“And what makes you as a qualified judge? Everyone knows that you’ve wanted me in your community since the moment you met me.” She whirled away from him and paced along the sidewalk. Her heart raced, and even the air seemed to press in on her. Hell, they’d only had one date as a group. It was too soon to live with them. “You’re kind of biased.”
“Since before I met you.” Dante widened his stance, but stayed where he was. “And I’m a qualified judge because I’ve been cleaning and trying to prevent the mess those creatures cause. For the last three months, the attacks have become more frequent and intense than ever. A young Gargoyle woman was attacked while she was on a college campus. We told you they will kill and injure anyone they think is weaker than them. They’re not getting another chance at you if I can help it.”
“Damn it, Dante, I have a business to run. I can’t hide out in your community. There are people who rely on me.” She threw her hands up.
“I never said you had to hide out in the community and not come back here. I expected you would continue working. But you won’t be alone. If you’re here, you’ll be with one of us or a guard I appoint.” Dante reached out as she passed and grabbed her hand. “I know you have a business to run and that people depend on you for their livelihood. I respect that, and I’ll do my best not to let this interfere.”
She exhaled. Well, that was more than she thought she’d get from him. “I’m still not sure the moving thing is necessary, at least not permanently as you’re expecting. You could find out who’s doing this next week.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it. If we had any inkling about who or why, other than this Gobel and his friends want the Gargoyles out of the region, then maybe, but we don’t.” Dante grimaced. “I don’t want to make you any angrier than you are, but I’m not going to lie to you. You coming to live with us was inevitable.”
She took a deep breath and shook her head. He thought of their relationship as something that existed rather one they were starting. And there wasn’t anything that would change that opinion. “It wasn’t inevitable. I’m still not sure about this three men thing.”
“You’ll become sure of it. I know it’s strange to you, but I’m certain you’ll see how good things could be between us if you’ll let it. All you have to do is relax and let it grow.” He put his hand on her shoulder.
Easy for him to say. This multiple partner thing was familiar to him. So many things didn’t make sense. Could it even work without someone feeling left out?
Chapter Eight
Bring! A light green ceiling hung over her. Where am I? She groaned and rolled over to her side. The tone continued. She reached for the phone and turned it off. Beyond that, a white carpet led to a big window. Where was she? This definitely wasn’t her room at her home. Her heart beat kicked into a faster pace. She took a few deep breaths.
It all came back to her. The Gobel breaking into the bakery and coming after her, the wait for the repairmen, and the argument about staying at their house. Not that she’d won that. Dante hadn’t given an inch. He was certain that she was now in danger. He probably wasn’t wrong. Only time would tell.
The man hadn’t given her much choice about coming. He might have picked her up and carried her off if she hadn’t agreed to go. She hadn’t pushed him. Maybe it was to maintain a little control. Those men were still a mystery to her in most ways. How did they act when they became angry? Yes, she trusted them for some unfathomable reason, but that might not be a good thing.
She rolled out of bed and headed for her bag. They agreed to her sleeping in a separate room. That had floored her. Of course, by the time they’d come to their house, it was the small hours of the night. She’d stumbled into the room and fallen on the bed. Her cousin had taken the room next to her.
She stretched. Not that he’d be around tonight. He had plans with one of the friends he’d made here.
She dug through her hastily packed bag of work clothes and found something to wear, most importantly fresh panties and a bra. Somehow, they’d have to bring the rest of her clothes here, because she couldn’t live with what she’d brought for long. The dressier clothes from her garment bag had already been hung up. Regardless of what happened with Cael, Thane, and Dante, she’d probably be here for a while.
She showered, dressed, and towel dried her hair. First, a little makeup. She leaned in and brushed on a little more blush. After putting the blush back in the travel bag, she strolled out of the room and toward the living room. They’d given her a brief tour, mostly big furniture and lots of space had registered.
She walked into the living room. Large leather furniture had been placed around the room, one of the focuses a large television, the other a fireplace. She continued through. Now, where’s the kitchen?
She wandered into a dining room. The rich scent of coffee drifted on the air, drawing her to a connecting door. Quiet conversation, soft thuds, and the scrape of metal filtered through the door. She pushed it open.
Dark blue-gray cabinets lined almost every wall in the kitchen. So much storage space. Whoever designed this obviously had cooking in mind. Thane stood at the white and gray granite counter, cubing some cheese. A mound of veggies rested on a plate nearby. Maybe he was preparing a southwestern omelet or something similar.
“Morning.” She walked over to the counter where a variety of coffee pods rested in a carousel. Oh, yum, they have the dark roast with hazelnut. She grabbed a mug.
“Good morning, Moriah. Did you sleep well?” Thane continued decimating a block of cheese.
“Yes, I did. The bed’s comfortable. Did you get some rest? I know we all had a short night.” She popped the pod into the machine and waited as it brewed.
“Yes, I did. I had no trouble falling to sleep.” Thane smiled.
“How are you today, Ford?” She glanced at her cousin where he sat at a light golden wood table with Cael. No sign of Dante.
“I’m good. A little tired.” Ford lifted a shoulder in a shrug.
“Did you say something earlier about not being here tonight? I thought I remembered something, but I can’t be sure.” She grabbed her coffee.
“Yes. Greg, one of my friends from the training group, invited some of us. One of his fathers is a trainer, and he was going to give us some extra lessons, plus pizza and a football game in the park.” Ford smiled.
He liked the training. Every time he talked about it, excitement bubbled in his voice, and his eyes held a light. So good to see that. For a while, he’d been stressed about the changes and his ability to control them.
“That sounds like a fun night for you. I’ll see you sometime tomorrow then.” Probably not bright and early, especially with his friends. She sat down across from Cael.
“What are you going to do tonight?” Ford lifted his mug.
“Um…” She took a deep breath. No idea. She couldn’t go visit any friends.
“Dante mentioned before he left that he’d like to take you out to eat.” Cael reached over and touched her hand.
“He’d like to go out?” She frowned. They had her in their house, and they were worried about those Gobel.
“Yes, I believe we mentioned the restaurant in the community. Well, it’s really good, and we thought you might like it.” Thane turned away from the stove to look at her.
“As well as observe a few ménage relationships in action?” She lifted a brow. Would he admit the ulterior motive for a visit to this restaurant?
“Well, yes, places within our communities are some of the only ones that allow us to relax and really be ourselves. We don’t have to worry about what someone will hear or say. Or perhaps running into clients while we’re out. Those with businesses do have to be concerned.” Cael lifted a shoulder. “Most people wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that the people are involved in a relationship, but sometimes even questions can cause problems.”
“Has it been a problem before for people? Others discovering the multiple partners and bad things happening?” She t
ilted her head.
“Not in the last hundred or so years. We started living in communities like these. Most of the time, discovery came because people found they were sharing the same home. And these days, most people don’t care as long as you don’t push it in their face.” Cael reached over and put his hand over hers.
“So would you like to go eat with us?” Thane asked.
“Yes, I would.” She licked her lips.
That was an answer to one of her questions about a relationship with multiple men. It wasn’t so much the public perception. She provided baked goods for people. A good many of them didn’t know her name, much less her marital status. How would this relationship work? Would they be jealous? They’d said they wouldn’t, but they couldn’t prove that until they were in the relationship.
“So, we never went over how we’d do this today. You said that I couldn’t be at my work alone. I have to go to work.” She looked at the two of them. Dante wasn’t here. He probably wouldn’t be the one who watched her.
“I’m going to your bakery with you. I can work from there since I don’t have any meetings today.” Cael reached over and touched her arm.
“Someone being with me at all times is going to be a difficult thing for even the three of you to work through.” She bit her lip.
“We’ll work it out. If it’s not possible for any of the three of us to be with you, then we’ll use some of the men from our work to watch over you.” Cael lifted a shoulder. “When that happens, it probably won’t be for an entire day, because I can’t see entrusting your safety completely to anyone other than Dante and Thane. I’d constantly worry.”
She had to grin. “A little bit untrusting, isn’t that? You put those men on jobs, yet you’d wonder about their performance when watching me.”
“It’s a completely different thing. You’re more important than any normal job.” Cael shook his head. “Now, sit down. You need to eat and then get ready for work. We’ve got work to do today.”
She grinned. “Doesn’t look like you’re helping get the food on the table.”
“Thane likes to cook breakfast. Me not so much. I do cook, but lunch and dinner are my forte. If you relied on me for breakfast, you’d have to deal with takeout or out of a bag or box.” Cael laughed.
“I can deal with takeout occasionally.” She put her hand over his.
“We don’t have to do that today.” Thane brought a platter of eggs and vegetables over to the table. He went back to the stove for a plate of breakfast sausage.
“No, we don’t, and the smell of this makes me glad I’m here.” She met his eyes.
“We’re definitely glad that you’re here.” Thane took the seat beside her.
A gagging sound came from her cousin.
“Channeling your inner thirteen-year-old girl is not attractive.” She shook her head. “Yeah, I know you’re so not interested in anything concerning a relationship of mine.”
Thane made a choking sound, but didn’t laugh. Moriah lifted a brow. Her cousin had always had that attitude, as if he’d seen her as almost sexless, but he’d also been protective of her.
“I don’t have an inner girl. What I have is an aversion to hearing the mush in relation to you. You’re my cousin.” Ford scowled and dished up a couple spoonfuls of eggs onto his plate.
“Don’t worry about it, Ford. I don’t have an inner girl either.” Cael took some sausage and added them to his plate. “I also wouldn’t like it if I had to think about my female cousin having a relationship.”
“See. He understands. It’s like thinking about your parents having sex. It might happen, but you never want to know about it.” Ford gestured toward her.
She laughed. That put it in a certain kind of perspective. Her mother had been wonderful and had dated a little, but what happened after, that was something she never pondered. And it had been very deliberate.
“Dude, my parents and sex are not to be mentioned in the same sentence.” Thane scowled.
“You have a younger brother, Thane.” Cael shook his head.
“Doesn’t matter.” Thane pointed his fork at Cael.
“Aside from that, I’m not sure you guys are good enough for her. That’s something you’re going to have to prove.” Ford waved his hand.
Cael’s eyes narrowed on Ford, but he took a deep breath. “Fair enough. You’ll see that she’ll be the center of our world. My only hope is that you don’t have to wait as long as Dante did to find the one for you and whoever you connect with.”
Moriah relaxed. If he’d been even a little loud or angry with her cousin, she’d have raged at him. Ford hadn’t done anything wrong. All he wanted to do was protect her.
“It took him a long time?” Ford tilted his head.
“Yes, and he’s been searching for her since before he met us.” Cael leaned back in his chair.
“Woah, um, so I’ll be able to talk to you guys about that and about meeting and being partners.” Ford leaned forward in his chair.
“Yes, you can talk to us any time.” Thane nodded. “Let’s eat. I’ll take you to the school so we can transfer everything here. You’ve got our numbers if you need anything.”
“Yes, but it’s school. I don’t think it’s going to be that different.” Ford shrugged.
“You might be surprised.” Cael smiled. “There’s a reason we only have a high school here and not the lower grades.”
“And why is that?” Moriah frowned and looked back and forth between Cael and Thane.
“Because here they don’t have to try to fight the change or control every emotion. It’s safer for us as a group to have them within the community during that time and after. I know it would seem restrictive, but the stress can be even worse if they have to try to make it out there in a human world.” Thane put his hand on hers. “When the changes begin happening, it’s easiest to make sure that they’re among us and that they don’t have to worry about other people seeing them.”
That made sense. They finished breakfast, and she hurried back to her room to finish prepping for work. By the time she returned, Ford and Thane had left. Cael waited for her in the kitchen drinking another cup of coffee.
“Are you ready to go work in my bakery?” She stopped in the doorway and watched him.
“Oh, yeah, I’ll enjoy working with you. And I’ll definitely enjoy the fringe benefits of being there.” He smiled. His eyes swept over her from head to toe. “Snacks and coffee available within steps.”
She laughed. Snacks weren’t the only thing he considered a perk.
Touching and kissing him would be great, but they wouldn’t find the opportunity during the day for more than an innocent kiss. There wasn’t time and were too many people around.
“I’ll supply you with coffee and muffins.” She grabbed her jacket. “Anything else you have in mind will probably have to wait.”
“Now, what could I want other than good coffee, my choice of snacks, and time with you?” Cael grinned. “I’ll grab my computer on the way out the door. It’s waiting there.”
She met his eyes and raised an eyebrow. Does he expect me to believe that? He laughed. They walked through the house to the side door which gave access to the garage.
“Don’t look so doubting. I know how to behave during the workday and in public.” Cael looked back at her as he pushed the door wide.
“We’ll see. I haven’t ever had anyone at work with me. So how am I going to explain you to my employees, because people don’t normally stay more than a few hours at the bakery even with the Wi-Fi available?” She walked with him around the big suburban. “There are just more comfortable places to work.”
“Just say that I’m a businessman for now. If anyone is that curious and seems to ask questions, which I don’t think they will, we’ll come up with something else. We could always say that I’m your boyfriend. Plus, I have this.” Cael paused and pulled a cushion out of the side pocket of his bag.
“And I thought you considered yourself s
o much more than my boyfriend.” She looked at him through her lashes.
He shook his head at her. Huh, he didn’t rise to that bait. He had control.
He walked her to the door, staying close even in the enclosed garage. He opened the door and waited. She climbed in and settled in the supple leather seat. He shut the door and walked back around the car.
He took a table near the counter. At points, he was up off and on. When it was quiet in the shop, he made some calls and paced back and forth. Otherwise he stayed at the table and kept an eye on her and anyone who came in the shop, but, to her, he wasn’t obvious about it.
Surprisingly, the day went smoothly. At the end of the day, he put away his computer and helped her with the last of the clean-up and locking up the store. No one had asked about him.
He escorted her out to the vehicle. His palm pressed against her back, the warmth seeping through the fabric of her shirt. She strolled along easily beside him.
Her cozy little bakery didn’t feel so comfortable and secure at the moment. With him along, she didn’t jump at shadows. It would probably be different without him. Would the memory of the attack linger after the danger ended? This had been a place of joy for her. She’d always woken up, anxious to get to work. Today not so much.
“Hop up. We’ll go home, and you can have some time to relax and dress up if you’d like for the night’s meal. It might be a little while before Thane and Dante get in.” Cael pressed a kiss to her neck.
A shiver ran down her back. She climbed up into the SUV. Damn. A chance to relax with him, naked, would be great, but there might not be time. After a full day of work, her clothes clung to her. A tight stickiness coated her face, neck, and the skin of her chest exposed by her shirt, as if a thin film of sugar coated her. Not to mention the sweat from exertion and the warmth of the ovens. She probably did not smell sexy at all.
“That sounds wonderful. I could use a bath. Maybe I won’t go to dinner smelling like cookies and a hard day’s work.” She settled back in the chair. Not having to worry about driving and cooking something to eat was wonderful. Some nights, the energy to even make a sandwich escaped her.
Finding Their Flame [Stone Passions 2] Page 9