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obviously your mate, or she wouldn’t have had her first bout of el calor attacks, or whatever they are.”
    Melody walked to the chair in the corner and sat down with a plop. “You’re shapeshifters? All of you are shapeshifters?” She licked her lips and Mitch felt his pulse jump as he imagined what she could do with those lips and that tongue.
    “Paradise…is Paradise filled with shifters?” She shook her head and half-smiled. “I knew it sounded like paradise, but to have an entire town filled with shapeshifters…well, that’s awesome!”
    “She’s hearing you, but she’s not hearing you, Carmen. Either that, or she’s ignoring the pertinent parts about her being our mate.”
    Turning her attention on him, Melody’s cheeks turned a gorgeous shade of pink before she looked down toward the floor. “No, I haven’t. I’ve heard every bit and…and I don’t know what to think.” She looked up at him. “It’s one thing to read about something like this in an erotic novel, but it’s totally different to live it.”
    Mitch felt himself grow hard while he watched her contemplate a life with him and Wyatt. He wanted to say he loved her, but he barely knew her. He’d spent too many years trying to put thoughts of her out of his mind as Carmen tried to throw them together. Perhaps if they had gotten to know her sooner, they would have known each other as individuals before she matured enough to trigger el calor in all of them.
    Was that why the heat hit her so hard? They hadn’t been together for long. It had been less than twenty-four hours since they had been exposed to each other’s scents and body chemistry. Was it the repeated exposure to each other’s scents over the last several years that made her first reaction to them so virulent? Or was there something else going on? Whatever it was, he was certain it was going to make them come together much faster than she would like.
    He knew human women and he knew that they liked to think they were in love with the men they had a physical relationship with. They also liked to think the man, or in their case the men, in question were in love with them as well. There was no way, by any stretch of the imagination, that Melody could believe they loved her.
    “I know this sounds weird and probably just a little bit wacked, but I think I’ve been a little in love with you two since I was seventeen.” Melody shrugged, drew her legs up into the chair with her and wrapped her hands around her knees. “At first I thought it was a schoolgirl crush.” She grinned and rolled her eyes. “I mean what girl hasn’t had a crush on the older brother, uncle or some other male member of their best friend’s family? I’ve talked to a lot of girls who have done the same.”
    Her toes peeked out from under the full-length black gown she still wore. She wiggled them a bit as she talked. For some reason, the action held him mesmerized.
    “I—I know that it’s wrong. Sinful even. But for the last few years, I just couldn’t imagine myself with anyone else.”
    Mitch shifted his gaze to Carmen who had begun to move toward the door. “I think you guys need to hash this out and you don’t need me around to do it.” She grinned. “I’m going to go out to the swimming pool and do some laps.” She grabbed the doorknob and pulled it closed until only her head poked through the opening. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Then she winked. “On second thought, Mel. Do lots of things I wouldn’t do.” When she closed the door, Mitch was sure they all heard her squeal. “Finally! She’s going to be a part of the family. I love it!”

    Chapter Six
    Melody sat in the chair and stared at the two men that she now realized that she loved. How could such feelings run so deep without her knowing it? She watched as they just sat there on the bed and looked at her. Were they expecting her to make the first move? She hoped not. She had no idea what to do.
    Oh, she knew the