by S. E. Smith
“She thinks we are crazy,” he said.
Barrack chuckled. “Since when have we ever let that stop us?” he retorted.
Soft laughter filled the kitchen. Brogan felt a renewed determination as they walked toward the room to where Delilah had retreated. Everything was in their favor. They were all captive to the weather. They would take this time to show her what wonderful mates they were and court her using the techniques that Pearl and Asim taught them. They still had time.
“What is she building again?” Brogan asked.
“Something called moving bookcases. She said she read how to do it in a book called Popular Mechanics,” Barrack replied.
“She really does read a lot,” Brogan said before he stepped into the room and almost had a heart attack. Delilah was standing on a tall ladder measuring the wall. “What are you doing?!”
“What…?! Oh!” Delilah’s startled cry echoed through the room.
He silently cursed himself for startling her, and was already in motion by the time Brogan had placed her tea on the table.
Her cry changed to a gasp when Barrack caught her as she tumbled off the ladder. Barrack carefully lowered her feet to the floor, continuing to hold her when she leaned against him. Brogan strode over, turned her until she was facing him, and captured her face between his hands. He studied her frightened expression with a mixture of relief and worry.
“You…,” he started to say before he shook his head.
Unable to express the fear he’d felt, Brogan leaned forward and captured her parted lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Barrack gently pressed against her from behind, sliding his hands down to her hips and pulling her closer to his long frame. The feel of her fingers threading through his hair and the touch of her tongue against his upper lip sent a burst of fire through Brogan.
Bite, bite, bite, bite. I bite, his dragon chanted in a contented voice inside his head.
We have to court her, Brogan groaned, his lips parting when she pressed her tongue against them and deepened the kiss.
Courting done. Time to bite, his dragon replied.
“So beautiful,” Barrack murmured behind them.
Brogan felt Delilah’s swift withdrawal at the sound of his brother’s voice. He tried to reignite the flame inside her, but she had already broken the kiss and turned her face away from him. She breathed deeply before she slid her hands down to his chest and pushed against him.
“I… I… need…,” she stuttered before she shook her head.
He studied her as she slipped out from between the two of them and started to leave the room. She paused and turned back to look at them, shook her head again, picked up her cup of tea, and hurried out of the room and up the stairs. He walked over to the door and watched her disappear down the long hallway to her bedroom. A moment later, he heard the door quietly closing and the distinct click of the key turning in the lock.
“She liked it,” Barrack stated, crossing his arms across his chest.
A smile curved Brogan’s lips. “Yes, she liked it a lot,” he acknowledged, turning to look at his brother. “Where is that book she was looking at? I think it is time to step up our courting.”
Ashville, North Carolina:
Olie ‘Ray’ Lister sat staring at the fire. He tapped his fingers on the arm of the elegant leather chair. His mind lost in thought. He ignored the quiet sound of the door to his office closing when his wife of twenty years walked by it. A moment later, he could hear their youngest son, Edison, complaining to her that the internet was slow.
Of course it was slow! More than half of the country was stuck inside for the storm of the century, but his son thought the universe revolved around his need for access to the internet. Ray was glad that he left the domestic responsibilities – especially those dealing with a disgruntled teenager – to Mabel.
His energies were better focused on the things he was good at, like making money. They had moved here from California because Mabel was concerned that the life in Los Angeles was too hectic for their three children, particularly Edison. Personally, he thought a good boarding school and time away from his mother would help their son more than anything else. Fortunately, the other two were away at college.
Dismissing his wife and son, he returned his focus to the current issue at hand, his newest planned community project that was on hold until he acquired the property he had his eye on. As a real estate developer in California, he had learned to give people what they wanted. In this case, fancy mountain retreats complete with a golf course, private air strip, and million dollar mountain views at non-L.A. prices.
He rose from his chair and walked over to the large display set up in the corner. He had carefully picked the area where he wanted to build his new community. The development would be close to National and State Parks, with easy access to the larger Eastern cities, including those in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. The proposed site was not far from the ocean for those who would enjoy visiting the beaches but still worried about global warming. However, even the best laid plans could not be implemented if the pivotal acreage located at the center of the project belonged to someone else.
He had millions riding on this development. He’d already purchased the majority of the land he required. The local area attorney that he hired had been very successful in convincing the locals to sign on the dotted line – all except the most crucial one.
Reaching for his cell phone, he dialed the attorney. He impatiently waited for DeWayne to answer. On the fourth ring, DeWayne finally responded in a distracted voice.
“This is D. Davis, Attorney at Law, can I help you?” DeWayne greeted.
“DeWayne, this is Ray Lister. I was calling to inquire about your progress with the purchase of the land on Saddle Mountain,” Ray asked, turning to look out at the falling snow.
“Mr. Lister, I… I was going to call you, but with the storm and all… I wasn’t sure….” DeWayne responded, stuttering as he tried to gloss over the fact that he was lying. “She still refuses to sell.”
“Have you checked all the tax and deed records?” Ray demanded.
The sound of DeWayne’s heavy sigh blasted in his ear. “Yes, sir. She is paid up and there are no outstanding liens on the property,” DeWayne replied. “Maybe if you offered her more money….?”
“Out of the question. Find a way to convince her or I will,” Ray ordered.
“Yes, sir. I’ll… I’ll talk to Delilah again as soon as the weather clears,” DeWayne promised.
“See that you do,” Ray replied, ending the call.
He watched the snow accumulating on the ground. On rare occasions, he called in his brother-in-law for assistance. Mabel’s middle brother, Earl, was one of those guys who intensely disliked authority, following the rules, and being on the grid. These skill sets, if he could call them that, made Earl the perfect silent partner. Pay cash, no questions or restrictions, and Earl would get the job done. Ray had the real estate in Los Angeles to prove how effective his brother-in-law could be at completing a difficult task.
He pressed the number programmed into his phone. “Ashley Gangs’ Pawn,” the deep, southern accent of an old man answered.
“Is Earl there?” Ray asked.
There was a moment of silence before the person on the other end answered. In the background, he could hear someone asking about an item. The old man answered the person in the shop before he responded to Ray’s question.
“He’s not here. Who’s calling?” the old man asked.
“Ray,” he replied.
“I’ll tell him,” the old man said, hanging up on him.
Less than a minute later, his phone vibrated. He looked down at the display, and saw it was a private number. Pressing the button to connect the call, he lifted the phone to his ear again.
“Yes,” he answered.
“How much?” Earl responded.
Ray smiled. Earl was very predictable. He wanted to know if it was even worth his time.
“Twenty,” Ray said.
He knew by the ensuing silence that he had taken his brother-in-law by surprise. The sound of a loud truck going by told him that wherever Earl was at the moment, his brother-in-law wasn’t worrying about a major snowstorm. Once the truck passed, Earl spoke.
“What do you need done?” Earl asked.
Ray smiled. “I want you to convince someone to sell their property,” he replied.
“Limits?” Earl demanded.
“None. I leave it up to you to get the job done,” Ray replied.
“I want fifty. Leave it and the instructions at the usual place,” Earl finally answered.
“It’ll take me a couple of days. In case you haven’t heard, there is a major snowstorm affecting our area,” Ray dryly replied.
“I know. Wouldn’t stop me,” Earl retorted.
Earl’s comment gave Ray an idea. Normally, he didn’t suggest anything to his brother-in-law since it would be pointless, but the storm might be the perfect cover. There were always tragedies in the papers about an unexpected house fire or someone freezing to death after getting disoriented in a blizzard.
“Her name is Delilah Rosewater. She has two homes – one in town and one outside of town. The second is the one I’m interested in,” Ray replied.
“That’s all I need to know. Make sure the money is there, or she won’t be the only one I pay a visit to,” Earl warned, hanging up on him.
Ray lowered the phone in his hand. He turned when a tentative knock sounded on the door to his office. Irritation flashed through him when he saw Mabel’s stressed expression.
“What is it?” he demanded.
Mabel looked at him with pleading eyes. “Can you please call the internet service provider and see if there is anything wrong with our service? Ed is beside himself because he keeps getting kicked out of his game,” she said.
“Of course,” he replied.
“Thank you, dear,” Mabel said, her expression changing to one of relief despite the yelling coming from upstairs.
“I’ll do it in just a few minutes,” he promised, waving a hand for her to close the door.
The moment the door closed, he pocketed his phone and returned to his seat by the fire. He leaned back and closed his eyes. The sound of muted yelling filtered through the house.
Boarding school, he thought with a smile.
Chapter Fifteen
Delilah walked over to the bed and stared down at it with unblinking eyes. Her mind was still focused on that kiss. She blinked when Barrack’s symbiot swiftly stood up and moved to the other side of the bed before lying down again.
She grabbed her pillow and hugged it against her chest as she twisted and fell across the bed. She lifted her hand when she felt something warm and soft under her head before it ever touched the mattress. Rolling onto her side, she saw that her head was cushioned on a golden pillow.
“I kissed him,” she informed the symbiot, turning to look into its golden eyes.
The symbiot shimmered and sent her an array of images of itself excitedly dancing around in a circle. She groaned and flung her arm over her eyes. It didn’t help – the image was still there. Dropping her arm, she leaned on her elbow and glared at the golden creature.
“Do you do this to them too?” she demanded.
The creature sniffed and grinned. If she didn’t know better, she would be terrified of that mouth full of sharp teeth. Fortunately for her, she did know, and the look came off as anything but scary.
“What was even worse was it turned me on that Barrack was watching – and that he liked watching us. I know they are twins, but come on! How can I be attracted to both of them? I mean – two guys at one time? How greedy is that?” she groaned, falling back against the pillow again and staring up at the ceiling.
Warmth spread around her wrists. Lifting her arms, she gasped when she saw the bracelets changing shape. Flipping onto her stomach, she pulled both of her sleeves up to watch the moving designs.
At first there was simply the form of a woman in gold. Delilah wondered who she was. All around the woman were stars and planets. The scene shifted, evolving until there was the woman with the stars, but the planet changed to a village scene.
Two images emerged out of the gold. She recognized Barrack and Brogan in their dragon form. Delilah could feel her heart skip when she saw Barrack’s tortured expression as he was held by a mob of angry men. Brogan was lying nearby. ‘Past’ was the mental impression she received. This had happened a long time ago.
“No!” she whispered, horrified when she saw Brogan’s lifeless body. “Please… It didn’t happen. Not really. They are here. There is no way he could have died.”
Her eyes moved to the woman. The golden figure waved her hand and the scene reversed itself. Delilah felt like she was seeing two different endings to the same movie – one that had happened and one that could happen.
One scene after another revealed itself to her on each of the bracelets. She saw the twin’s journey to her world, her home, and finally the figure of a woman that had to be herself. Fascinated, she reached down and traced each of the designs.
On her right wrist, she saw herself standing between the two brothers. They were both touching her. Barrack had his body pressed to her back and his hands on her hips while Brogan held her hand, his body turned into hers. It reminded her of what had happened downstairs. All around them there were glittering stars as if they were either in space or outside on a world where the stars were close.
She looked at her left wrist. A soft gasp slipped from her when she saw three dragons wrapped around each other. There was no doubt that the two on the outside were Barrack and Brogan. It was the delicate female dragon between them that left her stunned. The dragon wore a necklace with a bird of prey on it – just like hers. Delilah raised her hand and touched her golden necklace.
“When you lay it out like that, it seems like fate, the reason why I’m attracted to both of them. Y’all really think I’m supposed to be with both of them,” she said, her voice trembling as she looked at the symbiot watching her with wide, expressive eyes. “I’m not even sure I can handle one of them. How on Earth do they expect me to handle both?”
Dropping her head to the pillow, she shook her head back and forth. She wasn’t ready to deal with this. In less than twenty-four hours, she’d gone from not having a boyfriend to having two aliens who thought she was their mate. None of the books she’d ever read had prepared her for this situation.
“I’m in so much trouble,” she groaned, ignoring the snickering symbiot who was having way too much fun at her expense.
Two hours later, a soft knock on her bedroom door pulled her attention away from the book she was trying to read. Closing her book with a snap, she placed it on the bed next to her before she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her legs. She looked up when the door opened a crack.
“I brought some hot tea,” Barrack said, waiting at the door. “May I enter?”
Delilah reached up and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Of course,” she said with a shy smile. “What have you been doing down there? It sounded like you’ve both been pretty busy.”
“Yes, we cannot read your language yet, but the book you have has many good illustrations and the process is not difficult to understand,” he commented, placing the cup of hot tea on the nightstand.
He straightened and looked at the edge of the bed with hesitation. She patted the bed for him to sit down. It wasn’t like this was anything new – though if she remembered that she had only met them yesterday, it was, but it didn’t feel like it.
And this is why my head is screwed up, she thought with a groan.
“What is wrong?” he asked in a gentle voice, cupping her cheek with his hand.
Delilah looked at him with wide confused eyes. The vivid image of his tortured face still haunted her. She reached up and touched his cheek, tracing the line of his beard.
“I want you to kiss me,” she murmu
red, twisting so that she could lean closer to him. “I want to kiss you. Is that wrong?”
He frowned. “Why would it be wrong?” he asked, his voice deepening with emotion.
“I kissed Brogan,” she pointed out with a rueful grin. “Which I happened to like – a lot, by the way.”
Barrack turned his head into her hand and pressed his lips to her thumb, which she was unconsciously rubbing near his mouth. She gasped with pleasure when he sucked her thumb into his mouth. Pulling her hand back, she twisted until she was on her knees.
“I know. I watched you. I found it very arousing,” he acknowledged. “You were destined to be our mate, Delilah. We have waited centuries to find you. Why would we come to you if that bothered me? You hold….”
His eyes flashed with grief, and she cupped his cheeks and gazed into his eyes, searching for what had caused it. Every time she was around these men, she discovered more layers. She had a feeling it would take a lifetime to peel each one away.
But, oh, what fun it would be, she thought as she slid her hands over his broad shoulders.
“You said you wished to kiss me,” he reminded her.
A shiver of awareness ran through her when he wrapped his warm hands around her waist and pulled her closer. Bending her head, she pressed her lips to his. They were as warm as the rest of him. Parting her lips, she touched the tip of her tongue to his upper lip before running it along the seam. His lips parted, and she deepened the kiss, wanting to taste him.
Threading her fingers through his hair, she clung to him when he lowered her back onto the bed. She felt the bed move when his symbiot jumped off, but even that slight distraction wasn’t enough to deter her from doing more exploring.
She whimpered in protest when he started to pull away. She tightened her hands on his shoulders and pressed a series of kisses along his jaw. It took her a second to realize that he was giving her a chance to straighten her legs so he could cover her body with his own.
