Before I can come up with a better excuse for why I need to get going, North gets out of bed. He’s still naked, and holy shit, it makes me remember last night vividly. I can feel heat spiking in me again, my heart rate picking up.
It takes a lot of work to keep my eyes on their faces, especially when Cain gets out of bed too, and the blanket slides down to reveal Raven’s chest. They’re so fucking hot. It’s unfair. I have to keep myself from doing something stupid like kissing them again and starting round two—or round three… or four… I’m not sure.
“I was just, uh, telling Raven that I need to go home,” I say lamely, trying to drag my thoughts back out of the gutter.
“But your home is here,” North says.
Okay. That’s weird. “No, my home is my apartment.”
The men still look confused.
I shake my head. “Last night was incredible, don’t get me wrong. It was life-altering. Maybe we can see each other again sometime, but right now, I’ve gotta get going.”
“But why would you leave?” Cain asks. “You’re our mate.”
I blink.
Theirwhat?
CHAPTER6
“I’m sorry.” I can’t quite believe what I just heard. “Your what?”
Mate? That’s not a thing that exists, right? I mean, I think vampires and werewolves call their partners mates, right? But that’s not… I’m so confused.
“You’re our fated mate,” North growls, confident. He looks like he’s ready to stalk toward me and kiss me again, to prove with his body that we’re fated. I’ll be honest, if he does decide to seduce me, I’m not gonna be able to resist. I mean… whoo.
“Can’t you feel it?” Raven asks. He sounds almost hurt that I can’t feel whatever it is that he’s feeling.
“Oh, I bet she can.” Cain’s smirking at me, his gaze dragging over my body. “Don’t you, sweetheart?”
“I…” I swallow hard and look away. Fuck. I can’t talk with them while they’re naked like this, looking like they want to devour me. I’m getting turned on, and I can’t have a serious conversation like this. “Could you guys please put some clothes on?”
Cain chuckles, but all three of them start grabbing clothes. Thank fuck.
“We’re all part fae,” North explains, that growl still in his voice. “And our fae natures have formed a mate bond with you. We could sense it when we first walked into the bar. We assumed you did too.”
“I’m going to be honest,” I admit, “I didn’t—you guys are just really, really sexy, and I was in a bad place after, you know, the whole boyfriend thing—I don’t know anything about a mate bond.”
Is this the kind of thing your fae parents are supposed to tell you about? Did I miss out on this vital information because they died and nobody could inform me? Or is this a rare random thing?
Cain shrugs nonchalantly. “Not surprising. Fated bonds are rare. They haven’t really been a thing for a long time. As our numbers dwindled…” A look of anger and disgust crosses his face, and I know he’s thinking about how the vampires nearly wiped us out. “…fated mates became less and less common.”
“But now we have you, and you have us,” Raven says. He walks over to me, staring at me like I’m the Milky Way and he’s just now seeing me for the first time. I have to admit, seeing such devotion is intoxicating.
All three men are looking at me, actually, and for a moment… I’m tempted. They’re so handsome, and the sex was amazing. I want to stay and let them worship my body some more, let them make me feel as good as they did last night…
But I shake my head.
“I’m sorry, I can’t stay.” No matter how good the sex was, I just can’t. I’m not ready to have one mate, let alone three. Being alone is what’s kept me alive this entire time. “You guys are great, but…”
North’s head shoots up, and he looks over my shoulder, nostrils flaring in alarm. A moment later, I hear tinkling glass, like something breaking.
“Someone’s here,” North growls.
A moment later, three men with their faces covered by ski masks burst into the room.
Fuck!