My smile grows bigger, and I pat his arm. “I know, T-man. I love being stuck with you, too.”
He rolls his eyes and looks away, but his lips twitch into the tiniest little pleased smile.
Now that I’ve calmed down, I turn to the one man who’s become suspiciously quiet. Rook has put some space between us. He’s leaning against the wall near the door, with his jaw clenched and his hands folded across his chest. When our eyes lock, I’m startled to see so much hurt reflecting back at me. My throat closes up, and I step toward him, arms outstretched. “Rook.”
“Why him?” he asks in a pain-filled plea.
I swallow a lump in my throat and shake my head. “I don’t know.”
Rook glares at me. “He’s a stranger, Nora. And you claimed him as a mate. You bonded with him. You haven’t even considered bonding with me.”
I suck in a soft breath and blink back tears. The devastation in his expression is ripping my heart to pieces. “Rook. You know I love you. What happened tonight doesn’t change that.”
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “It’s not enough, Nora. My wolf…he needs the bond. Especially with all the other men in your life. He won’t settle down without it. We need our mate.”
I grab his hands and squeeze them tight. I never want to see this much pain coming from him ever again. I’ve been nervous about allowing the wolf mate bond because I’m afraid that his wolf will get crazy possessive and not let me near the others. But I can’t stand hurting him. I’ll give him whatever he wants, if he’ll just stop looking so destroyed. “Is that something we can do? Even though I’m fey?”
Rook nods once. “It’s rare, but it’s been done before.”
“And what about now that I’ve been bonded to Charlie? You think it can still work? Could I be bonded to both of you?”
Rook’s eyes flash to mine, and then we both look to Terrance as if he’ll have the answer. Terrance shrugs again. “I’ve never heard of it being tried, but it might work. You can only ever have one fey mate bond, but shifter magic is different than fey magic.”
I look at Rook and voice my only hesitation. “If I bond with you, will your wolf have even more issues with the others?”
He glares at the ground and grinds his teeth. “If he does, I’ll deal with it.”
I cup his cheek and force him to look at me. “Then let’s try it.”
Rook stiffens. He tries to stamp down his hope, but he can’t. He wants this so badly it’s killing him. Not mating with me has been driving a wedge between him and his wolf. He needs this to be at peace again. The depth of his need is startling.
“Why didn’t you tell me how much you need this?” I ask. “You’ve never brought it up.”
He gulps, and his eyes fall shut again. He leans into my hand as if my touch is the only thing keeping him sane at the moment. “I didn’t want to push you. You kept saying I’m not your mate.”
Guilt nearly swallows me whole. I was only trying to keep his wolf in control. I never meant to suggest that I didn’t want him. I place both of my hands on his cheeks and lock my eyes on his. “I was confused because of my feelings for all of you. I never meant to reject you. But once you moved in and accepted me, harem and all, things changed. Of course you are my mate. You and your wolf are mine. And if he needs the bond, then let’s not wait another minute.”
Rook’s eyes begin to glow, and he growls before attacking my mouth with ferocity. The kiss is hard, punishing. I let him take what he needs, let him control the kiss. But I give back as much as I’m getting so that he knows how much I love him. He rakes his hands through my hair and pulls me flush against him. He squeezes me painfully tight, but it feels good. Reassuring. After realizing that I’d hurt him, I need this kiss as much as he does.
When he finally regains control of himself and breaks the kiss, he leans back without letting me go. For a moment we just hold each other, panting and trying to catch our breaths. “Not right now,” he murmurs. “Not here. Not in front of people. But soon.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his again. “Whenever you want. I’m not sure what it takes, but however it’s done, you just say the word, and we’ll do it.”
Rook searches my face for sincerity and nods. “Your next day off. We’ll check into a hotel for the night. I’ll take you someplace nice where we can be alone.”
I comb his hair away from his eyes and give him a soft smile. “That sounds nice.”
He kisses me again. “I love you, Nora.”
“I love you, too.”
Silence settles between us, and I finally remember that there are two other people in the room with us. Awkward. I turn around slowly, willing myself not to blush. Terrance is waiting patiently. He cocks a brow at Rook and me as if to ask, Are we done now? Drama over? It’s classic Terrance.
Charlie, on the other hand, is staring at us with something between a heated stare and a dopey smile. I’m not sure what to make of it. “You’re not some kind of creepy voyeur, are you?”
He grins wickedly. “I’m a cupid. I love love.”
I’ll take that as a yes on the watching fetish.
“I sense relationships.” He wags his finger between Rook and me. “Yours is strong. It’s not based on pure lust like most people’s. It’s real. Solid. It’s very refreshing. But I knew it would be. You’re a siren. I’m going to love being part of your harem and being around all of your relationships all the time.”
“Right.” I clear my throat, trying to break the awkwardness. “Um. About that…”
I walk over to the couch and throw myself down, sinking into it with exhaustion. I’m not physically tired, just mentally and emotionally drained. All three men watch me like they’re waiting for me to lose my shit again. I think I’d be freaking out a little more over this if I hadn’t just gone through something similar with Illren. I toss my next question out to all of them. “What are we supposed to do now? What all does the fey mate bond entail?”
Charlie braves joining me on the couch. Rook grumbles under his breath but makes no move toward Charlie. I can tell he’s trying his best to remain calm even though he feels anything but. It helps that Charlie doesn’t sit too close to me or try to touch me, either. I’m both surprised and grateful that he’s keeping a respectful distance. He angles his body toward me and flashes me his dimples. “Obviously we can feel each other’s emotions.”
He waits as if he wants confirmation that I feel his too, so I nod, and he smiles again. “We can also sense each other’s life force. If you concentrate on the bond, you’ll always be able to feel me. We’ll always be able to find one another as well.”
“That’s it?” I ask. “That doesn’t seem so scary.” Actually, as much as I get attacked or kidnapped, our bond might even come in handy. “I was imagining something like we’ll never be able to be out of each other’s presence.”
“It’s nothing as bad as that,” Terrance says.
Charlie nods. “We won’t have to be glued together or anything. It’s not like the bond works as some kind of love spell.” He gives me that playful smile and adds, “I’ll still have the pleasure of wooing you.”