Page 15 of Paper and Passion
“I knew you would,” Alex says with a pleased grin. “You’re ours.”
The words are so simple, so certain.
“Alex,” Adrian’s voice has a warning in it I don’t understand. They share a look, and there’s tension between them that wasn’t there before.
“I don’t want to come between you,” I say, moving toward the edge of the bench seat. Maybe I was wrong. I just finished telling them how I felt about threesomes, and now they’re already at odds with each other, though I’m not sure why. What Alex said wasn’t anything different from what they’ve expressed so far. Okay, maybe saying I’m theirs is jumping the gun a little. But it somehow feels true.
Does Adrian disagree?
I should go, leave them to work it out, and see where we all stand tomorrow.
When I move to get up, Adrian stops me, scooting his chair to block my exit from the booth. “Don’t misunderstand, sweetheart.”
“There’s no disagreement,” Alex adds.
“There’s just some things you should know first.” Adrian’s hand comes to my knee and gives it a light squeeze.
Just then, there’s a commotion on the other side of the restaurant. Someone drops a platter and it shatters on the floor.
“Let’s take a stroll by the waterfall,” Adrian suggests. He drops enough cash on the table to cover our meal and a generous tip, then takes my hand and leads us outside.
The night air feels crisp and cool, autumn just setting in. I can hear the mermaids singing from somewhere under the waterfall, but can’t see them. When I was young, I always wished I was a mermaid like them. My grandma would bring me here whenever I needed to burn off some energy. We’d swim and climb to the top of the falls and throw pinecones into the water.
“Earlier,” Alex starts, “when Adrian talked about knocking you up, that wasn’t just dirty talk.” She says each word slowly, like she’s feeling me out.
Adrian sighs. “Perhaps we should start by asking if you want children.”
“Yes, very much.” That’s an easy question to answer. I was an only child, and my parents died when I was young, so I was raised by my grandma. I’ve always dreamed about having a big family. It was some of why I went along with Chad’s throuple idea in the first place.Three parents. Lots of kids. Crowded dinner tables. Laughter. And lots of love.
But Chad was always wishy-washy on whether he wanted a family.
Alex and Adrian stop walking and make a collective sound of relief. Alex’s smile is bright even in the dark. She takes hold of my hips. “And how would you feel about having kids now?”
“Right now?” My voice comes out higher pitched than normal. She can’t be serious. We only just met.
“We aren’t like you, Tillie.” Adrian comes behind me as Alex presses closer, her hold on my hips tightening. “We can’t just knock each other up whenever we feel ready.”
Alex slides her hands up and down my sides. “I’m only fertile once every ten years, and it’ll happen soon.” She gives Adrian a concerned look. “Very soon.”
He brings a hand to her forehead and nods.
“But what does that have to do with me?”
“We can’t create life without a human,” Adrian says from behind me, lips close to my ear, voice low. “Ourhuman. Our mate. One human who will give us offspring and, in doing so, bond with us for life.”
“For life?” I shiver, whether from the coldor his words, I’m not sure. “What do you mean?”
“When our seed takes root in you, it’ll change you.” Adrian rubs my arms. “You’ll become more like us. Longer life. The ability to breathe underwater.”
“Will I have tentacles?” I can’t decide if I like that idea or not. They’re super hot, but I think I’d feel weird without my hair.
Alex shakes her head. “Our babies will, though. They’ll have a little of all three of us.”
Babies. Mine and hers and his. The idea is strange, but no stranger than anything else in this town.
“This is too fast,” I whisper, unable to meet Alex’s eyes. “I need to think about it.”
“Take all the time you need,” Adrian whispers sweetly. He wraps his arms around both me and Alex, cocooning us in his warmth.
