Page 22 of The Erion Triad

Lucie smiled as Margery took a note from the register and handed it to her. “I have to be at the diner in half an hour so this fits in really well. Thank you.”

“Just take care of yourself, dear.”

“I’m great. Don’t worry about me. I’ll see you next Monday morning.” Margery cleaned the cages during the week and only needed her on Monday. Lucie ignored Margery’s concerned look, grabbed her bag on the floor next to the front door, stepped outside and nearly face-planted into a broad muscular chest.

Chapter Nine

Lucie

The pet shop door closed behind her with the tinkling of bells. Lucie looked up at Zaen and narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

One chest was actually three. Three, massive, chiseled, panty-wetting chests. She dry-swallowed as she peered into three faces that she really didn’t want to see until she had to in the diner.

She’d basically wiped them off because of a compliment. Who in their right mind did that? And who would take it so seriously? She should have laughed it off, brushed it aside, read it for what it was—three concerned well-mannered men who didn’t want a woman walking home in the dark. They were nice guys. That was all. She should thank their mother for raising caring men. They’d make their wives happy one day. She’d just read too much into a simple compliment.

It was just that with them… for some unknown reason… it went deeper. As though they had told her what they thought and meant it. Really meant it.

She took a step back. “I thought after last night, you’d…”

Kyel reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She couldn’t help the shiver that washed through her. A nervous ball roiled in her stomach and she took a resolute step back, securing the strand that always seemed to come loose back into her ponytail.

She had a boyfriend, for heaven’s sake. A man that took good care of her and worked hard for her future. She wasn’t going to throw that away on a stranger’s thoughtfulness. She brushed her hand where Kyel had trailed his fingertip, her skin still tingling. She resisted the urge to lean into his touch.

“You can’t keep doing that,” she said.

Kyel’s brows lowered over his eyes. He still looked hot when he was trying to be concerned. “Touching you?”

“Well. That too. But you can’t compliment me again. I have a boyfriend. I told you that.” The words felt like ash on her tongue.

“And does this preclude you for having others compliment and touch you? Like this?” Zaen wound his large, warm hand around the back of her neck and stepped close. His body warmth sank through her clothing, his unique scent filling her nostrils.

She nodded, the movement jerky, her eyes stuck to his. “Yes. That’s exactly what it means.” Her words lacked conviction.

“And do you allow this boyfriend to kiss you?” Juliran smoothed the back of his knuckle across her cheek, tingles scattering across her skin.

“Of… of course.” Did she say the words or merely breathe them?

“Does he kiss you often?” Zaen asked.

“He…” Did he? She couldn’t rightly say at that moment. Her thoughts were muddled. She anchored to Zaen’s heated touch at the back of her neck, strong fingers she could lean into, unable to process much more other than the unparalleled need to feel Zaen’s lips on her mouth. It was almost as though she knew what they would feel like, but then again how could she? He’d never kissed her before.

Hadn’t he?

Her gaze dropped to his lips. She swayed towards him as though on the end of an invisible rope. Standing here like this was so familiar, as though she’d actually done this before.

“Does he kiss you well?”

Funny how she couldn’t really remember how Grant kissed. It seemed to be such a long time since he’d kissed her. Zaen’s breath whispered over her face.

“He…”

“Show Zaen how he kisses you, Lucie. We want to know just how good this boyfriend shows you his affection. Does he compare to our brother? Tell us how different they are.” Kyel’s voice wove through her like magic—fantastical and yet not to be denied.

Zaen’s fingers threaded into her hair, gently massaging her scalp. Her palms found the front of his chest, her fingers splayed out over the massive expanse. Heat infused her skin, his masculine scent surrounding her. He towered over her. The top of her head came to his shoulder, but it only served to make her feel feminine. Safe. Cared for. Emotions she hadn’t felt in such a long time. Awareness rocketed as the world fell away, everything except for Zaen. Kyel, and Juliran.

Her mind should be screaming to her about how wrong it was to be kissing someone other than Grant, but her body reveled in the fact that it seemed so right. She didn’t have the capacity to even want to draw away.

Something nudged her mind. Something familiar. As though Zaen had kissed her before, but that couldn’t have been. Maybe in a dream. One of the nice ones she didn’t want to wake from. Still, she stayed where she was, lacking the motivation to do anything but stare up at him, cling to his body, and draw in a shaky breath.

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