11. Pietro

11

PIETRO

I come in moments, focused on my mates as they take what they want. Then I command Alé to hold her up against the wall while they make out. I wash them both, keeping them warm beneath the water as their kisses grow frantic and desperate.

I love it when they connect without me between them. It has never mattered to me that she and I share a fated bond that he doesn’t have. He will always be part of us. In fact, we aren’t “us” without him. I need her to give him her bond, to pull him into that thread that binds us. I want to feel him with us all the time.

He’s never been ready, but I want us to have the conversation before she leaves. I don’t think I can let her go again.

Eventually, we can hold the world at bay no longer. We leave the shower, drying her off together as she jokes about how much of a fuss we make over her. Alé gives her one of his soft shirts to wear. We dress her, peppering her with kisses and attention until she reminds us that we have work to do.

And so does she. A stark reminder of what she’s technically here for, although I plan to steal her away as much as I can.

This morning, our mate bond is full and happy, tingling pleasantly in my chest. My female is happy, and that is my only goal.

When we leave the loft and head down to the coffee shop, she turns in the doorway and ogles us both. “Let’s table the tour for another day. I have some paperwork to do this afternoon. I thought I might bring it here and sit in the corner.” Her grin turns wicked. “Will I distract you both too much if I do that?”

“Do it.” Alé grasps her throat and runs his thumb over her lower lip. “It will be the most beautiful edging.”

“Stay with us tonight,” I growl, my voice husky from last night’s workout. “Pack your bag and come here.”

She winks at us. “Oh, I don’t know. The Annabelle is an excellent hostess; perhaps?—”

I move with super speed, shoving her carefully to the wall as I pin her with my bigger body. “ I am an excellent host, mate. Come home to us, or else we’ll show up at the inn and do delicious things to you there.”

Her smile grows wicked as she heads out of the shop, ignoring a few pointed stares from our patrons.

It’s all I can do not to chase after her as she leaves the shop. I’m not even working this morning, but I can’t bear to leave Alé’s side after last night. I want to be close to him, to talk to him, to make plans for her.

Hours later, I am distracted beyond all belief. Valentina was gone all morning doing…something, but now she sits in the front window at a table with three chairs, jotting something on a small notepad. I wipe the front counter down during a lull between patrons.

Alé comes to my side, clapping me on the back as he leans in close to my ear. “Shall we go tease her, Pietro? I can’t stand looking at her and not having my hands on her.”

All vampires have excellent hearing. Across the long room, her head snaps up, lips curling into a sensual smile. She sets her pencil down and sashays to the counter, hopping up onto it and planting a tender kiss on the bridge of his nose. She sends mirth and lust into our bond at the same time.

I swing her over the counter. Alé grabs her knee and pulls her legs wide, positioning himself between them. She puts one hand on his stomach and reaches for my hand. “I’ll stay with you, but you must take a little time off to play tour guide. There’s a lot I need to learn before I leave.”

My heart clenches at the word “leave,” but I nod. “Anything you need, mate.”

Alé slips his hand up her thigh and grips it. “Where would you like to go first?”

She tugs him close by his shirt’s lapels but smiles at me. “Well, it would be easier for me to visit the various businesses on my own as I’d like to speak with the proprietors, but I’d really like to see it from above. So…” her voice trails off, and she rubs at the back of one elbow. “Perhaps we could fly tonight?”

Something tender unfurls inside me. My wings ache to come out and shield her from the world. Her wings were never strong enough for her to fly the long distances most vampires are able to. It bothered her in her youth, but I’d hoped, with Alé and me loving her so hard, constantly reminding her how perfect she is, that she would come to see her wings as beautiful in their own right, despite being on the smaller side.

Alé grips her throat and turns her focus to him, his expression more serious than I’ve seen it in centuries. “We would love to fly with you, amore. Anytime, anywhere.”

She smiles, but it’s soft and tender, our bond fraught with worry. Her gaze moves to me. “And you’ll be there if I can’t, you know…” She doesn’t say it, but we both know what she’s speaking about.

“Always,” I confirm, bringing my forehead to hers. “We will always be there for you.”

Her smile brightens, and she pulls Alé close to us so we can all hug together. I ignore the hustle and bustle around us as Carolya helps the short line of customers. I’m always diligent with the store, always careful, focused and entirely devoted to Higher Grounds. But with my mates here, together, focus for my business eludes me a little bit.

We breathe the same air, our heads pressed tightly together. But the moment passes, and Valentina slips off the counter and grabs her bag. “I’m headed to the Annabelle to pack my things. How about that flight and a late meal? I can cook for you two for a change.”

Alé snorts. “You don’t cook, amore; we all know this. Unless perhaps you’ve learned in the last hundred years.”

She plants a hand on her hip. “I absolutely do cook.”

“Takeout doesn’t count,” I tease, watching a pink blush crawl over her cheeks and down her chest.

She opens her mouth to sass me, but the coffee machine behind us sputters. Carolya mutters about the damn machine, and Alé gives me a look.

“We must get to work, amore,” he tells Valentina. “Comm us tonight when you’re ready.”

Alé and I stand like fools, staring as she leaves, hips sashaying sensually. Once she’s gone, I force myself to turn to the still-sputtering coffee machine so I can relieve Carolya. My pixie helper slaps a coffee-stained rag on the countertop and gives us a wry look.

“Are you two going to be useless while she’s in town?”

“Mhm,” Alé confirms cheerfully. “We’ll be doing next to no work, friend. Get used to it.”

He teases her mercilessly, but, like always, she rolls her eyes and returns to her work with a smile.

I touch her elbow carefully. “We would never leave you stranded in here, Carolya, no matter how distracted we are.”

Her smile broadens as she twitches her wings. “We’ll see about that, Boss.”

Indeed we will, because I am already counting down the minutes to dinner.