by Jana Leigh
Her mother came up to her and hugged her before whispering, “Every day of the week and twice on Sundays, darling. Now, be nice to your mates, I think we have tortured them enough.”
Rissa nodded, heard Simon make a noise of impatience, turned, looked at him, and then frowned.
Chapter Seven
Everyone was gone and they were left in the room alone. Simon struggled to think of what he wanted to say so he didn’t send his mate into a psychotic fury again; it was a crapshoot according to Kade and the others.
Phillip made it easy on him and stepped up. “Rissa, would you like to sit down and get more comfortable?”
She looked surprised at his politeness and Simon wanted to kick himself, he should have thought of that, but he wasn’t like that. His personality was hard and not necessarily the nicest in the world. Even before going undercover, he had been told he was an asshole by a lot of women. It shouldn’t affect him, but for some reason it did. He wanted his mate to lay with him. It had been a month, and he wanted her. However now they had Phillip, Simon wasn’t sure what that meant.
“Yes, thank you,” Rissa said softly and sat down.
“I am sorry we had to find each other like this,” Phillip began. “I always thought I would find my mate and we would be nice and happy. I grew up with three parents, so having another man is not a problem for me. I would like to say up front, not into men, other than feeling a brother-like bond with Simon.”
“Ditto,” Simon said, holding up his hands and Rissa laughed.
“Anyway, I know we are all new to each other, but the only way to get to know one another is to spend time together. Can we at least get you to promise not to make a decision until we have had a chance to hang out, and talk? Maybe spend alone time together,” Phillip said, wiggling his eyebrows and making Rissa giggle even more.
This explained a lot to her. Cherri explained to all of them when they asked about having two mates how she felt. Declan was more playful, while Nik was a bit harder. It seemed like this was going to be the way in this relationship too. Rissa felt attraction to both of them, intense unsatisfied attraction. However, she could see the differences in them also. Simon was way too serious, while Phillip was more playful. She knew they were going to try the patience of Simon.
“Fine, but I want your assurance that if I decide that we are not compatible, that's it,” Rissa said, knowing that it was a weak excuse, she knew one way or another these two men would be her mates.
Simon stepped up close to her and smiled at her, she felt like he was stalking her with the predatory way he was looking at her. Shit, she felt her panties get a little damp because of his gaze. It was hot and intense; his eyes changing colors to a deep golden brown as he approached. Then she felt Phillip alongside of her, the opposite side that Simon finally settled into.
“Sweetheart, we just want a chance, that is it. Can’t you feel it, the pull, the connection between the three of us, it is like a live wire,” Phillip whispered into her ear and she shivered.
“Shit,” she whispered and pulled back a little to give them distance. “You don’t even know my favorite food, or been introduced to Billy. I mean, how can we possibly mate unless Billy likes you, he could hate you, and then he would cry all the time.”
Rissa began pacing and worrying. Simon and Phillip looked at one another, shrugged, and then Simon pointed to Phillip and mouthed, ‘you ask her’.
“Sweetheart, who is this Billy? I thought you didn’t have a boyfriend or anything.” Phillip stepped in front of her so they would get her attention again.
She looked up at the two men with a confused look and then shook her head as if they were stupid. “Duh, Billy is my dog. I mean, you are part cat, and he is a bird, it’s like a huge doggie treat rolled into one.”
Simon stared at her open-mouthed and then began to laugh—Rissa looked at him and frowned, “Not funny.”
Phillip burst out laughing also and said, “Yeah, sweetheart, it kinda is.”
***
Two weeks they had been doing this dance, two weeks, and Simon was getting irritated. Oh, the meeting with the dog had gone off splendidly, much to Rissa’s dismay. In fact, the little dog was Simon and Phillip’s shadow most days, which pissed her off. At least it was a reason for her to have to stay in the same room with them so they could woo her.
That was her mother’s idea—a slow dating process, which was driving both of the men mad. They had bonded a lot over the last few weeks since all of them had moved into a suite, which Rissa insisted on staying in one bedroom and them in another until she was ready. The first night was a bit uncomfortable, considering there was only one bed in the main bedroom.
Phillip and Simon flipped for which side they would sleep and then made a barrier of pillows down the center that Rissa would one day occupy. It had better be soon, since both men now had constant hard-ons when they were in their mate's presence and it was getting damn uncomfortable.
Cold showers sucked and they were getting more and more grumpy when they had to take one three times a day. Rissa was oblivious to them it seemed. She ate with them, talked with them, and even went as far as pecking them on the cheek, but so far that was it. Nothing more, it was not fuckin' normal, a shifter who found their mates should be excited and turned on to see one another, their time apart would be agony for the first few months, but Rissa looked like she was cool as a cucumber.
Phillip found it easy to fall in love with Rissa. She was so happy and quirky. It made him laugh every time he thought about the snotty tricks she played on both men. One day, Simon came into the living area of their room and found an extremely sharp knife on the table with a bow on it and a nice note from Rissa. It said, “A present to help you plan your future kills.” Wow, had Simon been pissed at first and then they had a good laugh about it.
The next day, when Rissa didn’t receive the rise out of the men that she wanted, there was a cane with a bow for Phillip, telling him he would need it soon as his age was going to begin affecting things. Phillip had just laughed.
In turn, they began to leave little presents for her. She became easily frustrated when they were nice and sweet, flowers they picked out in the garden, and a plate of brownies she loved, and a new laptop computer to replace the outdated one she had. Each time she stomped her feet, glared at them, took the presents into her room, and slammed the door.
It was a long, seductive, crazy ass dance that they were all caught up in and the whole compound was witness to the show. Calli and Cherri found it humorous that their friend had held out for so long, and began to encourage her, much to the men’s dismay. They tried talking to their mates to get them to back off and received a laughing shake of the head and advice to ‘suck it up.’
The last incident had just happened and Phillip fell a little more in love with the woman as she had come to lunch with them and shared some more about herself. They were getting to know her in spite of her reluctance to tell them anything. Both men discovered that Rissa was a bit of an airhead genius. As she had gotten up and given them their peck on the cheek, she winked at one of the guys across the room and waved. Simon made the mistake of snarling and Rissa laughed and walked away.
Simon glared as she walked back out of the room with her little skip and grinned at both of them and waved. Damn it, he never thought he would fall in love with anyone, even his mate, he didn’t think he was capable. “How the fuck is she doing that? I was gonna start humping her leg when she was standing right next to me for a minute there.”
Phillip laughed. “I have no clue, but she is good. I gave her some flowers this morning—she just smiled happily, and smelled them. No other reaction at all.”
“Do you think she is even attracted to us? I can’t even smell her arousal when we are together,” Simon grumbled and pushed the food from his plate around. They were in the large dining area since that is where Rissa liked to eat at lunch. She had been busy planning the infiltration into the Prentiss Agency. Simon and she had
gone rounds on what exactly was going to happen with that.
“Man, I am getting desperate. What the hell are we gonna do? I don’t smell it either,” Phillip said miserably.
Kade, Declan, and Nik walked up to them and laughed.
“Seriously, you two are still doing the whole wooing thing.” Declan laughed.
“Fuck off, man. I swear she is immune to us,” Simon growled and looked at his friends and wondered if they were just going to have to have a guys’ night and get fucking drunk to take the edge off, maybe they would be able to help them with what they were doing wrong.
Kade laughed and slapped Phillip on the shoulder and said, “Man, it is, it's the oldest trick in the book, and your mate happens to have all the stuff. She is using hunter’s scent to throw you off. You won't be able to smell if she is aroused or even in the same room sometimes, depending on where she sprayed it. I swear, you two are so gullible, she is totally playing you.”
“You need to get this under control before she turns out to be the one who wears the pants in the family. Men, the time has come to go and claim your mate,” Nik said and pointed a finger in the direction their mate went.
“Gods damn it, that tricky bitch,” Simon said.
“Ya gotta love her,” Phillip laughed, clapped his hands, and rubbed them together.
“Like an annoying bug that flies around your head,” Simon snorted and then grinned. It had only been the two weeks, but he felt like he knew both of his mates a lifetime. Simon was surprised he could feel the connection with both of his mates. Phillip and he talked for hours about their lives, even what they want out of a relationship. They argued and compromised until they were both on the same page.
Rissa refused to talk to them about mating, she would just smile, turn her head, and change the subject. It was amazing the conversations they had because of the change of topics. Simon had to admit the last few weeks have been almost foreplay with their mate. She was smart, funny, a bit crazy, and a lot sexy. He wanted to strangle her half the time and the other half, kiss the breath right out of her.
“So she was messing with us, huh?” Phillip mused and looked at Simon.
“I think maybe we should flip the situation a little more in our favor, don’t you?” Simon said and Phillip nodded.
“Our little mate is in for a surprise tonight. We are gonna even up the playing field and our little mate is going to be mighty surprised when we call her bluff,” Phillip smirked and the men began to plan.
***
“Why me?” Rissa screamed into the pillow in Cherri’s rooms.
“Cause you have to be difficult. I mean, who else would have a million year old cat/dragon and a murdering eagle for mates, while they were a wolf? It is just weird,” Calli drawled.
“I know what are our kids gonna be like. I mean, a bird that barks and has a tail. What the hell am I gonna do, the poor things will get laughed out of school. It is like watching a film of the future, I can see the other kids surrounding mine and picking on them. Then because our children’s fathers would have taught them self-defense and stuff, they go all commando on the other normal children and maim at least one. Think of the phone calls and papers that will have to be filed,” Rissa cried into her pillow while Calli and Cherri stared at her incredulously.
“Are you fucking kidding me, that's what you are worried about?” Cherri laughed. “I thought it was a trust issue.”
Rissa looked up surprised and said, “What? Why would you think that?”
“Let’s see, possibly because you were standing on a landing of the castle yelling, ‘You’ll never take me alive,’ with just the thought of mating with Simon,” Calli drawled.
“Oh, well yeah, duh, that was before. I mean, we learned the truth, so now it’s about something else. Damn, I thought you were my best friends, how could you not know I would be stressing about this? I mean, when they shift, do I have to have a litter box and papers lining the apartment?” Rissa yelled.
“Get a grip, girl. We are all magical, our mates were chosen for a reason, get over it, and fuck them for goodness sake. Put them out of their misery. I mean, poor guys have been walking with a woody for like a week. Yesterday, Phillip excused himself and practically ran from the room when you bent over to pick up a pen that dropped,” Cherri said.
Rissa responded with a surprised look on her face and sat there for a minute. “Damn it, you're right, they are nice guys who were doing their job to protect us. Shit, I hate it when you're right. The only good part is I can stop spraying the stuff on me. Hunter's spray is a little sticky after a while. I think the bees were beginning to become interested,” Rissa said.
“So what are you gonna do?” Cherri said, pulling out a nail file and looked at her nails closely before she began to repair them.
Rissa shrugged and leaned back, she was wearing her normal, high top, multicolored tennis shoes, and baggy pants and t-shirt. Her hair was holding its multicolored spikes and so she was happy with the spell the witch gave her. All in all, she thought she looked pretty damn good. “Just go with the flow.”
Calli rolled her eyes and looked at Rissa. “Honey, I love you, but you look like a grownup stoner.”
“Hey!” Rissa said sitting up straight.
“Sister, we need a makeover. Call Kiki,” Cherri said and then Kiki appeared at the door.
“Hell, I am already here, if I wasn’t ease dropping, I figured you would never tell me anything,” Kiki said and snapped his fingers.
Calli laughed and motioned Kiki, Sabrina, and Trina into the room. Over the last few months the three of them had become extremely close, you rarely saw one without the other two. They reminded her of Cherri, Rissa and her, only a little stranger, because of course they were normal, fuck what everyone thought.
“Hey, we need a complete makeover for our girl,” Cherri announced, then stood, and picked up her communicator. “I will let the guys know they are having a nice dinner tonight and should dress accordingly, and also arrange for the food. Yes, Ris, it will be something other than a burger and fries.”
Rissa frowned and crossed her arms. “Why the hell do I have to change the way I look? I mean, they are my mates, shouldn’t they accept me for who I am?”
Calli rolled her eyes and walked over to her. She was dressed in her normal attire of a black tank top, black cargo pants, and a gun strapped to her hip. She could pull that look off better than anyone Rissa knew. After her mating, Calli’s muscles had become more defined and she was a complete badass.
Cherri, on the other hand, was more relaxed and able to focus on the medicine she needed to. She and her mates had been studying the serum that Simon escaped with. Her petite frame was more full and she was a lot faster than she had been. Her skills and speed made her seem even more intelligent.
Rissa was the one who was left behind, medium height, medium build, but a huge brain. She hoped when she mated that she would fill out. She had mad skills for fighting, but she needed them to be better if she was going to go into the Prentiss Agency. If something went wrong, she had to be able to defend herself. She could think fast on her feet, but she hoped to have a sharper sense of her surroundings.
Before that could happen she had to mate, she was ready. For weeks, she had waited to see what kind of men they were and each day she fell a little more in love with them. Simon was serious, and he needed someone to lighten him up. Rissa was just the woman to do that. Over the last few weeks, her antics had made him laugh and also scowl, but it was all good.
Phillip was more lighthearted and went with the flow. Although, she could tell the men were getting closer and they backed each other up a lot. It kinda pissed her off, but she knew this was what it was going to be like. Sighing, she looked up at Kiki who was staring at her.
“What?” Rissa said, shifting in her seat, feeling like a bug under the microscope.
“Well, where to begin, your hair looks like it was cut with a knife, and your clothes are atrocious. I mean, really girl, ho
w can you even think about seduction until you have the right attire?” Kiki laughed.
“Because I have a sexy walk,” Rissa laughed, stood, and swayed her hips as she moved across the floor. Calli and Cherri burst out laughing when Rissa swung around and had her lips pursed and cheeks sucked in like she was trying to look like a model. “Dahling, I need to be rid of this awful attire as soon as possible, and I need a mud bath and facial. Snap. Snap.”
The group laughed and then Cherri pulled out a bottle of wine and waved it in the air. “Girls afternoon, and Rissa is not allowed to get wasted, but we can.”
“Woo hoo,” Calli yelled and grabbed the glasses.
***
“Ahhh, come on big guy, let's have a nice spin around the dance floor,” Calli growled to her mate as he lifted her in a fireman's carry over his shoulder. “Shit, the world just turned upside down, this is, like, freaky.”
“Thanks for getting everyone drunk, Ris,” Kade drawled and smiled. “You do look amazing by the way.”
Rissa smiled and looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a very short, blue, shimmering, jersey dress with black leggings and three-inch heels. Her hair was now artfully done with hairspray and gel so it stood up, looking like she was a rock star. The tips were vibrant colors since Kiki had the witch come back in and spell it again. Her makeup was dark and sultry, basically, she looked like an expensive hooker, at least, that’s what the drunken Cherri said.
“Have a good night,” Nik teased and kissed her on the cheek before turning to Cherri and shaking his head in shame. “Woman, you are the worst drunk.”
“Huh, what?” Cherri said looking around.
Rissa laughed, took a deep breath, and walked to her rooms. Tonight was the night and she was more than ready this time.
Chapter Eight
