“I’m not worried. I want to see him.”
Well, that put the cat amongst the pigeons. Everyone started talking at once, everyone but Carissa. She just squeezed my hand.
“She can do what she wants,” Carissa said with a snarl that cut through the cacophony. “If she wants to see this man, you’ll show her, Aaron, son of Maureen.” She turned back to me. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. We aren’t taught to trust ourselves in the outside world. You grow up questioning your clothes, the way you look, how loud you are, and how much of your real self you’re ‘allowed’ to show. You question if it’s OK to come across as smart or struggling, who you’re with, what message you’re ‘putting out’ when talking to men. There are huge industries all constructed around women’s doubt. Don’t doubt yourself here.”
“It’s probably a bit soon for it, but we believe the Great Wolf’s hand is behind our instincts,” Janice said. “The men, their first instinct is to protect you. That’s how it should be, but don’t let it stop you from doing what you need to. Whenever you are wondering what to do, remember, your instincts are there for a reason.”
We had a nice meal afterwards. The guys had evidently been working on it while I was in the bedroom, getting laid. I knew, in theory, there were human women that allowed men to treat them like queens, but I’d never met any. I felt restless as the dishes were brought to the table, like I should be up and doing something. It took me a little to see the pride on the men’s faces as they organised the impressive spread of food, but then everyone was seated and turned to look at me. Um... did they say grace or something here? I pulled the closest dish towards me, and said, “This looks amazing. Thanks, guys! Let’s eat.”
And with that, the silence was broken. First, it was the sound of utensils scraping, of dishes being requested and passed, then the small talk returned. I watched these beautiful men and women
have a meal, just like families did across the country, and shook my head. A month ago, I’d been serving dickheads in a diner, and now this. Don’t doubt yourself, echoed in my mind as I dug in.
27
“No one’s saying no,” Slade said.
“Sure sounds like it.”
“Jules,” Aaron said with a sigh, “just give me a little time to talk to my brothers. Taking an unmated woman into a compound of men...”
“Maybe I want that,” I snapped.
All of the guys went still around me for a moment. When I looked them over, each face was carefully blank.
“What? Does that get you hot or something?”
“Well, yeah. To see you drowning in—”
“Enough, Slade,” Finn said. “What we think is beside the point. The question is, does it make you hot?”
My Tirian had all sorts of thoughts on that. For her, this was a simple, sexual survival of the fittest test. Who could get us off, and keep getting us off until we didn’t want to anymore, would make for suitable potential mates. Of course, other characteristics such as the ability to work with the rest of the team, being good with children, being able to fulfil their responsibilities were all important, but not to be considered until sexual compatibility had been established. I felt my cunt slicken at the thought of it. The men who had been with Aaron at the matching hall, their faces were hazy right now, but their bodies. They were all built like him, huge broad frames packed with muscle. My eyes dropped involuntarily to Aaron’s pants.
“That’s got nothing to do with it. I want to see the... thing that attacked me. He tried to kill me.”
“And it’s gonna happen, I just want to give the CO some time to get the facility in order. He can pull in married men to look after the place while you’re visiting.” I stared at Aaron. He came closer, reaching out a hand with a question in his eyes, placing it on my waist and drawing me closer when I didn’t say no. “We’re not trying to stop you from doing what you need to, just making sure you’re safe.”
I nodded stiffly, something that softened when he bent down to brush his lips against mine. Yesterday’s disorientation seemed to have vanished. Aaron had proved himself worthy, he was in until I decided otherwise.
“And I need to alert Kelly to what we’re doing. Not to stop you,” Finn said, sliding in on my other side. “But she’s going to have thoughts about this. If we want to prevent her from marching down there in protest, I need to have a conversation.”
“I can’t understand why he would have attacked me like that. Everything I saw showed the black wolves raping and capturing women, not trying to kill them. I nearly died. If I’m going to move on, I just want to see him.”
“And I’ll tell Kelly that, I promise. Aaron will alert the prison facility. Slade’s going to pick up some supplies with Brandon, so Shaun will be here if you need anyone, OK? We’ll be back soon.”
I nodded.
Finn deposited a kiss on my forehead and then pulled away. Aaron was a little slower, holding me close for a second and then kissing me goodbye.
“Do I get one?” Slade said with a grin, hugging me close.
“So you can imagine me drowning in dick?”
“C’mon, Slade, I don’t want to spend any more time away from here than we have to,” Brandon said, pulling him towards the door.
“You’ve gotten so bossy lately,” Slade said with narrowed eyes. “What’s gotten into you?”
“It’s more what he got into Aaron,” I said. “Actually, I agree with your little fantasy. It’d be totally hot to see you drowning in dick. One in each hand and every hole.”