Page 76 of Havenfall Harbor
My hands are laced together over my stomach and I’m flat on my back, not in the least bit comfortable, but I don’t want to stir around again. The seconds tick by, spanning into minutes. Nobody speaks, they may already both be sleeping. I’ve been too busy trying to slow down my heart and relax my body to pay attention to their breathing.
After several more minutes, I have to admit, at least to myself, that I’m a little disappointed. I thought we’d at least keep up the playful banter. I wasn’t expecting anything physical to happen, but I figured we’d watch TV or chat, something other than just climbing into bed and lying in silence.
Unable to sit still anymore, I turn to the side a little, trying not to take up any more room than I already am. I end up facing Griffin’s side of the bed. I curl my knees up a little and shove my arm under the pillow, nodding my head slightly to get comfortable.
I want to laugh at all the times I’ve heard guys talking about getting friend zoned and the hit your ego takes, even when you didn’t want anything more from the person. Damn if they aren’t right.
Realization made, I finally allow myself to get comfortable between them. It’s not like I was thinking there would be a long-lasting love affair between any of us, but it was nice how special and included they made me feel. I let myself drift off with a light smile on my face. I still had an amazing day, and I know they care enough to make sure I feel safe.
Griffin
Patience isa weapon I’ve honed and fostered for many years. A lesson my father taught me at a very young age, well before I was even blooded. ‘Patience erodes even the thickest of stones.’ I thought I’d mastered patience, but lying next to Quinn makes me question if I ever truly understood the concept.
I can hear every drop of her blood coursing through her veins, everythump, thumpof her heart galloping along. It’s almost too much, but then I think about if she wasn’t next to me, think about how her lying somewhere else would be a whole different kind of torture.
My body is rigid, and I’m not just talking about my dick. Every muscle I have is locked down tight, so I don’t give into the urge to wrap myself around her and sink inside her in more ways than one. I gave up even breathing when Evan dragged her over my body, the fucking bastard. He probably knew exactly what he was doing by letting her soft skin caress across mine. Vampires can’t hold their breath forever, oxygen is vital for us to function. Without it we would go into a stasis-like state until someone or something provided us with blood. However, we are able to utilize the oxygen in blood for short periods of time, making it seem as if we don’t need air.
Quinn makes a small sound next to me, almost a huff, before she turns to her side and curls up facing me. I open my mouth and fill my lungs. The urge to touch her grows stronger.
Evan shifts on the other side of Quinn. While it’s true we have shared a lover once or a dozen times, sharing a bed is different. He was honest with Quinn when he told her he has slept here on many occasions. It’s not something we’ve ever discussed, it’s just something that is.
Evan is suspicious by nature, yet he’s also a shifter that craves the closeness of a pack. The suspicion he carries was born from his own pack, unfortunately. Sensing from a very young age what a dominant shifter the polar bear would be, his brothers tried to kill him so one of them could take his place. His father saw this as a perfectly fine way to become an alpha.Only the strongest surviveis still a widely accepted lifestyle among many packs, the polar bears included.
After the third attempt on his life, Evan left his family. He’s been without a pack since. It wasn’t long after that when we found each other. If our situation wasn’t dire at the time, we probably would have killed each other. Each of us was still raw from the gifts our families bestowed upon us, but we needed each other to survive, and an unlikely bond was formed between two rightful princes.
Over the years, our bond grew even more, forged into stronger ties than I could have ever imagined. I am the brother he can trust, and he is the brother I never had but dearly needed. While Evan never let the sins of his past taint his soul, I have reveled in mine, allowing them to color my very existence. I offer him camaraderie, he offers me a conscience.
Quinn’s heart finally dips to a slow, dragging pulse. If she’s not sleeping, she’s very close. Without moving too much, I peer over at her. Her lips are just barely parted, and her face is relaxed. I give myself a second to appreciate the fact that she’s lying next to me willingly. That I’m not pushing her away or influencing her with my bite.
I don’t think I’ve just lain next to a woman, not even Iris. I was too young, too greedy for that. Hell, you would have thought Quinn reached into my pants and gripped my balls instead of my hand earlier considering how it felt. Why did these simple pleasures allude me before? Is she different, or am I?
I know the answer—shehas already mademedifferent. And it has little to do with her blood, since I haven’t had the pleasure. Yet.
Evan
“Surprisingly satisfying.”I keep my voice low so I don’t disturb Quinn’s sleep. I almost wrapped myself around her and pinned her to the bed just to get her to settle down, but I knew it would have had the opposite effect on me.
Griff grunts in response. He knows I’m referring to Quinn sleeping soundly between us. It was tempting to show her how serious Griff and I really are about keeping her, but there was something about the way she kept playing it off like we were joking that stopped me from making a move.
I don’t want her to get the wrong idea and think one night was all we were after. Once I get a taste of her, I know things will go from one to ten real quick. My bear is already pushing me to mark her, and not just with my scent.
Having her here right now, making sure she’s safe, that no one else could even try to get to her while she’s protected by Griff and me, is the only thing that is appeasing us.
As accepting as Quinn is, I have no idea if she’s ever been with a supernatural. She seemed relatively clueless when we talked briefly about mates and the vampire equivalent. How is she going to feel knowing that once we act on that bond—and we will, since there’s no stopping it at this point, not with Griff or me, it’s as inevitable as the sun rising—that it’s more than just being committed? It’s unyielding, there are no take backs. I’m not sure how she’ll respond to knowing that we want her everything.
“Never thought a human woman could be so terrifying,” I admit.
Griff grunts again. “Do you think she’s afraid of us?”
I turn over on my side, inching that much closer to Quinn, even though she barely has any room between us. I let my gaze fall over her sleeping form. I can only see her profile because she’s resting on her side. Her head is nestled into the pillow, while one hand rests over her belly. “No.” I almost snort, even though it’s hard to believe.
She looks like she’s sleeping peacefully. If she was experiencing fear, I don’t think she would have drifted off to sleep, not to mention Griff and I would have already known that.
“Yeah, doesn’t seem fair. We scare everyone but her, while she’s the only thing that scares us.” Griffin hits the nail right on the head with that one.
“She’ll definitely keep us on our toes.” I lay my head back on the pillow. “How much should we tell her?” I get to the real meat of the conversation.
“Enough that if someone else says something, she’s not completely blindsided.”
