by Tamsin Baker
A rumble filled the car, and she looked to Dylan with a gasp.
“Was that you growling?”
Dylan gave her a strained look, his face pulling down into a frown.
“Sorry, but this is just a shit situation.”
She shrugged, looking down and studying her nails for a moment. Time for a subject change I think.
“So … where are we going tonight?”
“Well…” Dylan gave her a gorgeous smile, and her own lips lifted up to mirror the expression. “I thought you’d like a nice dinner out. So, I’m wining and dining you, sweetheart.”
She laughed and felt her belly wobbling from it. She crossed her arms over her tummy, hoping the interior of the car was too dark for Dylan to have noticed. “Trying to get into my pants huh, big boy?”
“Always will, babe. Or under your skirt in this case.”
She giggled again and settled into her seat, loving how Dylan made her feel. They traveled for some time in comfortable silence, the city lights flying by as she relaxed her head against the head rest.
When the car began to slow, she started paying more attention. Dylan pulled up outside a restaurant Lacey didn’t recognize. Through the large front windows she could see tables set with crisp white linen and romantic looking candles in the center of each one.
She gasped and leaned forward in her seat. “Oh, I’m kind of excited now.” And really glad I dressed up as much as I did.
She hopped out of the car and heard Dylan mutter something about her making it hard for him to be a gentleman when she rushed all the damn time. With a wide grin, she joined Dylan on the sidewalk, where he tilted his elbow toward her as he bowed slightly. With giddy butterflies going berserk in her tummy, she wound her arm through his and allowed him to lead the way.
“Why, thank you, kind sir.”
She chuckled as they walked into the beautiful candlelit restaurant, where they were greeted with gentle music which completing the perfect atmosphere.
An elegant middle aged man in black dress pants and a white shirt with a black tie greeted them with old world manners that left Lacey feeling a little gobsmacked. She hadn’t realized men like this existed anymore! By the time she got over the shock, they’d been seated at a table near a large window that showed a stunning view over the Yarra River.
“Dylan, this is beautiful.”
His smile lit up the room and stole all her attention.
“It’s pretty cool, isn’t it? I’ve heard great things about the head chef, and I’m expecting great things from the food tonight.”
“Well, what do you recommend then?”
She picked up the leather-bound menu and let her eyes wander down the list. Nothing jumped out at her, and she went out so rarely, she wasn’t sure what to pick. She was more than happy for Dylan to take the lead with their food.
“Want me to order for you?”
She raised her eyebrows as she stared at his expectant face. Why not?
She placed the menu down and grinned over at him.
“Sure. You’re the expert. I’m not overly fond of fish, but other than that, do your worst.”
He clapped once and rubbed his hands together with a fiendish laugh.
“Brilliant.”
A waiter approached, and Dylan sat taller while he cleared his throat. She smiled with a chuckle as his excitement permeated the air around her.
Lacey stared across the room at the finely dressed ladies and gentlemen. A sigh escaped her throat when her gaze caught on a beautiful woman in red. She adored bright colors, but was too self-conscious of her size to risk wearing them. Dylan’s deep voice kept grabbing her attention, even though she was doing her best to block out what he was saying. She wanted to be surprised when her meal arrived.
Dylan slid his hand over hers, getting her full attention in a moment.
“Lacey, would you like a glass of wine?”
“Yes please. A sauvignon blanc if possible.”
The waiter bowed slightly before turning away, and Lacey reached for the bread roll on her plate and tore it in half. She lifted it to her lips, then put it down again. Was that bad etiquette? Who cares? She bit into the bread and chewed on the soft, fluffy appetizer. Bad luck if Dylan, or anyone else here, didn’t like it.
He grinned at her and quirked an eyebrow.
Butterflies wiggled through her belly as she swallowed and smiled back.
“So, what’s Ryan doing tonight?”
“Sitting in front of the TV grouching about missing out on having dinner with you, I suspect.”
Lacey’s heart clamped in her chest as Ryan’s face swam before her eyes. She’d deliberately left him out. Oh crap. It had never been her intention to hurt either of these sweet men. She’d just wanted to get to them better.
“That’s terrible. Should we call him and invite him to join us?”
“No. Don’t be ridiculous. It’s my night.”
Lacey opened her mouth to tell Dylan how selfish he was being, but then shut it again. Wasn’t this her idea? She’d asked them to split up to date her. She was the one who had convinced herself she’d need to choose between them. But did she … could she? They certainly seemed all for sharing her between them.
A wide grin spread over her face when the waiter arrived and served their wines with one hand behind his back and a flourish that was just perfect for a glitzy night out.
She lifted her glass and pushed down the rising quiver in her belly. She didn’t need to choose yet, and she wasn’t going to rush herself into a decision.
“To first dates?”
Dylan grinned and held up his own drink, filled with blood red wine.
“To forever.”
The vehemence in his voice made her throat sting and her eyes tingle. He was completely serious.
She blinked and leaned forward to clink their glasses together before raising it to her lips to take a drink. She barely withheld a groan as she swallowed the cool liquid down her throat. Fruity flavors and a crisp aftertaste had her rolling her tongue around her mouth to fully appreciate the taste…
A bowl was slid in front of her, and wafts of creamy cheese and apricot curled up her nostrils.
“I know you said no fish, so I assumed filo pastry wrapped around fried apricots and brie would work for you?”
Oh, hell yes.
Lacey picked up her fork and put her wine down.
“Absolutely.
****
Ryan never should have agreed to separate dates. They were two halves of a whole, and there was no way Lacey was having a good time with only one of them there. Dylan needed him to soften his edges. His twin had a nasty habit of just barging into a situation with no care or finesse, let alone any thought to how it could go wrong. Damn, but he hoped Lacey was still talking to them at the end of tonight.
He glanced at his watch again, nine-thirty. Surely they weren’t still at the restaurant? Or had Dylan broken through with Lacey and managed to get into her pants? He shook the thought from his mind, no way. His twin would have contacted him to get his ass to her house if he’d managed to seduce her into bed.
Well, if he knows what’s good for him, he would.
With a frustrated growl he scrubbed his hands over his face. No, he was right. His twin may be hotheaded, but when it came to their mate, he wouldn’t be selfish. At least this was the final time they’d have to do things separately. Tomorrow night ended this stupid “let me date you separately” thing. Damn, he hoped she wasn’t going to try to choose just one of them. How on earth would they get around that? Could he step aside to allow his twin happiness with their mate? Could Dylan?
No fucking way. I’d rather sit on a cactus.
With a groan he shook his head and headed to the fridge for a beer. Even if she did think she could choose between them, he and Dylan knew better. They’d grown up with it and had always prepared themselves for the reality that they would share a woman. And now they knew Lacey was their mate? None of them, leas
t of all Lacey, would feel complete without the other two. Grabbing the bottle opener, Ryan popped the top off and took a long drink. Cold hops slid down his throat, helping relieve some of the scratchy pain inside his chest.
Besides, they had plans for their little mate, plans that would cure her of ever wanting to be parted from either of them. Ryan hoped she wouldn’t need too long to agree to commit to them. He knew humans didn’t normally do things this fast, but now he’d found his mate, he didn’t want to be away from her side.
The sound of an engine coming up the drive had Ryan gunning for the front door. He stood on the front porch tapping his foot on the wooden deck while he waited for his twin who took his sweet time getting out of his car.
“What happened? How’d it go?”
The wide grin on his twin’s puss was a good sign things had gone well, and some of the tension leeched out of Ryan’s tight shoulders. He hoped Dylan hadn’t said something completely stupid and stuffed their chances up.
“Lacey is one of a kind, brother.”
Dylan was going to make him insane!
“I know that, but what happened?”
Dylan stepped closer, rolling his eyes as he practically swooned on the steps.
“And you should have seen the dress she was wearing tonight. Fucking hell, she is hot!”
Ryan clenched his hands into fists at his sides and resisted the urge to grab Dylan by the expensive shirt collar and haul him into the house.
“That she is, now stop fucking with me and tell me what happened!”
His twin had the gall to laugh.
“Ry, you are so easy to rile up some days. I didn’t fuck things up. We’re still on for tomorrow night. If the way she moaned while I had my tongue down her throat was any indication, she’s perfectly happy with how our date went.”
Some things would never change. Ryan shook his head on a sigh.
“Seriously, Dylan. Lacey is our mate, not some slutty hook up. Talk about her with some respect, would you?”
With another eye roll, Dylan stormed up the stairs and into the house. Ryan turned to follow him, sipping his beer as he walked behind him. Once his twin had taken a gulp of his own brew he caught Ryan’s gaze with a serious stare. Ryan didn’t like that look. Something had happened.
“You said you didn’t stuff things up, was that a lie?”
Dylan was crass and harsh, but he was always honest. He stared at his twin a little longer, tapping into his feelings and getting a wave of hot anger and unease. He shivered in response. This wasn’t good.
“No lie. We’re good. But Lacey’s in danger. When I got to her house, someone was watching nearby. She said she’d gotten the sense that someone was watching her, too. She tried to brush it off, saying it was just her ex and not to worry. We need to go out and find that bastard and take care of him. You know now he’s seen me with her he’ll be jealous as hell. Bastard will probably do something stupid now.”
Ryan forced his body to stay still. Fury and possessiveness were pushing him to shift and go to Lacey. His skin was tingling and his cheetah was emerging from his subconscious like a jack-in-the-box. Both of them wanted to make sure she was safe.
“Do we need to go now? Was he there when you got back?”
Dylan shook his head.
“No, I did a sweep before I left to make sure. No one was there. And her roommate has a bloody gun safe in the lounge room. The woman is a member of a gun club, and guess what Lacey’s planning to do with her day tomorrow?” Dylan smirked and took a drink before continuing. “She and Scarlet are having a nice relaxing day at home. Together.”
Ryan couldn’t stop the quirk at the edges of his lips as he imagined Lacey learning some self-defense techniques. “Okay, so that gives us some time to track this bastard down. Don’t suppose you got his name or any other details did you?”
His twin’s shoulders slumped. “Nope, all I have is his phone number from that first night. She’s never once called him by a real name.”
Ryan’s mind began racing through options. What was the fastest way for them to track him down?
“Don’t suppose you know if Eli’s on nightshift tonight?”
Dylan’s shoulder rose in a half shrug as he took another mouthful of his beer.
“Only one way to find out.”
Setting down to his own brew, Ryan pulled his mobile out and scrolled down to the number of the local police station. Eli was the eldest of the lion boys and the best of the lot. He’d gone out of his way to make sure that everyone knew he didn’t care about the whole lions vs. cheetahs rivalry. Ryan prayed that meant he’d help them out with protecting their mate. He also hoped like hell the man was working tonight and they could get on with the job of protecting Lacey.
Chapter Twelve
Lacey reached out and caught the bag of salt and vinegar chips Scarlet threw at her, laughing as her best friend jumped down onto the couch next to her.
“What movie did you pick?”
Lacey picked up two romantic comedies and showed them to Scarlet. She couldn’t decide and honestly didn’t really care. She just wanted to relax and not think about her stalker ex possibly watching her from outside the house.
“I don’t want anything heavy today. You pick.”
Scarlet looked between them for a minute then hopped up to put whichever one she’d chosen in the DVD player and grabbed the TV remote.
Lacey sighed and settled back into the comfortable old leather couch. She picked up her phone once again and pressed the screen so that it would light up. Nothing. It had been an hour since Ryan had messaged and nothing else yet? Her lips frowned in disappointment as heaviness set into her chest. She couldn’t believe she was so affected by these men. She shook her head and then laughed at herself.
Scarlet opened some drinks and laid them on the coffee table in front of them. They really were having a pig out today, and really, why not?
“What’s funny, Lace?”
Lacey tossed her phone onto a pillow further down the couch so she wouldn’t look at it again.
“I keep looking at my phone to see if Ryan has messaged. I’m being ridiculous.”
Scarlet shrugged and bit into a salt and vinegar chip. “You’re not. I’m glad you’re finally having some fun after all the stress your fuck-wit ex has put you through.”
Lacey shivered and looked away. She didn’t want to think about her ex. She’d been an idiot to date him in the first place, and now she was paying the price.
No… concentrate on the boys. Yes… Dylan and Ryan.
“Yeah, I agree. But it’s not necessarily just fun.”
“What? You haven’t fucked him yet?”
Lacey whacked her best friend in the arm and grabbed the bag of Maltesers out of her lap, stuffing two chocolate balls in her mouth to distract herself from the fire leaping across her cheeks.
Scarlet cocked an eyebrow at her. “What?”
She glared at her crass friend. Scarlet was the most indelicate person she knew.
“No, I haven’t slept with them yet. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Them? Who’s them? I thought his name was Ryan.”
Acid pooled in Lacey’s gut as she stared at her hands. She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Ah, I had a date with Dylan last night and Ryan the night before.”
“What? You’re dating two of them? Who’s Dylan and Ryan?”
Lacey forced herself to lift her head, despite the rawness in her throat and the tightness in her chest. She had to answer that question, and heaven help her if Scarlet was as horrified as Lacey expected her to be.
“They’re identical twins and they both want to date me, so I kinda am.”
Scarlet’s face lit up, and she let out a whoop of delight.
“Oh girl, that is awesome! You guys gonna do a threesome or what?”
Lacey buried her face in her hands at the sight of Scarlet’s huge grin and sparkling eyes. Trust her to confide in the only woman she knew who would see
the bright side of the situation.
She answered through her hands. “Yeah, something like that.”
“I’m jealous now … wow! That is super cool.”
Lacey exhaled and let her hands drop. She felt drained, and her muscles ached. She’d finally told someone about her weird conundrum, and Scarlet was totally for it. Of course Lacey hadn’t explained the whole cheetah thing, or the mate for life part, but Scarlet didn’t need to know everything.
“So when are you seeing them next?”
“Well, we’re meant to have a date tomorrow night but…”
“You want to see them tonight?”
Lacey swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah kinda.”
She missed them. Dylan’s heat, Ryan’s calm. Their beautiful faces and tender kisses. She let her shoulders slump.
“I’m pathetic.”
“No, you’re not. I need to run to the loo, so you go message them and set up a date for tonight and when I get back we can watch the movie and then pick out a super hot outfit for you.”
Lacey giggled, and then outright laughed, her heart lifting in hope that the relationship that was blossoming between her and the boys could actually continue.
“Okay.”
Scarlet jumped up and headed off to the toilet, and Lacey grabbed her phone just as a message came in from Dylan.
Had a great time last night. Miss you.
A squeal rose in her throat and she took a deep breath to calm her nerves down.
She was going to see them again soon! Yes!
She typed a message back.
I miss you too. Can we catch up tonight for a bit?
She held her phone to her chest and bit her lip. A ding sounded and she opened the message.
Absolutely. Wanna come to our place or can we drop in there?
She weighed her options. She had to work in the morning so going to their place would be silly, plus she wasn’t sure she wanted to head out alone tonight. She couldn’t put her finger on why not, but she just knew it was a bad idea.
Can you guys come here for a bit? I hope we still get to do our date tomorrow if I see you tonight.
She hoped it didn’t affect their final date. She wanted to see them tomorrow, too.
