Chapter 120: Inseparable

Daphne

Something magical was happening, and I didn’t dare look up or say a word lest I interrupt it. So, instead, I kept my head down and used my fingers to shred a sourdough roll into extra fine bread crumbs.

Nash might not be ready to accept the reality of a three-way mate bond, but he was naturally sliding in to protect and defend Louis against the Larkin’s painfully obvious schemes. In fact, I don’t think I’d ever heard the strong-and-silent Nash put together so many words at any one time.

There was something just plain sexy about Nash Turner putting that skanky she-wolf in her place. But that was nothing compared to Louis declaring that he would do anything, including murder, for the sake of his family. The stupid Larkins thought he was only talking about his daughter Bella, but I knew that Nash and I, and even our unborn baby, were now safely within the circle of Louis’s fierce protection.

After all, I knew what he had done to the White Pines pack, to the Luna that had abused his daughter for fifteen long, horrible years. I believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that he wouldn’t hesitate to take Pilar Larkin’s head off her pretty little shoulders if he thought she presented a real threat. And perversely, I found the idea so exciting that I felt myself growing damp and wet with arousal.

Nash couldn’t detect the rush of pheromones but Louis did. His eyes met mine, and the gold sparkles seemed to dance with unspoken promise. I couldn’t believe the Larkins were so obtuse that they couldn’t detect the tension rising in the room. The main course arrived; a lovely and delicate roast chicken with herb stuffing, cranberry sauce, and buttery asparagus. The food was delicious, but my appetite had been whetted for something else entirely.

Nash settled into his meal with surprising enthusiasm. Given the slightly gaunt appearance of his face, I wondered if he had been ill. It occurred to me that the mate-bond separation could have been hitting him harder. I was pregnant, so in a way, I was carrying a bit of him with me all the time, and then, lately, I’d had Louis to comfort me and relieve that constant, nagging emptiness.

I hated to think that Nash had been alone, suffering, maybe not entirely understanding what had befallen him.

I was thankful that he knew enough to come looking for us. Well, to come look for me, anyway.

I ate, I chewed, I swallowed, but I was completely bemused by the two men at the table. Nash seemed determined to ignore Louis, and stayed focused on devouring his chicken until there was nothing left on his plate but a pile of bones. Louis, on the other hand, was discretely moving his gaze between me and Nash. Sometimes a little smile played around his firm lips, sometimes he had a worried, grim look.

Two mates.

Somehow, I’d been blessed with two mates.

Not a set of twins, not brothers, but two men who came from two entirely different worlds. And yet they were both good men. They were both breathtakingly handsome. Nash in his clean-cut, no-nonsense soldier way. Louis in his mature, distinguished, slightly dark and dangerous way. And oh, goddess, I wanted them both.

It made sense now, why the attraction had felt different…I was always missing a piece. When I was with Nash at the university, we were missing Louis, when I was with Louis, we were missing Nash. But now that the three of us were together at last, the sparks had come alive. I wanted more of it, craved more of it, and so I couldn’t help but slide to the edge of my chair, and then accidentally brush my knee against Nash’s thigh.

The connection arced between us, and Nash jumped a little in his seat. I let my breath hiss out between my teeth, and I saw Louis react too, his grip on his wineglass tightening until I feared the crystal might shatter.

“Let’s start dessert, shall we?” Louis said, waiving to the servers, even though the Larkin’s hadn’t finished with their main course yet. Pilar made a little sound of protest as her half-eaten plate was whisked away.

Alpha Larkin frowned and sat back. “I’m sorry, King, are you in a hurry?”

“There’s no hurry,” Louis said casually, as he wiped a cloth napkin across his lips. “But no reason to dally over our food, is there? I’m sure we all have better things to do.” His eyes met mine, and I felt that heat spreading, down my throat, across my shoulders and chest. I raised my water glass, and pressed it against my neck just to cool it down.

The servers brought out the dessert, a thin slice of rich, decadent pumpkin-cheese cake. The creamy dessert practically melted on my mouth. “Oh wow,” I moaned a little as I took my second forkful.

That got Nash’s attention, and Louis’s. And for the first time, Alpha Larkin seemed to catch on to the sexual tension between us. His eyebrows raised, wrinkling his forehead as he observed their reaction to my pleasure.

I just smiled and went for another bite.

I cleaned my plate, and then pushed back from the table. “Thank you, Louis, dinner was absolutely amazing. I’ll excuse myself now.” I hadn’t even made it to the door before both of my mates had shoved back their chairs to follow me. Nash was in such a rush that he almost knocked his chair over, but he caught it at the last moment and righted it. Louis didn’t even bother to say goodnight to his other guests.

Nash caught me in the hallway, and pulled me against the hard wall of his chest. “Jeezus Daphne, what are you doing to me!” He groaned before he pressed his mouth against mine. I let my eyes close, as the feelings washed over me in a pleasurable wave. When he broke away to suck in a ragged breath, I opened my eyes. Over Nash’s shoulder, I saw Louis standing a few feet behind us.

The king was breathing hard. He ran his hands through his hair, making it look a little wild. His expression was complicated and unreadable as he met my gaze. He gave a slight shake of his head, and then he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving me alone with Nash.

A sliver of guilt went through me. I wanted to call him back, open my arms too, but I knew that if I called Louis, Nash would probably walk away. I guess that’s what Louis was trying to tell me with the shake of his head.

Nash wasn’t ready.

“How the hell do I get back to my room?”

“Come on,” I grabbed his hand to lead him down the hallway, until we turned the corner onto the Alpha wing. I stopped in the middle of the hallway. “This is my room.” I pointed to my door. “That is Louis’s suite,” I pointed to the carved doors. And yours is there,” I pointed to the next door past mine.

Nash’s lips thinned into a flat line as he glanced at Louis’s door, directly across the hall from mine.

I put a hand on his arm. “Don’t think too much about it tonight,” I said softly. “I only pointed it out to help you orient yourself. This place can be a bit of a maze.”

Nash grunted, tightened his hand around mine, and strode toward his room. He fished the key out of his pocket and pushed open the door. Once we were inside, he kicked the door closed and pulled me back into his arms.

He slid his hands down my back and bent his head until he buried his face against my neck. He breathed in deeply, and I felt his muscles slowly relax. “Christ, Daphne. I don’t know what the hell is going on here, I just know that I’ve missed you so much.”