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WORN OUT FROM A LONG night hunched over, inking a tattoo, Simon Blackclaw rubbed the tense muscles on the back of his neck. Locking the door after his client departed, he turned to face Dex and Nick. They sat together on the sofa chatting, their fingers laced together. He’d tried getting them to leave earlier for home, but they’d refused, and Simon liked the sound of their voices anyway. Having them near always settled him, and after seeing Celia Tannehill on the news today, his bear paced inside his head, antsy to locate what it’d already dubbed his mate.
Yeah, he wanted a woman to join their relationship, but he hadn’t held any great hope it’d happen. By choice, he wasn’t a part of Dex and Nick’s intimate partnership, but he loved them both like brothers. That’d been enough until the last couple of years.
“Let’s head home.” Simon glanced at his watch. Three in the morning. Thankfully the weekend was ahead of them, but he had another long night tomorrow, and he planned to sleep until noon.
“Don’t want to find a girl for us to fuck?” Dex ran his palm along Nick’s thigh. “Or at least for you to fuck while I do him?”
Simon couldn’t get Celia off his mind long enough to contemplate another woman. “Nah. I’m beat.”
“Your loss,” Nick said as he rose from the sofa.
Sometimes their sexual relationship rankled Simon because he craved the connection the twin flame gave them. He didn’t want it enough to become bi, no matter how much he wished he shared their intimacy.
Straddling his bike, he fired up the engine and took off without securing his helmet in place. Tonight he needed the wind in his hair, along with nature’s musty scent the earlier rainstorm had left behind. The elements would give him some clarity.
He parked his motorcycle in the garage behind the cabin and killed the engine. The headlights of Nick’s Escalade blinded Simon before the vehicle swung into its spot. Simon watched them exit the vehicle as he brushed his fingers through his chilly hair, detangling the locks. As they strode toward the cabin, he palmed his beard, smoothing the coarse strands.
Once inside, he ignored the unsure glances his twin flames sent him. He didn’t need a connection to know they worried about him and his yearning for a mate.
As he neared his bedroom, a delightful aroma hit his nostrils. He sniffed the air, a wild and tangy smell, with a hint of honey and raspberries. Beneath the surface of his skin, his bear awoke and prowled. The fragrance must’ve caught his brothers’ attention too because they strolled behind him into Simon’s bedroom.
Curled up on his bed, buried beneath his covers, with her head resting on his pillow, lay the missing Tannehill heiress.
She’s our mate. His bear reacted with a violent lurch forward, while the sizzle along his twin flame mark alerted him to the greatest truth of them all...
“She’s our twin flame.” Simon walked straight to the bed and swiped a black lock of hair off her cheek. In person, she appeared younger than on the wanted headshot. Pink streaks feathered throughout her hair, a color that hadn’t been in her photo on the news.
A rebel, judging by her hair and the tattoo sleeve on her right arm. Our kind of girl.
Celia jolted awake. “Oh, shit.” Sitting straight up, she rubbed her thumb along her wrist as she gaped wide-eyed at them. “Please don’t eat me.”
Simon grinned, and Nick chuckled.
Dex’s bear glowed in his eyes, verifying to Simon that his brother recognized her significance to them too. Deadpan, Dex said, “We’re damn sure gonna eat you, sweetheart. You smell too sweet not to devour.”