over,” she promised them both. Aedan stood in a quick, feline movement, and Nina found herself submitting to the inevitable.
CHAPTER NINE
If Soren didn’t have the impending coup of his Pride to occupy his mind, he thought, watching as Aedan chivvied Nina to eat some more food, he would happily forget the Pride even existed and spend the rest of the day convincing the mercurial woman that her best interests lay with him and the other man. Almost a shame we can’t let her really make her own choice, he thought wryly. Once she had seen him in his other form, neither he nor Aedan could let her go; not bearing their secret. She may not know it yet, but Nina was now destined to be theirs, shared between them, come hell or high water.
“I suppose I should have been more curious about why there was cat mint in the tea you gave me,” Nina said to Aedan, finishing off the last bacon-wrapped date with a murmur of satisfaction that sent a hot wave of desire through Soren’s body. You’ve had her all day—at least until the Pride showed up, he reminded himself. Time for Aedan to work his magic.
“And if you ever want to guarantee that both of us will drop everything to come after you,” Aedan said, grinning irrepressibly at the woman they both had marked as their own, “all you have to do is put a little in your bath water and walk through the house after.” Soren chuckled.
“Do you want to ruin any possibility of us ever getting anything done?” Soren asked the other man, standing and picking up the empty plate.
“Wanted her to have a fair shake, you know; only right that she should know our weaknesses.” Nina was smiling—for the first time since she had discovered their true natures, smiling genuinely, her eyes no longer wary or full of bitterness or sarcasm. The fear-scent in her pheromones had gradually dissolved, and the undercurrent of desire was starting, gradually, to come back. God above, if I’m already this attuned to her… Whether or not Nina knew it, and even if there wasn’t the Pride to consider, Soren knew that he had to keep her—that they both had to. He could smell Aedan’s scent-mark on the woman, alongside his own. It added a distinctive counterpoint to the sweet, warm, spicy scent she radiated, deepening it, making it that much more interesting. No one in the Pride—no were-lion in the world—could mistake who she was.
Soren had watched with a mixture of relief and envy as Nina had gradually come out of herself, even going so far as to touch the other man. She still hadn’t come around enough to make physical contact with him, but he knew—he hoped—that it was only a matter of time. How much time do we have? One more day. One more day in the contract we set with her, a few more after that until Alex challenges me. If they couldn’t convince her to stay with them, to be their mate, before Alex’s challenge at the Pride hunt, there would be hell to pay. He had counted half the Pride, ranged around his back yard; he knew that they didn’t want Jordan back—they were just doubtful of Soren’s ability to lead. They would accept anyone rather than continue to run the risks of an unattached Alpha and a lone male in the Pride.
Soren came back to the table, shifting closer to Nina; she checked, but didn’t move away as he reached out to touch her hand. “How do you feel?” Soren asked her. The easy, charmed smile on her face faltered, and she swallowed, the lingering fear-smell in her pheromones reappearing in a thin thread of scent.
“Still a little…” she glanced around the room, as if physically looking for the word she sought. “It’s weird. Okay? Two guys want to share me, that’s weird enough. They both happen to be shapeshifters who turn into lions; that brings it to… I don’t know. Some kind of fantasy territory.”
“Fantasies can be fun,” Aedan pointed out with a grin. Soren watched as Aedan’s hand reached out, moving to take Nina’s other hand.
CHAPTER NINE
If Soren didn’t have the impending coup of his Pride to occupy his mind, he thought, watching as Aedan chivvied Nina to eat some more food, he would happily forget the Pride even existed and spend the rest of the day convincing the mercurial woman that her best interests lay with him and the other man. Almost a shame we can’t let her really make her own choice, he thought wryly. Once she had seen him in his other form, neither he nor Aedan could let her go; not bearing their secret. She may not know it yet, but Nina was now destined to be theirs, shared between them, come hell or high water.
“I suppose I should have been more curious about why there was cat mint in the tea you gave me,” Nina said to Aedan, finishing off the last bacon-wrapped date with a murmur of satisfaction that sent a hot wave of desire through Soren’s body. You’ve had her all day—at least until the Pride showed up, he reminded himself. Time for Aedan to work his magic.
“And if you ever want to guarantee that both of us will drop everything to come after you,” Aedan said, grinning irrepressibly at the woman they both had marked as their own, “all you have to do is put a little in your bath water and walk through the house after.” Soren chuckled.
“Do you want to ruin any possibility of us ever getting anything done?” Soren asked the other man, standing and picking up the empty plate.
“Wanted her to have a fair shake, you know; only right that she should know our weaknesses.” Nina was smiling—for the first time since she had discovered their true natures, smiling genuinely, her eyes no longer wary or full of bitterness or sarcasm. The fear-scent in her pheromones had gradually dissolved, and the undercurrent of desire was starting, gradually, to come back. God above, if I’m already this attuned to her… Whether or not Nina knew it, and even if there wasn’t the Pride to consider, Soren knew that he had to keep her—that they both had to. He could smell Aedan’s scent-mark on the woman, alongside his own. It added a distinctive counterpoint to the sweet, warm, spicy scent she radiated, deepening it, making it that much more interesting. No one in the Pride—no were-lion in the world—could mistake who she was.
Soren had watched with a mixture of relief and envy as Nina had gradually come out of herself, even going so far as to touch the other man. She still hadn’t come around enough to make physical contact with him, but he knew—he hoped—that it was only a matter of time. How much time do we have? One more day. One more day in the contract we set with her, a few more after that until Alex challenges me. If they couldn’t convince her to stay with them, to be their mate, before Alex’s challenge at the Pride hunt, there would be hell to pay. He had counted half the Pride, ranged around his back yard; he knew that they didn’t want Jordan back—they were just doubtful of Soren’s ability to lead. They would accept anyone rather than continue to run the risks of an unattached Alpha and a lone male in the Pride.
Soren came back to the table, shifting closer to Nina; she checked, but didn’t move away as he reached out to touch her hand. “How do you feel?” Soren asked her. The easy, charmed smile on her face faltered, and she swallowed, the lingering fear-smell in her pheromones reappearing in a thin thread of scent.
“Still a little…” she glanced around the room, as if physically looking for the word she sought. “It’s weird. Okay? Two guys want to share me, that’s weird enough. They both happen to be shapeshifters who turn into lions; that brings it to… I don’t know. Some kind of fantasy territory.”
“Fantasies can be fun,” Aedan pointed out with a grin. Soren watched as Aedan’s hand reached out, moving to take Nina’s other hand.
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