COLE POV
Idid not get a wink of sleep all night long, and not just because I was on first watch, waiting for that prick on the motorbike to come speeding back around, but also because I had just been rejuvenated in a way I never expected.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The way the very beautiful Miranda looked as she came hard all over my tongue was an image I wanted to commit to memory. She was stunning, absolutely gorgeous, and even more so at her most vulnerable moment. It felt amazing to me that I could do things to make her feel good, even when she was at the shittiest point of her whole life. I wanted it to keep happening.
“Good morning.” Her sweet whispering tone made my heart skip a beat. Was it always going to be like that whenever I was around Miranda? I hoped so. “How are you?”
I rose from the window seat and crossed the room to hold her in my arms in her sweet little baby blue pajamas. But as I tilted her chin up to look at me, I could see hesitation there in her eyes. She was worried.
In the dark of night, it was fine, but now I could tell she was worried about getting caught. She didn’t want Ivan to see us because she knew it would hurt his feelings.
As I tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, it hit me how sweet she was. How perfect. But she didn’t need to worry about anything like that, which Ivan and I would make her see.
“So, last night…” I started, and her eyes widened with shock. I guess she wasn’t expecting me to dive right into it, but I called it like it was. She was going to have to get used to that from me. “Last night was amazing. It was one of the best nights of my whole life.”
“Really? But it was just…me.” She rested her hands on her chest. “I’m not someone special. I’m sure you have women throwing themselves at you all the time.”
I shook my head. “I have never experienced anything like last night before. It meant so much to me. More than I can even explain.”
She leaned into me and I felt her fear melting away. I held on to Miranda for a little while before I even thought about saying what I needed to next. I had a feeling those words were going to alter her mood all over again. But I had to say something. I couldn’t leave this hanging in the air.
“Miranda, you know how shifter romances aren’t always traditional?”
She looked up at me curiously.
“We are much freer with our feelings than non-shifters, right? And don’t think that relationships need to look any specific way for them to be real.”
“Right…” She had confusion and curiosity written all over her face now. But she wasn’t backing away, which had to be a good thing, right? I hoped so anyway.
“Well, I know there have been some feelings between you and Ivan as well, which I wouldn’t want to get in the way of. I’m sure your chemistry with him is something worth exploring also.” I paused for a moment, but she didn’t respond. “So, if you want to keep exploring this with the both of us, I’m fine with that.”
“You’re fine?” She sounded a little horror struck. “You are fine with me dating you and your twin brother? I know we aren’t worried about traditional relationships, but won’t that cause issues for you and Ivan? I don’t want to get in the way of that.”
I grinned and shrugged my shoulders. “Trust me, you won’t. I actually think this will be great for all of us. It doesn’t have to feel pressured or anything like that. I know you’re just coming out of something really complicated, but I was thinking we could just have some fun and see where this chemistry takes us. But it’s totally up to you. The ball is in your court. I don’t want you to worry about anything at all. Seriously.”
She bit down on her bottom lip, but it didn’t stifle the smile that was coming. She was a sexy little minx. I could see how much she wanted this, which was actually awesome. If Ivan liked Miranda as much as I did, I knew he wouldn’t have any kind of issue with the sharing side of things. It would be fine.
Would the competitive edge still be there with Ivan and me? Probably, but that might only make it all even more exciting. I wasn’t about to shoot down any possibilities.
“We will have to talk to Ivan about it,” she whispered with a little giggle. “But I think that could be a lot of fun. Hell, I certainly need the distraction from all the shit in my life at the moment. I’m sure you can see that just as much as I can.”
I grabbed her and pulled her in for a powerful kiss that nearly knocked her off her feet. I felt more confident to do so now because we had a bit more of a plan in place.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Ivan asked. This probably wasn’t the sight that he wanted to wake up to, but we just couldn’t help it. “Kissing without me? I have to admit, I’m a little mad I’m missing out here. You just let me sleep right through it, I can’t believe that!”
I wasn’t worried because he hadn’t exactly been thinking about my feelings when he hooked up with Miranda behind my back. But we were about to change the narrative of this. I was going to let him know that this was going to be good for all of us.
“Ivan, Miranda and I were just talking about taking this exploration further.”
“You two?” he said, sounding pained. So much so that I was actually glad Miranda and I had decided to try having a more shifter-like relationship. Much as I was up for the competition, I didn’t want him to end up really upset. “Just you two?”
“No, we mean all of us. There is no reason for either of us to stop dating Miranda.”
“And you are okay with this?” The question wasn’t aimed at me. “Because if you aren’t…”
“I think I would like to keep dating you both, yes,” she whispered, redness staining her cheeks. “If that’s alright with you guys. Because I know this is complicated and my life is already messy. So I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to get away.”
Ivan didn’t hesitate. I stepped away so he could take Miranda in his arms and reassure her with a kiss. I honestly expected a spike of jealousy, but weirdly I got nothing. Knowing that I could also claim a piece of Miranda made this so much easier to bear. It was really the best arrangement for all of us.