Married. Wait! What?

by Virginia Nelson

  And here we stood. Traffic blared and raced past us. I’d never felt as out of sorts as I did now. Betha lived in a cold, colorless building, taller than any of the few trees lining the street. My brothers and I, despite having changed our clothes to better fit into this place, were still catching sidelong glances and worried stares from other humans. We towered over most of them, which served to entice some and to make others look at us like they would challenge us to battle.

  Let them. Nothing would stand between me and Betha.

  Except the doors, which were locked.

  “Kick it in,” Grim suggested. “It’s only glass. I can feel her inside.”

  “It would alert the authorities, and I’m not spending my time in a cage when I could be with our skaoi,” Fenris whispered angrily.

  I’d fought the elders; I refused to let a locked door stop me. Placing my hand on the handle, I pushed the cold through my skin. The metal cracked, and with one hard tug, the lock snapped and the door opened.

  Fenris clapped me on the shoulder before striding past me to the door labeled stairs.

  Almost there. I could feel her, the distance between us was closing, the line curling and winding like a ball of wool. We followed it, taking the stairs two and three at a time—the only sound was the echoing in the stairwell of our booted feet and harsh breathing—until only a metal door separated us.

  “She’s there.” Grim touched the door with the palm of his hand, fingers splaying against green paint. “What do we do?”

  Reaching past him, I curled my hand into a fist and rapped. “We knock.”

  15

  Betha

  The hot chocolate I’d brought to my mouth sloshed over the side of the mug, splattering my shirt and chin. A hard knock on the door made me jump again, and I hissed when the liquid scalded my skin.

  “What?” I yelled, sure it was Jeb, come again to harass me into returning to the paper. I wasn’t interested. I had a little bit of savings, and I was fast going through it while I decided what to do with the rest of my life.

  One thing was for sure; it wasn’t working for Jeb.

  Slamming the mug onto the counter, I stomped to the door. “I’m not interested, Je—” The words died on my lips, and I stumbled backward, pressing a hand to my forehead.

  This was it. I’d lost my mind, or had a stroke, because there were my husbands. The ones I’d made up. The ones I’d been yearning for so desperately, but who never existed.

  I bumped against the closet door, hitting my head against the hook hanging from the top.

  “Careful!” Raynor said, quickly stepping inside. The three men crowded around me.

  But how could they? They were pretend. One-by-one, I placed a shaking palm flat on their chests. Raynor. Grim. Fenris.

  They were hard. Substantial. My hand did not go through their chests like they were ghosts or mist.

  “You’re real,” I squeaked.

  Exchanging a look, they covered my hand with theirs. Fenris moved his to either side of my face. “Betha.” He let out a breath and touched his forehead to mine. My fingers curled into the twins’ shirts, and then we embraced. Tears I’d been holding back since coming to believe I’d never met them poured from my eyes, and the men rained kisses on me. Soothing words flowed from their lips. I could barely hear them over the sobs ripping from my throat, but they were telling me they loved me, missed me. They asked me to come home.

  I sucked in a breath, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. “When? Now? Can we leave now?”

  Nothing kept me here. No job. I could visit my family. They were used to me being gone anyway. I’d tell them I had a job in Canada, and they’d send me on my way and tell me to call.

  “Now,” Raynor ground out in his raspy voice. My skin prickled with awareness, images of the last time we were together—it was real!—flashing before my eyes.

  “I have to pack. Give me an hour. I can be ready to leave in an hour.” I’d pack a bag, hire a moving company. Have the rest of it boxed and mailed to whatever town was closest to their home. We could hike in and get it. And if there was no place for it, I’d leave it behind. None of it mattered. All that mattered was being together again.

  It took longer than an hour to pack with my husbands helping me. Our hands brushed over each other’s, and we’d stop to kiss, embrace, breathe each other in until, finally, we were on our way.

  A huge extended cab truck sat parked on the street, and I laughed. “You drove?”

  Fenris helped me into the back, climbing in after me then handing the keys to a very unhappy looking Grim. “We did.”

  Sliding into the seat next to me, he crowded me against the side of the truck. I stared up at him, reaching up before the door closed. The first touch of his lips against mine was electric. Groaning, I pushed against his chest, climbing into his lap. He wrapped his hard arms around me, rocking me back and forth, urging me to move faster.

  A cough from the front seat pulled me up short, but Fenris growled low in his throat.

  “Wait until we stop for the night, please.” Raynor sounded as if he could barely get the words out. When I peeked at him, his face was flushed, and both he and Grim were shifting uncomfortably.

  “Drive,” I commanded. “And distract me. Tonight can’t come soon enough.” A wave of arousal flooded me. I needed to be with my husbands and reaffirm the connection I’d been mourning all these weeks.

  Grim put the truck in gear, pulling onto the street. White-knuckled, he drove through the mid-morning Boston traffic. Their discomfort in the city was obvious, and my heart ached. Each blared horn made them jump, and the times someone jammed on their brakes had Grim’s shoulders around his ears.

  Reaching forward, I massaged his shoulders until they dropped, and he sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t like driving here.”

  “Want me to drive?” I asked. I hadn’t had a car in years, but I could negotiate Boston like a champ.

  “No!” Fenris protested, yanking me back. “I won this seat in battle, and I plan on taking advantage of it until I have to switch with Raynor tomorrow.”

  Unbuckling my belt, he slid me across the bench until he could rebelt me in the middle seat. With his arm slung over my shoulders, he drifted his fingers across my chest. Innocently at first, or so I thought, until his middle finger grazed my nipple.

  My quick intake of breath had Grim’s eyes flashing to the rearview mirror and narrowing. “Fenris,” he growled.

  “Pay attention to the road,” Fenris retorted, his fingers circling the hardening nub until my eyes rolled back in my head.

  Heat roiled in my center, and I heard the deep inhalations of the twins. Fenris’s fingers crept across my knee and up my thigh, pushing my blouse out of the way to unbutton my jeans.

  “Hey!” I whispered, but a second later, long fingers delved between my folds and I arched forward to give him more room. I braced myself, one hand on his thigh, the other on the seat next to me and rocked back and forth, in time with his hand.

  Hot skin pressed against my core. Fenris’s fingers thrust inside me, over and over. He took his hand from my breast, and I mewled in distress.

  He shimmied my pants over my hips, and forced my legs apart so I was splayed wide open. When I realized what he was doing, I reached to stop him. “Fenris!” I gasped, eyes flicking in panic to Grim and Raynor.

  I shouldn’t have worried. Raynor had covered his lap with a coat, but beneath it, I saw the movement of his hand as he turned in the seat, eyes glued to his brother’s hand and my core, exposed for everyone to see.

  Everyone!

  “Fenris!” I cried. “We’re in traffic!”

  His breath warmed my skin, tickling my ear. “Windows are tinted. No one is seeing inside here.”

  Blue eyes burned mine in the rearview mirror, and from my position, I could see Grim’s profile. One hand remained on the steering wheel, but the other was in his lap, slowly rubbing his hardened length. His eyes flicked between the mirror and t
he road, and a muscle jumped in his jaw when Fenris speared me with two thick fingers.

  I cried out, throwing my head back. No longer did I care if I made noise or if anyone knew what we were doing. Sensation and desire engulfed me, and I rode his hand, covering it with my own to press the heel of his hand harder against my clit.

  “More,” I somehow got out. I reached for him, shoving my hand beneath his jeans so I could grip him in a tight fist to work his length.

  Fenris hissed, jerking his hips back then toward me, breath coming fast. He pushed his fingers inside me, adding a third, pumping with hard, shallow thrusts.

  “Like that?” he asked me. “I can feel you all over my hand.”

  Oh God. His words were enough to put me over the edge. I cried out, heard Grim and Raynor echo me, and then Fenris came. Groaning long and low, his release covered my hand. I let my head fall to his shoulder and sucked in a breath when he pulled his fingers from me. I glanced at him in time to see him licking his fingers, eyes closed blissfully.

  “Drive faster,” Raynor commanded. His blue eyes blazed, lasered on my core. I closed my legs slowly, embarrassed, but he shook his head. “Don’t hide from us, Betha. You’re the most beautiful thing we’ve ever seen.”

  My face heated, but I nodded. We’d only made it to Worchester. This was going to be a long day.

  By the time we crossed the border into Canada and found a campsite, all of us had had it with the cramped truck cab. The twins jumped out first, opened the back doors and reached for me. I took their hands, letting them pull me into their embrace while Fenris crawled out behind me.

  “Should have asked the elders if they could magic us to Boston and back,” Grim muttered, pushing my hair away from my neck to kiss me gently.

  On my other side, Raynor mimicked his action, but without the commentary. His lips were cool against my skin, teeth dragging against the cord of my neck.

  “Tents,” Fenris directed, and I jumped when he dropped the hatch.

  With a last kiss, the twins left me. I stretched my arms over my head, exploring the site they’d chosen. We were in Quebec, and according to my husbands, if we continued at twelve hours a day, we'd have three more full day of travel. The drive had been spent alternatively talking about the future and what had happened to us.

  I could hardly believe the elders and their mother had worked so hard to trick us. Angrily, I kicked a rock, watching it bounce across the sandy ground and into a tree. In its wake trailed a line of frost, and I gasped. My skin tingled, and I flexed my hands. There had been no magic without my husbands. Not a spark.

  The truck started, and I whipped around. From the passenger seat, Raynor winked and waved before the truck disappeared around a curve.

  “What's going on?” I asked, jogging to Fenris who was unzipping the tent.

  He linked his arms around my waist and smiled. “They’re giving us a little time.”

  “Oh,” I breathed, unable to hide my answering smile.

  Nudging me toward the tent, he dipped inside and held out his hand. I took it, ducking my head and zipping the flap behind me. Doing so gave me time to breathe and tamp down my nervousness.

  His arms were around me, throwing me into the air to land gracelessly on an air mattress. He followed me down, hands on either side of my head, holding his body above mine. My hands dug into his hips, and I urged him onto me, making room for him to rest between my legs. The first press of him against me made me arch my back and rub myself against him like a cat.

  “I’ve waited so long for this,” he whispered against my lips. He pushed his tongue inside my mouth, and curled it, tasting me. Reluctantly, he pulled back and brushed his lips against mine. They were cool, as cool as I remembered. It sent lightning bolts of arousal straight to my core.

  Trailing kisses across my cheek and down my neck, he stopped at the hollow of my throat and sucked in a breath. “I love you, Betha.”

  I threaded my fingers through his long, blonde hair, holding him to me. “I love you, too,” I whispered and felt him shiver.

  His fingers delved beneath my blouse, raising gooseflesh every place he touched. I needed to hold onto something. My body was primed, and I trembled from head to foot with anticipation.

  “Relax,” he whispered, propping himself on his forearm and reaching between us. A flick of his fingers, and he’d undone the button.

  “This is taking too long,” I cut in, pushing him back so I could rip my blouse off, and shuck out of my jeans. I threw my boots, bra, and underwear and knelt before him, completely naked. “I’m ready. I’m not nervous. I’m ready,” I emphasized heatedly.

  With a growl he was on me, forcing my legs open with bruising fingers. He slid down my body and sucked my clit into his mouth. Crying out, I held his head to me, rocking into his face while his tongue fucked me, curling like he had inside my mouth before lapping at me.

  “Fenris!”

  He was too heavy to move, but I tried. I wanted him in me. This was our first time, and I knew I should linger over it, but the only thing echoing in my head was, fuck me. Please, please fuck me.

  I must have said it aloud, because after one hard suck on my clit, he finally moved. I felt him, thick, at my entrance. With one hand he held my chin, forcing me to look at him. I grabbed his ass, tried to make him move, but he only smiled.

  “Tease!” I chided, and he chuckled, plunging inside me with one smooth push.

  He touched his forehead to mine, holding himself still, and I clenched around him, adjusting to the perfection that was him inside me. With a groan, he withdrew and, ever-so-slowly, pushed back in. Languidly, like he had all the time in the world, he moved. I held onto him, fingers digging into his hips before reaching around to cup his ass cheeks and urge him to move faster.

  Withdrawing completely, he hovered there, bulbous head just outside my body, and then slammed into me. He did it again; withdrawing until he was nearly out of me and then slammed inside. Our skin slapped together, mist forming around us as the night grew colder and our bodies heated. Fenris grabbed behind my knee, lifted my leg up then took the other one, pushing my legs together to fold them and pressing his chest against them.

  This angle pushed him in deeper. I could feel him, tip against my cervix. It was a delicious pleasure pain, and my undoing. Fingers curling into his biceps, my nails cut into his skin as I shook apart.

  He came with a roar, warmth gushing from him, spilling himself against the entrance to my womb.

  “I want to make you pregnant, Betha,” he whispered between pants. “To see you round and heavy.” He thrust into me once more, as if he could push his seed deeper into me. “I want it more than anything.”

  I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, dragging him down to me. His weight was perfect. Closing my eyes, I brushed his long hair back from his face, smoothing the strands. “I want that, too,” I replied.

  Babies would be nice. With chubby, blue-eyed babies in my mind, I fell asleep.

  16

  Betha

  The ride home was interminable and perfect, all at once. My first night with Fenris was magic, but so was the second with Raynor, and the following morning with Raynor and Grim. Instead of the three days the trip was supposed to take, we stretched it out to five.

  Stopping for the night held so much appeal, we tended to end our travels early. But the fifth day, as our truck bumped over trails barely definable as roads, I was ready for the trip to be done.

  Fenris, whose turn it was to drive, put the truck in park and turned around. “We’re here.”

  Unbuckling, I scooted forward. All I saw were trees. “Here?”

  Smiling brightly, he nodded and opened the door. Raynor got out, and Grim opened his door, turning to lift me out of the car. I didn’t need the help, but I loved their hands on me, so whenever they made a move to touch me, I took advantage.

  “We have a little ways on foot,” Fenris called over his shoulder as he grabbed the bags out of the truck bed and threw th
em to his brothers. “And then we’ll be there.”

  Peering into the forest, I didn’t see anything resembling a path, but I shrugged and tried to take my bag from him. Shaking his head, he held out his hand. “I got this.”

  In the distance, hidden under the sound of birds and branches groaning in the wind, was the constant low roar of the ocean. Excitement bubbled in my chest, and I bounced after my husbands. “How far is it? Have I been here before?”

  Fenris shook his head, but Grim and Raynor smiled. “This is Fenris’s place,” Raynor explained. “He found it for us.”

  “Hurry!” I wanted to see it.

  We walked into a u-shaped clearing, surrounded by leafy-green trees. In the distance, down a rocky incline, was the white-capped ocean. In the center of the clearing, however, a foundation had been dug. Stones lined the perimeter. To one side, a Quonset had been hastily built. The logs were rough-hewn, and rather than a door, a heavy quilt flapped in the spring breeze.

  Turning, I surveyed the land. It was beautiful.

  “It’s home.” Fenris cleared his throat. His blonde hair fell into his face while he watched me nervously. “It will be home. Eventually.”

  “We’ll spend the summer building. By the time the cold weather sets in, it’ll be done,” Grim added.

  I released a deep breath, my imagination running wild. A garden. A porch. A porch swing. It was perfect. “I love it,” I whispered, spinning and throwing my arms around the first man I could reach. “I love it so much!” Three pairs of arms enfolded me, holding me tight. I sniffled, wiping my face across my shoulder to hide my tears. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” whispered Fenris, whose sentiment was echoed by Raynor then Grim. I took their hands, and leaning back against Fenris’s chest, I stared out at the ocean.