men in front of me were simply rivals I wanted to take down in this competition. I didn’t want to know them or even speak to them, simply show them we’re the true winners. A bit of petty satisfaction, nothing more.
Yet, here they were, sharing a table at an Italian restaurant, winning over Zathrian, and slowly chipping away at my armor.
Eldon was laughing, his eyes sparkling with humor as he told a story I couldn’t quite focus on. Riven watched him with genuine love in his eyes and I realized in that moment, that I wanted the same thing. Someone to look at me that way.
Zathrian and I had danced around this mate thing for so long, I wasn’t sure how to get out from under it.
And with them we had the whole rivalry hanging over our heads. Despite the pretty picture Riven had painted, the issue was still very much there.
But there was no rush with our relationship and Riven and El weren’t pressuring me into anything. They simply wanted me to give them a genuine chance.
When I tuned back in, the conversation had started to quiet down. Zath looked at me with concern but I gave him a quick smile. It was sweet that he kept tabs on me like that but I was genuinely okay at the moment. Thoughts of Lance were no longer painful, just a minor annoyance at the back of my mind.
“You don’t need to pay for us,” Zath said. We always looked out for ourselves and paying for each other was one thing, but someone else paying for us was a sure way to stress us out.
Riven’s eyes narrowed slightly. It wasn’t angry, more curious. “I’ve already offered to pay. Don’t make me walk up there and pay the tab now.”
“You can’t pay the tab, we haven’t even ordered,” I protested. “It’s really alright. We can pay for ourselves, we’re not broke.”
El shook his head. “This is a fight you won’t win. I get it, money’s always been a strange thing for me. But he won’t relent.”
“It’s not about being broke, it’s about the fact that I invited you. Me paying was part of the agreement.”
“Are you a horse by chance? Because I didn’t think I’d meet anyone more stubborn than Nyla, yet here we are.” Zath waved his ring-lined fingers at Riven like his point was proven.
“I’m a bear,” Riven said with a low, rumbling laugh.
“That explains so much,” Zathrain said. “I couldn’t decide if you were a horse, a bear, or an elephant.”
“An elephant?” he laughed.
“They’re relentless,” Zath said with a shrug.
“A bear makes sense. Especially the need to protect and boss us around,” I added. We both laughed and El raised his eyes at our easy banter. I could tell he was about to say something from the way he started to lean forward and let his curiosity win.
“Okay I feel like we’re at this point where shit’s going to get awkward real fast, so I’m just going to get the weird questions out of the way,” he said as he set his menu aside and fixed his pale blue eyes on me and Zath. “What exactly is going on with you two?”
Zathrian looked at me, almost as if asking for permission.
