Shit. My dick was bigger than Rob’s now.
“I think it never felt right with us because Samuel is our omega. You and me and him. Scent him. My dragon calls him mate just like he calls you. Actually, my dragon calls him omega.”
“You’ve never wanted to settle down before.” I couldn’t help it. My feelings were crushed. Rob had never said anything about mating, and then this guy comes along and he’s practically buying rings.
“It was off—you know this. But now, Samuel, I think he’s ours. Reach to your lion. Let him make the decision.”
I went into the bedroom. With the steam of the hot water in the shower, Samuel’s scent carried in the air. I leaned against the bathroom door and inhaled deeply, stepping aside so my lion could take over.
Two mates. Omega.
My lions was a beast of few words.
“Well?” Rob asked, suddenly next to me, stroking my back.
“You’re right. He’s ours. But it’s too soon. We just got him out. The gods only know what he’s been through.”
Rob nodded. “I know. We have to give him time. Can I stay here for a while? I don’t think my dragon would let me go back to the city if I tried.”
“Absolutely. You’ve always been welcome here. He can stay upstairs, the apartment above the garage. That way he will be near and still have some space to recover. Shit.”
“What?”
I almost roared at the sensations rolling through my body. “It feels like I need to grab him out of the shower and hold him, you and me. Nestle him between us so we can make sure he’s safe and warm. I haven’t even called his grandmother to tell her that he’s safe yet, and I want to keep him.”
“I know. We will work through this. Fuck. We have to. He’s ours. Finally, you and I feel right.”
Chapter Five
Rob
Everything was moving too fast. I had to be back in the city for a benefit the next day, and a board meeting the following one, a charity golf tournament on the weekend, but I wasn’t going any of those places. I hadn’t canceled them because we’d only been going driving distance on this mission and I thought I’d be back in plenty of time, but time had suddenly taken on new meaning.
Standing outside the shower, in a cloud of steam scented with my mate in the stall and the one standing in the doorway, I sent a text to my PA.
Out of town for the foreseeable future. Cancel all appointments until further notice.
Sasha’s warm breath on my ear told me he was reading over my shoulder. “You sure about that? I know you are a big important guy in your world.”
“No, my money is important. And they’ll all get that. They probably won’t even notice I’m not there.” I couldn’t help the bitterness in my voice. It would be nice to be appreciated for myself, to be welcomed into a group by people who didn’t have one hand out to shake mine, and the other for a check.
“I’m sure that’s not true.” As the shower turned off, he stepped back. Is that how it would be? No contact in front of the unicorn? “You’re a fun guy. At least, I always have a great time with you.”
“That’s because we share two hobbies.”
Sasha bumped my shoulder with his. “Taking out bad guys and what we’ll be doing later, as soon as we settle our guest in his place.”
“I have been thinking about that. Is it safe to have him out there alone? I mean…there are some pretty pissed off red dragons right now. And what about his grandmother?”
Sasha shook his head. “The apartment over the garage is alarmed at every window and door, as is the perimeter of the property. Very few people know where I live—nobody outside Haven, at least— and only you, I, and his grandmother know who made the snatch.”
“Okay, so what about her? We got so wrapped up in our other ‘hobby’ last night, we didn’t discuss things in the detail we normally do.”
Sasha handed a towel in to Samuel and turned a wicked grin on me. “We shouldn’t go so long between missions. Makes us greedy.”
I rolled my eyes. “His grandmother?”
“She’s at Malinda’s place for the duration. The wards are strongest there.”
“Maybe Samuel belongs there, too.” But my dragon roared in protest. Mate here. Omega mine.
“Let’s just get through tonight. I’m confident the apartment is a safe place for him, where he can have some peace without our lion and dragon goading us to do things he might not want to say no to.”
“Out of gratitude,” I mused. “I guess nothing’s perfect, but if you’re sure nobody can get on the property without our knowing…I guess that’s the best solution for the time being. Tomorrow, we can talk to him more, get a feel for the best thing to do. For all we know, he might have someone he’d rather be with.”
Sasha stepped out of the bathroom, pushing me ahead of him, and closed the door. “Privacy.”
“For him or us?”
He shrugged. “Think he’d like to eat again?”
“Since he ate everything we bought, I wouldn’t mind something. Let’s just make some soup and sandwiches, and bring him a tray once we’ve tucked him into bed. He for sure needs the rest.”
Fifteen minutes later, we’d done just that, taken our…no, not our, the unicorn to the apartment and settled him in the ancient feather bed, piled with quilts. We set the tray of food on his lap and stood back, watching him as if he might explode.
Samuel brushed a lock of damp hair back from his forehead and picked up his spoon. He glanced from one of us to the other. “Umm, I could have made you guys some dinner. I’m not that tired. Or at least eaten at the table.”
Sasha clicked on the bedside lamp and turned off the overhead. “If you’re up to it in the morning, we’ll all have breakfast at the table.”
“All right.” Samuel tucked his napkin into the white T-shirt from Sasha’s dresser, far too big for him but clean at least and soft. “Then you can tell me what my jobs are around here.” He looked anxious. “I mean, unless you just want me to leave then? I realize I’m not your responsibility.”
“It’s okay,” I hastened to say, smoothing the blankets over his feet. “For tonight, just relax and don’t worry about anything. Your safety is most important, and, once that’s established, you can make decisions about what you want to do with your life.”
“Yeah, I guess I do. I never thought further than freedom. Huh.” He spooned in soup, followed with a bite of sandwich, and, in a few minutes, had wiped of the last bit of tomato soup with the last crust of bread. His burp rattled the windows, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. “Excuse me.”
His expression of horror set me off, and I couldn’t hold in the laughter. All bundled in the bed, looking much younger than his age, which I knew to be twenty-six, he brought my—and my dragon’s—protective instincts to the forefront.
Sasha bent and dropped a kiss on his forehead before lifting the tray from his lap and heading for the door. “Rest, Samuel. There’s an intercom on the nightstand. If you need us, just press the button, and we’ll be here in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. Come on, Rob.”
I hesitated at the bedside, not wanting to leave. “Did you want me to stay, Samuel?” I stroked that lock of hair back, watching his eyelids flutter.
“You know,” he murmured, “I haven’t gotten to sleep in a bed of my own in so long, I don’t mind being alone. Do you mind?”
Hell yes, I minded. And the rumbling beast inside me minded more. If I let him, he’d spread his wings over the sleeping unicorn until morning. Mine. Ours.
Soon, I soothed. We cannot rush things. The very idea was almost too much to take in. I’d gone from an on-again off-again sex/friendship/job friendship with Sasha and a whole lot of loneliness in between to both these men right here with me. A potential future that woke my dragon from a drowse it had lapsed into lately, as had I. A stupor interrupted only by the missions we took on around the globe.
But I reached for the lamp to turn it off, and Samuel’s eyes snapped open. “Le
ave it on!” He caught himself. “I mean, please, leave it on.”
Of course, he wouldn’t want to be in the dark. What things had happened to him in the dark, in a place where he didn’t even have his own bed. Whose had he slept in? I stuffed those thoughts before I ended up singeing the place with fire breath. “Of course. You don’t need anything before we go? We’re going to leave the alarm on, but you can get out no problem in case of emergency. But, please, for the love of Pete, don’t go out unless the place is on fire or there’s a gas leak…and there’s no gas installed to this place. Got it?”
“I don’t need anything, and I got it.” He sighed. “Just so tired.”
As were we. I followed Sasha down the stairs, waited while he set the alarm, and across the yard to the cabin, my steps flagging in exhaustion. We’d gone to bed early the night before but hadn’t slept more than a few hours if that. Every time one of us drifted off, the other one got handsy. Or mouthy… By the time we made it into the loft bedroom, stripped, and fell into bed, I was certain we’d just pass out. After such a long day…
The warmth of the fire burning in the fireplace rose to make the loft even cozier than the living space below, and my eyelids were weighted as if by giant stones. I yawned, jaw creaking in protest, and curled onto my side. Sasha snuggled close, his cock nestled into my crack. And that was why, when Samuel came tiptoeing up the steps and crawled up the bed to get in between us, he found more than two men sleeping.
Chapter Six
Samuel
Malinda was in Haven. It had to be the same Malinda. Coincidences like that just didn’t happen, which meant either I had to get Bart here or I had to chance that he’d find his way here alone and after he let his family down—once again, thanks to my fry pan to the head, they weren’t going to let him out of their sights too easily.
And then there was the issue of my freaking mates who were possibly my new owners—not that I was sure they had figured out the mate thing yet. They were both off-kilter, probably because they expected me to be helpless if they were on their way to rescue me. I was many things; helpless wasn’t one of them.
The second I scented them I knew they were mine, but it wasn’t like I could just say, “Hey, so thanks for rescuing me, and, for the record, I’m your fated mate, and, yeah, unicorns suck at scenting and all that jazz, but I’m pretty badass or will be if I can ever get rid of the binding spell they put me under. Oh, and, by the way, I’ve had sex and always because I needed it to save my sorry ass so the whole mating for fun thing is something I know jack spit about. Any more burgers?”
That would’ve gone over super well.
Not to mention that I was going to bring the down the wrath of the Red Dragons upon this place. Probably not right away with the whole war thing going on, but they would be here. One thing the Red Dragons hate was feeling like their pride had been tarnished.
I rolled over in the bed. It was soft and warm and perfect which meant my body had not a clue what to do with it. I’d been sleeping on the floor for the past sixteenish years. My body require hardness, at least at the moment. I grabbed the blanket off the bed, curled up on the floor, and tried to get comfortable there, but the second I closed my eyes, five numbers kept flashing before me in succession over and over again.
That wouldn’t do. Throwing the blanket back on the bed, I rifled through the drawers until I was able to find a paper and a pen and wrote them down, guessing which one was first. I had a feeling order mattered.
I padded into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face, hoping to encourage my brain to work. It was late, and I needed to be sleeping, but the numbers wouldn’t leave me. That was when I caught a flicker in the mirror. A few seconds later, I discovered the source—the security device on the window. Of freaking course, it was the code to get out. But why? The guys were surely not going to hurt me. They might not have all the mate shit figured out, but they were protective.
No part of me told me they were in it for the money, which was good. Unless my grandmother had won the lottery since I left, she had nothing of value. I remember us sharing a cup as a kid with her because it was the only one she had left and you just didn’t do that if you had any choice in the matter.
I headed to the door, slipping on my shoes and immediately feeling the wrong of it. This was insanity. I needed to not be directed every step of my life by the powers seeping out of my bonding. Maybe that Malinda witch could help me figure that all out. Or my grandmother for that matter.
I kicked the shoes off and tiptoed down the stairs, entering the code and making my way into the main house. It was quiet. Almost too quiet. Not that it set my nerves going. No, it also felt safe.
No. Not safe. My cock was hard as a rock.
Mates. Things were complicated enough without that bit, but, then again, maybe things were only worth it because of that bit. I had some serious thinking to do after things settled down—that was if we didn’t all end up ash thanks to the Red Dragons we’d pissed off.
I headed to the bedroom, assuming they would both be in there, and each step I took felt better and better. My damn unicorn was pulling this crap to get me close to my mates. Here I’d been trying to figure out a mystery code and such when the entire time it was my unicorn being a pesky bastard. At least I now knew why. I was here to see my mates.
I turned the knob slowly, not wanting to wake them, and climbed under the bottom covers and up the bed. I knew they wouldn’t mind me here in the morning. Their animals would probably give them their best night’s sleep ever knowing I was there.
“What?” Sasha asked, his voice all sleepy.
“I didn’t say anything,” Rob answered, equally as out of it.
“It’s me.” I spoke, wondering how they could be such badasses and not know I was perched on the foot of their bed. Shit, they should at least have scented me. They had some serious work to do before the dragons came if this was how they rolled.
“What the fuck?” Rob snapped as he sat up and then immediately fell back on the bed.
“Ow.” Sasha bellowed. “Stay still.”
Holy shit. They were knotted. What was fucking sexier than that?
“Sorry.” I slid up the bed and beside Sasha, facing them both. “I didn’t think I’d find you guys like…this. I mean, you’re both alphas.”
“You’re point is invalid.” Rob just shook his head.
“Sorry.” I fell into my habit of looking down and decided that wasn’t the way to start things with these guys. Not at all. “I know jack shit about relationships.”
“How did you get down here?” Rob asked, his chin nestled over Sasha’s shoulder. He might be curious, but he wasn’t nervous. Interesting.
“I walked.” I shrugged before laying my hand on Sasha’s hip, unable to not be touching at least one of them. “How did you not know I was on your bed?”
“We were recovering from other things.” Sasha smirked, dried evidence of those other things on his chest.
“You mean orgasms.” I winked. I had serious shit to discuss with them, and here I was flirting like a freak. “You can say words in front of me. I’m sure I have seen far more and far worse than you have.”
Not that I was proud of any of it, but they probably should know that since their beasts had to be riding them hard to claim me.
“I should hope not.” Rob growled, and a flash of blood, so much blood, crossed my eyes, and I had to shake the vision off. The things he saw. He was right, my life wasn’t as bad as it was.
I looked to my hand, holding Sasha’s then back to Rob who took the hint and covered it with his.
“Same,” Sasha insisted, and I crossed my fingers I wouldn’t see what he’d been through, not yet anyway. I wasn’t sure I could handle it. “And we didn’t leave you the code.”
“Yeah. About that.” I’d have thought they would’ve pieced things together early on. I’d not hidden my gifts from them even if I hadn’t announced them per se. “Haven’t you figured things out yet?
”
“Things?” Sasha asked. “Like the thing between us?”
Ahh, so they did know I was their mate. They just weren’t sure how to handle it.
“You can say fated mates.” I smiled brightly as I said it. I never thought I’d be anything but a slave, and I went from that to having two fated mates—I’d seriously won the jackpot. That was if we all didn’t become ash. “We’re all grown-ups as is obvious from the way you have a knot in your ass.” Rob’s face turned a slight tinge of pink. Damn that was a good look on him. “I meant it should be obvious I know things. Not all things, but some things.”
I might not have been the best at explaining my gift or power or whatever it was. I needed it all free to figure that out.
“Like the code.” Sasha smiled as if he just got the correct answer in the spelling bee. I bit back a chuckle.
“Like the code and like knowing you were outside for me and like knowing Malinda is a witch.”
“Why are you here?” Rob slammed his mouth shut. I knew he meant in bed with them and not Haven in general, but both were interesting questions.
“At first, I didn’t know, but as I got closer to the, I thought it was because you make me feel safe. Which I know sounds all kinds of weak, but let me put it out there—that’s not me. I’m a survivor and have been through shit people should not, but I am stronger for it, not weaker.” I was officially babbling. The exhaustion paired with the adrenalin crash paired with being enveloped by the scent of my mates was starting to lull me to sleep. Not all of me. My lower brain was ready to come out to play, but it wasn’t time for that.
“You said you thought before that that was why.” Rob was a detail man. Good to know. “What do you think now?”
“Now I think I have your undivided attention because you guys are not going to be able to move too much for the next few minutes.” Or maybe they already could, but Bart wouldn’t leave my consciousness so I had to deal with it before decent sleep could come, or any sleep for that matter. Being comfy and safe was one thing; giving up the last bit of control needed to sleep was another.
The Lion, the Dragon, and Their Unicorn Omega: An MM Mpreg Shifter Romance (The Unicorn Omegas Book 2) Page 3
