by Abby Blake
“Who are you? Did you come to play with us, too? Do you want to join us for a tea party? Jenna is going to have tea with us, aren’t you, Jenna? And Alana always stays for a cup of tea if she can, but sometimes she has to go look after the baby because she’s only little and needs to get her diaper changed and stuff like that.” He wasn’t used to children, had never spent much time with any of them, but this little darling sure made his head spin.
“Ah, sure,” he answered, feeling well out of his depth. Right at that moment, he would rather face down a dozen rogue agents with sub-machine guns than deal with the unknown social rules of a little girl’s tea party, but one look at the hope on this young child’s face had him caving to her demands. She continued to chatter nonstop while she set up the small table and poured imaginary tea into the smallest plastic cups he’d ever seen.
He glanced over to see Jenna sitting cross-legged on the floor just as Hailey moved shyly toward her. He didn’t hear the question that Hailey asked, but saw Jenna nod a moment before Hailey sat on Jenna’s lap and gave her a big cuddle. Jenna looked as uncomfortable as he felt, but she wrapped her arms around the little girl and held on tight.
That’s when Kara finally stopped talking. After her constant chattering, the silence was almost eerie as she walked over to Jenna, waited for Hailey to move over a little, and then squeezed onto Jenna’s lap also. Both girls seemed to listen to Jenna’s heartbeat for a moment, and then Kara looked up and said to her sister, “You’re right.”
“Right about what, Kara?” Alana asked, her voice sounding tight and strained.
“Jenna sounds like our mommy.” She said the words slowly like she was trying to figure it out in her head. “But the Professor said our mommy died when we were born.”
“Alana, why would Jenna sound like our mommy?” Hailey asked quietly, her soft voice carrying clearly to all the adults in the room.
Zane could feel Jenna’s conflicting emotions. She wanted desperately to tell them who she was, but she also wanted to avoid causing more pain. The look of anxiety and longing on her face twisted his heart, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her at that moment.
Finally Alana spoke.
“Hailey, Kara. Come here for a moment.” The girls reluctantly climbed off Jenna’s lap, and Zane moved closer to Jenna. She turned to look at him but held herself rigid. He was tired of her holding herself apart from the rest of the world and reacted before he could change his mind. He lifted her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her from behind, cradling her body against his own. “It’s going to be okay,” he said telepathically.
Alana sat on the ground with the girls sitting in front of her. “Girls, Jenna is your mommy. She didn’t die. The Professor lied to you.” Zane held tighter as he felt relief, excitement, and absolute terror roar through Jenna’s mind. She stood frozen in his arms as the girls reacted.
Hailey nodded with a wisdom well beyond her years, but Kara started chattering excitedly. “So she is our Mommy? Where’s she been? Does she know any good games? Can she stay here with us?”
Alana nodded happily, a big smile spreading across her face. “Maybe we should ask Jenna what she wants to do first. The Professor lied to her, too, so she only found out a few days ago that you two were okay.”
Kara was on her feet and running to Jenna before the final word left Alana’s mouth. She bounced on the spot, her enthusiasm contagious. “Can we play a game now? We’ve got cards and dolls and...” Kara cut off her barrage of words as Hailey stepped up beside her. Hailey’s expression was so serious that for a moment Zane worried that she was about to hurl accusations at her mother. Instead, her lips quivered just a little and she twisted her fingers together as she asked quietly, “Would it be okay if I call you mommy? I’ve missed you so much.”
Zane let Jenna slip from his grasp as she fell to her knees and hugged the little girl close. After a moment, she grabbed Kara as well and rocked them back and forth.
“I would really like that,” Jenna said brokenly. He could hear the tears in her voice, feel the relief as it swelled inside her, and wanted nothing more than to wrap all three in his arms and keep them safe.
* * * *
“How did it go?” Rick asked as Jenna and Zane walked through the door.
“Good,” Jenna said quietly as she walked past him toward her room. Zane looked concerned by her reaction but said nothing as she left the room.
“Good how?” Rick asked impatiently. He hated being left in the dark, and the emotions he could feel emanating from both Jenna and Zane were confusing.
“Good, as in the girls recognized their mother and spent the entire afternoon climbing all over her and demanding her attention.” Rick nodded but could feel his temper starting to boil. The girls happily accepting their mother didn’t explain the fear and sorrow he felt from Jenna. Zane must’ve sensed his growing unease because he motioned for Rick to follow him into the kitchen. He filled up the coffee pot as he explained.
“The girls are amazing. Kara talks nonstop, and Hailey is practically the opposite, but they recognized Jenna from her heartbeat. At least we think it was her heartbeat. Those two seem to have extrasensory skills far beyond that of the rest of us. They may be more powerful than Theresa.” Rick whistled softly. More powerful than Theresa? That was pretty powerful, and in the hands of children, the possibilities for disaster were unending.
Zane continued talking, a strange smile on his face. “They were so happy to see her. For days we’ve been worried that Jenna’s presence would be overwhelming for the kids, and it turns out it was the other way around.”
“Is Jenna okay?”
“I’m not sure, to be honest. She’s been coping with so many intense emotions today that I can feel the anger, the need to be in control, fighting back to the surface.”
“So what do we do?”
“You feed me, asshole.”
Rick almost reached for his gun. He wasn’t used to anyone being able to sneak up on him, and for some reason, he kept forgetting that Jenna had the skill to hide from his empathic senses. “Jenna...uh...food...sure. What would you like?”
“How the hell would I know? Just feed me already,” she said with a growl in her voice.
When Davies had assigned them to protect Jenna, everyone had been surprised, even Jason. The fact that Jenna had the ability to manipulate them both seemed a risky setup, but Davies had assured them that it was the best solution.
So now, here they stood in their own kitchen with their houseguest staring at them and about to explode in a fit of temper. Strange how much that turned him on.
“I’ll order pizza. Any preferences?” Zane asked cheerfully. Jenna sneered at him, but he just laughed and left the room.
“Rough day, baby?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Define rough day. Did I get shot at? No. Did I get to shoot anyone? No. So it wasn’t a rough fucking day.” She stalked closer to him and said in a soft voice. “Do I want to shoot someone? Hell, yeah. Give me a fucking gun.”
Rick fought to hide his smile. Even in full-blown temper, she was beautiful—her cheeks flushed pink, her full lips drawn tight, her eyes sparkling as she yelled her discontent. Considering the type of damage Jenna could do with only her telekinetic power, Rick felt comfortable that she was just using the words to let off steam. If she was really serious about hurting someone, he wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to stop her.
With his empathic skills, he felt her anger growing, but it was the fear just below the surface that concerned him. Something had really rattled her today, and as both her assigned protector and friend, he wanted to help.
“Jenna, baby,” he said as he pulled her closer. She resisted for a short moment, threw a few halfhearted punches, but gradually let him haul her into a tight embrace. “Talk to me. Why are you so upset? I want to help, but you’ve got to give me something to work with here. Is it the girls?”
“No,” she said in a quiet voice, “the girls are wonderful.
Smart, intelligent, beautiful, talented. Alana has done an amazing job with them. Less than six months since they were rescued from the rogues and already they’re happy, amazing children. The girls are great. It’s their worthless mother we need to worry about.”
“Jenna, you’re not worthless.”
“You sure about that? I’ve got no money, no job, no assets. I don’t even own the clothes I’m wearing. No future, no past, and no clue. Yep, I’m a real catch. How can I be anyone’s mother? I have spent my entire life training for war, not even realizing I was on the wrong side.”
Rick pulled her closer as he felt her anguish grow. “Jenna, listen to me. It’s going to take some time to find your feet, but you have a lot more to offer than you realize. What happened with the girls?”
“They remembered me even though they’d never actually met me.”
“That’s wonderful. It’ll make it a lot easier to get to know them.” She shook her head sadly even as he said the words.
“They’re better off where they are. I don’t know the first fucking thing about being a parent. I never even knew my own parents. What the fuck do I know about raising kids?”
“Baby, that just proves you’re going to be a great parent. You’re already thinking what is best for them, not what’s best for you. That’s the way good parents think. You’re going to be fine.”
“Really?” she asked softly. She pulled out of his embrace to look him in this eye as he nodded.
“Really,” he confirmed.
“Well, okay then,” she said as her eyes darted around the room, clearly uncomfortable with her moment of vulnerability. “So...um...what’s for dinner? Are you going to fucking feed me or what?”
* * * *
Zane stayed out of the room long enough for Rick to use that natural charm of his to soothe the distraught woman. Now that she was back to fine form, he felt happy enough to interrupt. “Dinner will be delivered in twenty-seven minutes or we get it half price,” he said cheerfully as he entered the room.
“So what am I going to do for the next twenty-seven minutes?”
“Anything you want, princess. I was planning to relax in front of the TV. I just bought the latest action flick on DVD. Want to join me?”
“Ah, sure. Just one question—what the hell is an ‘action flick’?”
“Oh, princess,” he said as he slung his arm around her shoulders. “You have a whole world of movies just waiting to be explored, and I’m just the guy to show you.”
Chapter Six
Several gooey, cheesy, greasy slices of pizza later, Jenna watched what must’ve been the four hundredth explosion in an hour. Is this really what people did with their spare time? It wasn’t even believable. She’d never known a car that would explode from the impact of a single gunshot, even if you did manage to hit the gas tank.
Jenna moved, trying to find a comfortable spot as her stomach threatened revolt. She hadn’t consumed that much grease in a single meal in her whole life, and it didn’t seem to be agreeing with her system.
She rubbed her abdomen, praying that the queasy feeling would go away quickly.
“You okay, baby?” Rick and Zane were sitting on either end of the large couch, and by their insistence, she sat in the middle. Rick leaned over and placed his hand over her forehead. “You’re looking a little green. You’ve never eaten pizza before, have you?”
She shook her head but quickly stilled when the movement jostled her protesting stomach. Zane grabbed the remote, paused the movie, and leaned in to press a small kiss to her forehead before he left the room. Rick moved closer, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and settled her head against his upper chest. She closed her eyes gratefully.
“Here, chew on these,” Zane said as pressed a couple of large tablets into her hand.
“What are they?”
“Antacids. They’ll help with the queasy, burning feeling.” Zane also pressed a cold, wet washcloth to her face. “Looks like pizza is off the menu.”
“Yes,” she mumbled around the tablets. They tasted almost like chalk, but at least it was masking the still greasy feeling in her mouth. Soon, she was starting to feel just a little better, and she wiggled to get more comfortable against Rick. It had been a very long time since she’d voluntarily let anyone touch her, but with these men it felt right. With both Rick and Zane, it felt right.
She opened her mouth to tell Zane he could turn the movie back on, but the loudest burp she’d ever heard escaped her mouth instead. Horribly embarrassed but thankfully feeling better, she turned her face into Rick’s chest and tried not to die from humiliation. When Zane and Rick laughed, she couldn’t help but join in.
“I guess that means you’re feeling better, princess.”
“Yes,” she said as Rick wrapped his arms around her a pulled her closer. “You can start the movie again if you like.”
As the movie and all its ridiculous stunts filled the room again, Jenna maneuvered so that she lay across the sofa, her head on Rick’s thigh. Zane pulled her feet onto his lap and began massaging the instep on her left foot. It felt so wonderful that she closed her eyes and simply enjoyed the sensations. Rick ran his fingers through her hair, the slightly calloused pads abrading the skin near her temples. She sighed as her muscles relaxed for the first time in a very long time.
* * * *
“I think she’s asleep,” Rick said as the movie finished and Zane turned off the television. Zane moved back to the couch, smoothed some hair away from Jenna’s face, and said the most serious thing Rick had ever heard leave the guy’s mouth.
“How did she become so important, so quickly?”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing,” Rick said quietly. “Trouble is, which one of us steps back? Or do we both stay close and wait for her to choose?”
“I don’t know,” Zane said quietly. “I keep thinking of her sisters. Every one of them has two husbands. What if it’s something genetic, like a biological imperative that she has two mates? I hadn’t exactly planned to have my partner fucking the same woman I’m falling for.”
“It’s not my first choice either, asshole. You are not the person I planned to wake up to every morning.”
“So what the hell do we do about it?” Zane asked, sounding exasperated.
“You both take me to bed and fuck me until none of us can walk straight.”
That raspy voice had all his blood traveling south.
“Baby, are you sure?
“Of course I’m sure. I want you both, and you both want me. What’s to think about?” She pushed herself into a sitting position and flicked her gaze from one to the other. “Who’s going to go first? Should we toss a coin or something?”
Oh, hell that didn’t feel right. He and Zane were talking about commitment and forever—something neither of them had ever considered before—and the woman was talking about a quick, fun fuck.
He glanced at Zane but didn’t really need to see his partner to know he was thinking the same thing.
“Princess, if we take you to bed, it will be together. All or nothing, understand?”
“Sure, whatever,” she said dismissively. “Which room do you want to use?”
Rick could feel Zane’s anger starting to boil. Zane stepped forward, lifted Jenna off the couch, and crushed her to him. He slid his hand through her hair and gripped the back of her head as he angled her for his kiss. The kiss was savage, a harsh melding of lips and teeth and tongue as he sought to dominate her thoughts. She kissed him back just as forcefully, wriggling against his body as if she wished to get closer, much closer.
Gradually, Zane changed his tactics, gentling the kiss, sipping at her lips, running his tongue against hers. She whimpered as he kept her immobilized, forcing her to accept the tender assault on her senses. He held her carefully as he ran a hand slowly up and down her back.
Rick felt his cock swell as he watched his partner make slow love to their woman. No matter what Jenna thought this was, they both knew bette
r. She’d never known love, that much was obvious, but he and Zane would make sure she understood that this wasn’t casual, wasn’t random, that it meant something more than two—or in this case three—people coming together.
Jenna whimpered again as Zane broke the kiss and turned her around. He pressed his front to her back as his hands swept over her stomach and the undersides of her breasts. Rick stepped forward, cradled her face in his hands, and kissed her softly.
“Baby, are you sure this is what you want?”
She stared at him, her eyes glazed with passion as she nodded. Rick felt inordinately pleased that she hadn’t made a smart-ass remark. He kissed her again, more deeply this time, his lips brushing over hers as his tongue traced the line of her lips. She tried to pull him closer, but he held himself away, determined to show her his enjoyment in just being with her like this.
Her hands fumbled at his belt, trying to undo the buckle, but he covered them with his own and whispered, “We have a long time to get to know each other. No need to rush.”
Zane bent and lifted her into his arms. “Which room?” he asked as he headed down the hallway.
“Mine,” Rick replied quickly, not stopping to wonder why he would feel the need to claim her for the first time in his own room. He walked in just as Zane put Jenna on her feet and started undoing the buttons on her shirt. She tried to lift the material over her head, but Zane stilled her hands.
“I’m going to do this my way, princess. Link your hands,” he said as he grabbed her wrists and pushed them against her lower back. “Now, keep them there.”
She nodded warily and cast a glance around the room. Rick lounged against the doorframe as he watched Zane slowly reveal her creamy skin. Zane pressed a kiss to her soft flesh and unhurriedly undid one button at a time. As he pushed the material apart, he wrapped an arm around her middle, pulled her closer and tilted her breasts toward his mouth. The nipple stood taut against the lace fabric of her bra.