“So, Mom says she thinks she has the perfect house for us,” I said as I wiggled in between my mates and curled so my head was on Leo’s shoulder, and my legs were across Briar’s lap.
Had I been in fur, I’d have just sprawled across the two of them and would probably end up that way before the first movie was finished, but not before I had the chance to share the videos Mom had sent and discuss the housing options with them. My inner cat purred when Leo stroked my hair, something I loved immensely, which he’d quickly figured out.
“Already?” He said, "Man, she does work fast."
“Heh,” Briar said. “Wait until you meet her; you’ll soon see that she’s a hurricane of unstoppable energy and good intentions.”
“Wow.”
“So, where is it?” Briar asked.
“Well, in typical mom fashion, she won’t tell me which house she thinks it is, so she sent three video walkthroughs of threedifferent places,” I explained. “Did you guys want to look at them tonight, or wait until later?”
“Tonight,” Leo blurted before Briar could respond. “I texted my boss yesterday, just giving him a heads up about my impending move and intention of giving two weeks’ notice when my vacation was over, and he said not to worry about it; the number of subscribers had fallen so far in the last quarter that they were going to have to eliminate two staff positions. He told me I wasn’t on the chopping block, but since I was bowing out, he was going to be able to keep my buddy, Jackson, who he’d intended to lay off along with the junior staff writer, Reid, who’d been hired on following an intern position last year. I’m glad I decided to tell him now, instead of waiting until he'd already sent those emails out.”
“No shit.”
“I texted my dads right after I got his message and asked if they wouldn’t mind using the spare key to pack up my place for me, since everything I own will fit in the back of their pickup trucks,” he said. “I just don’t want to leave here and be away from you two, even for a day, and I know you guys have a firm deadline for when you need to get back to your shop, so umm, I thought I’d just follow you guys home, if that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay,” I said, rubbing my cheek against his shoulder. “And you don’t have to follow us. I can ride with you, in case we get separated from Mr. Never Met A Speed Limit He Didn’t Break.”
“Gets a lot of speeding tickets, does he?”
“Nope, he’s been super lucky in that regard, but as a constantly petrified passenger, I can say that the ‘oh shit’handle gets a lot of use when I’m in the passenger’s seat.”
He drew in a breath and tickled the spot just under my ear. “I hate to break it to you, but I’m afraid my ‘oh shit’ handle will be the one getting the workout if you ride with me.”
Groaning, I just pressed my face against his t-shirt and muttered a lighthearted complaint to the Goddess about giving me two speed demons for mates. With Briar caressing my leg and Leo carding his fingers through my hair, my grumbled complaints soon turned to purring as I lounged against them.
“Alright, rumble kitty, let’s see those videos before you decide to take a nap on us.”
“In fur?” I asked, popping my head up and staring into Leo’s eyes beseechingly.
“I would love to spend the evening petting your fur,” he said. “The weather report is calling for a few inches of snow tonight. If we actually get them this time, it would be fun to go out and play in it in the morning and get some more pictures of my adorably fuzzy mates.”
His words had Briar purring right along with me as he continued stroking my thigh. Touch was so important to us as shifters and doubly so with the connection that had formed between us. Ever since our mating, I’d found myself craving it even more, as in constantly taking every opportunity to brush against one of them as I walked past or run my fingers over any bit of exposed skin available to me. The fact that Leo had come out of the shower dressed in a tank top and shorts tonight had left me with plenty of skin to touch, and on a whim, I slid my fingers up the leg of his shorts, just to see if he’d put anything lacy on tonight.
Bingo.
“Ohh, what the hell did you pet to get him purring like that?” Briar asked, leaning over me to try and see what Leo was doing with the hand that wasn’t buried in my hair.
Leo just chuckled and brushed my hair back from my cheek. “Nothing. He’s the one doing all the petting, and I think he’s found something he likes.”
“He’s wearing lace again,” I murmured, enchanted by the feel.
“If you promise to keep me warm, I’ll ditch the shorts and let you enjoy the lace to your heart’s content,” Leo said. “But only after you show us those videos.”
“Oh shit, yeah, the videos,” I murmured, uncoiling from my spot so I could sit up and retrieve my phone from the drawer in the coffee table, where I’d placed it so it wouldn’t be in the way of our mugs.
Mine was almost empty now, and I’d be switching from tea to cocoa the next time I refilled it. I was craving melted marshmallow tonight and planned to stir a big old heaping spoonful into my mug, despite knowing that the pot already contained plenty of it. With Briar pressed against one shoulder and Leo pressed against the other, I clicked on the first video, and we settled in to watch.
When Mom did a walk-through, she did a thorough damned job of it, leaving no nooks and crannies unexplored. Closets, cabinets, pantries, and crawl spaces were given as much attention as the rooms themselves, making for a true virtual tour of the three residences she’d chosen to present to us.
The first was extremely modern, with high, vaulted ceilings with glittering chandeliers and tall windows. While it contained every feature we’d asked for and a few bonus ones we hadn’t thought about, like solar panels on the roof and built-in shelves in the living room, there was something almost sterile about it, especially with all those pristine white walls and wall-to-wall Berber carpets.
“So… I’m gonna say pass on that one,” Briar remarked. “Unless you guys really, really like it, in which case, I’m begging you to please choose cozy colors for the walls.”
“I’m not a fan either,” Leo said. “I mean, it’s nice and all, but it doesn’t scream ‘live in me’.”
