Pieces of Three (12 page)

She raised her head and took in the space. “Oh.”

“Look.” He tested her hearing to be sure.

“What?” She leaned over.

Rather than speaking, he pointed, showing her the water tumbling down, creating the most amazing liquid veil around them.

“Porter.” She put her hand to her chest.

He came up behind her and put his hands on her hips, pulling her toward him. She fit with him, they were meant to be, and her words before proved everything he already knew.

She tilted her head back and looked at him.

Damn blue eyes.

He turned her, took her in his arms and lowered his mouth to hers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and without a bit of hesitation opened her mouth. Even with what she believed, she still kissed him, sucked on his tongue, pressed her body to his. She wanted him, wanted him bad enough to give him her life.

Yes, the lunar cycle created his instant reaction to her, but the moon had nothing to do with how he wanted to be with her.

Breathless, she pulled back. A beautiful blush graced her cheeks.

He licked his lips, he never wanted to go without her taste.

If she were dying he would die with her trying to save her. Maybe she gave him what he lacked before, maybe he wasn’t committed enough, or maybe he was meant to be with the little human who risked everything for him. She represented renewal. No matter what, they needed to be together, Julian or not.

He knew enough about humans to know she wouldn’t understand what he needed to do next. They didn’t have the instinct, the inner voice he and his kind were born with. The time would come when he would explain and she would understand.

Once again he turned her to look out to the water and leaned down to her ear. “Alyssa, can you hear me?” He used his lowest whisper.

She never even flinched or acknowledged he spoke.

In what seemed like a lifetime ago, he wanted to plegde himself to another, thought she was the one. He delayed making the ultimate commitment, he was never sure why, part of him didn’t want a family and the responsibility tangled up in the mess of his island. With Alyssa all that mattered was they were together, not the circumstances surrounding them, and there was the ultimate difference. For a moment his chest consistricted, a bit of sadness laced with guilt at not having the same feelings of devotion for his first. Then he looked down at Alyssa and the tightness subsided. At last he closed his eyes and recited the words he’d never got to say before.

“Every heart searches for its mate,

With you I have found mine,

In you I see the impossible,

There is hope, there is infinity.

Our pasts will merge into our future,

We are bound.

For us drawn together,

Two become one.”

Almost as if she sensed the meaning and the words, she shuddered and took his hand.

Last time he waited for pomp and ceremony, but with Alyssa he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. According to Lykan law and some ancient tradition he only needed to say the vows to bind them and then make it publicly known in front of three elders. At times, doing the vow the old-fashioned way caused a flurry of activity while the male dragged the unsuspecting female to the public square to confess what he had done before anyone else got to her, and was used mostly for huge fanfare to begin a party.

He gave her a little tug and she turned, pressed her palm to his cheek and stood on her tiptoes to give him a soft, sweet kiss.

“We should get back.” She yelled, though he heard her fine.

Hand in hand they left his little secret with a secret of his own. They retrieved their bowl then took their time making their way toward the ship.

Dusk had set in by the time they returned to the beach. Both a fire and Julian greeted them.

He rushed over but stopped short and held his arms out.

Alyssa bit her lip. Without pause she dashed to him and he encompassed her in his arms.

“I’m sorry.” Julian kissed the top of her head.

“Julian.” She leaned back and looked up at him. “We are all going to do what we were meant to do, and none of that includes wallowing or pity or sadness.”

Porter crossed his arms, fighting the need to pull them apart. Soon enough Julian would back away from her as he spewed out the rhetoric to make her think him leaving would be the best thing for her and the world.

“There can’t be any wallowing, pity or sadness, because you are going to be fine.” With one fingertip Julian traced her lips.

Rather than arguing, she smiled.

“Let me ask you something truly important.” Julian’s hand snaked down to cup her bottom, giving it a slight squeeze.

He ground his teeth together.

Julian raised his eyebrows. “Did Porter kiss you while you were out on your explorations?”

By now she knew enough not to fib and nodded.

“Oh, then I better catch up.” Julian pulled her in tight and kissed her.

Their mouths opened in unison and Julian even bent her back.

Porter shifted his weight from one foot to the other, holding back either joining them or tearing Julian apart. Leave it to Julian to go right for the sex.

He broke the kiss and put his forehead against hers. “I didn’t know it was going to be like this.”

“Like what?” She continued to hold on to Julian and held her hand out to him.

He joined them and took her hand. Her arousal already permeated the air.

“I caught some fish, so why don’t we have something to eat?” Julian chuckled, gave her another kiss and pointed toward the fire. “We are going to try to get out of here tomorrow. The tide will be at its peak.”

She stood her ground.

Julian glanced back at her.

“What wasn’t supposed to be like what?” she asked.

Porter inhaled, waiting for the answer. Maybe he would drop the bomb.

Julian wrapped his arm around her waist. “I wasn’t supposed to care.”

The fire caused the tears in her eyes to sparkle.

Porter stayed two steps behind, watching Julian walk away with the female he just made his mate.

Chapter Seven

The ship lurched forward, tilted right and left. Alyssa shut her eyes and held onto the chair Julian and Porter had put her in as they made another attempt to get their vessel out to sea. They were up early making the final preparations to leave including making love to her twice, or was it four times since there were two of them? Either way, she couldn’t get enough. If she was going to meet the fate of humans before her who had mated with Lykans, at least she did it with passion and had the experience of a lifetime. If she wasn’t, well, she knew what she wanted. She wanted them and vowed she wouldn’t miss any experience with them and take advantage of everything before...

“Shh.” She squeezed her hand into a fist and begged her mind to be silent. Her stomach bottomed out, but not due to the sailing. Death could be counted among those things that were endless and would never leave her.

More than any other promise she’d made, she needed to follow the words she told her males and not dwell on the negative. Still, her mind continued to want to play seesaw with her, toggling between thinking of the impending doom and wishing she could be as positive as Julian. Something told her Porter wasn’t quite as optimistic, though he never said the words.

Unfortunately, no matter how she tried to clear her mind, the pall of the situation was with her every second.

The ship lurched forward, breaking free of the ilsand and her males let out a cheer.

Again reminding herself of her promise, she forced a smile. Like anyone else, she didn’t truly know how much time she had or didn’t have, she only knew hers was less.

Once the ship evened out, she went to the window.

Julian and Porter manipulated the boat with ease and skill, their movements acrobatic and elegant.

Porter ran toward her, dashing into the quarters. “Come here.” He held his hand out to her.

“Is everything okay?” She took his hand and held her other arm out as if balancing. The ship’s movements still made her uneasy.

“Yes, you have to see this.” He led her outside.

Julian joined them and put his hand over her eyes. “Come on.”

They guided her across the dock and stopped, Julian lowered his hand. “Look.”

“That little place saved our lives.” Julian put his arm around her waist.

The island they left seemed to float in the sea. A pristine bit of beach and forest where she had both found and lost her heart. She blinked at his words which stung a bit. “I’m sorry to leave it.”

“Once we know exactly where we are, maybe we can come back one day.” Porter pulled her in and kissed her neck.

Her throat constricted at the way he made plans. He’d barely left her alone since the waterfall, and she enjoyed it too much. No, not too much, she needed to enjoy it more. At leaving their own little oasis, she wasn’t really sure what the future held. Most likely her demise, but on the off chance she lived, did these males even want her? They only promised they wouldn’t abandon her.

She stared out at the island inching smaller every second, becoming lost in the sea and the endless water. Endless and eternal. Her heart sped up, she broke out into a sweat and her stomach swayed with the boat and the water.

“Excuse me.” She pushed away from them and ran over to the side of the ship expecting to get sick.

“Alyssa!” They both yelled and in less than an instant took their spots on either side of her.

A drop of sweat dripped down her temple. She leaned way over, shutting her eyes against the dizziness.

“Take a breath.” Porter rubbed her back.

“She’s fine.” Julian pulled her hair away from her face.

She breathed in, the briny sea not helping, but the breeze off the water cooled her down.

The sensation passed, floated away like their island.

They stared at her, their eyes wide, complexions paling.

She had no time for nausea or self pity and straightened. “You know I never spent much time on a boat, so I didn’t know I got seasick.”

Neither one moved.

She dealt with Julian first. “Do you have any idea where we are?”

He blinked, ground his teeth together and swallowed. “I know the direction we’re taking but without any proper maps I only know we’re heading east. With where we were headed on our way here it seemed the most logical to find another island. If we’re going in the right direction, we should find another island within a couple of hours.”

She nodded. “Then maybe we should steer the ship or something so we don’t end up crashed somewhere else.”

“Aye, aye, matey.” He gave her a mock salute, kissed her and walked away, but not before staring at Porter.

“Alyssa.” Porter took her by the shoulders and turned her toward him. He looked her over, pressed the back of his hand to her forehead and to her cheek.

“Funny, no matter what the species, sometimes the world’s oldest diagnostic devices work the best.” She lifted her chin to him, defying him to say a word.

He set his jaw.

“It means nothing, but I hate water and boats. Maybe you should have left me on the island. I loved it there.” Part of her wanted to make him promise to take her back, bury her there where she could forever be with the memory of the best few days of her life.

“We will go back.” He curled his arm around her and reeled her in for a kiss.

She held onto him, and keeping with her promise, let his lips take her away. Unlike Julian who seemed to wait until they were all together to do anything with her, Porter seemed to find every opportunity to sneak in hidden kisses and touches. Maybe she should feel guilty, but she had no time for such a useless emotion.

His tongue found hers and he deepened the kiss, took her hand and pressed it to the front of his pants.

While she ran her hand down his erection, any last bits of sickness completely vanished to be replaced by desire.

He let out a growl and kneaded her breast. “I want you right now.”

“Do I turn you on that fast or is it just the animal in you?” She teased him by raking her nails over him.

“What do you mean?” He grabbed her wrist, his tone sharp and accusatory.

She opened her mouth, but wasn’t sure what answer to give. Animal or not, he could have her any time.

“Hey!” Julian returned. “Is this what you do the second I leave to do actual work?”

Porter huffed.

Without a pause, Julian came over put his arms around her. “Seeing the two of you like that got me instantly in the mood.” In almost a copy of Porter’s actions before, he took her hand and placed it on him. “I would say we should drop anchor, and maybe I would let the two of you get started and then walk in on you.” He closed his eyes, put his hand over hers and pressed down.

With the two of them ready, maybe her inner animal wanted to be set free. The thought of making love for a third time, even a fourth seemed perfect.

He kissed her neck. “I don’t know if we should wait though. The wolf in me wants to take over and have you right here. I can’t stop myself, but I think I may have to.”

She glanced at Porter. He glared at Julian. Actually, maybe they all needed to take a much needed break. “Why would you have to stop yourself?” None of them should stop anything and she gave Julian a bit of a squeeze down his length.

“Don’t do this to me.” Julian lowered his face to her shoulder. “I hate to tell you this, but I think I may see an island off in the distance. It would be good to stop, because I really want to check the ship out and I need to make a repair to the sail.”