Chapter Eighteen

Kisses on my cheek and opening doors were sweet, gentlemanly things, but Koruk and Oz were making me feel like less of a lady and more like a hussy.

I noticed the way they looked at me, but as I sat that night in that huge tub all by myself, I began to rethink and analyze the entire evening, wondering if perhaps I was mistaken.

No hand-holding.

I covered the giggle that threatened to come out of my mouth remembering their confession. They were virgins. Those two sexy, built-like-brick-houses men had never been with a woman.

I had to admit, that made me tingle all over.

I dunked my head into the water, trying to wash away all the doubts. I was human, yes, but there was something deep inside me that called out for them. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe the universe piquing my consciousness. Maybe the gods showing me a sign. Whatever it was, I wanted them. Not for a night but for the rest of my life.

They were exactly what I wanted in a partner or partners. They were calm. Thoughtful. Interested in what I had to say. Eye contact was made and kept.

So, why didn’t they want me?

I was somewhat socially awkward in person, but I thought I had sent out the signals.

Maybe signals weren’t enough for my gargoyles.

I might have to just throw myself at them.

As I got out of the tub, I threw out all my preconceived notions and decided to go with my heart. When I signed up for the app, I expected to have to dodge their advances. My research told me shifters were a sexually fluid bunch. No rules. They let their animals rule them and their sexuality. Shifters in books had only solidified that idea.

But I knew better than to assume anything.

I sat in my towel for a long while on the edge of the gargantuan bed, knowing that they were on either side of the walls, in their beds or maybe they’d turned to stone.

Gods, the thought of being with them, both of them, at the same time, drove through my mind over and over until I was a mess.

A mess who needed a cookie to deal with her emotions.

They did say to make myself at home and that anything in their home was mine for the taking.

If only that pertained to them.

I threw on my nightgown and my comfiest bunny slippers and gave up on the thinking, opting for whatever sweets I could find downstairs. I closed my door, pausing right outside, fighting myself on going into one of their rooms and seeing what their reactions would be.

I let my emotions lead me downstairs where I set my mind on cookies and milk but when my slippers touched the main floor, I heard voices. The voices of my men.

Yeah, I was calling them my men now and, if I was drawn to them before, hearing them speaking in low tones had my body humming with need for them.

I walked softly toward the kitchen and stopped right outside, pressing my body against the wall on the other side of where they were. I peeked once and saw them sitting at a table and almost laughed noticing the cookies and half-full milk glasses. I wasn’t the only one who had a snack attack, apparently.

I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping but after hearing one sentence, I froze and threw out all propriety out the window.

Oz’s voice got more bass than I’d heard it before. “I know one thing for sure, Koruk. Malinda is our fated mate. I would bet my life on it.”