Chapter 128 - Inseparable

Daphne

I pulled a dark red blazer over my ivory colored blouse and checked my reflection in the mirror. I wore my mother’s string of pearls around my neck, and a skirt with an elastic waist that was forgiving of my expanding abdomen. I slipped on a pair of ivory flats and went to have breakfast, eager to hear how Nash’s first day of training went.

I rounded the corner into the dining room and found both men sitting at the table looking broody. It should have been tense and uncomfortable, but I found it unbearably sexy.

Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones.

It appeared that the seating arrangement had changed. There were only three place settings today, one on either side of Louis. Nash was already occupying the seat that had been formally warmed by Pilar Larkin. As I entered, Louis stood, and, like a proper gentleman, held my chair for me, and then pushed me easily up to the table.

Louis watched, twisting a napkin between his fingers like he was wringing someone’s neck.

“I take it Ms. Larkin will not be joining us today?” I asked cheerfully. Any day without Pilar was a good day, in my book.

“Ms. Pilar will be dining elsewhere,” Louis said, almost carelessly. Like he didn’t know, and he really didn’t give a damn where, or even if, Pilar took her meals.

“Oh,” I said, although the dark look on Nash’s face seemed to indicate that there was a story there that I was missing. The waitstaff came around with coffee, juice, and, of course, my little ramekin of herbal teas. When everyone had their hot beverage, I turned my attention to Nash. “How was training?”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, almost like he was in pain. “Great.” He grunted out a one-word answer.

Like it would have killed him to spill a little more information.

I turned to Louis. “How was your morning?”

“Fine.”

“Oh for f.ucks sake, you two!” I kicked Louis’s foot under the table because that was the one I could reach.

“Ow, what?” Louis sat up straighter.

I shook my head. “You know what? You two deserve each other.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nash grumbled. He had no idea that the way he was glaring at me under his eyebrows was almost identical to the quasi-annoyed look I was getting from Louis.

“It means whatever you want it to mean,” I leaned back to allow the waiter to place the breakfast plate in front of me. Bacon, an omelet filled with green stuff, mushrooms and cheese, and a bowl of fresh fruit. I plucked out a strawberry and bit into it, letting the sweet-tart taste dance on my tongue.

I had a lot on my mind, but that didn't mean I didn’t have a healthy appetite. I dove into my omlet, holding the fork in one hand, and a slice of bacon in the other.

I had opted to sleep alone last night. Not because I wanted to be alone, but because I wanted to reduce the friction between my two mates. There was no way I could cuddle up with one without things getting heated. And if I slept with one, the other was stuck in the experience whether he liked it or not. That was unfair to the one who was left out.

But it was unfair to me too. How long was I going to be stuck sleeping alone? What was the point of having two mates if I couldn’t be with either one of them? I took a vicious stab at the omlet before I scooped it into my mouth.

It was just one night. So far.

I knew I needed to be patient. I needed to give Nash time to adjust to this whole mate-bond idea. I asked him to try and get along with Louis, to at least get to know him, maybe try to make friends. And he was trying. At least I hoped he was trying. He was still there, so that was a good sign, right?

What about Louis? Was he trying? Or was he just going to hide his head in the sand until the baby was born?

I shoveled in the food in silence, as did my two mates. At one point, Louis made a stilted attempt at small talk. “That, um, injury from training...?”

“I’m fine.”

“Good. Glad to hear it.”

I popped the last piece of fruit into my mouth and pushed my chair back. The legs scraped against the wood floor with an annoying screech. “Alright then, you two have a good day.”

Nash looked up, like he was surprised I was even still there. “Daphne–”

I shook my head, brushed some crumbs off my skirt, and turned to the door. “Wait up, Daphne. I’ll walk with you to the office. I’d like to speak with Dr. Conway, anyway.”

He pushed back his chair and joined me at the door, leaving Nash alone at the table. “Nash, please make yourself comfortable. Feel at home.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Louis touched my elbow, and finally I got a dose of that soothing tingle down my arm. He waited until we were a safe distance from the doorway before he spoke again. “Daphne, what’s wrong?”

“Um, besides everything?” I asked petulantly.

“Don’t be so pessimistic," he chided gently, shortening his long stride to match my shorter one.

“How did training really go?” He started to open his mouth, and I jabbed him in the side with my elbow. “And don’t tell me, fine.”

“Okay, it went well, as far as I could see. Nash’s fighting skills are definitely above average. Tomorrow he will be moved to the advanced class.”

“Mhhm,” I wasn’t surprised to hear that Nash was a good fighter. The man was a Navy SEAL after all. “And what was this injury you mentioned that Nash didn’t want to talk about?”

Louis grimaced. “Nash was sparring with Pilar. He had her in a choke-hold, and clearly won the match, even though Pilar refused to tap out. After the whistle blew, Pilar got him with a groin shot.”

“Groin shot?”

“Right in the jewels.”

I shook my head, and then stopped, right in the middle of the hallway. “Wait. Could you feel it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh s.hit,” I laughed.

“Why do women always laugh?” Louis demanded.

“Because it’s funny?” I cleared my throat and resumed walking. “So, I guess that’s why Pilar wasn’t at breakfast?”

Louis nodded, and slid his hand behind my back. “Her security clearance has been downgraded.

“Bummer.” I grinned up at him, and he smiled back, showing straight and even teeth. “I’ll miss seeing her tits at dinner.”

“Seriously, Daphne?”

We had arrived at the medical wing. We stepped through the double doors, out of the quiet, antiquated château, into the sleek, modern hospital. Men and women bustled through the hallways, everyone in a hurry to get somewhere. Doctors in white coats, nurses in colorful scrubs, volunteers pushing wheelchairs. We turned into Dr. Conway’s office. Two patients were already seated in the waiting room, and I could see Dr. Conway himself seated at his desk with the phone against his ear, and a file spread open in front of him.

“Well, at least he’s not with a patient yet. Will I see you at lunch?”

“Probably not,” Louis said, his voice full of genuine regret. “I’ve got meetings all day.”

“Okay then, talk to you later.” He leaned down and pecked me on the cheek. It was such a strangely mundane gesture. Who did that? Maybe if it was your mother, or your sister, but goddamned it, you didn’t kiss your mate that way!

I spun away, went into my office, and shut the door firmly. I had half an hour before I had to see my first client, half an hour to pull myself together so that I could do my job properly. I flopped down in my chair and took a few deep breaths. “This is hard,” I told myself. “It’s hard for everyone. But we are going to work this out.”

I took out the file of my first client and flipped it open to review my notes. As I pulled my chair under the desk, my foot kicked the wooden box that was still shoved underneath. I kept forgetting to tell Dr. Conway to dispose of Louis’s records.

Louis wanted to talk to Dr. Conway. Was he going to talk to him about us? About the three-way mate-bond? I felt a little uncomfortable at the idea my mate was going to talk to my boss about our relationship.

Oh goddess, was he going to talk to him about our sex life?

“That’s not awkward or anything,” I grumbled, turning my attention back to my last session notes.

Dr. Conway was Louis’s therapist. It was only natural that he would turn to his familiar and trusted psychologist if he was struggling with the parameters of our relationship. I needed to be an adult and act professionally.

There was a knock at my door. I knew it was Louis without getting out of my chair to check. “Come in,” I called.

Louis strode inside. He looked altogether too calm and relaxed, and so handsome and polished. “Hey,” He shoved his hands down into his pockets like he needed some physical restraint to keep from touching me. “I have to go in a second, I have a meeting in a few minutes. But I just wanted to make sure you were really okay. You seem… I don’t know, agitated today.”

“Agitated,” I repeated the word. It really was an apt description of what I was feeling about everything right now. However, I pasted a smile on my face, pushed my rolling chair backward and stood up, stalking across the room until there were mere centimeters between us. I could feel his body heat radiating from his core, feel the mate-bond sucking me in like a magnet. It was so tempting, just to touch a little, a small caress, a hand on his chest, anything to connect.

But I forced myself to clasp my hands behind my back. “I’m not agitated,” I said sweetly, letting my gaze sweep from his gold-flecked eyes, down his straight, aristocratic nose, until it lingered on his firm lips. “But I will tell you this, King Louis–”

I inched closer, stretching up on my tiptoes until we were only centimeters apart. “If you and Nash don’t figure your s.hit out, I’ll be forced to take matters into my own hands, if you know what I mean.”

He swallowed and stepped back, reaching for the door behind him like he thought I was going to jump his bones right there in my office. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Oh,” I cupped my breasts through my blazer and then ran my hands downwards, past my belly button, slipping beneath the elastic band of my skirt to my panties. I made a little breathy noise and tipped my head back. “If I can’t be with either of you, I will just have to pleasure myself.”

Louis’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

I pulled my hands out of my panties with a sigh, knowing that he could probably smell my very genunine arousal. “You better get going, Louis. You don’t want to be late for your meeting. If Leanne has to come looking for you…”

Louis stumbled backward through the door.

I smiled as he disappeared through the waiting room and out into the hospital proper.