Page 68 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how things work with you three—and I don’t wanna know, okay? It’s none of my fucking business. But… I’m happy givingandreceiving, if you get my drift.”

“Between us? You just described Dellan, whereas Rael? Total bottom.”

“And you’re a total top, right?”

Horvan chuckled. “Got it in one.” He cocked his head. “Do I take it Roadkill is also a top?” Hashtag nodded, and Horvan smiled. “Then everything works out perfectly for the three of you, doesn’t it?”

Hashtag took a long drink from his bottle before speaking. “Honestly? I’m not sure. From everything Eve says—and she hasn’t said all that much—it sounds like she’s a total top too. And itshouldupset me, but… I dunno. It doesn’t. I feel as though I’ve finally found what I’ve been searching for my whole life.”

Horvan arched his eyebrows. “So if you never get to top again?”

He shrugged. “I want to say I’d be upset, but I can’t. I understand I don’t know fully what it means, but they’re my mates, and I want to give them the world.” He thought back to that conversation, and heat flushed through him.

“What’s on your mind?”

Hashtag coughed. “That dynamic I was talking about? There’s something about Roadkill that makes me want to—”

Horvan’s eyes gleamed. “Submit? It’s something I’m used to. When the three of us shift, there’s a distinct pecking order. Dellan submits to me, Rael submits to both of us, and yeah, that gets carried over into our sex life. But it’s okay to submit.” He smiled. “Roadkill and Eve are two lucky people. They getyou for a mate.” The smile morphed into a grin. “They also get something else that makes me jealous.”

He frowned. “What?”

Horvan chuckled. “They get to be on the receiving end of that talented tongue of yours.”

Hashtag scowled. “Can we forget about that part? I mean, that was a lifetime ago.”

“When you were young, single, and horny as fuck.” Horvan’s eyes grew warm. “And now you have two people in there who would crawl through fire for you. As you would for them.”

Hashtag’s breathing hitched. “I would.”

Horvan stood. “Of course, it does make your job a lot more awkward.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m lucky. When I go on a mission, my mates are safely out of harm’s way, waiting for me to come back to them.” He frowned. “Well, except for that one time when they ignored my instructions. Butyourmates aren’t civilians—they’re fighters. And we’re about to go into battle.” He looked Hashtag in the eye. “You need to ask yourself if you can focus when you’re in the thick of it, knowingthey’rein the thick of it too.”

Shit.

Chapter Fourteen

HASHTAG LAYon the lounger, staring up at the ink-black night sky strewn with stars. “Makes you feel so insignificant, doesn’t it? All that vastness, and here we are, tiny little ants crawling over the skin of a giant blue-green marble floating in space.”

“How many beers have you had tonight?” Roadkill’s voice brimmed with amusement.

“Just the one.” He’d wanted to keep a cool head, becausefuck, there was such a lot to consider.

Eve spoke softly off to his left. “One day and everything changes.”

That was the opening Hashtag had been waiting for.

“Let’s get closer to the fire pit.” The air had a definite chill. He got up and headed down the stone steps that led to the patio chairs. Behind them, the house was quiet; everyone else had gone to bed.

Which is where I should be at this hour.

Roadkill chuckled. Nowyou’re talking.

He caught Eve’s giggle as she joined him.

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