Chapter 20

WRAPPED IN A TOWEL , still damp from her shower, Amy stood in the closet, selecting her clothes for the day. She wasn't making much progress because of an itch on her back she couldn't reach. With a smile, she whispered aloud, "Isn't it convenient that I have two back scratchers in the next room?"

Being mated, it seemed, had many unforeseen advantages.

Amy came out of the walk-in closet, an arm contorted behind her as she tried to ease the unappeasable itch. She asked of Remus, seated on the side of the bed, putting on his boots, "Is itching a sign of the transformation?"

"Not usually. Why?"

"I have a place on my back that is driving me crazy." She handed him a bottle of moisturizer. "Maybe it's dry skin from all the extra showering we've been doing lately. Would you rub some lotion on me?"

"It would be my pleasure, mate," he replied, twirling a raised finger, signaling for her to turn around.

As she did, she loosened her towel, allowing it to dip low in the back.

"I'm glad you retained your hair color," he said as he combed his fingers through it. "The red and gold and copper strands in the brown is as unique as you are, koria . It's thick and so soft, I love playing with it, running my fingers through it, brushing it, twisting my fist in it as I take you from behind. I don't ever want it to change."

"I'm glad it pleases you," Amy whispered, moved and aroused by his compliments, but she had a pressing matter that took priority. "My back is itching really bad. The lotion?"

"Yes. Right. Sorry, mate. But you can be mighty distracting," he said as he swept the thick length of her hair over her shoulder baring her back to his gaze.

Then she stood there, anxiously waiting for some much-needed relief. And waiting.

"Hurry, Remus, please," she urged. "I can't stand it."

"Tarus! Get in here!" he suddenly shouted, making her jump,

Amy hastily grabbed her towel to prevent it from falling off. Her effort was in vain because he ripped it away and dropped to his knees on the floor behind her.

"What in the world are you doing?" she asked, twisting to see.

"Be still and let me look at you," he whispered, placing his hands on her hips and planting gentle, almost-reverent kisses along the upper curves of her buttocks and the small of her back.

"What's all the yelling about?" Tarus asked from the doorway then he uttered " Faex ." Slowly moving forward, he stared at her, not at her face or bare breasts but at her back. When he reached her side, he mirrored Remus' pose on the floor behind her. "It is beyond what I'd hoped for."

"For me as well," Remus agreed between kisses. "A simple mate would have been sufficient. "

"What are you two talking about? You're kind of scaring me."

"Grab the hand mirror," Tarus ordered his brother as he got to his feet. He turned Amy to face him and lifted her in his arms, so her still-damp breasts plastered against his uniform tunic.

"I'll get you wet."

"I don't care," he answered, striding across the room with her. The feel of his muscles surrounding her, the pleasant friction of the fabric on her nipples, and the intoxicating scent he exuded, not to mention Remus' kisses, ignited the hunger simmering within her.

"I'm already late for work," she whispered, dotting kisses along his smooth chin and jaw. "But I don't care either."

Remus, who'd followed them into the bathroom, directed, "Hold that thought, mate. Look at your back."

He held up the small hand mirror so she could see her reflection in the larger, wall-mounted glass above the sink. Tarus helpfully swept her long hair out of the way.

At first, she saw nothing except for pale skin. But when she angled her head just so...

"Oh my god! Is that..."

"Yes," Tarus confirmed, his breath tickling her neck. "It's a mate's mark. Specifically, our mark."

"But that means..."

"We're fated mates," Remus finished for her when she could not.

Shock turned to confusion as she stared at the mesmerizing swirls of blue, gold, and black in the design. "But I don't understand," she exclaimed. "We weren't compatible. Not even close."

"It's clear that mate testing for humans and Primarians is severely flawed," Tarus declared. "Time after time, the results have been wrong or, at best, misleading."

Amy reached behind her and traced her fingers over the intricate marking. It tingled, ultrasensitive to the touch. "Ellar and Adria are going to flip," she whispered in awe.

Two sets of eyes with the longest black lashes she'd ever seen met hers in the mirror. Above them, smooth black brows furrowed in confusion.

"I don't mean they'll actually flip head over heels," she said with a laugh, feeling suddenly giddy by this newest twist of fate. "It's a figure of speech that means they will be totally shocked."

"Not as much as me," Remus replied.

"Or me," Tarus echoed, both twins looking and sounding as baffled as her.

"Fated mates," Amy whispered, trying to make sense of it all, coming up with a million reasons it couldn't possibly be happening but unable to deny the proof before her eyes. It put many of her worries to rest, especially one that had been really weighing on her. "This means you can't ever leave me. No matter what the council, your princep, or society might say."

"Like your father? As if we would," Remus protested.

"What you suggest is deeply offensive for a Primarian male. Fated or not," Tarus growled.

Remus, a bit growly himself, added, "Not to mention impossible in most cases."

His twin ignored him to issue a warning. "Do so again at your curvy little butt's peril."

"I won't even think it," she promised, tears stinging her eyes. Not because of his threat, which she believed was mostly bluster, but from the surge of emotions—shock, relief, and joy—filling her heart. Amy laid one hand on Tarus' cheek and the other on Remus' before tearfully affirming, "I love you both so much."

He seemed too overwhelmed to respond, so he gently turned his head and kissed her palm.

Remus, on the other hand, had no such trouble. He took Amy into his arms and confidently declared, "That goes without saying."

Shoving his shoulder, Tarus admonished, "That's not how you respond to a declaration of love." He then spoke more tenderly to Amy, "What he meant to say is that we love you too, precious gem."

"You didn't let me finish," Remus protested, pushing Tarus back. Cupping Amy's face between his big hands, he did so now. "Fate, with all its mysterious wisdom, brought us together in an unbreakable bond. Fated mates are rare. A triad of fated mates, even more so. In fact, I think I can safely say we are the first. What we have is special and beautiful, like the mark on your lovely skin." Amy thought he was done when he dipped his head and gently kissed her, but he kept going. "When I said, ‘it goes without saying,' it was because this symbol is a testament of our mate bond and speaks louder than words. I must admit, however, the sound of your sweet voice expressing your love was truly enjoyable. Never stop, koria dral ."

"I won't," Amy promised as her tears overflowed .

Instead of shoving him again, Tarus clapped him on the back, like a proud big brother. "That was quite moving. When did you become so eloquent?"

Remus shrugged and replied with a casual drawl, "I have my moments." Then he playfully winked at Amy.

"I'd given up finding one mate, let alone two." She took them each by the hand and, leading them, backed out of the bathroom. "I don't know what I did to deserve such happiness, but I'd like to celebrate with a testament of my own that renders words unnecessary?"

Their eyes went from her to the rumpled bed. As they took her meaning, twin grins appeared.

"You're going to be late for your duties," Tarus predicted, taking charge by sweeping her up in his arms and dropping her onto the bed.

She bounced twice, once when he joined her, and again when Remus followed them in. Smiling with happy tears, she reveled in the feel of them against her. "It isn't every day a girl becomes the fated mate of two handsome, virile Primarian warriors," Amy declared, trembling as their lips and hands made contact with her intimate places. "Someone else will have to pick up the slack."