“Kael…” Anna placed a calming hand on her arm.
Kael’s whole body trembled beneath her touch, and a low, keening noise escaped from her lips. For a moment the raw emotion paralyzed Anna, then, uncertain of how else to respond, she pulled a soaking-wet Kael into her arms, murmuring, “It’s okay. You still love Elin, and she still loves you. I promise.”
Anna sighed at the feeling of holding her strong friend. In one earth-tilting moment, Kael had gone from stoic protector to fiercely protected, and Anna felt the fundamental change deep in her soul. That’s exactly how I feel about him, isn’t it? Protective. Just like with Elin.
Leaning into Anna, Kael cleared her throat before making a hushed confession. “There’s something I’ve never really talked about with Elin. It’s one reason I got so upset back there.”
Anna’s instinctive suspicion that Kael was withholding something was confirmed by those tortured words.
“Tell me.”
Kael’s body grew tense in Anna’s embrace. “Guess how many children I have?” Her voice was so low that Anna could hardly make out the question over the noise of the thunderstorm.
Anna squinted her eyes closed in reaction to the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had a hard time reconciling the idea of masculine Kael being a mother. “How many?”
“Three.” Kael’s voice broke. “I don’t even know whether the first two were girls or boys. The third was a little girl. I managed to catch a glimpse of her before they took her away from me.”
“I’m sorry,” Anna murmured into Kael’s ear. I guess it makes sense. Kael was at the Eve Institute for ten years and forced to procreate for nine of them. “Elin doesn’t know?”
“I don’t talk about it.” The words were flat and clipped.
“You can talk about it with me,” Anna said. “I don’t know why you haven’t told Elin, and I understand that you must have your reasons, but…talking about it might make you feel better.”
“You learned that from Elin, huh?”
“That and other things.” Anna traced her fingers over the side of Kael’s face, the hard line of her jaw. “And, by the way, you have to know I could never hit you. I have a feeling you’ve been hit far too many times.”
Kael gave her a fond half-smile. “I don’t know. You do get pretty brutal when we spar. You’re better every day.”
Anna chuckled. “Thanks. That’s not the same, though.”
After a brief hesitation, Kael leaned her forehead against Anna’s. Voice tremulous, she said, “I worry about my babies all the time. Where they are, what might be happening to them. I know it’s strange. I never wanted to have them, and I hated being forced to carry them, but…nine months is a long time to spend with somebody and not care at all.”
“It makes sense,” Anna murmured, though she wasn’t sure whether she would have felt the same way or not. I’m glad I never had to find out.
“I worry about them all, but that last little girl the most. Because I saw her, she’s the most real to me. She’d be almost nine years old now.”
“How about the oldest?”
“Fifteen.”
“I’m sorry,” Anna said.
With a helpless shrug, Kael pulled her closer and pressed her rain-dampened face into Anna’s hair. “It didn’t give me an excuse to get so upset with Elin back there. Or to take my fears out on you. I said what I did to get a reaction, nothing more. Using something like that against you wasn’t fair. It was unforgivable.”
“But I already told you, Kael. I forgive you.”
“I’m not sure I deserve a friend like you.” Kael hugged her tighter, then released her so she could look into Anna’s eyes. “Hey, Anna?”
“Yeah?”
“Can…can you at least understand where I’m coming from, though? How do you think you would feel about raising children, if—”
“I was pregnant once.” The confession left her mouth before she even realized she was going to make it. It was the first time she had ever said it out loud. “I…lost it maybe three or four months after…that day.”
“Oh.” Kael broke their eye contact at her soft words. “Did you realize you were? Before you lost it?”
“I knew I hadn’t menstruated, and I worried, but I thought maybe they had just damaged me inside. I almost hoped they had. And then one morning I woke up, and I just wouldn’t stop bleeding. Garrett was scared to death.”
“I bet he was,” Kael said. “That must have been really frightening.”
“I was glad I didn’t have to have that baby.”
“What am I going to say to Elin?”
Anna gave Kael a patient smile. “You’re going to tell her you love her no matter what, too. You’re going to tell her you’re not mad at her. Tell her you were scared. Tell her whatever you feel comfortable telling her, but make sure she knows this isn’t something that could tear you two apart.” She paused, framing what she wanted to say most. “Kael, I could help protect a baby.
You don’t have to bear that responsibility alone. And in fact, I think the three of us together…well, I think we could do anything. We complement each other.”
Kael’s lower lip quivered. “Anna—”
“No, listen to me,” Anna continued, not allowing Kael even one moment to protest. “I’ll spar with you every day until I can hold my own, if it means you could feel better about letting us give Elin a child to raise.
Because, I mean…what’s one thing we love so much about Elin? It’s that part of her that is so untouched, right? And that’s exactly what makes her want to share her life with a child, I think. So if we want to honor that piece of Elin, then maybe the way to do that is to figure out how we can—”
Kael stopped the rambling speech by covering Anna’s mouth with her own. The kiss was slow and gentle, and when it ended long moments later, it left Anna breathless. Kael pulled away and pressed her forehead to Anna’s, both of them gasping. Her hands slid down Anna’s sides and came to rest on her waist.
“I’m sorry.” Kael made no move to pull away. “I just…had to do that.”
“Don’t be sorry.” Anna’s voice was low with sudden, startling arousal. “I’m glad you did.”
Nodding, Kael raised her eyes to meet Anna’s, only inches from her own. Her timid smile almost broke Anna’s heart. “I just wanted you to know…thank you. I would appreciate the help. Elin and I are so lucky to have you.”
Anna could feel the solemnity of Kael’s words, and her heart beat faster as her commitment to her family was solidified by her promises of the night. “You’re welcome.” At Kael’s loving gaze, she relaxed into a playful smile. “Elin was right, by the way. You are one hell of a kisser.”
Kael grinned, then took Anna’s lips in another lingering kiss. She pushed her tongue inside of Anna’s mouth with a groan of pleasure. Anna brought one hand up to rub over the back of Kael’s shaven head, keeping her close. Their kiss ended with more mutual gasping, bringing both Kael and Anna to panting laughter.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted you to do that,” Anna murmured.
“Not as long as I’ve wanted to do it, I bet.”
“I don’t know about that.” Anna drew back. “As much as I’d like to kiss you again, I think you need to get inside, tough guy.”
“Yes. I need to make things right with Elin.”
Anna stepped out of Kael’s embrace. “We need to get out of these wet clothes, anyway.” Her nipples tightened as Kael’s eyes grew heavy-lidded and dark with desire. “We’re going to catch our deaths out here like this.”
Kael cleared her throat and rubbed her hand over her head. All of the emotion of the evening still hung around them, but the air felt charged in an entirely different way. “Anna?”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s go make love to Elin.”
For a moment the only sound was the thunderstorm that raged on around them.
“Both of us?” Anna asked when she could speak again.
<
br /> Nodding, Kael held her gaze with intense indigo eyes. “Together.”
Without hesitation, Anna took her hand. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Nine
Elin was on her feet the instant they returned to their sleeping room. Still dressed in her tank top and panties, her auburn hair was mussed and her hazel eyes red-rimmed and watery. She was utter misery tinged with fearful hope, searching out Kael’s face as soon as they walked through the door.
“I’m sorry,” she said immediately, and took a cautious step forward. “Kael, baby, I’m so—”
“No, I’m sorry.” Kael released Anna’s hand and strode across the room to meet Elin halfway and wrap her in a crushing embrace. “I was a complete jerk. You have nothing to be sorry about.”
Anna walked across the room in silence, leaving Kael and Elin to their apologies. She pulled off her wet Tshirt, shivering, then stripped off her damp blue jeans. Clad in only a bra and panties, she climbed into a sleeping bag and sat cross-legged beneath the warm material. She never considered leaving the room.
She finally felt enough a part of the family to bear witness to these emotional apologies.
Kael rubbed her hands up and down Elin’s back. “I was scared. I should have just told you how I was feeling.”
“Scared of what?” Elin asked. “Caring for a child?”
“And losing you if I can’t do it.”
Elin leaned back to see Kael’s face. “I don’t need to raise a child, Kael. I do need you. You’re not going to lose me, promise. I’m here to stay.”
Kael looked solemn. “I’m just not ready to raise a child right now, but I promise to keep an open mind about it, okay?”
Elin gave Kael a careful smile. “Okay. I’m not ready, either.”
“You still love me?”
Elin leaned forward and took Kael’s mouth in a long, passionate kiss that left Anna breathless where she sat. She knew a million words were spoken in that kiss: apologies, endearments, and promises of forever.
Her heart thumped, and she felt her soul lighten.
Elin broke away from their kiss and giggled, squirming within the circle of Kael’s arms. “God, Kael…you’re soaking wet!”
Kael gave her a broad, mischievous grin. “You know your kisses always do that to me, sweet girl.”
Elin slapped the wet T-shirt that left no part of Kael’s chest to the imagination. “Stop.”
Anna chuckled. “Fair’s fair. He got me all wet out on the porch after he was done apologizing.”
Elin laughed, then insisted, “Come here to us. You look cold.”
Anna hesitated, then stood and crossed to them, taking the hand Kael extended. When their eyes met, she was transfixed by the vulnerability she saw in those indigo depths. Kael was truly letting her inside as never before. The thought flooded Anna with fierce emotion, and she leaned up to press a gentle kiss to Kael’s lips. She heard Elin’s soft intake of air beside them and felt Kael’s large hand settle on her hip. In a moment of amused panic, she remembered that she was only wearing her bra and panties. Even that thought was lost when Kael’s tongue caressed her lips apart and moved inside of her mouth. Anna sucked on it deliberately, provoking a soft moan.
“Okay, well now I’m soaking wet,” Elin said.
Instantly, they stepped apart, silly grins plastered on their faces.
Kael tipped her head back and laughed. “Me, too.”
Anna smiled shyly. “I’m glad I’m not the only one.”
“Was that your first kiss?” Elin asked. “I was right. It was the hottest thing ever.”
Anna flushed. “The third.”
Kael’s low chuckle caused her to blush harder. “Is she always this sweet?” Kael asked Elin with a loving half-smile.
“Always.” Elin ran hungry eyes down Anna’s barely clad body. “Sweeter, even.”
Kael cleared her throat. “Well, now that I’ve gotten both of you girls nice and wet, maybe you should get out of those clothes.”
“You think so?” Elin asked, giving Kael a playful smile.
Anna cast her gaze to the floor. She was painfully turned on, but now that the moment was here, she felt all the shyness of her first time with Elin return. I thought I was over this timid virgin bullshit. She could feel Kael’s eyes on her, and she folded bare arms over her goose-pimpled flesh, uncertain whether it was the cold or Kael’s candid stare that was making her shiver.
She raised her eyes to the erect nipples that were visible through Elin’s damp tank top and desire hollowed her stomach. As if reading an unspoken invitation, Elin closed the distance between them, and wrapped her arms around Anna’s body.
Staring past her to Kael, she said, “Kael’s just a horny boy who wants to see us naked and making out.”
“Maybe I’m just a horny girl who thinks that sounds like a pretty good idea, too,” Anna whispered against Elin’s lips.
She moaned when Elin pressed her tongue into her mouth. Warm fingers covered her skin, pressing into her and sending shock waves rolling through her body at the friction against her rock-hard nipple. Gasping, Anna broke away from the kiss. Her heart accelerated even more when she saw that Kael had removed her T-shirt, exposing small breasts, the nipples erect and dusky pink.
“Take off Anna’s bra, Elin,” Kael instructed.
Elin reached around to Anna’s back and found the clasp of her damp bra. “This okay?”
“Yes, very okay.” Anna glanced back to Kael, who removed soggy blue jeans and hung them over the back of the armchair. Kael’s eyes sought out her bare breasts as Elin removed the bra.
“Now take off Elin’s tank top,” Kael murmured. She stood a few feet away from them, wearing only dark boxer shorts. “Please, Anna.”
Anna grinned and reached down to grasp the hem of Elin’s tank top. Tugging it over Elin’s head, she immediately stepped in and pulled her lover into an embrace, crushing their naked breasts together. Her mouth found Elin’s in a hard, hungry kiss. Knowing that Kael was watching enflamed her, and soon she was struggling to remain standing on trembling legs.
“I need to lie down,” she gasped out. “I’m going to fall over if I don’t.”
Elin beamed. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She slowly stepped back as Kael crossed to them.
Kael gave Elin a quick kiss, then dropped to her knees and slid Elin’s panties down over pale thighs and shapely legs. She placed a reverent kiss on the curly hair between Elin’s legs before rising to her feet. “Get on the sleeping bags, baby,” she whispered to Elin.
Elin obeyed the command, and Kael joined Anna in gazing down at her bare, creamy skin. “You want to get her ready?”
“More than anything.”
Kael smirked, then leaned close to whisper in Anna’s ear, “Get her nice and wet for us, okay?”
Anna almost forgot to keep breathing, aware of the slick wetness that already painted her inner thighs. “No problem.” She gave Elin a sheepish smile as she got to her knees. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Elin’s smile spread slowly, creeping across her face as if she wanted to enjoy every second of its unfolding. “Are you sure you’re okay with this, honey? You feel comfortable? One word from you is all it’ll take to stop things if you don’t feel good about what’s happening. Understand?”
Anna trailed a hand over the gentle roundness of Elin’s belly. “I understand. I do want this. It just feels…right.”
“It is.” Elin stroked the side of Anna’s face. “I love you both so much.”
“I love you, too,” Anna said.
She moved on top of Elin, settling her hips between Elin’s thighs when she spread them to accommodate her. She cradled Elin’s face in both hands, lowering her face to lick at her full bottom lip. Elin raised her head to deepen the kiss, and soon Anna was thrusting desperate hips into Elin’s wetness, driven by a mindless intensity, her only desire to taste and touch and feel her lover. Every time she touched Elin, she savored it like it might be her only chance. Impati
ently, she rid herself of her panties, groaning at the feel of Elin’s soft skin against hers, at the way the thatch of wiry hair between Elin’s legs tangled with her own wet curls. Reluctantly, she lifted her mouth from Elin’s and moved down to settle on her stomach again with her head between Elin’s thighs.
“May I?” She pulled her lover’s legs over her shoulders to gain better access.
Elin giggled and tangled a hand in Anna’s hair. “You’d better. You know you don’t have to ask, sweetheart.
If you want to put your mouth on me, anytime, anywhere, just say the word. I’ll drop what I’m doing and come running. Or just come.”
Anna bent and planted a wet kiss on the tender skin of Elin’s inner thigh. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.” She moved over to nibble at Elin’s other thigh, then sank gentle teeth into the skin until Elin gasped.
Swiping her tongue across the captured flesh, she pulled back with a low groan. “You’d never get anything done. We’d never go anywhere. We’d both starve to death.”
“But what a way to go.” The hand in Anna’s hair tightened and tried to pull her into wet, swollen flesh. “God, Anna. Who taught you to tease this well?”
Anna held strong. She parted her lips and blew warm air on the pink flesh Elin presented without shame.
Elin’s hips bucked, and Anna pulled back, drawing out her torture.
“I have a great teacher,” Anna said. “She’s taught me everything I know.”
“Show me,” Elin pleaded, and pushed her hips into Anna’s face. This time Anna didn’t move away, and Elin managed to brush the damp curls against Anna’s chin.
Anna’s ability to draw this out fractured at the painful need in hooded hazel eyes. She met Elin’s stare and lowered her face, dragging the flat of her tongue up the length of Elin’s sex. She moaned into Elin’s flesh at the familiar taste. Elin tightened her hand in her hair.
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