by R. E. Butler
Aaron felt his anger start to recede. “So you’re not fired?”
“Nope. And I’m not on leave, either. Louisa said that the PTA has a tendency to freak out prematurely about things, and that Mark didn’t have a clue how things worked and had no right to go off half-cocked putting me on leave. She also said that she had done some digging into the accusations that Mark and the PTA received about me. All of the accusations occurred last night. Half of them were anonymous, and the other half were from residents who didn’t even have kids in the school system. She made some phone calls, and the people who supposedly made the complaints hadn’t!”
Grant’s brow furrowed. “They didn’t complain? What do you mean?”
“I mean that someone said that these people complained when they actually didn’t. The complaints were all fake. It’s almost as if someone just went through the Ashland phone book and wrote down people’s names. Weird, huh?”
“That’s one word for it,” Aaron said and frowned. Why would someone want to get Sam fired? Was this the same person who had slashed her tires?
Her fingers touched his face, and he looked down at her. “It’s okay now. You don’t have to look so upset.”
He shook his head and pulled her into his arms. “I can’t help it, Sam. What if this is connected to your tire slashing?”
“You said that was just a random thing.”
“Maybe. What if it’s not?” Grant asked.
She looked at the two of them and said, “Well, it didn’t work. If someone has a problem with us dating, that’s just too damn bad. Now, we need to get to your place.”
“What?” Aaron asked in confusion.
“You said the kids were upset. I want to talk to them and let them know I’m fine. Are you still working, Grant, or can you leave?”
“Um, yeah, I can take off. I’ll clean up and say goodbye to Rhett and see you guys back at the boarding house.”
She smiled and stepped out of Aaron’s arms and went on her toes, kissing Grant. Then she turned, and Aaron walked her out to her car. As he pulled ahead of her and headed to the boarding house, Aaron felt completely unsettled. Although he was glad Sam hadn’t been fired, the situation was still disturbing. Someone clearly had seen them out on Sunday at the diner and wanted to cause trouble for her.
She held his arm as they walked up the steps and into the house, and just as he turned to hang up her coat, the kids came scrambling into the foyer and tried to hug her all at the same time. Aaron watched as she happily endured the hugging, gently leading them out of the foyer and into the family room. She sat down on one of the couches, and the kids crowded around her.
“Are you okay, Sam?” Brian asked worriedly.
“Sure.” She hugged Owen, who was sitting on her right and said, “Thank you for caring about me enough to call your dad. That was really sweet. You guys are the best.”
Aaron stood in the kitchen and listened as she explained to the kids that someone had seen her with Grant and Aaron over the weekend and was just trying to cause trouble for her at the school. She promised them she was still going to be their teacher and that she was not upset anymore. She easily changed the subject and asked the kids to tell her more about the camping trip.
Grant came to stand next to him. “What do you think?”
“I think I’m pissed off and feeling helpless.”
“Me, too,” Grant sighed.
They stood in silence and listened as the kids shared stories about their trip and Sam laughed and asked questions. “She’s great with the kids,” Grant mused.
Aaron nodded. She was perfect. She was theirs. And he wanted her to live with them, now more than ever. Whatever was going on, she had become a target because of her association with them.
He and Grant waited for a chance to get her alone to talk, but time slipped away from them. First, she insisted on helping the kids with their homework, which was no small task with six of them. And then she helped James and John with dinner, making her famous mac and cheese, studded with bacon and four kinds of cheese. After dinner, the kids grabbed her away from the table and played video games until it was time for bed. Aaron loved that she was so comfortable around his kids and loved being with them. But by the time the last light had been turned off, the last forehead kissed, and the last door shut, he was practically twitching with need. The need to hold her, to make sure that she was safe, and most importantly, to make sure she moved in with them as soon as possible.
Aaron opened the door to his room and ushered Sam inside. When Grant passed through, Aaron shut and locked the door. He glanced at Grant, who looked at him and then nodded, and Aaron opened his mouth to ask Sam to move in with them when something hit him in the head. Startled, he pulled it away and saw it was the cream colored sweater she’d had on.
He looked at Sam in surprise, finding her in her dress slacks and bra, her brow raised in a dare and a wicked smile on her face.
She kicked off her heels and reached for the button of her slacks. With a low voice she whispered, “You’ll have to be quiet, my noisy boys. No screaming my name.”
Grant growled lustily. “We weren’t the only ones who were hoarse from screaming in pleasure.”
She squealed in laughter and turned to run, racing around to the other side of the bed. All thoughts of talking to her about moving in with them went flying out the window as Aaron’s cat took over and his thoughts shifted to grabbing her and making love to her.
Grant stalked to her around the bed, and she scrambled over it. Aaron moved quickly and snagged her around the waist, clamping a hand over her mouth as she gasped in surprise. “The rooms are well insulated, love, so you don’t have to worry about being quiet.” He slipped his hand from her mouth and stroked down the side of her neck. “I love to hear you cry out in pleasure.”
She pressed her back against him, wiggling slightly. “I love it, too.” She twisted slightly in his hold to look up at him. “No one has ever given me as much pleasure as you and Grant do. I’m really lucky.”
Grant joined them, sitting down on the bed and tugging her forward until she stood between his knees. Aaron stayed close, never letting go of his precious mate.
“There’s no one on this Earth luckier than Aaron and me,” Grant said, looking up at Sam.
Aaron kissed her neck, sucking lightly on the flesh until she took in a quick breath. Kissing the light mark he’d made, he said, “We’ll show you how lucky we are to have you in our lives, Sam.”
Attacking her neck, he shoved the straps of her silky bra down her arms, growling with desire as he heard the sound of her zipper being lowered. As he kissed her in between stripping himself from his own clothes and divesting her of the remainder of hers, he thought there was something he’d wanted to ask her, something important. But he couldn’t think of anything more important at that moment than sinking deep into his woman and hearing her panting cries of pleasure. Whatever it was, he’d think of it eventually, he assured himself as he kissed her. Mine, Aaron thought, as he scented her sweet arousal on the air.
Mine.
Chapter 8
The rest of the week passed quickly for Sam. She was secretly delighted that every time she saw Mark at school he looked pissed off. He’d been a dick to her, and he deserved to be miserable. Some might consider it shallow, but she didn’t care. When she went to lunch with Louisa on Tuesday, the sweet older woman told her that Mark had applied to become the permanent principal but was turned down, and he would be returning to his former position in Indianapolis at the end of the school year. She was relieved to hear that news. Even though seeing him didn’t make her feel depressed like it had before Aaron and Grant came into her life, she didn’t like her past mistakes staring her in the face every day, and she knew that Aaron and Grant didn’t much care for him working there, either.
Tuesday afternoon, Aaron had asked her if he could have a security system installed at her apartment. He and Grant were both worried that someone was out to get her. She
wasn’t sure she believed that, thinking that the tire slashing and the complaints about her private life were unrelated. But Aaron had looked at her in a way that told her that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, with his brows drawn and his eyes narrowed, his muscular arms folded across his chest and his lips pressed into a firm line. She hadn’t really known how protective mountain lions could be, but she quickly came to understand that it was just their way. She let Aaron have a simple security alarm installed, which if someone broke into her home, would alert not only the police department, but also Aaron and Grant.
Every morning they texted her, wishing her a good day. When she arrived home after school, one of them was waiting for her. At night, she received cute texts and emails, wishing her sweet dreams. She’d never known any men who were as attentive as they were, and every day she grew fonder of them. By the time Friday came, and she was dressing for their date, she knew she was falling hard for them. Between Grant’s sweet nature and Aaron’s demanding protectiveness, they balanced each other perfectly. She felt like she belonged with them, that all her life she’d been looking not for one man to be her husband, but for two.
But still, underneath the love she felt whenever she was with them, lay the fear that they would change their minds. Mark had changed his mind, and he’d sworn to love her forever. In her mind, she knew that she hadn’t done anything wrong, that Mark was the one who was at fault for their marriage ending. But he’d done a number on her ego and a part of her — however small it might be — was waiting for the other shoe to drop with Grant and Aaron.
And she hadn’t told her parents yet that she was involved with two men. That wasn’t exactly a conversation she could have out of the blue. Her parents were loving and understanding, but she had no idea how understanding they’d be when they found out she was involved with two men at the same time.
She’d been raised in a traditional home, taught morals and values. They’d been sad when Mark left her, but they sided with her and supported her through all of it. She loved them and didn’t want to disappoint them, and she wasn’t sure that they would really accept Aaron and Grant in her life.
“Does that really change anything?” she asked her reflection. “Would I walk away from the two best men I’ve ever known if my family doesn’t approve?”
Shaking her head, she knew she wouldn’t. She would be sad if her parents didn’t approve of them or want to share in the next chapter of her life, but she would continue on in spite of it.
“I love them,” she said out loud, “and I don’t care what anyone else says. They’re mine, and I’m theirs and that’s that.”
With a final swipe of lipstick, she closed the tube and set it on the counter. Relief settled over her when she admitted to herself that she loved both of them. She made plans to talk to her parents at Sunday dinner.
There was a knock on the door, and it opened a few seconds later as Grant called for her. “I’ll be right out,” she said loudly, taking one more look at herself in the mirror before clicking off the light in the bathroom and walking out.
Her two sweeties were standing in the front room, dressed nicely in slacks and sweaters. She hugged and kissed them both in greeting and said, “What’s the plan tonight?”
“Dinner and a movie okay?” Aaron asked as he held her coat open for her.
“Sounds great,” she promised.
They spent the evening together, and after their meal and movie, they brought her back to her apartment and made love together. When they were tangled together, bodies slick with sweat and hearts pounding, she told them that she loved them.
“You do?” Aaron asked in surprise, sitting up abruptly.
“I do. I didn’t think it was possible to love two people at the same time, but I do.”
Grant went up on one elbow and looked down at her. Cupping her face with one hand he said, “I love you, too, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too, Sam,” Aaron said as he lifted her hand and kissed it.
Her heart swelled at the emotion in their eyes. Aaron’s and Grant’s eyes were bright and happy, as if she’d just given them the greatest gift in the world.
“This calls for a celebration,” Aaron declared, after devouring her in a kiss that made her toes curl.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked with a laugh as Grant threw back the covers and pounced on top of her.
“Pleasure. Lots and lots of pleasure,” Grant growled, nibbling across her jaw and nipping kisses down her neck.
“That sounds perfect,” she promised, smoothing one hand up Aaron’s thigh and reaching for his cock.
Aaron groaned as she wrapped her hand around his cock. “You’re perfect, love,” he growled.
They made love again, their cries of pleasure ringing out in the bedroom as they came together once more. She felt as if they grew even closer that night, as if they’d really joined together in some primal way. When she came down from the heavens, she snuggled into Grant’s arms while Aaron slipped from the bed and dressed. Aaron had an early shift, but Grant was going to stay overnight.
“I’ll miss you,” she promised with a yawn when Aaron bent to kiss her goodbye.
“Not as much as I’ll miss you,” he said.
She drifted off to sleep, tucked safe and warm in Grant’s arms.
Sunday evening, she helped her mom wash the dishes from dinner, something she’d been doing since she was old enough to reach the cabinets. Her father walked into the kitchen with a platter that held half of a roast surrounded by potatoes, pearl onions, and carrots. “This is the last one,” he said, turning to go into the family room to sit down and relax.
“Dad, wait,” she said, drying her hands on the towel. “I need to tell you guys something.”
Clenching her hands together, she took a deep breath and told them everything that had happened between her, Aaron, and Grant. The story tumbled from her mouth without stopping, until she finished by saying that she loved them.
The kitchen went quiet, and she looked between her parents as fear knotted in her stomach. What if they rejected her for her decision? What if they kicked her out and told her never to come back? Tears threatened, blurring her vision, and her dad cleared his throat.
“Well, I’m not surprised,” he said.
Sam blinked in confusion. “You’re not?”
“Well, no. My dad was half wolf, and they have truemates.”
“Grandpa Frank was a werewolf?” She had fond memories of the balding man who used to give her piggy-back rides and sneak her cookies before dinner, who passed away when she was eight.
Her mother came to stand by her dad as he said, “Grandpa Frank was my step-dad. My father, Griffin, was the child of a full-blooded werewolf and a human. He died when I was three. Frank married my mom and gave me his last name. So you’re one-eighth werewolf.”
Her mother smiled gently. “You said you felt drawn to both men, that they smelled good to you?”
Sam’s cheeks burned with a blush. She’d never been more uncomfortable in her life. “Yes.”
“Well, my friend Paula is a wolf and said that when she met her husband, who is also a wolf, she was drawn to him by his scent. Clearly there’s something in your DNA that is wolf enough to know when you’ve found your mate. Or mates.” Her mom paused for a moment and then said, “We hated that you were so sad about Mark. He was such a jerk and not worthy of the wonderful young woman you’ve become. I think you’ll have some hardships dealing with two mates, not only in the relationship but also in the public eye, but you’re strong and courageous. They’re very lucky.”
Happy, relieved tears fell down her face, and she crossed the hardwood floor to her parents and hugged them tightly. “Thank you so much,” she said.
“For what, honey?” her mom asked, smoothing back her hair.
“For loving me and supporting me.” She sniffled.
“We will always stand with you, honey,” her dad said. “Now, I want to meet them, and I expect t
hem to ask me for your hand and start things out right.”
“Dad, they haven’t asked me to marry them yet.”
“They will,” he said as he winked at her.
“Bring them next Sunday,” her mom said. “And the kids, too. We’d love to meet them all.”
Sam promised, happiness filling her. Instead of driving home, she drove to the boarding house. Snow started to fall, and a light dusting was on the steps of the front porch when she walked up and knocked on the door. Running steps raced to the door, and she laughed when three kids opened it.
“Sam!” Ben, Brian, and Owen yelled with big grins.
“Hi, guys!” They opened the door for her, giving her a chance to step inside before they hugged her.
Aaron and Grant walked quickly into the foyer. “Is everything okay?” Aaron asked, helping extract her from the arms and legs as Nathan and Kevin joined the fray.
“Yeah. Can we talk?” she asked.
“Sure. Help us get the kids to bed?” Grant asked, ushering the kids, already in their pajamas, towards the stairs.
“I’d love to,” she promised. Kevin and Owen grabbed her hands and walked with her upstairs. It only took a half hour to get the kids into bed, and that was mostly because Aaron refused to let them coax her into reading a lot of stories.
Aaron closed the door to the bedroom and joined her and Grant on the bed.
“I talked to my parents tonight,” she said.
Silence stretched between them for several moments, and then Aaron cleared his throat. “You did?”
She slipped off the bed and stood to face them. She smiled when she saw their identically worried looks. “Yes, I did. I’ve told you how close I am to my parents, and it was important to me that I told them about you, especially after the amazing weekend we had and how close we’ve grown. I was nervous because even though I’m an adult, there’s still this part of me that feels like a little girl desperate for her parents’ approval.” She laughed lightly at the picture in her head of herself as a child with pigtails and wearing a sundress. “I’d already decided that no matter what, I wasn’t walking away from either of you. When I said I love you, I meant I want to love you forever. If you want me forever.”