Page 9 of Fearless as an Eagle

“Sure,” Mia says with a smile and I stand up to follow her to the bay window in the living room. “I love these windows. That’s why I had to put my cozy chair right in front of them. I like to sit here and watch the rain.”

“I bet that would be very relaxing.”

She murmurs her agreement as I draw the curtain aside to see the winter wonderland the forest has transformed into overnight. There is so much snow. The tent probably would have collapsed under the weight of it.

“Wow. That’s a lot of white stuff,” she says with wide eyes.

“That’s what she said!” Riley calls from across the cabin and Mia promptly bursts into laughter. Just another example of how perfect she is for us. While some people find him annoying, Mia seems to like his sense of humor. And though I often roll my eyes at his antics, if they put that smile on her face, I will set him up to make all the stupid jokes he can think of. Even my bear, who’s normally agitated all day after I have nightmares, is purring at the sound.

The curtain falls from my hand as I stare mesmerized at my mate. I’m standing so close to her I can practically feel the giddiness radiating off of her. It draws me closer and closer until my hand is cupping the side of her face and I’m leaning in to kiss her without conscious thought. My lips brush against hers and she gasps at the contact. I take that as an invitation and slip my tongue inside. As I swipe my tongue over hers, my other hand wraps around her waist and pulls her flush against me. She moans into my mouth and the sound goes straight to my dick. I devour her as she melts into me. I have never felt anything like this before. Just one kiss and I’m ruined for life. All I want to do for the rest of eternity is kiss this woman. But all good things must end, and this life-changing kiss is no different.

Mia pulls away, breaking the kiss, and I watch as so many emotions flicker across her face. Her hand comes up to rest on her lips as she gazes into my eyes. Finally, as if coming out of a dream, she shakes her head and steps back, my hands falling from her as she does.

“I’m s-sorry. I can’t… That was… That was a mistake,” she stutters as she continues to shake her head.

“It wasn’t,” I argue. “It was the best thirty seconds of my life.”

“But… No. You’re Alex’s friend. I can’t. I can’t do that again,” she says, shaking her head over and over.

“Don’t. Don’t compare me tohim,” I nearly growl. I have to fight to hold it back just so I don’t frighten her.

Her eyes widen and she stammers, “You… you know about him?”

“He’s not Mike. None of us are. We won’t ever hurt you like he did,” Mason vows. I didn’t even notice him and Riley approach.

“You really can’t feel it?” I hoped the kiss would flip some switch and she would realize I’m her mate, but she’s so hung up on the past and how badly it hurt her the last time she fell for one of her brother’s friends that she can’t see what should be clear as day.

“Feel what?” she asks hesitantly as her eyes flick between the three of us.

“I’m your mate… We all are,” I tell her, done with holding back.

“You’re… All three of you?” She waves her hand in front of her, pointing at each of us.

I just stare at her, willing her to believe me while Riley smiles like a lunatic and nods his head in a mirror at how she was shaking hers moments ago. Mason is the one to voice our thoughts. “Yes, Mia. We’re all your mates. We knew it the moment we saw you.”

Chapter 8

Mia

Mates. They’re my mates.That can’t be. Surely I wouldknow. Like they claim they did the second they saw me. I mean, sure, I feel drawn to them. But that’s only because they’re stupidly hot. And so what if I slept peacefully for the first time in I don’t even know how long with them all in my cabin? I’m sure it was mostly the storm that helped put me to sleep. And I felt safe with them here because they’re my brother’s best friends and I know they’re not some psychos that are going to murder me in my sleep. No. If they were my mates, I’d know it.

Although… That kiss… When Bennett cupped my cheek, his large hand covering half my face, I felt…something.Then he caressed my lips with his, so softly it could have been a dream. But it quickly heated to the kind of kiss I’ve been waiting for my entire life. Even Mike never kissed me like that. He held me tight as our tongues tangled in an erotic dance I didn’t want to end. But then my brain screeched back online, and I remembered who I was kissing. I had to stop it before it went any further. Before I let my body make my decisions for me again.

Alex specifically told me not to fuck any of his friends. No matter how good it felt to be wrapped up in Bennett’s arms, I can’t let myself go there.

“No. I would know if you were my mates. Trust me. There’s no mate bond pulling me to any of you,” I finally declare.

“There is. I think you’re just too stuck in your head to let yourself feel it. It’s not unheard of. You’ve got yourself so convinced you shouldn’t be thinking of us that way that you can’t see we’re the only ones you should be. Don’t think about who we are or how we’re connected. Just allow yourself to feel. Connect with your eagle. What is she saying?” Mason asks and I realize for the first time she’s been quiet since we landed in the forest near their tent last night.

Closing my eyes, I focus on my eagle, only to find her perched on her favorite tree glaring at me.Oh, don’t look at me like that. It’s not as if you’ve been any help! If you’re so sure they’re our mates, why haven’t you said anything?I argue with her in my head instead of out loud like I normally do, so the guys don’t think I’m completely crazy.

She cocks her head to the side and sends me an image of a conversation we had after the Mike incident when I went off on a rant about how I didn’t believe in mates and if I ever met a man claiming to be mine, I would immediately reject him. She ruffles her feathers and whistles a soft high-pitched note signaling her desire to copulate, and I roll my eyes at her.

We’re not having sex with them.I glower at her.

The bitch sends me an image of the four of us in my bed. Riley is underneath me while Mason takes me from behind and Bennett kneels beside Riley, thrusting his cock into my mouth. I can’t hold back the moan at the mental image and I squeeze my thighs together as my pussy clenches on nothing. She’s playing fucking dirty, and I tell her as much. She flutters her wings and I flip her off as I close the connection between us and my eyes flutter open. I don’t need to listen to her.

“What’s the matter, love? She tell you we’re right?” Mason smirks when my eyes land on him as soon as they’re open.

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