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The muscles in his arms tensed around me. Luke was silent for so long that I thought he had decided to ignore my question entirely and just go to sleep. But then I felt his embrace soften around me.
“It’s just, you can’t be his. You just can’t, Al.” He pulled me closer into his body until he was molded against my back.
“Why, Luke?” I asked.
I agreed with him. Surely, if I was Rhett’s mate, I would have ended up in his bed, and not Luke’s after I split with Jay.
“Because you’re…”
He didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he nuzzled against my neck. The gentleness of his touch felt intimate, not sexual, and I found myself wanting to reciprocate the feelings he didn’t put into words. I grabbed his hand, which was wrapped around my waist, and pulled it over me, holding it close to my chest, over my heart. Like a treasured possession, I nestled his hand between my breasts for safe keeping.
“Night, Al,” he whispered.
11
Alarie
Luke and I decided to cut our trip short and head back to the High Court with Rhett and James the following morning. Luke felt that he had fulfilled enough of his familial obligations for one trip. For my part, I would be sad not to have the extra days at the beach, but there was no denying that this situation with Rhett had put a damper on any relaxation I’d hoped to have that week.
We dropped James off first upon reaching the High Court. The silence in the carriage wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was out of the ordinary for us. When we arrived at House Rein, Luke popped out of the carriage first.
“I’ll carry your stuff up for you,” he offered, already grabbing my bag and walking toward the front door. Out of habit, we stopped in Rhett’s parlor, which was on the way to my wing of the manor. My quarters were a floor above his and farther down.
“There’s a way to test it out, you know, Al,” Luke said hesitantly, like he was still trying to decide whether it was wise to speak up.
Rhett handed me a glass of sparkling water, which I gratefully took. I was thirsty after our carriage ride.
“Test what, Luke?” I asked, taking a sip.
“Whether you’re Rhett’s”—his lips thinned into a straight line—“mate.”
I looked at Rhett to see if he knew what Luke was talking about. Rhett’s expression told me he wasn’t sure what Luke was suggesting.
“You need to have sex with meandRhett,” Luke said matter-of-factly.
My eyebrows shot to the top of my head, and I choked on the carbonated water I had been in the process of swallowing.
Rhett gave Luke a sly smirk at the same time he firmly patted me on the back a couple of times, helping me dislodge the water from my lungs. But Luke didn’t break out into laughter. And Rhett looked like he was considering it.
“You’re serious,aren’t you?” I asked.
Luke gave me an upward jerk of his head.
“And how wouldthathelp?” I asked. I thought about taking another sip of my water, but then decided it was best to set the glass aside until this conversation was over.
“You mean other than the obvious?” Rhett asked, wagging his eyebrows at me.
But Luke’s weighty look tempered our friend’s endless flirting.
“If you’re…” Luke gritted his teeth, like it hurt him to say it. “Rhett’s mate, then he’ll be able to confirm it with that kind of… ahem, closeness.”
“He’s right, Al,” Rhett chimed in.
“Not everyone can tell their mate just by having sex with them. But that’s part of my magic. If you let my magic”—He paused, quirking his brow at me—“roamover you while you are having sex, I will be able to feel if something in you answers me.”
“Then why don’t I have sex withjustRhett, then?” I asked incredulously. “Why both of you?”
I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with my two best friends.
