As much as I want to know, I can at least respect his answer. I jerk my chin in a nod. “Okay, another time,” I agree, “but I’m going to hold you to that.”
“I would expect nothing less, Ms. Shaw.” Griffin gives me a minute smile, but his expression is no longer relaxed.
The cafeteria is still fairly busy when we enter. I purposely ignore the way the noise level drops a little and head right over to the buffet line. Griffin stays near my side, blocking me from view. You’d think it would help me feel hidden, but he draws even more attention than I do, so it feels almost counterproductive.
Evan is behind me, chatting easily with the servers in the line and piling his plate full of more food than I could eat in a day, let alone a single meal. I pause when I reach the end of the line, not sure if I should find a table or if we’re heading back to the room. Evan removes my lingering doubt when he motions to a table to the left. “Isn’t that your friend?”
I look up to see Ally. Her lips are spread in a wide grin, and the moment she notices me looking, she waves me over. “Great,” I mutter under my breath when I see who else is at the table.
“Do you mind?” I glance over my shoulder, looking to Griffin.
“By all means,” he says, but his voice is tight. I follow his gaze to the table where his eyes are trained. He’s giving Noah the evil eye.
I slowly start to move forward, but under my breath, I comment, “You look like you just ate a bad lemon.” Evan doesn’t try to cover his snort at my remark.
“Hey!” Ally calls, elongating the word.
“Hey back,” I reply, placing my tray on the table. I search everyone’s faces quickly before sliding a chair out to sit. Evan and Griffin take a seat on either side of me. I’m breathing kind of hard, even though I haven’t done anything to warrant it. I think it’s just adrenaline and nerves.
“Headmaster.” Millie dips her head and eyes in a greeting to Griffin. Her voice is a little breathy, almost awestruck. You’d think she’d be a little less obvious about her infatuation, considering she works for him and probably sees him almost as much as I do.
Griffin nods his head in response. I scoot my seat closer to the table and lower my gaze to my plate, feeling awkward about the exchange. Ally either doesn’t care or doesn’t pick up on the uncomfortable tension, and asks, “So, what have you guys been up to?” Her eyes are twinkling.
I clear my throat before scooping up a bite of mashed potatoes. “Not much, you?” My face feels like it’s hot, but there’s no reason it should be, which just makes me feel even more embarrassed about my reaction.
“You know me, looking for trouble anywhere I can find it.” Ally gives Wes a wink, and he doesn’t blush or look away, which surprises me a little. Instead, he gives a little shake of his head and smiles in return.
“You guys are here kind of late,” I remark after finishing my bite of food to keep the conversation going.
“My class went a little long. I had a new student arrive today, so I was getting her settled,” Ally tells us, her voice much more serious with the change of topic. “These three were getting ready to go, but they stayed to chat and it worked out perfectly. We haven’t all had lunch together since your first week.”
I glance over at Noah. He’s been absent every time I’ve joined Ally or made an excuse to leave shortly after I arrive. I haven’t even seen him since the day I got clobbered.
Griffin leans back in his chair and wraps his arm around the back of mine. I lean forward a bit when one of his rings gets caught in a single strand of my hair. He reaches up and uses his fingertips to massage the area it pulled from, and I forget the slight pain.
The space around us goes unnaturally quiet. I know it’s because Griffin is touching me. I have one or two choices. I can ignore the fact that the entire room is focused on us and have a conversation with my friend, or I can let them make me feel awkward. Which is stupid. The first time I ate here, I witnessed a couple full on making out and it didn’t draw this much attention.
After only a second to think, I blurt, “New student, she must be pretty young.”
Ally gives me a slight smile before adding, “She is. Her older sister is here too.”
“She doing okay?” Evan questions, joining the discussion.
“Seems to be. She’s a little skittish, but that’s to be expected. I think she’ll settle in okay. Housing placed them with two other girls similar in age.”
I dig into my food, giving myself an excuse so I don’t have to keep up the conversation. It feels kind of strange, like when your school friends meet your work friends, but stranger still because they all already know each other and I’m the interloper.
“I better get going,” Noah declares, already pushing his chair back to stand.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Griffin as he regards the other vampire. “Lemons,” I singsong under my breath, and he quickly smooths his features. I almost chuckle, but when I look up, most of the table is watching me, so I suppress it. Griffin strokes his fingers over my shoulder and arm.
“So, Quinn, do you remember that comment you made about not having the pleasure yet?” Ally inquires, her voice full of mischief.
My fork slips from my hand as I think back to one of our first conversations. She asked me if I’d met Director Stone yet, and I glibly told her, ‘I haven’t had the pleasure.’ I blot my lips with a linen napkin then hum out an, “Uh-huh.” Why the heck is she bringing this up now?
“What pleasure?” Griffin questions, deciding to speak for the first time. Of course it would be now.
Ally bursts into a fit of snickers. She’s laughing so hard, the only sounds escaping her are bouts of air. “Shut up.” I half-heartedly toss my napkin at her.
When she’s done wheezing, she asks, “Do you get it now?”
I let my head fall back and let out a small disgruntled, “Yes.”
“What pleasure?” Griffin queries again, looking only at me this time.
“She asked me if I’d met you yet, and I said—”
Before I can finish the rest, Griffin chimes in, “You hadn’t had the pleasure.” He’s giving me a toothy grin, a smile so wide, I can see his elongated canines and the bright twinkle in his light eyes.
I narrow my gaze on him in return. “Yup, but little did I know, I had already had the pleasure.” I lean in a little closer to him. “I just didn’t know Griffin and Director Stone were one in the same.”
His smile doesn’t falter as he leans in even closer, so his words are a mere whisper against my skin. “But have you really had the pleasure?” That kind of backfired. I was hoping to tease him a little, but he certainly turned the tables on me.
I swallow and look up to see a wide-eyed Ally. Her mouth is damn near hanging open as she gapes at us. I know the feeling, I’m a little shaken too. Her face actually flushes red before she averts her gaze. “Holy hell, he smiles. That should be fucking illegal,” she murmurs.
Realization dawns on me. It’s not what Griffin said, but rather how he looked. When I chance a glance in his direction, his features are again schooled, but thankfully, that illusive smile isn’t quite so rare for me. My belly does a little flop. I can’t be the only reason for the change, can I?
Evan lets out a soft chuckle. “You should hear him laugh, he sounds like a dying donkey.”
“He does not,” I quickly retort, even though I know he’s only teasing.
“You’re clearly biased.” Evan winks at me, pushing his virtually empty plate away.
Griffin surprises me by saying, “Yes, well, I’m sure my braying is much more palatable than your snoring.”
Evan looks down at me, a soft smile on his lips. “Aren’t you going to jump to my defense too?”
I start to wince but end up laughing instead. “It’s not that bad,” I console, totally forgetting we aren’t alone.
“Are we already to the sharing sleeping arrangements portion of the conversation?” Ally scoots her chair forward like she�
��s really interested in the topic.
“Sure.” Evan leans back, relaxing. “I like—” I reach up and place my hand over his mouth so he can’t say anything else.
“Hey!” Ally cries. “That was just about to get good.”
“He’s a cuddler. A pillow stealing, aggressive cuddler.” I figure I can share some innocent stuff, especially since there aren’t any torrid details to share, yet.
Evan pulls my hand away from his lips, drawing it into his lap. “Yup, and I’ve had no complaints.” He grins, unabashed.
“I don’t know if anyone else will tell you, so I will. You guys are sickening…in the best possible way.” Her head tilts to the side, and I know she really means it. There’s no malice or outrage that I’m with both men, even more that I’m human and with both of them, but will everyone else feel the same?
I’m not sure if Griffin or Evan have told anyone what they confessed to me, that they think I’m their mate, but they certainly don’t hide their affection for me, so it’s probably not a secret, but deep down, I feel kind of unworthy to have them. What made me special enough to have either, let alone both?
These thoughts make me more uncomfortable than the sleeping arrangements talk. I haven’t voiced any of them to Griffin or Evan, and truth be told, I’m pretty much ignoring the fact that they think they want to be with me forever. It’s been fairly easy to compartmentalize my feelings. I never dreamed something like this would ever happen to me.
Evan squeezes my fingers, bringing me back to the conversation. I must have missed something, because Ally and Wes are already standing and saying goodbye.
“We still on for lunch tomorrow?” I ask quickly.
“You know it, but I want the good details next time.” I chuckle but give her a slight nod.
“Rob and Millie already left?” I question once I notice the table is empty.
“We lost you there for a few minutes,” Evan replies.
“I guess,” I admit and look around the cafeteria. The room has cleared out a bit, but we’re still attracting some attention.
“I’m going to grab some dessert, want anything?”
“Can we take it up to the room?” I look to Evan, who’s already standing.
“You read my mind. What do you want?”
“Surprise me.” Once he’s gone, I look at Griffin. “What about you, are you hungry?”
His brows lift enough that I know I’ve surprised him with the question.
“Crap, am I not supposed to ask that?”
“Asking a vampire if he’s hungry is equal to offering him your vein. Not that I’m going to hold you to that,” Griffin explains, rushing to add the last bit.
“I know you like the bagged stuff.” I give a slight shoulder shrug. He’s never mentioned biting me since the day he offered to help me out, and by ‘help me out,’ he was referring to the fact that I’ve never been bitten by a vampire. But that’s not true anymore. He took some of my blood when he healed my injury and gave me some of his in return.
Griffin’s nostrils flare as he inhales, then glances around the room. “This is another one of those conversations I’d like to have alone.”
Evan
Griffin sends out a blast of pheromones so strong, the entire room stops what they’re doing––including me––to stare at him. Quinn is sitting next to him calmly, not straddling his lap or face like you’d think.
I watch my friend scrub his hand over half of his face, obscuring his mouth. I roll my eyes. Quinn doesn’t want him to hide his teeth. I am curious what they were talking about that elicited such a response from him though.
I fill a plate with a bunch of sweet shit and nod my head at the guy wiping down the counter. “Can I get some ice cream?” I know Quinn likes ice cream. Griffin and his stupid hormones are making me want to do dirty things to Quinn with the ice cream. Hell, who am I kidding? I want to do dirty things to her every fucking time I see or scent her.
The guy releases the towel and wipes his hands on his apron. “Sure, any special flavor you want me to look for?”
“Chocolate or vanilla works for me.”
“Be right back.” He heads to the rear of the kitchen.
I glance over my shoulder again to check on Quinn and Griff, not that I think much has changed, it’s just more of an impulse I can’t ignore. Griff is leaning a little closer to her, and his thumb is making lazy swipes across her wrist. I know he’s acutely aware of her blood flow, but still, it’s an intimate touch, which is drawing a lot of attention from the people around them. Especially because it’s so out of character for Griff.
“I brought you both.” I turn to grab the cartons of ice cream from the guy and mumble a quick, “Thanks.”
I make my way back to the table with a canvas sack filled with sweets, but all I can think about is what Quinn will taste like. I can’t imagine how hard this must be for Griff. My instincts are telling me I need to mate her, so I bet for him, every fucking breath is a battle not to taste her blood. “Ready?” I ask before I even reach the table.
Using vampire speed, Griff is up and out of the chair and pulling back Quinn’s so she can stand. “Someone’s eager.” She laughs softly.
She has no clue.
Chapter 5
Quinn
“Mind if we swing by my room so I can grab some stuff?” Evan inquires as we exit the cafeteria.
“About that…” I look around to make sure no one else can overhear our conversation. “Are we just…doing this, like…” I end up waving my hands around in the air. I can’t seem to make myself say the words moving in together.
“Going to my room?” Evan peers down at me.
I lick my bottom lip. I’m just going to have to say it. “We haven’t really talked about the fact that I’m pretty much just living with you guys now. Isn’t that weird? It seems like it should be weird.”
“Yes, we are doing this,” Griffin replies, answering my original question before grabbing my hand as we continue walking.
“But…” I start.
“No buts,” he says quickly, like if he doesn’t let me ask the question, then it will no longer be a concern.
Evan turns around so he’s walking backwards, facing us. “It may not be the norm for humans, but it’s not at all unusual for our…us,” Evan clarifies, amending what he was going to say in the last second.
“Don’t you think it’s kind of fast? I mean, you guys don’t really even know me, and I’m still getting to know you.” I look between them so they know I’m including both of them.
Griffin stops and tugs on my hand a little, so I stop too. “We could give you more time if you need it.” I open my mouth to respond, but Griffin lifts his finger and touches my top lip, effectively shushing me. “Let me finish…please.” I raise my brows at his request.
“The situation in your room sped things up, but I’m not mad at the end result. You’re exactly where I wanted you to be from the first time I laid eyes on you.”
I blink slowly and scoff, “That can’t be true.”
A door farther down to the left opens, and a couple emerges. They stop when they see us standing in the hall. There’s an awkward moment where we all just stare at each other before Evan reacts and resumes walking the remaining distance to his room. The door isn’t locked, so it opens quickly. He plops the bag he was carrying on the counter as the door snaps shut behind Griffin.
“Quinn, do you want more time? Do you want to be back in your own room?” Griffin still has his hand wrapped around mine, and his grip grows tighter with Evan’s question. His inquiry also forces me to examine my answer.
It doesn’t take much soul searching to know I don’t want to go back to my room. That I like spending just about every spare minute with them. Then why did I ask the question in the first place? That’s easy too, just because it’s what I want doesn’t mean it isn’t crazy.
“No,” I finally answer. “But—”
Before I can finish my rebuttal, Evan closes
the small space between us and kisses me. His big hands cradle my cheeks as he tips my face up ever so gently to meet his lips. His touch is tender and unhurried, despite how swiftly he moved.
“If we’re moving too fast, just let us know,” he murmurs against my lips, delivering small kisses and nips as he does. I should pull back and tell him it’s not just them, it’s that I want this thing to work out between the three of us so badly, it kind of scares me. But I don’t, instead I return his kiss, because that’s easy.
Griffin
Evan is kissing Quinn. I wish it was me, but he stopped her from overthinking, which is exactly what needed to happen. I’m fucking ecstatic she admitted she didn’t want to go back to her room. My head tells me I can use that to keep her with me, that her confession means I never have to let her go now, but every time she started to add something, I worried it would be about her needing space or that she wasn’t sure she wanted to be with us.
I start to release Quinn’s fingers, but her hand tightens on mine and she breaks the kiss with Evan. Her lips are slightly parted, but her eyes tell another story. She’s searching my face. She’s so human, her expression leaves little doubt what she’s thinking. She’s worried about what I think about her kissing Evan. We’ve told her we’re a package deal, but we haven’t shown her.
Her cheeks flush with a pretty blush, and the rush of blood isn’t only going to her face. Delicious. I knew from the moment I scented her blood she had never been bitten. We vampires are vain creatures, and we like to mark our prey. Only another vampire would know the signs, and Quinn Shaw had none, until me. Now that I’ve given her my blood, there isn’t a blooded vampire who wouldn’t know she was mine.
In the cafeteria when she wrongly assumed I preferred bagged blood over hers, I almost let my creature slip right then and there and showed her just how badly we wanted her, but I regained control at the last second and again asked for her patience so we could speak privately.
Havenfall Harbor Book Two: Paranormal Ménage Romance MFM Page 4