Chasing Cristabel (Ashland Pride Six) (9 page)

“Thanks, James,” Dylan said.

They climbed the stairs to the third floor,
with Hunter carrying both of Cris’s bags.

“Do you have more than just the two bags?”
Chase asked.

“Most of my stuff is still in my car. I had
planned to get my own place as soon as I could. Not that Lily isn’t
great, but in case you didn’t notice, the apartment was kind of
small.”

“How did you become friends?” Dylan
asked.

“In the summers, she vacationed with her
family near where our pride’s territory is at the lake. I looked
forward to seeing her every August. We wrote to each other during
the year and became really close. When I graduated from high
school, she said Cherie would let me stay with her and work at the
diner, but I wanted to go to college. After I graduated, I got a
job in Cranston and Lily’s brother, Lance, let me stay at his
condo. His company transferred him recently and I couldn’t afford
to sublet the place from him, so here I am.”

They stopped in the middle of the hallway,
where their three bedrooms sat side by side. Across from them was
the bathroom they shared.

Dylan’s room was first, and when Hunter
opened the door, he was thankful he’d made his bed the previous
morning. He wouldn’t want Cris to think she was mating with a
slob.

They left her bags in the hallway and walked
into the room. “All the rooms on this side face the street, which
is wooded, but not as much as the backyard,” Chase said.

Cris looked at the bed for a long, quiet
moment and then turned to face them. “How is this going to
work?”

“Which part?” Hunter asked.

“The four of us living in one bedroom,
sharing a bathroom. Sharing
me.
” Her cheeks turned scarlet,
and all three of them hurried to her, laying their hands on her for
comfort.

“We’ll make it work,” Chase said.

“Won’t you be jealous? Last night was
amazing, but I don’t think I can have sex three times a night
forever.”

Hunter growled softly and pulled her flush
against him. “We don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to or
aren’t comfortable with. Last night was amazing for us, too,
sweetheart, but that was our first time – it was meant to be
special. However the physical part of our relationship grows, it
will be right for us.”

Dylan squeezed her shoulder gently. “No other
pride members have more than three members in their mating group.
Ours is unique even in our own pride, and that’s okay. If you’re
worried about us being jealous, I think we probably will be at
times, but that’s a natural thing we’ll deal with.”

She turned in Hunter’s arms until her back
was against him and reached for his and Chase’s hands so they were
all connected. “Just for the record, I want all of you, all the
time, but a girl does need some sleep.”

Hunter nuzzled her throat and nipped at the
place where he’d marked her. “Didn’t I tell you last night that
even just being in the same bed with you while we sleep is
enough?”

“You promise that you’ll talk to me if
something is bothering any of you?” she asked, linking her fingers
with Dylan’s.

All three promised. Dylan knew that the road
wouldn’t be easy. Even males who shared their mate with just one
male encountered jealousy issues. They were dealing with an
entirely new situation. He thought figuring out a better work
schedule would help them all. He didn’t want to be away from her
all weekend long because he closed the bar on Friday and Saturday
nights, and he was sure his cousins didn’t either.

“Let’s go look at the other rooms,” Chase
suggested.

Just as he spoke Cris yawned, covering her
mouth with her hand, her nose crinkling as she smiled sleepily.

“Then we can put our kitten to bed,” Hunter
said.

“It’s not my fault there were these three
amazing guys in bed with me last night who kept me up very, very
late.”

After looking at Hunter’s and Chase’s rooms,
which were very similar to Dylan’s, they ventured down to the end
of the hallway where several of the rooms sat empty. “Who’s living
up on this floor?” Cris asked.

“Holden and Jackson each have a room, and
Wes, Ray, and Melody share a room, and then each of us have a
room,” Dylan answered.

Cris peeked into one of two doors and said,
“This one has a bathroom.” Dylan followed her into the bathroom,
which was quite small, with only a toilet, pedestal sink, and small
bathtub.

“If you like it, we can remodel it. It
wouldn’t be hard to turn it into a shower and add some storage,”
Hunter said from the doorway.

“We could also find a place to live in town.
It’s not unheard of, you know.” Chase said.

“I thought all the lions lived in the
boarding house,” Cris said as she touched the dusty counter and
grimaced.

“Most of us do. Rhett and his human mate,
Lisa, live on a farm in town, and on their property is a converted
barn where Ethan, Eryx, and Callie live with their kids,” Chase
answered.

Dylan followed Cris out of the bathroom and
into the main room, which had old furniture covered with dust
cloths and a thick layer of dust on everything. He suspected the
room hadn’t been used in decades. Although larger than the other
bedrooms and with the attached bathroom as a bonus, it was still
just
one room
, and not a whole house.

He slipped his hand into Cris’s, and she
looked up at him. “Maybe we need to talk about this some more.”

She opened her mouth to answer and yawned
instead.

Hunter chuckled as he lifted her into his
arms. She snuggled into him with a sleepy sounding purr. “How about
that nap?”

“As long as you stay with me,” she said.

“Promise,” Hunter said.

Chapter 8

Cris woke up snuggled against Chase, who was
on the Internet on a tablet. His arm, which was draped over her
shoulder, tightened in a light hug, and he kissed the top of her
head.

“You’re a comfortable pillow,” she said as
she rolled off him and stretched. The bed, which was in Hunter’s
room, was very relaxing. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to
actually rest even though she’d been bone-deep tired, but once
she’d found herself hugged between Chase and Dylan, and Hunter
leaning against the headboard with an amused smile, she’d passed
right out.

“Where is everyone?”

“Helping with dinner. Do you feel more
rested?”

She sat up and rolled her neck. “Yes. I
didn’t snore, did I? Sometimes if I’m really exhausted, I snore. Or
talk in my sleep.”

He chuckled. “No, you didn’t snore.”

“What are you looking at online?” She leaned
over and peeked at the screen, which showed a real estate
website.

“While you were resting, we talked about
scouting homes in the area.”

“I don’t want you guys to have to leave the
pride because of me.”

He put the tablet down on the nightstand and
sat up. “We’re not leaving the pride. Ashland has some homes for
rent and sale. Plus, there are parcels of property we could buy,
too. We’d still be in Ashland, and we’d still be part of the pride,
but we’d have more room.”

“This house is enormous,” she pointed
out.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding, “but there are a
lot of people who live here. It’s crowded and noisy at times. Like
if we wanted to go watch a movie, we’d have to see if someone is
already watching a movie or using the gaming system. Then we’d have
to make sure it was a family-friendly movie because of the kids, or
wait until they went to bed.”

“You could put a television in the
bedroom.”

“Sure, but then we’d end up stuck in here all
the time. I want a place where we can spread out a little.”

She thought back to her own home life. “In
the pride, the haj’s house was central, and everyone lived nearby.
All the ceremonies were done on land that was part of our home. My
father would invite families to join us for a weekly meal.”

“See? It’s not that different. We could find
a place in town, but still be part of the pride. Coming here to
shift on the full moon, for ceremonies and get-togethers – but we’d
be able to have our own space, too.” He leaned forward, his brown
eyes dancing with heat. “Like, if sometime you want to let me get
you naked on the couch, we can do that in our own place. Not here,
though.”

She rolled her eyes in thought, and he
snarled playfully and pushed her onto her back. Caging her with his
arms, he kissed down her jaw until he reached her ear. “Okay,
you’ve convinced me,” she said, wrapping her arms around his
neck.

He chuckled as he kissed her ear. “Just
mentioning getting naked on the couch was all it took? I’ll have to
remember that.”

“Well, I’m not sure it will work for
everything, but you make a very good case for a private home.”

He kissed down her neck, nibbling on her
pulse with a purr rumbling in his chest. He tugged her collar aside
to expose her shoulder, lowering his body over hers until she felt
the comforting weight of him as he settled into the cradle of her
hips.

She fisted his shirt and tugged, just as the
bedroom door opened. He groaned and said, “Knew I should’ve locked
the door.”

She peeked around him to see Hunter and Dylan
as they entered the room.

“I would have,” Hunter said. He plopped down
onto the bed, making both her and Chase bounce, and kissed her.
“How do you feel, sweetheart?”

“Very good. Better, now that you’re all
here.”

Dylan joined them on the bed. “We’ve got an
hour until dinner, but we can go downstairs so you can meet those
who weren’t here earlier. It’ll be a full house tonight.”

“Cris and I were just talking,” Chase said as
he eased to her side, keeping his hand on her stomach.

“It didn’t
look
like you were
talking,” Dylan said with a wink.

“We were. Earlier,” Chase said. “About
getting a place of our own.”

“What do you think?” Hunter asked, looking at
Cris. He propped his head on his upturned hand and smiled at her
encouragingly.

“Well, I just got here, but already I can see
the benefit of having a place that’s more private.” She cleared her
throat. “And I heard that there might be some naked couch time,
if
we had a place of our own.”

All three of her mates purred at the same
time. She laughed.

“That being said, I don’t think we need to
rush, right? I’d like to get to know your pride.”

“They’re your pride now, too,” Chase
said.

She’d never really thought about belonging to
another group of shifters again. She’d figured when she found her
mate, her dad would most likely kick her out of the pride, and
she’d end up with just her mate and their children, like a mini
pride. That the mountain lions were so willing to welcome her and
allow her to join their group made her realize that her upbringing
had been stricter than she’d ever really admitted. Her parents
believed that the traditions of their pride were worth upholding no
matter who was hurt in the process.

When they were ready to go downstairs to
dinner, Cris said, “Don’t you guys need to go to work tonight? I
thought you all worked late on Friday and Saturday nights.”

“I called Perry and told him that we were
taking care of our mate,” Hunter said.

“You’re not going to lose your jobs, are
you?”

“Hell, no,” Chase said. “Perry loves us. And
we haven’t taken time off in ages. You’re a very good excuse to
take a break.”

As they descended the stairs, the noise level
grew, until it became almost deafening. The kitchen was packed with
males, females, and children. She and her mates stopped at the
kitchen entrance, and the whole group quieted.

James waved at them from behind the island,
and she followed Hunter as he led her into the center of the large
kitchen near the island. Chase and Dylan followed.

“Everyone,” James said, “this is Cristabel
Hardison. She hails from Kentucky and happens to be the mate of
these three lucky guys.”

There was a loud chorus of “welcome” from the
group, and then they slowly made their way to her for
introductions. She knew she’d never remember everyone’s name, but
she did her best. The kids ranged in age from Jilly, who was the
oldest at eighteen, to Cameron, who was one. Callie, who appeared
to be several months pregnant, hugged Cris.

“We’re so glad you’re joining the pride!” she
gushed. “I hear you’re working at the were-clinic.”

“I start Monday.”

“It will be nice to see a familiar face this
summer.”

“Summer?” Cris asked.

“Elliot and Evan are starting preschool in
the fall, and they’ll have to get an official checkup for the
school.”

“Which is silly,” one of her husbands said as
he lifted Cameron into his arms, “since shifters don’t get sick and
don’t get human diseases.”

Callie rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry there
isn’t a shifter-only preschool in Ashland. Then we wouldn’t have to
worry about health forms. Since it’s not the case, we do what we
must so our boys will get the best education.”

The male smiled sweetly at Callie and bent to
kiss her cheek. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

James called everyone to the table. The main
table was quite large and had sixteen chairs around it, and someone
had added another long table with more chairs. It amazed her that
everyone, kids included, was seated in the kitchen.

Cris sat between Hunter and Dylan, and Chase
sat next to Dylan. Across the table was Samantha, who was mated to
Aaron and Grant. Their five kids were seated at the other end of
the table where all the kids were gathered.

James stood and lifted his glass. “First, I
want to say that it warms my heart to see so many of our people
finding their truemates and settling down. When Eryx and Ethan
first mated Callie, I honestly believed it was a unique situation
and wouldn’t be replicated. Now we can plainly see that our people
were meant to find the mates of our hearts and start families. I
happily welcome Cris to the pride.”