AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You helped. Soren, Nico, Freya brought us these delicious-looking turnovers. From the kitchen, right?”
I nodded. “Yes, they were my favorite as a child. Hilda always baked them for my birthday, and I think they used her recipe.” They sure tasted like hers.
Nico was the first to grab for one. Soren was next, and finally Jude and me. All of us ate in silence, savoring the bold, sweet flavors of the filling and the delectable flaky crust.
Nico met my stare and, to my surprise, he winked at me. Maybe that was an apology for his earlier snappiness, or maybe it was a hat tip to the turnovers. He was such a mystery to me, one I wanted to solve, immediately.
Soren pushed back his chair. “Thank you for the meal, both of you. I’m going back to the library, unless there’s anything else?” All three of them looked at me. Gods, I wanted them. I didn’t know what part of my psyche was holding up my walls, but they were firm and unyielding.
“Nope. Nothing else,” I said as my heart practically beat out of my chest.
Soren grunted but came over to kiss my temple before leaving. Nico left without a word. Jude got up and started washing dishes with his back turned on me.
Damn it. I needed to get over myself. So much for patching things up with dessert.
Chapter Eight
After our delicious but confusing dinner together, everyone went their own way. If we were truly mated, would that be the case? Or would we all spend the evening on the couch watching a funny movie? Eating popcorn and laughing together? Maybe sharing the highlights of our days under a cozy blanket in front of the fire?
I still didn’t really know how things worked in a relationship with three of them and one of me. Somehow I’d broken it up into individual bits in my mind like nights with one or another of them and almost never connecting as a group, but I was starting to wonder. Physically as in bed, it would be one on one—I’d listened in to a few others who had more than one mate enough to know that before I found out I had three. But somehow, nobody gossiped about the rest of the time.
As a completely inexperienced virgin—was there any other kind?—everything I knew was from listening to mated females. Oh, Hilda had given methe talklong ago, so I knew the mechanics but not what it would be like to actually make love with someone. So my traitorous body’s reactions to each of these males were entirely its own idea. Or maybe my dragon had thoughts. Gods, would she be watching when I finally did sleep with Jude or Soren or Nico? The flight instinct was gearing up again as I changed into a long, white, soft cotton nightgown and crawled between the covers of my solitary bed.
I lay there and tossed and turned for a while, none of my thoughts conducive to rest, and finally gave up and climbed out of bed. The window, as small as it was, always drew me on nights like this, and I trailed over to it and looked out. The sky above was dark velvet sprinkled with stars, but something out of the corner of my eye drew my attention from its beauty. I couldn’t see all of it, but on tiptoe, I could take in enough to know that the mountain was up to its tricks again.
I’d never been able to see it from here before. Was it getting worse? I was seeing more of the glow than the actual stones and other components of the mountainside, which made me think it was, indeed, worsening.
I hurried across the room toward the door to the rest of the suite, intent on getting the guys to come and see, but then I remembered what usually happened when I brought witnesses. I wanted another look, at least before summoning anyone, and slipped back on quiet feet as if whatever was going on out there might hear me coming. As if my being silent would guarantee it continued. As if I wanted it to?
Nothing about that ominous glow and the shaking that sometimes accompanied it was what any sane person would want to continue. I knew in my very deepest heart that it was a warning and a big one. I just didn’t know what it was warning of or what to do. My old friend the star watcher might know. He seemed to be knowledgeable about more than just the skies…but he was gone now, and I hadn’t found a single person to help me.
When I peered out, this time, only the stars greeted me, and I released a deep sigh before turning back to my bed. But I wouldn’t be able to sleep after that, so at the last moment, I veered off and headed for the kitchen.
The guys really enjoyed the apple turnovers, and I was glad to have brought them to them, but I wanted to do more. To make something myself. Jude had been teaching me some cooking techniques, but the recipe I had in mind for tonight was one of Hilda’s, a cookie batter that she would tweak based on whatever she had on hand. Sometimes it was raisins and oatmeal, others berries, hunks of apple or pear…but on the very finest occasions, she used something I knew we had in the cupboard.
Chocolate chips. And nuts, which had been a more frequent addition but which also made the cookies extra delicious. I was sliding the first batch into the oven when I realized I wasn’t alone. Straightening, I looked over my shoulder to find my kitchen buddy, one of the three sexiest guys in the flight, sitting at a stool at the kitchen island and watching me. A smile turned up the corners of his lips.
“How long have you been there?” I asked, trying not to show how hard my heart was beating at the startlement.
“Since you used the large ice cream scoop to make your cookies king-sized. You were facing away the whole time, but I liked the view.”
“I hardly think this nightie gives any kind of view.” It went all the way to my toes; I’d almost tripped over it while pulling out the ingredients. I tucked the hot pads in my apron pocket before approaching him. “And I made the cookies big because I thought they suited my customers.”
“Well, the first of your customers is already here and waiting for them to be done.” He reached out and took one of my hands. “But while we wait, let’s talk about the view I referred to.” He drew me to stand between his knees and rested his hands on my hips. “You really don’t know what I could see through that thin fabric?” His palms moved up to my waist and paused there. “With that light over the stove on, every curve showed. Like this one”—I held my breath as he demonstrated what he spoke of—“and these.” When he cupped my breasts, I choked on the air in my lungs and tried to brush his hands away.
“You couldn’t see there. I was facing away the whole time, you said so yourself.”
“Hmm.” He leaned close to my ear, speaking in a low growl that crawled all over my skin. In a good, but maybe a little scary way. “That’s true. But I can see them now.”
I held still while he continued his exploration, unsure what to do and caught up in the moment.
“Now”—he brought his touch gliding down to my bottom and squeezed—“these cuties were what I had a good look at. Cookies and buns. A double treat.”
Dizzy, I tried to take a step back, but he had me firmly pinned in place with his muscular thighs and his grip on my bottom. “I need to check on the cookies,” I protested. “I’ll come back.”
“No you won’t.” His lips touched the rim of my ear, his warm breath setting it atingle. “And you set an alarm for the cookies. We have time to continue our conversation.”
“Is that what this is?” If my knees got any wobblier, I’d be on the floor, or maybe not. He really did have me held in place. “A conversation?”
