Healing Cherri (13 page)

Her bedroom however, was done in a Victorian theme, with lace and different shades of pinks. She would bet the men were going to hate that. But they were going to have to suck it up. Across from the living room was a communication and office center. It had three desks set up which she paused and looked at when she was half way across the room. Someone had brought in more computers and desks. One for each of them, and a huge central screen so they could all work together. Hmmm, Ms. Praton was behind that.

Then there was her kitchen, which was completely high tech and decorated in more teal and purples, still the same island feel and she loved it, it had a small, comfortable nook where four people could eat comfortably.

Her dining room filled the rest of the place with a huge, dining table for entertaining. It was getting larger and larger. But it was the darkest furniture she owned as it held a cherry wood table, and dark teal and silver plates already set for a party.

Off to the left was a door that led to the main suite, it was huge with three rooms to it, a small sitting room, the large bedroom with two walk in closets, because she couldn’t possible share with a man, and a huge master bath.

Off to the right was the door that led to the other spare rooms she had, three in all. She hoped one day to fill them with children, but she was waiting for her mate. Now that she had two, it could be possible. But not before her mother got her white wedding. She made a note to have that discussion with her mates first thing.

As she drew closer to where her friends were all bending over and cooing at something, she saw the container and it looked like an old-fashioned dog carrier. She hadn’t seen one of those in years, since her snotty classmate brought her cute, little puppy to show-and-tell, and proceeded to rub it in their face how she received it for her birthday. Calli, Rissa, and her all had the same idea, went home and begged their parents for a pet. Their fathers, who always thought the sun rose and set on the girls, began to waiver. Then the Mob moms got involved and then the answer turned from ‘maybe’ to ‘hell no’. They had been so disappointed, that's when they realized their mothers were the enemy and if they wanted anything cool, they had to go to their fathers.

Cherri drew next to Calli who was squealing in a totally uncharacteristic tone. “Kade, I want one. Please, Please, Please,” she said.

Rissa said, “I don’t have to ask permission, I want to know where you got it boys, I want to know if she had siblings. Then our puppies will be related.”

Cherri looked down and saw the most precious puppy she ever could have imagined owning. It was pocket-size and all white, curled in a tiny, pink bed with a tiny, pink bow on both ears. It looked up at her and she knew when their eyes met that they were going to be the best of friends.

“
OMG,” Cherri cried. Then pushed back her friends, and said, “Back, MY PRESENT!”

Both of her friends grumbled, but allowed themselves to be pushed back. Cherri fell onto her knees in front of the small cage and whispered, “Hey sweetie, and what's your name?”

Declan and Nik moved to the other side of the cage and bent down on one knee and watched their mate open the cage and take the little bundle out, and cuddle it against her face. She closed her eyes and sighed before standing and turning to her friends and beaming, “Look what I have.”

Rissa, Calli, and even Kade moved closer and touched the small animal. “Where did you get her?” Rissa whispered. “Seriously.”

“
Here's the card,” Declan said and pulled to from his back pocket.

Rissa reached for it and Calli grabbed it first. “Kade, I want one too, call and get both Rissa and me a puppy that was this one’s brother or sister,” she demanded and Kade looked at the two men who were smirking and glared at them.

“
Yes, baby,” Kade said and opened his com link and turned around to go and order some puppies.

The three women cuddled and kissed the little bundle and then Cherri said, “What if it has to piddle?”

Nik laughed and said, “That was your other surprise, if you will follow me.”

He walked to the largest balcony that they had in the apartment. The windows were shaded, and so she couldn't see what was on the other side. But when he pushed the button to open the doors, she gasped at the atrium that had been added to her balcony. It was covered and held patches of grass, and a small little trash can. It also had flowers and doggie toys all set out for the small bundle. Cherri set her down, the puppy began to sniff, and wander. Cherri just followed, completely in love with the small animal.

When it squatted and peed, she bent down and praised it. Declan and Nik came out to the area and she screamed and jumped into their arms and began to kiss them. “Thank you, I love it.”

“
The atrium is bullet proof also, so you can come out with the puppy without having to worry. We had to include the security because we cannot any longer go out to the open balconies, they won’t even open,” Declan said and Nik sighed.

“
Sorry, one of the things we were going to tell you. But we didn’t have a chance; I think it worked better this way,” Nik said.

“
What's her name?” Cherri asked and her friends were yelling in the living room. She scooped up her little bundle and went inside. Calli and Rissa were clapping and dancing in a circle with their hands raised in the air. “We're getting puppies, we're getting puppies,” they sang and then Cherri went and joined them. The three men stood, watched, and shook their heads.

“
You know that we are totally going to have to train them right, those women are gonna baby them something fierce. We're gonna take the back seat and have to beg them for a little attention.”

“
Yeah, but look at them,” Declan said and they laughed. The three men seemed to be bonding as Alpha and Betas. The bonds between them would be strong and they would need that in the coming months. All of them knew it.

“
Okay, ladies, we have to go and wait for the delivery, we can see them in the morning,” Kade called.

Rissa and Calli ran for the stairs and Calli turned and said, “And I want an atrium too.”

Kade groaned and ran his hand over his face and walked to the stairs. Cherri knew that they would be up all night with the puppies!

Her mates looked at her and grinned. Declan said, “Now, dinner, naming the dog, feeding the dog, and claiming the mates. In that order.”

Cherri laughed and said, “Well, I have nothing to eat, so I guess we order out.”

Nik stepped forward and said, “If we can get a dog and an atrium built in twenty-four hours, we can certainly provide you dinner.”

Cherri raised an eyebrow and looked around for the bags, but her mates shook their heads and held out their arms to the kitchen. When she carried the small puppy into the kitchen, she saw it. Their meal was laid out on the small nook table. It was adorned with flowers and candles and when she looked closer, her favorite food. The girls had to have talked, or Kade since he was there when she pitched her fit about having burritos from the restaurant down the street. It was her weekly treat to herself when she had to work late.

“
Aww,” she said and buried her head in the soft, little dog's fur. “You guys are so sweet.”

“
That’s what we've been telling you. Now, no dogs at the table, but we have her little bed with her dish right there, so she can eat while we do,” Declan said.

Cherri grinned, put the puppy down on the floor, and slid into the table. Her mates each took a side and they began to talk. Cherri asked questions about Nik. He had a family, still in Ireland. He called his parent’s and they were excited about coming and seeing them. They also said they would send the correct documentation they had of his family ancestors. Both had been surprised to hear that he was a descendant of the Chosen, although there had been rumbles in the family about it.

He had several brothers and sisters, and Ms. Praton was checking to see if they were also going to be a part of the Pack, but not all siblings were involved in the destiny, as seen with the girls. He had been in the shifter military for years, and had risen to Commander Level. Just before he had to re-up, Ms. Praton called and asked to meet him. Being a Gryphon had its benefits. He explained the family history he knew of.

Then Declan went over his family history again and Cherri finished. By the time they were done with their meal, they all felt like they had gotten to know each other a little better.

“
So, a name?” Cherri said and wiped her hands on her napkin and looked down at the sweet, little puppy lying in the bed sleeping after finishing her meal.

“
What do you want to call her babe, she is yours,” Nik said.

“
Hmm, I don’t know, I've never had a pet. But she's so sweet and tiny,” Cherri said and bent over and picked her up. She looked at her cute, little face and just fell in love all over and made kissy noises to the animal.

“
Wink, that’s her name, she just looks like a Wink,” Cherri said and laughed when the puppy licked her nose.

“
I think she likes it. Now we need to take her out to do her business, before we move this party to the other room,” Declan said.

Cherri took her out to the atrium and waited while she wandered again to go to the bathroom. She could hear the deep rumbles of her men’s voices and smiled. This was what life was going to be like; she was certainly stupid for exaggerating earlier. Having two mates was the bomb.

Finally, little Wink finished and came and sat by her feet until she picked her up. Cherri praised her and kissed her. When she entered the living room, she paused. They had really gone all out here, setting a seduction scene just for her. There were three glasses of champagne, some kind of fondue-like dessert that had fruit and little cakes with spears, and the lights had been dimmed. Little Wink’s bed was brought out with a few toys and laid in front of the table.

Her men stood to the side of the table next to each other, but they had changed. Both wore silky, blue pants and no shirt, and Declan held out a matching robe for her and smiled. “We wanted you to get a little more comfortable."

Cherri grinned, set the puppy down, petted her for a second before taking the robe shyly, walked to the bedroom, and went to the bathroom. Everywhere around it showed places where they had been moved in. There were two closets and theirs was full of boxes and clothes.

Both had their bathroom things laid out, and she sighed. This is what she wanted. Cherri quickly undressed, cleaned up and brushed her hair. She grimaced when she realized it was still a little matted, even though she had tried several times to get it to lay down. She was going to have to go to the spa. Until then, she sprayed it with the untangling spray and made it straight. She pulled it back in a sleek ponytail and then brushed her teeth. Putting on the silky robe, she felt sexy. Especially knowing they were waiting for her out in the living room.

Cherri walked back into the room and laughed when she saw that her men were on the floor with the puppy, playing chase and tug with her. Wink's little tail was going a mile a minute as she tried to play with both of them. Declan and Nik seemed relaxed with each other, which was good and strange, they hadn't really talked about the two-mate thing, and she supposed they had better. There could be no jealousy between them.

Cherri cleared her throat and both men remained on the floor but turned to look at her. She grinned and joined them on the floor playing.

After a few minutes, Cherri said, “So, I think we should talk about the three mate thing. I mean it's different, and I really want this to work.”

“
We agree, we have talked and we think that if each of us gets our own time with you, and then together, we'll be good. For some reason, the thought of sharing you with anyone but Declan drives me crazy, but with him it seems natural.”

Declan nodded. “I agree. I think we're going to be fine, take it one day at a time, and be honest with each other.”

“
Okay, well, I honestly want to get naked with you. How's that?” Cherri said softly and looked at them with the desire they all felt.

She felt bold and wanted to claim her mates, so she crawled slowly toward her men. They were lying in the perfect position with their heads together and their legs stretched out. She leaned in and kissed Nik, softly exploring his mouth with hers, trying to tease them into action. It really didn’t take much. Nik reached up, fisted his hand in the back of her hair, and took the kiss over. He demanded a response and she gave it to him with everything she had, sweeping her tongue in his mouth. She dueled with him for dominance, but he won, making sure she knew who was boss. She shivered at the thought.

Being a strong female turned off some men, or made some think they could conqueror her. She would never submit to anyone but her mate and she had found two and was willing to give it all over to them. She sighed in Nik's mouth, leaned her head to the side, and allowed him to plunder her.

When he released her, Declan was right there and took over. They had already had this fight in the lavatory and her wolf acknowledged that Declan and Nik were both worthy of being her mate.

Declan’s kiss was different, just as demanding but softer. Nik was going to be the most dominate of the trio. This was fine with her. She leaned back and looked at her men.