Chapter Twenty-Three

After I painted Dominic, I worked on Darius. Even though his body was just as amazing as those of the other two men, I didn't feel the same desire for him. For me, desire started in the mind, and Darius had put up some hurdles in my mind. I was getting over them and even starting to like Darius, but every time I looked at him, I saw the hordes of women he had seduced. And then I saw them moping around my bar after he left them. It did not put me in the mood.

But it did make it easier to concentrate on the spell. I finished him faster than the other two. By the time I was done, Darius was frowning.

“What?” I asked.

“You . . .” He waved a hand limply at me. “I . . .” He set the ink bottle on the coffee table and stood up. “Never mind.” He started pulling on his clothes.

“No. What is it?” I demanded.

With his jeans on but unbuttoned, he swung to growl at me, “I felt their arousal. When you were painting Declan and Dominic, they enjoyed it.”

“And you didn't?”

“How could I when you were so cold with me?”

“Cold?” I sat down, too tired to stand and argue.

“Like a scientist conducting an experiment. Are you really not attracted to me at all?”

I sighed and leaned back. “Of course, I'm attracted to you. You know that. We've kissed.”

“Yeah, after you dosed me with magic, and then I transferred it to you.”

“Darius, I've had to watch you with countless women. If you had to see me with as many men, would you still be interested in me?”

He started to growl.

I went still. Hesitantly, I asked, “Darius?”

“There will be no other men, Amélie! You're mine!” He leapt over the coffee table and landed on the couch, posed over me, his body caging mine.

“What the fuck?” I drew back.

Darius shook his head like a dog getting water off. Panting, he said, “Fuck.” He rolled to the side and flopped onto the couch. “Fuck, I'm sorry.” He fisted his hands and pounded them into his head. “Fuck.”

“Darius!” Dominic shouted as he burst into the room with Declan right behind him.

They rushed for us, but then stopped short when they saw Darius hunched in on himself. Declan, who was holding half a sandwich, tossed the remnants of his meal onto the tray that was still on the coffee table, then sat down on Darius's other side. Dominic sat by me, but he leaned forward to look at Darius.

“Dare,” Declan said gently and laid a hand on Darius's shoulder. “Just breathe. It will pass.”

“What will pass?” I asked.

“We've been looking for you for a long time, angel,” Dominic said. “Our hounds started to lose hope.”

“What does that mean?”

Darius looked up. “It means that we're walking a dangerous edge right now. On one side lies salvation. On the other is madness.”

“Are you saying that if I don't become your mate, you'll all go insane?”

“No!” Dominic hurried to say and widened his eyes at Darius.

But Darius was already saying, “Yes.”

“It wouldn't be immediate,” Declan said. “But because we've found you, our beasts are riled. Eager. When you reject us, it makes them go wild. They don't understand. For them, it's simple. You're our mate. We should be with you. They can't grasp the intricacies of a human relationship.”

“I'm sorry I said that shit about you being mine,” Darius said. “I didn't mean it.”

“I think you did,” I whispered. “But I'll let it go.”

“Thank you. And thank you for this.” He waved at himself. “It could make the difference between failure and success tonight.”

“You're welcome.”

“And you're right,” Darius went on. “That thing you said about the women. If it were the reverse, I would not be so eager to be with you. I understand now.”

I nodded.

Then he went on, “I get that it's hard for you to look at me as a potential lover after seeing me like that. But you know why I did it and you don't have a beast inside you to mollify. I'm hoping you can let my past go and focus on the future. Once we're mated, there will be no other women, Amélie. Fuck, whether we mate or not, there will be no others. You're it.”

“What?” I looked around at each of them.

Declan nodded.

Dominic said, “We're certain, angel. It's you or no one.”

“That's too much pressure,” I said.

“Too much pressure?” Darius snarled. “Too much pressure?! How do you think we feel? If you reject us, there's no moving on. There's no life after you, Amélie. We will—”

“Enough, Darius,” Declan said. “You can't say shit like that to her.”

“Why not? It's the truth.”

“Because that kind of truth doesn't inspire love. You'll send her running.”

Darius frowned from Declan to me.

I just closed my eyes and rubbed at my forehead. They would die. That's what Darius had been about to say. Without me, they would die. Declan was right. That didn't inspire love. All it inspired was anxiety. And that anxiety blanketed the good emotions that had been rising. I wanted to tell Darius that. To throw it in his face that I'd been on the verge of wanting him too, but the shit he'd just said had reeled me back. Yeah, I wanted to be a bitch. But the tender emotions hadn't vanished completely, only pushed down. I cared about these men, even Darius. I wouldn't be nasty to him just because he had heaped a shitload of pressure on me. He was under pressure too. His life was in jeopardy.

“Angel?” Dominic took my hand. “Don't worry about us. Just be open to the possibility that we could be it for you too. That's all I ask.”

I opened my eyes and looked at Dominic. Without thinking, I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him to me.

As we kissed, Declan said, “Now, that's what you should have said, Dare.”