Page 15 of Her Christmas Monsters

“Seriously?” Ethan asks in disbelief.

“Yes seriously,” I snap and crawl back into bed. “It’s setup tomorrow, and I have to be at the mall by six in the morning, which you would know if you hadn’t been hiding out all week.”

“I would never hide from you,” Soren says as he slides into bed beside me and kisses me on the forehead.

“Suck up,” Ethan hisses.

“If you don’t get in this bed I’m going to make you sleep on the sofa,” I warn as Soren pulls me against his chest.

“Just great,” Ethan grumbles and the bed dips on the other side of me. He wraps the duvet around my back to keep me warm as he nestles in beside me, and in the next second I’m drifting off to sleep with the comforting presence of two guys, who are apparently my mates, on either side of me.

Chapter Nine

Warmthseepsintomyfront and my back as consciousness creeps in. I groan as light pricks at my eyelids, suppressing the urge to press my face into the bare chest in front of me.

Bare chest.

Memories from last night filter back in, and I peel my weary eyelids open. Soren is real, and Ethan is a gargoyle ... and they’re my mates.

Soren’s eyes are still closed, his face serene as he slumbers away. His arms are securely wrapped around my waist like he can’t bear to let me go even for a second.

This is a lot to take in. I should be scared. I should have freaked out, and questioned my sanity, right? But for some reason ... this feels right, like my mind is finally catching up with something my heart knew all along.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Ethan whispers from behind me, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear, sending a shiver of desire up my spine. They’re warm and soft, instead of the cold hard stone they were last night.

“Good morning,” I say through a yawn, and turn to face him. He looks like himself again—well the version of him that I’ve known until last night. His auburn hair is messy from sleep, and my fingers itch to thread through the short silken locks.

“What did I tell you about those being contagious?” he says just as a yawn slips past his lips too, and I can’t help the soft laugh that bubbles up at the familiarity.

I knew I would get his secrets out one way or another, I just hadn’t expected this. But he’s still the man I’ve known for the last two years, the man I kissed the other night, the man I’ve had an undeniable attraction to ever since he moved into the cubicle next to mine.

“So you’re a gargoyle, huh?” I ask softly, internally cringing at the awkward segue.

He nods slowly, the amusement vanishing in an instant as his throat bobs.

“How long exactly have you been watching me?” I ask hesitantly. It really should freak me out that he’s been right outside my window, but I sort of find it … endearing—in a sexy, protective sort of way. But he can’t know that. Boundaries, Clara.

“Two years,” he admits sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck.

I suck in a sharp breath. Is it weird that I find this sweet? It should be creepy, right? Dammit.

“Well that’s not going to happen anymore,” I say sternly, mostly because I want him inside the apartment now rather than outside my window.

“You don’t need to protect Clara anymore now that I’m here,” Soren says, apparently having woken up, and I turn to face him. He smiles sweetly at me, and my chest warms as he places a tender kiss on my lips.

“She’s my mate too,” Ethan grumbles, his warm hands clutching me closer.

“Stop bickering,” I groan and bury my face into the pillow. “If this mate thing is going to work between any of us, you both have to get along.”

“We can get along,” Soren promises. I don’t miss the conspiratorial look he shoots Ethan over my head.

“Let us prove to you just how well we can work together,” Ethan says, his tone completely changing.

“What do you have in mind?” I ask tentatively, as anticipation thrums through me.

“Oh, you’ll see,” Ethan murmurs as his lips lower onto my neck.

My inhaled breath quickly turns into a moan as he sucks on the sensitive flesh. He groans against my skin, the sound vibrating through me and straight to my core. Before I can say another word, Soren’s mouth crashes on mine in a searing kiss, stealing my breath as his shadows slip over my skin.

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