April's Fools - Ophelia Bell Page 0,73

not to invite the three ursa to my bed that night. I couldn’t deny how much I wanted all three of them. Part of it was not having had them yet, but I couldn’t reconcile the desire with the knowledge that we couldn’t fully make love without breaking their rules. But I also had a reprieve from the constant need for sex and wanted to reassert my boundaries with them for as long as I could, which meant not jumping into bed with any of them again until I was positive it was my own rational decision and not my body’s magical urges dictating my actions.

Ultimately, I wound up lying awake after showering, wondering what the six of them were up to. Were they thinking about me? Had they been too thrown by my mother’s affiliation with their enemy to be interested anymore? Did they see me as somehow tainted because of her? I didn’t really want to know the answer to that question, but their actions would the indicators.

Eventually, I drifted off and didn’t rouse again until sometime the next morning. Delicious scents wafted up from downstairs, and I was aware of my hunger only a few moments before the niggling tug of carnal need. It was more insistent now than it had been when I went to sleep, but still not so strong I couldn’t ignore it long enough to get into the studio. But I had survived an entire night without turning into a sex-crazed fiend, so that was something.

All six of the guys were up already and looked freshly showered and energized. Stuart held dominion in the kitchen, and the table was piled with plates of food. The second I walked in, Tate greeted me with a smile and guided me to a seat. Then he set down a steaming mug of fresh coffee, sugar, and powdered creamer.

“Sorry there’s no fresh cream. We’re light on fresh stuff that isn’t growing outside, and sadly, there is no cow,” he said.

I gaped at the spread and shook my head. “No worries. I’m honestly amazed at how much we do have. Was this all in the freezer?” I hadn’t done a full inventory when Gray and I arrived. Most of the containers and parcels I’d seen in the huge chest freezer had been too difficult to identify at a glance.

Stuart came in with a plate loaded with fresh pancakes and another piled high with bacon and sausage. “Most of it, yes, or on the shelves in the pantry. A pair of us should head to the mainland for more at some point though. We don’t know how long we’ll be here. With any luck, Vesh and his brothers have lost our trail thanks to Deva’s intervention, but until we hear from her, I think we need to assume you’re still being hunted.”

I dug into my food, humming happily around the first delicious bite, then took a big swallow of coffee to wash it down before answering. “Now that I have a studio to work in, they can take all damn month if they need to. I just hope it doesn’t disrupt my show. But with everyone’s help, I think we can finish the project ahead of schedule, at least if we keep up last night’s pace.” A thought occurred to me, and I glanced up with another bite poised. “That is, unless you guys have other responsibilities. I guess I kind of hijacked your lives.”

Tate settled into the seat next to me, his brawny frame crowding me and his shoulder brushing mine as he reached for the orange juice. “There’s no place I’d rather be,” he said, giving me a warm and genuine smile. I had to admit to myself that I’d been a little disappointed I hadn’t needed to call on him and the other two ursa during the night. But on the other hand, I really didn’t need an excuse, did I? They’d have said yes no matter what.

I reached out and squeezed Tate’s forearm, seeking to give some sign that I had no intention of retreating. “Thank you for being so understanding last night,” I said in a low voice.

“We’re here for you, April. And I mean that literally,” Tate said. “We all hoped that by separating, we would make it easier on ourselves to find mates, but it wasn’t really what any of us wanted. I’m not exaggerating when I say you’re perfect. No one else has ever come close. So I know I’m not

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