He rubbed his hands along my back, setting goosebumps to prickle on my skin. “We should get you dressed before you get sick.”
I smiled and nodded. He was incredibly thoughtful, attentive, and romantic. If I hadn’t just had several orgasms, I might have swooned with the realization. I admired my time with Dallas, and I didn’t want it to be over yet, but it was getting late, and colder, and we had pushed our luck long enough.
Once we were dressed, I wrapped one of the blankets around me and walked back to the hotel with Dallas. The walk was quiet and peaceful. Both of us were lost in our own thoughts but we still managed to steal glances at each other and smile every once in a while.
As we headed back to the hotel room, I wondered if I could ever go back to my life and the way things were. After having had a taste of life in Manitou. After Malachi and Dallas.
I kept their wanting me to choose between them at the back of my mind. But the more time I spent around these men, the more I understood I couldn’t make a choice. I was falling for each of them. Whether I wanted to or not.
The only thing that made things worse was Dallas seeing me to my room and kissing me goodnight.
Damn my erratic, gullible, forgiving heart.
18
MALACHI
The whole situation stank of Charlotte. Right down to the nitty, gritty, and everything in between. Because everything that had happened so far was exactly what I would expect her to do. The problem was, Cassidy had been snared in her trap, and I was going to be the one to get her out of it.
After Cassidy had fallen asleep, Dallas, Steele, and I all had a little chat out on her patio so that we didn’t disturb her. We kept our voices down to avoid anyone overhearing us too. Knowing Charlotte, she had a spy keeping an eye on the place.
“What do you think is really going on here?” I asked, raking my gaze along the shadows for a hint of anything that didn’t belong, as I leaned on the railing.
Steele glared at me and said, “You know damn well what’s really going on here.”
Dallas added, “And considering how you are part of the reason we’re in this position, to begin with, it really shouldn’t be a hard guess.”
I turned around and wiggled a finger at him before pointing it at Cassidy’s sleeping form inside the room. “Remember our agreement.”
“I agreed not to argue or fight with you,” Dallas muttered. “Not abstain from the truth. And the truth is the situation is far worse than it should have been because of your little disappearing act.”
I shrugged. “I have my reasons for doing what I did.”
“Care to share with the rest of the class?” Dallas asked, leaning against the outside wall of the patio with his arms crossed over his chest. He stared down his nose at me and I raised an eyebrow before shifted my glance to Steele. He nodded once.
I sighed and pressed my back to the railing. “Fine. But don’t come at me when you hear it. Because you’re not going to like what I have to say.”
“Out with it, already,” Steele said, shifting his position to stand against the wall.
I had never considered there being a limit of tolerance between the three of us. What I was about to say might very well push them over that invisible limit and I could be pushed over the railing and fall to a very unpleasant death.
It was a risk I had to take. I took in a deep breath, and on the exhale, I said, “My animal has found his mate.”
Both men stiffened. Their eyes widened. I shook my head, preparing for the moment when they would both charge me and end up pushing me over the railing.
“That’s impossible,” Steele muttered. Had we not been standing in such close proximity, I wouldn’t have heard him say a thing.
“Why?” I asked, trying to keep out the anger in my words. “Because it happened to me instead of you?”
He shook his head. “No. Because my animal mated with her as well.”
“As did mine,” Dallas added.
I ran my hands through my hair. “We can’t all have her.”
“We know this,” Dallas said. “Thus, the very issue.”
“Fucking Charlotte,” I growled out low enough it didn’t disturb Cassidy. My animal stretched against my frame in agreeance.