Two Times the Trouble

by Mellanie Szereto

  Bee stings. I don’t need another reminder of Liam.

  At the garden, she gathered the assortment of leaves, flowers, and roots, and with her pockets overflowing, she raced across the grassy expanse. She couldn’t be too late to save Ivan.

  Her skirt tangled around her ankles as she took the first step to descend into the new basement. She lost her grip on the ladder and tumbled sideways over the wall. Gravity seemed to pull her downward in slow motion, her body tensing with the knowledge of the impending impact. Pain spiraled through her muscles and bones as she swung out her arms in an attempt to grasp anything to stop her fall. A high-pitched echo vibrated through her skull, and a raw sting ripped at her throat. How could she suddenly become an uncoordinated klutz after years of climbing trees and riding horses?

  Kazmer. The ancient shifter had discovered a way in.

  Dear Goddess, please don’t let any harm come to Ivan and Liam.

  An unyielding net caught and cradled her when the concrete floor should’ve broken her body. A vise tightened around her, rocking her back and forth.

  “Be okay. Please be okay.” The strain in Liam’s coarse whisper calmed her thudding heart. “Jolán, speak to me.”

  She opened her eyes, looking up at his worried expression. “You saved me.”

  He buried his face in her hair and let out a hoarse laugh. “You’re okay.”

  A loud crack above them made her stiffen. “What was that?”

  A creak and another snap had them both looking skyward. Splinters rained down on them, and the framing swayed.

  “What the hell?” Liam leapt out of the way as a fractured beam from the roof speared toward the basement. He ran to the closest corner, setting her on her feet, and then ran to drag Ivan into a huddle away from the falling debris. “Cover your head!”

  She hunched over Ivan and folded her arms above her. Liam wrapped around her from behind, taking the brunt of shattering pieces of lumber. The thundering in her ears drowned out the words he shouted. Dust littered the air, and she choked when she tried to draw in a breath.

  My family. Goddess, please protect my family.

  The ground rumbled under her feet, sending tremors through her. The noise and quakes continued. Her only comfort was that she’d die in the arms of her lovers—the men she’d recognized as her mates at the moment of ultimate pleasure, not the onset of orgasm or the rush of ecstasy but in the seconds after it was over, when she’d lain with each of them in the peaceful afterglow. Ilona’s suggestion had been correct. Both men were mated to Jolán—no matter whether she or they accepted it or not.

  A trembling hand caressed her shoulder. “I think it’s over. Whatever the hell it was.”

  The deafening din had faded to eerie silence, but clouds of dust still floated around them, blocking their view of the destruction. The sun filtered in around them, narrow shafts emitting just enough light to make out the outline of the joists several feet over her head and the man in front of her.

  Liam’s lips brushed her cheek, setting off shock waves in her body. “First earthquake I’ve ever felt. Stay with Ivan while I check to see if we can get out.”

  She clutched at his hand and turned to meet his gaze. “Be careful.”

  With a quick nod, he moved away from her and brushed a coating of wood chips from his hair. What would he say if she told him the true cause of the damage? That she was a witch? She’d have to reveal everything to take him as her mate. Right now, she needed to treat the other man her body had chosen.

  Kneeling next to Ivan’s inert form, she pressed her fingers to the pulse in his neck. The rhythm had slowed to a normal pace since her earlier assessment. Hopefully, his heart’s rapid tempo had been caused by the fall, not the allergic reaction to the bites.

  She spread the contents of her pockets on his bare stomach and considered them for several seconds. Her sister Kata was the plant expert, and her cousin Rebeka’s specialty was homeopathic remedies. Both had spent hours imparting their knowledge on Jolán, but she’d had little opportunity to practice what she’d learned.

  Let’s start with the mildest combination and hope for the best.

  Picking up an aloe leaf, she wracked her brain for a way to slice it open to reach the inner gel. She needed a something sharp enough to cut through the thick outer skin. Think.

  She closed her eyes and took a calming breath as she steadied herself. Her fingers rubbed over something hard and metallic on the dirty floor. It rolled beneath her touch. A nail. Thank you!

  With the sharp point, she drew a straight line down the center of the leaf, scoring the green surface. Another slash separated the opening, allowing the clear liquid to ooze from the core. Depositing a glob on her palm, she crumbled a handful of chamomile flowers into the goo to make a lumpy paste. She covered the visible spots on the tops of Ivan’s legs, not sure how she’d treat the underside.

  “We won’t be going anywhere soon. The ladder’s bent to hell, and most of the debris is pretty unstable.” Liam crouched beside her. “How’s he doing?”

  The worry in his voice softened the remaining anger at his blatant dismissal yesterday morning. “His pulse and breathing are normal, and I put some salve on the sores. I’m concerned he might have a concussion from the fall, or he could be suffering from severe dehydration. He hasn’t shown any signs of waking.”

  “The casks weren’t damaged, and the plumbing to the shower seems okay. Should we try to get him to drink some water? Most of the food you brought for lunch was still in the basket. If—When he wakes up, he can eat.”

  “Water’s good. You’ll need to prop him up so he doesn’t choke.” She glanced over her shoulder when Liam didn’t answer.

  He furrowed his brows and raked his fingers through his hair. “Look, Jolán, I’m sorry for what I said. You know, after...I didn’t mean to...Damn it, I felt something, and I didn’t think I was ready. To be honest, you scare the shit out of me.”

  Liam held his breath as he waited for Jolán’s reaction to his admission. If he was going to die trapped in a collapsed building, he didn’t want to go out of the world with regrets weighing him down. Truth be told, his attachment to Apryl didn’t begin to compare with the intensity of his attraction to Jolán. It had happened too damn fast for him to think. He’d seen her and had to have her. No, not have. He wanted to be with her. Not only in bed, but every minute of every day.

  She picked up the remains of the plants she’d brought from the garden and returned them to her pockets. “Why are you afraid? Sex is a natural part of being human, and you can’t find true love if you hide your heart. My family’s survival depends on it. Without love, the body is a shell with no purpose.”

  What did she mean that her family had to have love to survive? If Jolán wasn’t on some sort of contraception, she could easily end up pregnant from him or Ivan. Sex didn’t equal love, but it could produce a baby even without that emotional connection. “You can’t possibly tell me you loved me when we...were together. We hadn’t even met. When you love someone, you don’t jump into bed with another person hours later, either.”

  She whipped her head around, and her hands stilled. “I...I...You know about...”

  Pushing to her feet, she walked the few steps to the cask and filled one of the cups. Keeping her eyes aimed at the floor, she carried the water to Ivan.

  Liam had no idea what was going on in her head, but the way she’d clammed up suggested she was embarrassed by her promiscuity. He lifted his brother into a sitting position and waited for her to give Ivan a drink. “Your definition of love must be a hell of a lot different from mine.”

  “You don’t understand. I had no choice.” Holding the cup to Ivan’s mouth, she tipped it to let the water moisten his lips.

  “Then explain it to me. You slept with me, and then you slept with him. Is your family forcing you to find a husband?” Liam ignored the flash of hurt from knowing he meant so little to her that she could fuck another man.

  “No.” Her singl
e-word answer confused him more, but she didn’t elaborate.

  “Just no?” Frustration bubbled in his veins. “I’m trying to understand, Jolán. I want to understand.”

  She tilted the cup again. “I can’t—”

  “Anybody get the number of that bus?” Ivan’s raspy voice broke into coughing. “Shit, that hurts. What the hell happened?”

  With his heart in his throat, Liam buried the urge to strangle his brother for taking ten years off his life. “Shut up and take a drink.”

  Jolán tsked at him before turning her attention to Ivan. “You fell when you were climbing down the ladder. We think you might’ve passed out from heat exhaustion.”

  He blinked as if clearing his vision. “I kinda remember feeling dizzy. You’re not making me go to the hospital, are you?”

  “No.” Holding the cup to his lips, she frowned, evidently unsure whether to tell him they weren’t going anywhere. “Drink. You should eat, too.”

  “Yeah, hungry.” Reaching toward his knee, he gritted his teeth. “Man, my legs itch like crazy.”

  She grasped his hand, linking her fingers with his. “Don’t scratch. You’re having an allergic reaction to the ant bites. I put salve on the spots I could see, but it’ll take a few more minutes to relieve the swelling and start absorbing the toxins.”

  Unable to watch Jolán’s gentle interaction with his brother, Liam eased his arm out from behind Ivan. “I’ll get lunch.”

  She stood in one quick movement. “I’ll help you.”

  He swallowed a growl. The woman confounded him at every turn. Instead of acknowledging her offer, he rose and stomped toward the crisscrossing tangle of two-by-eights. She obviously cared for Ivan, negating the importance of her and Liam’s earlier conversation. Her motivation for screwing him didn’t matter. Neither did the explanation she didn’t seem to want to give.

  A light touch on his shoulder sent a shiver to his balls, and he tensed. He kept his tone at a whisper to keep their exchange private. “I don’t need help, and you shouldn’t be wandering around with bare feet. You’ll end up with a nail or a splinter in your foot. Considering your family’s preference for home remedies and herbal treatments, I doubt you’ve had a tetanus shot in your life.”

  She frowned. “What is your problem?”

  An unamused snort escaped. His patience had worn too damn thin for manners. “You mean besides the fact that I’m trapped under a couple thousand pounds of lumber with a sick brother and a girl who—Never mind. Go back over to the corner.”

  “A girl who what?” Her braless tits jutted out at him with her fists perched on her hips.

  “I said never mind.” He bent to put the container of vegetables in the basket and pick it up by the handle. Why the hell hadn’t he kept his mouth shut?

  She was quiet until he straightened. The color had drained from her face, and she’d crossed her arms in front of her. “You and Liam are brothers?”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Stepbrothers.”

  “You’re friends as well, aren’t you?”

  He shrugged. Had she finally realized the consequences of having sex with both of them? That she’d not only caused a rift between them, but she’d also left at least one of them aching from her rejection?

  “I told Great Grandmother I wasn’t ready.”

  “I don’t suppose you’re going to explain that comment, either.”

  Her teeth came out to bite her lower lip, and all the willpower he could rally wasn’t enough to stop his cock’s response. “You don’t understand.”

  She was right about that. “No, I don’t.”

  “I can’t explain. I’ll endanger everyone.”

  Endanger everyone? “Who is everyone, and how will explaining why you slept with us both endanger anyone?”

  Her gaze dropped to the messy floor. “You. Ivan. My family. I can’t risk you telling somebody.”

  “Who am I going to tell? We’ll be lucky to get out of here alive.” Too late, he caught that his volume had risen with his frustration.

  “How about including the guy who almost died in the conversation? You also could’ve told me a tornado hit while I was unconscious.” Ivan’s observation had Liam shaking his head.

  Giving up trying to exclude his brother from the discussion, he carried the food to Ivan. “We deserve the truth, Jolán.”

  She sighed and followed him, sitting cross-legged on the floor at his brother’s feet. “You want to know why I had sex with you and Ivan? Fine, I’ll tell you.”

  Liam sat, leaning against the wall as she glanced back and forth between him and Ivan.

  Her whole body trembled with a noisy inhale and exhale. “I want you both.”

  Chapter 8

  I’m hallucinating. Ivan couldn’t come up with any other reason for Jolán saying she wanted him and Liam. He’d bashed his head on the concrete floor when he’d fallen, and he was in a coma having bizarre dreams. How did wanting them both put everyone in danger?

  A clap of thunder shook the ground, and the loose rubble tangled above most of the basement shifted. The momentary tensing of his muscles sent a stab of pain up his neck. “Damn it, Liam, I thought you said the forecast wasn’t calling for storms until Wednesday.”

  Jolán huddled farther into the corner. “This is a different kind of storm. He’s going to destroy us all.”

  Crowding into the shelter of the wall, his brother hovered over them. “He who? If I’m going to die, I at least want to know who’s trying to kill me.”

  She hesitated.

  Ivan pulled her onto his lap. “We need to know what we’re up against. Trust us, Jolán. Please.”

  The fear in her eyes warned him he wouldn’t like the truth. “He’s my family’s enemy—an ancient shifter with the power to manipulate nature. He made the ants swarm last night, and now he’s causing earthquakes and thunderstorms. Kazmer.”

  The last word came on a whisper so soft he almost didn’t hear it.

  “His name means ‘great destroyer’ in the old language.”

  This dream kept getting weirder and weirder. “Why is he trying to destroy your family?”

  Another rumble sent loose pieces of wood crashing to the floor. A low hum vibrated in Ivan’s ears as if a thousand voices repeated the same phrases over and over but never spoke in unison.

  Jolán relaxed against him and joined in the chorus of murmuring chants, the clarity of her rhyme sending a shiver up his spine.

  Gather the powers of the fold.

  Protect us all from evil old.

  Repel the darkness and seal the rift.

  Goodness and light shall stop the shift.

  With each line, a howling wind grew louder. The chanting dimmed until only her melodic song remained. At the end of the third refrain, she lifted her hands toward the sky and closed her eyes. Serenity radiated from her, flowing through him as he gazed at her angelic expression. Her lips curved upward into a half smile, and the worry lines on her forehead relaxed into smooth skin. A soft glow surrounded her face.

  The wailing suddenly faded to silence. Not eerie stillness. Soothing. Comforting.

  Liam sat back on his heels and shoved his hands through his hair. “I’m guessing that was the great destroyer. Any chance you can use a poem to get us out of here?”

  His brother’s calm tone didn’t fool Ivan for a second. The only things missing from the magic show were a wand and sparkles. Liam was a skeptic, and his beliefs—or disbelief—had been debunked in a big way. His mind had to have been blown wide open.

  She lowered her arms and melted into Ivan. “Safe. For now.”

  Her body became dead weight with the quiet declaration. When she slipped from his weakened hold, Liam scooped her up and settled on the floor next to him. She seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.

  Stray hairs from her long loose braid tickled Ivan’s arm. “What do you think? Elf, fairy, or witch?”

  “Jesus, I don’t even want to know.” Liam adjusted her head to re
st on his chest and ran his fingertip along her cheek. “What did I get us into? She has some evil guy with superpowers after her, and she says she wants both of us. I’m not sure how I feel about sharing her—even with you. Oh, and we’re trapped in this hellhole until who knows when.”

  “You know what? I don’t give a damn if we’re stuck here. She’s with us, and as much as I’d like to be selfish, I’ll take what she has to offer. I’m pretty sure at least three of her cousins and one of her sisters have two husbands. The one who had twins yesterday? Did you notice that the baby girl was dark like Amalric, and the boy was light-haired like Ranulf?”

  “Yeah, I saw. Bigamy is illegal in this country, though.” Leaning back against the wall, Liam sighed. “Why are we talking about marriage? We met her a day ago.”

  “There’s something about her. I always figured I’d know when I found the right girl, and she’s it. Somehow, I just know.”

  “Can we not discuss this now? You should drink some more water and eat a sandwich.” Liam closed his eyes, making his wish to end the conversation perfectly clear.

  Food and drink sounded too good to argue with his brother. Ivan rummaged through the basket to see what other supplies would have to last long enough for somebody to dig them out. Half a sandwich might have to make his stomach happy.

  * * * *

  Exhaustion tried to confine Jolán within the boundaries of sleep, but noises tugged her to the edge of consciousness and beyond. Cicadas chirped. The occasional thunk—a hollow sound that reminded her of stacking firewood. Male voices echoed in her head.

  “Are any of you injured?”

  “We’re all okay.” Ivan’s casual baritone triggered goose bumps on her bare arms and a contraction between her thighs.

  “Jolán has suffered no ill effects?” The formal language told her Amalric had to be one of the men talking.

  “I don’t think so. She’s resting.”

  How much time had passed since she’d linked with the women of the Macska clan to repair the tear in the protective spell around the estate? Had everyone else collapsed from the effort of expelling the enemy? The joy at being connected into a single entity with her family had to have saved her from the pure evil trying to invade their home.