Page 22 of House of Kallan
Hadrian slapped his ass. “Tobiael, hush.”
“If I don’t, will you continue to spank me?” Toby asked, turning a megawatt smile on Hadrian.
I didn’t hear the answer as they rounded the corner. When I finally caught my breath, I turned around and came face to face with Tyrus. He was holding Bael but looking at me with a wicked smile.
“What are you doing?” I asked, taking a step back from him. He nearly gave me a heart attack.
“Watching my friends drool over you,” he said. His candor made me laugh. “I didn’t know they’ve been waiting for you, and I’ve been talking to you for weeks.”
“They’re your friends?” I asked.
Tyrus nodded. “Yeah. I was with them when they brought Bael here. Toby handed you Sadie.”
My brows knitted together. “He did?”
He nodded. “Yep. I think he’s been looking for you ever since. I didn’t know that, though.”
I closed my eyes for a minute before looking at Bael. “What are you doing with him?”
“Don’t worry, Miss Tatum. We’re just going for a walk so he can see other babies. It’s important to socialize them.”
“Oh, yeah?”
He nodded. “Studies say it helps them develop their sense of self and is the foundation for communication and language development. Also, empathy.” Tyrus paused and looked around. “I don’t have empathy. It’s possible I wasn’t socialized as a baby, but I think it might just be because I’m crazy.”
“You’re crazy?” I asked, looking at Bael warily again.
“Yep. Clinically diagnosed.” He beamed at me. “I have little to no empathy.”
“Oh,” I said and relaxed a little. “You have an antisocial disorder.”
Tyrus grinned. “Sure. But it’s pretty normal in oni.”
I nodded and glanced down the hall to where Hadrian and Toby had disappeared. There was a lot to do today and so much of what Tyrusjust saidmade questions swim in my mind. Except Toby and Hadrian trumped all that. The questions became muted and their voices spun around like a hypnotic siren. Just thinking about them made my heart race. I was going to see them tonight.
Oh, hell. I might be dizzy.
Tatum
Standingin front of their house made me nervous. When’s the last time I was on a date? Have I ever actually dated? I went straight from home to school. Following undergraduate, I went to med school. From there, I practically jumped around the world looking for the place I felt at home. Eventually I found my place at The Harem Project and then further, within Haven.
This was what my life had consisted of. Finding the right spot to help and heal others. It was likely just a calling in my blood. I was an archangel. That was what we did to some extent; we healed. Our place in the world almost always fell into the pattern of helping someone somewhere.
But in all that, I’ve never considered a family. I mean, I kind of thought it would happen, eventually. Someday, I’d go in and get matched. But that wasn’t anywhere on my immediate horizon. I needed to get Haven running smoothly. I needed all the kinks and mishaps ironed flat and flawless before I’d be comfortable not eating, sleeping, and breathing Haven.
Did I really have time for this? Did I have enough energy to dedicate to other people when I was needed at Haven?
I chewed on my lip as these questions danced around my head. There was no right answer. I knew it wasn’t healthy tospend every minute of my waking hours at work. I needed balance.
But that balance could come later, right? After we rescued all the human victims and children from Silence. Once there was a solid process in place for their care and then their graduation into the mentor/foster program.
Hell, that program didn’t even have a name. Taylour had been tentatively calling it Hope, but she thought it sounded too cliché. I got the sentiment behind it, but yeah… we needed something a little more. Then again, Haven wasn’t exactly going to win any awards within the creative naming community.
Standing outside like a creep wasn’t the answer. I needed to either go to the door or leave. I was here. There was no way I could leave now. Besides, now that I’ve met those two men, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to leave.
Okay then. Inside it was.
Resolutely, I marched my ass up to the door and rang the bell. It wasn’t long before the door opened and a man I didn’t recognize stood before me. He wasn’t divine. He didn’t even appear to be supernatural at all. I was confident that he was a human.
