“You seem sad,” Asher said, deliberately not mentioning that he would have smelled she was feeling sad. Amber was here, and she knew nothing of shifters.
“I’m sad because none of you told me what you wanted for Christmas, and now it’s too late to shop for anything.”
Asher’s silent growl made his chest vibrate. He wasn’t fooled by her answer. Damned shifters could smell a lie. She twisted a little so she could see Asher’s face. He wasn’t smiling.
“I’m also worried about Amber. She’s so sad. I hate that she’s flying home tonight and still refusing to tell me what’s wrong.”
“You can’t fix what’s wrong with her,” Troy said. “But I think she’ll be feeling better soon.”
“You keep saying that,” Jade said, growling at him. “Then you refuse to explain.” Jade was exasperated that they wouldn’t share what they knew about Amber’s sadness. Their not being able to lie didn’t mean they couldn’t be evasive.
“It’s not our story to tell,” Barrett said. “She’ll tell you as soon as she knows herself.”
Jade growled again. As if Barrett’s explanation didn’t just serve to frustrate her even more.
“I think now’s a good time to tell Jade what we want for Christmas,” Asher said.
“But it’s too late now. I can’t get it for you,” Jade said. She felt her stomach lurch again, the dinner she’d just eaten threatening to come straight back up.
“It’s nothing you can find in a store, honey,” Wes said.
“We want you to accept our proposal of marriage,” Barrett said.
“That’s all any of us want for Christmas,” Asher said.
“For you to be our wife,” Troy added.
“Say yes, Jade. We love you more than life itself,” Barrett said.
Jade looked at the amber lights dancing in their blue eyes. She pushed Asher’s arms from around her waist and slipped from his lap. She reached up both hands to cup Barrett’s cheeks.
“Yes, I’ll marry you, Barrett Pollock,” Jade said. Barrett smiled widely and leaned down to kiss her. He broke the kiss quicker than Jade was ready for. He tasted so good. Her nipples had hardened and liquid heat pooled in her sex. He spun her to face Wes.
Jade knew what Wes wanted. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” Jade said, reaching up to pull his head down. He kissed her just as passionately as Barrett had and it was making her arousal soar. He broke their kiss, panting a little as he smiled and turned her to face Troy.
“Yes…” was all Jade managed before Troy wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to him. His mouth crashed down onto hers and his tongue plunged into her mouth to tangle desperately with her own. Jade was going to erupt into flames. She wanted these men so badly.
She was breathless when Troy set her down, her legs unsteady as he kept his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face Asher.
“I don’t need to be married,” Jade said, glancing toward the kitchen to make sure Amber wasn't in earshot. “I’m mated to all of you, and that’s already forever.”
“We want you to have our name, as well as our hearts,” Asher said.
Tears sprang to Jade’s eyes. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Asher.” She had their hearts. His words were perfect.
Jade knew they were doing this for her because she was human. Being married wasn’t going to help her mom accept their relationship, but she’d admit it felt wonderful. Mrs. Jade Pollock had a nice ring to it. Asher bent to kiss her, his lips softly brushing hers.
“Someone’s coming,” Cooper said. Asher broke their kiss and pulled her into his arms.
The big enforcer went to stand by Melanie, all the men quickly surrounding their mates and holding their babies. Hunter opened the front door, his tense body relaxing as he looked outside.
“It’s Mason Reeder.”
Jade heard a cry come from the kitchen. The sound of crockery breaking soon followed.
Amber ran to Jade’s side. “Mason is here?” The last word out of Amber’s mouth sounded more like a squeak. “I think I need to lie down, I’m very tired all of a sudden.” Amber’s face was pale as she stared pleadingly at Jade.
“Don’t you want to say hello to Mason first?” Jade said, not understanding Amber’s apparent panic.
“I hardly know him. Why would I want to talk to him? He left without even a good-bye. Who does that?” Amber was walking backward out of the dining room, her face now so white Jade worried she was about to faint.
Mason walked through the living room, his dark hair looking wild and windswept, his black eyes shining. He didn’t look at Jade. He didn’t look at anyone. His gaze was fixed solely on Amber’s back. He looked different. Thinner, haunted even.
“Amber.” Mason’s voice was a rough rumble that vibrated through the entire room.
Amber went so still she could have been made of stone.
“I couldn’t say good-bye to you,” Mason said.
The seconds dragged by in total silence. Amber finally turned around, a small gasp escaping her mouth as she looked at Mason. He didn’t speak. He simply held out a hand to her. She took it and let him lead her back out the front door.
“Well, that went better than expected,” Melanie said, breaking the silence. “Did Jade say yes?”
“Of course she did,” Jordanna said.
“We’re all going to be bridesmaids, aren’t we?” Morgan asked exuberantly. The small woman was jumping up and down with excitement. How could Jade say no to her?
Jade nodded, her happiness bubbling over. Tears ran down her cheeks as Asher put her down. The women rushed to hug her and the men all stepped forward to shake hands and congratulate her mates.
Jade looked to the doorway to check on Amber.
“They’ll all be fine,” Jordanna said. The woman was blind, but seemed to miss nothing. It was spooky.
“All?” Jade craned her neck to look more closely out the front door. She saw several men talking to Amber, one of them looked to be even taller than Finn. He was huge.
“Do you want to set the date, my love?” Asher asked.
He wrapped her in his arms and Jade pushed all thoughts of Amber to the back of her mind. All of her men were fiercely protective of Amber. If they thought she was in any danger, they would have never let Amber leave with Mason.
“Can we have the wedding soon?” Jade asked, loving the big smiles on her mate’s faces.
“Tomorrow if you want it,” Troy said. “We can send the helicopter for the minister if necessary. We can have the ceremony at our mom and dad’s. They’d love that. I know a company that will do a fantastic job on the catering, despite it being last minute.”
“Troy,” Wes said, wrapping his arm around his twin. “Tomorrow is Christmas Day.”
“Soon meaning weeks, not months,” Jade said, laughter bubbling up at Troy’s infectious enthusiasm.
“Anything you want,” Troy said, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Just name it and it’s yours.”
“I just want forever with the four of you.” Jade felt the hot tears run down her face again.
“You already have that,” Asher said, smoothing away her tears with his thumbs. “Let’s take our mate home and celebrate our engagement.”
Jade’s mind was elsewhere as they said their good-byes. She was barely holding back the urge to vomit. The other women had told her they’d fallen pregnant very quickly, and she was afraid the same thing may have happened to her.
She loved her mates so much and to have created a life, a baby, with them would be simply overwhelming and miraculous. She knew logically that if she wasn’t pregnant this month, she had an excellent chance of falling soon. But watching the other men today with their babies, seeing their love and joy, had made her want it even more. Her men would be wonderful fathers. Their boundless love would make their child the most cherished life on the planet.
Jade knew exactly what she wanted for Christmas.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ashley was born in England but has lived in Australia since she was three years old. Her love of reading has grown into a love of writing stories. All he stories will have a happy-ever-after, because that’s what she feels everyone deserves. She likes to call it “Ashley-World.” It’s a world of infinite possibility where love conquers all adversity. She hopes you enjoy escaping into her world for a little while.
For all titles by Ashley Malkin, please visit
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Jade [Eminence Shifters 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 16