Selena's Men
Page 23
“They are amazing men, both of them, all of the Ravens. We owe them so very much,” Asteria said.
Tamara gave her a puzzled look. “Who?”
“Rafe, Vin, and the others. They have sacrificed so much, to see them playing and having fun is truly a wonderful sight to see. They deserve more—”
“Asteria.” Zeus’s voice interrupted them.
She’d been feeling sorry for herself since Selena’s wedding, lost in her own personal thoughts. Seeing her friend so happy brought up her own feelings of sadness, loneliness, and yes, regret.
Silent communication flowed between Selena’s father and Asteria. How she knew that she wasn’t sure, but she knew it was true.
She also agreed with Asteria that everyone deserved happiness. Life was full of bad people who did bad things.
At the tender age of seventeen she’d almost been gang raped in a back alley near her home. Luckily for her, a fifteen-year-old Selena had saved her like an avenging angel. To this day she still had nightmares of what could’ve been, but she’d sworn to herself then and there to take her sexuality in her own hands. She’d planned to save herself for marriage, but in that dark place behind a dumpster, those men wouldn’t have cared that she was a virgin. Tamara had been smart and she had been choosey. Hell, she was also the sister of overbearing older brothers, but since giving up her virginity to a nice young man that she remembered fondly, Tamara hadn’t looked back.
There was something about the two wrestling around that told her they were different, and while they would move on to someone else, she had a feeling the saying about being ruined for all others would be true in her case.
Why the hell she was thinking of them in the plural sense was beyond her. Being in control of her sex life was one thing, but she’d never had a threesome in her twenty-seven years. And, if she did decide to swim in that pond, then every man after that would have to measure up to not one, but two, yardsticks. Tamara was sure that their yardsticks were way too big to begin with, add them together and no man was ever going to compare.
“Earth to Tamara. Where is your head at, girl?” Selena looked worried.
She closed her eyes. “Sorry, hon. I’m still exhausted from the trip here.” Truly Tamara wished she was anywhere but there.
Selena grabbed Tamara’s hand. “We’re leaving. Do you want to ride with us?”
Tamara could see Selena’s two husbands loved that idea. Not! To jerk their chain she almost said yes, but she actually liked the two men her best friend had married.
“Your dad offered to give me a lift.”
Malcolm groaned.
“Hey, you be nice. My dad is wonderful,” Selena teased.
“Absolutely. He’s the best.” Max put his arm around Selena, pulling her against his side.
Tamara knew what was going on, but either Malcolm was an idiot, or he thought he was getting a free pass on his wedding day.
“Of course he’s wonderfully full of…”
Selena launched herself into his arms and covered his mouth with her own. That was when Tamara realized Malcolm was a very smart man indeed.
“You’re such a jackass, Mal,” Max grumbled.
Malcolm grunted in pain, which Tamara realized he did a lot when the brothers were arguing. She made a mental note to ask Selena about that.
“Quit groping Malcolm and say your good-byes, woman.” Max grabbed Selena by the waist to pull her from his brother. She was giggling when she finally released Malcolm.
The look of pure love shone from all three of them, reinforcing the fact she was the odd one out to Tamara.
Tamara was glad her walls were up, and were as thick as she could make them. She didn’t want to ruin a moment of her friend’s happiness with her own morose thoughts. “Go on, I think you have a couple impatient men.”
She waved her friend off, laughing at the hundreds of cans tied to the back of the limo. Vin was like a big kid with a cheesy grin on his face, and she knew he must’ve helped put them on the car.
She wanted what Selena had, maybe not the two men, but her future wasn’t to be if her vision was true. Ever since she saw Rafe for the first time and the sight of the black crow above him, she had been seeing her own death.
That was why she had run that day, and every day since. Now, looking across the parking lot, she saw not one, but two black crows above the two men who looked more like brothers. Hell, for all she knew they were brothers in the true sense of the word. When she’d questioned Selena, her friend said they were all part of a group that called themselves Ravens. Tamara joked and called them a gang, but Selena shook her head and said they were good men who fought for humanity.
For the past ten years Tamara had focused on enjoying life, not worrying about whether she would be here tomorrow. She hadn’t thought about becoming a mom, or a wife, she’d just assumed she would have time for all that. She had put it off as one of those things that she’d do when she got older.
“Where would you like to go, sister of my sister?” Asteria asked.
Tamara knew a lifeline when she saw one, and she took what the gorgeous woman was offering. A chance to get away without anyone knowing where she was going, except Asteria of course, but Tamara knew she could trust her.
“To the beach,” Tamara sighed.
“Close your eyes and imagine where you want to be.”
Blocking out everything except the great little cottage on the beach she’d bought several months back, Tamara focused on where she wanted to go. She’d found peace there and wanted to reclaim that same sense again.
The sound of waves hitting the shore woke Tamara from a dreamless sleep. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head, and swung her legs over the side of the bed, nearly falling over in her haste to hurry to the door.
“Holy shit,” she mumbled. The memory of speaking with Selena’s sister, and the strange sensation of the other woman speaking in her head, came rushing back.
She looked down to see she was dressed in her favorite sleeping attire of basketball shorts and tank. Not the sexiest outfit, but she was shooting for comfort when Asteria had told her to imagine where she wanted to go and all the things she wanted there.
To be honest, Tamara hadn’t really thought about it. The other woman had flooded her with a sensation of comfort, exactly what Tamara had needed at that moment in time.
She inhaled the sweet, salty scent of the ocean.
If she was to believe that she was magically sent by Asteria to the bungalow that she’d purchased earlier in the summer, then she figured all her clothes would be in the closet and the drawers.
Stalling wasn’t going to change anything. Tamara opened the wardrobe where she kept her bikinis the last time she was there. Lying on top was the yellow polka-dot one that she’d bought because of the song, and then fell in love with once she put it on.
At five feet nine inches tall with her mixed Cajun and Spanish ancestry, Tamara had been told she could wear just about anything. But when your best friend was a tiny blonde bombshell, Tamara tended to feel like an Amazon around her. Her style in the last five years had become more of a shock and awe, the complete opposite of Selena. She loved short leather skirts and tall, high-heeled shoes. In fact, the shorter the better was her motto. But the yellow polka-dot bikini was in a little boutique and she had to have it. The song had played over and over in her head until she had no other choice but to buy it.
Knowing that she’d crossed several time zones made her feel gross. A quick washing off of the travel grime was needed.
After a shower, where she found all her necessities, she donned the bikini, grabbed a towel, and headed toward the beach.
The sand beneath her toes was cool and inviting early in the afternoon. She laid her towel out to watch the waves beat against the shore. The pounding the sand took from the angry water reminded her of humans and how they treated each other. Strange, how she now thought about humans and others.
A loud squawk had her looking u
p to see a flock of sea gulls. One broke away from the group, swooped down toward the water, and scooped up a fish to take back up before flying away.
How long she sat there watching the waves without thinking about anything, Tamara had no clue. She was just happy her mind drifted. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday. She hoped Asteria had stocked the fridge. If not she’d call a cab to take her into town for some provisions, enough to last at least a week. She didn’t want to leave her little place on the beach for any reason.
She stood, then brushed the sand off her butt that must have blown on her while she sat drifting in a lazy haze. A frisson of fear, like she was being watched, had her looking around the deserted beach. She shook her head. Nobody should be around for miles, she thought.
Other Books by Elle Boon
Ravens of War
Ravens of War
Selena’s Men
Two For Tamara
Jaklyn’s Saviors
Kira’s Warriors
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Mystic Wolves
Accidentally Wolf
His Perfect Wolf
Jett’s Wild Wolf
Bronx’s Wounded Wolf
A Fey’s Wolf
Their Wicked Wolf
Atlas’s Forbidden Wolf
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SmokeJumpers
FireStarter
Berserker’s Rage
A SmokeJumpers Christmas
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Iron Wolves MC
Lyric’s Accidental Mate
Xan’s Feisty Mate
Kellen’s Tempting Mate
Slater’s Enchanted Mate
Dark Lovers
Bodhi’s Synful Mate
Turo’s Fated Mate
Arynn’s Chosen Mate
Coti’s Unclaimed Mate
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Miami Nights
Miami Inferno
Rescuing Miami
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Standalone
Wild and Dirty
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SEAL Team Phantom Series
Delta Salvation
Delta Recon
Delta Rogue
Delta Redemption
Mission Saving Shayna
Protecting Teagan
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The Dark Legacy Series
Dark Embrace
About Elle Boon
Elle Boon is a USA Today Bestselling Author who lives in Middle-Merica as she likes to say…with her husband and Kally Kay her black lab and writing partner. She has two amazing kids Jazz and Goob and is a MiMi to one adorable little nugget named Romy or RomyGirl who has totally won over everyone who sees hers. She’s known for saying “Bless Your Heart” and dropping lots of F-bombs, but she loves where this new journey has taken her and has no plans on stopping.
She writes what she loves to read, and that’s romance, whether it’s about Navy SEALs, or paranormal beings, as long as there is a happily ever after. Her biggest hope is that after readers have read one of her stories, they fall in love with her characters as much as she did. She loves creating new worlds, and has more stories just waiting to be written. Elle believes in happily ever afters, and can guarantee you will always get one with her stories.
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