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We didn't have to go far to drop Ahura off. I had no clue where the fiend actually lived, but I didn't think she'd be going back to the shady unsanctioned district where she'd once spent so much time. Not after she worked with a hunter to bring down her old gang. I should probably ask where she was headed when I dropped her off at the working-class suburb in a part of town that was pretty evenly mixed between poor humans and lucky curs. But I was kind of over everything. And besides, we'd fucked out of desperation and animal instinct. That didn't mean we suddenly had some sort of deep, meaningful relationship.
I pulled the camper up by a seldom-used public transport stop and Ahura hopped out, her bag of stuff slung over her shoulder. Her red eyes met mine and she looked like she might say something else, but in the end she just winked. "Thanks for the job. See you around, hunter." She waved a leisurely hand and turned away, headed down the street into suburbia.
I stared after her until Fin cleared his throat. "So...are we going home now, or did you want to stare at her ass a while longer?"
I coughed and pulled back onto the street. "Fuck off."
Fin shrugged. "What? It's a nice ass. I don't want any of that crazy. But you help yourself."
Emerson leaned around the seat to look at my face. "Did you really sleep with her, Sam?"
I rolled my eyes and groaned. Did we really have to do this now?
"Of course he did," Fin said helpfully. "She's been eye-fucking Sam the entire way home hoping for a repeat performance."
I glared at the leprechaun. "I hate you."
Emerson glanced between us and frowned. "You don't care?" he asked Fin, his big, innocent red-brown eyes wide.
It was Fin's turn to roll his eyes. "For fuck's sake, Emerson. Are you deaf? Or did you really inherit some of that fabled ogre stupidity?"
I grimaced. That was harsh, even for Fin. Emerson was stupidly sensitive about the stereotypes. I watched the half-ogre hunch in on himself, while Fin continued glaring at him. "Moron," Fin muttered under his breath.
I reached out and punched the little asshole in the shoulder. "Leave him alone."
My eyes met Emerson's in the rearview and I dredged up a wry smile. "Fin's people and mine are both pretty open about that kind of thing, Em." In fact, for a lot of fiend variants and their cur counterparts, polygamy was the norm. Humans had this weird societal idea of possession in relationships, but very few other races did. Except a few—like ogres. Emerson's people didn't exactly believe in monogamy—they were way too primitive for that. But they did tend to be possessive and territorial. So, they didn't usually share mates as openly. What you stole and bludgeoned into submission was yours until someone else stole it.
Emerson looked down at his hands. "Right. Sorry."
I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering just what was going through that big head of his.
When we got to the cannery, I pulled the camper in and we unpacked the most important stuff before locking up and heading upstairs to the apartment. Emerson hesitated on the stairs, looking uncomfortable. Fin pushed his way past the big guy and made his way to the upper floor, muttering something under his breath that made Emerson flinch.
I stopped behind the big hulk and nudged him with an elbow, my hands busy holding duffel bags of clothes and weapons. "What's up, big guy?"
Emerson ran a hand through his thick black hair and turned sideways to make room for me on the less-than-ogre-sized metal staircase. "Nothing. I just...maybe I should go home?"
I tilted my head, huffing when a black and white streaked strand of hair fell in my face. "Do what you want," I said calmly. Emerson was so confusing sometimes. But he seemed extra weird at the moment. "If you stick around, I'll drive you home in a bit. Or you can just stay the night here and go home in the morning." Emerson lived in a shit hole. Plus, it was starting to get dark out, and I know he had to be as tired and ready to relax as I was. "I promise," I said with a smirk, "no fairy moonshine tonight."
He turned bright pink under his greenish skin, and I realized I'd just hit really close to the heart of the problem. "Oh," I said, deflating. I leaned my butt against the stair railing and looked up at him. Really, I was so dense sometimes. But I hated talking about feelings. And I'd been putting this conversation off for so long now, it was just second nature. Time to put on my adult pants.
Emerson pressed his lips together and looked at his feet, and I could tell he was fighting with himself. "Sorry," he said, his deep voice barely a whisper. "I didn't mean...."
I rolled my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. Dropping the duffel bags at my feet, I stepped up three stairs, so I could look the big idiot in the eyes. "Hey," I said, reaching out and cupping his square jaw, tilting his head up to make him look at me as I ran a thumb over his thick black stubble. "What do you want, Em? Do you want me to take you home? Do you want to just pretend nothing happened between us and go back to being just guild buddies? Or...?"
His kind, red-brown eyes bore into mine, full of so much that I didn't understand. Tenderness. Longing. Love, maybe. It was overwhelming and terrifying. But I knew I needed to just let him say what he needed to say, or we'd both be miserable. The big guy deserved a break from my crippling refusal to face my feelings. I hated it. But he was worth it.
Giant, warm hands hesitantly encircled my waist, like he was afraid I'd stab him for touching me. Which, okay, to be fair, I might have given that impression in the past. Poor guy. Why the hell he put up with me, I'd never understand. He licked his lips and took a deep breath, as if bracing himself for something he knew was going to hurt. "I want you, Sam," he said, his voice filled with more confidence and absolute certainty than I'd ever heard him express.
My stomach actually fluttered, and my heart swelled with excitement. Fucking shifter genes and their fucking insistence on forming needlessly deep mate bonds. Gods.
"You said..." he started, clearly still afraid of pushing me too far, "Back when the wyrm attacked, you told Theo to get your mates out of there. Plural." He lifted a hand to rub the spot just above his solar plexus. "Ogres don't really talk about mate bonds. Is that what this is? This tug I get whenever you're around?"
I stared at him, my face flaming. He felt it too. Even though he wasn't a shifter. And here I thought it was my own dirty little secret. Hell.
I realized Emerson was just watching me, waiting for me to stop arguing with myself about my feelings. Huffing a short laugh, I moved forward, letting him support my weight as I went on tiptoes to press my lips to his. His touch went from hesitant to crushing in an instant as he curled one massive arm around my back and lifted me off my feet, pressing me to him, his other hand gripping the back of my head so I couldn't pull away.
Even though his embrace was rough, his lips on mine were gentle, questioning. I drew back with a laugh, nipping sharply at his full bottom lip. "Now I get that whole 'swept me off my feet' saying," I muttered breathlessly, feeling like a weak female. I wriggled in his grip, exerting a bit of my own strength. "Put me down. I'm not fucking you on a metal staircase. I want a shower and a bed."
The pink color on his cheeks deepened to a dusky red and he carefully set me on my feet. "Sorry."
I reached out and flicked him in the center of his forehead. "Stop it. Stop apologizing for every damned thing. You're amazing, ogre. You deserve whatever it is you want—even if it's my scrawny freak ass—so just take it already."
He laughed, shaking his head. "I love you so much, Sam."
I snorted and turned to pick up my discarded bags. "No. I did the whole feelings thing. We aren't going to start throwing the "L” word around. Disgusting."
I heard Emerson's soft laugh as I turned and headed up the stairs and I couldn't quite suppress my smile. As usual with romance, I didn't understand anything. But I was determined to enjoy it while it lasted.
When we reached the apartment, Fin had already let himself in and he was working on a stack of grilled sandwiches. Food first, then we'd worry about getting cleaned up. He was a man after my own heart. I grinned at him and he waved his spatula at me and Emerson. "So? Did Emerson find his balls yet?"
Em narrowed his eyes at Fin. I barked a laugh. So that was what they'd been arguing about. "I helped him find 'em," I said, tossing my duffel bag of clothes toward the laundry room, then setting the bag of weapons on the table with a thump.
Fin arched a thick red brow at me. "Well, I can't imagine something that fucking huge was difficult to locate."
I snorted.
Emerson did not look amused. "I'm going to just go...shower," he mumbled, edging out of the room like he'd rather die than spend one more second with either of us.
Fin cackled. I shoved him, nearly knocking him off the step stool he used to reach the stove. "Ease off. Fuck, you know he's sensitive."
The leprechaun just laughed harder. "You're both idiots. That guy's had a crush on you since he met you. He's like a blushing virgin."
I arched a brow at him. Moving shifter fast, I grabbed him and picked him up. He let out an unmanly squeak and clamped his legs around my hips. "Fuck's sake, Saber. What have I told you about picking me up?"
I grinned evilly at him, wrapping my arms around his back and under his ass to hold him still. "You say that, but don't think I don't feel your dick poking me in the stomach right now."
His green eyes twinkled, and he smirked. "Put me down before the food burns."
I arched a brow. "Admit you're just hard on Emerson because you were scared of me too, at first."
He huffed, leaning in to bite my shoulder with his blunt little teeth. "I wasn't scared of you, idiot."
"Sure," I said, finally relenting and setting him back on his feet in front of the stove.
He rolled his eyes and flipped the sandwich before it could completely blacken. "I was stupid to think your gender was a problem. Just like Emerson's stupid to think he isn't good enough for you. You have a terrible habit of proving everyone wrong. I just got sick of watching the big oaf suffer."
I laughed, holding up my hands. "Okay, I take it back, stop being so deep."
He leered at me over grilled ham and cheese. "Oh, I'll be deep, sweetheart, just as soon as we’re clean and fed."
I scoffed, going to unpack the weapons. Most of them could just be wiped off and put away, but my blades could probably use some deep cleaning after all the stabbing I'd done with them lately. "So confident, for such a little guy."
He made a lewd gesture with his hips. "Not little everywhere, kitty cat."
I huffed a laugh and snagged a sandwich, burning my mouth as I took a bite before Fin could even hand me a plate. "Good," I said around a mouthful of gooey deliciousness. "Because I'm pretty hungry. It's gonna take a lot to fill me up."
Emerson padded into the kitchen at that exact moment, his hair damp, wearing a pair of old sweats and a t-shirt. He stopped, looking like he was reconsidering his life choices. "You guys are still at it?"
I laughed and handed him my plate, piling another sandwich on it, before getting more food for myself. "I was talking about food, Em. Geesh. Is your mind always in the gutter?"
Fin snorted and turned off the stove, getting his own plate and joining us at the table. "That's Emerson. Always thinking with his monster-sized dick."
Emerson buried his face in his hands. "Oh, my Gods."
I patted him on the shoulder in sympathy. "Don't worry big guy," I said, realizing I loved making him uncomfortable. "I like your monster-sized dick."
He made a whining sound and I took pity on him. "Eat your food. I'm not going to sexually assault you."
When he lifted his head, his cheeks were still pink, but he was clearly making an effort. "Oh, I wouldn't mind being assaulted by you, Sam. But do we have to talk about it?"
I choked on my food. Fin pounded me helpfully on the back, grinning the whole time, the asshole. "I just realized something," I said, as I tried to catch my breath. "I might hate you both equally."
Fin flipped me off and focused on his food. Emerson gave me puppy-dog eyes and slid one of his sandwiches onto my plate. "Sorry."
I rolled my eyes heavenward. "You see what I mean?"
Emerson shrugged and went to take the sandwich back. I slapped his hand away and snatched up the food. "Mine now."
His smile and laugh were more relaxed that I'd seen him in a long time.