Page 180 of Beasts of Mine

“I don't know.” I answered Tavian as I stared at the blanket, irritated by my complete inability to explain why the arrangement bothered me.

“You don't know what's wrong?” Tavian asked, delight creeping into his expression as though he'd finally found a flaw in my reasoning he intended to treasure forever.

“I know it's wrong. I don't know why.” I explained to Tavian as I tugged the blanket another two inches toward me and immediately felt better about it, which was somehow even more ridiculous. Tavian's grin widened until the corners of his eyes creased.

“Don't start.” I warned Tavian as I pointed toward him, narrowing my eyes when his shoulders began shaking with the laugh he was trying not to release.

“I'm only smiling.” Tavian protested, lifting both hands while the grin on his face made the defense considerably less innocent than he wanted it to sound. I narrowed my eyes at him for another second before returning to the nest, deciding a pillow against his head would only create more work for me.

His seed and shell went onto the low shelf within reach of the bedding. I adjusted the shell twice before deciding it needed to sit beside the seed rather than in front of it. One of my own soft shirts went into the bedding along with two pillows and a small fabric lens cloth I'd carried for years. The cloth had stopped being useful for actual lenses a long time ago, but I kept transferring it from camera bag to camera bag because the faded fabric had become familiar enough that getting rid of it never quite happened.

When I went to the cabinet and started looking through the extra blankets, Tavian immediately straightened in the doorway.

“You found them.” Tavian said, satisfaction brightening his face while he watched me lift one of the folded blankets from the stack.

“I found blankets inside a cabinet. Try not to be overwhelmed by my tracking ability.” I answered Tavian as I rubbed the fabric between my fingers before looking back at him.

“I brought those.” Tavian informed me, pressing one hand proudly against his chest as though he'd tracked the blankets through the jungle himself.

“Luca told you not to put them in here, didn't he?” I guessed as I looked from Tavian to Luca and caught the slight curve already forming at the corner of Luca's mouth.

“He did.” Tavian admitted after a brief pause, some of his satisfaction fading.

“She decides which ones she wants.” Luca explained as he leaned one shoulder against the stone doorway, his tone casual even though the softness in his expression told me he'd understood exactly what this was when he'd stopped Tavian.

My fingers tightened slightly around the blanket. They had thought about this before I came back—not just the table and electronics, but this too. Tavian had apparently wanted to bring blankets into the room, Luca had stopped him, and all three of them had left the choice waiting for me.

That meant more than the furniture did.

I picked the blanket I wanted and carried it into the room myself, spreading it where it felt right before sitting back on my heels. Malek, Tavian, and Luca were still gathered outside the sleeping space, with Tavian leaning so far around Malek that I wasn't entirely sure how both feet remained planted outside.

“You know you can stop hovering.” I told all three men as I swept my hair away from my face, although most of the accusation was aimed at Tavian and the ridiculous angle of his body.

“I am not hovering.” Tavian denied, despite half his upper body currently being inside the doorway.

“You're about to fall into the room without taking a step.” I told Tavian, looking pointedly at how far he'd stretched.

“That would be impressive.” Tavian replied, apparently pleased by the possibility while Luca's mouth twitched and Malek released a resigned breath beside him.

“We're waiting.” Luca explained as he rested his shoulder against the doorway, his gaze moving briefly over the nest before returning to me.

“For what?” I asked Luca, although the answer had already begun forming in the back of my mind.

“It's your nest. You decide who comes in.” Malek answered before Luca could, his golden-brown eyes holding mine while his hands remained loose at his sides instead of reaching for me.

My throat tightened, they had all been in this room before. I'd slept beside each of them, kissed all three, and had sex with each man individually. They'd touched me, scented me, held me while I slept, and woken with their scents thoroughly mixed into mine. This felt different because I wasn't waking up to something my instincts had arranged while I wasn't paying attention.

I was choosing it.

I looked at the nest I'd deliberately built, then at the three men waiting outside it instead of assuming every invitation I'd given them before automatically applied now. The room suddenly felt very quiet despite the insects humming beyond the old stone walls.

“You can come in.” I told them as I shifted backward to make room, my voice quieter than I'd intended while my fingers curled into Luca's blanket beside me.

For once, Tavian didn't immediately move. His amber eyes met mine, and the mischief disappeared from his expression for a heartbeat. Malek watched me just as carefully, a deep purr beginning beneath his chest, while Luca stayed where he was until Tavian finally crossed the edge.

Tavian settled near my legs with more care than I expected from him. Malek came next, slower and heavier, while Luca joined us last and somehow managed to sit without disturbing the pillows, blanket, shirt, seed, shell, or anything else I'd spent far too long arranging.

“What?” Luca asked when he noticed me staring at him, glancing down at himself and then the bedding as though checking for whatever had caught my attention.