Esteban was due to arrive at six for our date. Nandi had fretted in front of the mirror for the past hour, blending and reapplying her lipstick in different combinations until she found the perfect shade of cocoa and scarlet to suit her dark complexion.

When I’d tried on her red, it lasted less than five minutes on me before I removed it and chose a rose pink instead. Red on my mouth looked like I had one mission, and one mission only—to get dicked as hard and deep as possible before the night ended.

Isisa approached the couch and frowned at us. She wore snug, low-rise jeans—a rarity for a woman normally clothed in athletic wear or chic pant suits—and an off-the-shoulder ruffled blouse in pale pink. “What happened to the ‘Come-Fuck-Me-Red’ you were wearing ten minutes ago?”

“Removed for that precise reason,” I replied. “We’re not trying to send him silent cues to bend us over on the first date.”

Isisa’s frown deepened. “One, it is your third or fourth date with him, isn’t it? Two, it was beautiful on both of you.”

I toyed with one of my curls, deciding to wear my hair in its natural state of wild coils instead of ironed straight. “Thanks. Still, I like this better. I’ll save the red for a fancier outing.”

“If that’s what you want.” She stuck her tongue out at me. “I thought it was sexy though.”

Nandi’s silent agreement shimmered down the pride link, a warm buzz that touched my soul with love and laughter. Then she fiddled with the neckline of her blouse until I slapped her hand. Playfully.

“Stop that. No amount of readjusting is going to hide those unless you want to wear a turtleneck.”

She moved to the edge of the couch cushion, poised to rise. “I could go put one on.”

I grabbed her wrist. “Don’t you dare. Sweetie, you look beautiful. And I’ll wear the red tonight for you both.”

The more I fretted, the more ridiculous I felt, my mind foggy with anxiety mirrored by two other women. Sometimes it struck me as more of a drawback than a bonus, a critical flaw to our shifter makeup that provided absolutely no emotional privacy.

Like on those nights when I needed to wake before dawn for a shift in the ER, but trembles of sexual pleasure vibrated through our link from Isisa or Nandi’s bedroom.

Isisa shook her head. “Look at us. You’d think we had never dated a man together before.”

Our shared laughter broke the tension and helped soothe our anxious nerves. I shook off the concerns and basked in the confidence of knowing Esteban could handle anything we threw at him.

“You’re right,” Nandi said. “We’re worrying about nothing. Tonight is about getting to know him.”

My phone chirped with an incoming message. I glanced down to see green bubble from Esteban. “Okay. He parked, and he’s heading to the elevator now.”

Isisa eyed me. “Good, but first we need to discuss something important before he arrives.”

I sighed. “You said you would be the designated driver.”

“Not that. What will we do if he expects something… physical from us tonight?”

Nandi pursed her lips. Despite her shy nature, she had the highest sex drive, a nuclear libido that kept her in bed with one of us or visiting Isisa’s toy chest if we were otherwise occupied.

“I won’t mind if it comes to sex, as long as you don’t mind if I decline,” Isisa said at last.

“Neither will I,” Nandi said. “But… we don’t have to. I’m okay either way.”

“Then, we’re agreed that we’ll let things happen as comes naturally. If tonight ends in sex with one, two, or even all of us, we’ll run with it without regrets.”

“Deal.”

I hurried to answer the bell when it rang, Nandi and Isisa on my heels.

Esteban waited outside of our door, too handsome in his collared shirt and jeans. His eyes took me in—devoured me like I was a snack laid before him on a platter—and a big grin spread over his face. “I feel underdressed. Is this how you ladies roll for movies and pool?”

I smoothed a hand down the sleeveless, blue shell top I’d plucked from Isisa’s closet. It laced on the sides, accentuating my waist. The black leggings hugged my ass and revealed every curve. “Yes. Isisa has rules about how we’re to be seen in public together,” I said, accomplishing a straight face through sheer willpower.

“I do not.”

His gaze moved past me to Isisa and Nandi, still filled with appreciative male hunger. Relief finally released the long breath I’d held.

“Well, you ladies are stunning tonight. Ready to go?”

“Absolutely.”

Whether or not he could hold his own against three of us was all that remained to be seen.

---

The movie petrified Nandi. She sat motionless to my right throughout most of the film, alternating between gripping the armrest and clutching my arm while Sasha and Isisa laughed at inappropriate moments. They laughed at her, too.

“I’m normally the one she squeezes to death,” Sasha whispered in my left ear. Our eyes were glued to the screen during the final act, Nandi frozen again, mouth parted in a silent scream during the inevitable jump scare. Someone a few rows ahead of us shrieked.

Isisa laughed harder. She reached around Nandi and stole a few fries from my plate. “At least it wasn’t Nandi this time.”

“This time,” I added.

Nandi elbowed me.

By the time the movie wound down to its final moments, we’d polished off our meals. My nephews loved when I took them to dine-in theaters, and since the ladies had never visited one, I’d prepurchased tickets ahead of time to the movie of their choice, upgrading our seats to the huge recliners in the middle row.

“I’m properly traumatized. Can we go drink now?” Nandi asked. She rose and stretched, arms above her head, pose accentuating the hourglass figure of her body and drawing my eyes right to her amazing tits.

Sasha reached around me to swat her. “You know they are going to scare you, but you always agree to one.”

“The previews were deceptive. I was expecting torture porn and guts everywhere, not legitimate fright mixed in with jump scares and suspense.”

I tossed payment and a tip onto the table then followed the three women outside to Nandi’s sedan. “What sort of movies do you prefer? Romantic comedies?”

“Action, actually,” Nandi replied.

“Yeah, she’s dragged us out to every Star Wars, Marvel, and DC Comics flick that’s come out.” Isisa nudged Nandi in a light, playful manner. “I’m the rom-com junkie, but I love horror, too.”

“Where to next, ladies?”

Isisa drove us to a pool hall in the Galleria. As our designated driver for the evening, she drank water while the rest of us enjoyed cocktails at a table near the back. We spent hours there, chatting about every subject that came to mind from dogs to video games, a woman on each side of me.

When Sasha excused herself to visit the restroom, Isisa took the chair to my direct left. “Sasha says you weren’t born in the States. Tell me about Puerto Rico.”

“Only if you’ll tell me about Africa.”

We closed the bar down after the girls displayed a drinking constitution that almost put mine to shame. At one point, Sasha and I were going neck to neck, slamming buttery nipples, kamikazes, and anything else Nandi claimed she needed to taste for book research. They kept up with me long after the buzz of alcohol spread warmth through my gut and turned my head fuzzy.

Nandi leaned against me from one side, Isisa on the other. Sasha trailed behind us to the car with her heels in one hand and this blissful smile on her face whenever her gaze drifted toward us. I’d ended the night hand in hand with Nandi.

One hell of an amazing date was over, and throughout it, it never felt like being out on a date with three different girls. Just… a date.

Coconut-scented ringlets brushed my shoulder when Nandi sank against me in the back seat. I held her every damned minute. Soft curves molded against me, her cheek burrowing against my throat. She cuddled the best out of the three, plush and warm with squeezable curves. Isisa hummed along to an R&B song playing over the radio, and Sasha snoozed until we reached the garage.

My Lexus sat in the adjacent parking spot. I’d had so much to drink, losing count toward the last two hours of the night, that I didn’t even look at it in passing. Sasha slipped to my left side and Nandi on the right. I put an arm around their waists and squeezed them close during the elevator ride to the top.

“Did you have fun?” Sasha asked once we were inside.

“I had a great time.”

Nandi tilted her head up. “With all of us?”

“I haven’t been out drinking like this since I was in the military, but the company was never as great.” Exhaustion had me in its grip, laying a blanket of fuzz over my vision. I was ready to dive into bed and sleep the inevitable hangover away.

Isisa giggled and bumped her hip into Sasha. “Next time Sasha gets to play chaperone while I drink and act ridiculous.”

“Sounds like a date.”

“Well, date’s not over yet.” Isisa skipped off to the kitchen and returned a moment later with four shot glasses balanced between her hands. “You still have to have a drink with me.”

We all found spots on the couch and shared three more shots of vodka from Isisa’s personal stash while we rehashed the movie. A few times, Nandi whipped out a notepad from the side table and jotted down notes.

“Another?”

I put my hand across my glass before Isisa could pour me anything else. “I’m good. More than good, really. In fact, I should probably get to bed if I’m not going to be worthless tomorrow.”

Isisa crossed her arms over her chest, long nails tapping against her biceps. “Definitely not. You’ve had far too much to drink to drive anywhere.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I muttered. “Figured I’d crash on your couch or something until morning.”

“You will not.”

“I can’t?” Crap, my mind went a dozen directions at once, wondering if I’d overstepped my bounds somehow while also conjuring up an image of all of us tangled in a sweaty, drunken heap in one bed. Or on the floor.

Isisa cleared her throat, interrupting the fantasy materializing in my mind like a sexual phantom. “What I mean is that we wouldn’t make you sleep on our couch when there’s a perfectly good bed set aside for the purpose.” She gestured to the door beneath the stairs leading to the bedroom intended for their future husband.

“It’s your room. If you really are interested in pursuing this between all of us,” Sasha said in a quieter voice. “We discussed it while you were in the restroom at the bar. We all enjoyed your company and don’t need long weeks of dating to determine if we want to continue.”

“I can’t think of any reason why I wouldn’t want to carry on. Y’all are amazing ladies, and the way I see it, it’d be my loss right now if I walked away. I haven’t figured out how I’m going to mention any of this to my parents and my family, but that concern can wait until I’m sober. Besides, I know better than to argue about a comfortable bed, so I’m all for it.”

“Good.” Sasha’s eyes brightened, and she leaned forward to kiss me—a quick, sweet touch of her lips on mine.

Isisa mirrored the affectionate gesture, then added, “You have your own bathroom, of course, and there are extra blankets in the closet on the shelf.”

“I’m sure whatever’s there is fine.”

Nandi popped up to her feet. “I’ll show you where everything is.”

“Lead on, corazon.”

I’d already seen the room, but I hadn’t done more than chat on the terrace with Isisa for a minute. Thick carpet cushioned my feet as we crossed through past the bed and closet to another door. My gaze kept dropping to Nandi’s rounded bottom, admiring the way her dress clung to the lush curves.

The bathroom was a work of art with an enormous shower beside a deep tub basin trimmed in marble. A large window over the tub, one I really hoped was one-way glass, revealed the Discovery Green below and the surrounding city.

“Am I going to be giving the city a peepshow?”

Nandi’s quiet giggle brought a skip to my pulse. “No. All the windows don’t let people see in.”

“Does your bathroom have a view like this?”

She shook her head, curls bouncing around her face. “No. I have a smaller window higher up to let in light, that’s all.”

I leaned forward, hands on the marble ledge, for a better view. The twinkling lights of the park looked as amazing from above as they had on the ground.

“Believe it or not, Sasha has the better bathroom, but she paid to have some extra work done to it. Her shower is massive. All four of us could probably fit inside.”

I tore my attention from the midnight skyline. “Tested that theory out yet?”

She bit her lower lip and shyly turned to the closet door behind her. “Maybe.” She tugged out fresh towels and set them on the bathroom counter.

A combination of liquid courage and curiosity tore my attention from admiring the bathroom to checking out the woman in front of me. She bent to remove a wrapped bar of soap from the cabinet beneath the sink, raising her dress hem and flashing a hint of purple panties.

Now or never.

When she straightened, I stepped forward into the space behind Nandi until my hips pressed against her round ass. She blinked, and her eyes went wide in the mirror. But she didn’t stiffen. I lingered behind her and wrapped an arm around her middle, my palm flat against her stomach. She melted against me.

“Thanks.”

“For?” she asked.

“Choosing me.” I kissed her ear and let her go.

“You didn’t make it a difficult choice. You’re...” She tucked a coil of dark hair behind her ear and moved to the door. “Goodnight, Esteban. I put some stuff for you in the dresser drawers.”

“Goodnight.”

After Nandi shut the door behind her, I crawled onto the bed without turning down the comforter and became dead to the world.

---

Nandi and I made breakfast while Isisa sulked nearby.

“We want to impress him,” Nandi said.

“Not murder him with raw eggs and salmonella,” I added.

Isisa sighed and gave us a half-hearted smile. “Is it technically murder if it’s a well-intended accident?”

Nandi considered it, biting her lower lip while stirring the eggs. “Manslaughter then.”

It was around noon when Esteban finally emerged from his bedroom, appearing rumpled and out of sorts, a pair of flannel pajama bottoms the only clothing on his fine body. They rested low on his hips, and his bare chest had never looked more delicious. Nandi had filled a couple of the drawers with fresh Hanes and pajamas after estimating his size.

She’d fretted over it before, afraid he’d think she was mothering him until Isisa reassured her there was nothing motherly about preparing for a guest, merely good manners. And reminded her of how frequently we bought each other panties and pajamas. Nandi knew all my favorite fandoms and never missed the opportunity to gift me with Harry Potter or superhero-themed apparel.

Esteban stretched his arms over his head, and I took a moment to admire his half-naked glory. He drew up short, aware of our appreciative glances. Then a cocky grin spread over his face.

“Well, good morning. Should I do a dance, too, or would that be too much?”

Isisa snickered from the counter and sipped her coffee. “Morning, Esteban, and please don’t. Nandi will combust if you do, and then no writing will get done today.”

I greeted him with a kiss to his cheek and pushed a mug into his hands. Black and sweet, the way I’d seen him take it before.

“Good morning,” Nandi grumbled, removing a french toast bake from the oven.

While I plated eggs and bacon, Isisa flipped channels until she found the local Houston news. “Are you going to come outside with me for a jog, or close yourself away in the reading room as usual?” she asked Nandi.

“I’ll jog with you this afternoon if the forecast is dry. It’s kind of gray out there.”

The news displayed the senior year book photo of a smiling young woman. “The family of Keshia Myers would appreciate any information leading to her safe return. Keshia is merely one among many young women of Houston to recently vanish without a trace. Tune in for the full story this afternoon.”

Long after they cut to the meteorologist, I wondered about the missing women.

Ian didn’t receive the Houston news in Quickdraw, so I’d mention it to him later, hoping it was another angle he could present to his cop buddies in the HPD. It couldn’t be coincidence.

The phone rang as I collected dishes from the others. Esteban had settled on the floor in front of the couch with Isisa while Simba frantically rushed back and forth between them, unable to decide who had the better toy.

I plucked it from the cradle and peered at the caller ID window. Mum’s cell number glowed back at me. Preparing for her to give me shit over failing to keep in frequent contact, I accepted the call.

“Hi, Mum. Is something wrong?”

“Must something be wrong to call my baby? We hadn’t heard from you in such a long time we were worried. How are things?”

“Oh, they’re pretty good,” I said, aware of Esteban eyeing me. “How are things in California? Weather nice?”

“Sunny and balmy here, as always,” my mother relayed. “You and the girls keeping warm?”

“It’s Texas. It doesn’t drop much below sixty this time of year.”

“She cranks the heat up,” Nandi called out.

“Does she really?” Esteban asked.

“Wait, is that a man I hear? Friend or…?”

I glanced over at Esteban and the other two playing with Simba on the floor. “More than a friend. For all of us.”

“You have to tell me everything. Nikolai!” I winced away from the phone a little. “Sasha and the girls found someone!”

“Later, Mum, okay? I promise.”

“You’d better. Oh, sweetie, I’m so happy for you all. Have you bonded?”

“What? No. Like I said, I’ll tell you about it all later.”

The phone clicked, and then Nikolai’s deep, rumbling voice joined the line. “Your mother is an impatient woman, as you know. She will spend the rest of the day troubling me and speculating about this mystery man.” His strong Russian accent was part of his charm.

I grinned. “Good thing she has you to teach her to relax and enjoy life.”

My stepfather laughed while my mother grumbled. They were the perfect pair, even if he was a tiger.

“Well, we won’t keep you since you have company. But you call me soon, baby, okay? I cannot wait to meet the man who has fascinated all three of you. Give Isisa and Nandi kisses for me.”

“I will. Love you.” I dropped the phone in the cradle again.

“Telling your mom about me?” Esteban grinned. Simba had claimed his lap after their tug-of-war game and seemed content to hold him hostage on the floor.

“As you heard, I didn’t say a peep.”

“Yet,” Isisa said.

“Should I be worried? Are her parents gonna grill me then roast and eat me if I turn up wanting?”

He had no idea.

“Nah, my mum’s a big softie. Nikolai, too.”

“That’s her stepdad,” Nandi said. “He’s nice.”

“Sounds like a Russian name.”

“He is,” I replied. “They met, God, like ten years ago?”

Isisa nodded. “Yeah, it was that cruise, remember?”

“For her birthday, we all went in together and booked her a cruise to force her to take some time off work. Nikolai happened to be on board taking a vacation from his job, too. It took her days to work up the courage to approach him.”

Nandi sighed gently and propped her chin against one hand. “Watching Nikolai and Phumzile was like viewing a real-life love story. Phumzile had a nice job, but she couldn’t afford to fly to Russia to see him often.”

“We helped where we could,” Isisa said. “And Nikolai had troubles getting into the U.S. at first. They dated over the Internet for almost five years.”

I nodded. “Finally, he managed to get a work Visa and surprised her when he came to the States. Isisa had made friends with an immigration attorney, and Ian nudged a few officials for me. Mum had no idea.”

Esteban smiled. “It was really sweet of you ladies to help them.”

My eyes burned a little, vision misty with spontaneous, unshed tears. “Anything to bring her happiness. She’s done so much for me, for all of us, that this was the least we could do.”

“So you’re all close to your family?”

“Not all of us,” Isisa said. “I only see my mother anymore, and never often enough. If we’re lucky, we can pull off a visit a couple times a year when we’re not busy.” And then she said nothing else on the matter.

Nandi cleared her throat and leapt in. “My family and I are… okay. I mean, I love them, and I see them, but they don’t quite understand me. Or my personal preferences.”

“That you’re into other women?”

“Yeah. Phumzile and Isisa’s mother came to America to escape... ahh… a war between their tribes, but my parents came here under different circumstances,” she explained. “Dad has Mom and his second wife—”

“Wait, he has two?”

“Well, yeah. They get along—mostly—with some occasional drama since he couldn’t legally marry both in America. Mom won because he had her first, and Lesedi is ultra passive-aggressive about it. She never misses a chance to bitch and moan about the other kids not being legitimate, and how it isn’t fair for her to not have access to his bank accounts and stuff. I think she’s a gold digger.”

Esteban winced. “Yeah. I can see how that might be a problem.”

“But it wouldn’t be a problem between us,” Nandi quickly said, words flying out of her in a breath. “Isisa doesn’t care about marriage, and I don’t either.”

Isisa sighed. “Nandi.”

“What? It’s true. You called it a capitalist scam.”

Isisa pinned Nandi under a murderous look, effectively silencing her.

At least she hadn’t blurted the truth about our shifter natures. Esteban was silent, wearing the stony, neutral expression I’d seen him reveal on occasion. Leave it to Nandi to stumble onto a topic too hot and early for our relationship.

“So how would that all work exactly?” he finally asked when the heavy silence persisted. “Marriage, I mean.”

I took his hand, placing it over my knee and stroking the back of his knuckles. “Legally, you could only marry one of us. But nothing stops us from living together. We don’t have to rely on you for insurance and things like that.”

“And what about children?”

“Your name would go on the birth certificates. We all know you don’t have to be married to have a legal claim on children, so that wouldn’t be an issue either.”

“And you all… do you want kids?” he asked, sliding his hand off my knee and straightening. His posture changed, losing the laid-back and relaxed lean against the couch.

I fidgeted with the edge of my shirt. “Not all of us. Um, we don’t have to have this conversation now. I mean, we’ve only been on a single date.”

Esteban popped up both brows. “I think we do. You see, I know I want kids, and I’ve already wasted a long time with a dishonest ex-wife. Kids, marriage—all things we need to discuss early on before things get serious.”

Isisa glanced away.

“Hey,” he said in a softer voice. “If you don’t want kids, that’s fine. I just want to know up front if that’s across the board—if I should expect to adopt.”

Nandi reached over and took Isisa’s hand. “I want kids. Sasha, too.”

Isisa bit her lower lip and focused on Simba. The dog had crawled over on his belly, only to flop beside her and expose it for rubs. She leaned over him and gave all the scratches he needed.

Damn. And just like that, she’d already withdrawn and gone cold. After twenty-seven years, there were still days when I struggled with her. Only time would tell if Esteban would adapt to her quirks, too.

“I’m good with your personal decisions, and I didn’t mean to make anyone upset.”

“You didn’t,” Isisa mumbled. “Anyway, I should check my messages.”

She kissed Nandi’s cheek then mine and Esteban’s before she headed upstairs. Simba trailed after her, ever doting and loyal.

Esteban exhaled a long breath and collapsed against the couch. “So how badly did I fuck that up?” He’d closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the cushions, throat exposed and vulnerable. I licked my lips, tempted to have a nibble. One claiming bite.

“You didn’t,” I whispered, voice low in case she lingered out of sight to listen. “Her father tried to marry her at a young age to an older man leading… another tribe. For children. It’s why her mother brought her to the States. It was all their family cared about, and she was made to feel it was her only value to him.”

Esteban frowned. “It isn’t.”

“We know that, you know that, but she doesn’t know that. Her father, older brothers, and grandparents called her selfish,” Nandi murmured.

“Selfish? She was a fucking child.”

I nodded. “So there you have it. Nandi comes from a large family like yours, and I have my twin brother.”

“So, uh”—Nandi rose and stretched, shirt rising high enough to show a sliver of her round tummy—“if you don’t have any other plans today, I’m down for showing you the sights in Houston and then making dinner for everyone. I have a deadline, but the editor won’t lose her mind if I’m a few hours late.”

“If you haven’t had enough of all three of us already,” I added.

“What? Nah. If dinner is anything like breakfast, count me in. Just give me a few to get put together.”

We both smiled. The moment the guest door closed behind him, Nandi spun to face me. “He’s definitely the one.”

I grinned. “Told ya.”

And it was only a matter of time before Isisa let him through her defenses and saw it too.