Excited, she walked out of her room and down the stairs quickly. With care, she opened the front door as quietly as she could before she stepped out onto the front porch, closing it soundlessly behind her. The night was warm and humid, making the air heavy, but she knew that wouldn’t be a hindrance. Even the crickets that were singing their nightly song seemed to be encouraging her to fly on her own.
Eyes closed, arms to her side, she thought of nothing but the stars until she felt her feet lift off the porch. Within seconds, she was above the house. She twirled and treaded the air as she had been taught to do. It was wonderfully exhilarating, intoxicating even, and the most addicting experience that she could ever imagine. Nothing could possibly feel as good as this.
She focused on her body and how it felt, letting herself feel the warm air beneath her, lifting her even higher. She spiraled upward and out toward the woods where she flew above the trees. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness easily, giving her a clear view of the pond below her. It was beautiful.
She wasn’t sure how long she darted up and down and back and forth across the pond, her feet sometimes just skimming the water before she pushed herself higher and higher. The lights below her became smaller, twinkling like little fireflies. She had never flown this high before. She wanted to go even higher.
“Amber.” She heard the voice before she saw a shape bearing down on her. No one knew she was here. Panic enveloped her. She felt herself falling into the darkness below, her body suddenly heavy. She made an attempt to right herself, but she was falling so fast that she couldn’t think herself upright. And then there was nothing except the blackness that engulfed her.
When she opened her eyes, all she felt was a dull pain in her head. She thought she was being carried, but she wasn’t sure. She tried, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open. They fluttered shut as she sank back into the darkness. The next time she tried to open them, she heard voices. She tried to focus and with as much effort as she could muster, she forced her eyes open.
“Amber.”
The same voice she had heard just before she had lost herself and dropped from the sky penetrated through the painful fog in her brain. She had heard that voice before.
“Amber, can you hear me?”
“Yes,” she managed to say, feeling extreme irritation toward the man who had ruined her evening.
“How are you feeling?”
“Markus?”
“Yes, it’s me. I saw you flying by yourself. I just wanted to talk to you. I had no idea you would go into a flip and fall.”
“You startled me. You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Markus,” a deeper male voice said sharply, causing Markus to turn from her. “Give me some room. I need to take a look at her.” There was authority as well as impatience in the man’s voice.
Markus immediately backed away from her. The man now leaning over her was older than Markus by at least ten years or so. However, they looked so much alike, she knew that they had to be brothers. They both had the same long, dark hair, blue eyes, and chiseled features. She stared at him as his face came closer to hers. His good looks were unfortunately marred by his mouth that was set in a grim line. His eyes were anything but friendly as he observed her.
“Amber, I’m Nathaniel, Markus’s brother. I’m also a doctor. Stay still while I examine you.”
A bright light went from one eye to the other. She wanted to blink, but he held her lid open.
“Am I okay?”
“Yes, you’re fine. You suffered a mild concussion when your head hit a tree branch. At least that’s what Markus said happened before he caught you.”
“I couldn’t believe how fast you fell, Amber. I got to you as fast as I could.” Markus came to stand beside his brother. “You could have been killed. Why were you flying by yourself?”
“I was doing fine until you yelled my name.”
“Obviously, you’re not ready to fly on your own if you can lose your concentration so easily,” Nathaniel said with irritation, one hand feeling the side of her head. “The lump seems to be going down already.”
“I have to go home,” Amber said, trying to pull herself from the bed before she realized that she was only wearing her panties. The T-shirt she had been wearing had been removed, leaving her ample breasts naked and in full view of the two men.
“Where’s my shirt?”
“I cut it off,” Nathaniel said without apology. “It was filthy. I needed to see if you had more than just a bump on the head.”
“I’ll go get you one of my shirts,” Markus offered, his eyes lingering on her breasts.
“Yes, do that,” Nathaniel said sharply while his eyes remained on Amber. She could feel her nipples harden. She covered herself quickly with the sheet.
“You’re a doctor?”
“Yes, I’m a doctor. My specialty is horses.”
“Horses! You’re a vet?”
“Yes, but I know a concussion when I see it, and I also know a foolish girl with no consideration for own safety when I see it, too!”
“You’re not even a real doctor. You should have never taken off my shirt.” She could feel the heat rushing to her face. She wanted to slap that arrogant look of self-righteousness right off his face. How dare he judge her? “You had no right.”
“I had every right. You were unconscious, and my brother was scared to death. How dare you put him in danger, as well? He could have been hurt flying to your rescue, and all because you selfishly went flying alone before you were ready.”
“How do you know I didn’t have permission?”
“Did you?”
Amber looked away. “No.”
“That’s what I thought. No one would allow you to fly by yourself after only a few weeks. Especially someone who has never practiced any form of witchcraft before. I know your grandmother, and she would never allow it.”
“My grandmother,” she whispered to herself.
Looking up at Nathaniel, whose face was like a thundercloud, she said quickly, “Tell me you didn’t call my grandmother.”
“If I had, don’t you think she’d be here already?”
He was right. She knew Nana would have been by her side if she thought her granddaughter had been hurt. Breathing a sigh of relief, she lowered her head back down on the pillow. She didn’t want this man to see her cry, but everything just seemed to hit her all at once. She could have been killed, or at the least, seriously hurt. Markus’s brother had spoken the truth. She had acted without thought for anyone but herself. Her newfound freedom had gone to her head. She so desperately wanted to prove herself to be worthy of the family that had opened their arms to her. Instead, she could have brought them terrible pain.
“I wasn’t thinking.” She kept her eyes averted from his, fighting the tears that were already falling down her cheeks.
“That’s an understatement.”
“Damn it, Nathaniel,” Markus said, walking back into the room carrying a shirt that he handed to Amber. “You’ve made her cry. You promised you’d take it easy on her.”
Amber couldn’t bear to hear another word from either one of them. Ignoring the shirt, she rolled onto her stomach, burying her head in the pillow, and sobbed. All she had wanted to do was make her family proud, and here she was with two strange men who may have been trying to help her, but now made her feel like a horse’s ass—something she was sure Nathaniel knew something about. If she hadn’t been so distraught, she might have laughed.
“Amber.” Nathaniel’s voice softened. “You’re going to be okay. Your family knows nothing about this, and that’s the way we’ll keep it…as long as you take care not to do something like this again.”
She felt the warmth of his hand that gently caressed her back. This one act of kindness overwhelmed her as she began to sob even harder.
The hand slipped from her back when without warning, she felt herself being lifted roughly upward and turned. A sharp slap across her cheek stunned her and stopped her tears.
“What the fuck, Nathaniel?” Markus yelled.
“She’s hysterical. I only did what she needed.”
Amber stared up at Nathaniel. She touched her cheek, feeling the heat from his hand. She hiccupped. She didn’t know a lot about men, practically nothing, but being held in Nathaniel’s arms with her breasts in full view of not only him but his brother brought a wet warmth to a place that she knew was wrong. She felt herself blush, but at least she wasn’t crying anymore.
Nathaniel abruptly let her go and grabbed his brother’s shirt from the bed. He helped her into it and began to button it. “You need to go home,” he said gruffly.
“I’ll take her,” Markus offered.
“You stay here. You’ve done enough for one night. Besides, Parker will be home shortly. You can tell him where I am and fill him in on what happened.”
Nathaniel lifted her into his arms and practically ran with her from the room and out the front door. He stopped just outside and adjusted her body so she was flush against him before he wrapped his arms around her and shot upward into the night sky. From the crook of Nathaniel’s’ neck, she could see Markus becoming smaller as he stood on the front lawn of what appeared to be a huge house that was much larger than Nana’s.
She could smell Nathaniel’s aftershave. It was a combination of woodsy and fresh mint. She liked it. Subconsciously she snuggled closer into him. She felt his muscled arms hold onto her even tighter. She knew he could feel her hard nipples pressed into his chest. The warmth generated between her legs was wet and tingly. This was how she had felt in her dreams. But this wasn’t a dream.
She knew it was wrong to feel this way, but she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a man like the one holding her kiss her, touch her intimately. Mentally shaking herself, she tried to think of something else. She must still be suffering the effects of the bump on her head. She was sure Nathaniel couldn’t wait to dump her at her house and be done with her.
They hadn’t flown long when Nathaniel began his descent, slowly circling until their feet touched the ground. His hands slid slowly down her buttocks. Amber could have sworn she heard him groan as he pushed her away from him. When she wobbled, he grabbed her, holding her upright.
“Just relax,” he said. “We’ll stand here for a few minutes until you are sure on your feet.”
She nodded, lifting her eyes to his that registered only anger. He must hate her for putting his brother in danger. But she had been doing so well before Markus scared her
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, “that you had to bring me home. Thank you for taking care of me.”
Nathaniel was still holding her at arm’s length. “Just promise me you won’t go flying by yourself again and that will be thanks enough.”
She didn’t answer him right away. Not because she intended to go flying alone again, but because she felt an overwhelming sadness envelope her. What was wrong with her?
“You little fool,” Nathaniel growled as he pulled her body into his, forcing her to look up at him.
“Don’t even think about flying by yourself or I’ll tell your grandmother what you’ve been up to. Do you understand?” He all but shook her. “To say nothing of what I’ll do to you if I catch you.”
She looked deeply into those blue eyes that bored into hers. He made her whole body shiver and shake as if she had a fever. She leaned upward, sensing she should. For a moment, the crickets ceased their singing and the wind stopped. All that existed was Nathaniel. His lips were so close to hers she could almost taste them. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, he was gone. She felt such a sense of loss she went to her knees.
This is crazy, she thought to herself. I’m crazy. One minute I’m infatuated with Markus and the next his brother. This must be what my father sensed in me and why my mother wouldn’t fight to keep me. She knew my true nature would eventually come out.
Tying to still the beating of her heart, she waited a few seconds before she picked herself up and quietly climbed the porch steps. The door opened silently, and she went into the house, closing it behind her. Too tired to do anything else, she climbed the stairs and threw herself onto her bed. She wanted to sink into oblivion, but instead thoughts of the two men that she had just left kept her awake.
Her fingers seemed to have a mind of their own as she unbuttoned Markus’s shirt and began to touch herself, imaging it was Nathaniel and Markus. She couldn’t stop the erotic thoughts that soaked her panties. She moaned as she felt pleasure radiate throughout her body. Finally, she fell into a deep sleep that brought with it not just two, but three dark figures that blended with her own as if they were a part of her.
Chapter Four
Nathaniel circled back to the Linden farm, knowing he should be flying in the opposite direction as fast as possible. He was drawn to Amber in a way he had never been drawn to a woman. It was unsettling and, if he were truthful, exciting. She could be the one they had been seeking to make them complete. If that were true, the fact that she was Mardi’s cousin might complicate things, but it certainly wouldn’t keep him or his brothers from claiming what was there’s. He had to see her again. It was the only way he could be sure he wasn’t being misguided by what his heart was telling him was true.
He could see her lying on her bed from where he hovered outside her bedroom window. He heard a soft moan escape her lips. He slipped soundlessly in through her bedroom window and waited. The house was silent. He knew Bess Linden would have sensed him if she were younger.
He watched Amber from where he was leaning against the wall near her bedroom window. She looked so vulnerable curled up on her bed, too tired to even get in under the covers or take his brother’s shirt off that was unbuttoned, making him painfully aware of his erection. Her long, blonde hair framed her face and ran down her back. She was a beautiful woman who had no idea what that body of hers did to a man’s libido.
He knew Markus was taken with her and had been since he had first met her. But Markus had been taken with a lot of women. But then he had witnessed firsthand how his brother had looked at her when she had finally opened her eyes. There was joy, but there was also a deep-rooted need. Could he blame him when he wanted her, too? He had told himself taking off her shirt had been a necessity in order to make sure she had no other bruising. He was a doctor, even if his usual patients had four legs. However, he hadn’t been immune to the sight of her rose-tipped breasts. They were magnificent. She was perfect in every way. Markus had caught him staring at her with his mouth open before he had shooed him away. He wondered if his brother, Parker, would have been as eager for her had he been there and not out at the Johann’s farm birthing a calf.
He couldn’t take his eyes off Amber’s now-sleeping form. He wanted nothing more than to wake her up by climbing on top of her and fucking her awake. Her thoughts and feelings had been raw and unguarded, and he could still feel them. It took every bit of willpower he possessed not to go to her and give her what she so desperately wanted even in sleep.
Why did she have to be Bess Linden’s granddaughter? She was a woman who was known for being extremely protective of her family, especially after losing her own daughter and granddaughter so many years ago. No matter that Mardi had gone after Markus, Bess still blamed all of them for not taking more care with her granddaughter.
From what Markus had told him, Mardi was still not over their rejection. She was an attractive girl, but he and Parker had never seen her as anything more than a member of their Coven. Markus had been more taken with her, but even he had realized she was nothing more than a flirtation. Her infatuation with Markus had taken an epic turn that Markus hadn’t sensed and she had overruled her own instincts that would have made her see the truth.
But Amber—she was different. She hadn’t even tried to seduce him, and he was hard for her, wanting to bite and suck those luscious nipples while embedding his cock deep within her to make her scream with her need. He could feel her heat even though he
was only watching her sleep. He knew it was because she was dreaming of him and Markus, possibly even Parker. She connected with them in a way no woman ever had.
Leaving from the window he entered, he rose above the house and set a path back toward his own home, still surrounded by thoughts of the sleeping woman he had just left.
Parker was waiting for him when he walked in the door.
“You delivered the package safe and sound?” Parker asked, smiling.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Nathaniel responded.
“Calving can be difficult, but this one was relatively easy. Mother and baby are doing fine.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Well,” Parker said, “what the hell happened tonight?”
“What did Markus tell you?”
“Did you bond with her, too?”
Nathaniel looked away for a moment. He had no secrets from his brothers, but admitting how intensely his body and soul reacted to this woman was something he found disconcerting and unfamiliar.
“She’s not like any woman I’ve ever met before. To be honest, I wasn’t sure I ever would.”
“Markus pretty much told me the same thing.”
“I guess you’ll have to meet her, and soon,” Nathaniel said, standing in front of his brother.
Markus entered the room. “I thought I heard you. If anything had happened to her because of me, I would’ve never forgiven myself. She looked so pale and almost dead when I brought her to you. I kept checking to make sure she was breathing.”
Bewitched by Three (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 3
