by April Zyon
Thomas pocketed the phone, and turned a smile full of charm her way. “Ares says hi,” he told her in a goofy voice.
Pepper snickered and shook her head. She turned slightly so she could see him as well. “You are too funny. And I can’t help that I have to pee often.” When she was ten her father had beaten her so badly that it damaged her kidneys, and she couldn’t hold her urine since then.
Thomas smiled, and leaned over the seat to kiss her. “We know. It’s okay, and we truly don’t mind. I’m only teasing you because I can.” He gave her another slow kiss before he settled back in his seat to watch their tail for a time.
“Get some rest, Thomas,” Lincoln said. “I can keep an eye on things, and Pepper can help, too. I doubt we’ll see them for a while yet. They’ll need to catch up with us for one, and still come up with a plan for whatever they might be up to.”
“Yeah, okay. Wake me if you see anything out of place.” He took another look out the back before he rearranged himself so he was mostly stretched out in the backseat. Pulling the ball cap he was carrying around from his jacket pocket, Thomas settled it over his face to block out the sunlight.
Pepper watched Thomas for several minutes and knew when he fell asleep. “How can he fall asleep that fast? It’s like he just shut everything out and shut down. So wild.”
“It’s a trick you learn in the military. First rules of being in a combat zone are to always have a weapon, eat when you can, and sleep any chance you can get. It’s hard at first, but eventually you figure out a way that works for you. Usually it’s controlled breathing, tightening every muscle up and then letting them loosen one group at a time. From there it’s a quieting of the mind, before you focus on one sound, or thought, and let yourself be lulled into sleep. Of course, there are as many techniques as there are people in the military, but the basics are the same. If you can relax your body, and slow your breathing, from there it’s finding the trigger that lets you go out fast.”
“That’s likely part of my issue. I have a hard time just relaxing. I can’t get my brain to quiet down enough so that I can fall asleep. I’m always thinking of something, anything. It was a protective measure when I was a child, but it’s been years since I’ve had to worry about being beaten. However, I think that I could sleep with the two of you easily. As long as you are both holding me I think I could rest.”
“We will definitely both be holding you,” he said. Lincoln threw her a quick look, and sighed. “We can teach you some of the techniques we use if you’re interested. If sleeping between us doesn’t help you drop off after rounds and rounds of wild and crazy sex, of course. If you still need something to help slow your mind down, we can give you a few useful tools.”
Snickering, she shook her head. “Oh darling, I’m positive that I will be ready for sleep if I have the two of you with me. The whole hot and crazy sex thing has me wanting to know and feel more. I can’t wait for us to try everything that we can do together.”
Lifting her hand, he pressed a kiss to her fingers before she felt his teeth sink into the meat of the digit slightly. He was grinning at her when he let their joined hands drop. “When you are safe we will give you whatever you want, however you want, and whenever you might like it. As long as Kasper never finds out about anything we’re doing.”
“My father underestimated her. So did a lot of people. She’s tough as nails. I hope to be like her one day. Fearless and not allowing my past to create shadows in my mind. I think with having the two of you on my side I will be able to do just that. Be fearless. Not let the shadows sneak up on me. I look forward to that moment in time as well. But you’re right, we won’t tell Kas anything we do in the bedroom.”
“I happen to think you’re pretty fantastic as you are, sweetheart. But I might be a little bit biased.” Lincoln shifted in his seat to a more relaxed position, and checked all the mirrors. “Mikhail’s looking forward to finally getting to meet you. He’s heard a lot about you from Kas. I should warn you now, he was a sniper in the military, and has that whole thousand-yard stare of death thing down to a perfectly crafted art form. Don’t let it throw you. Be yourself, and remember to tease his too serious ass as much as possible.”
“Right. I’ll try not to tease him.” She grinned and rubbed her thumb over the top of his hand. “Kas has talked about me? I know that she and I have talked every week, but I didn’t think she would talk about me. My father ensured that I didn’t see her very often.” Because if Kasper had seen her she would have been taken from her father long before she had been.
“She talks about you all the time,” he told her softly. “Kas loves you, sweetheart. She’s incredibly proud of you, and all you’ve done to make a place for yourself in the world. There are days she gets off the phone, and she’ll bounce around the house like a giddy little sugared up kid. When she and Mik are cooking she’ll tell him all about you. She worries about you, too, though I figure you likely already knew that.”
Pepper nodded. “I know that she worried about me. I was glad that I was there alone. I know how odd that sounds, but it’s true. It allowed me time to grow into the woman that I am now. I couldn’t have done that if I had gone home with Kasper and you guys.” The storm was letting up outside she noticed. “I don’t think that I would have been able to stay with you guys if I am this final Key. Right?”
“Back then?” he asked. At her nod he shook his head slowly. “No, unfortunately not. Of course, we didn’t actually know then. No one knew who the final key was back then. We didn’t know any of the keys except for Camilla, and Kasper at that point. Until a key is revealed by the Fates no one, not even the gods, know who it is. There’s an idea of course since there are several women out in the world with watchers. They are all descendants of the gods, which means they were all possible keys. Now that we know you’re the last one they can all ease up on the protection details a bit.”
“Yes, I would image that would help ease a lot of people’s fears. They won’t be left out in the dark completely, would they? The other women. They won’t be left without someone to ensure that they have long and worthwhile lives?”
“The gods will keep watch over them, but it won’t be as close or constant. Other than that, I don’t know for sure. They aren’t exactly what we call big sharers in the information game. We’re lucky to get as much as we do because of our part in it all. But for the others I really couldn’t say for sure, sweetheart. We’ll ask one of them when we get home.”
“Hopefully they will share that with us. If they don’t, well I guess we will have to go on faith that there is someone watching over them. If I am this last key, then once we all bond there won’t be a chance of Hades getting out, right? But what about Hera, the woman who was supposed to have watched over me? She didn’t. If she would have she wouldn’t have put me into a place where I was beaten daily, nearly died several times, and was utterly miserable. Right?” She didn’t want to think that harshly of someone, but the facts were pretty clear that Hera hadn’t lifted a finger to ensure that Pepper was safe and protected.
He made a face, and shot her a look full of worry. “The gods can only do so much. They are not actually allowed to interfere in the daily lives of humans. While most of them have found ways to get around the rule that Zeus put into place, it’s still limited. Hera is a bitch, plain and simple. The fact you are Zeus’s granddaughter makes it all the worse in her eyes. She wanted a faithful man, and instead she got one of the worst man-whores out there. Technically he’s a god-whore, I guess. Doesn’t matter. My guess is she aggravated the issue and situations more, all in a bid to get at you until he showed up to stop her. Only he didn’t, which really would have gotten her going. She cannot stand to be ignored from what Apollo told us. Best way to send her from bitch to nuclear is to talk around her like she doesn’t exist according to him.”
“Fabulous. So I won’t ever have to meet this man, will I?” Pepper knew she shouldn’t ask that, but she did all the same. “I’m sure that h
e’s not the asshole that I’m thinking that he is right now, but I won’t have to have a meet granddaddy day or anything like that, will I?” She was certain that if she did she would likely cuss him out.
“None of the gods can pop into the house except for Ares. And he’s only permitted as far as the kitchen. Beyond that he has to watch. The other gods, and goddesses, can pop into the yard but then have to gain permission to enter the house. A few we’ve given standing invitations to ‘cause we like them, and they are family to us. As for Zeus, he’s never shown up for a visit. We saw him once when we were on Olympus training. He’s big and scary, not someone I want to have a beer with.” Lincoln shrugged. “He might show up, or he may never come around. I can’t honestly say. But this I do know, if you don’t want to see him you never have to. Period.”
“Thank you. I think that should I ever see him I will have you with me. I refuse to meet him alone. You guys would have been given something to protect you from the gods because of the training that you all did together, right? If not, we will have one of the other gods that you think of as friend or family there with us during that time. Again, that’s a big if.”
He pressed her hand to his chest, and shot her a quick look. “We will be with you if he shows up. And all it will take is one call to get the others to come to our aid should we deem it necessary. Both the gods, and our family. We are resistant to most of what the gods can do to other humans because of the training, and the activation of our own previously dormant abilities we inherited, so there is that. But Zeus is the King of the Gods, so it’s always best to have a couple of the high rollers as backup.”
“I think that you’re right. Although, if what Ares said is true, then I can access his mojo, or whatever it’s called. Right?” She knew that she certainly brought on enough storms when she was upset or scared. She didn’t even know she had been doing it until they explained it. “I will have the two of you with me, so that’s more than enough. It’s necessary and makes me happy.”
“Not his mojo,” he said with a chuckle. “His abilities. With a little training you’ll be able to wield them just as he would, or close to it. You already do that now, without knowing it, by creating storms. Some training will help for sure. Plus, God help you get stuck facing Hera.”
“This is too true. Let’s hope that we don’t have to face off against anyone.” She looked at the rain and squeezed his hand. “I never put the storms with all my emotions. Good news, you guys will know if I’m scared or sad at least. Right?”
He frowned. “Hopefully those days are very few, and extremely far between. I don’t like the idea of you being upset, and I really hate the idea of you being scared. Makes me more than a little testy to even think of it.”
“Me too. But I know I have you two to help bring me back to the happy zone again, if I need it.” She brought their hands to her mouth and kissed the back of his palm. “I’m glad that you guys are mine.”
He flicked a finger out to tap the end of her nose, and smiled. “Always yours,” he said. “Why don’t you relax for a bit? With the storm still settling down we’ve got some time before they’ll be able to pick us up again, if they do. Get in a nap if you can before Thomas and I switch places.”
“Sounds good.”
She moved so that she could lay her head on his shoulder and hand on his thigh. She felt better with him there touching her. She felt better touching him. Her eyes closed, and soon she was falling sound asleep.
Chapter Six
After another quick dinner, and gassing up the car again, they were back on the road. This time Thomas was behind the wheel while Lincoln slept in the back. Pepper messed with the radio, searching for a station that had some form of decent music on it. Throwing a look at all his mirrors as he eased the car through the streets of the town they’d stopped in, Thomas was relieved not to see any tail.
Given the hour, and the small-town feel, anyone from out of town would have been noticeable. But so far nothing. He’d checked in with Ares while he and Lincoln waited on Pepper outside the ladies’ room gas station and the god hadn’t had anything to update. Still no Hera sightings, and no sign of the Fates, either. Apparently, the latter was causing some concern among the Gods. The Fates occasionally fucked off for parts unknown, but it was going on a week now where not one god, or demi-god, had seen them. Not good.
Glancing over at Pepper when she sat back, he grinned at her. “How are you doing?” he asked.
She seemed to be fine, but he was worried for her. They really hadn’t talked a whole lot more about the whole deal with the keys. While he and Lincoln had told her about the bonding and how it worked through unprotected sex with the three of them, there really hadn’t been much discussion. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
She shrugged her shoulder, and he could almost see the thoughts going through her head. “We don’t have to bond right away, do we?” She had turned in the seat to ask her question. “I want to get to know you both first before we have unprotected sex. I am not on any sort of birth control because I never needed it, and I would worry that we would end up pregnant sooner rather than later.” She sat wringing her hands. “It’s not that I don’t care for you, and lord only knows I want to have sex with you both, but I’m not ready to be a mom yet.” He watched as she inhaled and worried what she would say next. “My father beat my mother as well. I was an unplanned pregnancy. No matter how many times he beat her he couldn’t get rid of me in the womb. I just, I can’t do that to you guys or myself. I know you would never hurt me, please understand that, but it’s so ingrained in me that it’s going to take time for me to get over some of the things in the past.” The rain started a light shower as a tear traced down her cheek.
Checking around them, Thomas pulled off to the side of the road, and threw the car into park. After ensuring the hazards were on he turned to look at her, reaching over to cup her cheek.
“Hey, come here,” he whispered. Pulling her in gently as close as he could manage in the car, he wrapped his arms around her. “We don’t have to do a damn thing until you are ready for it, Pepper. Sex, the bonding, anything. When you are ready we’ll take the next step. As to a pregnancy off the bonding, I don’t know if it’s possible, or even a worry. Not saying that to push you in any way, but putting it out there as something we’d have to discuss with the gods since they would be the ones to know.”
He rubbed her back a few more times before leaning back to look in her face. “We’re not on any sort of timetable here, Pepper. We’ll take everything a day at a time until you’re ready for whatever you want to do next. And we will talk, a lot. We’ll talk about anything, and everything you want. No topic is taboo or off limits. You should know that from the little you’ve been around the whole family. I know you didn’t have a lot of time to get to know them, but you know Lincoln and me a bit better. We’re open to discussing anything with you. So if you have questions, ask them. Be careful where you ask us because I don’t actually have much of a filter. Lincoln does, but not me. Ask me something, and I will blurt out whatever pops into my head. You’ve been warned.” Brushing a kiss to her cheek, he gave her another hug.
“Your father should have had his ass beaten for that shit he pulled. Especially with you, darling. No man worth his salt beats on a woman, or a child. That shit is seriously uncool and one of my hot buttons. I will not tolerate that crap from any man.”
“Thank you. I’m not saying I don’t want to get physical with you, because I do. Very much so. But, yeah.” He felt her rubbing her cheek against the side of his neck, felt her trust in that movement. “I’ve dreamed about both of you for years. I’ve wanted to have both of you inside of me. Laughing with me, loving with me, heck, just plain being with me. I just never dreamed that would be possible. I never thought that anyone would want me. Every time that I tried to make a friend at school they suddenly began to hate me after a couple of days. How much of that was Hera, I don’t know, but I worry,” She took a deep breath. He kne
w he wasn’t going to like what she said. “What if the same thing happens with all of you?”
“The gods can’t sway us like other humans. Because of our time up on Olympus during the training it unlocked the previously recessive genes in our bodies. No clue what that actually means, but that’s something Dieter says. One thing I do know is that at the Farm, no god can do anything there without serious harm to themselves. If Hera tries anything there she’ll have her ass handed to her by her own abilities. It’s shielded, protected, and so is everyone inside.” Thomas lifted his hand to her cheek, and stroked his thumb to her skin. “Even if she did manage to do something to me and Lincoln it wouldn’t take, not for long. We may not be bonded, but the pull is there. It will protect us, and you, while you get comfortable with us. Okay?”
“Okay.” She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. When she opened them again she pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand. “Thank you, for listening and understanding. I know on the road wasn’t the best place to bring it up, but I had to know. I look forward to trying everything with both of you guys. I’ve wanted both of you since I met you.”
He watched her cheeks tint a light pink color and grinned.
With a slow nod he leaned in to give her a hard kiss. Smiling as he drew back he brushed his fingers lightly through her hair before letting her loose. “We’d better get a move on before I start asking about specifics. Don’t think I want to try this drive with a raging hard-on. Buckle back up, darling.” Once she was settled back into place Thomas turned off the hazards, and put them back into motion. Finally, he reached over to take her hand in his, and laced their fingers together.
