Ezra makes his way around the couch and sits by my feet, leaning his head back into my lap, and I take the opportunity to run my fingers through his soft hair. “That feels nice,” he murmurs as I massage his scalp. He closes his eyes and I swear if he was a cat he’d be purring.
“Rough night?” I ask, and he nods before yawning.
“We are short men because I sent some to watch Jackson’s and Andrei’s packs. It’s manageable though, they are okay with running double shifts,” he pauses, twisting to look at both of us. “What did you two get up to?”
“We just watched a movie, it ended as you arrived home. Did you have dinner while you were out?”
“Yes, Alex went and got burgers. Have you guys eaten yet?”
“Yeah, we had leftover lasagna, there is some left if you’re hungry,” I offer.
But he shakes his head. “No, I just want to go to bed.” He yawns for emphasis, and Mateo reaches above our heads on the armrest, grabbing the remote before turning the TV off. “You don’t have to go to bed because I am,” Ezra objects, but I hop up anyway.
It is late, nearly midnight and Ezra’s yawning is becoming contagious, I find myself yawning as I walk up the steps.
The moment my head hits the pillow, I fall asleep. I don’t know if it is Ezra’s exhaustion mixed with my own, or I am just that tired.
The next morning, I wake to a hand moving beneath my shirt, and sparks rushing over my skin as fingers graze the undersides of my breast. I roll over and into Ezra, and his lips capture mine.
“Morning,” he whispers between sweet kisses, moving between my legs and pressing himself against me. I wrap my legs around his waist, tugging him closer, wanting more of his warmth all over my body.
Ezra obliges by kissing my neck, his tongue dances over my mark, and he nibbles it while I moan beneath him, writhing against him as the bond intensifies my desire. His hand crawls up my shirt again, and he squeezes my breast before rolling my nipple between his fingers.
I shiver and grab at his pants, eager to be fully woken up. I so wouldn’t mind this being our daily routine. He grabs my hand as I struggle with the buttons and pins my wrist above my head, trapping me beneath him. “Some of us have work to do,” he scolds before nipping at the tip of my nose.
He couldn’t have shocked me more if he’d poured a bucket of ice on my head. “But! You’re the one that woke me up,” I whine, as he continues to torment me with his free hand.
He kisses the side of my neck. “I want you to miss me while I’m gone,” he whispers into my ear, letting his hand slide from my nipple all the way to my panties, slipping inside stealthily, before dragging his skilled fingers through my wetness. “And it looks like you’re going to miss me very much,” he chuckles.
I glare at him as his soft, teasing touch threatens to undo me. “You can’t just wake me up like that and then ditch me,” I growl, turning my head to the side, biting his arm holding me. “Jerk,” I growl.
He laughs at me and shakes his head. “You know, you can always ask your other mate,” he suggests, tilting his head toward the bathroom. “The one in the shower.” He pulls his hand away from my pants and sucks on the tip. “He’d be more than willing to help you out with this little problem. I really do have to go, but I’m serious, Kat, have fun with Mateo and stop pouting at me.”
“Where are you going?” I ask as he peels himself away.
Moving across the room to the walk-in closet, he finds a black shirt and jeans to wear. “To meet with someone. I will tell you more when I get back,” he promises, giving me an all-too-brief kiss.
He grabs his shoes, slipping them on while he sits on the edge of the bed. The shower cuts off, and Ezra gives the bathroom door a pointed look before it opens. Steam billows out the door before Mateo steps out with a towel hung low on his hips.
Mateo stands there watching us for a second, tilting his head to the side, “Everything okay?”
“Yep, just Kat has an itch that needs to be scratched,” Ezra suggests, with an uncharacteristic wiggle of his brows before getting up.
He pauses, and his eyes bleed black as Maddox takes control. He steps closer, gripping my chin and tilting it up until I meet his eyes. “Kitty, you need to mark him. Kora needs both her mates and I can’t mark him until you do,” Maddox purrs.
I bite my lip, glancing at Mateo. Was this really happening, or have I fallen into some sort of bizarre world? Wait. Something he said registers with me and my eyes snap back to his. “You want to mark him too?”
A slow smirk spreads across his lips. “Yes, he’s mine. Ezra has been fighting it and denying it, but for the last few days, we’ve experienced the tingles and his delectable scent wafting around us. He’s ours as much as you are. In any case, I won’t mark him until you do.
“Why?” I stammered out.
Maddox pauses, glancing over at the stunned, silent Mateo. His confusion throbs through the bond. “I’m not sure, I just feel you have to mark him first.”
Mateo finally finds his voice. “But–you’re straight?” his statement comes out in a confused yelp of a question.
Maddox smirks at him, his eyes flicker back to Ezra’s normal caramel-brown ones. He leans over and gives me a gentle kiss on my lips. “We’ll talk later, I’ll be back by lunch,” he promises, before rushing out the door and leaving us behind.
Mateo stares after him before turning back to me, giving me a silly grin. “You feel them too?”
I nod once to him, and his eyes flicker to that of Ares before going back to their normal color. Kora stirs within me, shocking me that I actually got a glimmer she is still with me. She doesn’t press forward, instead retreating again, making me wonder what is up with her.