Page 154 of Gates of Tartarus

“Ah well, now, Suge. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

A second consciousness skirts across my skin, and I tense slightly as I feel Jonah settle in sleepily beside Lachy and myself.

“What’d I miss?” he says, yawning wide and stretching like a cat. “Any official throuple business I need to be caught up on?”

I shake my bracelet at him prettily, and he leans forward, looking more alert, examining the two charms on it. Glancing inquisitively up at Lachy briefly, he pulls my hand gently to him, first examining the compass and star charm, and then stroking the glossy sheen of the raven, before saying quietly, and quite seriously, “Thank you, Lachlainn.”

Lachy reaches out past me and lays a hand on Jonah’s shoulder. “You’re welcome, brother.”

We sit in silence, each of my hands held by the men on either side of me, Lachy’s arm linking the three of us, and stare out at the water. Cocooned between my guys, the chill of the morning is chased away and is slowly replaced by something much, much warmer. I feel the energy in the air begin to shift when Lachy picks my hand up and kisses my fingertips silently. Jonah watches through suddenly hungry eyes and mimics Lachy’s simple movement. Somehow the feel of their lips just on the very tips of my fingers lights an inferno in me, almost uncomfortable in its intensity. They mirror each other, lips traveling down my fingers to my wrists, slow, languid movements, little flicks of tongue and scrape of teeth sending shivers across my skin.

“Hey guys,” comes a sleepy, completely unrepentant voice from behind us, and Jonah groans.

“You havegotto be fucking kidding me, man. Cockblock much?”

I choke at his words, laughter bubbling up, and canhearthe smile in Walker’s voice.

“Come on now, Shotridge. Don’t be like that. I brought coffee.”

He places a steaming cup in my hands first, and I smile gratefully up at him.

“Cold out, Kai?” he asks cheekily. “You’re awfully flushed. Cheeks turning pink from the nip in the air?”

I can feel myself blush harder, and he laughs as Jonah and Lachy frown at him, until he holds out two more cups for them. “Wasn’t sure what you guys take so I brought out a tray.” And he had, a small jug of cream and a sugar dish, plus a plate of pastries he had found in the kitchen. He puts the tray down in front of me, then moves behind me, pulling me back against him. Lach and Jonah exchange looks, but hunger wins out over outrage, and both reach for some of the pastries off the heaping pile Walker brought out.

“You have enough there to feed an army,” I say jokingly, trying to ease some of the tension.

Walker grins, “Yeah, enough to feed Kailani’s Army.”

“There’s no way you guys can eat all that!” I protest, laughing slightly.

Jonah looks up at me, face stuffed and powdered sugar around the edges of his mouth. “You clearly underestimate our abilities,” he mumbles. “OooO! Cheese Danish!” He grabs it, then looks suspiciously up at Walker. “You can’t bribe us to join the Throuple, you know.”

Walker grins, dimples a mile deep. “A) I’m totally bribing you, and now that you’ve accepted my offering, you’re screwed. B) I have no idea what the hell it would be called, but it’s not a Throuple if I’m in it too. C) You know I’m in this thing, whatever-the-fuck it is.”

Lachy frowns, eyes narrowing, still gently running his hand up and down my arm, but focuses completely on Walker. “Youknow this isn’t a competition, right? He and I…” Lach jerks his head to indicate Jonah, “we’re in this together. We’re not waiting for Kai to choose one of us and cut the other out. And I think you are.That’swhy you’re on the reserve team. Because we don’t know what you’re thinking.”

I expect Walker to snap back or offer a sarcastic response of some sort, but instead he just sits, listening to Lachy, face somber. Sighing, he nods briefly once Lachy finishes speaking. “Yeah. I get that. At the end of the day it’s Kai’s choice, though, who she wants to be with…”

“But we –” Jonah points at himself and Lachy, “we’re not asking her to make a choice. That’s not what this is. And if that’s what you’re waiting for, or wanting, that’s up to you, of course. And you’re free to pursue Kai, and she’s welcome to accept that if that’s what she wants, because it’s up to her at the end of the day. But if that’s the case, if that’s what you’re doing, or what you want, then you’re not part ofthis,” again he motions to himself and Lach, “which means that, when it’s just us out here, you’re not welcome. Because this is our time.”

Walker looks a little stunned and starts to speak, before pausing, confusion clear in his voice. “I… uh... I don’t know, man. I want to date Kai. I’m open about that. And I’m not gonna lie. It’s – it’s weird, this whole thing. This isn’t what people do. Right?” Shaking his head, he runs his hand uncomfortably over his hair, back and forth, then sighs again. “But... ah…” hesitation is clear in his tone, “I kind of... I like hanging out with you guys… It’s… shit... I mean, I usually have work, and drinks with Maddox, but that’s it… I don’t know... hanging out the other night was okay...” He stumbles to a stop, then continues more steadily, but in a very, very low tone, “I don’t have a family, man. I don’t have shit. And this feels…” Walker’s voice trails off, and Lachy and Jonah exchange a long look, before Lach passes a plate to Walker, and Jonah nudges the tray closer to him. Walker looks between the two guys and reaches out to grab a muffin.

“Breakfast cupcake,” he says quietly, the edge of unexpected happiness clear in his voice, eyes widening in surprise when Lachy and Jonah both groan loudly.

“NO!” Jonah says at the same time Lachy says, “Oh God, not this again.”

Walker looks befuddled at the two guys' responses, but I growl out, “It’snota cupcake! Cupcakes have frosting! And the ingredients are different! I mean, the same, but different amounts… Muffins are mixed differently! There’s an actualmuffin method, hmmm? What do you say aboutthat?”

Lachlainn silently passes Walker a coffee as Jonah whispers under his breath, “Buckle up, Buttercup!”

“No!” I protest. “You’re not doing this! You’re not allowed to gang up on me! It’s a MUFFIN.Nota cupcake!”

“Uh, Kai, it’s like triple chocolate with chocolate chi–”

“Shut it!” I say fiercely. “It’s amuffin.You’reon my side, Walker, aren’t you? You’re not siding with these two on this?!”

Jonah and Lachy start laughing together as Walker wisely shoves the whole muffin in his mouth at once, mumbling unintelligibly and shrugging helplessly, before grinning through pressed lips and chipmunk cheeks at the other guys. All three are in full, rolling laughter before long, and I can’t help but smile, the edges of my lips curling reluctantly up, even as I wonder what thehellI’ve gotten myself into.

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