"Hi." Her smile is shy, uncertain. Her gaze finds mine. "Seth."
"Hi." My voice comes out too rough. "You look—"Beautiful. Perfect. Like everything I've ever wanted and don't deserve."—good. Really good."
I realize I'm still holding my notebook and pen. Quickly shove them back in my pocket.
Her smile gets warmer. "Were you taking notes?"
"Maybe."
"That's very you." She crosses to me and goes up on her toes, pressing a soft kiss to my mouth. Sweet. Brief. But enough to make my pulse stutter.
When she pulls back, she's already turning to River, leaning down to kiss him too. He catches her hand, squeezes it, then lets her go.
She moves to where Grayson's standing and he pulls her in for a longer kiss, his hand finding the back of her neck.
Watching them shouldn't make me feel warm and possessive, but it does.
Ours.
Smooth, Monroe. Real smooth.
Grayson closes the door, his hand lingering at the small of her back. Possessive. His dark eyes find mine and something passes between us.
We're all in this together.
"So." Bea drops onto the couch between River and where Grayson settles beside her, leaving me the armchair. She looks between us, nervous energy radiating. "This feels very serious.Should I be worried? Is this an intervention? Did I reorganize the paint section wrong?"
"No." River's voice is gentle. "We just want to talk about what happens next."
"Next." She swallows hard, and some of the snark fades. "You mean my heat."
The word hangs in the air.
Her scent shifts—anxiety spiking sharp through the sweetness. Every instinct I have screams to comfort her.
"It's coming soon," River continues. "Could be days. But your scent's changing fast, and we need to know what you want from us. If you want us there."
"Of course I want you there." The words burst out, almost defensive. Then she catches herself, wrapping her arms around her middle. "I mean—if you want to be. I don't want to just assume you're all signing up for this disaster."
"Bea." I lean forward. "Wewantto be there. All three of us. This is your heat. Your choice."
Her green eyes find mine, wide and vulnerable. "I've never had a heat with alphas before. Terrance wanted to, but I always took suppressants because he made it feel like something he was owed, not something we'd share. And now I'm terrified I'll lose control or—god, turn into some kind of feral heat monster who humps your leg? This is mortifying."
"Hey." River catches her hand. "You won't lose yourself. Heat just makes you more honest about what you want."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Her voice goes small. "What if I want too much?"
"There's no such thing as too much," Grayson says. "Not with us."
She looks between us, that war in her eyes—needing to protect herself versus desperately wanting to let us in.
"I'm scared." Barely a whisper. Then louder, frustrated: "Which is stupid. I'm a grown woman with a business degree and I'm scared of my own biology. Very evolved of me."
"It's not ridiculous." Grayson's voice is quiet. "You're scared of needing us and then losing us. But that's not going to happen."
"You can't promise that."
"I can." The certainty in my voice surprises me. "I'm falling for you. Really falling. The kind that doesn't stop."
