Her heels clicked in the silence in rhythm, her black business suit and white silk blouse looking smart on her thicker form. Of the two, Jezzie was the earthier. She didn’t see it that way, of course. To her, she was fat, further away from the generally accepted stick-thin figure. Zelina wasn’t near that either in a size twelve, but Jezzie took her size sixteen to heart. Most days Zelina ignored her whining about it and moved on. One day she’d find someone who would worship those curves she had, Zelina just knew it. That brought an idea to her head, one she’d have to talk to her mates about later.
The door they stopped in front of interrupted her thoughts. The sitting room was all mahogany and white, from white carpet, to accent walls, to even the cushions on the couch. The wood pieces, though, added warmth and life to the place. If she didn’t believe before her clan made money, she did now.
“Sit,” Rion invited her.
Jezzie sat, watching him carefully and looking over at Zelina from time to time. Rion let her sit in between him and Quin, curling up her legs under her. Quin grabbed a blanket off the seat next to him and draped it over her legs. The move was done with ease, never interrupting the surrounding events, and Jezzie lifted a brow at that. It was too smooth to have been done to impress her, and she knew it.
“Can we trust you?” Rion asked her finally.
“I should be asking you that. It’s my friend you have sitting there beside you. My friend whose life you’ve suddenly entered.”
“I understand. The concession we are about to make to you is because of that friendship and the fact that Zelina holds you close to her heart. Still, my job is to protect. So, I must ask you again. Can we trust you?”
“That’s why you spoke first. To protect Quin from a threat.”
“It is my job, inaestimabilis. It is what I am supposed to do. Do not worry. We will bring your friend into our fold. I think you would kill us if we hurt her.”
“Most likely. Inae-stema-whata?”
“It means ‘priceless,’ Zelina.”
Quin chuckled over their connection, but stayed silent outwardly as Jezzie looked at them. Finally she folded her hands over her lap and nodded her head. “You can trust me.”
“This is the Alpha of the South Texas clan, Tarquin Vespillo. I am his Beta and brother, Centurion. You know the short forms of our names.”
“Brothers? Damn, nice, Z . . . Wait, Alpha and Beta. As in shifters?”
Chapter Twenty
The brothers sat frozen, looking at her in open confusion. If Zelina hadn’t been so surprised herself, she would have her ass off. She was positive neither brother had ever been stumped in his life.
“So I am guessing she is your mate, so you couldn’t exactly fight your need for her. As your kind is not a large population, siblings mate to one person. She is now your mate, and that would explain the disappearing act and . . . dominance show Rion put on when I was on the phone.”
“You heard that!” Zelina screeched, turning red.
“You were on the phone, and I wasn’t on mute, girl. I was just so worried at the time. I was just trying to find out where you were. Anyway, this is why trust was so important?”
“Why are you not freaking out?” Zelina finally asked. Statue One and Statue Two were still deciding not to talk yet.
“Gentlemen, let me tell you what my job is. I am an editor for my company. My genre is fiction, specifically looking at the subgenres of romance, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance.”
“Paranormal,” Quin started.
“Romance?” Rion finished, finally coming out of the fish-out-of-water stare.
“Books about beings like you. You know, shifters, vampyres, witches, mages, or wizards, you name it. The possibilities are endless. I find myself in awe more so than fear knowing that you all really do exist.” She sat back then, hand over her heart. “You are real,” she whispered.
“Then I can tell you the rest,” Zelina said quietly. “I almost died, J.” She got up at Jezzie’s cry, pulling her friend into her arms. “Brian was not human. He was a vampyre, and nothing like the books. He tried to kill me, almost did.” She rubbed the spot on her neck where he had torn through.
“I found her and was able to destroy the fiend. When I smelled her, I knew what she was to us, and I brought her home. At the time, she wasn’t conscious, and when she did come to, we weren’t ready for her to bring in the outside world yet.”
“We had to make sure she chose us before we opened up. Her fear alone after the attack would have had her running from us. We needed the time,” Rion finished.
Zelina liked how they did that, blended and molded until all of them were on the same thought at the same time. Outside of J, she had never had anyone so in tune with her. It was a humbling experience.