Page 29 of Valkyrie Restored

He sauntered closer, taking his time, as he kept his gaze locked with mine. My heart rate picked up. Could today be the day because I was more than ready to have them both. Everything that we did together, every conversation, every touch, it all seemed to be leading to this point: a true joining between the three of us.

When there was only enough room between Arran and I to slide a thin sheet of paper between our chests, he stopped and leaned his face down. I licked my lips. My chest heaved, brushing my tight, protruding nipples against the soft cotton of his shirt in the lightest of touches.

And then his lips touched mine, tongue darting into my mouth for a quick taste before pulling out with a speed that left me dizzy. Then he was gone. His back against the far wall. As I watched, he licked his own lips as if he wanted a deeper taste of me. One I was willing to give him in person, but instead of coming back for more, he pushed off the wall. “Well, I’m ready for supper. What’s on the menu for tonight?”

And with that, he walked into the kitchen, leaving us to follow behind.

With a chuckle, I grabbed Hurrit’s hand and towed him behind me. I wanted to say, “how about me?” but I didn’t have the courage, worried they outright turn me down. Instead, I chose to tease him. “I don’t know. What are you making?”

Arran stopped and turned around as he wagged his finger in my face. “None of that. Tonight was your night to cook.”

I tapped my chin with my index finger as I stared over his shoulder. “Was it? Hmm. I don’t think so.” Arran glared at me, but I saw the twinkle in his eye and his lips twitch. “Then it’s a good thing I have a chicken pot pie in the oven and a freshly made pumpkin pie on the counter, a salad in the fridge and all the fixings for some spiked hot chocolate.”

“My mouth is watering right now,” Hurrit said against my ear, sending delightful shivers through my body. “And not because of the food.”

Yup. Female blue balls came back in full force, but two could play at his game. I turned my head so that my lips brushed his. “Then let’s go eat.”

Arran chuckled. “Hold that thought, lass. We have a few things that we’d like to discuss with you.”

Despite the laughter that laced his words as he pulled the salad from the fridge, I could hear a note of hesitation and seriousness to it which set off all my radars. Was this when they were going to call it quits? I knew that they’d be soon going north with only the occasional return trip. It would make sense to end things especially if they found me lacking in a way that would allow us to have a threesome like they tended to have with women.

I bit my lip to keep from crying. I was so stupid. This was supposed to be casual. I didn’t do relationships and neither did they, but as much as I tried to prevent it, I’d fallen for them… hard. I’d known it for awhile, even told Daisy, but still, facing the possible ending of the relationship made it hit like a massive fist to the solar plexus. Fuck. I loved these guys.

What the hell was I going to do?

I grabbed the potholders and opened the oven, pulling out supper. “So what did you want to talk about?” I asked while I was bent over, not wanting them to hear any quiver in my voice.

“How about we discuss it after supper? This smells incredible and my stomach is about to eat itself after what I’ve been eating for the past few days.” Hurrit held out his hands to take the pot pie and the potholders. “Thank you for making supper.”

I nodded. Tears smarted my eyes from the pain in my bottom lip from where I’d put teeth marks in it. “Let me grab some drinks?”

“Already got them, lass.”

With nothing else to do, I sat at the table and waited for them to finish placing the food and drinks on the table. It didn’t matter if I was the one who cooked or not, both men always made sure that I was served first and they did the serving. Something about providing for others was the reason they gave when I asked about it. It may have gone against my nature, but after they removed the food from the table a couple of times, dished up my plate, and then placed the full plate in front of me a couple of times, I decided not to fight them on it. Besides, it was kind of nice to have them serve me like that when they allowed me to serve them in other ways.

The chicken pot pie smelled delicious when Arran cut into it, making my stomach growl. He slid a large slice onto my plate before handing it to Hurrit for some salad. “Better feed that monster before she attacks us.”

I ignored the innuendo as a way to keep from crying. The idea that he would continue to make sexual jokes after hinting that everything was over bothered me. It tied my stomach in knots, making me wonder if I’d even be able to choke down some food, but if I didn’t, they’d know that something was wrong. They’d realize that I hadn’t kept my promise to keep things casual. So instead of revealing my true feelings, I swallowed them, burying them deep within me. “Mmm, yes. I forgot to eat lunch today so I’m extra hungry.”

“Lass, skipping meals? I thought we talked about that.”

“We did. And while I didn’t eat a proper lunch, I did have an early breakfast, a small snack, and then I did snack on fresh vegetables as I cooked so it wasn’t like I didn’t eat at all.” I’d wanted to roll my eyes but didn’t. Once he researched the medications I was on for my brain and the weird seizure-like things I had along with the migraines, he became militant about ensuring I kept my blood sugar constant. He worried that having a drop in blood sugar could help trigger my various illnesses. It didn’t, but I understood his need for control.

With the food in front of us, the banter between us died down as we filled our bellies. It took less time than normal before Hurrit and Arran got up and cleared the table before placing the dessert and spiked hot chocolates before us.

“Now that we’re done with the main meal, we’ve got something to ask you, lass.”

My gaze darted to Hurrit, looking for a clue, but his face remained impassive. Although I did notice a tightening around his eyes and lips that had me clenching my fingers around the handle of my mug. “O-okay.”

Arran reached across the table and pried my white fingers from the cup. With a gentleness that never failed to melt my heart, he wrapped his hand around mine. “Our clients for next week had to cancel and we were hoping that you’d come with us, to see our northern lodge.”

Something in my chest rattled as it broke free from the chains that held it tight. With a stretch and a roar, I felt it fill me with a warmth that was almost foreign. Love. True unconditional love. I knew the sensation even though I could not remember ever feeling it before. I mean I had to have experienced it at least once from my parents—at least I assumed so—but without knowing who they were, I couldn’t swear to it. Yet I did recognize it so that had to be a good sign.

“You want me to come with you? For how long?” I couldn’t keep the excitement from my voice. I’d wanted to go and visit their lodge since they’d showed me pictures of it. Plus polar bears. I wanted to see them in their natural habitat.

Hurrit smiled, relaxing his facial muscles as he reached to entwine his fingers with my empty hand. “We’ll go for a week. It will be a great time, you’ll see. Just the three of us unless we head into Churchill for a meal. Otherwise no one but possibly polar bears will bother us.”

I couldn’t stop the little shimmy I did in the seat. The idea of just the three of us… alone… that had to mean something. Would we finally have that threesome I’d been wondering about? Would I finally get to know what it’s like to be sandwiched between them, having their hands, their mouths, their bodies on mine?

---