I tried again.
“Lately, I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night needing…things.” I ducked my head feeling ashamed and downright embarrassed at my confession. “But it’s something more than just physical. It's inside me, driving me to grab my keys and not take my foot off the gas until I’m where I need to be. Why can’t I control it? I mean, I’m broken right?”
His gaze wandered my face until understanding dawned. “So is it more than just wanting a late-night booty call with this mystery man?”
I burst out laughing, my whole body shaking with it, but as it subsided something occurred to me.
“Oh my God, that’s a disturbingly good way of putting it. Not that I’ve ever done that, but yes, it’s like suddenly someone else is in control of things—the way I feel, the way I’m acting.”
He nodded and schooled his features into a serious expression. “Then I’ll tell you the same thing my dad told me when I fell in love for the first time.”
Love? Curious, I nodded for him to continue. “What was this sage piece of wisdom?”
“It’s a perfectly natural thing to love another person. Just remember you have to love them for who they are and love yourself, too. It’s all a balance.” He crossed his arms over his chest looking lost in his own thoughts for a brief moment.
Will chuckled. “Come on, Clara. You look like I’ve given you the worst news of your life. Isn’t love natural? I remember you telling me when your brother found Trinity that you were a little jealous. So isn’t all this a good thing?”
I blew out a harsh breath. “If it was just me waking up and recognizing I’m in love, I’d be ecstatic. But I’m not sure if you could exactly call what’s been going on with me natural.”
He dipped his head toward his shoulder. “So, you’re having…unnatural urges?”
He was back to lascivious grins and waggling eyebrows.
I groaned and dropped my face into my hand. He thought he was joking, but he didn’t know the half of it.
“Clara?” The humor left Will’s tone, replaced by concern.
I raised my head and downed the last of my drink before I dropped the other bomb.
I gave him a brief rundown on Dyson and Eeli and my plan to help them heal and then paused before I admitted the thing that was really bothering me. “And the first time Dyson and I were alone together, I touched him and it was like…” I searched for a way to explain it. “Like I recognized him on a level I didn’t even know existed. And I knew without a doubt he was mine. I thought it was the men who were always possessive.”
“Okay. That’s kind of awesome.”
I offered him a weak smile. “You’d think so, right?”
He reached over and grabbed my hand. “I get that he and Eeli are all kinds of fucked up.” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “I can see how that could make things difficult, but maybe this is the key to helping them. Maybe your connection to Dyson will make it easier for you to get through to them.”
A small surge of hope speared through me. But then reality set in once again. “If that was the whole story, I’d think you were right.”
“What am I missing?”
I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and heat suffused my face. I waited a few beats, trying to find the courage to tell him the rest. “The thing is, during stage two of my plan, I decided to get Eeli alone.”
“And?” he asked when I left things there.
“Aaand…well, I sort of had the same feelings for Eeli.” As I spoke, my voice got softer and by the end of the sentence, I barely mumbled.
But Will didn’t miss a single mumbled word. “You have feelings for Eeli, too,” he all but yelled.
I yanked my hand from his and jumped up. “Geez, could you be any louder? I think the bartender might have missed that.” I plunked my glass on the table in the corner and started pacing back and forth. “Yes, I have feelings for Eeli, too. The same feelings. When I touched him, I swear the earth moved, all the things you expect to feel when you meet your soulmate—all that magical shit I mentioned earlier—yeah. All the same things I felt when I touched Dyson not only solidified inside me like a spell taking root. But the same desires and...and…energy or whatever happened the second my skin touched Eeli’s. Magic, only there’s no such thing as fucking magic. So you see, I’m a horny broken bitch who wants to screw two best friends.”
As I ran out of words, I stopped in front of the couch and flung myself back into the cushions, rested my head on the back and let my eyes drift closed. “Do you get it now?”
“Nope. You want more than to just screw them. You just said as much. You think they are both meant to be with you. Or the other way around. Whatever.”
“Have I completely shocked you?”
He laughed. “Babe, I stood under you and gave you a boost to climb back in your bedroom window when you were wearing that microscopic skirt. Nothing could shock me after that.”