I can feel his eyes on me the whole time. Aria has come to sit next to Jasmine, Gabriela, and I, and that is when I realize that tomorrow is Gabriela’s birthday. “I wonder what he bought me. He has been so secretive. I know you have an idea. Come on, spill the beans, please,” Gabriela pleads playfully.

“Probably one of those dolls like Ceric’s. You have worn the poor man out with your lustful ways. He needs some help,” Jasmine teases.

Rolling my eyes at her comment, I join in the teasing. “Trust me, going by the size of that doll’s assets when he was inflated, Gabriela would be more frustrated than before. Bjarni would have to work double time to compensate for the disappointment.” They laugh at my comment. “Maybe he just got himself the little blue pills.”

“If these two go at it any more, they will make a hole right through the wall,” Aria jokes. “Nova, you need to move your bed to the other side of the room, or you and Ceric will have company.”

When the three of them came knocking at the bedroom door, Gabriela mentioned that her room was next door to ours. My best friend has always been Sam since we were kids, but being able to joke around with women my age is refreshing. These three seem to be amazing and happy. Most women who have men as hot as the guys around us, and living the way they do, are usually insecure because of the women who flock around them, but these three seem to be happy, and their men seem to worship the ground they walk on.

“I don’t know, girl. The way Ceric is devouring Nova from across the room, I think I might be the one who has to move the bed,” Gabriela teases.

“Wishful thinking on his part,” I huff, but I can feel the moisture pool between my legs at the thought of his hands on my body.

“You can’t tell me that you don’t find him a fine piece of ass. Damn, girl, have you seen that man without a shirt?” Gabriela asks with a teasing smile. I found out that Gabriela and Aria are both twenty-four weeks pregnant, but Gabriela is bigger than Aria. She confessed to be carrying twins, If I look at Bjarni, he’s huge. If she carries to term, she will be as big as a house if the babies take after the father.

“What the fuck, baby girl?” Bjarni roars from where he’s sitting with Brandr, a scowl on his face.

“I always forget how well these guys hear,” Gabriela whispers, but there’s a twinkle in her eyes when Bjarni storms towards us. Pulling back her chair, he gently lifts her against him, contradicting his scowl. “Bye, ladies, see you tomorrow,” she calls as he carries her away.

Jasmine shakes her head in amusement. “I’m sure she did that on purpose.” I see that Orion has fallen asleep in her arms, his chubby little fingers holding on to his mother’s hand. He is a beautiful and happy baby. Earlier, she let me hold him. At first, he was quiet and just played with my hair, but after a little while, he started to gurgle and talk in his baby language. I haven’t had a chance to be around babies before, but Orion has already taken a spot in my heart.

“Of course she did,” Aria confirms. “Is everything ready for her party tomorrow?” At my confused look, Aria explains that they have arranged a surprise party for Gabriela. “She’s going to love it. No one has ever given her a party before.”

“I have an idea on something we can do for her that she may like,” I state, “but I need to arrange with Sam first.” Now that I think about it, excitement starts to take root.

“Oh, that’s great. What is it?” Jasmine asks. I smile and then lean in towards them, calling them closer. From what Gabriela said, these guys have super hearing, and I don’t want them to know what I’m arranging before it’s done.

“A stripper,” I whisper. I see Jasmine’s eyes widen, and then she giggles. Aria looks at me with a shocked look on her face.

“The guys will freak,” Aria whispers, but already a smile is lifting her lips, “but it will be so much fun to see their reaction.”

“Don’t worry about it. I will organize everything,” I promise. I wonder at Ceric’s reaction when he sees the stripper. Looking back to where he’s sitting, I find his intense stare on me. Those eyes of his seem to be boring into my soul.

“You know you are playing with fire, don’t you?” Aria asks as she sees who I am looking at. “You’re his mate now. I know you still don’t know how this bonding works, but trust me when I tell you it’s easier to give in now than drag it out. Ceric is one of the good ones.”

“What do you know about them?” Jasmine asks, moving slightly on her chair when Orion starts to fuss.

Suddenly, Wulf is standing next to her chair, a hand stroking her cheek. “You look tired, angel. Let me take Orion.” I see the love in his eyes as he gently picks up his son. As he walks back towards the couches, Jasmine pulls her chair closer to mine.

“So what do you know?” she insists.

“I know they are hot,” I tease. At their smirks, I continue. “When I was captured, I persuaded one of the guys to tell me about them, as he said that I was one of their mates. The only thing he mentioned was that they were different. At the time, I thought they were like us, but when we went to get Sam, what I saw nearly blew my mind.”

“I didn’t know that about them, either. When I saw that guy disintegrate before my eyes, I freaked. All I could imagine was that happening to Brandr.” Aria shudders at the thought.

“Oh, girl, you have a lot to catch up on, then,” Jasmine confides. “First, they are dangerously possessive. As you saw earlier with your man over there, they do not accept other men touching us.” Before I can object to her calling him my man, she continues. “Second, they will lay down their lives for each other or for us. Women and children are the most important thing to the Elementals. Third, and you will love this one as we all do, our men, once bonded to us, only want us. Their interest in any other woman dies completely. No woman will ever be able to entice any of them.”

Well, that’s interesting. I wonder if it’s true or just a tall tale they tell their women to keep them happy.

“I find that hard to believe, but if it’s true, you have them by the balls,” I tease.

“You won’t think that once you sleep with Ceric. These men are gods when it comes to sex. Now, can you imagine your man with all his sex toys? He must know a trick or two,” Aria suggests as she wiggles her eyebrows playfully.

We are still joking around when Celmund suddenly swears as he looks down at his phone. “Draco, you need to see this,” he calls. “Wulf, maybe let Jas take Orion.”

Everyone is suddenly on alert as Draco and Wulf look down at his phone. “Motherfucker,” Wulf growls, his fists clenched at his side. “Angel, take Orion and go inside.”

“What’s going on?” Burkhart asks curiously from his place by the bar.

“Katya decided she couldn’t wait. She’s at the gate,” Draco responds. I see the men tense. Whatever is going on isn’t good.

“Do you mean Katya, the FBI Katya?” Jasmine asks suddenly. She was making her way into the compound when Draco answered Burkhart. By her shocked look, I can tell she doesn’t like her.

“Fuck,” Wulf roars. He looks ready to fight. His anger is palpable. “Angel, go inside.”

“Not on your life, Wulf. I’m going to stay right here,” she says as she returns to where we are sitting. I see Draco place his hand on Wulf’s shoulder and squeeze. There seems to be some kind of silent communication between the two before Wulf huffs.

“What’s going on?” I ask curiously. Aria explains about Katya’s past arrangement with Wulf, and her inability to recognize Wulf’s resistance.

 “Aria, are you okay listening in on her thoughts?” Draco asks, but his eyes are on Brandr, as if asking him too. I see Brandr nod slightly, before Aria confirms that she will be fine. Well, this will be interesting. At the way Wulf is scowling and Jasmine is biting her lip, I will see if what they were saying about the men only having eyes for their woman is true.

A few minutes later, a sexy red-haired woman dressed in tight black leather pants and a low-cut top strides into the bar. She is accompanied by two guys. One must be in his forties, with a scar down one cheek, and the other in his early thirties, and both are quite muscular. All three look as if they ride motorcycles, as they are all carrying helmets. If I saw these three somewhere else, I would never say they work for the FBI.

“Hello, boys,” she greets in a husky voice as she makes her way towards Draco and Wulf. I look over to see if Ceric is ogling her, but I find him scowling. Well, that’s definitely not a look of someone when they find somebody appealing. Maybe he just doesn’t like redheads.

“What are you doing here, Katya? No one invited you, and you know we don’t like the FBI here,” Draco growls. “Who are your companions?”

“Aww, don’t be like that. You are going to hurt my feelings. These here are Agent Swanson and Agent Doyle,” she explains. “We were in the area working on a case, and I thought I would come in and discuss with you the new friends you have made.”

“What the fuck are you looking at?” Ceric growls from where he’s now leaning against the back wall. I follow his eyes and see he’s scowling at Agent Doyle, the youngest guy who arrived with Katya. “Keep your fucking eyes to yourself before I close them for you.”

“What was he looking at?” I whisper to Jasmine, as I don’t want to interrupt Aria when she’s listening to the three of their thoughts.

“Us,” she whispers back. “I told you, our guys don’t take it very well when other guys look or touch us.”

“Ceric,” Draco calls warningly. Katya takes this opportunity to sit down at their table, moving her chair so she’s closer to Wulf. I feel Jasmine tense next to me, but she shouldn’t have worried, as Wulf pulls his chair back. “What friends are you talking about?” Draco asks her.

“Come on, love, we know that you’ve been contacting Alexey the Bratva mob boss. What we want to know is why?” She simpers as her hand strokes Wulf’s hand that is holding his beer. He glares at her and then picks up his beer, bringing it to his lips. I notice he doesn’t place it back on the table.

“Now how would you know that?” Draco asks, a bored look on his face.

“You don’t expect me to tell you that, now do you, love?” she replies sweetly.

“Well, then, Katya, you can’t expect us to tell you fuck, either, do you?” he answers.

“I can make it worth your while; you see, I know where Merdor is,” she reveals, a teasing look on her face.

“Get me a pen and paper,” Aria whispers. Where the hell am I going to get a pen and paper? I Look over at Jasmine, and she nods towards the bar. Getting up, I make my way around the bar. I don’t want to make what I’m doing obvious, so I get myself a bottle of water. In the corner, I see a pen and a notebook. Grabbing it, I make my way back. As I approach the table, I look over at the agents and see that both men are looking at me. When they see me looking, the younger one winks.

“No fucking way,” I hear Ceric growl. Looking over my shoulder, I see him approach the agents with a furious look on his face. Before I can think about what I’m doing, I place myself before him, hugging his waist.

“Really, you’re going to start a fight with an FBI agent?” I whisper angrily. His eyes are that sexy amber when he looks down at me. I can feel the tenseness in his body as he vibrates with anger. “Leave it alone. He’s a dick, and I can take care of their type if need be.” I wink up at him. He continues to look down at me for a few more seconds and then huffs. I feel his body start to relax, and then his arms surround me, bringing me closer to him.

“I need to give this to Aria,” I whisper as I pull back, showing him the notebook and pen that I’m still holding. He nods, letting go of me completely, but I see he follows and then sits on the chair that Gabriela was sitting on earlier.

Everyone is saying that I’m his mate; he’s acting as if I’m his woman, but I don’t remember agreeing to it. Silly man. He’s so sure of himself, but just his presence makes my heart race. I want to give in, but what if he’s a player? I’m not going to let what happened to my mom happen to me. Suddenly, I jump at Wulf’s roar.

“For fuck sakes, stop touching me.” He knocks his chair back as he stands. I see that Katya is still sitting with a smile on her face. I wonder what she did.

“Funny, that isn’t what you used to say before.” She smirks.

“Katya, you are really pissing me off,” he growls. I don’t know if it’s because of his father or his mother’s agitation, but Orion wakes up with a wail. Jeepers, but the boy has a set of lungs on him. Jasmine lifts him up against her shoulder, but he continues to cry in agitation.

“Here, let me take him,” Ceric says, already stretching his arms and picking Orion up against his chest. “Hey, little guy, it’s okay.” I don’t know if it’s because of his calming voice or the change from his mother, but Orion quietens. Laying his head on Ceric’s chest, he yawns and then closes his eyes once more. I must be sitting here with my mouth open in surprise, because when Ceric looks over at me, he raises his eyebrows in question and then grins.

The asshole knows what he’s doing to me. How can anyone resist a sexy beast like him being so gentle and caring with a baby?

“A baby?” Katya asks, surprised. “Is it one of yours? And is it also like you guys?” There is a calculating look in her eyes.

“We aren’t here to talk about the baby; you say you’ve come here to ask about Alexey. Well, you did, and I have nothing to say,” Draco says with a sneer to his lips. “Therefore, you can all leave.” Looking back, he motions to Cassius. “Show them out.”

“You know I can always come back with a search warrant, don’t you? I’m trying to keep our mutual relationship peaceful,” she says as she stands.

“We will be asking for another agent. This is the last time you communicate with us,” Draco informs her. “And, Katya, leave Wulf alone or you’ll answer to me. He’s not interested.” With that, he waves his hand, letting Cassius know that he’s finished with this conversation. I see Cassius motion to the two agents now standing by the bar.

“This isn’t over,” Katya sneers. First looking at Draco and then directly at Wulf, she calls, “See you lover,” as she turns and leaves.

“What was she thinking?” I hear Jasmine question Aria, an angry look on her face. Aria looks over at the guys who are now together talking, and then back at Jasmine. Ceric is the only one still sitting next to us, holding the baby.

“Ahh . . . she was thinking a lot of things,” Aria says uncomfortably. I can see she doesn’t want to tell Jasmine about it.

“Aria, I want to know exactly what she was thinking about Wulf,” Jasmine says.

“You know that’s unfair. I should never have told you that I can’t lie about what I hear,” Aria complains loudly. The noise from the men quietens at her words. “Well, you asked for it. Most of the time, she was thinking about Wulf. I can safely say she’s obsessed with him, going by what she was thinking.” Rubbing her forehead with her hand, she continues. “She thought a lot about the sex they had, and how she would like to do certain things to him. Do you want me to explain those things?” Aria asks crossly.

“No,” Wulf thunders.

“Don’t fucking talk to her like that,” Brandr says as he makes his way towards Aria. Taking her fingers away from her forehead, he starts to massage her temples. I see her relax at his touch and close her eyes in pleasure.

“I did get a location that she was thinking about when she spoke about knowing where Merdor is,” she reveals quietly. At her words, I see the guys tense. Draco approaches our table. Lifting the notepad, he looks down at the paper and then frowns.

“Are you sure this is the location she was thinking, sweetheart?” Aria nods in confirmation. “Celmund, who’s on stakeout today?” Draco growls.

“Bion and Caelius left just before Katya arrived. Burkhart and Gunner should be getting back anytime now.”

“How’s this possible that the location Aria has here is the bar? Is Merdor in that fucking bar and we don’t know about it? Are we sure that there are no more entrances to that fucking place?” Draco growls angrily. “Ceric, Cassius, Wulf, and Celmund, you guys with me. We’re going to go over that whole fucking place again In twenty. Get whatever you need and meet me in the garage.” With that, he turns with the notepad in hand and leaves. Cassius and Celmund follow.

Wulf moves towards Ceric and lifts his son into his arms. “Thanks, Brother.” With that, he turns towards Jasmine. She is already standing, so he moves to place his hand on her lower back, but she starts to walk away before he can. “Fuck,” he growls as he walks behind her.

Ceric leans towards me. “We are going to be away for a while. Are you going to behave?” he asks quietly. The image of the guy evaporating shoots through my mind. The thought of anything happening to this man who is starting to mean more to me than I want feels like a vice squeezing my heart.

Ignoring his question, I ask my own. “Are you going to be safe?”

At my question, his lips shoot up in a smile. “Are you worried about me, Hellcat?”

“Stop being such an asshole!” I huff as I start to stand, but he shoots out his hand and pulls me towards him. Losing my balance, I fall against him. I open my mouth to argue, but he takes the opportunity as his lips dip against mine. This kiss starts out gentle, as if he’s trying to assure me, but soon, he’s consuming me with his kiss, with his essence, with his very soul.