“I’ll try to remember not to shout out,” Taggart aimed at Arlo, who hadn’t moved and continued to wear a perplexed expression that hurt Taggart’s tummy.
“It’s not your fault you’ve lived alone for a long time?” Taggart nodded; he had. “It’s just going to take a little bit to adjust to each other.” Then Arlo came over to Taggart and cupped his cheeks, holding his stare. “But less shouting might be better for Daddy’s heart, okay?”
Taggart nodded as much as the hands would allow, then Arlo kissed him hard on the mouth. The kiss was possessive and hot, making Taggart’s other head take notice when Soren fidgeted on his lap and groaned. Next thing, Soren’s mouth was next to theirs, and he nibbled at the corners of Taggart and Arlo’s lips.
The kiss turned sloppy as tongues tangled and mouths sought to include each other. It was the hottest kiss Taggart had ever experienced. Soren ground his ass against Taggart, and he reached his hand between Soren’s legs, a little disappointed when he didn’t get to touch skin.
When Arlo finally eased back, Taggart was so aroused he begged, “Just one more kiss, Daddy, I’m so close.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “I know, but you haven’t eaten since breakfast, and you were up early too. We can eat what Soren has cooked, have a shower, then if you’re still in the mood, we’ll have a snuggle pile in bed.”
Taggart was up, clutching a giggling Soren to his chest. “Let’s eat.”
Chapter Eight
Soren
His heart still hammered, though he did his best not to show it. His tummy hurt a little too, after the shout that had immediately sent him rushing to help in any way he could. He was glad it wasn’t needed. In hindsight, he didn’t know what he’d expected to do with that wooden spoon, the only thing that he was certain of was that he would never run away when anyone he loved was in danger again.
“I made spaghetti and meatballs with cucumber and tomato salad, garlic bread and chocolate chip cookies,” Soren muttered as he finally slid out of Taggart’s arms, but took his hand so they could walk to the kitchen together.
“You’re trembling,” Taggart said, tugging him closer and wrapping an arm around him as they headed up the hall, unaware his skin was cool from sitting naked in his office.
“Birds fly away when it gets noisy,” Soren admitted, letting out a long breath as they reached the kitchen. “That or we get very silent and hold as still as we are able until all the loud noises fade away.”
“But you didn’t,” Taggart pointed out. “You ran to me.”
“I know,” Soren said, smiling at the pride he felt at being able to fight his instincts. “Go ahead and sit down, everything is already on the table, I just need to finish stirring the lemonade.”
Taggart gave him one last squeeze before he did as he was told and took his place at the table while Soren put the wooden spoon in the sink and retrieved a fresh one from the drawer to finish stirring the iced tea with. Filling tall glasses with the cold mixture, he placed them on the table, along with a coffee for Arlington, who smiled gratefully.
“Do you prefer it with every meal?” Soren asked.
“Most days, though, I enjoy the occasional beer or hard cider with supper, but not while working,” Arlo admitted, offering information Soren stored away.
“I’ll remember that.”
“I know you will.”
Now that everything was on the table, including the homemade ranch vinaigrette he’d made for the vegetables, he could sit down with his mates and enjoy the meal, only the moment he took his seat, Arlington covered Soren’s hand with his much larger one.
“Something is on your mind, little bird.” Arlington didn’t poke at his mind, but he sensed him there, a reassurance.
Nodding, Soren swirled spaghetti around his fork while he tried to decide what to share and how much to hold back from the mate’s. He was worried they would think less of him once they’d learned what he’d done while his flock was in danger.
“I-I just,” Soren began, his trembling fork giving away the nervousness he felt. “If Taggart had really been in danger, a wooden spoon wouldn’t have been much help. I don’t know how to defend myself or anyone else.”
“It’s my job to defend,” Arlo declared gently, but with enough force for Soren to know he meant it. “And yours and Taggart’s is to stay safe until I can get to you. But, I recognize that a time might come when I’m not close enough to help, so I will teach you both some basic self-defense strategies so you’ll be able to free yourselves if someone ever grabs you and attempts to drag you off somewhere that you don’t want to go.”
“T-that’s what happened to some of the rhinos in the crash where I used to live,” Soren admitted. “They were there, then gone. We started paying attention to who was coming and going from our lands, and noticed that there were shifters coming who didn’t belong. We couldn’t fight them, but we could watch and warn the rhinos who’d always protected and cared for us. It kept us safe for a little while until they brought in bigger birds. The owls hunted us in the trees where we spied from. They located our home, which had only ever been visible from the air, and they came for us and the rhinos and the small herd of giraffes that shared the territory. A few of the fastest, strongest giraffes were able to fight and flee, but the oldest and the young they killed or captured them, along with the rhinos, because the owls weren’t alone. There was something terrifying with them, utterly terrifying.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say more with the awfulness of the memory of the smell and the flames. He’d tried, but he couldn’t pretend it was a figment of his imagination. Though if he voiced what he’d seen aloud, he feared his mates wouldn’t believe him.
Arlo and Taggart had stopped eating, while Soren ducked his head, sorry that he’d shared so much and ruined the meal for them when he sensed their sadness.
“How’d you get away?” Taggart asked as he reached to tip Soren’s head up so he could gaze into his eyes.
His face wavered, and to his horror, Soren realized he was crying. Even after all these months, it was hard to look back on his last day at home and remember everything that had happened.
