Page 29

Simone frowns, and for a moment, I think she doesn’t like what I’ve said. Then her tears start to rim her eyes, and I think I’ve really, really messed up. She turns to face Rallan again, and this time, he speaks.

“Is it really so hard for you to believe that we would be honored to be yours even if we could not have all of you?” He reaches up to cup Simone’s cheek, wiping away a single tear before it can fall. “He has never been without you, even if you thought you were without him.”

“And you’re just okay with that?” Simone asks Rallan, not turning to face me. It’s okay. She’s still trying to figure out how she feels about misunderstanding what I meant when I said I wanted her to be happy.

“Am I okay with sharing you?” Rallan tilts his head to the side. His eyes drift over to me and crinkle in the corners. “I have neverbeen a male who was frightened of sharing a female. It helps that Vex is so terrible at wooing you. It allows me to prove I am the better of your mates.”

“Not even mated to her,” I mumble under my breath, loud enough for both of them to hear. Rallan’s eyes flare with the challenge in my words, and Simone turns to face me with her lips slightly parted. “What? It’s true.”

“Vex,” Simone starts to chastise me, but I take a page from Rallan’s book. I crawl closer to her, cupping her face between my hands and taking her lips in mine until her eyes grow hazy in lust again.

“Say my name again, mate,” I growl against her mouth.

I hope she’ll take me up on it so I can pleasure her out here in front of Rallan again and prove to him that only one of Simone’s mates has claimed her in all ways. I’m a jealous and petty male. I can’t help it. I’ve never had to share like this, and after having Simone all to myself for two years, I’m still getting used to the idea.

“Not yet,” Rallan interrupts my progress with Simone by wrapping an arm around her chest and tugging her closer to him. “We still need to see if you will kill me if I touch her.”

“It can wait,” I snap at him, not wanting to waste this moment with Simone now that some of the distance between us is closing. “I want her.”

“Do you want to make love to him right now?” Rallan asks Simone. She licks at her lips, her eyes telling me she does, but she seems to think better of it and shakes her head. Rallan gives me a knowing look like he knows she’s lying to us. “Well, you will have to attempt to seduce her another time. Now, it is my turn.”

I grumble under my breath how this is all bullshit, and I don’t miss the way Simone smiles at me. She might not have forgiven me just yet, but she’s closer to giving me a second chance now than she’s been since she was dropped off on this planet. I hateto admit it, but Rallan’s helped a lot in getting her to trust me. Now, I have to trust that he knows what he’s doing when it comes to pushing me.

Rallan stands from the blanket, offering his hand to Simone.

“I think we should take a bath,” he says. He gives me a wicked smile before tugging Simone close to his body. I don’t get a chance to object before they’re moving, causing my jealousy to bubble up inside of me.

13

Rallan

Iam the best mate that any female could ask for and the best male to share a mate with, considering I have made all of this happen. Simone, who has been ignoring Vex and me because she is scared of him hurting her again, has now kissed me and found release using Vex’s body. Sure, he was mad when I brought Simone to our meeting spot late, but even he cannot deny that I did it to make us all grow closer to one another.

“I think we should take a bath,” I tell Simone, offering her my hand to help her to her feet.

Yes, the plan was to bring Simone out here to eat and talk, but my plan was to get her to admit she has a want for Vex and me as her mates and to get her naked. I have succeeded in the first part of my plan, and now it is time for the second.

Simone looks longingly at the water and then over to Vex and me. I can see her thoughts moving in her head. She thinks that she needs to be strong now, but what she really needs is totrust in her mates to keep her safe. We have both saved her life. Keeping her safe now is easy.

She struggles with the fact that she does not want to rely on us in case we ever leave her, something I will never do. Vex has other things he needs to do, but that will not last forever. He will talk with Simone about them instead of just breaking her soul as he did before.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Simone responds to my question about bathing with an answer that even she does not believe.

“No, it is a wonderful idea,” I counter. I loosen the strings of my shorts as I move toward the water. I leave her to stand on the blanket while Vex works on making sure his skin is in the right places.

Today was the first time I saw what he really looks like for an extended amount of time. It is a strange look, but I am able to enjoy watching him bring Simone pleasure. I have no issue with sharing a mate, and Vex says that he does not, either. He is a filthy liar, but we will get him used to me touching his mate in the same ways he does.

“He’s right,” Vex says, his human skin now back in place. He bares his teeth as he agrees with me. A storm seems to cover his face as he thinks about what I am proposing.

“You’re joking.” Simone rolls her eyes. She crosses her arms under her breasts and lifts them in a way that she knows I like.

“Your mate struggles with me touching you and looking at you. Imagine how he will feel when I am to pleasure you. So, come get in this water with me so that I can show your mate just how good I can make you feel, and let’s see how angry we can make him, yes?”

I watch Vex as I speak, noticing how his hands flex and fist at his sides over and over. When Simone tilts her head to the side, like she’s debating taking me up on my offer, his lips pull backagain. He doesn’t reach for her, though. He doesn’t try to stop her when she takes a step toward me.

“You know he could probably kill you, right?” Simone asks as she drops her hands to her sides and plays with the hem of her shirt.

“If he did that, he would then have to deal with you all on his own,” I reply.