by Maia Dylan
Fiona tilted her head to the side, the absolute epitome of innocence. “I’m sure you aren’t accusing me of somehow starting that fire. I never even touched you, and I can assure you I never would. Now, run along and take your friends with you, because you bore me, and my friend and I would like to continue having a good time.” As if planned, two of the largest bouncers Fiona had ever seen in her life stepped in and placed hands on the three men’s shoulders.
Fiona turned back to the bar and picked up her beer, ignoring the grunts and shuffles of the men being escorted out behind her. “So, how do I go about getting Cole and Travis to turn up the heat a little on this whole ménage thing we have going on?” Fiona turned to look at Casey and saw her staring at her like she’d somehow sprouted a second head.
“What? Is there something on my face?” Fiona reached up discreetly to wipe around her mouth. Casey laughed softly as she shook her head a little.
“No, Fi, there is nothing on your face, but you really don’t realize how badass you actually are, huh?” Fiona frowned as she looked at Casey like it was her who had sprouted the extra head. “See, that little interaction between you and that huge drunk cowboy and his two friends, that didn’t register to you as anything more than, what, a discussion? A little verbal sparring perhaps?”
Fiona nodded. She knew she had a tendency to be a little bit—perhaps more than a little and potentially bordering on quite a lot—sarcastic when she was confronted with stupid, and Cowboy there was a whole shit-ton of stupid all poured into skinny jeans, a white t-shirt and too much cologne.
“Fiona”—Casey grinned—“those guys were all huge! Huge, drunk and pissed-off cowboys would usually scare people, especially a woman who wouldn’t weigh as much as half of one of them, but you didn’t even bat an eyelid! What would you have done if he had reached for you?”
Fiona made a pfft noise, waved her hand nonchalantly and stared at the beer bottle in her hand.
“I had the whole thing planned. I would have smashed my beer bottle, which I had left between the thumb and index finger of my right hand in easy reach, on the handrail of the bar and then slammed the cut end into the upper thigh of the right leg of Drunk Cowboy. That would have had him stumble right and away from the bar. I would have then stepped off my stool and driven the palm of my right hand under the jaw of Drunken Asshole’s friend with the grey Stetson, blue shirt and bad teeth.
“He would have flown backward into the very large man behind him who, I would be willing to bet money on, would not have allowed him to get away with it, as he is trying desperately to impress the beautiful Hispanic woman in the tight gold dress that he is sitting with. While Grey Stetson would be getting him a whole new asshole ripped for him, I would have stepped into the other hatless dick who was the real threat because he was carrying a knife in a holder on his belt, rammed my left knee into his groin, which would have dropped him to the floor, then I would have punched him in the jaw. The bouncers would have been here by then to escort them out of the bar.”
Fiona turned to look directly at Casey and saw that her jaw was basically on the floor in front of her. Fiona grinned. “I sure as shit would have broken Flirting Cowboy’s nose before the bouncers got to either him or me, just to prove my point, though.” It was then that Fiona noticed it had gone quiet around them, and when she looked, she noticed that the reason for that was the two hot wolf shifters who were standing just behind her, both of them with their arms crossed and huge-ass grins on their faces.
“Damn, Cole,” Travis drawled. “Our mate is so damn bad ass!” He stepped into her, gripped her face in his hands and devoured her mouth, all the while holding her eyes with his. Fiona moaned a little into his mouth at the move and reached out to steady herself by gripping his hips. She felt her pussy flood her panties and her heart rate elevated. “You are so bloody hot when you’re plotting a takedown with military precision.” Then he pulled back, gave her one last kiss and stepped to the side.
Cole immediately stepped in to take his place, cupping the back of her head with his right hand and pulling her into him with his left. He tilted his head so he was at just the right angle to kiss the hell out her. Again, her pussy flooded and she felt her nipples bead beneath her shirt. Hell, both of them knew just how to kiss her so that she completely forgot her name. “I was gonna deck the fucker just for standing near you,” Cole murmured against her lips, then pulled back, grabbing the beer Travis had just handed him.
Fiona looked around her, a little dazed, until she blinked to clear her vision and her head. She noticed that Micah had arrived as well and was now standing behind Casey, plastered to her back, arm wrapped around her waist. “I would have thought you would have wanted to deck him for calling her a whore, not just standing too near her,” Casey voiced as she sipped at her beer.
“He called her a what?” Travis suddenly snarled and Fiona spun to look at him. She could hear his wolf in his voice and sure enough, his eyes were glittering that eerie white-blue that meant his wolf was surfacing. Shit! Damn Casey and her big bloody mouth.
“I believe Casey said that he called our mate a whore.” Cole’s wolf could be heard, too. Shit, this situation was about to get out of control! Fiona needed to get them to focus on something else.
“He threatened to hit her, too,” Casey chipped in and Fiona looked at her incredulously. What the fuck was she doing? Trying to get them to kill Cowboy and his friends?
Travis and Cole suddenly stared at each other, and Fiona could almost hear the internal twin conversation taking place. Then they placed their beers on the bar and turned as one toward the exit where they had evicted the three drunken bastards who were at fault in all this.
Fiona leapt off the stool and moved quickly to stand in front of them. Reaching up, she placed a hand on each of them. They had told her that they knew she was theirs, and after the past two weeks spending time with them and feeling that mating bond grow stronger between them all, she knew that they were hers as well.
Both of them looked down at her and she stared between them, unsure of how to put into words what she wanted, how to make them understand that she felt that they were hers as much as they felt she was theirs. Damn it! Why couldn’t the damn words come? Would she always be that girl? The lost little girl whose family turned their back on her? The one that hid behind a wall of rage and sarcasm in order to protect herself from being hurt?
Some of what she was feeling must have shown on her face, because at that moment, both men’s faces softened. Their eyes changed back to their stunning steel-gray. “Stay here, with me, please.” She spoke softly and waited until they both grinned and nodded. When the three of them returned to their space at the bar, Casey sat there with a shit-eating grin on her face.
“Well, that was interesting,” Casey sent to her down their link, and it had more than a slight edge of satisfaction to it. Fiona frowned in confusion as she climbed back up the bar stool and Travis and Cole reached for their beers.
“Interesting? Goddamn it, Casey, why the hell would you tell them that and get them so riled up! They were gunning for Drunken Asshole and his friends.”
“Yes, they were! They were willing to hunt that prick down and rip him limb from limb for threatening you.” Casey looked over her shoulder at Micah, who was talking with his brothers. He caught her eye, grinned at her and kissed her gently. Then Casey turned back to Fiona. “Feels pretty damn good having someone care for you that much, huh?”
Fiona smiled back and reached out to clink her beer to Casey’s. Yeah, it did feel good to know that there were people who gave a shit about her. Not just Cole and Travis, but Casey, Maggie, Micah, Ryan and Ariana as well. It was more than just a group of people who were coming together with a common goal. It was family. They were all coming together as a family who would be there for each other.
And it did feel fantastic.
They stood at the bar chatting for a while, and Fiona enjoyed the normalcy of it. She adored watching her mates inte
ract with their brothers. It was something she missed out on, being an only child. Well, the fact that her parents put her up for adoption put a damper on the family fun times as well.
“Have you brought that shade for your telescope, Cole?” Travis asked as he leaned over to help himself to some of the bar snacks they had ordered. Fiona felt his arm graze against her breast and shivered, the cheeky glint in his eye telling her it was deliberate.
“Yep, had to order it in specially, but it should arrive in time.” Cole grinned.
“You and your fascination with all things fire-related.” Micah winked at her and Fiona felt her cheeks pinken a little.
“What’s this all about?” Casey asked.
“There’s going to be a solar eclipse in a few weeks’ time. They only come around once every three or four years, and the last time there was one visible here, I didn’t have a shade for my telescope, so I didn’t get to see it up close and personal-like,” Cole answered, then his grin turned wicked and his glance slid to her. “And I do love to see things that go up in flame so fucking quickly and burn so hot you lose your very breath at how beautiful they are, up close and very personal.”
Fiona felt all the air drain out of the room. Was it any wonder she walked around in a constant state of extreme arousal around these two? Taking a deep breath, she looked away for fear of spontaneously combusting if she remained locked in his eyes, and took a long slug of her beer.
Of the two, Cole was the more level-headed. He would reason and cajole and talk her through whatever issue she might have at the moment. Travis was her dragon slayer. He would tell her to get angry, and would be right there with her screaming at the world and adopting whatever issue she had as his own. God, was it any wonder she wanted them as much as she did?
Later, they were sitting in a booth to the side of the dance floor and Fiona was feeling slightly buzzed, but happier than she had ever been in her life, snuggled between Travis and Cole. Then, from out of nowhere, this blonde woman came over and leaned into Travis so that the nipple of her right breast was practically poking him in the eye.
Fiona felt every muscle in her body tense with the familiar burn of anger. She closed her eyes for a brief moment to dial back on her anger before looking again at the blonde. She was actually quite beautiful, dressed to score herself someone to love on for the night, and she had apparently singled Travis out.
“Hey Trav, I heard you were back. Why haven’t you come to see me, baby?” Or she was an ex and expected to pick up where they obviously left off.
Fiona felt her anger start to build again, and was just starting to panic that her power might bitch-slap the woman before she was able to get control when Travis looked at her and the expression on his face was definitely “Ah-uga! Ah-uga! Battle stations! Dive! Dive! Dive!” and she felt most of her anger slide away. He looked so uncomfortable that it was almost comical. Looking quickly around the table, she saw that Micah and Casey were watching with glee and Cole had more of a rather-you-than-me look.
“Um, h-hi, Trinity,” Travis stuttered nervously, which was adorable. “Yeah, I…ah, I got back about a month ago.” Trinity—because yeah, that was her real name…not—slid her hand down over Travis’s shoulder and chest and Fiona’s gaze narrowed. Travis froze at the move, but didn’t throw her hand off. Fiona was willing to reach out and help him dislodge that hand, and would do so if she hadn’t removed it by the time she counted to three. Hell, she was willing to throw this bitch through the fucking window if the bitch didn’t take her hands off Fiona’s man.
“Well, why don’t you and I go out onto the dance floor and get reacquainted?” Trinity leaned forward and went to put her lips on Travis, who basically threw himself down in Fiona’s lap to avoid her.
“Okay, that’s it. Trinity, Travis is no longer available. He is in a committed relationship and not looking for anything from anyone else, okay?” Fiona was proud of the fact she hadn’t cursed or threatened grievous bodily harm on that one, for once actually managing to keep a tight hold of her anger and her tongue.
Trinity blinked at her as if only just now realizing that there were other people sitting at the booth. Then she cast her eye around the room as if looking for the woman Travis was involved with.
“With who?” The look on her face was classic. She truly couldn’t see anyone in the bar who could rival her for Travis’s affection.
“Trinity, I’d like to introduce you to my mate, Fiona,” Travis chipped in. Fiona smiled sweetly at him. That had been the first time he had laid public claim to her.
“Ohhhh.” Trinity nodded like it all made sense now. “It’s, like, a shifter thing and you’re like fated and shit and can’t get it up for another woman.” Travis frowned and opened his mouth to no doubt refute that and defend his delicate male pride and ability to sustain an erection, but stopped when Fiona placed a hand on his arm. It wasn’t worth it.
“Okay then, come on, Cole! I guess it’s your lucky night!” Trinity leaned over the table toward Cole, so that her breasts were now practically pressed into Fiona’s face.
“Oh hell, no!” Fiona pushed her away from her and her mates and hustled Travis out of the booth, following so that she could stand in front of the clueless Trinity.
“Both Travis and Cole are fated as mine, and I don’t share or play well with others, bitch. So you had better get to stepping the hell off!” Fiona stepped into the blonde bimbo, putting the moves on her men. She had a good couple of inches on Fiona, but that didn’t mean shit. Fiona knew she was a whole shit-load meaner.
“Now, baby,” Cole started to say, but wisely shut up when Fiona shot him a glare. Now was not the time for level-headed Cole to come out and try to get her to be reasonable! Some bitch had just hit on both her men and needed to be slapped back into place. Fiona turned that same glare on the drunk bimbo before her.
To her credit, Trinity held her ground and glared down at her, not looking anywhere near as hammered as she had been just moments before. Fiona felt her anger rise a little as she realized the drunken bimbo was an act and a play she used to get men. Talk about desperate.
“You can’t be serious. You think you have what it takes to keep these two happy?” Trinity sneered at her as if she were something on the bottom of her shoe. Fiona could feel her inner flame starting to burn brighter and aimed a spark of heat toward the water jug on a nearby table.
“Of course I do! Whatever or whoever they have done in the past doesn’t mean jack shit compared to our future. We are fated mates and are destined to be together from now on. The fucking Fates have declared it.” Fiona stepped forward, making Trinity step back, a sure sign that she wasn’t as confident as she acted. “Now, why don’t you take your skanky self to somewhere that is not here, go play your drunken bimbo act on someone else and stay the fuck away from me and mine? Are we clear?”
Fiona could feel her flames rising further and knew they must have been visible in her eyes. The water jug she had been concentrating on shattered. Trinity paled and stepped back again, and then she turned and fled onto the crowded dance floor.
“Drinks and a floor show!” Casey squealed, and when Fiona turned to glare, Casey grinned and clapped. “That was awesome sauce! I was hoping for a cat fight, because I so would have taken bets and put all my money on you, but even without it, that was great!”
“Jesus Christ, Casey! I am not here for your entertainment!” Fiona threw her hands in the air.
“I know that!” Casey’s look became more serious and she leaned forward to make her point. “Fiona, you were pissed off. That woman made a play for not just one of your mates, but both. She taunted you, and if I’m not mistaken, she made you question whether or not Cole and Travis are attracted to you. But you didn’t lash out at her with your power. You destroyed a water jug, but nothing in here is burning and she left with her skin intact. You remained in control, Fiona.” Fiona stood there for a moment and reflected on what Casey was saying.
Yeah, she had wanted to
fry that bitch for touching her men, and she had definitely made Fiona question why two hot, hunky wolf shifters would want to be with a short, quick-tempered and mildly—totally—sarcastic woman like herself. Not to mention that her penchant for setting things alight might have their insurance premiums skyrocketing. But she had managed to stay mostly in control.
Fiona grinned at Casey and felt a flush of pride ripple through her. She turned to see what Travis and Cole thought of her awesome control, but lost her breath when she saw the expressions on their faces. She wasn’t quite sure she could define the look itself, but it was intense and…hot. The fire in their eyes had her heart pounding and her girly parts tingling in a very nice, very wicked way.
“Did you mean what you just said to Trinity?” Cole’s voice trembled. Fiona couldn’t remember a time when she had ever heard his voice tremble like that.
“Um, which part?” Jesus, she sounded so breathless.
“The part where you claimed us as yours, babe.” Travis grinned and his eyes sparkled with pleasure. “The part where you told Trinity that we were yours, you didn’t share, the fates had bound us together and we would be that way forever from this moment forward.”
“Oh, that part.” Fiona took a deep breath and found herself at one of those crossroads in life where what she said next would determine the direction her life would take from that moment. Half-truth or complete truth? That was her choice.
“You are everything to them Fiona.” Casey spoke down their link, and there was no missing the sincerity in her words. “You only have to look at them looking at you and it is very clear that you complete them in a way no one else ever can.”
“I know,” she admitted, to Casey and to herself for the first time. Taking a hold of her courage with both hands, she forged forward with the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
“Yeah, I did say all that, and I did mean it. You recognized me as your mate that first time we were all together in the same place. I felt a connection to you both in that moment, too, and it has grown in the past month-and-a-bit to something that is almost frightening in its intensity. I’m falling for you both and it scares the shit out of me.” She whispered the last eight words.