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“Right. In terms of a mating. Now if you’re only interested in sex with one of us, that’s something different.” Ethan’s eyes gleamed. “Is that it? You prefer one of us?”
    Gabriel crowded her from the right, stroking her thigh under the tablecloth. “Which one?”
    She felt hot. Gabriel’s touch made her go liquid as the blood rushed through her body. “Shut up. Just…shut up.”
    Ethan smiled again. “No.” She understood why he was president of that bank. How could anyone resist him?
    “This is crazy!” she exploded. She clapped a hand over her mouth and glanced out into the dining room, but no one even looked up. The privacy of this booth apparently included muffling the conversation. “This ‘mate’ thing, you’re talking marriage, right? Me with both of you. How would that work?” She looked from one to the other.
    Gabriel lifted another fork full of food and waited until she opened her lips. “Good girl. It would start with you moving into our place. Living with us for a while, as a trial run. I think all three of us need to know a few basics before this becomes permanent.”
    Despite her confusion, Mariella savored the food. It was the most delicious meal she’d ever had. Focusing on the task at hand, she asked, “Like what?”
    “Whether we get along well. Once we’re mated, there is no divorce in the Colony. We mate for life.” Ethan fed her a bite from his plate.
    “No divorce? What happens to couples who aren’t compatible?”
    Gabriel’s smile, this time off-kilter, slashed across his strong features. “Ask my parents. They’re the opposite of Ethan’s warm and loving family. My folks are more like a pack of hyenas. Maybe jackals.” He grimaced. “I’d like to avoid that sort of drama, thanks. I’m looking for a nice, obedient mate.” He stroked her thigh. “How about it?”
    She stared at him and snorted. “Do I strike you as obedient?”
    “Not so much.” Gabriel grinned. “But we can work on that.”
    Her mouth dropped open.
    Ethan spoke behind her. “Compatibility is an issue. Not only in our personalities.”
    They both looked at her. “You mean sex? You want to have a trial run to find out if the three of us are sexually compatible?” She gulped her wine. “Well, I guess I’m the only wild card. You two seem to have worked out your intimacy issues.”
    Gabriel looked puzzled, while Ethan laughed. He lifted another forkful of savory goodness to her lips. “We don’t play that way, beauty. In bed, it’ll be all about you, for both of us. All about your pleasure, all about your reaction to us, individually and together. And yes, by the way, it will be very important to all three of us that you and I, and you and Gabe are sexually compatible.” The darker man watched her chew. “But I don’t think that will be a problem. Do you?” He quirked an eyebrow at her.
    Mariella swallowed, watching Ethan watch her. “Ah…”
    Gabriel wiped a crumb from the corner of her mouth and tilted her head toward him. “No problem for me, so far.” He pressed a quick, hot kiss to the same corner. “Mmm. You taste delicious.”
    “Think of it this way,” Ethan’s voice was dark, smooth, compelling, “You’ll have two mates working very hard to make you happy, to keep you contented and aroused and satisfied. I think that might be an enticement to some women.”
    Her head spun. The conversation or the wine? She had to stop drinking because she was actually considering this crazy idea. “I’m not moving in with you. That’s just ridiculous. Am I supposed to give up my apartment? And when it doesn’t work out, what then?”
    Ethan studied her. “It will work out. And you will move in with us. We need to see how this would work as a marriage, and for that we all need to be in the same space. It’s not just about the sex, although I am also anticipating that with pleasure. It’s about our day-to-day compatibility. Once we have children—”
    “Whoa there,