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No. That wasn’t possible.
When I looked into the mirror, a wild woman stared back at me. My hair was mussed and hung around my face with crazy abandon. My lips were a deep red, thick and bruised from kisses.
I closed my eyes, unable to process it all.
I definitely needed time and space. Surely, they’d be okay to sleep by themselves tonight? I could conjure another bedroom so they would be comfortable and not have to sleep on a couch.
I walked out into the living room and found the guys dressed and standing in the kitchen. They turned as I walked in, their twin gazes shadowed and uneasy.
“You okay?” Kyle asked, nodding in greeting but not approaching.
“Sort of. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.” I folded my arms across my chest and magicked up a shawl to wrap around my cold body.
“That’s understandable,” Kyle said with a gorgeous smile. “This has kind of been a whirlwind romance.”
My stomach dipped and gurgled all at the same time. I glanced at the clock. “Oh. It’s close to dinner time. Are you guys hungry?”
Xander grunted. “Always.”
That made me smile. I indicated they should sit down at the kitchen table. “Give me ten minutes, and I’ll put something together for us all.”
The guys sat at my small table, and I hurried over to the fridge, taking out lamb and herbs, and creating a flaky pastry with my magic. I wove a spell over the ingredients, heating up and mashing potatoes, and conjuring together a peach cobbler with fresh cream for dessert.
By the time I was done, there was a small feast on the table and the guys were literally licking their lips in anticipation.
I managed a smile as I sat down with them. “Eat, please.”
They dived into the food, not stopping until they’d eaten everything on their plates. I picked at my portion, my stomach churning with the strange atmosphere that had descended on us.
When all the food was gone, and I’d magicked up some wine, just for something to do, the guys sat back in their chairs and stared at me. I jumped to my feet, unable to handle the intensity of their gazes.
“I hope you guys don’t mind, but I might turn in early tonight. I have a massive headache.”
The loud noise of chairs scraping back along the wood floor filled the room. Xander and Kyle were on their feet, staring at me with sadness in their expressions.
“I’m assuming that means you want to sleep alone tonight?” Xander asked, his voice rough and scratchy.
Was that from emotion?
I pressed my palms together. “Uh...”
“What happened, Monique?” Kyle asked. “Did you have some sort of nightmare, or something? You were so beautiful before you went to sleep. Passionate. Then you woke up, and it’s like you want nothing to do with us.”
I ran my hands through my long hair, raking out the tangles while I tried to think of what to say. But when the right words wouldn’t come, and the men were still waiting, I went with the first thing that popped into my head. “I need some space.”
“Space?” Xander repeated, the word sounding foreign out of his mouth.
“I just need room to breathe, to work out what I want. How I feel.” My heart pounded a little too hard and sickness roiled in my stomach.
I pressed an anxious hand to my belly. “Can I have some space, just for tonight, to think about everything?”
Xander’s eyebrows lowered into a frown. “What’s there to think about? You’re our mate.”
Kyle whacked Xander in the arm, then turned to me and said, “Take as much time and space as you need, sweetheart. We have forever to work everything out.”
I could have kissed him at that moment, the relief was so intense. Instead, I found myself blinking back tears and swallowing heavily. I hated hurting them, and I knew that my request had not been what either of them wanted to hear. But it was necessary, and I was grateful they were allowing me exactly what I needed. “Thanks.”
I turned to Xander and added, “I understand about the mate thing, and that it’s the most natural thing in the world to you guys. But it isn’t natural or familiar to me. I didn’t even know it was athinguntil I met you both. I have so much going on in here.” I tapped my chest. “I need time to process what it all means.”
