Page 34 of Crushes and Confections

“Remind me why we didn’t lay them out in that cute little kitchen of hers and devour them whole?” My husband questioned with a groan.

“Because they need to know that we want them for more than that,” I reminded him. “It killed me to kiss them and then pull away, but I don’t want them to get the wrong idea.”

“What?” Vance questioned. “That we’re so desperate for them we want to rut them all day long? To feed them and take care of every little single thing they want? Because news flash, Adrien, that's exactly what we want, and they’ve given every indication they want that too. Trying to stay away from our mates is just torture.”

“If you had your way they’d already be moved in and she'd be pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen? No?”

Vance growled, his hand coming to rest against my thigh possessively. He pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, letting out a harsh breath before looking away.

“I don’t want to do it any longer,” he said in a low voice.

“Do what exactly?”

My heart beat faster at his tone, and I steeled myself for his next words.

“I don’t want to take the blockers. Not anymore, Adrien.”

I knew why he wanted to stop. I’d seen the way Claire had burrowed into our arms, her nose searching for our scent even if she wasn’t aware of it.

“C’est bon, mon chéri.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s fine. If you want to stop taking blockers, then I support that decision,” I said, making sure not to lose the car in front of us.

The four of us were headed out on a secret date. Of course, the pair refused to tell us where just yet.

Unfortunately between my coupe, Riley’s single cab truck, and Claire’s tiny sedan, there was no way we could take one car comfortably. Something we’d need to rectify immediately.

We’d need a car that would fit the whole pack. It was a dream that seemed obtainable now, and I couldn’t deny the trajectory of where things were headed, especially now that they’d agreed to the courting.

“Adrien?”

“Quoi?”

“I asked if you were going to stop as well?”

I shook my head, my grip tightening on the steering wheel just as a call came through overhead. It was a French phone number, a country code I knew by heart, and I quickly declined it.

“I’m not going to stop taking the blockers, not now,” I said, answering his question.

Vance was quiet for a moment, and I could almost hear the questions on his lips, my inquisitive husband always wanting to know more. It was one of the things I loved best about him, and it helped him create the numerous fantasy worlds he wrote.

“I think you should consider it, but it’s your decision to make,” he said lightly.

I reached for his hand resting on my thigh. “You’re a good partner, mon chéri, better than I deserve most days.”

I knew the words he didn’t say, that if they agreed to courting, then they’d need to mark our scents to seal the deal, mine included. But it was my scent that had cast us out last time, the final straw for my family before they all but disowned me.

“You should give yourself more credit, Ady. You’ve given up everything and still managed to give us everything.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” I said. Vance was modest about his accomplishments, even if he’d been featured on several prominent lists and helped finance our life just as much as I had.

“And that won’t change, even if we let our walls down,” he said, turning to face me in the confines of the car. “Who called?”

“Luc.”

“And why is Luc calling? I thought we settled all of the paperwork while we were still in France?”

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