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  He turned to face her, his expression drawing in, his mouth lifting on one side. “You think?” he teased.

  For a second she thought he had figured out something was off, but then she realized he was simply pointing out that they didn’t know each other and yet they were destined to spend eternity together, so talking would be a great start. But were they destined?

  Adriana stepped closer. She set her hand on Nolan’s forearm and schooled her voice. “Will you please sit down?” She gave a tug, trying to lure him toward the couch.

  Luckily, he followed and took a seat next to her.

  Reid took two quick strides toward the armchair and lowered into it, his gaze on Adriana. “Let me,” he said.

  She shook her head. “No. This needs to come from me.” She turned her body to more fully face Nolan and rubbed her hands on her thighs, shivering as if the room were cold.

  Nolan’s face fell. “Shit. What’s the matter?” He glanced back and forth between them. “Did someone follow you here?”

  Reid shook his head. “No. It’s not that.”

  “Nolan,” Adriana said almost harshly.

  He met her gaze again and swallowed hard.

  “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to do it.”

  He didn’t move.

  She couldn’t imagine what he must have been thinking. “I have the same connection with Reid that I have with you.”

  For a heartbeat, no one moved or spoke. It was like the world froze and then jerked back into rotation. “What?” His gaze darted to Reid and then back again. “What do you mean?”

  “She means that the second I showed up at your parents’ house, we felt the same bond the two of you felt last night.”

  Nolan’s back straightened. He blinked a few times while his head turned back toward her. He lifted a hand and ran it through his hair.

  She wished she knew him better, at least well enough to anticipate what he might do or feel, but she didn’t know either of these men. All she knew was that she wanted both of them. Equally. And she was losing her mind.

  There was no doubt. Her body was on fire. For both men. Insanity. Her breasts were swollen to the point of being sore. She had to clench her legs together to keep the throbbing need at bay. Though it was possible she was getting the opposite result.

  “That’s crazy. Whoever heard of such a thing? Adriana?” He lifted a hand, albeit unsteadily, and cupped her face again. His thumb stroked her cheek gently.

  An unbidden tear welled up in her eye and escaped to run down her other cheek as she tried to control the grip her emotions had on her heart.

  His face changed several times while he processed everything. At least she never saw anger among his emotions. His voice was lower, too steady when he spoke again. “You feel the same exact connection to both of us?”

  “Yes.” It was true. It was also eating her from the inside. She wanted to run from the room. She also wanted to be held, and she didn’t care who held her as long as they chased away the chill and assured her everything would be okay.

  “Reid?” Nolan looked at his friend again.

  “I’m so sorry, man. You know I had no control over this any more than you did. It just happened. I offered to drive away. I feel like a shit, as if I slept with your girlfriend behind your back or something.”

  Nolan winced.

  Reid rushed to speak again. “Figure of speech. That didn’t come out right. Believe me. I didn’t let my feelings take control of my actions. We drove here in near silence.”

  “You offered to leave? You weren’t going to tell me?” Nolan closed his eyes and let his hand slide from Adriana’s face to her neck.

  “I have no idea how to process this, but I won’t lie about it.” She set her fingers on top of Nolan’s against her neck. Somehow, she drew strength from him. “No matter what happens, I want you both to know, I’m going to be an open book here. The most important thing is your friendship. I won’t come between you.”

  Nolan flinched. He drew his hand back slowly and stood. “Jesus, what a clusterfuck.” He stepped back, putting some distance between them and then turning around to face the window. She doubted he was seeing anything outside, but he wasn’t missing anything. The window faced an alley between buildings so that the only view was of a brick wall.

  For a long time, no one moved. The room was silent. Adriana figured Nolan needed time to process. He was about fifteen minutes behind on the news headline.

  He didn’t turn around, but he finally spoke. “Reid, Adriana needs a place to stay.”

  “What?” Reid’s voice was off.

  Adriana stared at Nolan’s back. “Nolan…” What was he talking about?

  “That’s what I was going to talk to you about. The reason I asked you to stay a minute.” He turned around and leaned against the window. His mouth lifted in a smirk. “Adriana’s stubborn. She wants to get her own apartment. She refuses to stay with my parents or her brother. I was hoping she could stay with you. I know she’d be safe with you.”

  Reid was so stiff he looked like a wax statue.

  Adriana licked her perpetually dry lips. “Nolan.”

  He finally looked at her. His face was too schooled. “It’s the perfect idea. Reid’s a bodyguard. He keeps people safe for a living. You’re right about my parents. If you stayed with them, someone might notice and figure out you were mine.” Suddenly he threw up his hands and laughed, too hard. “Of course, now we don’t even know if that’s true.”

  Adriana had no idea how to react to this weird outburst.

  Nolan pushed off the wall, ran a hand through his hair, and rushed across the room toward the kitchenette. He yanked open the fridge, grabbed a bottle, and turned back around. “Anyone else want one?” He lifted what she realized was a beer as he asked.

  Neither of them spoke or moved.

  He shrugged and twisted the top off before taking a long drink. Still holding it loosely in his hand, he leaned against the small table and crossed his legs casually as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He jerked his attention to Reid. “You should bind to her.”

  Reid shook his head. “Nolan, no one is suggesting anything like that.”

  “I am.” He took another drink. “It’s the most logical solution. If she’s caught with me while I’m waiting for this damn trial, she’ll be in danger. I don’t want to spend months worrying about her. It could be a long time before I can even devote myself to another person. She deserves better. You bind to her. That solves everything. I won’t have to worry all the time, and she’ll be safe and loved.” Another drink. The bottle was almost empty.

  Adriana didn’t know how to react. She didn’t know this man. She didn’t know anything about his temperament. She needed Reid to handle this.

  Reid stood. He didn’t take a single step, but at least he put them eye to eye across the small room. “No one is binding to anyone, Nolan. I know this sucks. It stinks. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t even have all the questions. But I’m not binding myself to your mate. That’s crazy. You found her first. I wouldn’t have even noticed her in a crowded room if you’d bound to her last night.”

  Nolan shook his head. “There’s no way I would have taken that step last night. She’s…young.”

  Adriana gasped during his pause and then let out a long breath when he added that last word. If he’d blurted out that she was a virgin, she might have taken him up on his offer and left with Reid. That was a private detail she’d shared in confidence last night. No one but him needed to know about her lack of experience.

  Though she had no idea what this latest development meant. At this point, she didn’t want to bind to either of them. Ever. They were already clawing at each other from across the room.

  Nolan chuckled again. He lowered his face toward the floor and spoke in a calmer voice. Too calm. “All I’m saying is that it doesn’t matter who met her first. Technically, you met her first. All I did was scent her from my car. From the
goddamn street. I never even saw her. There’re no other reasonable options here. I need you to keep her safe. She needs a place to stay.

  “No matter how altruistic anyone’s intentions might be, if the connection you two feels is half as strong as the one I feel, then there’s no way in hell you could live under the same roof and not bind. You wouldn’t even last a day. I give you three hours, actually. So, please, take this gift. I won’t hold it against either of you. I’m trapped here for the foreseeable future. I bet after you complete the binding, I won’t even feel the connection anymore. I’ll be fine. Just…go.”

  Nolan shoved off the edge of the table, tossed his bottle across the room to make a perfect basket into the trash can, and padded into the bedroom. With a soft snick, he shut the door behind him.

  Adriana thought she might literally vomit. For one thing, she felt horrible and responsible for this insanity. For another thing, she couldn’t stand the distance he’d put between them. She’d only met him minutes ago. She wanted to be with him. Next to him. Touching him.

  She wanted him to hold her. Not walk away.

  She also wanted the same thing from Reid, who made no move to help her out in any way either.

  “Fuck,” Reid muttered under his breath.

  She took deep breaths, but once again felt like her lungs were crushed.

  Reid inhaled deeply, closed the distance between them, and leaned over to kiss her forehead. He squeezed her arm briefly and then backed off. “I’m going to the bar in the lobby.”

  “What?” He was going to leave her here?

  He reached for the door, turning back to face her. “He’s a great guy. The best. I promise he didn’t mean anything he said. He’s just frustrated. Go to him. He’s hurting. I’ll wait downstairs. You can get my number from him if you need me, or Oleta has it too. I won’t leave. I promise. When you’re ready, call me, and I’ll take you wherever you want to go.” Reid opened the door, slid out of the room, and left her sitting in the cold, silent room.

  It wouldn’t take long for Nolan to sense that his friend had left and Adriana had stayed. Even through the closed door, he would know that.

  She stared at it hard, willing him to come out. The last thing she wanted was to go after him. But she tried to imagine this thing from his perspective. His hands were tied. Although sarcasm had oozed from his lips, she had no doubt he’d meant every word. He intended to martyr himself to keep her safe.

  But that’s not how this was going to go down. He might have shown her he could be incredibly bossy and domineering, but he wasn’t going to get his way on this issue. Not today.

  Today he was going to get his head out of his ass and help her figure this out. Because she didn’t have the answers, and she sure wasn’t going to deal with this dilemma on her own.

  Nolan Osborn was about to meet his match.

  Chapter Six

  Nolan rubbed both temples with his fingers, staring unseeing out the window of the hotel suite’s bedroom. When he’d arrived last night, he’d thought the rooms seemed large and roomy. Today they had shrunk to nearly suffocate him.

  His mate was on the other side of the door behind him. He’d waited his entire life to meet her, to finally know firsthand the feeling shifters got when they “knew” she was the one. He hadn’t honestly expected it to happen so dramatically and with such certainty. That was rare for his species, although seemingly more common lately.

  After spending the night in a combination of pacing and lying restlessly on the bed, he’d known he had to see her. Hold her. Touch her. If nothing else, he wanted to capture that feeling again. Remind himself it was real and not a figment of his imagination.

  The last thing in the world he’d expected was for her to show up experiencing the same stomach-dropping sensation with another man—his best friend.

  It’s not her fault. He kept reminding himself of this fact over and over like a mantra he needed to memorize. She didn’t ask for this problem. Neither did Reid.

  The door opened softly behind him as he knew it would eventually. Her scent was stronger as soon as she was in the room sharing the same airspace. Not that it mattered. He could scent her from down the hall when she stepped off the elevator. His entire body had come to attention, heat suffusing him at the thought of seeing her—only to be doused with a bucket of ice water when she and Reid lowered the boom.

  He needed to speak. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice,” he told the window.

  “Don’t apologize. You have every reason to be angry.”

  “I’m not angry,” he said as he turned around to face her, leaning against the window sill. “Okay, maybe I am,” he amended, “but not at you. And not at Reid either. In my rational mind, I know neither of you asked for this any more than I did last night.”

  She nodded. Her arms were wrapped around her middle as if she were cold. He took her in fully for the first time. Thick chocolate hair hung in long waves down her back, cascading haphazardly over her shoulders. She was stunning even though he knew he’d given her only a few minutes to get ready before Reid picked her up. He hadn’t cared that he didn’t give her enough time to primp or put makeup on or change clothes or style her hair. He’d wanted to see her as soon as possible.

  And he wasn’t sorry. The woman in front of him didn’t need extraordinary grooming measures to knock the socks off any man. She might have been wearing minimal makeup, but otherwise, he knew in his heart this was Adriana Tarben. The real Adriana. Not the one he’d seen on many pages of her social media—often dressed like a model with perfect hair and makeup and jewelry. No, this was the day-to-day woman he would wake up to for the rest of his life. Or would he?

  Her eyes were wide again. Deep brown orbs that called to him. Made him want to rush across the room and take her in his arms. She looked like she needed exactly that, but he wasn’t sure he should go there. Not yet. The more he touched her or even breathed her air, the harder this was going to get.

  He prayed he was right about her binding to Reid. Surely if he let her go and she and Reid completed the binding as soon as possible, the strong connection he felt to her would be severed, and he would feel a sense of peace. If not? Well, fuck.

  Letting his gaze roam down her body, he took in the rest of her. She was almost a foot shorter than him, small for a shifter. She wore a form-fitting white T-shirt that probably looked sexy as shit in its simplicity when it wasn’t covered by the thick navy cardigan she had on over it, with the sides pulled together as if she were standing in the cold. Even with her arms crossed to keep her sweater closed and metaphorically shut out the world, he could detect the outline of full breasts.

  Her sweater hung long, down to her thighs. Her jeans were worn and hugged her body perfectly in the way of well-loved clothing.

  He jerked his gaze back up to her face to find her soaking in his details in a similar fashion. He smiled. “This is not how I envisioned the day going.”

  “I know.” Her voice was soft. Kind. Soothing. It washed over him every time she spoke, luring him to get closer. He gripped the windowsill at his sides to keep from moving.

  “Where did Reid go?” He knew his friend would not have left the hotel. For one, he wouldn’t abandon the job he’d been asked to do. For two, he wouldn’t be physically able to walk away from Adriana.

  “Hotel bar.”

  Of course. “I’m being an insensitive ass.”

  “You’re being human.”

  “Ah, but I’m not human. None of us are. At least not fully. We know how this works.”

  “Do we?” She cocked her head to one side. “How many shifters do you know who met more than one mate in the same weekend?”

  “None.” He sighed. He needed to reach out to someone, ask for advice, get help. But who? He didn’t want to include his parents or anyone else in this mess yet. Not until he understood it better himself.

  She stepped closer, hesitantly. Her eyes were bright with tears, and when one broke loose to run down
her cheek, she lifted a hand to dash it away with the tips of her fingers. “Sorry. I’m not usually this emotional. I’m exhausted from lack of sleep. My stomach’s in knots. And it feels like an electric current is zapping my brain every few seconds with mixed messages.”

  It occurred to him this could not be easy for her. In fact, it would be worse. Weirder. Unimaginable. He was still struggling to understand how it was possible for his best friend to have the same deep feelings for the woman he knew in his heart was his. Meanwhile, Adriana was theoretically experiencing a link to more than one person. Yep, he was an ass.

  “Come here.” He lifted a hand and motioned her forward with his fingers.

  She swallowed, her brows coming together as she considered the ramifications of getting any closer. He let his guard down enough to open his mind to her. If he could find a way not to block her, he might be able to delve into her brain too. Understand better. Help her.

  He needed to remind himself this wasn’t all about him. Others were suffering too. The woman he should be safeguarding and protecting against the world was standing several yards away in pain, and he was just watching her. “Please, Adriana. Come here.”

  It seemed prudent to let her come to him. He could encourage her with words, but she needed to approach on her own. After all, in the end, the decisions were hers. He’d never been more impotent in his life. The frustration he’d felt earlier about ensuring his stubborn mate was safe had increased tenfold since she’d arrived.

  Seeing to her physical safety was only a fraction of his job. He needed to take care of her emotional safety at the same time. And he’d set that aside for the last half hour to wallow in his pity party.

  He didn’t want to scare her or make her think she didn’t have her own free will, but dammit, he wanted her in his arms of her own accord. A protective instinct kicked in. Perhaps it was combined with a bit of the dominance he knew was his nature, but he needed to find a way to balance those two and quick. He’d learned that morning that ordering her around would get him nowhere fast. She would dig her heels in every step of the way if she thought he was dictating her moves.