Page 25 of House of Kallan
I nodded. “A bit.”
He grinned as he pulled me back into the hall and to the stairs. “Hawthorn is a screenwriter. He tends to write horror and when you meet him, you’re definitely going to see that he fits right into an old vision of horror. It’s creepy and sexy all at the same time. Lazarus is a historian, a tenured professor who can rattle off historical facts like they just happened. It seriously makes me hard.”
Laughter bubbled up out of me as I looked at Aden. His cheeks pinkened, but he grinned and nodded. “No, it’s true. I’m hopeless when he starts talking about the Inca or Ancient Hans or something. It’s like I’m a puppet and he has my strings.”
“That’s a very interesting love language.”
Aden laughed. “Yeah, tell me about it. Okay, so Cobalt is a knitter. There’s an entire room in the basement filled with yarn. Basically, if you can name it, he can knit it. It’s an impressive talent. And then Rahael is a dog sitter. He loves animals of all kinds but gravitates toward those that he can rough house with. Wrestling with dogs wasn’t a career path, so he went with dog sitting.”
“Your guys certainly have a wide array of careers,” I said.
Aden nodded. “Yep. Keeps us entertained on any given day.”
We made it back to the first floor, and he pulled me down the hall with our hands linked together again. Aden brought me through the rooms. There were the expected and usual suspects—den, laundry, great room. There was also a solarium and an office that he said was barely used.
We ended with the kitchen, which was empty, and into the dining room where the six men were. Once more, I had to catch my breath as I was hit with the same abrupt shift in my soul as four more latched on and solidified as I stood there.
These were my men. This was my family. Tomorrow maybe I’d have a moment of panic that my life was going to turn itself upside down as I tried to find a balance between work and this new chapter; but right now, I couldn’t bring myself to care.
These were the men I was always meant to have. To be with. They owned me.
Aden’s hand squeezed mine gently and I turned my attention to him. He went around the room, introducing me to the others. I knew, looking into their eyes, that this was where I would spend every single day until I took my last breath. This was my home. My family. My happily ever after. Right here in the house of Malak.
Tatum
Aden broughtme to the end of the table and pulled out the chair for me to sit. I smiled and took my seat as he pushed it in. Then he sat to my left. Hadrian sat opposite me and the rest of the men filled in the empty seats.
As we passed dishes to fill our plates, I took this time to study them all. Cobalt could almost be Aden’s older brother. Their basic features were the same, but Cobalt looked more defined, both in body shape and facial maturity.
Hawthorn was surprisingly fit. I could see that through his carefully unbuttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms. His hair was classically styled and on the longer side, but kept his face shaven. Lazarus was darker skinned with dark facial hair in much the same style as Hadrian but shorter. He had this lazy, laid-back appearance about him. He’d been wearing a beanie until we sat down at the table, revealing his short black hair in little braids.
And then Rahael. He reminded me of a sixties cool kid meets nineties prep with his hair being big on top with sideburns and classy clothing. He was adorable.
Toby was, of course, nearly bouncing in his seat as he watched me with a big grin. His eyes darted around, and Iwondered if he didn’t like the quiet. Finally, he sighed. “Do I have to do everything around here?” he muttered. Hadrian gave him a look that had me picking up my glass to hide my smile.
“Tatum, tell us about yourself,” Toby said.
Across the table from him, Hawthorn nodded in approval, and Toby beamed. Hadrian patted his hand and gave him a smile. Toby turned that megawatt smile on me. It came with wide shining eyes that sparkled too.
“Well,” I said, “I honestly don’t have much to tell. I’ve spent most of my life in school. Once I finally had my M.D., I kind of roamed some, looking for something I wanted to do with my life. Until I got tied in with The Harem Project, I was just a free spirit. Now I work as the director of Haven.”
“That seems like it would be a tough job,” Cobalt said.
I nodded. “It is. There are days I have no idea how I’ll make it through and am not sure I can continue to do it, but it’s also rewarding. To see that a mother/child bond can transcend species like it does assures me I’m doing the right thing.”
“That’s pretty great,” Toby said, leaning over the table as if he could get closer to me. “That the mothers still love their kids. Even… if they hadn’t been a choice.”
“It’s not all happy endings like that, but I’d like to say that maybe three-quarters of the time it is. Which, all things considered, is pretty damn good.”
Silence fell over the table as we ate a few bites. When Toby’s gaze started flickering, waiting for someone else to talk, I decided to put him out of his misery. Looking at Aden, I said, “Did you make dinner tonight?”
Aden nodded. Once he swallowed, he answered. “Everything except the vegetables.” He eyed them suspiciously. “I hadn’t gotten to them by the time Toby came home and was running around screaming that you were coming for dinner and I needed to get dressed.”
“He likes to entertain us by cooking in the nude,” Toby said, grinning.
Aden flushed and bowed his head with a sigh.
“Tobiael,” Hadrian said, his voice exasperated.
