by Jasmine Walt
Thomas touches the crystal and the blue light inside it comes back in a bright flash, passing through his fingers, up his arm, and to his wings. Encased in blue light, they flicker a few times, and then disappear.
“Oh my god.” I stand up so fast I knock over the chair behind me.
“Holy shit, you did it,” Gilbert exclaims, jumping up to walk around Thomas.
“Yeah,” I say, too stunned to form a coherent sentence. Thomas flexes his shoulders and then reaches behind him. He turns, showing me his back.
The wings are gone, and in their place are tattoos on his back in smooth black ink. Blinking rapidly, I shake myself and extend my hand, flattening my palm over his back.
“Can you feel this?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Thomas answers, and rolls his neck. “I forgot what it’s like to not have those fuckers attached to me. It’s weird.”
I lean in, looking at the tattoos. Gilbert is right there with me, just as stunned. I trace the lines with my finger, and Thomas lets out a breath.
“Fuck it feels good to have my back rubbed.”
“I bet,” I say with a laugh. “Take the amulet off.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. I need to test something.”
Thomas turns, and with a frown, he pulls the amulet over his head. The same blue light flickers through him, and his wings are back. I take the amulet from him and give it to Gilbert, who eagerly slips it over his head.
The same thing happens.
“You did it, Ace,” Thomas says, not taking his eyes off his brother. “It’s amazing.”
Nodding, I go back to the table and pick up the second crystal. “Let’s see if I can do it again.”
“Here,” I say, pulling shirts and shoes out of a shopping bag. “I guessed on the sizes and can run back in if they don’t fit.”
Thomas pulls a black T-shirt over his head. “It fits.”
“Good.” I reach over the center console of my Charger and pull the price tag off. “Now let’s hope the shoes fit too.”
Gilbert smooths a navy blue Henley over his chest and stretches out his arms. “It’s strange having clothes on again.”
Twisting so I can reach into the backseat, I undo the top buttons on his shirt. “It looks good on you at least.”
He flashes a cheeky grin and looks curiously at the shoes. I tear open a package of socks, and a few minutes later, the guys are dressed and ready to go out. Jacques was still sleeping when we left, and Hasan was stunned and a little unnerved when I had him try on the amulet. I’m getting two more crystals tomorrow so they all can have an amulet, though something tells me Hasan isn’t too eager to go without his wings.
We drive downtown, and while the guys have familiarized themselves with modern times through TV, it’s nothing like seeing things in real life. We park and get out, slowly walking down the street so they can take it all in.
Gilbert walks a little ahead, and Thomas takes my hand. They’re alike in most ways, but Thomas is the more affectionate one, I’ve noticed.
“I don’t know how busy this place is. It might take a while to get a table,” I say, stopping in front of a restaurant. “It’s new and popular, and people from work are always saying how good it is.”
“Give it a try?” Thomas asks. “I don’t care if we wait for a table.”
Gil goes ahead, holding the door open for me. He’s like a kid on Christmas morning and it’s so damn adorable.
“Hi,” the hostess says, running her eyes up Gilbert’s muscular body. “How many?”
Gil has no idea what she’s talking about, but he doesn’t let it slow him down. He flashes a smile, making the hostess blush. “How many do you want?”
She giggles and plays with her hair, not caring that his question makes no sense.
“Three,” I say, and Thomas tightens his arm around me. I give her my name and she motions to the bar. “You guys don’t have IDs,” I whisper, and look at the bar. The bartender’s a woman. “But that might not be a problem tonight.”
There are two seats open at the bar, and I take one and Gil takes the other. Thomas stands behind me, with a hand on my shoulder.
“This is better than I thought it would be.” Gilbert moves his chair closer to mine.
“You haven’t even had a drink yet.” I turn to him, smiling, and he puts his hand on my thigh. “Flash that same smile at the bartender when she comes over. Technically, she should ask to see your ID, but not everyone does when you look older than twenty-one.”
“And if she does ask?”
“Say you forgot it and don’t order alcohol.”
The bartender mixes a drink, casting her eyes in our direction. She looks at Thomas standing with his hands on me, and makes the connection we’re a couple. She can tell Gil is his twin brother and assumes he’s single.
With a smile, she comes over and gives us a drink menu. “I’ll be right back.”
“I don’t know what these are.” Thomas reads over my shoulder.
“To be honest, I don’t either.” I scan the menu. “I’ve never heard of half these drinks. And I don’t know much about your time period. What did you drink? Wine? Mead? Vodka’s been around for a long time, right?”
“Wine, and sometimes cider,” Thomas answers. “But not like the sweet stuff you got.”
I laugh. “So nothing sweet for you guys. Maybe try an Old Fashioned. It’s made with whiskey.”
“Old Fashioned,” Gilbert repeats. “Interesting name.”
“The Bee’s Knees is even better,” I say with a smile. “That’s what I’m getting. I don’t really like the taste of alcohol and it sounds like it’ll be sweet.”
The bartender comes over, flashing Gil a pretty smile again. “Hi, how are you guys doing tonight?”
“Good, thank you,” Gil answers, and hearing his accent makes her smile even more. “How are you?”
“I’m doing all right, thanks. What can I get for you?”
She doesn’t ask for IDs, thankfully. We order drinks, and right after they come, a band starts to set up near the bar. This is a neat place, a bit too hip for my taste, but a perfect place to take the guys for their first outing.
“This is good,” I say, taking another sip of my drink and offering a taste to Thomas, who’s almost done with his drink already.
“Why don’t you go out more?” he asks me after he tries my drink. “This is great.”
“I didn’t really have anyone to go out with,” I confess.
Gil takes a big gulp of his drink. “Now you do. We’re going to take you out. At least once a week. You need it.”
“I do,” I say as the alcohol starts to hit me. “Thanks, guys, for making me go out.”
“You’re an amazing woman,” Thomas starts, leaning in close. “And you need to have fun every once in a while.”
“Specifically with us,” Gilbert adds, making me laugh. We’re done with our drinks by the time we’re called to the table. The food is amazing, and we talk and laugh throughout our meal.
None of us are ready to call it a night once we’re done eating, and after checking my phone to see if Jacques or Hasan need anything, we head out, walking down the street.
“There’s a lot of American history in this city,” I say, fingers intertwining with Gilbert’s. Thomas wraps his arm around my waist, falling into step with me. “They have tours, but they’re mostly during daylight hours, so, uh, sorry.”
“I was never big on learning history,” Thomas says. “Our father insisted, which is probably why I hated it so much.”
“It is why I did,” Gilbert tells us. “I hated anything he told us to do.”
“That’s understandable. I didn’t really enjoy history in school, though now I find it interesting.”
“I enjoy it more now,” Thomas starts. “We missed so much while sleeping. It’s hard to fathom. Humans are worse than monsters.”
“I know, right? You should be glad you slept through some of history’s darkest days. It�
��s easy to think the world is doomed.”
“The world has you,” Gilbert says. “And you have us. Doesn’t seem so doomed that way, does it?”
“Promise me,” Thomas says, stepping in front of me as we walk along the river at Spruce Tree Harbor Park, “we’ll come back out tomorrow.”
I’m standing with my back to Gil’s front, and his hands are on my hips. “I’m not opposed to that idea,” I reply, shivering when Gil’s lips brush against the flesh on the nape of my neck. “This place is neat, and I can only imagine what you guys are thinking.”
“I’m thinking we were born into the wrong time,” Thomas tells me. “We were meant to be here. With you.”
“I agree.” Gilbert kisses my neck, and I’m very aware of people passing us by. I’m sandwiched between two gorgeous men whose hands are eagerly wandering over my body. “I used to think fate and destiny were a bunch of bullshit, but maybe this was how it was supposed to go the whole time.”
Thomas nods. “Having a shitty father, being forced into the shitty Templars…if it was leading to this, then it was worth it.”
“It was,” Gil echoes. “And don’t forget, we were shitty knights.”
We all laugh and Thomas inches in, cupping my chin in his hand. “You’re doing a good job talking me up,” I say, blushing slightly.
“I told you, Ace,” Thomas says, “you give us purpose, and we’ve never had that before.”
Gilbert gathers my hair into one hand, moving it aside. He kisses my neck again, getting a physical reaction out of me. My pussy quivers, sending a jolt through me that makes me start to grow wet.
“I know you like being out,” I start. “But do you want to go home?”
“To have sex?” Gil asks, lips still against my skin.
“Yes.”
Thomas puts his lips to mine, tongue slipping past my lips. “I want to fuck you now.”
“Public indecency is a crime. Was it back then for you? I’d think so, but your laws and beliefs were quite a bit different.”
“Are you asking if we could fuck on the street?” Gil lets my hair go.
“Yeah.”
“Depends on the street.”
I turn, catching his cheeky grin. Shaking my head, I take his hand and step forward, looping my arm through Thomas’s.
“How do you feel? I’m not sure how long the charm will last.”
“Fine,” they say at the same time.
“Good. Explaining why you suddenly got wings would be a challenge.” We slowly walk back along the river, and it hits me again how much I’m regretting not having a life before this. Though the more time I spend with the guys, the more I’m buying into this whole destiny thing.
Maybe I never had good relationships before because everything was leading up to this. If it was, does this mean things will last?
We walk by a group of people, and a single voice stands out to me. I slow, looking through the little crowd of people, and spot a black ponytail. She laughs, and I know exactly who that is.
“Gemma,” I call, and she turns around with a smile on her face. It disappears the second she sees me, and it’s like she was caught in the act or something.
“Hey!” she says, trying to recover before her friends notice. The older woman I saw with her at Lyra’s earlier today is there again, face sullen as she stares at me, unblinking. Then she turns to the man next to her, whispering something in his ear.
Gemma pushes through her group of friends and hugs me.
“Ace! How are you?”
“Good,” I reply, stiffening. I’m not a hugger.
“I take it your boyfriend is okay,” she says softly, stepping away. Her eyes go to Thomas and then Gilbert, and then she realizes that we walked up here together, with Thomas’s arm linked with mine and my hand fastened on Gil’s.
“Yeah, he is. I guess I should say they are.”
She widens her eyes and looks at Thomas and Gilbert again, trying to put it together. She’s nosey and admits it, but I don’t think she’ll flat-out ask me what’s going on. Not in front of the guys at least.
“This is Gemma,” I say, finding my manners. “And this is Tom and Gil.”
“Nice to meet you,” Thomas says, holding out his hand. Gemma takes it then immediately yanks hers back.
“You shocked me,” she laughs, shaking her hand. She’s trying hard not to obviously check them out when she notices the crystal hanging from Gil’s neck. “Pretty. I’ve always loved clear quartz for its simplicity.”
“It’s a nice night, isn’t it?” I ask, painfully aware that I’m awkward at small talk.
“It’s gorgeous out. Warm but not humid. We’re going to grab some food before the park closes. Do you, uh, want to join us?”
“We already ate, but thanks,” I say, noticing all of Gemma’s friends staring not at me, but at the guys. I get it, they’re attractive identical twins, but no one is looking at them with admiration or lust.
They’re looking at them like they know exactly what they are.
19
“It was nice seeing you,” I rush out, taking Gilbert’s hand again.
“Are we still on for a movie tomorrow?” Gemma asks, taking a step forward.
“Uh,” I hesitate, and Thomas gently nudges me.
“You should go. Have fun,” he says.
“Yeah.” I force a smile. “I’m still on for it.”
“Great!” Gemma says. “And if you guys want to come, I have no problem with it whatsoever. As long as you don’t mind me being the third wheel. Fourth wheel, I think? I mean, if you guys are all…sorry. I’m getting too nosey again.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “And yes, we are.”
She sweeps her eyes over the twins and then leans in close to me, smiling. “You are lucky. Here I am trying to get one guy who’s not a total loser, and your ‘boyfriend’ isn’t even a guy. It’s two.”
I laugh, not sure at all how to proceed. Gemma seems like a progressive person, and society is more accepting of people living out of the norm, but coming across relationships like this still throws people for a loop.
Just wait until she finds out I have two more boyfriends.
“I’ll see you later,” I say, giving Gil a gentle tug. The bad feeling in the pit of my stomach starts to form, making my fight-or-flight response kick in. There’s nothing around me to fight, and while I hate running away from anything that frightens me, I know enough to listen to that voice in the back of my head.
“Are you okay, Ace?” Thomas asks after we’ve put some distance between us and Gemma. “You’re tense again.”
“I feel better now. Did you get a weird feeling around her?”
“No.” Gil turns around, looking at the little group one more time before we cross a street and head out of sight. “Did you?”
“Yeah. They were staring at you.”
“Well, we are rather handsome. Me more than my brother,” Thomas says with a smirk.
“You guys are mirror images of each other,” I retort, hardly able to keep the smile off my face. Something weird is going on, but they’re still able to put me at ease and make me laugh.
“That hurts, Ace,” Gil says. “I thought we were close enough now for you to see the small differences between us. And realize that I’m the better-looking one.” He leans in, lips against my ear. “With a bigger cock.”
It would be so easy to laugh and squirm against him, to tell him I need to feel his cock inside me to make that call, and have them compete in bed for who can satisfy me the best. But that damn voice won’t shut the fuck up.
“I’m sure they were thinking about how they’d love to strip you down and get dirty, but there was something else. It’s like they know who you are.”
“You mean what we are.”
I swallow hard. “Yeah. Gemma is into New Age shit and says she’s communicated with spirits. I know a lot of those people who practice Wicca don’t actually have powers, but do you think any of them do?”
; “I’m sure of it,” Gil says. “Your powers are probably above and beyond, but we’ve encountered a few witches in our day who were able to bend energy in their favor.”
“Shit,” I mumble, and pull my car keys from my purse.
“Ace.” Thomas stops me, grabbing my wrist and pulling me to him. “Relax. Maybe they could sense some magic, but come on, do you really think they jumped to the conclusion that your two incredibly sexy boyfriends are really thousand-year-old Templar Knights who were cursed for the death of a Pagan’s daughter who put love spells on a young, impressionable priest?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what they’re thinking.”
Thomas laughs. “You’re impossible sometimes, Ace, and I love that about you.” Before I can protest, he cups my face and kisses me hard and deep. “Feel better?” he asks when he pulls away.
“Yes, thank you.”
“You can thank me again later.” He winks and takes my hand. “Let’s go home.”
“How are you feeling?” I ask Jacques as soon as I step into the house. I take off my shoes and set the bag of takeout we picked up on the way home on the living room coffee table. He sets his book down and gets up, eyes glimmering when he sees me.
“Much better, thanks to you.” He strides over, grabs me tight around the waist, and plants a big kiss on my lips.
“This is nice,” I breathe, hooking my arms around his neck. I arch my back, pressing my hips into his.
“Hasan told me about the spell.”
“Right! I almost forgot,” I say with a smile, bringing my mouth to his once more. “You’re a little distracting.”
He runs his hands down my arms, stepping back and looking through the house for Thomas and Gilbert, who are just walking through the door.
“Incredible,” Jacques says out loud to himself. He gives my hands a squeeze before letting go so he can look Thomas and Gilbert over. I sit on the couch, heart feeling full as I watch the guys talk.
Hasan comes into the house a moment later, dark eyes shining as he tries not to smile.
“You’re not the only one with surprises,” he says, and flicks his gaze to Jacques, who gives him a tiny nod. Hasan strides forward, holding out his hand.
