by Scarlet Day
She grabbed her clothes off the bed and walked to the bathroom door. She opened it and stepped inside and came to an abrupt halt.
“Wow!” Okay, now she knew she must have died and gone to heaven. Who the heck had a bathroom like this anyway? It was the biggest bathroom Kate had ever been in. The floors were a dark slate and had a gloss on them so they looked wet. There was a granite countertop that ran the length of the room on one side, with two sinks and dark wood cabinets. One corner held a massive tub. Kate moved closer to it and peered into it. It was more like a hot tub than a bathtub, with jets placed all around it. She guessed it would fit at least four people easily. She thought of the two brothers she had already met and imagined the third one who would look just like them. She’d bet all three of them could fit with enough room left for her.
“Oh, good grief, Kate! Get a hold of yourself!” She shook her head and forced her eyes away from the tub. Her thoughts were going to get her into some serious trouble if she didn’t snap out of it.
The shower took up the other corner and was just as extravagant as the rest of the bathroom. It was a walk-in shower and was built like its own little room. There was no door, but the space felt private and secluded. The shower was tiled in the same slate as the bathroom floor, except the floor of the shower was tiled in tiny pebbles, so it felt like she was walking on a river bed. There were numerous jets placed in strategic places around the walls, and a large rain shower fixture hung from the ceiling into the center of the space. Kate found the water handle and turned it, looking forward to experiencing this amazing shower.
She quickly took her bra and panties off, grateful that Blake had at least left those garments on her when he undressed her the night before. The thought of him looking at her made her feel flushed. She stepped into the shower and let the water rush over her. It felt divine! The jets pulsed water in all the right places, and water rained down on her from above in a gentle cascade. There were several types of soaps and shampoos on a little shelf built into the wall, and Kate opened a few and sniffed until she found scents she liked. She shampooed her hair with a deliciously fragrant shampoo that smelled like strawberries and mint and then lathered her body with a matching bodywash.
She briefly wondered why a man would have these fruity-smelling things in his shower but guessed that guys as good-looking as these were bound to bring home a woman every now and then. For some reason that thought instantly made her jealous, but she dismissed the unexpected emotion.
The warm, soothing water was helping to clear her mind, and her thoughts went to the events of the night before. She was starting to remember pieces of what had happened. She remembered her car running out of gas on a dead-end road. She remembered the rain and getting out of the car. Then when she’d tried to get back in the car, a bear had been blocking her way. No, wait, that part wasn’t real. That was part of the dream. Wasn’t it?
Chapter Three
“Does she know what she is?” Jake looked out the kitchen window and watched the outer bands of the storm roll in.
“I have no idea.” Blake leaned against the kitchen island and stared into his coffee cup. “She’s trapped here with us until the storm passes, though, so she’s going to realize something’s going on soon enough.”
“You know what this means.” Jake’s tone was ominous.
Blake shot his brother a hard look. “I’m perfectly aware of what this means.”
This whole situation had hit them out of the blue, but now that it was happening, Blake wasn’t inclined to back down. Finding someone like Kate was rare enough, but having her stumble directly into their path was damn near miraculous. Blake wasn’t the kind of person to throw a gift back at the fates. And even if he wanted to, he already knew he couldn’t.
“The others will come after her.” Jake was still staring out the window.
“I know.” Blake sighed and stared back into his coffee cup. He knew it wouldn’t take long for the other clans to detect Kate’s scent, especially once her mating fever set in. The bear he’d fought last night had been a loner, one he didn’t recognize. He doubted a lone shifter would try to take on all three of the brothers, but the other clans would no doubt try to stake a claim. Blake and his brothers would just have to persuade Kate to trust them completely before the others came to call. At least the storm would buy them some time. He looked up at the sound of the front door opening.
Drake stomped in and shook the rain off his big frame. “This one feels bad. I don’t like it.” Of the three brothers, Drake had always had the closest connection to the weather. He looked toward Blake’s bedroom door. “Is she awake?”
Blake nodded. “Yeah, she’s getting dressed. She doesn’t remember what happened last night.”
Drake looked at Blake then to Jake and nodded his understanding. “Going to be an interesting few days.”
Blake snorted. Drake always had a way with understatements. All heads jerked toward Blake’s bedroom door as it opened. Kate stood there holding her coffee cup, looking hesitant to come out. She was dressed in the clothes he had found her in the night before.
Blake couldn’t help himself as his gaze started at her feet, which were bare, and then roamed up her luscious legs to her denim shorts. They were molded to her hips and showed off the delicious curviness of her body. She was wearing a white sleeveless button-down shirt. She had left the top few buttons undone, so there was the slightest glimpse of cleavage, just enough to make Blake want to see more. Even though he had undressed her the night before, she had been unconscious, and he had been more interested in her well-being than he had been in gawking.
“Um…hi.” She offered a tentative smile and looked at each brother. “Thanks for the shower and everything. I guess I should get back to my car? I mean, if you guys have some extra gas I could buy from you?”
“You can’t go.” Blake’s voice came out gruffer than he intended, but being near this female was taking a toll on his self-restraint, especially with her freshly showered scent rolling off her in waves. Kate’s eyes widened at his tone.
Jake huffed. “What my tactless brother is trying to say is that the storm is moving in. It won’t be safe to leave until it’s over. Oh, and this is Drake.” Jake motioned over to their other brother, who was getting a cup of coffee.
Blake watched Drake as he turned to greet Kate. “Nice to meet you, Kate. Welcome to our home.” Blake could see his gaze assessing Kate appreciatively, much like he had just done.
“Oh, um, hi.” Blake watched as Kate hesitantly walked toward them into the kitchen. He quickly went to one of the barstools at the big island counter and held it out for her to sit. “Um, thanks.”
Blake poured her a fresh cup of coffee while Jake set big platters on the counter that were piled high with eggs, bacon, sausages, and toast. Blake sat next to Kate and took her plate, filling it with a little of everything. The brothers all sat down in the other chairs and started loading their plates with food.
“I hope you like big breakfasts, Kate.” Blake winked at her as he set the plate in front of her.
“Well, I usually just have a bagel or something, but I am kind of extra hungry this morning.” She reached for the strawberry jam, spread some on her toast, and then took a bite. “Mmmm…this jam’s really good.” Blake thought he was going to lose his mind as she stuck her tongue out and licked the sticky fruit spread off her lips. He was sure she had no idea how damned sexy that was.
Drake chuckled softly. “Glad you like it. We grow the strawberries and make it ourselves.”
“Really? So you’re all like, what, farmers or something?” She continued to devour the toast and jam, and Blake was starting to forget about everything except watching her mouth move.
“Sort of.” Blake registered that Jake was the one answering her question. “Drake’s the one who can make things grow. I come up with recipe and other ideas. Blake’s our marketing guru, because all the plants die if he goes near them, and you do not want him doing any cooking
.”
Kate sputtered as she started laughing into her cup of coffee, which snapped Blake out of his daydream. He was getting lost in his own thoughts while gazing at this incredible and unexpected female.
“Yes, well, someone has to figure out a way to sell the stuff you two come up with. You’re both just really lucky I’m extremely talented at what I do.”
Jake took on a look of mock offense. “Hey, from what I can smell, Kate seems to like my latest creation.”
A look of confusion crossed Kate’s face. Blake rolled his eyes at Jake. “He’s talking about the shower products you used, Kate. Those are out latest products.”
Kate’s eyes widened. “You can smell me?”
Blake grinned at her and then watched as her cheeks took on a pink blush. Gods, she was beautiful!
Kate gulped and then cleared her throat. “So, um, the storm…do you think it’s gonna be a really bad one?” She asked the question with a breezy casualness, but Blake could tell she was trying to change the subject. He also heard a slight nervousness under the calm at the mention of the storm.
Blake put his fork down and reached over to push a stray strand of her silky black hair out of her eyes. The pink flush across her cheeks deepened into an even more enticing shade. Blake had to remind himself what she had just asked him. “It looks like it. Have you ever been through a hurricane before?”
Kate shook her head, and her eyes clouded over with something that looked like sadness. “I just moved to Florida last year.”
Blake had a sudden urge to know everything about this beautiful woman and what could have happened to put that look in her eyes. “Where were you headed last night?”
“Orlando. My condo’s on the beach in West Palm Beach and, um…I was afraid to stay there during the storm, so I was trying to get inland before it hit.”
“Well, you’re inland, all right.” Drake motioned around them. “But I’m afraid you definitely took a wrong turn somewhere. You’ll be safe here though. This house is built to withstand the worst nature can throw at us.”
As if testing his words, at that moment, a great gust of wind slammed into the side of the house, rattling the walls. Kate jumped at the sound, and they all turned to the one window over the kitchen sink that didn’t have storm shutters over it. They could see heavy rain blowing sideways across the window but couldn’t see much beyond that.
Blake saw what looked like fear cross Kate’s eyes. “And you, um, really don’t mind? You know…if I stay here?” Her voice was so full of doubt Blake had the urge to pull her into his lap and cradle her against him.
He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “We really don’t mind, Kate. In fact, we’re glad you’re here.”
* * * *
Something about these guys made Kate feel like she couldn’t breathe. Or talk. Or even think, for that matter. She was usually not a blithering idiot, but she felt like she couldn’t say anything intelligent around them. The way they all looked at her should have sent her running for the nearest bathroom and locking the door firmly behind her, but instead, she found herself getting all flustered and…well, pretty damned aroused.
“So, about my wrong turn last night.” She turned to look at Blake. “Please tell me I just dreamed about a bear, and it wasn’t real.”
Blake took a long drink of coffee before clearing his throat. “Well, actually…”
“Oh my God! Do you mean that really happened?” She was trying really hard not to get hysterical, but it wasn’t working out so well for her. She had actually been chased by a bear! Her breathing was getting shallow, and she could tell she was about to start hyperventilating. Blake got up and led her over to the big leather sofa in the living room. He sat Kate down and sat close next to her then put his big arms around her and pulled her close to his chest.
“Shhh. It’s okay, I promise. You’re okay.” Blake spoke reassuring words to her while Drake sat down on her other side, and Jake settled on the floor in front of her. Drake took one of her hands and started rubbing her wrist soothingly. Jake lightly massaged each of her legs in long strokes. “Relax, baby. It’s gone, and it’s not going to hurt you.”
Kate looked down at her hands, only just now registering the small scrapes on her palms. She looked at her legs and saw the small scratches from running through the underbrush. How had she not noticed them when she was taking a shower or getting dressed? Maybe her mind had just refused to go there before now.
“What about the other thing?” Her voice came out as a cracked whisper. She cleared her throat. “The gold thing that chased the bear away? And the man! There was a naked man!” She looked down at Jake, who grinned and looked up at Blake. Kate followed his gaze and met Blake’s eyes. “What? You?” This time all she could do was mouth the word. Her voice was completely useless.
Blake grinned a sheepish grin at her, and she almost stopped breathing again. Even in her current state of near hysteria, she couldn’t help but respond to the blatant sexiness of him. And the fact that his two identical and equally sexy brothers had their hands on her was so not helping!
“You were…um…naked.” If the heat she felt in her face was any indication, Kate was certain she had probably just turned the same shade as a very ripe tomato.
“Yeah, I was. Kate, are your parents around?” Blake’s off-topic question startled her.
“My parents? Why do you want to know about my parents?” She really didn’t want to talk about this. The pain was still too fresh.
Drake brushed his fingers over her cheek, and she turned to look at him. “It might be relevant to what happened last night. I know you’re confused but, please, just trust us.”
She looked into Drake’s eyes and saw the sincerity there. She looked down at Jake and recognized the same in his gaze. She wasn’t sure why or how, but she felt like she could trust these men. She took a deep breath.
“I didn’t know my father. Mom never talked about him. At least, not until right before she died.” Tears instantly sprang to her eyes. All three men moved closer to her, their hands moving soothing patterns over her skin. “Mom was diagnosed with brain cancer just over a year ago. The doctors said there wasn’t much they could do. She lived in Florida before I was born and wanted to spend her last months at the beach, so I quit my job and moved here with her. She died eight months ago.” She was trying hard not to break down and sob, but she couldn’t stop the tears from spilling over and sliding down her cheeks. She hadn’t talked to anyone about this since her mother’s death, and now here she was, talking to three complete strangers. In a strange way, part of her actually felt relief at finally speaking the words.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” Blake pulled her closer to him as he spoke. “What do you know about your father?” She looked up at him, confused as to why anything about her father was important. But he looked truly interested, and something about him made Kate want to tell him everything she knew.
“I stopped asking questions about him years ago because Mom refused to tell me anything. She always got really sad whenever I brought the subject up. Then, maybe two weeks before she died, she said she had to tell me something important. I thought she wanted to talk about her will or something, but she started talking about my father.” Kate felt like a dam had broken inside of her, and everything she had kept bottled up was tumbling out. Now that she had started talking, she didn’t think she would be able to stop if she tried.
“She said she met him here in Florida, and it was love at first sight. At least it was for her. Anyway, it only lasted for one summer. He disappeared right after she found out she was pregnant. She never heard from him again. She moved back to Austin to be near her sister and never talked about him.” Kate took a deep breath, knowing this was where things were going to get weird.
“Anyway, she told me some really strange things, and I thought it was the pain medications doing the talking. I mean, what else could I think when she started talking about black panthers and…um, stuff?” S
he didn’t know how to say the rest of the things her mother had told her. She really didn’t want these men to think she was crazy, either.
“Did she tell you your father’s name, Kate?” Blake was looking at her very intently. In fact, all of the brothers had gotten very still and were staring at her with very serious expressions.
Kate blinked, taken by surprise at the sudden tension. “Yeah, she did. His name was Jesse.”
There was a collective gasp from all three brothers. Kate looked around to all of them and saw the same stunned look on all their faces.
Finally, Blake found his voice. “Jesse Landers?”
This time it was Kate’s turn to gasp in shock. “How did you know?”
Jake squeezed her hands, and she looked at him. His eyes were sad as he spoke. “He was our father’s best friend. He didn’t have any family of his own, and our grandparents sort of took him in. He didn’t leave your mom, Kate. He was killed. He called our dad and left a message that he’d found the love of his life and was bringing her home for everyone to meet. He never made it. Our family never knew her name or how to find her.”
