First Contact (Heroes of Olympus Book 1)

by April Zyon

  “Then I really would love to know what it feels like. I’ve never had anyone inside of me without one, and I want to know what it feels like with the two of you. I don’t want to go latex-less until I have both of you together, if that’s okay with you?” And hopefully only ever them. She didn’t know why she felt draw to them, but it was intense. She wanted these men a great deal, and needed them in her life forever.

  Gareth smiled at her and wiggled his eyebrows. “A woman who knows what she wants. I like,” he teased. “Better eat up, though, you’re going to need the energy, I have a funny feeling.”

  “I sincerely hope that I will,” Camilla retorted. “Because I definitely want to know what it is to be between you both. To have you both touching me, to be able to touch you both, that thought gives me a full-body shiver.” She wanted everything and they had just met. She was seriously not feeling or acting normally at all, and honestly, she didn’t mind it one bit.

  “We’ll have to see what you like.” He smiled, then frowned. “Have you ever, you know, had two with you at any given time?” he asked cautiously. “Men, I mean.” He rubbed a hand over his short hair.

  Camilla blushed, her pink cheeks stating the truth before she whispered, “No. I’ve never had two men at once. I have at times wondered how it would feel, but I never had anyone I felt comfortable enough with for something like that.”

  “Good to know you’re interested at least.” Gareth chuckled. “But the next question is, are you comfortable enough with the two of us to take that step? Think on it, don’t just go with your gut reaction or hormones. Not saying you’re hormonal, but you’ve been tossed around and had a lot dropped in your lap. So think about it for a second, roll it around in your head, and let the thoughts just tumble until you’re happy they’re right and true.”

  Camilla laughed and nodded. “I will think about it.” She already knew the answer to that question, though. She already knew that she wanted these men, wanted them both. “How long do you want me to think on it?”

  Groaning, he wiped a hand over his face and waved the other. “Mikhail, deal with the woman,” he said.

  Chuckling softly, Mikhail squeezed her closer to him. “As long as you need to think about it. If you know the answer now, you can say it now. But he’s right, you do need to consider this from all the angles. Especially since we’re possessive on the best of days. This wouldn’t just be some fling, Camilla.”

  “I don’t need to think about it,” Camilla admitted. “I’m going to jump in with my heart open and eyes wide. I want this. I want to be able to be a part of something more, something incredible. I really think that I could handle being yours.” She grinned and added, “And don’t worry, I’m possessive as well.”

  Mikhail pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Good to know. As long as you’re sure, then we’re more than happy to have you as part of our lives. For good, if you can put up with us, that is.”

  “Well, I think I could, but why don’t we play it by ear so that you both know if you could handle having me around you for a lifetime as well?” she teased him. “Because we both know there’s a chance that you might not like me in your life, right?”

  Both men gave a snort but didn’t say anything. Whether it was a good sign, she wasn’t sure. Gareth looked at his watch. “All right, I have to head into town to start this shopping trip, otherwise I won’t make it back in time for the borscht fiasco happening in there,” he said, getting to his feet.

  “I think I’ll go and help James and Wyatt with the dinner plans. I don’t want to be bored, so why not.” She sighed and stood. “Be careful, you two?” she asked with a grin. “And give me a hug and kiss before you leave me here to those heathens.”

  “I’m not going with him,” Mikhail said with a shudder. “Besides, I usually get conned into cooking so I don’t have to. I get to go out to the east fence where it’s quiet and see if anything needs mending. You could come with me instead. If you wanted to, that is,” he offered.

  “Yes, please.” Camilla jumped on that quickly. “I would much rather go with you instead of staying around here. I’ll go and pack a cooler for us. Now, I just need to know where the coolers are.” She wanted to spend some time with Mikhail, especially after the amazing night and morning they had spent together.

  “Pantry off the kitchen,” Gareth said with a laugh. “Are you saying you don’t want to stick around and be interrogated by the nosey twins?” he said with a wink. “Aw. That will hurt their feelings when I tell them and blow the tale totally out of proportion.”

  “Heavens, no,” Camilla grumbled. “I would much rather have time with Mikhail.” She looked at Gareth and shook her head. “Oh, you are a mischief maker. You’re so bad.”

  “I don’t mind in the least.” He chuckled. “And yes, ma’am, I am,” he said with a chuckle. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “I will see you later,” he told her before he headed into the house.

  “Come on, I’ll dig down a cooler for you, otherwise I see you trying to climb the shelves,” Mikhail said.

  “Are they up high?” At his look, she laughed. “Of course they are. Okay. Come on, you big lug, you, and pull down a cooler for me. I’ll start to put sandwiches together for us to have a picnic lunch, if you’ll fill it with ice or ice packs?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Mikhail snapped her a salute. At her droll look, he shrugged and held the door open for her. “You’d make a half-decent drill sergeant, Camilla. But I’ll get the cooler and the ice packs and then I need to load up the Jeep so I have stuff if I need it. You’ll be on your own for a few minutes.”

  “No, she won’t,” Wyatt said. “We’re here.” He grinned at her.

  “Like I said, on your own,” Mikhail muttered as he went past her.

  Camilla laughed. “That’s okay. I think I’ll survive. Wyatt and James might not, but we’ll see,” she teased. “Who knows, I might get their happy asses back to work on something I want them to do.”

  “Just make sure they’re making dinner, otherwise their asses will be grass,” Mikhail said from the other room.

  “The borscht is ready to start cooking,” James said. “We’re working on the main course now, thank you very much. Which is a hell of a lot easier,” he muttered.

  “Well, all that I know is you two were seriously over listening to my conversation with Mikhail and Gareth, and it shouldn’t have been on your list of things to listen to. Or something like that.” Okay, so she wasn’t making a great deal of sense, but then again, Mikhail was close and she couldn’t seem to think straight when he gave her a hot look like the one he was giving her now, the one that made her pussy wet and made her ache. Damn, and it had only been one day.

  Mikhail lifted a brow at her and set the cooler before her on the counter. Leaning in, he put his lips close to her ear. “You should know, when you think about sex your nipples get hard and you start to pant.” He kissed her cheek and went to the double-wide fridge to pull open the bottom freezer drawer.

  Camilla fanned herself. Holy hell, he knew how to read her. He knew how to play her, and she loved it. However, she managed to brush off his words and began to pull out fixings for their sandwiches, laughing at the jokes that Wyatt and James were telling as she did so.

  Mikhail wandered out of the kitchen and then back through a couple of times to various spots in the house. Each time he came through, he lugged something over his shoulder. As she finished, she heard a vehicle pull up and then away from the house, before there was some definite banging around a distance away.

  Camilla frowned and cocked her head. “What in the name of heaven is he doing?” She moved away from cooler she had been packing for them and to the doorway. She watched Mikhail before finally calling to him. “You weren’t planning on leaving me behind, were you?”

  He turned to shoot her a look and lifted an eyebrow. “Do you think I would?” He hefted something heavy and dropped it into the back of the Jeep. The vehicle bounced a bit from the weight.

/>   “I didn’t think that you would, but heavens, I don’t know. Remember, we just met and I know that I’m a bit of a hard pill to swallow at times, and I talk a lot, and I know that’s something you aren’t used to, really.” She continued to chatter, only stopping when he came up and kissed her. That was when she simply leaned into him and became quiet, except for the moans that she couldn’t help.

  He drew away, his thumbs stroking over her cheeks. “Camilla, I don’t mind if you want to talk all night long. Just remember that, on occasion, I’m going to want your mouth otherwise engaged.”

  She licked her lips and smiled. “I think that I could deal with that.” With just a kiss, he had her shutting up and leaning into him. With just a kiss, she wanted more. She wanted to have her mouth otherwise occupied. Goodness, the man could work her and she loved it. “So what can I do to help?”

  “Go make sure you have at least a half-dozen bottles of water in that cooler and some juice as well. I’ll finish loading the equipment, then come and collect you. I won’t be more than another couple of minutes.” Mikhail gave her another quick kiss before turning her around and smacking her ass to get her moving.

  She did as he told her. With her lips tingling from the kisses he gave her, she felt stunned.

  When he came back into the kitchen she had everything packed and sat on a stool watching the two men cooking and laughing at something that they said. She looked up and grinned. “So you have everything loaded up and ready?”

  Nodding, he picked up the cooler and braced it on his hip. “Let’s get going before they start telling you tall tales they shouldn’t. Especially since they usually begin with, ‘there was this chick.’ From there, it goes downhill.”

  Wyatt slapped a hand to his chest. “I’m wounded. We always start those stories with, ‘there was this smoking-hot babe.’”

  Both Wyatt and James burst out laughing, and Mikhail just rolled his eyes. “Come on, Camilla, you don’t need to be exposed to them any more than you already have been.”

  Camilla snickered. “Oh, good lord. That’s like the classic, hey, y’all, watch this!” Camilla liked these men, which surprised her. She more than liked Mikhail and Gareth, however. She moved away from the men and to Mikhail. Slipping her hand into his, she looked up at him. “You missed me, didn’t you?”

  He looked at her and seemed to be considering.

  “Shh, I want to hear his answer,” James said, in a not-so-quiet tone.

  “Dude, he’s either going to dig himself a hole or turn her to putty. We know which way this is going.”

  “He’s got some mad skills, though. One’s he’s been apparently been hiding,” James grumbled. “You think you know someone after years and years of working together.”

  “You thought him a mute for the first three months we worked with him,” Wyatt said with a snorted laugh.

  “He didn’t say anything! Y’all just seemed to know what he was saying with those little facial tics and shit. You could have told me,” James said.

  “Yeah, but it’s not half as fun as you sitting there trying to figure out what he’s trying to say three inches from his face. I thought for sure he was going to pop you one in the nose.”

  “Thanks, bro. I’m really feeling the love here,” James sputtered.

  Mikhail looked to the ceiling, then tugged her hand. He shot a dark look toward the twosome as he guided her out the door. “We really need to get muzzles for them,” he said, leading her to the Jeep. After putting the cooler in, he looked to her. “You really don’t need to believe anything those two clowns tell you.”

  “Oh, they’re pretty funny. I don’t know. I kind of like to listen to them talking and getting themselves in trouble. One day, those two will find a woman or women that are going to turn them inside out, and then what? What will happen then? That’s the real question here.” Getting into the truck, she said, “You never answered. Did you miss me?”

  “You’re going to make me answer that?” he asked, sliding behind the wheel. When he looked over, he rolled his eyes. Obviously, her expression was enough of an answer for him. He mumbled under his breath, though it was nothing she could understand, so she guessed it was his native language. “Yes, I missed you,” he answered finally.

  Camilla grinned and leaned over to brush her lips to his cheek. Against his ear, she whispered, “Good. I missed you too, big guy.” Patting his chest, she wiggled and moved so she could sit at his side. “There, much better,” she said happily, and leaned her head on his shoulder. “I am growing very attached to you, Mikhail. That’s a good thing by the way, just in case you were wondering.”

  “Nope, wasn’t wondering at all.” At her look, he shrugged. “I figured you’d tell me. You seem to like to talk, a lot,” he said, his lips twitching slightly. He pressed a kiss to her nose. “It would eventually have popped out of your very cute mouth.”

  “I do like to talk a lot, but you are such a great listener, so why wouldn’t I?” Camilla rewarded him with a kiss to the bottom of his chin. “Besides, you like to talk. At least to me, you talk. I don’t know if you do with anyone else, but you do with me. That makes me a happy girl. I love to carry on a conversation with you, by the way. And I do love to talk, but that’s mostly because of being a teacher.” Her next words were cut off by his kiss.

  Camilla wrapped her hands around his neck. Oh, she liked to talk all right, but only so that he would kiss her to shut her up.

  He let out a low growl that filled her body with heat. Lifting his head, he licked his lips slowly before drawing back a little more. “Behave yourself, woman,” he ordered. He gave her another quick peck before he loosened her hold on him and got the Jeep moving.

  Camilla just grinned as she sat at Mikhail’s side, her hand in his and happiness building inside of her.

  Chapter Nine

  After an afternoon out helping Mikhail fix fences, Mikhail and Camilla returned to the house for dinner—which had turned out to be damn good. Camilla had been worried about their dinner after the fiasco that morning, but Wyatt and James had pulled out all the stops. Borscht for their starter soup and slow-cooked roast beef, baby potatoes with garlic butter, glazed carrots, and grilled asparagus for the main. Dessert, mini eclairs that melted on her tongue, had even been a shocker. Not that James or Wyatt had made it: Gareth had picked it up from a locally owned bakery.

  The other men had even begun to warm toward her. Though Nolan seemed a little wary still, and Lincoln appeared closed off. Gareth had told her that Lincoln was just that way, even with them on occasion, and to not take offense.

  Stefan and Antonio were on dish duty, so everyone else had scattered pretty much right after the meal—though not before many jokes were called out, but quickly enough they were dragged into helping the two men. Camilla found herself alone with Gareth, as Mikhail was having a conversation with Nolan that looked serious. They headed off, but not before he shot her an apologetic look.

  “Don’t worry about it, he’ll be back later,” Gareth said. “We likely have a mission coming up soon. Since Mikhail’s our sniper, Nolan likes to get his distinctly unique point of view on any locations we might end up in. Come on, let’s take a lazy walk to help digest dinner.”

  “Ah, okay.” Camilla slipped her hand into Gareth’s and smiled up at him. “You just want to steal me away for a bit, admit it. That’s okay, though, I’m totally good with it. I can’t wait for you to kiss me, touch me. You know, the little things.”

  “You’re babbling, sweetheart,” he said with a grin. “I kind of like it. I like the idea of you being so thrown for a loop by how much of a stud I am, how my charisma overwhelms you, and by the fact that my sexual pull is frazzling your brain. I’ll try to tone it down a bit for you.”

  Camilla laughed; she couldn’t have stopped the laugh if she’d tried. “Oh God.” She was giggling now, at least, no longer gut laughing. “Well, tell you what.” She looked up at him with heat and need in her gaze. “How about you show me just how m
uch I will need you in my life? I have a feeling that it’s going to be a lot.” She left it at that. Camilla wanted to know his thoughts on them being together.

  She found herself spun and then pushed up against one of porch pillars. Gareth’s heat warmed every inch of her front. “You already know you need me.” Lowering his head, he brushed his lips to her jaw, moving down her throat to the hard beat of her pulse where he paused and gave a nip.

  Camilla panted and nodded. “I do,” she confessed as she rubbed against him. “I just needed you to show me that you needed me, too.” Mikhail and Gareth meant something to her, something important and special. She wanted and needed more from both men.

  “I need you, don’t ever doubt that. I’ve wanted you since I tackled you, Camilla. I just didn’t think it would be wise in that moment to mention that I wanted to strip you naked and fuck you silly. What with the were, and people shooting, and all that.”

  “Good point. So what do you plan on doing about this need that we are both feeling?” she asked him with an edge of desperation to her tone. “Because I have to tell you, I want you. I’m burning up with need for you.”

  “I think I should take you upstairs or out to the little cabin, and we should get naked. The choice is yours. I want you naked, though. Soon,” he said against her ear before gently biting the lobe and tugging.

  “I really love how you think,” she whispered. “I don’t care where we go, I just need to go somewhere so that we can get naked with each other.”

  “Like I said, sweetheart, it’s all your choice. Upstairs in my room or the cabin without a soul around. Pick quickly, Camilla, or I might just strip you down here, bend you over the railing, and take you. To hell with who wanders by,” Gareth told her.

  “Then let’s get up to your room if it is closer. I’m assuming it’s soundproof as well?” she asked hopefully. “Right now, I would let you bare my ass to the world so you could fuck me. Plain and simple.”