Chapter Six
Audrey turned on Dimitri, fists clenched. What was it with these people? Choosing wasn't an option. And neither was watching them kill each other.
She marched up to the vampire king and jabbed her finger into his chest.
"Listen here, buddy. I know that you have a million women drooling all over themselves the moment you walk into a room. But you're after forever, and I have never had a relationship last for more than a few months. I am not choosing because I am not right for you!"
Dimitri was silent during her outburst, which only made her angrier. He clearly didn't take her seriously. And neither did Sanjay. That in itself was more than enough reason to deny both of them. Audrey wasn't the type of girl that was just going to roll over and let men dictate her life.
"And I mean it. If you kill Sanjay, that's it. I won't have anything more to do with you. And if he kills you, the same story. So you had better stop all this 'fight to the death' crap."
"I can see that you feel strongly about this matter," Dimitri said, his voice low and soothing. "Perhaps there is another way to resolve this, then. First blood?"
Sanjay nodded. "I would accept that."
Audrey shook her head. "I won't. You're not listening to me. Why should I choose either of you when you don't care how I feel?"
"You can't deny that you are drawn to us."
"No, I can't." Audrey took a deep breath and looked the king in the eye. "I am drawn to you. Both of you, and I don't want to see either of you hurt. I don't want you to fight for me."
"Audrey—"
"Besides which, if I was going to choose, it would be both of you."
Dimitri pulled her into his arms and ground his hips against hers. "Both of us? I could live with that."
Before Audrey could process what he had just said, he kissed her. As she had come to expect, sparks exploded in her brain the moment their lips touched. His arms were strong around her, drawing her closer. Audrey couldn't stop herself from reciprocating. Right now she didn't want to fight against her natural urges, no matter how much she knew she shouldn't.
It was simpler, feeling the lust for him and not thinking about the forever he wanted. Him and Sanjay both. Maybe she should just let them do this. Maybe if she did and then told them again that she still wasn't going to choose between them, they'd stop all this nonsense about fighting each other for her.
The second set of arms wrapped around her waist. Sanjay pulled her away from Dimitri, turning her face to his. The shifter caught her in a deep kiss. The sparks that had already been going off in her brain stepped up another notch. Her whole body felt tight and hot. Her skin sizzled, and she wanted to shed her clothes where they stood.
When Sanjay moved to her neck, Dimitri took her mouth again. Both of them kissing her, sandwiched between their bodies, had every inch of her glowing. A moan escaped from her throat, causing her two men to chuckle. Her eyes were half-closed as she tilted her head back–and saw the sky.
"Wait," she gasped as one set of hands cupped her bottom and the other began caressing her breasts. "Wait. Everybody can see."
"So?" Sanjay asked, his voice vibrating into her neck. "Haven't you noticed couples squirreled away in nooks and crannies, giving into their bodily desires?"
"No. And even if I did, they were at least trying to conceal themselves. We're right out in the open, I can't do this when people might be watching. What if they take pictures?"
Dimitri groaned, stepped back. Audrey almost whimpered from the loss of his body close to hers. She took the opportunity to detangle herself from Sanjay, though and combed her fingers through her hair. Her heart was hammering, her mouth dry, her body trembling with desire.
"You can't change my mind by kissing me," she said, putting a trembling hand to her chest. "I'm not choosing between you."
Except at that moment, Audrey knew she had made her choice. She wasn't going to choose between them. It was both. It had always been both, as much as she wanted to deny it. She looked between them, eyes wide, not knowing what to say or do now. It couldn't possibly work. Could it?
"Do you mean it?" Sanjay said, brows furrowed.
"Mean what?"
"You won't choose between us because you want both of us."
"I didn't say that." Audrey felt sick. She was unprepared for this. The inevitable truth was that no relationship she had lasted. She couldn't put these two through that pain. And if they were the ones to decide they didn't want her? It would destroy her. No, she had to stick to her guns and deny them both. "I can't give up my life for you. Either of you."
"What about both of us?" Dimitri asked, his gaze intent. "You asked me what drew me to you. Your scent was a huge factor. As soon as I smelled you, I wanted you."
"Back to the smell again."
"It's not the only reason I want you. I was as drawn to your insistence that you wanted me only, and then your resistance to giving into me, and your willingness to face lawsuits to get your story, and not just for your own means. You have a moral code that I find very attractive. And…" He glanced at Sanjay. "When I realized the shifter had claimed you, I knew you were the right choice."
Audrey's jaw dropped. "You chose me because Sanjay had already chosen me?"
Dimitri spread his hands. "I thought that if there was one woman that could give me what I wanted out of this, it was you. I didn't invite shifters just for the sake of inviting shifters. With groups like the Fist of Humanity out there, we need to stand together."
Audrey shivered at the reminder of the murdered woman.
"I hoped to find a woman that I would fight for–but would insist, as you are, that there will be no fighting. The only way shifters and vampires are going to get along is if I set the example first. Sharing a mate with a well-known shifter was the best way to do that."
"What?"
"You always intended on sharing her with me?" Sanjay asked, brow raised.
"I hoped to."
"But you were so jealous and possessive," Audrey protested weakly. "When you found Sanjay and me in my room, you were all ready to attack him on the spot."
"I know. I reacted differently than I intended. I won't say that I'm not a little jealous, but the more time us three have spent together, the more I find that I enjoy the dynamics."
"You should have said something before." Sanjay frowned. "Although if you had said that when we first met, I would have torn out your throat. But for Audrey… Well, I think it will work."
"You're serious. You're both serious."
"You said it yourself. We get along when we're not fighting over you."
Audrey swallowed hard. "But… but I can't… "
They both moved closer but she pushed them away. There was a heavy pressure in her chest that made it difficult to breathe. She wanted them to just leave. This wasn't even worth thinking of. Was it?
"This is all so confusing. I didn't come here for a mate, and I've never considered two men before. And it's all moving so fast, and I don't know if what I feel is just lust."
And what if what they were feeling was just lust, and in the end they decided they didn't want her? Nobody ever wanted her, not really. Even her parents hadn't wanted her.
Sanjay brushed his fingers over her cheekbone. "You don't have to decide now. But I think that fight is completely off the table now."
He glanced at Dimitri. The king nodded. "We won't fight. And if you feel like there is too much pressure on you, then remember you have the rest of the month to decide."
"It's not going to be enough."
"Then maybe we should just give into lust right now." Sanjay stepped closer. "You know, give you some incentive to choose us."
Audrey opened her mouth but closed it. It was a bad idea to do this, wasn't it? Even if her body was screaming at her to just give in. Even if her heart was telling her that there was no need to choose, that these two would take love her like no person had done before.
But how would it even work?
"We should discuss what would happen if I did decide to mate the two of you," she whispered. "What the dynamics would be. What everybody would expect. You're a shifter. You're a king. I'm a reporter. Would it even work for the three of us? Sanjay, you said that shifters don't do well in stone walls. Will you just give up your life to come live here? Dimitri, you have duties to your people. You can't leave."
"And your job," Dimitri added with a nod.
"I can write anywhere, I don’t have to stay doing the type of stories I'm working on now, but if we're always separate, how can we be really together? What about the children? It's not fair to them to shuffle them around, or for them to be without a mother while I'm off with one or the other."
"We'll make it work." Dimitri brushed his lips against hers, Sanjay coming to her other side. "You're overthinking this. We're not asking for you to decide right now."
"No, you're just asking for sex. But my head is too muddled. I can't think clearly when I'm around you two. Yes, I want sex, but right now I think it means more for you than it does for me."
She pulled away from both the shifter and the vampire. Until now there was always that part of her that was able to hold back because she knew that they were going to fight for her, and she couldn’t accept that. But now that they'd blindsided her by agreeing that they could share her, and her own newly realization that it was what she wanted…
It felt like her lungs were collapsing. She couldn’t breathe.
As she turned and walked away from the vampire and shifter who both wanted to be her mates, she realized that there was only one thing to do. She had to leave. Run away, where these confusing desires and feelings wouldn't be clawing at her.
It was the only chance she had. If she stayed, hormones would take over again. She couldn't make this decision based on lust.
There was too much at stake.