Chapter 28

The smell of avocado, creamy chicken, steak, and fries made my mouth water in anticipation. My poor stomach couldn't help but embarrass me further as it shamelessly grumbled in response.

"Say ahh," Zane directed as he brought a fry to my lips. He gently, teasingly ran the salty potato against my closed lips, making me feel dizzy with craze as anticipation and hunger took over my senses.

My tongue shot out of my mouth just as he moved the fry away with a mischievous and naughty glint in his eye. The man knew my weaknesses, and he was using them against me, how vile.

I tantalisingly ran my wet tongue over my lips and collected the remaining salt that he had left behind with a few swipes before abiding to his request and parting my lips. An almost feral hunger shone from his eyes as he brought my deserved fry past my lips and into my mouth. I instantly took a bite before he got the chance to withdraw it again.

A moan of approval vibrated from my throat as I happily chewed the crispy, salty fry. The slight crunch from it made my taste buds tingle as I tried to swallow the squeal of joy that threatened to leave my lips.

"Sweetheart," Nolan groaned, a hot look burning from his eyes as I turned to face him. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" I asked confusedly after swallowing.

From my peripheral view, I caught Zane moving closer to my side until the warmth that radiated from him caressed my body. His warm breaths tickled my ear as he whispered,"Those sounds."

My heart skipped a beat at not only his closeness but also his raspy voice. He sounded so manly, so attractive. My poor stomach could only flutter even as he slowly moved away so I could let out a shaky breath I didn't know I was holding. These men could very well be the death of me.

I could only bite my inner cheek as I tried to focus on my appetite rather than my abnormally beating heart.

"Are you okay, Sweetheart?" Nolan's amused voice asked.

I forced my eyes to look at my pizza that looked too delectable to resist. The smell was driving my appetite crazy, but then again, Nolan and Zane were driving my emotions, and I'm ashamed to admit, my hormones just as crazy.

Forcing a calm smile onto my lips, I smiled at Nolan, "Never been better!" I enthusiastically exclaimed. "Just can't wait to dig in."

"Rightt." Nolan threw me a knowing look as Zane snickered in amusement.

I playfully pouted at him, but that didn't last as he offered me one of his fries with a sweet smile. I happily parted my lips and took my time to enjoy the savory crunch and taste of it before grabbing a slice of my pizza and taking a large, shameless bite.

A muffled moan instantly left my throat as I savored the cheesiness of the pizza. The crust was crispy and thin, and the fillings were tender and full of flavour. The avocado was smooth. It was absolutely devine.

"Someone is enjoying their meal." Nolan chuckled as he grabbed his fork and knife from the serviette.

I happily nodded in response as I swallowed.

"It's great!" I all but sighed in approval. "Want a bite?" I offered Nolan.

He silently opened his mouth, allowing me to slip some of the pizza into his mouth. A bit of avocado painted the side of his lip as he slowly chewed like a gentleman, unlike me. I chewed like I was at war.

"It's pretty good." He approved.

"I told you." I giggled as I instinctively raised my thump and gently wiped away the smudge. As I was about to move my hand back, his larger hand gently took hold of my wrist and brought it over to his lips. His warm eyes remained locked on me as he placed a chaste, featherlight kiss on my wrist. My breathing slightly hitched as he smiled at me.

"Thanks, Baby."

"It really is good." Zane commented.

My attention instantly whipped over to find the little thief taking a bite of one of my uneaten slices of pizza.

"Hey!" I pouted, "Are you trying to starve me?"

"Starve you?" Zane smirked with a quirked eyebrow. "You know that I would never. In fact, we can order a box to go for later."

"Don't play with me like that!" I dramatically tsked. "You have no right to lie to me about food."

"But I'm not," He chuckled as he picked up a fry and popped it into his mouth. "I know my mate loves food, so food is what she'll get."

"Are you trying to fatten me up?" I playfully quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe," He shrugged as he picked up his glass of wine and winked at me. "I'm just trying to keep my mate happy."

"I'm going to quickly head to the lavatory," Nolan said as he pressed one more kiss on my wrist before carefully letting it go and pushing himself out of his seat. "Be right back." He gently patted my shoulder on his way. I threw him a quick smile before focusing my attention on Zane, who was gently moving his glass of wine in his hand.

"You know, I'm glad we came."

"Me too, Baby," He softly smiled at me with so much softness and adoration in his eyes. He took a quick sip of his wine before putting his glass down as I took a bite of my pizza. "Are you always this messy?" He chuckled as he raised his hand to my lips.

I curiously quirked my eyebrow as I swallowed the pizza and waited still as he moved his thump over my lips to wipe away whatever I had there.

"Yes," I all but whispered as I tried not to move too much, "Unfortunately, I am."

"I like it," He looked at my lips. "I don't deserve you." He all but sadly smiled as he moved his hand away.

"Zane," I softly sighed at the man in front of me. "You do. Yes, we had a rocky start, but that's life. Not all beginnings are sweet and smooth. Some are sour and cold. All that's important is that we learn from them."

"And trust me, I've learned from mine," He weakly chuckled. "I'm never letting you go ever again."

"I count on it." I giggled.

He hummed in response as he raised his thump and swiped at something green with his tongue - the avocado.

"Tastes even better," He winked, the flirtatious Zane now back to play. A shy smile instantly tugged at my lips as I tried to avert my gaze but failed to be quick enough as he gently cupped my chin in his hand. "I admit it makes me want those lips even more," He groaned.

I teasingly closed my eyes and pushed my lips forward, deciding to play with him. As I was about to open my eyes, I was surprised to feel a gentle, almost barely existent caress against my lips. A pair of soft lips were barely pressed against mine.

"Please say I can?" He all but whispered against my lips.

I have never kissed anyone before, so I admit my insecurities threatened to have me frozen in place. I wanted to plant my lips against his, but I couldn't help but to worry. What if I kissed him incorrectly? But regardless of my worries, I found my lips moving without hesitation, "Go ahead." I might not know how to kiss him, but I admit I craved the feeling of the unknown. I was curious about how his lips would feel against mine, but most importantly, I craved the feeling of his lips against mine.

I could feel my heart practically hammering against my chest. My breathing had almost come to a halt, and my brain felt fuzzy from our close proximity. His familiar cologne made me swallow in anticipation. I thought that our close proximity was driving me crazy, but when his lips planted against mine, I was in euphoria. His lips were so plush, and the way he kissed me was so gentle. I felt like I was melting under his lips. It was a small peck, but it felt like a thousand fireworks ignited from the small contact.

With a groan, he broke our lips apart, but not without stealing one more quick peck. I shyly smiled at him as I moved back into my seat with a racing heart and a pair of tingling lips while he simply looked at me with contentment marring his features.

"You two seem to have been up to something," Nolan's playful voice filled the silence that had filled the small space as Zane and I collected our thoughts. My heart instantly jolted in surprise as I looked at Nolan as he took his seat. "I didn't want to bother you two." He winked.

I opened my mouth to protest - to say anything, but nothing left my lips. I was in a state of surprise, and I'm ashamed to say, a bit of guilt. Nolan and I had yet to share a kiss, but here have Zane and I shared one not even a week after reconciling. I couldn't even imagine what must have been running through Nolan's mind. A huge part of me just wished it wasn't all bad things. I'm a horrible person.

"I'm -" I began but was immediately cut off by a finger pressing itself against my lips.

"He's also your mate," Nolan smiled at me reassuringly. "There's nothing to feel guilty about, Sweetheart. Our time will come." He grinned, not knowing how much that sweet smile of his only made me want to cry while also wanting to jump and kiss him too.

"I di- " Zane began, but one glare from Nolan had him zipping his mouth and silently looking down at his plate.

"I always thought I was a worry wart," Nolan dramatically sighed, "You two are also mates. Just because her and I met first, doesn't mean we had to share a kiss first. Period," He threw us a quirked eyebrow. "Now, enough of your worrying and let's eat. I'm starving!" He exclaimed before digging into his food, leaving us gaping at his calmness.

A huge part of me told me that genuinely, Nolan didn't care about our kiss. But then again, another part of me told me that he might have been faking nonchalance.

Nolan and Zane are two different people, and because of that, they make me feel two different but similar things. With Nolan, it's always sweet and sensual. He never forces me to do anything, and he always makes me feel like I'm on a cloud. Our relationship is gentle, and it always feels featherlight between us. He's the peacekeeper between all three of us and is always there to make me feel like I'm doing the right thing, and I think the same applies with Zane. Nolan is the more rational one of all of us, whereas with Zane, it's a different story.

While Nolan makes me feel the sweet things, Zane makes me feel things I've never felt in terms of passion. Our relationship is just as warm, but with Zane, there's so much more passion. He makes me want to do things I've never done before nor have ever craved before. It's like he brings the heat into my hormones and makes me crave him like fire. Zane awakens the me that I have never explored, the me that might be into the naughty kind of guys. They both make me feel so cared for and loved, make no mistake about that, and I care about them both equally.

I guess I could say they each resonate with acertain part of me, which is very fulfilling and scary. I never would have thought I would experience such closeness with anyone before. The thought of ever losing them scares me. I don't think I can even imagine a life without them, to be honest.