Demon’s Embrace(14)
“The sun will go down in a couple of hours. I’ve got the wards in place and the perimeter alarm set, so we should get ample warning of any visitors. I think I’ll go catch some sleep while I have the chance.”
“Sure,” Ronan said in a neutral tone. “I’ll sort out something for dinner.”
“Sweet,” Alex said with a quick nod and tried to leave the room without looking like he was escaping. Judging by the next question Kali asked, he hadn’t been successful.
* * * *
“Is he okay?” Kali whispered to Ronan as Alex seemed to flee the room.
“He can hear you,” Ronan said in a normal voice, “and no, he’s probably not okay.”
“Why?” He could hear the concern in her voice and fell for her just a little bit harder. Everything he’d noticed about her that first night was simply being confirmed in every word, every smile, every touch.
“Fire demons are different to humans.” She quirked an eyebrow and waited for a better explanation. “What I mean is fire demons share their mates with at least two other males, usually three or four.”
“I don’t understand why that would upset him. I’m not a prude or anything. I’m not going to judge a species for their mating habits.” She was so adorable when she was confused, but since he was usually the one to put his foot in his mouth when it came to women, he probably wasn’t the best person to explain. Ironically, despite the jealousy he’d felt earlier, he wasn’t upset that Alex liked Kali. She was an amazing person. What wasn’t there to like?
“Why don’t you go get some rest? I’ll call you for dinner.”
“I…um…there’s only one bed.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure Alex won’t mind.”
“What about you? Will you mind?”
“Not at all,” he said with a grin. But when her smile disappeared, he realized she’d taken that the wrong way. Hell, maybe he’d spent too much time around paranormals. Most humans would find the idea of two men with one woman rather strange. “Kali,” he said, trying to choose his words carefully. “Alex is as attracted to you as I am. If you want to explore that, it’s fine. I’m happy for you.”
“B–But I thought you liked me.” Tears filled her eyes, and he gathered her into his arms quickly.
“I do like you,” he assured her, running his fingers through her thick curls, mentally kicking himself. “Alex, get out here. I’m fucking this up.”
* * * *
Kali wanted to cry. Granted, it had been a very strange day, but Ronan’s rejection really stung. When they’d been kissing on the hood of the car, she’d found a peace that had eluded her for months. How stupid was that? They’d been making out like a couple of horny teenagers, and she’d felt happy. Shit, she’d promised him she wouldn’t throw herself at him again, yet here she was. Talk about pathetic, but he’d seemed so sincere in his words at the time. Had something gone wrong between them since then?
“I always said you were a jackass when it came to women,” Alex said to Ronan as he pulled Kali from his arms and settled her on a stool near the bench. “What my verbally challenged friend is trying to say is that he’s loved you since he met you.”
Kali shook her head. That seemed an erroneous assumption. Technically she and Ronan had known each other for less than twenty-four hours. The sex had been amazing, incredible even, and she’d been more attracted to him than any man she’d ever known—she glanced at Alex and amended that to almost any man she’d ever known—but using the word “love” seemed a huge exaggeration.
“No buts, beautiful. I’ve never seen him react to a woman the way he reacts to you.” He leaned in and added in a conspiratorial whisper, “He probably doesn’t remember telling me about you, but he was pretty torn up when you ran the way you did.”
“So why did he suggest I go sleep with you?”
“I’m pretty sure he meant sleep beside me…for now at least.” She could feel heated embarrassment creeping over her face—she hadn’t meant to make assumptions—but then he confused her even more by adding, “I’m sure between the two of us we can make you happy.”
“So that thing about sharing a mate, that’s what you two want to do?”
“It’s probably too early to be making any decisions like that,” Alex said after a quick glance at Ronan. “All we ask is that you keep an open mind. Just know that if you want both of us, it isn’t a problem. And well, if you decide to go all human on us and choose only one, well we can deal with that, too.”