I stare down at the dish, almost certain he doesn’t mean it came in a cooler in the cargo hold. “Is that something your pack does a lot?”
“Like I said, Ot has fussy tastes. Plus, the guys had some things the moving company missed, so it’s not like it was a wasted trip.”
“Hmm.” I’m not sure I’ll ever get my head around that kind of justification, but I have other things on my mind. “Then you really are setting this place up, long term?”
“Of course.” Tristan is now watching me so closely, I feel a little self-conscious as I take my next bite of risotto. “I mean, we’ll still need to travel for work, but we want to be here as much as we can. If you’re okay with that, of course.”
“Areyouokay with it?” I search his face, looking for that sour note that says he’s not as comfortable as he seems. “I mean, Knotty Falls isn’t exactly LA. And then there’s the whole scent match thing. I wouldn’t blame you if you felt like it was a complication you didn’t want any part of.”
His eyes soften, and he picks up the spoon, carving off a generous helping of cake. “Firstly, LA is just where we go sometimes for work. Our main residence is in San Francisco, but we all travel a lot, so being together like this is a real treat. And as for your connection with my mates, it doesn’t stop with them. Or, at least, I don’t feel like it’s only about them.” He lifts the spoon to my mouth, his scent thickening as if he has black peppermint leaves crushed in his palm. “The first moment I saw you, I knew we were going to mean something to each other, Lily.”
As he presses the spoon to my lips and I accept his offering, I can’t tear my gaze from his face. He stares right back with his pretty hazel eyes, and as the moment stretches, our mingling scents enhance the tang of creamy strawberries on my tongue. I know he can sense it too, because his pupils dilate, and I wonder if it’s possible to drown in something that tastes so sweet. “You did?”
“Maybe I was drawn to you because of my bond with the guys, but I think it’s more than that,” he says softly. “And if you’re in any doubt about staying here while we sort things out, just know that it’s an honor, not a complication.” His lips quirk, and he shakes back the chocolate curls tumbling across his brow. “I guess what I’m saying is that I like having you under our roof for purely selfish reasons.”
It’s surreal to hear these words leave his lips, which are curved in a way that makes heat bloom low in my belly. “I like that, too,” I say softly. “Maybe I should feel out of place here, but I like being around you, Tristan.”
And despite the chaos of my life right now, I realize that spending time with this gorgeous man is something I’m going to cherish for however long it lasts.
The realization sends a shiver of awareness down my spine, and I look away, doing my best to clean my plate. “I should letyou rest,” he says as I pop the last sliver of cake into my mouth. “You’ve had a big day.”
I nod, but as he stands up, I grab his hand, squeezing it tight. “I’m going to ask Logan to claim me tonight.”
Tristan’s pupils blow wider, and he sits back down with a whoosh, his fingers threading through mine. “Wow. Really?”
“We planned to wait until after the summer rush, but I want it now. I want to know he’s mine, and I’m his.”
“To be honest, I have no idea how you held out this long.” His smile is now a delicious smirk, his eyes dancing as he leans close. “I hope you don’t mind me saying, but that man is like a leather-wrapped adventure.”
I laugh, but it’s laced with nerves. “I keep telling myself I already know everything there is to know about Logan, but it’s not the same as sharing a bond.” Or, at least, that’s what the biology textbooks said back in high school. “Does it really change that much, once they claim you?”
Tristan skims his fingers over his mating bites, his gaze soft. “For me, it did. It sounds cliché, but it really does give you a window into their soul.” His hand lifts from his neck to feather across my cheek, his fingertips warm from his skin. “Logan is a very lucky guy, Lily.”
I shiver, both at his tender touch and the thought of what’s to come. I’m excited that after tonight Logan and I will be closer than ever, but there’s also a part of me that wonders what it would be like if Tristan stayed. If he crawled under the covers, so that when Logan came back, we were both here for the claiming. According to those same biology books, once Logan became our alpha, I would feel their bond like it was my own. I’d be close enough to Tristan to see right into the beautiful soul that gleams from his hazel eyes…
But as tempting as that is, I know I’m jumping ahead too fast. And when he gets to his feet again, I don’t stop him fromgathering up the tray, his eyes dancing as he passes Logan in the doorway.
“You’ve got some color in your cheeks,” he says approvingly as he crosses to the bed, his gaze intense as he looks me over. “I take it Tristan took care of you?”
I can think of a few reasons why I might look flushed right now. “Were you listening at the keyhole?”
He grunts as he sits on the edge of the bed and starts unlacing his boots. “I couldn’t hear much of anything over Leo snoring like a buzzsaw.” I huff out a laugh, but when he’s kicked off his boots, he stands and faces me, his hands on his hips. “I can sleep on that sofa downstairs if it will help you get a good night’s rest.”
“Definitely not.”
He cocks a brow at me and rubs a hand over his chest. “Then I’ll just grab a shower…”
“Logan.” I look pointedly at the spare pillow. “Can you just shut up and lie down with me?”
“Best offer I’ve had all day,” he murmurs as he tosses his leather jacket across a chair and climbs under the covers. He’s still in his jeans and white t-shirt, but the scent rising off his skin makes my stomach clench. I want him so badly, but it’s my heart that melts as he lifts his arm and pulls me close. “I’m really sorry you had such a scare.”
“I’ve been on edge about Leo for a while,” I admit, pressing my hand to the worn cotton stretched across his chest. “With the guys turning up out of the blue… Well, it’s just been a crazy week.”
He brushes my hair back so he can search my face. “Yeah, but are you okay that we ended up here?”
“Being here is better than being hounded back at the farm.”
He grunts. “We’ll sort that out. And I want you to know I’ll do whatever it takes to make things easier for you. I have your back, LeeLee, and that’s never gonna change.”
