Page 253 of Caelum

God, fate, karma, whoever, had decided that Eve would be the one to take that tainted feeling away from me.

“Eve?” She hummed at my question. “Te vreau.”

“What does that mean?” That internal translator we all had would have translated, but I understood that she wasn’t letting me get away with murder.

“It means I love you.”

She released a soft sigh. “I’m glad, because I love you too.”

The tension that had soared inside me, the part of me that had feared she’d reject me, relaxed in an instant.

She’d taken my declaration of love and simplified things. Made it as easy as inhaling and exhaling again.

I loved her harder for that.

“If I try to Claim you, will?—”

Her words were broken off by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. My body had tensed at her words—the promise of sex had made the air between us feel sultry and warm—but disappointment hit me when I heard the steps.

When Nestor appeared, I was relieved.

As much as we’d embraced the fact we were all Pack now, with Frazer, Reed, and Samuel, it would take time for things to gel. With Nestor, the easiness in the moment wouldn’t disintegrate, and I wanted that.

Hell, I wanted her, and I was hoping that Nestor’s presence wouldn’t put an end to her wanting me.

“Hey,” Nestor rasped, his hair all over the place and his eyes bloodshot.

We’d had a heavy discussion earlier about our next moves with Drekavac, one of the Original Ghouls, and we were all wrecked as a result. His hair was a testament to that fact—he looked like he’d been trying to pull it out at the roots.

“You want some tea?” Eve questioned, even as she raised her arm to beckon him closer.

I’d never thought my Pack could sink deeper into a unit, but with Eve, she reminded me that until her, we’d had no softness. Nothing to sink between us to make us a cohesive group, and once Dre pulled his head out of his ass and came around, our Pack would be airtight.

Nestor pulled a face. “Tea? That expens?—”

I cleared my throat and he caught my look. We’d made a group decision not to tell Eve how much she’d spent at Harrods. Stupid, maybe, but she’d been like a kid in a candy store, and hell, it was her first time at a supermarket.

Sammy was right though—next time, we’d go budget, or she’d be blowing ours out of the water.

“I mean, the flowery stuff?”

“It’s not too bad,” I told him then motioned with my fingers. “Pass me mine?”

“What am I? Your slave?” he grumbled, but he dipped down to grab our mugs and handed them to us before he sank beside Eve.

He immediately placed his head on her lap, and I was almost amused by how he’d blasted through the formalities. When she instantly began running her hands through his hair, sorting it out, I wondered why I’d been dumb and hadn’t pulled a similar move.

Nestor sighed, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders as she caressed him, and I understood. Even though Eve was the source of our stress, she was also our peace, and I knew how nuts that sounded, but it was the truth nonetheless.

We sat there in a pleasant silence for only God knew how long, and I’d admit to dozing for a little while as we all just snuggled up together in a Pack pile-in. The recent past had been stressful, so the time spent like this was surprisingly rehabilitative.

Then, she asked, “Do you think it’s strange that I enjoyed having Samuel and Reed at the same time?” And the rest was out the window.

Nestor, apparently as frozen as I, mumbled, “Huh?”

Fumbling with words wasn’t something I was used to, but I was just as lost. Even though I’d kind of hoped things would take this turn, I hadn’t expectedshe’dbe the one to raise the subject.

“I slept with Reed and Samuel at the same time,” she muttered, and from her tension, I could sense that it disturbed her. That she was uneasy… but why?

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