Tonight, he couldn’t get his mind to settle. Both he and his lion were aching—for their mate, for their future together, but also for their father and Jonathon. How different the week would have been if either of them had been here.
Emory was so tired. He’d been carrying so much for so long. His mom saw it, his friends saw it, and it was obvious Cameron saw it, too. They’d come home to get ‘permission’ for mating, but Emory knew he didn’t need permission. What he needed was more time to dedicate to his mate. As he ran, his lion pushed memory after memory to him of every time they had leftCameron’s side the past few days, as well as every canceled plan, delayed text message, and missed call back in the city.
This had to stop, and Emory was the only one who could stop it.
By the eighth lap, Ronan began to slow, and he finally pulled to a stop in front of their discarded clothing, twitching an ear in inquiry.
Emory trotted over and shook out his mane, letting the rush of the run slowly ease out of his muscles. Ronan hopped over to him and stood on his hind legs, pressing his head against the bottom of Emory’s jaw. They nuzzled and took turns scenting each other before they shifted back.
“Things are going to change,” Emory said, as he yanked his clothes back on. Ronan watched him, his eyes knowing but forever patient. “I’m not entirely sure how, but I swear, I’m not going to let this happen again.”
Ronan nodded, as if it were somehow as simple as that.
“I haven’t run like that in a while,” Ronan said conversationally as they made their way back to the house. “Maybe we can go to the shifter park in town sometime.”
Emory cringed internally, but he squared his shoulders and realized that this, too, had to change. “We absolutely should, and we will. I promise.”
Again, all Ronan did was nod and wrap an arm around the middle of Emory’s back. As they climbed the stairs, Ronan leaned a little of his weight on Emory, and Emory took it, just enough to lighten his steps.
They found Cameron curled up on the couch, dressed in one of Emory’s undershirts and a pair of his boxers. He’d had to roll them up several times to make them fit, and they revealed his long, gorgeous legs.
Emory was sweaty, and he had no desire to embarrass either of the two men with an elaborate display of affection, but hislion was still front and center after the run, and he needed their mate. He walked across the room, telegraphing his intentions as he bent over and pressed a soft kiss to Cameron’s lips.
Cameron made a surprised noise in the back of his throat before reaching up and tangling his fingers in Emory’s hair. Their mouths slotted together effortlessly, and Emory did everything he could to pour his new conviction into the kiss.
“I call the bed!” Ronan shouted, bolting into the bedroom and slamming the door.
Emory choked on a laugh, and Cameron giggled before pulling him into another kiss. Emory pressed him into the couch and climbed on top of him, desperately needing more. More contact, more kisses, more of these tiny stolen moments he was frantically trying to build into a life together.
“Is everything okay?” Cameron asked several minutes later. His pupils were blown wide, and his breathing was labored, but there was a light in his eyes that hadn’t been there all week.
“Yes, honey, everything’s fine now,” he squeezed Cameron tightly and pressed a few more kisses to his lips, his cheeks, and his forehead.
“Should we go reclaim our bed?” Cameron asked, kissing the tip of Emory’s nose.
Emory liked that.Theirbed. He hoped that after this trip, a lot more things would become theirs...like his outrageously large apartment.
“Yes, let’s go make him so uncomfortable he gives up his claim,” Emory said with a playful growl.
They found Ronan in his rabbit form, stretched long across the top half of the bed. Cameron had walked in on him in his shifted form a few weeks back, and since then, he’d been much freer about shifting around Cameron. Ronan had always claimed smaller shifters needed to shift more often—something aboutanxious energy. Emory suspected that might just be a rabbit thing, but he never pushed the matter.
Unwilling to remove his adorable best friend fromtheirbed, Emory ruffled his ears and headed into the bathroom for a shower. He returned to find Ronan curled protectively against Cameron’s side. Ronan looked up when Emory walked in, but made no move to get up.
Emory climbed into bed, and the urge to shift was overwhelming, but he forced himself to lie down, curling around Cameron on the opposite side, so they had him surrounded.
Cameron was barely awake, but he lifted a hand to Ronan’s head and another to Emory’s cheek. Emory kissed his palm, and Ronan cuddled closer so he could lick Cameron’s face. Emory chuckled, shaking the bed as Cameron tried to roll away from Ronan, but he placed a paw on his chest, and Cameron settled back down.
Overcome with the utter rightness of the moment, Emory reached across Cameron to smooth his hand down Ronan’s silky back. They stayed like this, wrapped up in each other, until Cameron fell asleep. Emory kept his hand on Ronan until he felt his best friend’s breathing start to even out.
“I love you…both,” Emory said quietly, and Ronan huffed and flicked Emory with one of his ears.
The next morning, Ronan and Emory maintained a similar configuration, flanking Cameron on either side. While this had seemed to please Cameron the night before, this morning, it seemed like nothing could pull him out of his gloomy mood. He greeted Emory’s mother in the breakfast nook with lowered eyes and a quiet, “Good morning.”
As she turned to face Emory and Ronan, she didn’t have to say a word. She merely narrowed her eyes at them, and her maternal message was clear:Fix it.
“Hey Cameron, do you want to see my house? Before the aunts and uncles come over for the festivities?” Ronan asked, slinging an arm around his shoulders.
Cameron looked up at him with that sunray smile, but it dimmed as he turned to Emory and his mother. “I don’t want to leave you both to make all the preparations.”
