From the time I walked in, the conversation flowed. All the anxiety and awkwardness I feared stayed in my imagination. We were just having fun. My dingo wanted so much more than fun, this kind of fun anyway. He wanted me to beg them to mark me, to make me theirs. And I kind of wanted that too. No, not “kind of.” I did, but I was also still a little nervous.
“You two… You two have been together awhile?”
“That depends on what you mean by together,” Ty said, setting his fork down. “We’ve been friends, but we never crossed that line.”
“So you’re saying you haven’t been lovers this whole time?” I had sort of known that, but hearing the words was good. I wouldn’t have been upset if they’d been lovers. Why wouldn’t they be? But I’d have been nervous going into anything intimate when they knew each other’s bodies and I was going to be playing thehope I know what I’m doinggame.
“No,” Freid said. “I was waiting for you. We both were.” He took Ty’s hand from across the table.
“Although, to be fair, I was a little scared about Freid finding you,” Ty admitted. “I wanted him as my mate, and I was afraid his true mate would come along, and that’s how our story would end. I don’t think either of us can fully grasp the joy I felt when I realized we were both waiting for the same person.”
“The Goddess doesn’t make mistakes,” I muttered, repeating the words I’d read in countless books. That was just fiction, but it felt true, like it applied here.
“What are you saying?”
“I mean, we can sense each other as mates. This caution is me being human because I’m second-guessing Fate. That’s not—that’s not working anymore. I panicked, and it’s time to move past that.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I accept you, Ty, as my mate.”
I turned to face Freid. “I accept you, Freid, as my mate. Please, both of you, mark me as yours.”
The look on both their faces told me I’d said the exact, perfect thing. My dingo agreed.
Chapter Twelve
Freid
To be honest, I hadn’t been sure we’d get to this point. When Penn walked away from us at Animals, he’d done something I would not have been able to. Sure, he just asked for time, but to me, every moment from the mating connection we’d experienced was precious. If not for our tiger’s sensible mind, things could have gone badly. Imagine if he’d not been there to hold my hand and help me to think clearly. Natural, as if we’d held hands for years instead of sitting side by side and waiting.
I would keep waiting, if I could do it with both of them beside me. Which made zero sense because then what would we all be waiting for? The stillness that encompassed us all since Penn said he trusted us was warm and soft but with an edge to it. He trusted us. His dingo had our backs.
But…now what? I sucked in a breath and reached for their hands. “I’m assuming nothing,” I told them in the steadiest voice I could manage. “But would you like to stay over? Just to sleep if that’s what you want.” Although I directed my words to both of them, they were of course mostly for Penn. Ty…I had no doubt what he’d say.
Ty squeezed my hand and smiled at us, white teeth gleaming. “I’m in. Just to sleep if that’s what you both prefer. But I’d like to be with you both longer.”
“Sure, sleeping is fine.” I wanted more, wanted everything, but co-sleeping? It was a start. “My bed is plenty big.”
“Thanks. Penn, what do you think? Want to stay here, have a sleepover, and get to know one another better?”
“I don’t want to have a sleepover,” Penn blurted out. “I want to mate, to be marked by both of you. Now.”
“All right.” Ty released my hand and stood, drawing our dingo omega up with him. Then he let him go. “But I think I deserve a kiss first.”
Penn tipped his face up, palms pressed into Ty’s chest. “A tiger kiss.” He shivered, lips parting. Ty glanced in my direction, and I gave him a nod.
“I’m going to turn the bed down, then I’ll come back for my kiss.” I left them long enough to share a long kiss before returning. Ty turned the omega into my arms, but before I kissed Penn, I reached for our tiger and brushed his lips with mine. “More later.” Much more.
The omega’s lips were warm and soft, his mouth opening to allow my tongue admittance. I found his and stroked it with mine. The three of us were still close enough to touch one another, and the kisses went around and around until holding onto my mates was the only thing keeping me standing up.
Finally, we broke apart, panting, and Ty said, “Here we are like adolescents making out when we could be naked in bed together doing grown-up things.”
It wasn’t that funny, but we all laughed. Inside jokes—wasn’t that what mates shared? And we already had one. The future looked awfully bright from where I stood. But leading my mates to my bedroom? That was a whole other level.
I’d left the bedside lamp on, the covers turned back to expose the cream-colored sheets and fluffy down pillows.
Ty and I turned to undressing our omega, kissing his skin as we revealed it, and each other when we ran into one another on our exploration. Penn’s body was lithe, with the lean musculature of his beast, and his pulse raced when I kissed his wrist.
“You’re sure, omega?” I asked. “You don’t want more time?”
