Returned to Their Love

by Eileen Green

  This was home. Coraline's words swirled in Marlowe’s brain about the guys. Perhaps she was mature enough to deal with everything. Actually, she was going to have to since Jasper was basically accusing her father of murder.

  Strength had been her lighthouse for so long Marlowe found she wanted to cry, to rant, to give in to her grief and hurt. For the first time in years, she needed someone.

  Leaping up, she took off down the slope, fully aware of the twins behind her. When she was back at the Younger house on the deck, she glanced behind her to find the guys were no longer there. She knew they were giving her privacy to change.

  As she shifted to stand on her human legs again, a smile crossed her lips. She could remember a time when the boys would hide and spy on her to get a glimpse of her after she shifted and was naked. A thrill went through her at the thought they could be doing it now, even though she was still pissed at them.

  She hadn’t been able to ignore how her body reacted to the two handsome men. They were both tall, muscular, and gorgeous. The idea they had been having sex with other women from the town made her sick, but she knew she didn’t have a claim on them. She was so confused about her feelings.

  A plastic container sat outside the doors of the living room filled with clothes to slip into before going inside. A chill went through her as she slipped into a pair of gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt, both apparently Coraline's. She stepped inside to find Coraline, Jasper, and Dante talking quietly. The two men stood when they saw her, and Jasper stepped over to her.

  “Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I want you to know that we will get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the medical examiner will need to look over the remains first so we have the correct cause of death to go after Danny.”

  With Passion being a close-knit community, this was difficult on everyone, and Jasper's voice breaking as he spoke indicated how affected he was by this. The sadness on Dante's face mirrored his cousin’s. Everyone knew everyone in this town. Jasper and Dante had grown up with Marlowe, Cade, and Cole. They were a few years older than them, yet they’d still played together.

  “Thank you, Jasper,” Marlow said quietly. “I certainly wasn't expecting to come back to all of this.”

  Jasper led her over to the couch and waited until she sat before he sat next to her. “What did bring you back here?” he asked.

  “I'm a photographer for an adventure magazine. I'm here to take pictures of the devastation. And I heard the news about the fire, I was heartbroken.”

  “Never in the hundred and sixty years of this town's existence has the town had to be evacuated due to fire or any other reasons. It was hard to face the fact that we might lose everything here,” Dante added.

  “I was in Alaska when I heard about it,” Marlowe said. “Then when I got back to San Francisco, my boss told me to come here. I didn't even get to unpack.”

  “Why did you wait until you were told to come?” asked Cole as he and Cade entered from the kitchen, anger in his voice. He and his brother moved over to the fireplace and sat on the hearth across from her.

  Jasper stood quickly, as did Dante, laying a hand on Marlow’s shoulder. “Come into the office in the morning and sign out the complaint on what Danny did to your car so you'll have it for your insurance, and we'll discuss what needs to be done about your mother. Again, I'm sorry,” Jasper said sadly.

  Somberly, he and his cousin let themselves out the front door as Coraline stood. “I'm going to make us some coffee.”

  Butterflies fluttered around Marlowe’s stomach as she was left with the two men who had broken her heart. Could she do this?

  “I never intended to come back here,” she said with venom. “I never wanted to see you two again as long as I lived. I hate you!”

  Chapter Five

  What the hell? She was acting as if her leaving was his and Cole's fault! What could they have possibly done to her?

  Around the age of eight or nine, Cade and Cole had known they were Marlowe's mates and they would marry her eventually. Their father had been teaching them how to be men and how to treat a lady before he died, and their mom had taken over after that. They had treated Marlowe with the utmost respect, so what could possibly have gone wrong?

  Marlowe appeared anxious and angry as she watched them, and surprise also registered on her face with her statement. Cade was becoming uneasy.

  “The night before you left, it didn't seem like you hated us,” Cade pointed out.

  Cole went on to add, “In fact, you told us several times that you loved us, as we did you.”

  She slid her hands between her thighs as she licked her lips. Cade had so many thoughts going through his head from her actions he had to cross his legs to keep Marlowe from seeing his hard cock pressing against the pair of jeans he had slipped on before he entered the house.

  “Things become quite clear in the morning light,” Marlow nearly spat. “You both should know that.”

  Glancing at Cole to see if he knew what she was talking about, he found his twin to be at a loss also, a questioning expression on his face. They both looked back at Marlowe and in unison asked, “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “You told Jacob Sanders and Charlie Branson that I was cold and frigid and that you never wanted to sleep with me again.” She practically yelled the words as she jumped up and moved to stand in front of the French doors. She looked outside, but Cade didn’t think she was going to run again.

  Cade stood and walked over to her as he tried to understand what Marlowe was saying. He didn’t remember ever saying anything derogatory about Marlowe, and it bothered him that she would think they would hurt her like that.

  Carefully, he placed his hands on her hips and turned her around, albeit she turned grudgingly. Her face was blotched with red spots from crying while her eyes were still filled with tears. It killed him to see her like this.

  “Marls, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said softly as he looked her in the eye. He wanted her to know that he was willing to open his soul to her to believe him.

  Her breath hitched in a soft sob before she spoke. His heart nearly broke. “At Landley’s the next morning, you two were with Jacob and Charlie, and you told them I was frigid. I was shocked and humiliated.” Cole was on his feet and rushed over to them. Marlowe continued. “How was I supposed to stay here when you thought that? And Charlie and Jacob knew then. They would laugh at me whenever they saw me.”

  “Baby girl, we love you,” Cade said softly. “We always have. When we made love to you that night, I thought I was in heaven. I wanted to spend the rest of my life just being inside you. You were hot and responsive. You gave us as much as we gave you. How could you think we said that about you?”

  “I know.” Cole’s voice sounded strangled and sad as he took Marlowe’s hand. She didn’t fight him. “We went to the hardware store to get some plumping supplies. One of the spigots out in the barn got trampled by one of the heifers when she got loose while in labor. We ran into Jacob and Charlie, who asked if we had heard about what happened to Lonny and August. Lonny told us that she was frigid and nonresponsive when they had fucked, and he didn’t want to see her again. We told him that perhaps she was scared since she was a virgin, or perhaps she was terrified of being discovered because they were in the back room of the bakery at the time. So, you see, Marls, I was only repeating what was told to us. You must have come in after names were mentioned. We would never talk about you, about what we shared, to anyone. Nobody knows what happened between us.”

  Shock registered on Marlowe’s face as she looked between Cade and Cole as if she was looking for the truth in their faces. Cade prayed she would see it.

  He couldn’t believe that all this time had gone by because she had misinterpreted something she had overheard. Why hadn’t she confronted them instead of running? Well, he could understand. She felt hurt and betrayed, and she was already a delicate flower what with her mother disappearing and
her father’s drinking and abuse.

  “God, I feel like an idiot,” Cade said as he leaned his forehead against hers. “That was something that never should have been repeated in public. If August had ever heard it, she would have been…”

  “Humiliated, like you felt,” Cole interjected, guilt lacing his words. “I’m so sorry, Marlowe. We love you so much, and we would never do anything to hurt you. You deserve to be treated like a queen. Never in our wildest dreams would we have thought you would overhear us talking like that. Can you ever forgive us?”

  * * * *

  Was it really possible they hadn’t been talking about her? Closing her eyes, she tried to retrace her steps in her head of that day.

  She had gone into the store and walked down the aisles until she got to the one where the fuses were, cursing her father in her head for being so cheap and old-fashioned. Looking over the selection, she found the ones she needed and picked up a couple of packs, just so they had some extras on hand. She started to leave the aisle when she had heard the boys talking in the other row. Charlie had said something, but Marlowe hadn’t really focused on what, and then Cole spoke and said those nasty things.

  Now that she was playing it over, she realized she hadn’t heard her name. She had just assumed Cole was talking about her. Then, she had run. She’d tossed the fuses to the side and took off, ignoring questions by people in the store as she left and then along the street. Once she was at home, she had snuck in through her bedroom window, hoping her father wouldn’t hear her packing. He had and came in to ask what she was doing. When she grabbed her suitcase and a duffel bag filled with her clothes and some books, Danny had struck her across the face, but she stood her ground. When he had hit her again, she had kicked out, striking him in the stomach and knocking him into the wall. He had hit his head and passed out. That was when she took the money from under the floorboards he had hidden and then took off. She should have waited around to talk to Cade and Cole, but she hadn’t.

  Stepping away from them, Marlowe felt ashamed. They were her mates, and she should have trusted them. “You must hate me.”

  “How can you say that?” Cole asked as he stepped toward her again, taking her into his arms. “We love you. We always have.”

  Cade moved closer and then wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “You are our mate. We could never hate you. We were devastated when you left. It was like a part of us had died.”

  “When Mom started getting sick, we thought it was because she was missing you so much. Then, when we thought we were going to lose her too, we almost didn’t want to go on.” Cole sounded so sad when he spoke. “I, we…”

  “Please accept our apologies for being such assholes that day. That showed how immature we were.” That was Cade, always being rational. “Can you forgive us? Please?” Burying his face into her neck, Cade kissed her behind her ear. “Can you forgive us enough to come back to us?”

  She closed her eyes as she tried to think. Everything was so overwhelming right now. She needed support, and she wanted to believe Cade and Cole. It was possible she had misunderstood what she had heard that day now that she looked back at that game changer in her life.

  Her entire life had changed that day but not for the better. Yes, she had a wonderful career as a photographer, going all over the world to show the beauty that people could partake of in the form of hiking, skiing, snowboarding, mountain climbing, even ice climbing. She had enjoyed all of those as a form of trying to forget the feelings of loss she had endured. Yet, there was no forgetting how she’d felt from harsh words from the men she had loved.

  Devastation had brought her back to Passion and right back to the men she knew she wouldn’t ever stop loving. Being back in their arms felt right, but was her mind going to be able to forget the error she’d made?

  “How can you forgive me for what I did?” she whispered, the tears beginning again. She slid her hands up to Cole’s chest. She felt the hard muscles beneath the thin T-shirt he wore, and she remembered what he looked like sans clothing. Swallowing the drool that had pooled in her mouth, she murmured, “You’ll never be able to trust me.”

  “Oh, kitten, there is nothing to forgive. We love you,” Cole said, his attitude changing from upset to happy. “We always have…”

  “And we always will.” Cade finished the statement as his lips continued their onslaught of her neck. “The only thing you will have to remember is making sure you verify anything you’re unsure of. Talk to us.”

  Cole’s hand moved up from her hip, over her stomach, and he skimmed his knuckles under her breast. Her pussy moistened while her nipples pebbled in her bra. After being celibate for twelve years and only have sex for one night, Marlowe was surprised her body still functioned.

  “I’ve missed you, baby girl,” Cade crooned in between kisses he left along the back of her neck.

  A shiver shot through her. Did she really want this?

  Her cat growled within her, letting her know what it wanted. She stretched out inside for she knew her mates were nearby and it was time to become theirs.

  Marlowe knew there were things to discuss, but her mind seemed to have gone to mush as Cole covered her breast with his hand. It barely covered the globe, as she had always been generous in that department. His thumb scraped across her already hardened nipple, drawing a moan from her.

  Cade’s hands snaked around her hips into the waistband of the sweats she wore. As his fingers grazed the top of her bare cunt, Marlowe pulled her hands down from Cole’s chest and tried to pull Cade’s hands from her pants but failed. She had remembered they weren’t alone in the house.

  “Your mother,” she whispered, her voice breathy.

  Cole laid kisses to the side of her face as he moved his mouth down closer to her mouth. After placing a kiss to the side of her mouth, he informed her, “She left. She went out to her cottage.”

  Oh. She hadn’t heard the woman leave. Of course, her mind was on other things.

  Cade’s hands disappeared from her pants while Cole’s came out from under her shirt, and both men stood back from her. It was as if they had gone from hot to cold in an instant.

  “What?” she asked, confused. “Did you change your minds?”

  “No, kitten,” Cole said as he took her hands in his. “Like we said, we never stopped loving you. But , we’ve been typical men, thinking with our dicks. We want to make sure you are certain. A few minutes ago, you thought we had betrayed you, and now you want to make love with us.”

  Looking up into his brilliant amber eyes, she could see his emotions clearly. There was love there, but also uncertainty.

  Marlowe had hurt them greatly by taking off the way she had. It was obvious she should have confronted them instead of running, but she also knew things happened for a reason. What could possibly be the reason for her coming back now, finding out the truth, and finding out about her mother?

  “I’m sorry that I ran before, but I panicked. I thought I was so bad that I disappointed you two.” Marlowe sighed. “I know your mother tried to take my mother’s place after she left, but I couldn’t go to your mom and tell her that her sons didn’t like the way I made love to them. I would have disappointed her too, and as you both know, I never really was close to any of the other girls in town. I felt so alone that morning, and the first thing I thought to do was take off. I don’t know how much I can keep apologizing to you.”

  “You don’t have to anymore, Marls. We love you so much that it hurts. We just don’t want you to feel like we’re pushing you into anything so quickly.” Cade’s voice cracked at his words, and it touched Marlowe’s heart.

  Turning between them so they were on each side of her, which caused Cole to release one hand, Marlowe reached out to Cade and placed her hand on his chest. Being between them brought back so many memories from their younger years, and she thought about how she had wanted to be in this exact spot for the rest of their lives. It took so many years, but here she was.

&nb
sp; “You’re not pushing me, babe,” she said with confidence. “I have missed you both so much. I dreamt at night of this, but I never thought it would ever happen again. I love you.”

  “We love you too, kitten. There hasn’t been anyone else since you.”

  Did Cole say what I thought he said? “Wait! What?”

  Silence filled the room as Marlowe watched Cole and Cade. There were no surprised expressions as she thought there might be with her question.

  Cole took her hand and pressed it to his chest, right over his heart. She could feel the steadiness of the organ beating. “I know it’s hard to believe, but we haven’t been able to find anyone to replace you.”

  “We won’t lie, baby girl,” Cade said over her shoulder. “We dated several times, but no one measured up to you.”

  “So, you’re trying to tell me that you haven’t had any sex with anyone since I left?” she scoffed. “Men cannot go that long without sex.”

  The heartbeat beneath her hand sped up, and Cole’s blond brow arched high. She had found long ago that the higher his brow went, the more perturbed he was getting. “Are you calling us liars?” he asked, an edge of steel in his voice.

  Cade moved his hand up to her chin and then turned her face toward him with his thumb and forefinger. “Marls, you are our mate. We weren’t going to go out and have meaningless sex with anyone. We are meant to be together forever,” he explained as he kept her gaze. “We were afraid you wouldn’t come back to us, but we prayed you would. No other woman could take your place.”

  Tears rushed to Marlowe’s eyes at their words. She couldn’t believe they had waited for her, especially after she had deserted them over a stupid mistake. She wished she could say the same, but she had fallen for the sweet words and charm of a man when she had first moved to San Francisco but found after a year that he wasn’t what he had seemed. Would Cade and Cole not want her after they found out?