“What I want doesn’t matter.” He downed a mouthful and closed the flask, tossing it beside him on the blanket. “The wolf may not want to rip out my throat anymore, but your captain isn’t as forgiving.”
Lupin had said Maddox and Rowan would constantly butt heads, so Rowan wasn’t wrong in his thinking. But I had faith it’d work out. Rowan wouldn’t be one of my destined men otherwise.
“Maddox will come around,” I said, eyeing the wine bottle. Lake moved it farther away from me. “He’s just stubborn.”
“And protective.” Lake slid his arm around my lower back, and I felt the brush of his poofy tail. “We all are when it comes to you.”
I turned my head and met him for a soft kiss. He tasted like wine and citrus, and the faint hint of peaches came off his silver hair. A scent unique only to him. I broke the kiss and nuzzled his cheek before turning to Rowan.
Firelight danced across his tanned skin. Shadows did too. When his gaze lifted to mine, flames glinted in his irises, amplifying the sudden hunger in his eyes. Hunger… but something else too. Something far more tender. Rowan grabbed the side of my neck and brought me closer without a word. Our lips met once, then again but firmer. Lingering.
Heat licked along my skin, and sparks shot through my veins. Spiced rum and black cardamom infiltrated my senses. A taste, a scent, I knew I couldn’t live without.
Not anymore.
“You really are like the sun,” I murmured against his lips. “One touch and you set me on fire.”
“I should get you drunk more often.” Rowan skated his fingertip along my jaw. “You say the sweetest things.”
“But you don’t like sweet things. You’ve told me, like, a billion times.”
“I liked those truffles. So maybe you’ve changed me.”
There was a hard tug in my chest. “I don’t want to change you, Rowan. I want you to be yourself.”
“What if you make mewantto change?” he asked softly. “To be better?”
I burrowed closer and closed my eyes as more dumb tears welled in them. “As long as you’re with me, I don’t care about the rest. I won’t even curl my nose when you ruin good coffee with rum.”
“Liar,” he said with a raspy laugh. “I can feel you judging me already.”
“Careful, thief,” Lake said. “Our male is serious about his coffee.”
I snorted and lifted my head from Rowan’s shoulder. Lake smiled at me. He patted my leg and gave a small nod to Rowan. Almost like an approval. Something had shifted between the three of us. The threads that connected me to them seemed to stretch farther, connecting them too.
When Lake held out a hand, I grabbed it and let him pull me toward him.
“Lie down,” he said, guiding me to my back and positioning one of the cushions behind my head. He brought the blanket higher on my chest and snuggled in beside me. “Well, thief? Do you plan to sit so far away, or will you join us?”
Rowan peered down at me. I thought he might refuse, but instead, he settled in beside me and rested his head on my shoulder. Lake pressed to my back and wrapped his arm around my waist.
The three of us lay that way, staring up at the starry sky. Sounds came from around us: the distant rush of the waterfall, the crackling fire, and nocturnal creatures buzzing from the trees. It was peaceful. So much so that the long day officially caught up with me, and my lids fell closed.
Lips brushed my brow. Lake.
A hand slid down my belly and cupped my side. Rowan.
Heaviness settled over me, pulling me deeper toward sleep.
“Rowan?” Lake whispered.
“What?”
“Please don’t break his heart.” Lake cradled my head. “I see how deeply he feels for you. He needs you in his life just as he needs me, Briar, and Maddox. Don’t leave him.”
Rowan’s hand lightly moved along my side. “I’ve always gone where the wind took me, never staying anywhere for long. My home was the open road. I liked the freedom of it.”
“And now?”
