“Me too,” muttered Riven.
But Abydos nodded solemnly. “I’m sorry, Sharon. You deserved better.”
“Oh, I got better,” Mom announced, reaching over to twine her fingers around mine. “My girls are the best, and now I have Sami too.”
“We love you, Mom,” Riven whispered.
I rarely thought about my father anymore, since he hadn’t been a part of my life since I was very small, but my earlier thoughts about Sylvik had me wondering more about their relationship.
“Why did you marry him?” I blurted, then winced, hoping I wasn’t bringing down the vibe of the holiday dinner.
My mother didn’t seem to mind, though. She shrugged. “I got pregnant.” She winked at me. “Sorry if that’s TMI, honey, but it’s true. Then I stayed with him, because that’s what you did back then. I convinced myself he had feelings for me, and he was always telling me he loved me to the moon and back…” She rotated her free hand. “Et cetera. But meanwhile he was out sleeping around, and Lord knows what else.”
It took me a moment to realize the low rumbling I was hearing was coming from both Tarkhan and Abydos. No, theirchests. Mom looked as surprised as I felt.
Sami sighed and settled back against Tarkhan, reaching over to pat his chest. “It’s okay,dkaar. Not all humans think like you do.”
“How do you think?” Mom asked before I could.
Abydos sighed and placed his glass on the table before gathering Riven’s hand in his. “To an orc, it is impossible to consider evenlookingat another female after he’s found his Mate. Humans use words likeloveanddevotion, but Mating is beyond feelings like that.” The way he looked down at Riven made my chest ache. Was that jealousy? Of my little sister?
“Mating is a biological thing,” Tarkhan explained, and when Sami poked him, he snorted. “No, not just sex, I mean…”
“There is a knowing,” Sami whispered, beaming up at him. Then she turned her smile to Mom and me. “Even humans can feel it. At least, I can. It took me a while to accept that Tarkhan was my Mate, but once I did, I felt thecertainty.It was crazy.”
“There’s a connection,” Riven agreed with a nod. “It’s more than physical, more than emotional. I know where Abydos is without having to guess, and sometimes he knows what I’m thinking.”
My eyes were wide. “There’s…a knowing?” I whispered.
Sami nodded. “That’s what finding your Mate is like. You just…know.”
The conversation swirled around me, but I found myself staring down at my dessert plate and the remains of Mom’s pie and Riven’s pastries and the be-boobed snowwoman sugar cookie.
There is a knowing.
The last two weeks, I’d felt drawn to Sylvik in a way I’d never experienced. I thought it was just like…an instalust kinda thing. Because let’s be honest; the dude ishot. Andyeah, maybe I thought of him constantly when I wasn’t with him, and maybe I tried to make myself better, make myself the kind of person he would want to be around, even while constantly terrified Icouldn’tbe that sort of person.
But I’d thought that was just…me having a major crush on him.
But then last night.
I remembered how intent he’d looked when he’d stood between my legs and slid his cock into me. It wasn’t the bliss of a male thinking of his own pleasure; it wasSylvik, watchingme.
There is a knowing.
I shook my head. We’d only known each other for a short time. I didn’t even know if he wanted to be anything more than fuck buddies.
But…
But I knew how to find out.
“Mom,” I blurted as the conversation swirled around us, “do you have any to-go containers?
Chapter Nine
Sylvik
I wriggled my bare toes,where my feet were propped on the coffee table, a wry smile tugging at my lips. Perhaps it was the whisky I’d been sipping all afternoon that had given me this soft glow, but maybe not. I’d been feeling like this all day; I’d met Garrak for lunch, and he’d taken one look at me, grinned hugely, and slapped me on the shoulder.
