Page 18 of Taming the Beasts

I shook my head. “I mean, yes, I’m good.” I’d tell Otto, Bennett, and Huxley about the cure first. Then catch Ace and Titan up when we got back. “Huxley’s right, it’s getting late.” I let my fingers fall from Otto’s and walked past the guys toward the front door.

I heard their hushed voices behind me.

I was probably worrying them. Or maybe they were worried about whatever ominous thing they felt with their sixth sense. But they had nothing to worry aboutright now. Callum wasn’t going to hurt them. And soon none of them would be able to hurt each other. I opened the door and stepped out into the chilly fall night.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Otto said and lifted me over his shoulder.

I squealed as my world turned upside down. “Put me down,” I said with a laugh.

“There’s my girl,” he said, but didn’t put me down. “I hate it when you’re not smiling.”

Well I was certainly smiling now.

“We’re not seriously going to walk down Main Street like this,” I asked as he walked us through the gate of their white picket fence.

“I don’t see why not.” He lightly slapped my ass so I slapped his too.

“How is this going to work?” I asked.

“I’m plenty strong enough to carry you the whole way.”

“That’s not what I’m asking.” I slapped his butt again. I lifted my head to see Bennett and Huxley smiling behind us. “How does it work when I’m with you guys in public?” I asked them. It seemed like a silly question, because everything was about to change. But I wanted to know. Would they be ashamed to all be dating me at once? Would we pretend I was just dating one of them?

“Put her down for a minute,” Bennett said.

Otto set me down on my feet and Bennett took my hand, pulling me close.

“How do you want it to work?” he asked.

I looked down at our intertwined fingers as we turned onto Main Street. He didn’t let go. And I had afeeling that if we were going to pretend I was just dating one of them, it was going to be him. That made sense. He was the one they all looked to for answers.

“I like dating all of you,” I said.

“And we like dating you.” He smiled down at me.

“I never saw you guys with anyone but Emma. And I actually only saw you with her.”

“We weren’t dating Emma.”

I looked up at him. “You were kind of dating Emma.”

He shook his head. “That wasn’t like this.” He squeezed my hand.

We walked past another couple on the sidewalk. I turned around and looked at Otto and Huxley. It just seemed like they were our friends and that Bennett and I were in a relationship.

“Is this what you want people to think?” I asked. “That I’m yours?”

“You are mine,” Bennett said.

The way he said it made my heartbeat quicken. “I’m all of yours.”

“You are,” he said.

“There’s rumors about me around town.” Emma had warned me. Bennett had confirmed it. All of it was ridiculous, but that’s what rumors were. “Are you worried about how that will affect your business?”

“We’re the only bank in town, Zoey.”

Fair.“So you’re not worried about what people will say if they knew I was dating all of you?”