“You’re dirty old men, the lot of you,” she mocked, but he knew she was laughing as she spoke.
“Maybe,” he confessed.“Just for you though.”
“I’m sure,” she retorted.“I bet your bedroom doors were revolving before I showed up.”
“I plead the fifth,” he retorted, then opened his eyes to stare square into hers.“That’s over now, El.You know that, right?”
Her hand hesitated in its stroking, but she nodded.“Y-Yeah, I do.I don’t know how, but I do.”
He relaxed into her touch once he realized she knew that the past was the past, and the future meant everything.“Marc and I have been together for forty years, Ryan’s been with us thirty.”
“So, Marc was eighty-ish when you met?”
He nodded.“Yeah.That’s a long time to be alone.It changed him.He’s very introspective.”
“I can see that.”She sighed.“It’s strange.When I’m with you all, there’s this kind of knot of anxiety deep inside me.It’s bizarre.It’s tight and won’t unravel.It has me on edge.And then, we talk, and you touch me, and I don’t freak.Little by little, peace overcomes me.I feel so at ease, you wouldn’t believe.Like I’m with people I’ve known a lifetime… and I don’t even feel that for my family.The only two people who I’ve ever responded to like this are Shawn and my granddad.My grandmother too, at times, but I don’t see her all that much anymore.”
“How come?”
She shrugged.“My father always keeps us apart.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”She let her nails scrape along his scalp and he shuddered in delight at the touch.“Anyway, my point was… you all make me feel this kind of serenity, but Marc?He really does.”
“He has a way about him,” Trip admitted.“Like I told you, people flock to him.”
“I can believe it.”She pursed her lips.“Where do we go from here, Trip?”
“We take everything a minute at a time,” he told her, utterly at ease with the notion.“We don’t have to rush into anything, El.We have all the time in the world.”
She let out a shaky breath.“Truly?”
“I promise.”He smiled at her.“This is for keeps, sweetheart.You have to know that.”
“It feels like that, but it’s hard to believe.All of this is.”
He squeezed her knee.“I know, but it will get easier with time.”
“If you say so,” she whispered, then let her hand hold the weight of his head as she bent down and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
He sighed at the touch.“Thank you for that.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” she said softly.“I wanted to do it.”
“That’s why I’m thanking you.”
Her lips twitched a little, then she asked, “I know you say we have all the time in the world but won’t your Pride want to meet me?Aren’t there formalities we have to address?”
“Yes,” he conceded, “but those can be handled without anything being rushed on our side.”He stared at her earnestly.“Don’t misunderstand me here, El.All three of us would claim you as soon as look at you.We’re all holding back because it’s more important to us that you know who and what you are… you’re not a quick roll in the hay.You’re everything.You can’t know that by being with us a day.This isn’t instant love, or even instant lust, even though I would love to pull you into the water and take you against the damn wall…” He grinned at her blush, but he saw the sparkle in her eyes and knew she liked what he had to say.“Our connection will deepen with time, and there’s no need to rush that to address the Pride’s needs.”
She sighed.“I still don’t understand how Ryan even recognized I was his mate.”
“Didn’t you feel it too?”
“I-I guess.He made me horny,” she admitted wryly.“Like, really horny.I’ve never felt that so quickly.”She bit her lip.“You’ve all made me feel that way.”
His nostrils flared at the scent of her arousal.“That’s good to know, sweetie,” he said gruffly, feeling her need down in his bones.“But what about more than that?A knowing?Did you have that?”
