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Ash shook his head and sat down on the other side of the bed. “Whoever Ezra sends will probably move your stuff into the living room since it’s late enough and you need rest. They should be here soon.”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna meet anyone new right now.” I looked at the clothes, then at Zeke. “Are you sure?”

“What?”

“That you don’t mind me wearing your clothes?”

His face screwed up. “Mind it? You can use anything of mine you want or need.”

I rolled my lips inward and sat down on the bed to sort through the clothes.

I loved his straightforwardness.

He never shied away from saying things exactly as they were—unless he felt embarrassed. There wasn’t a hidden agenda behind sharing his things with me. He only wanted me to feel welcome in their home, and he’d gone out of his way to let me know they’d change anything I wanted.

Maybe all of this was temporary, but it felt good to know I still had choices. Cornaith may have forced me to come to Elyrdin, but I wasn’t a prisoner in their home, and Ash had made it clear when we bonded that I wasn’t obligated to mate with any of them.

“If you don’t like these, I can get you something else.”

“No, these are fine.” I lifted a navy T-shirt. “This works, but I’ll pass on the shorts or pants. I get too hot.”

Ash stood. “I’m going to get you a drink and a snack. I’ll be back.”

“I ate too much at the buffet already.”

“Teleportation takes a toll on the body—even on ours, so humor me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”

If I protested now, we’d be here all night.

It wasn’t that he’d force me to eat when he brought something back, but he’d make a valid argument because he cared about my health. I didn’t want him to feel like he’d pressured me into eating.

He brushed my cheek with his knuckles. “I can’t believe you’re real.” His voice softened. “My Nyrith.” He glanced at Zeke. “Our Nyrith. If she wants it.”

Zeke looked at the stack of clothes.

“You know it’s okay to want this,” Ash said, drawing Zeke’s attention back to him. “No one is against this.” He inclined his head, his tone firming. “No one.”

“Ash—”

“Just talk to her.” He smiled at me. “I love you.” He brushed a thumb over my cheek, then left us in awkward silence.

Ash knew how I felt about Zeke, and Zeke seemed happy about me being his mate, but his feelings for Cyn were stopping him from acting on whatever he might feel for me.

I still wasn’t sure. Zeke desired a mate, but was his attraction because of that, or because it was me?

“You should change so you can go to bed after you eat,” Zeke mumbled.

I stood, grabbing the T-shirt. “Will you still be here when I’m done?”

He looked up. “What? Yeah. I’m not going to leave you alone in a new place.”

I disappeared into the bathroom, changed out of the clothes I’d worn to dinner, and left them on the counter. I kept my panties on, but lost the bra. Zeke’s T-shirt was roomier than my sleep shirts, but it wasn’t as long because of my height. Holding the shirt down at the sides of my thighs, I stepped out of the bathroom.

“I moved the other clothes to the top of the dresser. If you want to wear anything, you can—” Zeke turned as I crossed the room toward the bed, his mouth dropping open. I crawled under the bedding, covering myself from the waist down.

I frowned. “Why’re you just standing there?”