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"Fuck, I need to stop," Altus says suddenly.

He gets to his feet and takes a few steps back. His cock, which is incredibly impressive, juts out from his body, looking painfully hard. How I want to crawl over and do something about it with my mouth.

I sit up and grimace at the feel of the ground against my wet pussy. Who knows what bits of leaf litter and soil are sticking to me right now. I get to my feet and brush myself off.

Altus is looking at me heatedly, his hands clenched at his sides. "Fuck," he curses again and briefly closes his eyes. "All the things I want to do to you, rosa mea. But we have to wait for Asper, I'm not going any further without him."

At the mention of our mate, my nipples tighten and pebble despite the cool breeze. Yes, I want to wait for him, too.

"You're right," I reply hoarsely and cough to clear my throat. "Let's get dressed and go back."

Neither of us says anything as we walk back to the house. At some point, Altus reaches for my hand, and we hold hands as we walk close to each other. My clit is still throbbing between my legs, begging for more. I try to push my arousal down and remind myself that we are having dinner with Mel tonight. My mate's sister. I need to chill.

Altus comes with me right up to the back door. He grabs me and pulls me into his arms. He buries his face in my neck and inhales deeply.

"You're so beautiful, Felicitas," he whispers. He pulls back and tenderly strokes my face. "Asper and I will pick you up at quarter to seven, okay?"

I smile softly at him and lean up on my toes to peck his lips. "Okay," I mumble against them.

He snakes his arms around my waist, drawing me tighter against his body so that he can deepen the kiss. His lips press harder against mine and he backs me up against the door. My hands find his biceps, admiring the bunched muscle underneath the skin. His tongue swipes my bottom lip and I tentatively touch my tongue against his.

He lets out a low growl and rubs his tongue on mine, kissing me so deeply that my toes curl in my trainers. His hands slide lower, grasping my ass and squeezing so hard it's almost painful. He lets out another growl and steps back, breaking the kiss suddenly and leaving me panting.

"Sorry." He brushes a loose dreadlock back from his face. "I really need to go before I lose all fucking control. I'm sorry, rosa mea. I'll see you later."

I watch him storm off down the side of his house. My lips are still tingling from his burning kiss as his engine starts and I hear him pull off the drive. My hands are trembling when I unlock the door and let myself inside.

Unsure of what to do with myself, I check my phone. There is a missed call from my father, I call him back.

"Hey, kiddo. How are you doing?"

I smile at the sound of his voice. "I'm doing so good, Dad, thank you. How are you?"

"I'm fine. How come you're so good? Is Arcis working out for you? When do you think you'll be going home? You know I can help you sell the house."

My heart pangs at the word home. This is my home, now. My home is wherever Altus and Asper are and Arcis is home to them. The thought of my crappy studio flat makes me feel miserable. I never want to go back there again.

"Actually, Dad, I'm loving it. I've made some great friends here. The house is lovely and...I feel really close to Mum here."

It's quiet for a moment before he replies, "I can't tell you how happy that makes me, kiddo. Although your mum and I were never going to work out, I always hated how little time you got with her, you deserved to know her for longer than you did. I'm glad you feel close to her there."

"I really do. I think...I think I'm going to stay."

"What? Permanently? What about your flat?"

I shrug and then realise he can't see it. "I don't know, the contract is only good for another two months. I won't renew it. I love this house; I don't want to sell it."

Dad blows out a breath. "Well, it's your life, kid. You gotta do what's right for you. You're still painting, right? Can't let that talent go to waste."

My dad is my biggest cheerleader when it comes to my art.

"Yes, I am, don't worry. The natural lighting here is perfect."

"Good, that's good. As long as you're happy. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

"Of course. I'll speak to you soon."

"Yeah. Love you, kid."

"Love you, Dad."

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I apply some lip gloss and rub my lips together. Looking up at my reflection, I think better of it and wipe it off with a tissue. There's no point in wearing any, I'm only going to rub it off by kissing my mates. Happy with my appearance, I grab my things and head for the door. I open it just as Asper and Altus pull up on my drive.

I spot them through the windshield, both of them looking at me with the same intense expressions despite having such different appearances. I rub my lips together nervously and focus on locking my front door. Knowing the both of them are watching me, feeling their gazes on my back, means that I miss the lock twice and resort to using both hands to get the key in the hole.

Praying that they haven't noticed my fumbling, I finally h the lock click and yank the key out with relief. I turn around to head down the porch steps and note that they're both smirking, amusement all over their faces.

Great, they saw.

I get into the back seat of the car and pretend nothing happened. They both turn to face me in their seats. "Hey, guys."

"Hello, Felicitas," Altus replies.

"Rosa mea," Asper greets me.

"Mel is meeting us there," Altus says as he reverses off my drive and pulls onto the road. "She's really excited that we're doing this."

I'm glad that I've met Mel before, I'd probably be a lot more nervous if I hadn't already been introduced to her. It's one thing to meet your boyfriend's -is that what I call them now?- sister, it's a whole other thing to meet her when her brother isn't the only man you're dating.

The restaurant is busy for a weekday night. Thankfully, our thruple is not the ground-breaking news that it was a few days ago and things seemed to have calmed down. People still look at us, but not for long with Altus and Asper glaring right back. No one wants to piss off the future alpha.

Mel is already at the table. She stands up and waves, hugging both Altus and Asper when they come closer. She turns to me and gives me a tight squeeze.

"I'm so glad we're doing this," she states as she takes a seat and throws her napkin over her lap.

"You're only saying that because this is your favourite restaurant," Altus replies dryly.

Mel's eyes glitter with mischief. "I'll admit, that does influence my opinion slightly."

The meal is a success. Both of my guys keep their hands to themselves, respecting the fact that Mel is with us, but they share their affection through their eyes, instead. Conversation comes easily without strain and Mel makes the insightful decision to keep the topic away from family. She gets Asper to talk more about his travels, she asks about my art and tells me about her interest in animals and becoming a vet, maybe even a pack doctor.

At some point in the conversation, I bring up my phone call with my father and tell everyone that I have decided to stay in Arcis for the foreseeable. I won't be selling the house and I contacted my landlord this afternoon to find out when is the soonest I can end our contract and move out of my studio flat. This news makes my mates very happy.

At the end of the evening, I kiss Mel on her cheeks and thank her for a lovely meal. She insists on us meeting up again later in the week, just the two of us. I've never had a sister or even that many close friendships, I'm hoping that she and I are going to get on well.

I'm contemplative on the drive home. It feels so strange and yet exciting to be making a life for myself here. I've already got somewhere to live, I'm in a relationship and I'm making friends. Well, friend, singular. But still, it feels like this town is becoming home.

We pull up outside my house. I don't want the evening to end yet and the look of longing in my mates' eyes tells me that they don't, either.

"Do you want to come in?" I ask them, my hand poised on the door handle.

They share a brief look and come to a mutual decision.

"Yes," they reply in unison.

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