Liam’s forehead hit the table and Dani chuckled at his antics. “You want to know if he shifted in the middle, don’t you?”
“Who wouldn’t want to know that? It’s a perfectly reasonable question. My follow-up would be, can he shift certain parts of his body in isolation? Because that kind of power would be fun to play with.”
Liam looked up balefully. “No shifting parts, but he was be able to draw out the truth from each of us. And he was in her head while we were together. Encouraging her. Telling her I loved her. That was more than enough of a power display for me.”
“Is he still in your head?” Kaya asked sharply.
“No.” Dani frowned at her. “It only happened twice. That night and then after Sal. But we told you about that one when it happened. Liam heard him too that time. That was how he knew what Stax planned to do.”
Bailey had forgotten that. “Was it more than words?” she asked, a knot tightening in the pit of her stomach. “Did you ever feel what he was feeling?”
Dani and Liam’s glance at each other was answer enough, and based on Kaya’s expression, it hadn’t done anything to alleviate her fears.
She forgot herself, patting Kaya’s knee brusquely under the table. “If they say there’s nothing to worry about, then there’s nothing to worry about, K. It’s been months since it happened and they’re both fine.”
Kaya stared down at Bailey’s hand. Shit.
At least she’s distracted now?
“Bailey Wagner.” She knew that tone. It never meant anything good. “You saw the spider and you weren’t going to tell us?”
Double shit.
“You saw the spider?” Dani repeated softly.
“Fine.” She might as well get it all out there. “I saw the giant fucking spider two minutes before Cam grabbed my ass. Are you happy now? In fact, I think that not-so-little bugger was the reason I fell both times.”
Kaya’s eyes narrowed. “You saw it twice?”
“Oh my God,” Dani breathed, whacking Liam in the arm. “I told you it was real.”
“Ow. Am I ever going to live that down?” Liam put his hand over his heart. “I’m sincerely sorry I didn’t believe the love of my life when you told me you saw a magically disappearing, matchmaking spider in the shower. Okay?”
“Not okay. You’re lucky you’re good in bed.”
“Hey!”
They both fell silent when Kaya laid her hand on the table, palm up. “Tell us the rest.”
Bailey took a breath, digging her fingers into the tablecloth for a moment while she worked up the nerve to lay her hand in Kaya’s. “The rest? Where should I start? The laughing ghosts in the attic? The two men I plan to have epic amounts of marathon sex with, even though I know they’re going to break my heart?”
Liam looked around the table. “Am I the only one who heard that? Did she just add ghosts to the conversation?”
Dani squeezed his arm. “Cookie, can you go back to purgatory for a little while? You might be safer there, and I think we’ll need a little privacy for this.”
He looked like he desperately wanted to stay, but he nodded and got to his feet. “You’ve got it, Shortbread. I’ll go back in there and pay Benny for any damages they might have caused during their bloody battle over absolutely nothing. Good luck, Bailey.”
After he walked inside, she had both her friends’ full attention.
“You have ghosts too?” Dani asked, clearly fascinated. “I wonder if the Divine Darla could help with that.”
“I’m still hoping it’s the plumbing or a gas leak. The last thing I need is an exorcism.”
“Darla doesn’t do exorcisms,” Kaya chided. “And my grandfather is much better at communing with the other side than she is, if it comes to that. For the moment, we have other things to focus on.”
“Things like Bailey’s magical threesome?” Dani asked with an impish sparkle in her eyes.
“It’s not magical,” Bailey muttered. “It’s two beautiful rich guys in love with each other, who occasionally like to tag in an extra player to keep things exciting.”
Dani held two fingers in front of her face. “Twice. You saw the spider twice. Why do I get the feeling one of your beautiful rich guys was nearby to save the day on both occasions?”
“Is the psychic contagious?” Bailey joked. When Kaya wiggled her fingers in demand, still waiting for her hand, she winced. “Okay, okay. But for the record, all the best friendships keep some elements of mystery.”
“I know you don’t like this, but it will help. I won’t poke around too much,” she promised, accepting Bailey’s hand and then clasping it between both of hers to keep it still.
She closed her eyes and Bailey felt the powerful tingle up her arm and through her body. She’d never been sensitive to this, never felt anything more than warmth before, but now it was so strong she could almost see it.
“The attic is important,” Kaya murmured. “You should go up there, Bailey.”
“The attic has been trying to kill me.” She’d also promised to wait for Cam before attempting it again. “But I’ll see what I can do.”
“You’re afraid of what you feel about these men. It’s very strong.”
Damn right, she was. It was idiotic on a professional level. Dangerous for her heart. They were arrogant. Complicated. And leaving, sooner or later. Why wouldn’t she be afraid?
“You need safety.” Kaya spoke softly. “But they make you feel—”
Alive. Unsteady. Desirable. Confused. More myself than I’ve ever been.
Kaya’s grip tightened. “The first notices things. Enjoys you. You don’t intimidate him, but something about you confuses him.”
Cam.
“The other calls to the playful side of you. The wild you lock away, but shouldn’t. You’re drawn to them more each day. They think of you, too. They need you. More each day. Soon it won’t be sustainable.” Kaya frowned. “Why is that?”
Bailey wasn’t sure, but that was her fear, too. That the fire inside her was already burning too brightly to last. It would blaze through her until there was nothing left. Cam and Davide might survive it because of who and what they were, but she couldn’t.
“Why? What are they?” Kaya asked, as if reading her last thought.
Bailey didn’t know. She wasn’t even sure where that thought had come from.
Don’t let her see us yet.
She instantly yanked her hand away and Kaya blinked at her, looking stunned.
“What is it?” Dani glanced between them anxiously. “What happened?”
Kaya pressed a fist to her heart, her attention still on Bailey. “I saw a spirit cord. Some kind of tether tying you to them. Tightening as I watched.”
Bailey tensed even more. The connection she couldn’t explain? Maybe that’s what Kaya was picking up on.
“It’s only sex,” she assured her, but her voice revealed her uncertainty. “As in, I haven’t had any for years and they’re hitting all my go buttons.”
“Bailey.”
“I feel connected to Liam like that,” Dani said supportively. “Like I’d know if he were in trouble now, and vice versa. You might be worrying for nothing, Kaya. The same way you do about Stax.”
There was an undercurrent of steel in Dani’s voice that Bailey rarely heard. Kaya noticed too and instantly lowered her hand. “Maybe you’re right. I might be too close to both of you to be objective during a reading.”
Bailey was surprised she’d backed down so quickly. She wanted to thank Dani and ask her for some of that juju she’d just put on the table, because Kaya rarely gave in when she thought she was right.
“Can I say one more thing?”
Spoke too soon.
“As long as it’s not about me dying of celibacy,” Bailey said wryly.
Kaya’s lips curved. “That was never going to happen. But I got enough of a sense of them to know they aren’t being entirely honest with you. They have a purpose that’s hidden. And they’re sea
rching for something you could help them find.”
Ignoring a shiver of foreboding, Bailey rolled her eyes at Dani and got to her feet. “See? That’s the kind of vague creepery I always expected from psychics before I met our girl.”
“It sounds like buried treasure to me. In the attic?” Dani rubbed her hands together. “Ghosts, threesomes and a pirate’s treasure. Not the usual Sedona campfire story. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
Bailey kissed her cheek, then moved to do the same to Kaya, pausing long enough to give her a hard stare. “Is their hidden purpose illegal or violent in any way?”
“No. I’m not getting criminal intent. Old wounds. Old scars. Something they lost?”
“Good. If it’s not illegal and the people I care about are not in physical danger, then I don’t want to know any more.”
“Fair enough.” Kaya looked genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry I pushed. I worry about you, that’s all.”
Bailey kissed her on the forehead. “I worry about you right back. But I’m always glad you’re on my side.”
Dani sniffed. “Don’t make me cry, or I’ll tell Liam to withhold his cooking skills from both of you the next time you’re over.” She frowned thoughtfully. “The same threat applies if we don’t get updates on the ghosts and epic sex you’ll probably be having later.”
“Love has made you cruel.”
“I think it has.”
Bailey smiled at that. “Wish me luck.”
“A wish is more creation than luck, Butterfly Maiden,” Kaya said lightly, reminding Bailey of the dream she’d had that started their wishing in the first place.
Wishes or luck, Bailey would take it. Her personality might make people think she was daring, but the truth was she’d stayed within the boundaries of her comfort zone most of her life. She could be bold here because she had roots. People who knew her. But the ache for Cameron and Davide got stronger every minute she was away from them, and that was so far out of her zone she wasn’t sure what to do with it.
She wanted what she’d told Kaya to be the truth. That it was only sex. But even if it wasn’t, there was no doubt in her mind this was going to happen. She could almost feel them getting closer. Almost hear their voices in her head. Had they landed? Were they on the road to her now? Closer?
Bailey took her phone from her skirt pocket and sent out a text. She wasn’t going back to the inn just yet.
Chapter Nine
The lynx raced by in a blur of red and gold, close enough for the wolf to see its spots and feel the brush of his fur against his own. He bared his teeth, accepting the challenge and giving chase as the late afternoon sun beat down on them.
Run faster. Beat him.
The white wolf pushed himself harder, dodging the strangely twisted trees and red rock boulders as their destination loomed ahead.
A warm pulse of energy told him when he’d crossed the property line and it made him fall a step behind. It wasn’t a pack boundary, but it was similar. He sniffed the air, but there were no scents or signs of danger.
He caught movement in his periphery and turned in time to watch the lynx near the house, gather itself and leap gracefully onto the second-floor balcony before disappearing inside.
Cheater.
He aimed for the patio doors that had been left ajar instead, padded inside and flopped down to lie on the cool tile, calling for the change to overtake him.
For a moment, his wolf resisted.
Bailey. Bailey. Bailey.
Then he was Cameron. Two legs not four. Man, not wolf.
He rolled onto his back and wiped the sweat off his face. They’d run hard for the last hour, and the exertion, the stress of the trip and the lack of sleep were having a cumulative effect. Even the power he felt here was no match for it.
Finding the silence jarring, Cam got to his feet. Everyone was gone, and the large space seemed hollowed out without them. Aaron had left a note informing him that he and the others had spent the first half of the day working on the inn, and were now off to visit the Grand Canyon. They wouldn’t be back until the day after tomorrow at the earliest. It was unusual for all of them to be gone at once. Together, no less, and without asking permission. Not that he required it, but they’d always asked before.
A family trip to get away from the parents.
Had they sensed how out of sorts he was from his last few calls? How on edge his trip had made him? Or did they worry it would get worse? He sure as hell did.
The old mating stories had left out a few important details. How rapidly the need to claim would progress, for one. It had only been a few days and his control was weakening by the hour. Hadn’t someone once told him it was connected to the moon? Well, that was bullshit. A month at least made sense to Cam. This didn’t.
Two or three days was barely enough time to get to know a potential mate, let alone decide whether she wanted to accept the mark and all that went with it.
His wolf needed only moments, but he was more than his wolf. More than instinct. And Bailey was completely human. He wasn’t sure if she was feeling anything beyond attraction, though there were moments he swore he could sense her agitation. As if her desire for them made her nervous.
It was Davide he was most worried about. He was feeling the same pull, only he wasn’t used to denying himself. He wanted to see Bailey, and didn’t understand why Cam was hesitating.
He found Davide in the kitchen, standing in front of the open refrigerator, wearing shorts and drinking juice straight from the bottle. The sight both amused and aroused him. Everything did these days. “Aaron won’t like that.”
“I’ll buy him another.” Davide wiped his mouth on his arm, holding out the rest for Cam and tossing him a pair of matching shorts. “It was a good run.”
“You say that because you won,” Cam said before chugging the rest of the juice.
“I usually do. You’ll always be bigger, but you’ll never be as fast.” Davide’s gloating smirk faded too quickly. “It barely took the edge off, Cam. What about you?”
The ache was still there. No amount of sex or exercise seemed to slow the rising need inside him. The wolf never settled now. Demanding what he knew was his. Demanding his mate.
Bailey.
“Not so much.”
Cam had called in his favors in Colorado, but for all their knowledge, they had let him down twice now. They’d had no information on his grandfather following his abandonment of their pack, and they’d never heard of two unrelated shifters being mated to the same woman.
At least not successfully.
What the elders believed, based on all their lists and databases, was that mating appeared to serve an evolutionary purpose for the species. They’d observed that children from mated pairs grew up healthier and more resilient, usually finding positions of leadership in the pack hierarchy. Sometimes forming new packs of their own.
But when two were called to the same mate—something they considered an aberration—the strongest would usually prevail and the other would…not. Death or exile was the implication. And since they had no lists or historical mentions of two shifters who’d marked the same mate and survived, they were confident in those findings.
Their conclusion was unacceptable. Cam didn’t want to think about how he felt when he heard it, or the way he’d lashed out at them in response.
The bridge there wasn’t burned, but it was a near thing on both sides. Only Davide’s calming influence and the need to return to Bailey had saved them from Cam’s anger.
“What are we going to do?” Davide asked quietly.
Cam took his hand and walked over to the island, settling on one of the sturdy stools. They’d had them specially made, and their delivery was one of the requirements before his arrival. He remembered Davide laughing over the email their innkeeper had sent in response to that. They must have sounded so spoiled and pampered to her. The truth was that Cam, Aaron and the others weighed more than the average human. They were also rou
gher on the furniture.
“Cam?”
He sighed, knowing he couldn’t avoid this conversation any longer. “Our best option at this point would be to tell her the truth.”
“About what we are? I’m ready.”
“About all of it,” Cam said darkly. “Who we are, what’s happening to us and what it will eventually lead to if she doesn’t release us.”
His hold turned unforgiving when Davide tried to pull away. “If she knew we were in pain, she wouldn’t hesitate. In return, we’d put the inn in her name and leave her with enough funds to pay for repairs and employees for the rest of her life. Then we’d leave.”
And never come back.
“No.” Davide’s eyes were dangerously bright. “What are you talking about, Cameron? This isn’t another business deal. You want to pay her to…? She belongs with us. Not just with this family we’ve built, but with us. She’s yours and mine. Didn’t you feel it when you held her?”
“We’ve only known her a few days,” he forced out, hating every word.
“Fuck that.” Davide stared as if he didn’t recognize him. “Who are you right now? I knew the moment I saw you that I loved you. Time wasn’t an issue. She’s our mate and she’s special. Don’t lie and tell me you haven’t fallen for her as swiftly as your wolf did. Don’t tell me you’re okay with never seeing her again.”
Cam took a breath instead of lashing out. He wasn’t okay. He saw her face every time he closed his eyes. The fae features that hid a sharp mind and wicked tongue. That swoop of short blonde hair threaded with pink. Eyes like an autumn forest. Green mixed with honey. That freckle on her temple he always wanted to kiss.
He knew her scent. Wildflowers and summer rain. It was bright and inescapable, and from the first breath of it, the civilized façade he’d spent years cultivating had started to crack.
“I’m not, but I have to consider it. I have to, Davide, when the only other alternative pits us against each other. You heard what they said.”
“You don’t believe them. I don’t believe them.” Davide tugged his hand free to place both palms on Cam’s chest, his touch both soothing and seductive. “We’ve been together in everything else—why not this as well? Some part of you has to know there’s another way. You bought this house yesterday, and I know you’ve already started the process to add Bailey’s name to both deeds.”
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