by Milly Taiden
Remembering the rock, her arms shot up to help prevent her head from being smashed into her shoulders, but it never came. Her body floated up till she bobbed, half in, half out of the water. Looking up, she noted that the large stone sat on her air canister that was jammed sideways along the walls. She let out the breath she’d been holding.
The walls vibrated again, shifting the rock and the air container. Shit. She still needed to get out now.
The only choice was down into the light. Fortunately, it wasn’t that light yet, but could be before this was all said and done. All she had to do was hold her breath long enough to push herself down the tunnel and out. Though there was light, the bottom still looked damn far away.
Pebbles rained down on her again. Time to get moving. Centering herself, she breathed in, letting her stomach push out. The bottom of her lungs filled first, then up to her sternum, and finally, her chest rising.
She thrust herself down as far as she could before using her arms and legs to crab crawl her way through the tunnel. Staying focused, she alternated hands and feet. She fought her body’s natural buoyancy. So much for Tom and his fucking weights. Bastard could strap himself down and sink to the bottom as far as she cared.
Braving a glance down, she saw a bright spot, which meant she was closer to being out. But her lungs burned, and she wasn’t there yet. The palms of her hands and the balls of her feet felt raw from rubbing down the rough walls. But she had to keep going.
It felt like forever had gone by. She worked her limbs rhythmically—right hand down, left foot down, left hand, right foot. Right hand, left foot, left hand, right foot.
Her body jerked, needing air, but she clamped her lips tighter and fought to keep moving. Right hand, left foot, left hand, right foot. She was quickly reaching critical stage once again.
The rock shook, and she looked up to see the canister and rock plunging toward her face.
Losing her focus, she tried to scramble faster, hoping she was far enough down that the rock wouldn’t slam into her. Then again, it could be the force she needed to move faster.
Her arms straightened above her in time for the air tank to push against her hands. Elbows bending, Valentina used all the strength she could to not let her arms collapse. But again, her body was quickly weakening with a lack of oxygen to her muscles. Her vision started closing in. She went down, down, down.
The boulder’s momentum slowed too far from the end. She wouldn’t make it out. The need to breathe was overwhelmingly strong. She couldn’t hold it anymore.
She regretted that she didn’t get to say goodbye to Ash or Smoke. Both guys had found a place in her heart so damn fast. Like it was meant to be or something. If she had another chance, she would promise to stop with the shy, reluctant routine and experience life for what it had to offer. That’s what life was for, right? To discover everything you could and help as many people as possible before time was up? Maybe in her next life. This one was just about up for renewal.
Her palms floated away from the tank, and she closed her eyes. Why was it when people were faced with something horrible coming, they squeezed their eyes shut? Why was she having that thought when she was seconds from dying?
Something wrapped around her ankle, and she was yanked through the water. Her body forced the carbon dioxide build-up in her lungs out her mouth. She couldn’t stop it.
In the sudden bright light, her eyes couldn’t open. Hands grabbed her hair. She had to breathe in now. Something soft, yet solid, molded over her mouth. Her lungs refused to wait any longer.
She breathed in, taking hot air into her mouth. The feeling was so weird, she instinctively jerked back, but her head wasn’t allowed to move. Water flowed over her as she ascended.
No longer caring that the sun was too bright, she cracked open an eye to see the terror in the face of the man with his lips sealed around hers, forcing more air into her.
When her head popped above the surface, she almost burst into thankful tears. She was going to die painfully, fully aware that her life was seeping away. But this man had saved her.
Smoke threw his mask off and smashed her against him. He was shaking more than she was. Maybe in those last moments, she’d accepted her fate and no longer feared death. Maybe not.
Tears flowed down her cheeks. She released the fear, stress, and panic of the last several minutes. She heaved for breaths between sobs and let Smoke swim them to the back of the boat, where he set her on the swim platform. He laid his head in her lap and wrapped his arms around her thighs and back.
She stroked his wet hair, trying to calm herself. Trying to convince herself that she was alive and had made a promise to herself that she intended to keep.
Chapter Seventeen
Smoke floated in the water, his head on his mate’s lap at the back of the boat. His heart thudded hard in his chest. He’d dived into the water and couldn’t find her until he saw the opening. He saw just enough of her that he was able to grab her and pull. But then he panicked when he saw her scuba gear gone.
The thought of something happening to her made him nauseous. His dragon rebelled against that idea. She was more than just his mate. There were no words to describe how special and important she was to him. It scared him to think he could have lost her. Fear twisted in the pit of his stomach and pushed him to act. He needed Ash so they could mate her. And they needed to keep her safe.
“Thanks for being my hero,” she said softly, her eyes shining with gratitude. “Thanks for saving me. I thought I was a goner.”
“Glad to be of service, ma’am.” He replied jokingly, trying not to think of her and death in the same sentence.
“Why do you do that?”
“What? What do you mean?” he asked.
“You always seem to have a cute reply, even in scary situations.” She ran her fingers through his wet hair.
He raised his head and set his chin on his hands, meeting her gaze. He took his time to think about his answer. “I guess it started when I was younger. It was always easier to joke or kid around when somebody said bad things about me. Believe it or not, I was kind of a skinny kid, awkward and almost a nerd, I guess. Had to fight back with something, so I became the jokester at school.”
A burst of laughter sounded from her. “I’m sorry, Smoke,” she giggled. “I’m not making fun, but I just can’t imagine you as a skinny little nerd.”
“Believe it or not,” he grinned, “I was. Guess you can say I grew out of it.”
“You think!”
He got onto the swim platform and pulled the anchors. It was time to go back.
“What were you doing in that part of the volcano, anyway?”
She shrugged. “I hadn’t planned on it. I was checking the wreck out, and then a piece of seaweed caught my eye. It was flowing the wrong way. I was so focused on it and how it ended up slipping through a crack in the rocks that I ended up there. I was checking it out when my tank ran out of oxygen. I think there was something wrong with the air tube.”
“I smelled saltwater up there earlier. This tunnel explains a lot, actually.”
They watched the volcano erupt again, water exploding into the air.
“That’s it,” she said. “When the volcano erupts, it must take water up the tunnel and out the top, taking rocks and maybe the treasure up from the ocean floor.”
Treasure? What was she talking about? Pirate’s treasure? It made sense, but something about the whole thing didn’t sit right with him. “Promise me you won’t attempt going up the tube on your own. It’s dangerous, as we both know now. I can’t chance anything happening to you.” He paused when he heard her phone ring.
“Hello. Hey.” She lowered her gaze and listened quietly. “A meeting in thirty minutes? I’m not sure if I can make it in that short of time.” She glanced at him, her gaze darting all around as if she were nervous for him to listen to her conversation. He had to hold back a laugh. He smelled her embarrassment. His mate was so cute. She had a surprise com
ing. He nodded to let her know they could get back to land when she glanced at him again. “Okay, I think I can make it by then. I’ll see you soon.”
“Everything okay?” Smoke asked, not giving anything away.
“I’m not sure. Ash said that it was important.”
He winked and kissed the top of her head, pulling her into his side. It was time to give his mate the whole story. “I’ll get you there, sweetheart.”
He could only hope Valentina was ready to listen to them give her the island history as well as their shifter background. And he definitely hoped she was willing to give their triad a chance.
Chapter Eighteen
Back at the resort, Valentina knocked on Ash’s office door and winced at the scrapes on her knuckles. What was going on? Did Ash know she was dating them both? Was he going to break things off? God. What if they asked her to choose? She couldn’t do it. Her heart was torn between both men, and it was impossible to pick one over the other. Nausea rolled in the back of her throat. She was going to be sick.
“Come in Val.” His voice carried through the door. He stood and met her in the middle of the office. She was instantly pulled into his arms, pressed against his chest. There wasn’t time to suck in a breath. He took her lips fast, hard, and hungry.
Guilt worked its way into her mind. The orgasm she had with Smoke just a few hours before brought back her sluttiness. How was she going to justify that?
He led her to a chair facing an overstuffed couch in the middle of his office. “Valentina, there are some things I think I should clarify for you.”
Oh, fuck. He knew she was a ho and was with both of them. He was going to break things off.
“First off, I think that you’re under the impression that I’m a manager of the complex.”
She blinked. “A what-what?”
This wasn’t about her being a ho! Thank fuck!
“I’m not the manager or an employee here.”
“Oh.” She cleared her throat. “You’re not? Are you a contractor?”
He shook his head and grinned. “I’m one of the owners.”
Wait. What? She frowned. “I don’t…I think I missed something.”
Then, before she could figure out how Ash went from manager to owner, the office door opened, and Smoke waltzed in. Val’s eye grew wide. Smoke sat next to Ash on the couch.
She needed to understand what the hell was happening. “What’s going on, guys?”
They smiled at her. “Well, sweetheart, it’s time to tell you a story.” Ash started. “You’re the perfect woman, Val. You’re sweet, intelligent, beautiful, and kind.” He glanced at Smoke, who nodded. “But you’re also ours.”
“Ours.” Smoke agreed.
Her confusion grew. “Um…What?”
“You want both of us. We both want you. This is all okay.”
She swallowed hard. “It…is?”
Ash nodded. “In fact, that is the way that we need and want it to be.”
Her gaze swung between the two gorgeous men she had feelings for, part of which was guilt for liking the other.
“You see, Smoke and I are part of a triad.” He cocked his head as if looking for better words. “We are meant to share a woman who is to be ours.” He hesitated, “The second thing is going to be a little hard for you to understand.”
“Harder than being shared by two men?” she asked with a hysterical little giggle.
“Trust me on this,” Ash said. His voice was soft and soothing, and it calmed the growing anxiety inside her. “Have you ever heard of Gerri Wilder?”
“Yeah. Everyone has. She’s the most famous matchmaker on the planet. Everyone wants to be matched by her, and some people even try to steal her clients. She’s got a 100 percent match rate. She got me the PR job here.”
The guys shared a look and smiled at each other. “We didn’t know, but Isadora contacted her about finding us a third for our triad.”
“A mate we could share,” Smoke said. “Between the two of us.”
She shook her head. “You two share a woman? A mate?”
“Yes. And that mate is you, Valentina. You’re ours.”
“So that means…you’re shifters?”
Ash glanced at Smoke again and then met her gaze. “Yes. You know anything about shifters?”
What the hell was she supposed to say? Sure. I know shifters have huge dicks, all women want one, and they’re big, strong, and sexy. Somehow, she didn’t think that was what he wanted to hear. “I’ve heard of shifters. Not much. They’re strong and loyal.” She wrung her hands in her lap, nervously twitching. “Sorry to sound so stupid, but are you saying that you’re shifters? Both of you?”
The men looked worried. Ash nodded, his features serious and penetrating. “Yes. We are.”
Okay. So what the hell type of island had she walked onto? “For real?”
Ash grinned. “For real. I’m the alpha, and Smoke is my beta.” He cleared his throat and laced his fingers together. “We belong to a clan.”
She waited anxiously. “A clan of what?”
“Dragons.”
The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Her mind was spinning so fast her heart was trying to catch up. “Holy crap!”
Smoke chuckled. “Indeed.”
“Wait. So, if you both want me, and I want you both, does that mean I don’t have to choose? You’ll share me? Or do I have to pick one of you?”
They both smiled broadly, and her pussy fluttered. Damn hormones. “No choosing. You don’t need to pick. We’re a triad. You complete our triad. Our true mate.”
“What does true mate mean? I’ve overheard people say that a few times these last few days.” She clasped her hands in her lap. She wasn’t sure if she could handle this. Who believed dragons existed nowadays, anyway? Did they think she was crazy enough to believe that?
“How do I know you aren’t telling me a pack of lies just to get a reaction out of me? I know that I’m drawn to you both for some strange reason. It’s like I was destined to find you both.” She frowned. “But dragons? Come on.”
“It means that you are ours. Only ours. We’ll protect and love you until death, and will never have or want another woman. Ever.” Ash’s voice was firm, and his gaze was full of possession. She wanted to fan herself. “Would it help you if one of us showed you our dragon?”
“I guess.” She tried to sound nonchalant, but holy fuck. Two hot men that turned into dragons, of all things, wanted to share her. She must have died in that cave and was now in what her mind considered heaven. Being shared by Ash and Smoke. “How are you going to show me in here? I know it’s a big room with high ceilings, but still, it would be too small for a dragon, right?”
Ash stood and marched toward the big window and pulled down the shade. “I’ll only partially change, just so I can prove we aren’t bullshitting you.” His tone light as he unbuttoned and slipped off his shirt, then slowly, his upper body began to shimmer. Deep purple replaced his tanned skin.
She gasped as his wings partially opened, beautiful purple with dark blue highlights. “Holy shit.” Her jaw hung open. “You…you’re beautiful. I can’t wait to see you in full form.” She turned to Smoke. “What color are you?”
He laughed and winked at her. “I’m black with red on my wings. We’re certainly a sight to see when flying.”
Ash shifted and slipped his shirt back on. He then strolled back to the couch. “What happened with your ex-husband? Was he unfaithful?”
Fuck. She didn’t want to talk about that, but they had been honest with her. She had to reciprocate if this was going to go anywhere. No matter how uncomfortable it was to tell them the story. “Yes, he was unfaithful and was always saying that I was fat. He said I was boring and that I wasn’t sexy.” She glanced away from the guys. It was easier to say these things without meeting their gazes. “That I wasn’t worth wasting his time on. He found a young, attractive, skinny blonde to have fun with.”
She slid her gaze b
ack to them. Ash’s eyes were glowing fire, and looked ready to kill someone. Smoke looked furious. Ash growled. “He was wrong.”
Both men held out a hand for her to join them on the sofa. She stood and walked tentatively toward them. Was she ready for this? Two shifters? Yes. Yes, you are girl! They’re both for you. Take them and run.
She stopped in front of Ash with Smoke coming around her. The men sandwiched her between them.
Ash cupped her jaw. “You’re priceless. All the things he told you were lies. You’ll always have us to love you if you choose to stay with us. To be our third. Our mate. You always come first in our lives.”
“You actually want me?” She still couldn’t believe they both meant that. “Both of you?”
Smoke kissed the back of her neck. “Of course, we do. I hope we showed you how much. I worried you would have thought we moved too fast.” Ash tipped her chin up and brought his head down. Her breath caught in the back of her throat. Smoke was already making her dizzy with his roaming hands caressing her waist, but now Ash was kissing her. He pressed his lips over hers and owned her. His tongue plunged into her mouth, tasting and caressing.
The kiss was much too short, but she loved every second of it. Ash released her and, taking her face gently in his hands, turned her to face Smoke. It was clear they had no issues sharing, and the prospect was tantalizing. Smoke kissed her softly and sweetly. That could be her life. Two men giving her pleasure. Could she live like that?
Smoke ended the kiss.
“Let’s go to our bungalow. What we have planned can’t happen here,” Ash said.
She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and crazy hormones. They left the office and drove to a big cabin up on a hill.
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting this big of a place. It’s very secluded from the rest of the resort,” she said when they arrived.
Ash helped her out of the car and led her to the front of the house. A large porch surrounded half of the home, with a large white swing on the end and big comfortable rocking chairs arranged in a U shape facing the swing. Smoke followed closely behind.
