Page 63 of Complete Me

That earns me a full grin, and his eyes sparkle with impish glee. “That so?”

“God, don’t tell him that. He’ll be insufferable.” Xander sighs dramatically and leans back in his seat. “We’ll have to tell him that all the time.”

I roll my eyes. “Nope. You can tell him. You’re the touchy feely one. I’m the calm, cool, and collected one.”

Xander shakes his head. “You mean the bossy one.”

Bjorn sits up and looks between us. “Wait, then what does that make me?” Xander and I exchange a look, both smirking, but we say nothing. “No, seriously.”

Xander grins into his wine. “Are you going to tell him, or shall I?” He takes a sip, watching me over the rim, his gaze turning flirtatious.

I’m not sure if it’s solely for the benefit of this little scene we’re playing for Bjorn’s siblings, but heat flows up my spine, and my body tingles as if it were intentional. “Please, be my guest.”

Xander winks at me and gives his attention to Bjorn. “You’re the sexy arm candy, sweetheart.”

Bjorn throws back his head and laughs. “Oh my god. That’s priceless.” He laughs again. “Tell you what. I’ll take that, as long as I’m your arm candy.” He grins at both of us.

Xander and I exchange another look, and at almost the same time, we both say, “Deal.”

Our banter has the desired effect, and the tension at the table is completely gone. Gunnar waves a hand at us. “Wait, wait, wait. You can’t be the bossy one.” He points at me. “That’s definitely Bjorn.”

“Not in this relationship.” Xander takes another sip of wine during the resulting dead silence. A moment later, the rest of the table erupts with questions.

Bjorn continues to eat his dinner, grinning at the chaos we’ve created. I lean close but don’t really have to keep my voice low. The din from the chatter is camouflage enough. “You’re enjoying this far too much for someone who was desperately avoiding the subject until ten minutes ago.”

“You two handled it beautifully, just like I knew you would.” His boyish grin is too damned enticing.

I lean my elbows on the table and hold his gaze. “You’ll pay for that later.”

He leans in, mirroring my pose, our faces only a few inches apart. “Oh, will I?”

“Definitely.”

I can feel Xander’s pout from across the table and turn that way. “Use your words, Kit.”

He harrumphs dramatically. “I feel left out way over here.”

Bjorn takes his hand and kisses his fingertips. “You’re always included, baby.”

I grin at him. “You can always help me make Bjorn pay later.”

I’m surprised when Xander shakes his head. “Unfortunately, I can’t. I have more tests to correct for tomorrow. I should have done them this weekend, but we had better things to do.”

So many better things. “Will you be upset if I stay?” After the scene in the kitchen tonight, and watching Bjorn struggling over the past several weeks with his looming post-police life, it’s clear that his stress levels are too high. It’s time we discuss alternate coping mechanisms. Not something to replace therapy, but to supplement it. However, the last thing I want is to upset Xander by staying without him. His tendency to feel left out could lead to jealousy, and I have no doubt there will be more than enough opportunities for that if we make this relationship work.

Xander considers my question. “Probably. A little. But it’s my choice to go, and I won’t be ridiculous and tell you it’s all of us or none of us.” He shrugs. “Will you at least miss me, please?”

Bjorn leans over and kisses him. “Every moment you aren’t here.”

That’s when I notice the table has gone silent. It takes about another fifteen seconds, but Bjorn and Xander catch on, too. We turn to find all six of them glancing between the three of us. Either by self-appointment or group nomination, Astrid takes the lead, locking eyes with Bjorn. “So, this is a permanent thing? Something serious? Like, a throuple?”

Bjorn’s cheeks turn pink, but to his credit, he never drops her gaze. “Not like a throuple. If you have to label it, we are a throuple. A polycule? And yes, it’s serious.” He takes our hands in his. “We’re together.”

The table erupts, Bjorn’s siblings and significant others talking over each other. A piercing whistle cuts through the din, and everyone quiets immediately. We all turn to Bjorn, who made the obnoxious noise, and I glare. “Really? Was that absolutely necessary?”

“In this house, with these people? Hell yes.” He turns to his siblings. “Fine. Here are the rules of engagement. Absolutely no questions about sex. Ask anything else. If we agree to answer your question, fine. If any one of the three of us deems the question too personal, it’s not going to be answered. The questioning will go on until you’ve run out of them or we get tired of answering. This isn’t an interrogation, and it’s not just me here. So please be respectful of Kaino and Xander’s feelings.”

I’m not happy that his last statement implies they don’t need to be respectful of his feelings, but tonight is already stressful enough. I don’t need to pile on.

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