Page 17 of Hunting for Acceptance

After giving one more gentle peck to Dorian’s lips, I sit up and crawl up Martin’s body. He pulls me in for a kiss and my stomach warms all over again. I was worried Martin would continue to hold himself back, keeping himself from having this. I’m so fucking glad he’s not doing that.

I’ve always believed in Lady Fate. How could I not when I was raised by two sparks? I’ve always known about the supernatural, I’ve always known there was a chance I would be able to wield magic or possibly have a mate. Somehow though, I still wasn’t prepared for actually having this. It feels so surreal.

Is this why I was always so fond of Martin, even when he was a wall of glares and snarky comments?

As my tongue slides against his, I feel Dorian crawl up and join us on Martin’s pillow. I pull back. Martin gives a tiny noise of protest which is swallowed up by Dorian’s lips as he kisses Martin. I can’t stop the smile on my lips as I watch them.

This feels so good, so right. We’ve only been together a short time but I can already feel the way my heart is cementing their place in my life. I’m diving into this with both feet, with complete abandonment. In my mind they are mine and I am theirs.

“That was--”

Dorian smiles against Martin’s lips, his eyes so open and soft it makes my insides ache. “It really was,” Dorian says back, pecking Martin’s lips one more time, his hand reaching past Martin to hold mine.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” I admit softly, my cheeks heating when my eyes meet Martin’s. He bites his bottom lip before clearing his throat.

“Me too. I’ve thought about it a lot. This was so much better than I imagined though. It was better because it was real and Dorian was here too.”

“Gods,” Dorian murmurs, his smile spreading from ear to ear. “You’re such a charmer when you’re not being a surly asshole.”

“Hey,” Martin tries to argue before he chuckles. “Yeah, okay. That’s fair.”

I lay my head back down on my pillow, looking at my guys. I could close my eyes and drift off to sleep again but I don’t. We have a hard day ahead of us.

Martin and I are heading into town. We’re going to break into Stewart’s house. I’m determined to find his sister’s remains and set him free once and for all. Plus, Martin came up with a brilliant idea on getting Stewart put away, stopping him from ever doing anything like this again.

My big strong mate is more than just his muscles. He proves that again and again, but I wish the truth would stick in his head.

“Are you ready for today?” I ask them, running my fingers over Martin’s chest.

“Yeah,” Dorian says, his smile fading and being replaced with visible nerves. “I’m feeling so jittery about the whole thing. So many things could go wrong. I just want you bothherewhere I know you’re safe.”

I can’t help but smile at his concern. “We’re hunters, Dorian. This is what we do all the time.”

“Logically, I know that. But there’s something abouttodaythat has me feeling--” he searches for the right words. I reach past Martin, laying my hand on Dorian’s shoulder and I see Martin squeeze him tight. “I don’t know. I’m just restless.”

“Do you want us to wait?” Martin asks gently.

Dorian looks between us, thinking about it before deflating. “No,” he finally says with a long sigh. “I want this done. Just promise me you’ll both be careful?”

“Of course,” I say, leaning up on my elbow so I can kiss the side of Dorian’s head. I gently tuck his blue hair behind his ear. “I’ll watch Martin’s back and he’ll watch mine.”

Dorian nods and though I can tell he’s still feeling restless, at least this has helped ease his mind a little bit. “We should probably get up,” Martin says with a long sigh. “I don’t want to, but Cooper and I should be heading into town soon.”

“Even my siren call cannot keep you in bed all day. What a shame,” Dorian says with the tiniest smirk, making us all chuckle as we reluctantly get out of bed and start getting ready for the day.

CHAPTER NINE

COOPER

“Sometimes I hatethat we’re the good guys,” Martin murmurs to me as I fiddle with the door handle, doing my best to listen as I concentrate on weaving my lock pick into the correct notches. “I’d love to beat the shit out of this Stewart guy. Whoblackmailsa person in mourning? That’s so fucked up.”

“I know, but he’ll get what’s coming to him without you using your fists,” I say back, smiling as the click of the lock fills my ears. Bingo.

Martin groans. “What’s the point of having all these muscles if I can’t use them?”

I look over at him, my brows furrowing behind my glasses. “I get to look at them,” I tell him seriously, “and they’ve helped you in hunts. Plus, I really, really want to see if you can fuck me standing up someday.”

Martin’s eyes dart away, his lips curling ever so slightly into a smirk. “Fine. I guess I’ll use them for that.”

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