Capturing Their Flame [Stone Passions 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Rebecca Airies

  A deep inhale brought the aroma of beef and spices. Someone had something delicious cooking. It could be normal every day dinner preparations, but she had her doubts.

  “You think that? What gives you that idea?” Isaac met them as they entered the house.

  “Well, let’s see. Neither Neil nor you checked in once today. He came back from this mysterious presentation to pick me up around four thirty. He never leaves work before five regardless of what he has planned.” She lifted a brow. “On top of that, something smells good.”

  Those had been definite signs that they planned something for tonight. On top of Neil’s smile, the anticipation she could see in his eyes gave her a big clue. Isaac might look relaxed, but he also had a smug air that made her suspicious.

  “Come with us, baby.” Isaac took her hand and began leading her to the back door. “Dinner needs some time to finish. We do have something planned. Apparently, we’ll have to be a little sneakier to get things past you.”

  “You shouldn’t try to get anything past me.” She grinned. “That way could lead to long, lonely nights on the couch.”

  “You, or us on the couch, because you know we are bigger?” Neil’s fingers tightened on her hip.

  “I don’t think it matters which of us is there. If I’m out on the couch and you’re in bed, you’ll miss this.” She ran her hand over her hip.

  “I would.” Isaac pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Neil will cover your eyes with his hands. It will be for a few moments. Trust us enough to lead you down the steps to the back yard?”

  She nodded. She did trust them. They had a small porch in the back yard. Lush grass, trees, and a few flowers covered the rest. They could lead her across the porch and down the stairs.

  “Good. I’m going to step behind you. Isaac will guide you.” Neil tightened his fingers a little.

  “All right, you two are making me curious. What do you have in the back yard?” She grinned.

  “You’ll see.” Neil’s fingers covered her eyes, blocking her vision.

  She blinked automatically, but the darkness remained. She tensed. Isaac’s arm curved around her shoulders. She heard the slight snick as the door opened. A slight breeze brushed over her cheek.

  “Step forward. Next step will be down as you step out onto the porch.” Isaac’s arm tightened and the pressure urged her forward.

  She took a single slow pace forward. Her toe touched the porch first. She relaxed a little. First hurdle passed. Now, she needed to let him guide her across the porch and to the steps. She knew he wouldn’t let her fall. Her stomach fluttered. She didn’t like the idea of pitching forward, even if he caught her before she neared the ground.

  A few steps later, she knew she neared the edge of the porch. She tensed.

  “Relax, Naomi. We have a couple of steps down.” Isaac dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Ease your foot down onto the tread. Now, the next one. And we’re down on the ground. We’ll stroll across the yard a little. I want to get you into the right position.”

  He urged her forward, but kept her balanced and stable. Finally, he stopped. Neil kept his fingers over her eyes. Isaac turned her a little to the left, then back to the right as if he tried to get her in the perfect location.

  Neil’s fingers lifted away. Naomi blinked. A table sat right in front of her. A dark blue table cloth draped over it. They’d set it with wine glasses, plates, and silverware. The big structure beyond that drew her eyes though. A tent, a freaking huge, white tent. It had to be as big as their kitchen. The flaps hung down. She couldn’t see inside of it. Twinkling lights had been strung above the table and led to the tent.

  “What’s in there?” She glanced at Isaac.

  “You’ll find out soon.” Isaac ruffled her hair. “Let’s go sit down and talk for a little while before the meal.”

  “Talk about what?” She tilted her head and frowned at him.

  “Nothing serious right now. Maybe your school, how your day was,” Neil said.

  For the next hour, they didn’t discuss anything heavy. That surprised her. She could see they did have something they wanted to say. Isaac and Neil insisted she sit while they brought out the food.

  They made it through the delicious roast and veggies before she noticed Neil glancing at Isaac. The wine, the sparkling lights, and the food all screamed romance. Her heart beat in her chest. She knew what she wanted this to be about, but didn’t know enough about Gargoyle culture to know if they did that.

  Isaac and Neil stood. Neil held out his hand to her.

  “Come here, Naomi.” Neil stared down at her.

  She rose to her feet and slipped her hand into his. They pulled her between them. Isaac took her other hand.

  “We’ve considered you part of our life since the moment we met you.” Isaac brushed his fingers over her cheek.

  “You were that determined, huh?” She grinned up at him.

  “Exactly, but for now, quiet woman.” Neil narrowed his eyes on her. “We’re trying to do something here.”

  She raised a brow at the quiet woman. Did the man not have a bone of self-preservation at all? She remained quiet though, eager to hear what they said.

  “We’ve wanted to tie you to us with every bond we could. I don’t think that will change anytime soon.” Isaac’s finger brushed across her lips.

  She licked her lips. She couldn’t deny that she wanted to wrap them up in every legality. She tensed. Was that what they meant? Excitement bubbled inside her.

  “We love you very much. We might have been brought together by the mating urge, but we soon realized that we wanted more than sex with you.” Neil leaned down and brushed his lips over her other hand. “Though believe me, I do want to have sex with you, any time, any way.”

  She bit her lip to keep from laughing. That was so Neil. “I love you.”

  Some of the tension flowed out of them. They eased in a little closer to her.

  “Will you marry us?” Isaac asked.

  “Legally, you’ll be married to one of us, because human law is puritanical. When we have children, we’ll take care of the legalities to ensure every contingency is covered.” Neil’s hand tightened around hers.

  “Yes, I’ll marry you.” She turned to Isaac and lifted to her tiptoes to kiss him.

  His mouth opened beneath hers. They kissed, the touch slow and lingering. When she pulled away from him, she knew the dishes would wait until morning. She turned to Neil. He didn’t wait for her. His lips closed over hers. His tongue thrust into her mouth. She didn’t let him have all the fun. She returned the fervor.

  “We had an alternate plan in case you need to be convinced, but now, let’s go celebrate.” Neil ran his fingers through her hair.

  Isaac drew her toward the tent. He parted the flaps revealing a bed draped in a deep green comforter. Strings of lights hung within the confines. She gulped. It was beautiful. Her eyes stung with tears.

  “We wanted tonight to be special for you.” Isaac said. “We can’t give you a night at an expensive hotel, enjoy room service, and get away from everything here. Instead of that, we’re giving you a night under the stars with us at your service.”

  “It already was, but damn, this, I’ll never forget this.”

  Epilogue

  Isaac got out of his car and strolled around to open Naomi’s door. She hopped down. He saw her eyes lock on the vehicle that pulled in alongside them. Dante, Cim Sin, and Cael, climbed out of the big SUV.

  Another vehicle pulled in near the edge of the lot and Agali Callista slipped out of the passenger side. A blond man pushed the driver’s side door open. The man looked like Callista, but a more masculine version.

  Naomi had told them where the bakery was. The woman had built her business in the neutral part of the city where any of the people could go. Because of its location, they’d invited Agali Callista. If the woman had Branal blood, the Agali would begin to educate her about what she was. The Cim and Dante would do the same if the person had Gargoyle ances
try.

  Sweet Things Bakery was in a prime location for morning traffic. Isaac guided Naomi up onto the sidewalk. The window bore the bakery’s name in big yellow stenciled letters bordered by blue. Naomi threaded her fingers through his as they approached the door. A bright yellow awning hung over the entrance.

  Delicious scents wafted out of the bakery. Isaac pulled open the door for her. The smell of donuts, pastries, and pies swirled around him. He swept his gaze around the empty shop, looking for hidden threats, before he let her step foot inside.

  They’d come in the early afternoon. Perhaps, there wouldn’t be many people in it. They’d gotten lucky it seemed. He couldn’t see anyone in the building at all except for the blonde woman working behind the counter.

  More than one person in this building held power, but the two energies felt different. Isaac frowned. He’d expected one because Naomi told them about the woman. A female with power.

  Naomi walked in and moved toward the glass cases. She looked down at the contents. Isaac remained right beside her. That mysterious other person raised his protective instincts. Although, they remained in the back somewhere. Maybe another worker.

  “Hello!” The woman moved to the portion of the counter where Naomi stood. The blue and yellow apron she wore bore Sweet Things emblazoned across it in a stylized script.

  “We’ll need a few minutes to decide what we want.” Isaac gave the woman a smile.

  Isaac glanced back and saw the Cim enter, followed by Dante and Cael. Dante inhaled. A low growl rumbled through the room.

  Cael took a step forward, but Dante’s hand rose to his shoulder and held him back. Cael turned his head and bared his teeth at Dante. The other man leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. Isaac couldn’t make out what he said. It didn’t appear to calm Cael.

  With the circumstances and Cael’s reaction, Isaac guessed they’d found the woman to complete their mating quartet. Isaac grinned. It looked like the betas faced some future frustration. Unlike Isaac and Neil, those three couldn’t carry her off. Not unless something posed a clear threat to her. Her presence in the neutral area protected her.

  The Cim strolled forward and stopped by Isaac. “Take a good sniff and stop anticipating his future problems. Although, I admit it makes me smile. Especially considering he had no sympathy for what you went through and what I will face, as well.”

  Isaac inhaled. He pushed aside the familiar scents of his mate, the Cim, and Branal. He caught the fragrance of an unknown Branal female, but a faint hint of male Gargoyle also lingered in the shop.

  “One of ours?” He glanced over at Cim Sin.

  “No, and he’s young. Should be in training.” The Cim shook his head.

  The door behind the woman opened and someone came out with a tray. As soon as the young blond male stepped fully into the front of the bakery, he stopped, inhaled and dropped the tray. He sprang forward and pushed the woman behind him.

  The youth began to grow, muscles bulking, and skin turning gray. This was the Gargoyle. Dante and Cael growled and sprang forward. Isaac pulled Naomi behind him to keep her away from any battle. The Cim sighed and shook his head. A wave of power rushed outward from the leader.

  Isaac drew in a slow breath as the energy from the Cim calmed him and the other Gargoyle in the room. Including the young male. He shrunk back to normal size.

  “What the hell are you people? And how did you do that because I need to learn. He never calms down unless I partially drain him.” The woman stepped out from behind the young man and looked at the group in her bakery.

  “Like you and the male beside you, we’re a little different.” The Cim glanced back at Callista and the male with her. “I’m afraid that you can’t learn to do that. It’s something only people with a certain level of power can do.”

  “Damn, it would make it so much easier to calm his ass down at times.” The woman shook her head.

  “Do you know what you are?” Cim Sin took a step forward, but stopped before he touched the display case.

  “No, neither of us does. He’s my cousin. His mom kicked him out because she said he was out of control, but I knew he was different.” She grimaced and shook her head.

  “Well, I’d like to introduce you to someone who is what you are. I’ll talk to your cousin, because he’s like I am. All he needs is stability from a strong leader and some training.” The Cim walked the woman over to Callista and the man with her.

  “What do you mean training? And leader of what? If you think I’m letting him join anything without checking it out, you’re out of your mind.” The woman glared at the Cim.

  Isaac smiled at the protectiveness in her voice.

  “Everything will be his choice. I’m leader of the group of Gargoyle that lives in this city, and this is the leader of the Branal, which is what you are. No one will force you to accept anything.” The Cim stopped in front of the Callista and the man with her. The Cim walked back over to the young man and began talking to him.

  The blond man stepped forward with his hand extended. “I’m William Vincente. I lead the Branal in this region. I’d appreciate if you’d agree to take a few classes that would help you learn what you need about yourself, and help you refine your abilities. With that knowledge, you can better protect yourself. As the Cim told you, we won’t force you. There are dangers I’m not sure you’re aware of.”

  Isaac blinked. The change in leadership was news to him. By the expression on the Cim’s face, he also hadn’t known.

  “We’ve encountered some strange things recently. A gray-skinned creature with red hair tried to hurt my cousin when he was in the park.” The woman bit her lip.

  A low growl rolled through the room. It came from near the door where Dante and Cael stood. Dante’s fists clenched and released, before tightening again. Cael’s hands hung at his side, but his fingers curled. He looked as if he wanted to rip free from Dante’s hold and go grab the woman.

  “That’s one of them. There’s another type.” William nodded. “Why don’t we sit down? We can talk more comfortably.”

  Isaac guided Naomi over to stand by Dante and Cael. Both men stared at the woman while she spoke with William and Callista.

  “Once they get her trained, she’ll have to face the Appari.” Isaac watched the two men’s faces. “Not easy to think of her standing in front of those things and trying to take them down, is it? Or how about the fact that you’ll be part of breeding a whole generation of warrior women for the Gargoyle.”

  “You and I are going to spar when we get back to the compound, Isaac. I think you’ve gotten a little lax.” Dante glared over at him for a moment.

  “Yeah, I suspect you’ll spend a good deal of time sparring and working off some aggression while you court her.” Isaac didn’t back down under that searing gaze.

  He would enjoy watching Dante, Cael, and Thane trying to convince her she belonged with them. That woman seemed to have been raised human. A ménage with three men would freak her out at first in spite of the draw to be with her mates.

  THE END

  WWW.REBECCAAIRIES.NET

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A voracious reader since childhood, Rebecca Airies has always enjoyed getting lost in the fantastic worlds of science fiction, horror, fantasy, and romance. When she began to write her own stories, they always had a romantic edge.

  Rebecca currently lives in Texas and writes with the help of a couple feline critics. She’s a multi-published author whose muse loves fantasy, sci-fi, and the paranormal, as well as strong heroines who are sometimes as stubborn as their heroes. She loves to hear from her readers. E-mail her at contactme@rebeccaairies.net.

  For all titles by Rebecca Airies, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/rebecca-airies

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ng Ménage Amour)