Page 92 of Theirs to Crave

He stayed completely still until I pulled back. I bit my lip, dropping my gaze, and said, “Thank you, Zaf.” Calling him by the shortened version of his name sent a rush of pleasure to my cheeks. He’d said I could, but I’d only ever heard Litha and Revik use it, and I watched for their reactions.

Litha slipped through the water, her ears tipped curiously. She didn’tlookoffended. A hand cupped my shoulder, the thumb caressing. Revik’s.

So far, so good.

“What is?” Zaf asked, touching my mouth, then his.

“A kiss. It’s...affection. For friends, family—” I tapped my cheek, then brushed my lips across his furred jaw. “For mates—” My fingers traced his lower lip, and I flushed. “Sometimes more.”

“Do you want to be our mate, Estrayuh?” Litha’s voice was even, her eyes burning.

My eyebrows furrowed, my mouth opening and closing like a fish as I searched for words without success. Hadn’t we talked about this? What part of seducing Zaf in an epic and bloody fashion made them question my interest?

Revik’s hold on my shoulder tightened minutely, drawing my attention.

“I want you,” he said. His hand roved down my side, cupped my ass for a breath-stealing moment, and trailed down my face to rest over my pounding heart. “All of you. Want for friend. For mate.”

Revik ducked his head, glowing eyes piercing me. “You have choice. Am Ilevayuh?Lev’rasha? Or may Iervahyou?”

I sagged, relief making my bones weak. The “where are we going” conversation was several steps of magnitude better than the “we changed our minds” conversation. And honestly, I hadn’t considered that we had options, since we were already living together and everything. But—

“I no understand.Levayuh?Lev’rasha?Ervah?”

Litha shrugged. “To belevayuhis...same. You, person. We, people. Sometimes, werek.”

Rekmeant fuck. Nobody’d had to explain that bit of vocabulary to me. The context was very clear. But as much as Iwanted to be absolutely wrecked by these three, sex wasn’t all I needed.

“Lev’rashais more.” She moved her fingers from her heart to mine. “More here. But less than mate. If you go—we stay. Mates stay together.Tethyrital.” Her hand rose to the two braids at her temple, stroking.

Tethyrwas the word they used for braid, but I couldn’t see how that fit here—ay! She was saying that mates’ lives were braided together, becoming one.

My heart melted.

I looked between the three of them, at the two matching braids they wore. Those braids were always the same—although they rebraided them for each other with a reverence that really should have been a clue—never changing with their hairstyles. A lightbulb blinked to life, flickering pathetically.

“Mate braids?” I asked, then curled my lips in, dying to take back the question. I hadn’t meant to say it out loud. It felt so obvious now. They were going to think I was an idiot.

Litha nodded, her eyes darkening with...sorrow?

Zaf brushed my bangs from my forehead, his touch tender. “When mate die?” he asked, gently. “When you taken?”

The fuck?

My brain was moving at the speed of old-school dial up. Finally, I put two and two together. If I’d had a desk to smack my head against, I would have given myself a concussion.

The Teterayuh braided the front of their hair when they mated. Most likely, they cut the braid off when their mate died. They must have taken one look at my bangs and thought, widow.

Suddenly, their hesitation to move forward romantically took on a lot more weight, and I took three dizzy steps closer to love.

“My mate no die,” I blurted out, jerking upright. I almost fell off Zaf’s lap and splashed around, regaining my balance. Looking between them, I saw the moment they reached the wrong conclusion. My damned troublesome bangs tickled my eyes as I shook my head.

“I no lose mate.” I spoke firmly, each word chosen with care. This was important. “Humans no do mate braids. Humans do rings.” I inscribed the shape of a wedding ring with my fingertip. Drawing in a steadying breath, I admitted, “I had mate. Drake. Drake was...bad. Bad to me.”

I shoved at the memories, fighting to stay in the present. Zaf, Litha, and Revik were here. They wanted me. Respected me. Some asshole light years away didn’t get to take that away. I raised my chin and continued with a smile that was more a baring of teeth.

“I say no. No mate. No hurt me. But Drake no die. Qué pena.” I muttered the last, bitterly.

Then I had the most wonderful thought. My divorce had gotten pretty messy. It’d spilled out everywhere until Mariano and some of his friends had a little “talk” with Drake.

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