Dance Around - Susi Hawke Page 0,15

sand he brushed off his ass landed back on Clay. "Nope. After your scene at dinner because you couldn't manage to share a meal with Gil, we decided it's time. We’re not leaving until we get answers. And you know we're going to get them out of you eventually, so how about you do us all a favor and tell us why you and Gil aren't together?"

I bent over to pick up a seashell and rubbed a hand across the swirling pattern. Its violet color was the exact shade I'd wondered about in Gil's eyes. I started to toss it aside, then pocketed it instead.

A few moments of silence passed as I turned to watch gentle waves washing ashore. Running my thumb over the seashell, I gathered my thoughts and turned back to my brothers.

"I never told you this, but I met Gil long before Morty introduced him to us. Several weeks before, in fact. His family had moved here a few months previous, after they bought the old Santos estate, remember? We hadn’t met them yet because we let Morty book us solid and were rarely home. I was back for a few days of downtime, chasing mice through the woods in my puma form when I came across this abnormally large and impossibly cute bunny. And when I smelled him, it was like finding my true home. My purpose for breathing. We both shifted and… shit. He was glorious and so fucking sexy. And then we got off on the wrong foot when I opened my mouth."

Gibby snorted. "I’m not surprised. What the hell did you say?"

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I sighed at the memory. "It was immediately after my fifty-sixth birthday, so maybe age was on my mind? I don't know. I definitely wasn't thinking about any stupid laws. But I asked, ‘How old are you, cutie? And more importantly, do I need anyone's permission to court you? Because you will be mine.’ His whole attitude took a one-eighty turn so fast it was like I'd thrown cold water on him. He calmly informed me he was thirty-seven, thank you very much, and I didn't need anyone's permission because he'd never been, nor ever would be, anyone's possession."

Dear looked incredulous. "So then you told him you have two omega brothers and don't expect them to follow those shitty laws either, right?" At the end, he lowered his voice, glancing nervously over his shoulder as if a random council member might be hovering nearby.

"I tried, but before I could get two words out, one of his brothers came running up and told him there was an emergency at home. I asked him if we could talk later and found out where he lived. I went home and paced the floors for a few days before I tried again. But when I got there, I found out his mother had recently died, and the family was in mourning. Gil allowed me to escort him to the funeral and support him through the burial and reception. But he asked me to give him time because he had a lot on his plate. I understood, so I waited a couple weeks."

Shaking my head, I snorted a laugh. "Then I got called out on a job which helped pass the time. I was planning to knock on his door as soon as I got home. But it didn't quite work out. The next time I saw him was at the big meeting Morty arranged to introduce our family to the brood. Imagine my shock when he had Gil come forward and say he was the leader of the family of ninja bunnies taking the jobs we couldn’t handle."

Nash curled his lip at the memory. "I don't know why Morty decided to play us against each other from the start, but it was stupid. He could have said the truth—the brood was going to be great for those jobs needing more manpower than we could offer. Instead, he made it sound like we were somehow weaker because they outnumbered us. Fucking asshole. I have nothing but respect for Gil now. I regret all the years we were frenemies who constantly tried to one-up each other, rather than the friends we could've been. Honestly, the brood is one hell of a network, the way they're spread around the globe. Imagine how much easier our lives would've been over the years if we'd had their support for some of the tougher jobs."

Gibby held