“Nature must also be leveling the playing field by making you blind as well, Rowan,” she said. “I was soaked to the skin before I was attacked, and I’m wearing a hospital gown. I can’t possibly be beautiful.” This time she joined them when they laughed.
“You’ll always be beautiful to us, Jordanna,” Caine said sincerely. “Always.” She was beginning to like the way they spoke of them always being together. It somehow felt right. But then there was the fact that she would die centuries before them.
“Shouldn’t you wait and mate another shifter? I’m going to die so much sooner than you.”
“Sweetheart,” Rowan said, cupping her cheeks with his warm hands. “Once we’re mated, you’ll age at the same rate as a shifter. You’ll live for another two hundred years at least.”
“Even if you didn’t,” Drake said, “we would never touch another woman. The very idea enrages both me and my cat. We mate for life. There will only ever be you.” She remembered now that Peata and Shana had told her that.
“How old are you now, thirty?” She’d felt their faces only briefly as they’d kissed her, but their skin had felt tight and smooth, if a little stubbly.
“Rowan is the baby at seventy-nine,” Gabriel said, kissing her neck again. “I’m the oldest at ninety-three.”
“Caine is eighty-five and I’m eighty,” Drake said.
“No way is that possible. You don’t sound that old and I’ve felt your bodies. You’re all hard and toned.”
“I don’t think you’ve felt my body, Jordanna,” Caine said in a deeply affected voice. “But feel free to rectify that any time you like.”
She snorted a little as she laughed. He’d sounded ridiculous. “If that was your idea of a sultry, sexy voice then you must be an eighty-five-year-old virgin.”
“It’s not my fault you can’t see the killer smile I’m flashing you.”
As Caine shot back the thoughtless retort, the other men’s laughter silenced immediately. You could have heard the proverbial pin dropping.
“Yeah, that would have really sold it for me,” she said, snorting again as she laughed even harder.
Chapter 8
Caine felt like a total asshole. But a total asshole who was madly in love with his mate. He hadn’t meant to hurt her, but his thoughtless quip had held the power to do just that. Jordanna, however, had only thought of him. She’d laughed at his faux pas, and made him fall even deeper in love with her.
As she sipped the fresh mug of tea he’d made her, her stomach gave an audible rumble. “Excuse me,” she said, her cheeks coloring an adorable shade of pink.
“Fuck, it’s nearly lunchtime and we haven’t even had breakfast,” Drake said angrily. “Sorry, my darling. Can I get you something to eat?”
“I’m fine with the tea. Thank you though.”
Jordanna was smiling and Caine could see that she really meant it. She was used to feeling hungry and it made his cat furious. They’d all noticed how thin she was and he needed to know why.
“Don’t you work in a restaurant, Jordanna?” he said. “I’d be enormous eating all that nice food.”
“I can’t afford to eat there, it’s really expensive.”
“Don’t they supply you with food if you’re working there?” Drake said.
Caine began to prepare sandwiches for their lunch. They all needed to eat, especially Jordanna.
“God, no. My boss would sack anyone caught eating the restaurant food.”
“Harsh. Have you worked there long?” Gabriel asked.
As she talked about her co-workers, studying to be a chef and the long hours she worked, she ate three rounds of sandwiches. She didn’t seem to have an issue with eating, so Caine tried to steer the conversation around to finances. If she wasn’t dieting, perhaps she couldn’t afford to eat regularly.
“Are rents high in Sheridan? It’s a much larger town than Eminence.”
“Close to the college they are. I’ve managed to hold onto the small one bedroom apartment my husband and I brought when we first got married. So luckily, I’m not renting.”
“Have you done a lot to it?” Gabriel asked. He tried to keep his tone light, but they all saw through his question. He wanted to know how hard it would be for her to leave Sheridan and stay with them here in Eminence.
“No, it’s even more of a dump than when we brought it six years ago. Garry was full of ideas on how we’d improve it when we moved in after our honeymoon. But in less than six months…”
Caine saw her visibly shiver. As he recalled her comment from earlier that day, about her marriage, his cat became increasingly agitated. He looked at Rowan and his brothers and saw that they were all on alert. With the mating bond stronger now, if they asked about her marriage, she’d answer. The bond made it impossible for mates to keep secrets. The open and honest communication enabled true mates to have long and happy lives together.
Gabriel was the first to speak. His eyes had begun to glow a pale amber. It lit the room around him with his growing anger. “What did he do to you, Jordanna?” That was Gabriel, direct.
Caine had no idea why Gabriel had asked that. But his cat quickly became as enraged as Gabriel’s. This was going to be bad.
“Do you want the long version or the short one?”
“We want the one that tells us the most about who you are.” Gabriel softened his earlier question and it made her smile.
“I was sixteen when we started dating. He was a senior, in his final year, and I thought he was wonderful. My parents didn’t approve, but they didn’t force the issue. They thought it was a crush I’d grow out of.” She took a sip of her tea, and felt around for the table before placing the mug down gently.
“We planned the marriage for right after my high school graduation. I wanted a white wedding, with all the inherent expectations, and that’s what I got. He’d worked at the local hardware store for two years, planning to go to college when I graduated and got a job.”
“Didn’t you want to go to college?” Drake asked. He got up and sat on the table in front of Jordanna, taking one of her hands and holding it to his chest.
“I always wanted to be a chef, but I was happy to work in a diner while he studied to be a teacher. Once he was qualified, it would have been my turn.”
“As you’re studying now, I take it things didn’t go as planned,” Rowan said.
“I worked double shifts most days to pay the mortgage and buy food, so I wasn’t home much. We’d been married about six months when I came home from work early with the stomach flu. Garry was supposed to be in a class, so you can imagine my surprise when I opened our front door to find him screwing my best friend on our kitchen table.”
“What a bastard,” Caine said. He couldn’t stand the hard expression on her face. He squatted next to her and held her free hand in his.
“I had the blinders lifted that day. It turned out he’d never even enrolled in college. He’d been spending his time, and our money, gambling. He beat me nearly unconscious for daring to be upset about his infidelity and lies.”
They were all growling now, the low constant rumble of their combined rage shook the glassware in the nearby cabinet.
“It was a long time ago,” she said in a quiet voice. She squeezed his hand in reassurance. Fuck, she was the one who’d been abused and she was comforting him.
“The time that’s passed still doesn’t make it all right, angel,” Gabriel said, his voice almost unrecognizable with his anger.
“I was so ashamed of my own stupidity that I didn’t tell anyone, not even my parents. I took to avoiding them at the times when my bruising was visible.”
“Jesus, Jordanna,” Rowan said, “he kept on abusing you?”
“How long, Jordanna? How long did it go on?” Gabriel took his arms from around Jordanna and placed his hands on the table. Caine saw why when the scent of blood drew his eyes to Gabriel’s hands. His claws were long and bloodstained where they protruded from his fingertips.
&
nbsp; “Too long. But I was so young. At the time I didn’t know what else to do.”
“What did he do to you?” Caine said, his tongue scraping across canines that were now too long for his mouth. Her head fell, her hair shrouding her face.
“Please, Jordanna,” Rowan said in a low voice that dripped with pain. “It’s extremely hard for us to hear that you were abused, but if we have to imagine everything he did we’re liable to go insane.”
“What if it was one of us,” Drake said, kissing her palm reverently. “Wouldn’t you want to know everything?”
“I’m sorry.” She was shaking now, but Caine could only hold her hand and steel himself, helpless to do anything except hear the extent of her suffering.
“As the years went on, he became an alcoholic. He was an angry drunk and I dreaded going home, never knowing what mood he’d be in. I had barely seen my parents in years, but they came to the hospital to get me when he finally went too far.”
Tears dripped onto Caine’s hand. He leaned in and kissed her closed eyes.
“I didn’t go back to our home after that. My parents were wonderful. Garry died of a brain tumor, a year after I’d left him. Unfortunately I hadn’t divorced him yet so any money I have to spare goes to pay off his medical bills.”
“All of it, Jordanna. Explain what ‘too far’ was,” Gabriel whispered into the silent room.
“I was in the hospital a long time. He broke both my legs when I tried to run from him. I sustained a lot of internal injuries as well.”
Caine couldn’t stand it any longer, he growled louder than he ever had before and swept Jordanna off Gabriel’s lap. He held her tightly to him, keeping his hands away from the wounds on her back, and buried his face in the crook of her neck. The scent of her in his arms soothed his cat enough to allow him to speak. “He tried to kill you?”
“The public defender got him off the murder charge as he’d been diagnosed with the brain tumor by the time he went to trial.”
She wrapped her arms and legs around him and gently kissed his neck. It helped.
Drake came to stand behind him and Caine relinquished Jordanna to him. “I wish we’d met you sooner, my darling. We could have saved you years of pain.”
“It’s not your fault,” she mumbled against his chest. “I take responsibility for my own actions. I no longer trust my own judgment though. That’s why I haven’t had so much as a single date since I left him.”
Rowan took Jordanna from Drake and held her close. “I hope that doesn’t extend to us, sweetheart. What do your instincts tell you about us?”
“I’m still scared, Rowan. But I’m drawn to all of you. I feel like I need you all somehow, like I need air to breathe. God, that sounds so pathetic and adolescent.”
“It doesn’t,” Rowan said. “It describes exactly the way I feel about you.” Rowan kissed her lightly on the lips. “I’m sorry, Jordanna, but I’ll kill anyone who ever hurts you. Does that make me sound pathetic?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Her cheeks blushed bright pink and Caine knew she was serious. How could anyone have abused such a sweet person?
Gabriel rose and reached out his arms for Jordanna. “Do you have your shit together now?” Rowan said, staring pointedly at the blood that still stained Gabe’s fingers.
Gabriel held up his hands, his claws were retracted, but his eyes were still blazing hotly as he growled at Rowan. “I would also kill anyone who harms our mate.”
* * * *
Rowan loosened his hold on Jordanna and allowed Gabriel to take her into his arms again. She weighed close to nothing. It appeared that her deceased husband was still managing to abuse her. She’d have been able to buy food if she wasn’t paying off the useless bastard’s medical bills.
“I feel like I’ve made you angry,” Jordanna said softly. She was holding herself stiffly in his arms and Gabriel’s cat bristled at the scent of her fear.
“Angel, I’m not angry with you. I’m angry that it happened to you, and I’m ashamed of myself.” He sat down and caressed his hand down Jordanna’s soft cheek. She relaxed a little against him, but Gabriel scented the fear still clinging to her.
“I’ve been a coward these last eight years, and I owe my family an apology.” He looked at his brothers and Rowan. They were all shaking their heads.
“No, Gabe, we understood,” Drake said. “We just hated that you were hurting.”
“We missed you,” Caine said.
Jordanna relaxed a little more and his cat stilled in its agitated pacing inside him. She had no idea how strong she was. He was over four times her age and instead of facing his pain, he’d run off and sulked like a toddler.
“Last night, when I called Caine for help, was the first time I’d spoken to any of my family in eight years.”
Jordanna looked up at him, her sightless eyes clearly asking him why.
“Eight years ago we were all in the same unit of army rangers,” he said, stroking her cheek again, in an effort to calm his beast. The idea that someone had hurt this beautiful woman had his anger threatening to burn out of control.
“We were involved in a battle in Afghanistan that killed the rest of our squad. We were all injured, but our shifter DNA makes us stronger, allows us to heal much more rapidly.”
“Oh God, that’s awful.” She grew very pale. She sat up and pressed her hands to his face. “I need to see, are you’re all okay.”
“We’re all fine, Jordanna,” Caine said. He took one of her hands and held it to his face. “I’m fine.”
“I’m being silly, but I feel I need to make sure.”
“If I hadn’t already seen you naked, I’d be checking every inch of you, after what you just told us.” He was pleased to see some color come back to her too-pale face. He answered the question that was clear in her eyes again.
“I was the one who put you in that hospital gown last night.”
Her mouth popped open, but she didn’t speak. “I thought you’d been in a car accident, Jordanna. You have so many scars.”
“Fuck him,” Rowan said, his growls echoing around the kitchen. “Can we dig him up and kill him again?”
He knew his brother’s rage would be worse when they finally saw Jordanna’s body. He suspected her decision to never date, was not totally due to her fear of making more poor choices.
“I don’t understand why you stopped talking to your family, Gabriel?” she said softly.
“I was in charge of the mission. I felt like I’d failed everyone. I couldn’t stand the guilt I felt over all the deaths and injuries. Every time I looked at my brothers I felt guilty. So I went where I didn’t have to see them.”
“Fuck, Gabe,” Caine said, wrapping an arm around Gabriel. “We all had survivor’s guilt.”
“You should have talked to us, Gabe,” Rowan said, taking Caine’s place and embracing both Gabriel and Jordanna. “We could have helped you.”
“I knew that the second I saw you again last night, and Jordanna’s shown me what real strength and determination is. I never found what I needed by being away because it was here with my family that I would have found the peace and acceptance that I needed to heal.”
“Take it one day at a time, Gabe,” Rowan said. “One step at a time. We’ll do it together.”
“I can’t imagine going through anything that horrible, Gabriel. But I’m so glad you all survived. I’m glad I’m here with you.” She smiled up at him and snuggled her head into his chest. His cat purred and luxuriated in the feel of her, the sharp tang of her fear no longer an irritating scent in the air.
“Oh. Is that purring?” She pressed tighter against him.
“I’ve never done it before, angel. But yes, I believe I’m purring.” She owned him. In a matter of hours, the woman gifted to him by fate, had become the reason he now breathed.
“What does it feel like when you change into the cougar?”
“It feels
wonderful,” Gabriel said. “That side of our nature loves to run free. Would you like to feel my cat? He’s dying to feel you.”
“That is so strange. Will it know me?”
“Yes, sweetheart,” Rowan said, taking his clothes off. “It’s still us. It’s just another part of who we are.”
“Rowan, are you taking your clothes off?” Gabriel watched her cheeks grower redder.
“You bet I am. Gabe’s not the only one whose cat is desperate to feel you. Mine wants to roll all over you.”
“Then that wolf… It was really a man that tried to kill me?”
“He was in full control, even when he shifted,” Caine said, pulling his sweater over his head.
“I get to hold you now, Jordanna,” Drake said, lifting her from Gabriel’s arms and sitting down on a nearby chair.
“I could have just walked here, Drake. It was what? Two feet away.”
“You can discuss that with the other mates tomorrow. It seems to be a side effect of the mating bond.” Jordanna smiled as Drake nipped at her neck.
“To be fair, I really wouldn’t have known where I was going.”
“You’re amazing, Jordanna,” Gabriel said. “Aren’t you angry about losing your sight, even if it turns out to be temporary?”
“I don’t think I really believe anything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. It’s all so overwhelming. When everything stops, it will finally sink in, and then it won’t be pretty.” She sighed deeply. “You don’t want to be around for the fall out. There will be tears, and lots of snot.”
“If you’re in pain, we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, darling,” Drake said, nuzzling her neck.
Gabriel saw her shiver. The hairs on her arms stood to attention. The air became tinged with her arousal. His cat growled its approval and his cock hardened.
Gabriel leaned down and kissed Jordanna, tangling his fingers into her silky soft hair. She gave a startled gasp that opened her mouth. It was too sweet a temptation, so he thrust in his tongue to taste her again. She grasped his shoulders, her fingers curling into his skin, her fingernails pricking him. The small bite of pain made his cock jerk.
Jordanna [Eminence Shifters 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 6