Closing the door softly behind me so that she can shower, I head downstairs to the others, busy in the kitchen and arguing in hushed voices. “I’d have thought Kahl would’ve been back by now.”
Kaiden pulls something out of the fridge and passes it to Kinsley before turning around to cock a hip against the counter. “Lot of mess to deal with, beautiful. Police don’t fault Ren or Cai for killing those men, but that’s five bodies to dispose of and evidence to ensure is destroyed. Not to mention a few groups need to scout out the woods just to be safe that no others are hanging around that might strike back in retaliation, or call in reinforcements.”
Kinsley makes quick work on dinner, making it all appear so easy. “Add in the men ticked off we’re ‘hoarding all the women’, and protesting Faye staying here. Her actually being a dragon is a blessing and a curse on this one.”
My face scrunches up in confusion. “But what would it matter if she stayed here or Ezra’s since you already have a mate?”
The guys exchange a look that sets me on edge, my dragon unfurling and pacing, a low growl filling my ears that makes it hard to think. “What?”
Kinsley sheepishly looks away, scratching the back of his neck. “Since, um, we can’t exactly shift, a case could be made that we aren’t officially mated and won’t be unless that happens. It’s a load of bullshit. We don’t need anyone’s approval and we don’t need to sleep together to cement it, but from an outside perspective, a few men still think they have a chance.”
Grinding my teeth, I finish, “Which means they think you might break up your flight so you can have both of us.”
A stupid smirk twitches on Kaiden’s face. “You’re jealous?”
Flipping him off, I head to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. “I have a reason to be?” I counter, even though I know they wouldn’t do anything, just annoyed as problems keep stacking up.
“You’re pretty cute when you get all territorial,” he teases in lieu of denying it, which just has my scowl deepening.
“Kaiden suggested bringing her here, not you,”she hisses in my brain, practically gnawing on it in her hissy fit.
Don’t do that. Don’t try and twist things or get in my head.
“I am in your head.”
Fuck off, you know what I meant. They’re our mates and if they were going to try something with Faye, they aren’t the men we thought they were. Why the hell would we want to mate men we couldn’t trust or cheating ho-bags?
She doesn’t like it, but stops trying to plant seeds of doubt in my already agitated mind.
Kinsley wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me flush against him, kissing the side of my neck. Gently, he rakes his teeth over my throat, and I’m torn between wanting to hold onto my anger, and not wanting him to stop.
“You don’t have anything to worry about, gorgeous. You’re stuck with us,” he murmurs against my throat. “Love you far too much to bother wasting time humoring people that don’t matter.”
Groaning, I pull away. It’ll just end in leaving me sexually frustrated if we keep going and I don’t think I can balance that on top of my current issues too.
“I know.” Yet Kaiden is still smirking, and I just feel like getting a rise out of him to put us on even ground. “Bright side, if Faye decides to stick around and go out on any dates, I can go with her. Make sure I really explore all of my options, and all that jazz. Since we aren’t actually mated, you know.”
His eyes narrow instantly, voice promising murder. “Like hell you will.”
Pivoting in Kinsley’s grasp, I relax into his chest, engaging in a stare off with Kaiden. “And how do you plan to stop me?”
Uncrossing his arms, he stalks closer until he’s a hairsbreadth away, palming my cheeks to capture my face. Tilting my chin up to face him, he dips his head, kissing me softly. “By making sure you want to stay.”
My pulse flutters and the small amount of remaining anger I was holding onto disappears in a puff of smoke. “I may love you enough to want you all to be happy, but I’m selfish enough to want that to be with me.”
Kinsley’s hand slips beneath the hem of my shirt, skating across my lower stomach. “Perfect. We can all be selfish, terrible people together. I’m not as benevolent as Kaid; you try to leave, I’m throwing your ass over my shoulder and hauling you back home.”
Arching my back, I wrap a hand on the nape of Kinsley’s neck. Kaiden doesn’t release me, but he straightens up so that I can pull Kins down to awkwardly kiss his jaw.
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
The sound of keys jingling at the door gives Kahl away just before he sets foot into the house. Walking into the kitchen, he stops in his tracks, the warning look in his eye undermined by his twitching his lips.
“Am I interrupting?” Setting a couple of bags on the table, he walks over to steal a forkful of food from the stove.
“Just Saige deciding she was going to take a few guys out for a test drive before deciding if she actually wanted to be stuck with us,” Kinsley tosses out there easily, making Kahl choke.
Batting his brothers away, he grips my hips, easily lifting me up onto the counter. Standing between my legs, his fingers dig into my hips as he glares down at me.
