"I say we stay in tonight," Tryphon echoed Raine's thoughts. He dragged a hand down her back then cupped her chin and lifted it. "Hungry?"

"I...I sort of forgot." She pressed her hand against her rumbling stomach. "Yes. I'm starving."

"Good." Tryphon brushed his mouth over hers. It was no more than a teasing touch. "I'm having something special delivered in. I was going to wake you when it arrived, but since you're awake already..." He stole a glance at Bale, grimaced. "Would it be okay if we had a few minutes? If you want to head down to grab something to drink, we'll be right behind you."

"Sure." She let Tryphon and Bale help her off the bed, and headed for the door, glancing back at them before stepping from the room. She'd walked no more than a couple of steps when the door shut behind her.

Bale unfurled his fingers from around the doork.n.o.b and turned to face Tryphon. "What's going on?"

Tryphon stood mute, arms crossed over his chest, looking torn, weary, regretful. He shoved his fingers through his hair then dropped his head. "I didn't plan...I don't want to hurt you."

Dread, like icy fingers, curled around Bale's heart and squeezed. "What does that mean?"

Tryphon shook his head. "I don't know what happened, why things are so different with this one. You know I've been struggling."

"Yeah." Struggling with feelings for her, for Raine. And struggling with his lack of feelings for him.

s.h.i.+t.

It felt like all the strength was being drained from his body. Bale knew what was coming, could see it clearly, but he couldn't stomach hearing the words. The door was right there. He could leave now and spare himself the agony of hearing them. He took a step in that direction.

"Bale..."

Would it be easier to take if he said them instead? "You don't love-" The rest of the sentence got wedged in his throat. Bale struggled to spit them out.

"No, no! I do love you." Tryphon rushed to him and jerked him into a tight embrace.

"Then what the h.e.l.l, Tryph?" Confused, Bale circled Tryphon's shoulders with his arms and held him, nuzzling his neck and filling his nose with Tryphon's intoxicating scent. It was a bittersweet moment, as he clung to the most important person in his world, fearing he was about to lose him forever. His friend. His confidante. His partner. His lover. His everything.

Tryphon's hands smoothed up Bale's back, over his shoulders and along his neck. Their upward movement stopped at his jaw. Their eyes met. "Listen to me. I love you more today than I have ever loved you."

"But?"

"But." Tryphon sighed and crushed his mouth over Bale's, giving him the kind of soul-searing kiss they hadn't shared in centuries. Swept up in raging, tumultuous emotions, Bale kissed Tryphon back. Tongues stroking, stabbing, caressing. Hard bodies slammed together. Hands grabbed and held, touched and clawed.

It was Bale who finally broke the kiss, shoving out of Tryphon's tight hold. "But what, Tryphon? For chrisssakes, say what you need to say and quit torturing me like this. I know something's changed between us. Until today, I hadn't realized how distant we'd grown, how lazy we'd become, and how we'd neglected our relations.h.i.+p. It's no wonder you're ready to walk away-"

"But I don't want to." Once again, Tryphon reached for Bale, curling his fingers around the base of Bale's skull. He pressed his forehead against Bale's, eyes closed. "I can't live a day without you. Not even an hour. You are mine."

Mine. Bale's heart plunged to his toes then surged back up again.

Tryphon kissed him again, this time the kiss was sweet, gentle, full of tender and raw emotion. "Something special is happening to us. You sense it too. I know you do." After brus.h.i.+ng his mouth over Bale's again, Tryphon tipped his head back a little, just enough so that Bale could see his features clearly. "Raine. I think she needs us and we need her. I don't know why. It just is."

"Then what you're saying is you want the three of us to be together, even after the Bonding is completed. Like this? Like it is now?"

"Yes."

Bale didn't know how he felt about Tryphon's suggestion.

"I hate to say it this way, Bale, but it's not that I want the three of us to be together, I need the three of us to be together. But I don't think I'm the only one of us who feels this way. I think we all do. I'm just the first to accept it."

Bale shrugged. "Maybe."

Tryphon frowned. "Are you okay with this?"

Bale clawed his fingers through his hair. "It's a lot to deal with, and I'm not sure yet how this is all going to pan out."

"Do you trust me?"

If there was one thing Bale never doubted, it was that he could trust Tryphon. Tryphon might be confused, dealing with something he didn't know how to handle, but Bale knew he was still every bit as trustworthy as ever. "Yes, of course I do."

"Then you know I honestly believe I'm doing what's best for all of us."

Bale took a deep breath, exhaled. "I trust you believe this is best for all of us, but I'm not sure yet if you're right."

"Are you willing to talk about it?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Good. We need to talk with Raine."

Not sure yet how he felt-he was too conflicted and confused at the moment to get a real handle on things-he gave Tryphon a tense smile. "Okay. Let's go talk with Raine."

"And we need to tell her everything." Tryphon gave him a final hug before they left the room, and Bale glanced back over his shoulder at the rumpled bed, wondering if what they were about to do would make things better or totally destroy everything.

The guys found Raine lounging in the family room, reclining on the couch, a plate of fruit balanced on her hips, and The Bachelor playing on the big screen television. The dinner Tryphon had ordered hadn't been delivered yet, so she'd made do with what she could find in the refrigerator-which wasn't much.

Tryphon, s.h.i.+rtless but sporting a pair of sweatpants and looking as scrumptious as ever, glared at the TV. "What are you watching?"

"The Bachelor. I missed last night's episode." She popped a cherry into her mouth and bit down. Tangy. Yum.

The scowl didn't lift. "And what are you eating?"

"Dinner hasn't been delivered yet, and I was starving. But don't worry, I'm still hungry. Had to get a little sugar in me, though. I was ready to pa.s.s out."

"Pa.s.s out?" Tryphon was at her side within seconds. "Dammit, I should have had something brought up-"

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Charmed by his concern, she gave him a rea.s.suring smile. She caught his hand in hers and pulled. "Have a seat." Glancing around Tryphon, she found Bale looking a little distant, distracted as he stared at the television. "Bale?"

Bale gave her an empty smile. "Hungry?"

"Yes, I just..." Worried, she shot Tryphon a questioning glance.

The doorbell rang. Tryphon broadened his smile and tugged on her hand. "Dinner's here. I hope you don't mind a more casual evening."

"Casual is good." Trotting alongside him, she let the fingertips of her free hand glide along the wall. "You don't have to go all out for me every night."

"I wanted to have a little more privacy tonight." He answered the door, paid the delivery guy and carried the bag of food back down the hallway. Reaching the dining room first, he stepped to the side to let her pa.s.s.

Bale hadn't said anything in a while. As he followed her into the dining room, she checked his face, trying to read his expression. In her gut, she sensed he was as troubled and confused as she. Maybe more. But he wasn't showing it. Not in his face, at least.

She sat at the table, set for three and facing the windows. Tryphon and Bale sat on either side of her. She devoured toasted garlic bread and spinach dip like it was going to be her last meal. While she made a total pig out of herself, Tryphon and Bale chattered about what they'd done while she'd been sleeping. She felt guilty about blowing the whole day while they accomplished so much, but they made a point of not chastising her about it. Not even teasing a little. She hadn't slept that late since the day after finals, her last semester of college.

The rest of the meal went by pretty much the same way. The guys talked about their work, investments, current events, safe topics. She listened and fed her face. Finally, after dessert, they left the table and headed into the cozy den, where the lights were dimmed, some low music was playing and a fire was flickering in the fireplace.

It was total romance.

She settled on the couch, facing the fireplace, and kicked her feet up on the ottoman. The guys settled beside her, as always. Tryphon on her right. Bale on her left.

"Now we talk," Tryphon announced.

Raine wasn't sure if he was asking her to say something or if he was preparing to make some big announcement. After shooting Bale a questioning glance, which he answered with a slightly bewildered one back, she threaded her fingers through Bale's and rolled onto her hip, facing Tryphon. She threw her right arm over the back of the couch. "About what?"

"About you. Me. Bale."

"Okay." She snuck another peek at Bale. He didn't look upset, confused or surprised. She guessed whatever this important conversation was all about, they'd discussed it earlier.

"Raine, I know we talked about this thing being a temporary arrangement," Tryphon started, his gaze s.h.i.+fting to Bale for a beat or two before continuing, "but Bale and I have talked about this, and we want to know if you'd consider something more permanent."

"Oh." Unsure exactly what this more permanent arrangement was supposed to be, she rolled back to the middle and stared into the flames dancing and writhing in the fireplace.

The voice in her head was screaming dire warnings. Danger. Trouble ahead. Heartache guaranteed. But something inside her made her ask, "What kind of something are you suggesting? Like a regular dating thing?"

"Perhaps."

"With both of you?" She turned to Bale. "You said you love each other and aren't looking for something more."

Bale nodded. "And I meant what I said, at the time." He looked down at her hand. Threaded his fingers through hers and dragged his thumb over the top of her hand. "But things have changed. Something special's happened here. And neither of us want to walk away."

"You mean that? Honestly?"

His gaze lifted and something sparked in his eyes. "Yes, Raine, I do."

"I don't know." Raine turned her attention back to the fire again.

Wasn't it appropriate that she was staring into flames when she was feeling like she was caught in the middle of a wildfire?

Yes, she'd gotten emotional after watching them make love. And yes, she'd recognized that she was developing feelings for these men already. Their week of casual fun had taken a turn toward serious.

But a part of her had been comforted by the fact that this intense, bizarre, turbulent semi-relations.h.i.+p was about to end in a few days. Now...?

She'd spent so many years holding back, keeping people at a distance, she wasn't sure she knew how to let someone get close anymore. More importantly, she wasn't sure she knew how to trust anyone, even two men who'd done nothing-with the exception of that cage episode-to make her doubt them. They'd been upfront and honest since then. Polite. Sweet. Open. Giving.

But it'd been such a short time.

Bale cleared his throat. "There's something we need to tell you, though. Before you decide."

And maybe she'd been an idiot to think they'd been completely honest. She didn't look at either of them, just nodded her head to indicate that she wanted to hear whatever big secret they felt they needed to confess.

He continued, "The reason we asked you to stay here with us this week had nothing to do with your job or getting to know you personally."

"Was it just about s.e.x then?"

Tryphon shook his head. "No, it wasn't even that. Although that's a part of the real reason, in a roundabout way."

Now she was totally confused. "Then why?"

Tryphon and Bale swapped tense glances then Tryphon said, "Because we have a...medical condition, and you are the cure."

Could things get any more confusing? How could f.u.c.king her be a cure for anything? Unless... "Ohhhh. You mean a s.e.xual problem. Like you couldn't get an erection."

Bale laughed.

Tryphon's face turned the deepest red she'd ever seen. "No, not exactly."

"Then I don't understand. Do I want to understand?"

Tryphon nodded, his fingers curling around her other hand. "We need you to understand." He smoothed the palm of his free hand over her knee then dragged his index finger down the side of her face. "First, we want you to know this isn't something we've ever done, ever dreamed we would do, or ever planned."

Raine's stomach twisted in her belly. Those were the kinds of words that preceded bad news. She wanted to just leave the room, pack her things and head home. Now. In the long run, she knew that would be the best-safest-move.

But no, she stayed put.

Tryphon continued, "We are descended from a very special bloodline. Sadly, we've inherited a certain...physical trait-or a vulnerability-that requires us to do something about once a year that some people would find completely horrifying."

So far, they'd done nothing horrifying to her. Was it yet to come? "Like...?" she asked. Bale and Tryphon exchanged more leery glances, which did nothing to ease her skittery nerves. "Do you really need to explain all this to me?"

"I think we do," Bale answered. "Yes."

"But I'm not sure I'm ready for that permanent thing you mentioned anyway. So really, there may be no need to go there, if you get my drift."

The guys shot each other yet another look. "Why aren't you sure you're ready, Raine?" Tryphon asked. "We're not demanding you live with us. Just maybe spend an evening a week with us, doing what we've been doing this week."

One evening a week might be doable. But that depended upon a lot of things-like how that evening was spent. Then again, considering how she'd reacted earlier, she shouldn't even consider it. Already she was having major problems keeping her emotions under control. Maybe that was because she was here in their house, and they were spending so much time together.

Argh. This situation was going from difficult to impossible.

She swallowed a sigh. "The f.u.c.king part, I might be willing to think about. But beyond that..."

"Why?" Tryphon asked.