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He walked away. I didn’t try to stop him. Goddess, my panther was right. I took a long sip of my drink, hoping the coolness of it would calm me a bit. My panther saw Sloan and Justice as my mates.
Mates. Plural.
Koby was my cub. He was ingrained in my heart, and he would be mine, even if they fired me or let me go.
My body had ignited as they complimented me. Touched me, even in innocent ways.
I sat back in the chair and let it sink in.
Justice and Sloan were mine. Somehow, they always had been. I didn’t think shifters could have more than one fated mate but, to my panther, Jason was never her mate. She had replaced any happy memories with the knowledge of his blatant betrayal. His lies. His deceit.
Sloan and Justice were what mates should be. Protective. Caring. Nurturing. Loving. Providers.
Goddess…I was in love with them. Both of them.
Chapter Seventeen
Justice
The night Livvy sang Koby to sleep—the first night she did—changed something in the atmosphere of our home. Livvy’s presence had lifted it to start with, but we were more of a family now, focused on Koby but also each other. My panda, and according to Sloan his as well, insisted that she was our true mate, our fated mate, and that every moment we delayed in claiming and marking her were wasted time. His claws, inside me, metaphorically or not, burned when his frustration grew at my unwillingness to take the steps necessary to ensure our mate also knew where she stood in our lives.
And give her the opportunity to say if she returned our feelings. Because as kind as she was toward all of us, she’d never given the slightest indication she wanted more than we currently shared. Not by word or action. And if it hadn’t been for the fact that my panda and I wanted her naked and claimed and marked and in our bed as often as possible…I’d have been happy with our life together as well.
Although we hadn’t altered our mate status from in name only, we had begun spending more time together. Livvy usually joined Sloan and me in the kitchen for a quick cup of coffee before work, for example. We’d been taking turns with his evening routines and usually watched television together or just sat and talked in the evening.
On this one particular day, I got home from work later than usual, and Koby was already in the tub with Sloan supervising. I could hear the splashing and laughter the moment I walked in the door. We never made him wait to eat supper with us on days like this because he’d be hungry and cranky and tired. So, he had some of his favorite little kid foods like chicken fingers or mac and cheese and a special dessert, instead. That way, he didn’t feel left out but celebrated.
I left my briefcase in the foyer and wandered through the immaculately clean home to the backyard. Livvy often sat out there for a while in the afternoon, and that’s where I found her. She sat in one of the wide lounge chairs, a glass of white wine cradled in her hands.
She looked up and smiled. “You’re home. You had such a long day.”
“I’m beat. Did you eat already?”
I knew she hadn’t. They for sure would have delayed eating until I arrived, but I didn’t want them to feel like they had to.
“Nope! I’m sitting here enjoying my wine, and you came at the perfect time. Sloan should be done tucking Koby in shortly, and we can have a grown-up dinner.”
“Sometimes that’s nice.” It didn’t mean I didn’t want Koby at the table ever, but the three of us had a different feel. We laughed and talked about things in the news or our work. Livvy told us stories about her day with our Mr. Mischief that she wouldn’t probably have mentioned in front of him because he might think we were making fun of him instead of appreciating his antics.
Dinner had probably been waiting for at least an hour or more, but she didn’t try to make me feel bad about that. She scooted over and patted the seat next to her. “Sit, and tell me something interesting that happened today. We stay-at-home almost mates live sheltered lives.”
Almost mates. If I could only find a way to get rid of the “almost.”
But for now, I would gladly accept sharing the lounger with her, and we leaned back hip to hip. “Sometimes I wish I could be the stay-at-home mate. Like this afternoon when my assistant manager came back late and dared to claim he was confused about when he was due back.”
“He thought it was an hour instead of a half?” she asked. “Wait. I thought you had a full hour.”
“We do.” I blew out a disgusted breath. “He took two hours then tried to pretend that he’d only been gone one or lost track of time or…well, six excuses in, I fired him.”
Her jaw dropped. “You did have a day.” She handed me her wineglass, still two-thirds full. “Here, you need this more than me.”
The intimacy of the act, sharing a simple glass of wine made me happier than it should have. Or maybe it should. My mind was just a bit foggy sitting so close to Livvy and inhaling her scent. My panda was pretty wound up, too.
We talked about nothing much, just relaxing and sharing the wine, passing it back and forth until Sloan called out that Koby was in bed asleep and we could come in for dinner.
We stood up at the same time, and when Livvy came around the chair, for once, I acted on instinct and kissed her. She melted in my arms, her body soft and pliant, her lips sweet and warm, and I could have stayed like that all day just soaking her in. My arms snaked around her waist, pressing her closer to me, wanting more, wanting everything.
She parted her lips, allowing my tongue entry, and I explored her mouth, learning the smoothness of her teeth and the strength of her response. Livvy whimpered a little, and I shifted her into a better angle, lost in the tastes and scents and the feel of her mouth.
