The scenario was eerie. It had been many years since there had been noticeable seismic activity anywhere near northwest Montana.
Chapter Twenty
When the excitement finally died down, Griffen talked Trace into staying at his parents’ house, and he brought his mates back to his condo for the night.
Rebecca was obviously antsy. She had to work tomorrow, which made Griffen nervous also. Besides, another day had slipped away without her being able to get her workout in. She was growing concerned about her upcoming race. It was important to her. She’d worked hard for months preparing for the race. He could tell it was eating at her.
Griffen’s apartment was smaller than Miles’ house. He wondered what his mates thought of his personal space as they each wandered around, taking in their surroundings.
His possessions were nice. He liked nice things, but he was a bachelor, so he realized his condo wasn’t particularly well decorated.
“I’ll make dinner,” he said as Rebecca and Miles stared at his collection of CDs.
Rebecca didn’t turn around as she spoke. “If you feed me one more time today, I’ll explode.”
He chuckled and headed to the kitchen. Whether or not the woman wanted to eat, he and Miles would need to. “Burgers okay?” he asked as he stuck his head in the refrigerator and surveyed the pickings.
“Perfect,” Miles consented, leaning his chin on Rebecca’s shoulder as they moved on to the DVDs.
Griffen watched them from the kitchen island, a smile spreading across his face. A few days ago, if someone had told him he would find another man fondling his mate so appealing, he would have laughed them off the planet.
And here he was. In his apartment. His mate right in front of him. And one of his best friends wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her in tight.
His other mate, he reminded himself. A man he would rely on for the rest of his life to help protect and worship her. As weird as that may have seemed just days ago, it was a comforting thought now.
He almost laughed out loud when Trace had popped into the room at his parents’ earlier, concern on his face about Griffen’s sexual interactions with Miles.
Trace had a close friend named Keegan, and Griffen had suspected for many years the two of them liked to share women. Griffen did not think that attraction swung both ways. He smirked to himself as he got dinner started. Maybe there was something to the idea that this generation of Masters men was destined to mate in threesomes.
If that was the case, Trace must have been shaking in his boots worrying if his male mate would turn out to be Keegan.
It didn’t take long for him to have the burgers grilling on his small back deck.
When his mates gave up their perusal of his music and movie selection, they wandered into the kitchen.
Griffen grabbed three beers and held two of them out with raised eyebrows. Miles took one and popped the top. Rebecca chewed her lower lip and scrunched her nose before she finally grabbed the bottle.
“Not mandatory,” Griffen said. “We’ll keep you even if you don’t like beer.”
“Oh, I like it all right. I just don’t usually drink much when I’m training so hard. But after the week I’ve had, I think I’m entitled.”
Griffen smiled. “No doubt about that.”
The three of them took long draws off their bottles at the same time and sighed.
If Griffen could manage to ignore the insanity following them around everywhere they went, he’d be the happiest man alive. As it was, until they managed to escape whatever demon—human, shifter, or otherwise—that insisted on fucking with them, he couldn’t fully relax.
But he could give it his best effort.
As soon as they finished eating dinner, he intended to do just that.
Tomorrow reality would seep back into their lives. Rebecca had to go to work, and Miles had to return to the reservation to catch up on his rounds. He had rescheduled patients so many times in the last few days, his clients were growing restless.
Griffen imagined he would stay close to Rebecca and the hospital, keeping his errands local until she got off work. Thank God his parents had insisted on him taking some time off. His brothers would handle the hiking tours for a few days without him.
He tucked his lips under his teeth and fought a chuckle when he considered the workout she had planned for tomorrow afternoon. His mate was going to kill him if she kept up her current pace.
•●•
Rebecca entered the hospital at seven o’clock Thursday morning surprisingly well rested and calm. Thank goodness her men had taken pity on her the night before. After the amazing burgers, they’d whisked her to the bedroom, made love to her, and then let her sleep.
And she’d slept well.