“I’ll take your silence as a yes. I’ll be damned. Looks like you might get what you’ve wanted, baby.”
The surreal tenor of the conversation threw her for a loop. “How come you’re so casual about this? Hell, even so encouraging? Most guys would be… Jealous and freakn’.”
“And chance losing you? No thanks. I’m not blind or stupid. You’ve wanted Mitchell pretty much all your life. If I forced you to choose between us, there’s a possibility I wouldn’t win. Seems pretty dumb to act the part of jealous idiot, like a certain dog I know, given I know a three-way relationship can work. Just look at Naomi and her men. I don’t see why we can’t enjoy the same thing. Don’t get me wrong, a part of me would love to strangle the dog and throw him off a cliff, but ultimately, it’s what you need that counts. I’m not saying we won’t have to make adjustments. But I’m willing. The bigger question is, can Mitchell cope?”
Remembering Mitchell’s rigid countenance, she sighed. “Not likely.”
“Don’t sound so negative, baby. Fate wouldn’t have picked us both if it didn’t think it would work. But I do think it will be easier if he’s already claimed you before I come back. Because no matter what he thinks or wants, I won’t go another day without making you mine.”
“You seem too sure I’m going to let you,” she teased even as she knew she would, probably the moment they tumbled naked into bed.
“You forget, I know your sweet spots.”
“I miss you,” she whispered, just as Mitchell came back in the room holding two cans of pop.
“Me too, baby. Tell Mitchell to kiss you for me, and be prepared for the real thing sometime tomorrow. Dream of me.”
“Bye.” She hung up, sad and missing Alejandro, who, despite his short tenure in her life, left his mark.
Crouching at the side of the bed, Mitchell deposited the cans on the nightstand and peered at her. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. He’s almost caught the guy and should be back tomorrow.”
“That’s it?”
“Well, other than he misses me and wants to mark me, pretty much. Oh, he did also say to kiss me for him,” she said saucily.
“Usually, I’d tell the cat where he can shove his orders, but this is one time I think I should do as he says,” Mitchell murmured. He tilted her face for a kiss, but she put a hand up and held him off.
“Are you sure you want to do this? He’s going to mark me when he gets back.”
“And?”
She growled. “Fine. Make me say it. What are your intentions toward me, Mitchell?”
“Can’t we just kiss?”
“And you talk about Jag being the seducer. At least he’s offering me a future.”
Clambering onto the bed first, nudging her in the process, Mitchell rolled onto his back and laced his hand behind his head. Then he let out a big sigh. “My intentions? Honestly? I don’t know, Red. A part of me wants you so fucking bad, it hurts.”
“So jerk one off in the shower.”
He tossed a glare her way. She grinned. “Not just that kind of pain, smart ass,” he grumbled. “And for your information I have, numerous times and it’s not working.”
“Oh.” She almost gulped at his roundabout admission that he cared. “So what’s the problem then?”
“You’re planning to let that cat mark you and become your mate.”
She wouldn’t lie, not for something this important. “Yes, I am. It doesn’t mean I don’t want you too. I still want you as much as I ever did, Mitchell.”
Another loud sigh emerged from him, deflating him so that he slumped. “And I’m realizing more and more that I want you as well, even if parts of me are still reconciling the new sexy you with the little girl I used to know. But, that part is getting easier and easier. What I don’t know is if I can share. The idea of a threesome… If we’re being honest, then I have to admit, it kind of wigs me out.”
Great, Mitchell finally admitted to caring for her-and that he found her hot, which totally rocked-and she was chasing him away because she’d fallen in love with a second man. Why couldn’t her love life have stayed simple?
She placed her hand on his thigh. “Nobody’s saying if you both claim me that we need to have three-way sex. Some menages do, others don’t.”
“How the hell would you know about threesomes?”
A smile crossed her lips. “Naomi’s situation is not the first I’ve encountered. My aunt Belinda actually had three mates. My great grandma Josephine had a pair. You could say it kind of runs in the family. And while my mom used to cover my ears whenever my aunt decided to relate some particularly racy exploit, great grandma was very prim and proper despite her menage marriage. My great grandpas each had their own rooms and from what I understood, took turns. Heck, they even had a calendar with a schedule, which I’ll admit I didn’t clue in to for years.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“Maybe to some people, but it worked for them. And it could work for us. I would never make you do something you’re not comfortable with. If having you means only enjoying hot one-on-one sex with screaming orgasms, then I think I can manage.” She grinned at him. “Don’t you know? I’d do just about anything to have you as my mate?”
“Don’t remind me. I still shudder at the smell of watermelon bubblegum.”
She thumped a fist on thigh. “Jerk. Now is not the time to discuss how you crushed my childhood dreams.”
“And what are your adult ones?” he asked, grabbing her pummeling fist and enveloping it in his hand.
She stilled. “My fantasy, which I’ll admit has recently been upgraded, involves being mated to two wonderful, yet different men, who worship the ground I walk on, and do totally wicked things to my body.”
“What if I wanted to do nice things?”
“As long as you use your tongue and cock, I think I can manage.”
“Francine, that is vulgar.”
“Oh don’t be such a prude. Don’t forget, I used to spy on you when you were younger and you’ve said way worse than that.”
“You are so asking for a spanking,” he growled.
“Why Mitchell, I never knew you were into kink,” she replied, batting her eyes lashes.
He groaned and covered his face with his hands, muttering, “Why me?”
She giggled. “Oh admit it. Life with me would definitely never bore you.”
“No, but I can see sore knuckles and broken noses in my future if you insist on claiming that cat.”
“You’ll heal. Besides, think of the fun you’ll have when I kiss your booboo’s better.”
“You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
Tapping her chin, she pretended to think. “Yes, yes I do. But you,” she said, fixing him with a stare, “have every excuse not to.”
“Fine. Let’s say I, um, did claim you. And the seducer did too. You really think we could make it work?” he asked, skepticism in his tone. “I don’t know if I could keep myself from killing the cat if I saw him touching you.”
“Which is why we could do it just like my great grandma did. Okay, that sounds so wrong and is not the mental image I want right now.”
Mitchell chuckled. “What, you don’t like thinking of your great grandpa chasing your squealing great grandma around the kitchen while your other grandpa watches, waiting his turn?”
A moue of distaste crossed her face. “It excites me as much as I’m sure the thought of your father doing your mother on the dining room table does.”
“They’ve never done that,” he adamantly replied.
She arched a brow. “Oh really? Tell that to the ass marks Naomi had to polish off the surface wearing rubber gloves.”
He blanched and she grinned triumphantly.
“Can we change the subject?”
“Sure. I believe we were talking about coming up with a schedule so that I could have both you and Alejandro
