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  "Yep that's definitely you" he said laughing.

  "I'm gonna get this shirt" he said disappearing to the pay desk, I picked up a black t-shirt that would look extremely hot on Sean, Shit Sean! He'll be stressed that I hadn't checked in with him, silly overprotective boy. 'Hey lover boy first check in and all is well' I sent to Sean, 'Yeah I can feel that, you having a good time?' he asked with forced happiness, I could tell he wasn't really happy about me being here, in fact he was worried sick about it, but I loved him even more for trying to hide it from me. 'Yeah, I gotta go, love ya' I sent back just as Ryce walked back and smiled "Ready?" he asked happily, I nodded and followed him out of the shop.

  We found the art shop and I bought a new sketch pad to go with my pencils that Sean had bought for me on our first date, and some new colouring pencils for Rachel. "Wanna go get some lunch?"

  he asked rubbing his stomach with the puppy dog face on, I laughed, "What is it with you boys and filling your faces? Sean eats like a horse" I told him pulling him into a pizza restaurant. "Pizza really? All we ever eat together is pizza" the whined "Suck it up, I'm having pizza so if you wanna eat with me then....." I trailed off, he rolled his eyes, "Ok, Ok pizza it is but NO peppers or I'm not going" he said raising his eyebrows. I nodded with a smile, he knew I hated peppers so that was an empty threat.

  Once the food arrived the conversation turned to Sean, I knew it would eventually. "So you have been at school here exactly two weeks and you already meet someone, bond with them and get engaged?" he said casually eating a slice of pizza but he had tight eye's showing his stress. "Wow it sounds bad when you say it like that, I'm not some hoe you know" I told him looking down at my food pushing it around my plate with my fork. "I know that Tiger, I know how a bond works, it's impossible to fight it" he said with a shrug taking another huge mouthful.

  "So how come you never told me that you...." I said not really knowing how to voice it, "I couldn't, we are not supposed to expose the secrets to, well, people like you" he said looking round a bit uncomfortably to see if anyone was listening. I nodded "I know Sean told me about that" I said taking a bite and chewing slowly. I still felt so sick that I was having a hard time eating, I knew that this was coming from Sean but I just couldn't suppress it, he was sick with worry about me being here with Ryce. "Listen we can't really talk here properly, so how about we talk about this later, you think I could stay at yours for a couple of days?" he asked casually.

  Oh crap Sean is really not gonna like that! Oh well he'll have to get over it, I need him to get along with Ryce, he was important to me so he'll have to like it I guess. "Err yeah sure of course" I said trying to swallow my food. "So tell me about Sean then" he said puffing out his chest unconsciously when he said his name. "God what to say about Sean? Well, he's 18, he's awesome, funny, generous, handsome, kind, loving, he plays football for the school, he's really smart, he wants to be a doctor and has been offered a full academic scholarship at USC next year, he's incredible, he makes me feel safe and I love him" I said with a big smile on my face and the thought of him making my heart beat faster. "Sounds like a good guy" was all he said with a shrug, "He is" I said simply.

  After that we bought a dozen cookies from the Millets cookies stand and went back to his car. He drove me to school and we went to watch football practice in the field munching on the cookies and chatting about music and films, talking to him was easy as always. He was like the big brother I always wanted. Just then Sean spotted us and came running over almost tackling me to the ground with how much passion he kissed me with.

  'Chill out lover boy save some of that for later' I told him with a wink, he chuckled giving me an evil smile 'Oh don't you worry I got plenty of that' he sent back. "Hey Ryce, how was the shopping trip?" Sean asked with a friendly smile but I could tell it almost pained him to be this friendly,

  "Good man, you have a good day here at school?" Ryce asked with a smug smile, Sean tensed and jealously radiated off of him. "Yeah it was ok, glad to have my girl back though" he said kissing me forcefully again, by the time he pulled away we were both panting hard and I was all but ready to rip that damn sexy football kit off his perfect body. "HOUSTON! Stop kissing your girlfriend and get your ass back here!" the coach screamed, Sean rolled his eye's pecked me on the lips again before turning and running back to the field.

  After Sean had finished practice and showered I met him outside the boys locker rooms, I'd told Ryce to wait for me in the car. "Hey Tyler" Rich called throwing his arm around me "You've really done a number on my man Sean, he's been like a love sick puppy all day pining for you" he said laughing. "Hey hands off what you can't afford" Sean said to Rich laughing, "Sorry dude I just can't help myself" he said putting his hands in the air in a I didn't do it gesture making me laugh. "See you guys tomorrow" he said running off.

  "Hey beautiful girl" Sean said kissing me tenderly, "Hey lover boy" I said trying to cover the nerves I felt about telling him Ryce was going to be staying with me. "What's up Tyler?" he said pulling me to a stop, I guess it's really useless trying to hide anything from him now if he could feel everything was feeling. "Well, Ryce is gonna be staying in town for a couple of days and well...he....well...." I said trailing off nervously. "He what?" he asked confused, "He always stays with us when he's in town and well, I said that.....I said that he could" God why the hell is this so hard to say? I haven't done anything wrong, I shouldn't need to feel guilty! Understanding shot across Sean's face "Oh, ok he's going to be staying at your house" he said simply.

  "I'm sorry" he said looking guilty, what? What the hell has he got to be sorry for? "What for lover boy?" I asked touching his face tenderly, he looked up at me guilt and sadness on his face. "You were worried about telling me right? Because of how I acted earlier? I'm so sorry Tyler, I won't ever do that again I promise, you were right it was mostly because I was jealous but I honestly trust you and I'm really sorry, I don't want you to be afraid to talk to me about stuff, I didn't mean to be all possessive, please forgive me?" he said looking deep into my eyes. "Lover boy there is nothing to forgive ok, I love you" I said wrapping my arms around his neck. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to the car, our faces inches apart as we chatted about our days, what I had for lunch, what I bought, how his practice went.

  Chapter 17: Acceptance

  I went home with Ryce and Sean went back to his house to pick up some of his things so he could stay at mine for the next couple of days. It wasn't really talked about that he would stay it was just assumed, we both knew that we couldn't go overnight without seeing each other, and he didn't even seem to mind that I was going to skip school for the next two days to spend some time with Ryce.

  The two boys actually seemed to have a lot in common, and the conversation was light and friendly.

  We made dinner then watched a DVD in the lounge. My Mom was out as usual which was a lot easier as she fancied the pants off of both of the boys so she would be trying to get them into bed the whole night. She always threw herself at Ryce whenever he would stay but it never got her anywhere though, he would just laugh it off.

  When the movie finished I decided I needed to soak in the tub, I wanted to give Ryce his chance.

  He'd been shooting glances at Sean all night and I knew he wanted to talk to him 'man to man', the thought made me laugh, I bet Sean is going to get the big brother, you hurt her and you'll regret it speech. "I'm gonna go take a bath" I said standing up and giving Sean a kiss on the top of his head

  'play nice' I sent to him which made him roll his eyes. He slapped my ass gently as I walked past with a quiet whistle. I laughed and made my way upstairs planning on laying in the tub until I resembled a prune.

  Sean

  "I'm gonna go take a bath" Tyler said standing up 'play nice' she sent into my head me making me roll my eyes, as if I would do anything. She kissed the top of my head sending the familiar sparks through my body. I thought about going with her so I could watch her bathe, maybe
wash her back, maybe even get in the bath with her......I felt a movement in my pants, Crap! Stop thinking about it Sean. Tyler moved past me, her ass looking so nice I wanted to bite it, I settled on slapping it gently instead and giving her a little whistle making her laugh.

  As soon as she was out of ear shot Ryce turned to me, I knew he would. He had been shooting me looks whenever her back was turned but playing Mr Nice Guy when she looked in his direction. I knew he wanted to talk to me. "Get on with it then Ryce, I know you want to talk to me" I said simply. "Look Sean you seem like a nice guy don't get me wrong, I can see that you love her and she loves you, but I'm worried, you don't know about her past, if you did you would know that she's fragile, she's vulnerable" he said sadly looking down at his lap.

  "Ryce I know about her past" I said, his head snapped up to look at me in shock, "She told me all about it, about her stepfather, about what he did to her, what he made her do, I know, she told me about it before we bonded" I said quietly not really liking talking about her to anyone, it wasn't my past to tell. "So don't you think that you shouldn't have bonded with her?" he asked firmly, I shook my head. "She's my other half, I make her happy, I'll always be there for her, protect her, why is that so wrong?" I asked.

  I knew that he was only looking out for her asking me this, but I could also tell that part of his motivation was jealousy. He wanted her, not in the strong bond way I did, but he was in love with her, wanted to be with her. "She shouldn't have to deal with anything else, she's already been through so much, now she has to worry about you being a shifter as well, surely your putting undue pressure on her, how in the hell did you two bond anyway?" he asked shaking his head. "She's my bond-mate Ryce, we bonded in the normal way, before I even saw her I knew she was mine, I could feel it, she could too but she tried to deny it" I said laughing at the memory of me chasing her around.

  "She had my mark, she IS my bond-mate, you don't need to worry, I'll never hurt her, I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe you can count on that" I told him earnestly. He smiled, "I can tell that about you" he said nodding. "I'm not aware of any shifter ever bonding with a human before"

  he said simply, I shook my head "Me either" I said quietly. "Just make sure you treat her right, otherwise I will kill you, you can trust that" he said looking me right in the eye. This guy just earned my respect. I liked him, he wants my angel safe too. "Thank you" I said putting out my hand to him, he looked confused but shook my hand, "Thank you? I just threatened to kill you" he said confused, I nodded "So you just proved how far you would go to protect my girl, I appreciate it" I said smiling, he laughed, "Wow you got it bad" he said slapping my back, "Tell me about it" I said laughing with him.

  "Can I ask you something?" I asked seriously, he just nodded, I didn't really know if I wanted to know the answer to this but I had to ask anyway, "You're clearly in love with her, but she has no idea, why have you never told her?" I asked genuinely curious, he rubbed a hand through his short blonde hair. "I'm too old for her, when I met her she was 15 years old, what happened to her was terrible, she was broken, I was 20 and an adult, if I had done anything about it I would be no better than that fucking paedophile stepfather of hers, I was planning on asking her out when she was 18

  but I guess it's too late now" he laughed.

  "I'm sorry man that's rough, I guess I screwed up your plans, you must hate me huh?" I said seriously. He laughed, "Sean I love that girl, she's been through so much, I honestly never thought I would see her that happy ever, I'm grateful to you, honestly" he said, I could tell he meant it. We went back to watching the TV in a comfortable silence. I knew I could trust this guy and I was pleased that Tyler had someone like him in her life.

  About half an hour later Tyler's mom came home drunk, she threw herself at Ryce who looked uncomfortable but looked as if he had seen it all before. When she started touching my leg and talking about threesomes I gave him a sheepish look and left him too it and excused myself upstairs to help my girl wash her back, chuckling at Ryce's horrified expression.

  Tyler

  I woke in the morning Sean was no where to be seen, on my pillow was a note. 'I've gone for a run, hopefully I will be back before you wake but if not keep my side warm for me and I'll be back soon.

  I love you. Sean x x'

  I put the note in my pocket and went downstairs to make breakfast for when he got back. I made chocolate chip pancakes, I was just starting to put them I the pan when Sean walked in the door.

  He looked so sexy, he was sweating, he lifted the bottom of his top to wipe the sweat off of his forehead giving me a clear view of his sweaty six pack. I watched as a bead of sweat ran down his chest, making my mouth water, I bit my lip as desire for his body pulsed through me. He saw me watching him and gave me a big smirk. "Like what you see? Take a picture it will last longer" he joked imitating my first ever words to him. I laughed as he grabbed me tightly round my waist and shook his sweaty head side to side like a dog, making a drip of sweat hit me on my cheek, "Ew Sean that's gross" I laughed trying to squirm out of his grip, he refused to let go, instead he lifted me onto the counter stepping between my legs taking my arms off his chest and wrapping them around his neck.

  "I thought you liked it when I got hot and sweaty" he said seductively, kissing down my neck, I bit my lip to stifle a moan, I put my hands on his chest pushing him back slightly so I could look at his face. "Well hot and sweaty definitely suits you lover boy, Shit, my pancakes are burning!" I said pushing him away and jumping down from the counter running to the stove where smoke was starting to rise gently. I flipped it and looked up to see Ryce standing in the doorway leaning against the frame he had obviously been watching us.

  He looked like death warmed up, his hair was sticking up in all directions, he looked tired. "Wow, don't you look attractive this morning" I said laughing at him he put a hand to his mouth to stifle a yawn. "Mmmm, well what do you expect I had hardly any sleep last night you two kept me up half of the night with your bedroom antics" he said slapping Sean on the shoulder playfully. Sean laughed his ass off, "Yeah she kept me UP half the night too, blame her" he said pointing at me still laughing. I rolled my eyes at the pair of them, "Boys are so crude" I said flipping the pancakes onto a plate, "Anyone hungry?" I said looking up they both just smiled at me "Stupid shifters eating me out of house and home" I joked under my breath making them both laugh.

  Sean left for school saying he would come straight to mine after his football practice. Today was going to be hot so Ryce and I were going to the beach for the day as he wanted to work on his tan before he got stuck in an office again. I got changed into my black bikini and threw one of Sean's tshirts and a pair of short denim shorts over the top, grabbed a towel and we were ready. There were a few people already there we found a good spot and laid out our towels. "So, you moved here on the Thursday and met Sean on the Monday?" he asked me casually, I nodded with a big smile remembering the first time I saw him.

  "So you've been bonded for over two weeks now then, how does it feel? It's supposed to incredible the love that you feel for that person, I've only ever met one couple who had bonded, they looked exactly like you two, mind you they weren't as bad though" he asked with a small chuckle but sounding genuinely curious. "Not as bad as us huh? What's that supposed to mean?" I said laughing, he shrugged. "The whole staring into each others eyes, doing anything for the other person, and of course the sex, jeez you two are obsessed, especially Sean" he said shaking him head and rolling his eyes.

  I burst out laughing, "Ok, you have me there but he is the sexiest thing I've ever seen in my life so you can't really blame it all on the bond, I'd still want to jump his bones all day without it, but the actual bond is great if I'm honest, knowing that that person will always love you no matter what makes me feel really safe and secure, I haven't ever felt like that before" I said looking down playing with my hands, he hugged me letting me know that he understood.

  Then I thought about what he had said, and was a lit
tle confused, "But we haven't been bonded for two weeks, its only been three days, we only bonded Saturday night" I said looking through my bag for the sun cream. "Three days? But I thought that you said you spent the night with him on that first Tuesday, that you stayed at his house and that he kept you from having nightmares" he said frowning confused, I nodded. "I spent that night with him and every night since but we didn't do anything he just held me that's all" I said giving him a smile and slipping off my shorts.

  "So your telling me that Sean was able to resist bonding with you for almost two weeks even though you're his bond mate and you slept with him in the bed every night?" he asked with wide eyes clearly shocked, I just nodded giving a shrug. "But it's supposed to be impossible not to bond once you've found your other half, even if the female doesn't want to, a male shifter HAS to bond with his other half once he's found her, it's not really a choice, but after the bond is made both halves are happy that it happened even if it was forced" he said rubbing his neck clearly uncomfortable.

  "Are you talking about rape?" I said shocked now he just nodded looking sad, I gasped, "She would forgive it after though, the bond is very strong that way, I bet you can't stay mad at Sean for more than a minute right?" he said laughing. I giggled "Yeah it is pretty hard" I admitted smiling. "He really didn't force you?" he asked me seriously looking in awe of Sean, "He didn't force me at all, in fact we almost bonded a couple of times but Sean pulled away, he wanted me to know everything about him and make the decision if I wanted to be with him after that, he left the choice to me, I honestly think it nearly killed him to stop though he looked like someone had shoved a chainsaw in his chest" I said grimacing, remembering his pained face.

  Ryce really looked like he worshipped Sean at that moment, "I really like him you know, he's a really good guy" he finally admitted, "I know, I'm a very lucky girl, I really want you two to be friends, your important to me too you know" I told him honestly. He gave me a cheeky wink "I know that Tiger" he said pulling off his t-shirt, I looked at his mark for the first time since I found out that it wasn't actually a tattoo. It was a diamond shape lined in black, with four small black diamonds around it one at each edge, it was surrounded by the same swirl maze pattern as Sean's but nowhere near as complex. "That's pretty" I said pointing, "I thought it was a tattoo, I always wondered what on earth inspired you to have that" I said laughing and shaking my head. "Maybe I'll find my other half one day, I really hope so, especially after seeing how happy you two are" he said with a small sad smile, "I do too" I told him honestly.