Raven: Guarded Hearts Book 3

by Claire Marta

  “Watch yer words,” Cayden warned, his voice lowered, a gruff growl that made her feel so very strange. It was like he had the power to cast a spell over her and hold her in its thrall. “Our kind protects against the forces o’ darkness. We dinnae need ye tae be summoning them here, do ye ken?”

  Averting her face, Raven stared fixedly at the floor. “Of course, a devil would say that to make me believe them. Those weren’t white angelic wings I saw. You can’t deny that.”

  “No, we can’t,” Killian admitted. “Our kind lost their wings ages ago during the war in Heaven when they sought shelter here. They were branded as Prodigals and banished, forbidden to return home until they achieved redemption. Millennia later, we’re still trying. Some of us have taken on robes of flesh in hopes of earning back our wings, those glorious ones with all the feathers. We still have wings, don’t ye know, but they’re more like a dragon’s than anything in this world.”

  Raven tilted her chin to finally face them again, absorbing their serious expressions. Willow had a sixth sense for bad people. Yet her daughter had been happily at home among them. Surely if they were evil, her daughter would have reacted negatively as she had to others in the past.

  “So you're... lost angels?” she questioned slowly, still not sure what to believe, if she could at all.

  “Not lost,” Cayden corrected. “It’s muir like we’re stuck here. Fer now. We’re on a mission tae find our fated mates and increase. Ye should ken that’s the reason why Casey needs tae give birth here. Her children will be the first of our kind born. We dinnae ken what they’ll look like. What they’ll be,” he said meaningfully. “If a hospital runs a DNA test, the government is going tae get involved, and tha’ will pose a danger tae everyone here, including Casey and Morgan.”

  “I can understand why the government would be interested in you—whatever you are. But Casey’s human.”

  That she knew of, anyway.

  “She is,” he allowed. “But a special one. She and Morgan are fated mates. They’ve been transformed. Undergone a change that makes it possible tae conceive a child wie our kind and only our kind. Ye should ken, we hae four strands of DNA, nae two. Our children will hae four strands as well. That’s why we need tae hae their births here. Keep our secrets here.”

  Raven’s head felt like it contained a tornado with all the things she’d just been told. It was fantastical. Unbelievable. Yet somehow, deep down she knew what they’d spoken was true.

  “Alright, I’ll not say a word. I understand your concerns but the safety of the babies and mother is still my priority. We’ll just have to figure something out if complications arise.”

  Cayden blew out softly. “Agreed,” he rumbled in that special voice of his.

  God help her, she felt her body quicken and there was no relief to be had until she could get Willow to sleep and go to bed. Alone. Just her and her favorite vibrator.

  “We’ll see that she goes tae the hospital but only as a last resort. We’ll make every effort here tae see tha’ does nae happen. And do the same wie Morgan when her time is nigh.”

  Raven nodded, rubbing the palms of her hands down her jean-clad thighs to erase the emotions she shouldn’t be feeling. “I’d like to see my daughter now, please. Seeing her fall like that… it’s going to give me nightmares forever. I just want to be sure she’s okay.”

  “The wee colleen is fine,” Killian assured her. “But we’ll go back to the party. Ye’ll be wanting to try Gael’s cooking. He’s fine fer a Frenchy. The women swear by him, anyway. Better than Julia Child, they say. I wouldn’t know. I’d rather have corned beef and cabbage, but he seems to think it’s fit fer St. Patrick’s Day and no other. Makes me glad fer our kitchen. If we get a hankering for something, we can fix what we want without having to wait on him to do it. Although we usually eat in the dining hall with our brothers.”

  Raven smiled. Corned beef and cabbage had been her favorite meal since she was small, but it was a rare treat these days. Most of the recipes she used at home were quick. It had been ages since she’d had the time to dive into her Nanna’s cookbook and create something that reminded her of home. She planned to make lamb stew and soda bread for Willow’s birthday eve. Just imagining them made her mouth water.

  “It’s important to remember your roots,” she agreed, managing to rise gracefully to stand. “I should spend more time teaching things to Willow that my Nanna taught me before they’re lost.”

  “Heritage is a treasured gift,” Cayden agreed. “History must be taught, nae forgotten, otherwise we’re doomed tae repeat the same mistakes.”

  Raven had made one marrying Colin. Finally free, she’d sworn off men and focused on her daughter and her career. But being here with these two men was making her body react and her mind go wild, trying to envision what they looked like with wings outstretched. What they’d be like swooping to Willow’s rescue.

  What they’d be like in bed.

  Jaysus.

  Her panties were wet now, just thinking about it. Since when did a single mother lust after not one but two men? She shouldn’t be interested in either of them. God help her if she had to pick. Killian had been her first contact. The lilt of Ireland in his voice spoke to her blood, but Cayden’s touch made electricity arc between them, and his voice resonated deep enough to touch her soul.

  But they were… more than human and less than the angels they claimed to once be. Stuck here, Cayden had said. However hopeful they were of earning redemption, she knew there could never be anything between them.

  Resigned to the facts as she perceived them, Raven followed them outside to the garden, where the party was in full swing.

  Willow was sitting in the crystal cave, looking like a princess. Someone had braided her hair, weaving flowers into a coronet to crown her little head. “How pretty!” Raven commented, admiring her daughter’s new hairdo. “Did Casey do this?’”

  “No, Mummy! Tobias did. He made the dragon, too. I asked if he’d take me flying for my birthday, but he says we can’t, that wings are secret. He ruined his shirt. He has a new one now. Ooh, look! There’s Mr. Squirrel!”

  “No climbing trees, young lady!” she called after her, watching her daughter race to talk to her new furry friend.

  “She’ll be fine,” Killian assured her. “Tobias and Theo are both watching out for her. Good practice, that. We’ll be ready when the wee ones find their legs and start toddling. There’s a lot of ground here if she’s one to explore, and I sense that she is. Plus, there’s the park close by.”

  Raven’s answering smile was tinged with sadness. “Those are moments you’ll never forget. I wish I’d been granted more but Willow is my one and only.”

  Cayden’s brow creased. He pressed his lips together and studied her with an intensity that made her break eye contact and look away. “I dinnae understand. Ye’re young. Surely when the right mon comes along, ye’ll want to hae another.”

  Keeping her attention on her daughter’s happy little face, she felt the sadness she kept buried threaten to seep up. “I can’t… I mean physically. I had a hysterectomy. I was being treated for fibroid tumors, but when I started hemorrhaging, the doctor had no choice.”

  No more babies. No big family that she’d always imagined herself having. Another dream destroyed. Raven had learned quickly and cruelly that life wasn’t a fairytale.

  Yet here she was with two beast-men… two Prodigals whose attention was focused solely on her. “Casey and Morgan… you said they’d undergone a transformation. They were human and now they’re enhanced humans? Am I getting this right?”

  “Aye.” Cayden nodded. “Ye’ve the right of it.”

  Raven panicked, thinking of their kiss. “But how?” she wondered, scared to think that he’d unwittingly done something to her. But no. Surely not.

  Killian grinned and poked out his cheek with his tongue. “How else?” he said. “Once is all it takes if a woman’s a fated mate. Her body starts transforming straight away.
Seven days and she’s changed—unless ye’re like Morgan and something interferes. Slows the process. She made it through eventually. Now look at her, carrying twins for Zac and Aiden.”

  Morgan had two men. Casey had two men. Jaysus, was that what they did here? Share one woman between them? Just thinking about it made her swollen and needy in a way she hadn’t felt for years. Sex with Colin had been a duty, not a pleasure, nothing like sharing a bed with Michael.

  She wondered what it would be like to share one with Killian and Cayden together.

  “And you're all looking to find mates and start families?” she questioned breathlessly, rejecting the idea and pushing her dangerous thoughts aside.

  “Aye,” Killian replied.

  Raven felt a sharp pang of something. Jealousy? Regret? She wasn’t sure. It just confirmed what she was already thinking. These men, no matter how tempting, would never be for her. Even if she wanted another man in her life, she couldn’t give them what they wanted. A family. Children.

  All it would ever be was just sex.

  That is if she was brave enough.

  Bold enough.

  Jaysus. What was she thinking? She couldn’t possibly consider sleeping with them. She was a single mother with a daughter. The two of them were looking for a woman to complete their circle of three and start a family. That wouldn’t be with her.

  It could never be with her.

  “Hey.” The distinctive tone in Cayden’s voice forced her focus back to him. “Are ye hungry? There’s plenty o’ food. Gael went all out fer Casey’s party.”

  Raven looked at the food tent where the buffet had been set up. “I am hungry,” she said, but it wasn’t strictly for food. She yearned for something… not really knowing what. Or maybe she was just afraid to admit it. She hungered for companionship, for partnership, for family. She wanted love and affection. A tender touch and an understanding soul. Things that she’d once had with Michael but never with Colin. Her second husband had pressured her into marrying him. When he hadn’t given up, she’d given in, aware that she’d be settling for a marriage of convenience and mediocre sex but thinking that she’d be gaining a husband and giving Willow a father.

  Sadly, Colin didn’t prove to be much of either.

  Cayden and Killian escorted her to the food tent, finding her an empty plate to fill. Raven’s stomach was in knots but eating was such a social thing, she forced herself to take a selection of offerings.

  Nibbling slowly, she managed to eat a little of nearly everything.

  She was aware of Morgan and Casey who were surrounded by their mates. The men were attentive to the women’s needs. Openly affectionate. Loving. They didn’t hide what they felt but showed it in every gesture and interaction.

  Killian eyed her plate and arched a brow. “Ye didn’t try the puff pastry,” he noted. “Spinach and cheese. Ye’re not allergic, are ye?”

  Raven laughed and shook her head. “No. It’s just… there was so much there. Too much. I had to make the hard choices.”

  That was something she was used to. Life after Michael’s death had been nothing but a series of difficult decisions. To be sure, she’d made some wrong ones. She seemed to be doing better lately, especially when she chose with Willow’s needs in mind and denied herself.

  Sitting with the men, Raven ate from her plate and took everything in. Her daughter was a fey child tonight, flitting like a fairy through the garden, admiring the flowers, talking to the squirrels, acting like this was as much her domain as it was theirs.

  The garden glowed with strings of tiny lights. The air was filled with background music played softly enough to allow for conversation. Enjoying Iosefa’s selections, she could feel herself relaxing, the earlier tension unwinding from her shoulders. Before long, her food was gone and her belly full.

  Taking the plate from her hand, Killian set it on an empty chair. “Would ye like to dance?”

  Raven’s first instinct was to check on her daughter. Sitting on Tobias’s lap, the two were in deep discussion over mermaids. From the child’s awed expression, she was entranced by whatever story he was weaving for her.

  “I swear she’s fine,” Cayden murmured in her ear. “Now that’ we ken she climbs like a monkey, everyone will be keeping an eye on her.”

  “Alright,” she conceded, allowing Killian’s strong hand to wrap around her own and tug her up onto her feet.

  “Stand by Me” was playing on the sound system that had been set up by Iosefa, one of Casey’s mates. The laptop he was using allowed him to be with her, checking occasionally on the sound but freeing him from changing tracks all the time.

  Iosefa looked strangely familiar, but she was pretty certain that she’d have remembered if they’d met. He looked a little like Jason Momoa but with long, straight hair, a ring in one nostril, and a neatly groomed beard. Her other partner, Malik, wore his hair shorter. A scruff of beard shadowed his jaw.

  Both men were smitten with their “wildcat”.

  Killian proved to be an… inventive dancer, making moves that she’d never seen done and proving that some white men really couldn’t dance. He was enthusiastic, though, enjoying the music and making her enjoy their dance despite herself. The song ended. When “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran started to play, she turned to go sit down… and crashed into Cayden’s chest.

  Raven threw up her hands to absorb the impact of their collision. They did that and more as her fingers felt the sculpted muscles of his chest and found the heart that had led him to help deliver a hundred babies. Killian came up behind her, grasping her waist and wedging her between them, his hips moving with the music and taking hers with them.

  Dancing between the two of them was the closest thing to sex that she’d had in months. She was grateful they were outdoors. Inside, there would be no hiding the scent of her arousal, as wet as her panties were.

  Killian couldn’t dance a lick but the man could sing, crooning in her ear about how perfect she was. If they only knew. But they did, she reminded herself. She’d told them that she’d had a hysterectomy. That she couldn’t have children. She’d tried to tell Colin but he’d misinterpreted it, thinking that couldn’t have meant she didn’t want more. She hadn’t made it clear enough and had paid dearly for it.

  She’d never make that mistake again.

  Whatever this was…. whatever happened between her and these two men, she’d make certain to define what she could and could not give them.

  She could never give them children… and she could never give them her heart.

  Chapter Five

  “Go to her,” Tobias told Cayden, cradling Raven’s daughter in his arms. “Iosefa put Willow to sleep for me. You and Killian need to make certain that Raven says nothing. Do whatever it takes, do you understand?”

  Cayden would have felt torn about seducing Raven if he hadn’t felt the quickening. But he had. Despite her having no womb, despite her inability to have children, God in His infinite wisdom had chosen this woman to be their fated mate. But He’d also given them a child, a daughter who would be theirs to cherish and protect, to love and to raise. To be the fathers that Willow needed and the lovers that Raven deserved.

  Someone had hurt her. Cayden must remember that. They’d need to tread lightly… avoid triggers where they could when they finally made her theirs. Tobias had sanctioned an early joining. Before, he was always preaching the need to know one another, to have a relationship before having unprotected sex that would result in a transformation. Tonight, their superior had done a reversal. He had revealed himself after warning them not to. He had directed him and Killian to do whatever it took to win Raven’s silence at the least and to make her their mate at best.

  Casey’s party was turning out nothing like he expected and far, far better than he’d hoped.

  Cayden nodded at Tobias and headed for the dance floor where Raven was dancing with Killian.

  Well, she was dancing, anyway.

  As he reached them, the song changed to Ed
Sheeran’s “Perfect”. Raven turned away from Killian and plowed right into him, throwing up her arms to protect herself.

  Cayden growled to feel her against him, using enough of his true voice that she forgot to move her hands and left them on his chest.

  Catching his partner’s gaze over her head, he watched Killian come behind Raven and press, pushing her against Cayden and catching her between the two of them.

  While Killian’s fast dance moves were notoriously bad, he managed better at slow dancing. It was almost like he was making love to her, the feel of two men making her hot. Aroused. Weak-kneed and open to suggestions.

  “Why don’t we go inside?” Killian crooned. “Ye need to relax. We have something for that.”

  Raven bit her lip. “But Willow—”

  “She’s asleep,” Cayden assured her. “Sound asleep. Tobias is holding her. Keeping her safe.”

  “We’ve both Irish and Scottish whiskey,” Killian tempted.

  Raven’s expression fell, as if she’d been expecting them to offer something else. “I have to drive.”

  “Eventually,” Cayden agreed. “But this is a wee nip, just something tae take the edge off.”

  Strangely affronted by his suggestion, Raven snapped her spine as straight as a spinster’s. “I need to use the ladies’ room,” she clipped. “Can one of you please show me the way?”

  The midwife might look all prim and proper but the musk of her sex was growing thicker by the second, her growing arousal measured by the flush in her cheeks. Yet she continued to deny herself—and them, showing remarkable self-control. What would it take to make her let go? How in heaven’s name could they get past her defenses if they couldn’t even persuade her to drink?

  “Our pleasure,” Cayden assured her, ready to use his true voice if that’s what it took to get past her defenses and reach the woman inside.

  Fortunately, she didn’t question when they ignored the restrooms downstairs and headed for their apartment.

  She walked between them, awareness humming, arousal growing, and anticipations rising with every step. By the time they made it to the second floor, the air was rife with the scent of her arousal.