Her eyebrows rose. She hadn’t expected that. “Yeah, um, sure. We can hang out.” Then she was quick to add. “In public, and I’ll meet you there.”
The fur she’d been petting turned to smooth skin over muscles. She dropped her gaze to find that Titan had shifted again and was now lying naked between her and Arthur. Her hand was on his sternum and Arthur was in the middle of scratching gently over Titan’s left nipple. Both of them snatched their hands back.
“You’ll go on dates with us!” Titan said with a little cheer. Sitting up, he wrapped an arm around each of them and pulled them close in a strong but gentle hug. “Let’s start tonight! Book Club is happening at the Dapper Dog. There’ll be plenty ofhuman mates there that Beatrix can chat with. Maddy and Cora will probably be there. Briar said she might not make it.”
“I can only hope. Lilith help me if she talks to Briar,” Arthur grumbled, making Titan chuckle and Beatrix curious.
“Is Briar your ex?” she asked, working hard to keep jealousy from overwhelming her.
For some reason, that made Titan let go of them to roar with laughter.
“Absolutely not,” Arthur said, sounding even more annoyed. Beatrix couldn’t wait to find out why he had a grudge against this Briar person!
It was bizarre that she was more curious about how Briar had irritated Arthur than she was about being in a room full of people and concerned that any of them might be another vampire.
It was a strange new world for her!
Chapter Five
Beatrix
Looking at her cell again, Beatrix let out an annoyed breath. Only a minute had gone by since the last time she checked.
She’d been dressed and ready to go for almost an hour. Yeah, she knew when Titan and Arthur were picking her up, but she couldn’t stop herself from getting ready early.
Despite telling them that she’d meet them at the Dapper Dog that night, Beatrix wasn’t able to hold strong against Titan begging to pick her up. Especially after he’d had to drive her home because her car was still downtown. She could’ve used a ride share app, but getting to spend a little more time with one of the guys had been too much of a temptation.
If she was honest, she was desperate to be with them again.
The moment she’d shut her apartment door on Titan’s face, she’d wanted to fling it back open. Something deep inside her felt abandoned, even though she was the one who insisted on being left alone.
Despite having plenty of activities to do on a sunny Southern California day, she’d stayed home. She kept busy doing laundryand cleaning, but nothing had calmed the anxiety of being away from them.
She’d almost called Titan or Arthur so many times. It was only pride that kept her from doing it.
Thinking about them made her check her phone. Only another few minutes had passed.
What was wrong with her? She was never like this!
Except this was the first time she was going on a date with a vampire and a wolf shifter who were her fated mates. Maybe a little anxiety was called for.
A polite knock at her door made her jump and almost drop her phone. Irritated that someone was interrupting her meltdown, she stomped to the door. Flinging it open with more violence than necessary, she was ready to snarl “no” at whoever dared to try and sell her something. She went still at the sight of Titan and Arthur.
She slumped against the doorjamb, all the tension leaving her body. “You’re here.”
Titan gave her a hopeful smile. “I know we’re early, but we were having a hard time waiting. We can come back if…” his words drifted off as she grabbed him and Arthur by the front of their shirts and pulled them into her apartment.
“I’m ready! Let me grab my purse and a sweater,” she said, shutting the door so they couldn’t leave without her. Even though her purse was on the coffee table behind them and her sweater on her bed, she didn’t go for either of them. She stood there staring at them as if it had been days instead of hours.
Standing slightly behind Arthur, Titan was wringing his fingers. “Today was the longest day of my life.”
“I missed you,” Arthur said, holding out a hand.
“Same,” Beatrix said, grabbing Arthur’s hand and letting him pull her into a hug. Titan was quick to step around so he could press his front against her back.
She let out a long sigh as something deep inside her loosened and relaxed. The tension building all day let go. The relief was so profound she felt unsteady.
They all huddled together for a few minutes before Beatrix lifted her face to Arthur. She didn’t need to ask, he simply knew. Their lips met and lust exploded through her.