by Susan Hayes
“I think we broke him.”
Evan burst out laughing. “No, sweetheart, we didn’t. You did. You broke both of us.” He pressed a very soft kiss to the tip of her nose and then stretched out with a contented sigh. “I’ve been used and abused and I’ve never been so happy in my life. Thank you.”
Jess gingerly moved off of Evan and was not surprised when her legs gave out and she flopped face-first onto the bed. “I think I broke me, too.”
Evan was up in a flash and hovered over her, a look of worry on his handsome face. “Are you okay? We didn’t hurt you, did we?”
“I’m not hurt, just weak in the knees.” She rolled over and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m weak in the knees, and just about everywhere else, too.”
“What’s wrong?” Rory came out of the bathroom still gloriously naked and Jess couldn’t help but wonder how she managed to get so lucky as to have not one but two gorgeous guys in love with her.
“Nothing’s wrong. But I may need you two to carry me out of here tomorrow morning. I’m spent!” Jess announced and threw a hand over her eyes for emphasis. “If this is the way things are going to be between the three of us, I’m never going to need to go to a gym again. I’ll end up skinny just trying to keep up with you two.”
Rory rumbled in protest and came to sit beside her on the bed. “Don’t you dare get all scrawny on us, baby. We like your curves.”
Evan nodded. “You’re beautiful just the way you are.” He reached down and stroked her breasts. “I’d be very unhappy if you took these beauties away from me.”
Jess burst into a fit of giggles. “All right then, no diets, but only because I couldn’t stand to make either of you unhappy.”
“Thank you.” Evan kissed her sweetly and then left the bed, padding over to the bathroom. “And don’t think I don’t see you ogling my ass there, sweetheart.” He tossed the words over his shoulder before closing the door and leaving her and Rory alone for a moment.
“Lie still and let me clean you up a bit.” Rory held up the washcloth he’d brought with him and Jess smiled at his thoughtfulness. “You’re sure everything’s fine?” he asked as he started gently running the cloth over her inner thighs. “That was…I guess intense is a good word to describe it.”
“It was amazing, and wonderful. I’m not hurting at all,” Jess reassured him and then decided to ask the question that had been in her mind since he’d first suggested they make love together. “Is it always like that? I mean, that intense?”
Rory’s hand stilled and he lifted his head to stare into her eyes. “Evan and I have shared women before, but never like that.”
“Never?” Jess’s heart swelled at the realization that no matter how much her men had experienced before she’d come into their lives, this was the one thing she had with them that no one else ever could. It was a first time for all of them.
“Never. We wanted to wait for right woman. That’s why we were so worried we’d hurt you. This was something we’d never done before.”
“Well, you did it perfectly.” Jess threw her arms around Rory and tugged him down on top of her, kissing him happily. “I love you so much.”
“Oh sure, I leave the room for three minutes and you to are at it again!” Evan grumbled as he rejoined them. “I thought you were worn out, sweetheart?”
“It was a temporary energy surge.” Jess reached out for Evan and drew him in so she could kiss him, too. “Rory just told me this was a first time for all of us, and I was trying to show him how much that meant to me.”
“It meant a lot to us, too.” Evan glanced at Rory, who nodded and stood, scooping Jess up off the bed as Evan pulled down the covers so they could all get in and get comfortable.
Jess found herself once again snuggled between her two favorite bookends, her head on Rory’s chest and Evan spooned up behind her, his hand resting on the curve of her hip.
As Rory reached out and turned off the light, a gust of wind slammed into the windows and room was filled with the sound of rain splattering against the glass. Jess just burrowed deeper under the covers and held onto her two men. She knew that for tonight at least, they were safe from the storm.
* * * *
Evan listened to the storm that raged outside, the violent wind and rain counterpointed by the soft breathing of the woman he held in his arms. As she settled into a deeper sleep she let out a tiny snore and Evan smiled to himself. He had it bad if he even found Jess’s snoring adorable, but he was more than okay with that idea.
As Evan lay there in the darkness he sent out a tendril of thought to Rory, and found his blood-brother’s mind as awake as his own. “So, we’re committed now. How are you feeling?”
A touch of laughter accompanied Rory’s reply. “I thought I’d be having second thoughts by now, but I’m not.”
“After what she just did with us? We’d be insane to be reconsidering. She’s the most amazing women I’ve ever met.”
“And she’s all ours or she will be once we get through tomorrow. If my father won’t accept her, we’re keeping her anyway, right?” Rory asked for confirmation, but they’d had this conversation many times before.
“She’s worth it, Rory. There are others who could lead the colony, but there’s no one else I want to share my life with.” Evan let his feelings bleed into the thoughts he was sending to Rory, making his opinion as clear as he could.
“Then we’re in agreement.” Rory’s thoughts went silent for a moment and then he added, “Do you think she’s going to accept us after all of this is over?”
“I still think she’s one of us, or at least she’s got a bit of selkie in her bloodline somewhere. Once she gets over the shock of it all, we’ll be able to figure it out together. She loves us, bro. I don’t think she’s going to walk away from that. Not even after she finds out we’re a bit more myth than men.”
“If Aaron and Rick could manage to bumble it as badly as they did and still keep Jenny, I think we have a good chance,” Rory said and both men shared a silent laugh. The selkie men Rory had talked to had claimed they did a great job of explaining themselves to Jenny, to whom they had now been married for more than twenty years. Jenny’s version of events, though, had brought tears of laughter to Evan’s eyes as she’d gone into detail about where her men had gone wrong and what Evan and Rory could do better when their time came.
“She has to stay.” There was an unfamiliar undercurrent of fear in Rory’s thoughts. “I don’t want to go back to the way things were before we fished her out of the ocean.”
“Neither do I,” Evan answered. “So let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Chapter 16
The three of them made the short drive to Rory’s parent’s house in relative silence, and Jess couldn’t help but notice that both of her men seemed to need to be in constant contact with her. Holding her hand, touching her leg, or stroking her cheek, they were always finding ways to connect with her, as if they needed the reassurance almost as much as she did.
Jess knew this wasn’t going to be an easy visit, though she was still unclear as to exactly why Rory’s father was going to object to her relationship with his son and Evan. I suppose I’m going to find out soon enough.
As if sensing her thoughts, Evan turned and pressed a kiss to her temple and his arms tightened around her waist as he held her in his lap. When this ordeal was over with, she really needed to talk to the guys about returning her little rental car and buying something more practical, preferably a vehicle all three of them could fit into without her winding up in someone’s lap.
As Rory slowed the truck down Jess couldn’t help but gawk at the massive log house that rose up into view.
“That’s where your parents live?”
“That’s the traditional home of the colony leader and his family,” Rory confirmed as he drove up the circular driveway and parked just outside the front door.
“Wow,” Jess muttered. “And here I thought all log ca
bins were supposed to be rustic.” The house was situated on a bluff overlooking Kismet Cove, nestled into the edge of the rainforest so that it was sheltered from the worst of the wind. The moment the door opened she could hear the wind whistling between the boughs of the evergreen trees and making even the largest of them creak as they swayed. Evan handed her down to Rory, and then climbed down out of the truck to join them. They both took one of her hands as they made the short walk to the doorway.
Jess’s heart was beating faster and she could have sworn she could hear mocking laughter being carried on the wind that swept around them. Now I’m imagining thing things, great. A shiver chased up the back of her neck and she squeezed her fingers tighter around Rory and Evan’s hands. Both of them looked down at her, and she took comfort in the adoration that was so evident in their gazes.
“Ready, sweetheart?” Evan asked and then dropped a kiss to her cheek as he whispered in her ear, “Remember, we’re the rocks. Rory and his father are the storm.”
Jess nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”
Rory raised his hand to knock and then stopped, turning to kiss her thoroughly. “I love you. That’s all you need to remember tonight.”
“I love you both,” she told them and then quickly smoothed her hands over her top. It was the same one she’d worn the night she’d made them their thank you dinner, and she’d hoped it would bring her some of that same luck today.
Rory knocked and the door was opened almost instantly. Standing there was a woman only an inch or so taller than Jess, and Jess knew right away that this had to be Rory’s mother. She’d given her son his stunning smile.
Rory opened his mouth to make introductions when his mother got an odd look on her face and grabbed Jess by the shoulders and then dragged her into her arms for a hug that nearly squeezed the breath from Jess’s lungs.
“Mara?” she queried and there was shock in her tone. “Mara, it’s me, Emma. How can you still look so young?”
Grief welled up inside Jess and she clung to Emma in confusion. How could this stranger know her mother’s name? What was happening?
Emma gripped Jess tightly for a moment longer and then seemed to find her composure and released her, taking a step back. “I’m so sorry, dear. Of course you can’t be Mara. But the resemblance is uncanny. Tell me, who are you and how is it you’re involved with my boys?”
Rory and Evan just stood in the hall and stared, both of them clearly as confused as Jess was.
“I’m Jess. M-Mara was my mother. Mara Silk. Did you know her?”
“Your mother? Of course! You look just like her, but I’m sure you knew that. Same beautiful hair, same eyes, you could be her twin! I haven’t seen her since we were girls, but there was a time I was your mother’s closest friend. How is she? Where has she been? I’ve never stopped thinking about her and wondering if she’d come home.”
“She…she died,” Jess blurted out. “Six months ago. I grew up in Toronto. She never said anything about living out here, only that this is where she met my father.”
“Mom, slow down.” Rory slipped an arm around Jess’s shoulders, supporting her. “Jess’s dad just signed over their family cabin to her a few weeks ago. Jess has come out here for the winter to finish writing her book and get away for a while. Are you saying you knew her mother?”
“Knew her? We were best friends. She was the only daughter of Jack and Alicia Silk, Rory. Mara disappeared one night after things got a bit…heated at home. That was during your grandfather’s time.” Jess glanced up at Rory and watched his eyes widen as if suddenly understood some great secret she wasn’t privy to.
“Holy shit, bro. I told you she was a true mate!” Evan whooped and slapped Rory on the back.
“True mate? You three?” Emma beamed and glanced down, finally spotting the elegant pendant Jess was wearing. “Oh that’s wonderful! Your father is going to be thrilled. Thrilled! Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”
“We didn’t know, mom.” Rory started to explain but then Emma was babbling and Jess was struggling to understand what the hell was going on. True mate? One of us? Why hadn’t her mother told her she had grown up here?
“…Imagine you two finding a true mate, and one of the missing bloodlines at that. You can’t know how hard it’s been for us selkies since your mother left, Jess. She wasn’t the only one to run, you know. We all lost friends back then, and now here you are, back and going to be bonded to my boys!”
Jess found herself caught up in another hug. “So tell me, do you look like your mother in your seal form? She was always considered one of the most beautiful selkie women around. Did she tell you that?”
“Selkies? My mother was a selkie? That’s insane! They’re just myths! Ancient legends and folklore!” Jess stumbled backward out of Emma’s arms, her head spinning. Are they all crazy?
Evan caught her and tried to draw her into his arms, but Jess was too overwhelmed to let him. She spun away from him and backed up until she was plastered against the wall and she could see all three of them. “You’re saying that you’re all selkies? Seals?”
“Of course dear, just like you are.” Emma gave her a puzzled look and Jess realized that the kindly woman believed every word she’d said.
“Mom, stop it! She doesn’t know who she is!” Rory roared, his voice reverberating down the hall.
“Don’t you dare yell at your mother that way! I taught you better than that!” An older version of Rory stormed down the hall toward them, as fierce and wild as his son.
“Not now, dad!” Rory turned to Jess and she could see the fear and worry in his eyes. “Jess, it’s going to be okay, please. Just trust us, okay?”
Tears blinded her and Jess just shook her head again and wailed as confusion and hurt tore her heart in two. This couldn’t be happening. This had to be a nightmare.
There was a crash and the floor shook, and through her tears Jess could see that Rory’s father had thrown her lover up against the wall. “You will not take that tone with me, boy, now or ever! Now what the hell is going on here and why were you yelling at your mother!”
“She’s Mara’s daughter…”
“Dad, let me go or so help me…”
“She doesn’t know who she is…”
The voices were a jumble of noise and Jess couldn’t take it anymore. She bolted deeper into the house, needing to find someplace quiet where she could think and be alone for a minute. The hall ended and she found herself in a bright and cheerful kitchen with a tile floor so smooth she nearly lost her footing as she came careening into the room.
“I see Darius and Rory are off to a fine start.” A man’s voice came from nearby and Jess squeaked in shock as she spun around to see who else was here.
“Whoa! You’re going to wind up flat on your ass on the floor, and then the boys are going to blame me for scaring you, though I’d say they were doing a damn fine job of it already.” A kind smile and red hair registered in Jess’s mind and she realized she had just met Rory’s second father, Torin.
“Hi,” she managed weakly and reached up to dash the tears from her cheeks with an unsteady hand. “I don’t think I can stay here. Please, can you tell me how to get back to the truck without them seeing me?”
Torin looked thoughtful and then sighed. “They really screwed up this time, didn’t they?” He jerked his head down the hallway to where a cacophony of raised voices was still easily heard. “And they say redheads are the ones with the nasty tempers. Not in this household. I’ll tell you how to get back to the truck, but you need to promise me something.” His gaze dropped to the pendant at her throat. “Don’t you run far, all right? If you love them enough to wear that, then you love them enough to give them a chance to make up for whatever idiotic thing they’ve all managed to do this time.”
Jess nodded. “I promise I won’t go far. I just can’t stay here.”
“Fair enough.” His eyes narrowed and then widened. “Oh hell, I think I can guess what at least part of
the problem is. You’re a Silk. You look just like your mom, and your uncle, too, though I must say you’re a far sight prettier.”
“I—I have an uncle?” Jess’s head was starting to ache from all the new information she’d been bombarded with in the past five minutes.
“You have an uncle, and grandparents…and you don’t know anything about any of this, do you? Well, fuck the proverbial duck, no wonder you’re upset. All right, you’re coming with me, and I think we both need a drink.” He winked at her. “I’m going to get my ass kicked for this, but if anyone says anything, you just tell them I went with you to make sure you didn’t do anything rash. Deal?”
“Okay.” Jess nodded, still reeling from the realization that these people knew her mother, not to mention the fact it they all believed they were shapeshifters straight out of legend. A legend her mother had taught her about as a child…
She found herself following Torin out a back door and down a few stairs. He helped her clamber into another truck and then they were gone before she could really think about what she was doing.
“I’m Jess, by the way.”
“Torin Sheils. It’s nice to meet you, Jess, though I suspect the circumstances could have been a better for you. Now we’re clear of the chaos, would you please tell me why my blood-brother and his son were bellowing like a pair of bulls during mating season?”
“Emma thought I was my mother and uh, Rory got protective and very loud when I got upset, and then things sort of got out of hand. I didn’t even know my mother was from this area or…well anything.”
“You do look just like Mara. She is your mother, right?”
“Yes.” Jess glanced over at Torin and her heart leaped into her throat as she finally realized who and what she was speaking to. “So you’re one of them? I mean, you think you’re a selkie?”
