Sophie's Seduction (11 page)

Rochelle hated when Mother talked in riddles, it took forever to unravel them
.  "Mother, what do you mean?"

"Just call on it when you need to
.  Stay close to your men.  They keep you safe," Mother said, waving her hand in the air, making her bracelets jingle.

"But
, Mother..."Rochelle started but Mother interrupted her.

"That's all I can say now
,
bebe
, you need to go.  Bo be on his way to Bourbon.  You don't need to be in his sights," Mother said, shooing them out of her shop.  She embraced Rochelle and said, "I won't see you for a long while, you take care."

Rochelle hugged her back and said, "I will miss you, Mother
.  Take care."

The men thanked Mother as well
, again both of them bowed over her hand and she smiled brightly at them.  She murmured a blessing over them all as they headed out.  Once they had stepped out onto Bourbon Street, Rochelle quickly looked around.  Mother had said that Bo was coming and she knew not to be there before Mother had warned them.  Dominik walked up beside her and put his arm around her. 

He leaned down and whispered in her ear
, "You are safe with us.  You heard what Mother said, stay close." She felt shivers all down her spine from his voice near her ear.

Rochelle jumped when she heard Marco on her other side whisper, "Very close."

They closed in on her, sandwiching her between them as they made their way back to the hotel.  They had just turned the corner when out of the corner of her eye she caught something and was knocked down.  When she looked up, she was looking into the enraged face of Bo. 

"So now you are slummin' with them?" Bo ground out
as he grabbed her hair.

She tried to look for the guys but she heard the fighting and knew they were preoccupied
.  She was going to have to fight off Bo on her own.  She went slack like she was giving in to him, since he was stronger than she was and when he let up on his hold she struck out at him.  She turned into him and rammed her knee into his groin, making him double over.  Then she brought her knee up again, smashing it into his nose.  He flew backwards, falling on his back, blood flowing out of his nose.  She knew she had broken it because she had felt the crunch on her knee.

She turned to help Marco and Dominik
, but she found them rushing to her.  "Are you okay,
bella
?" Dominik said as he checked her over. 

She looked around them and saw four men on the ground passed out
.  "Uh, yeah.  I'm fine." She pointed to Bo.  "But I don't think he is."

Marco and Dominik looked at Bo and then back at her, grinning
.  "Well done," Marco said to her as he went over to Bo and kneeled down.  "You ever come near her again and I will personally kill you."

Rochelle shivered at his words, knowing he meant them
.  Marco came back to her and they led her back around the corner.  When they arrived at the hotel and stepped off the elevator, Marco stopped to have a word with Trent and Christian.  Dominik led her to their suite and let them in. 

Rochelle realized she was shaking from the encounter and it seemed to be getting worse by the second, she was so embarrassed
.  She made her way over to the couch and sat down hard.  Dominik joined her and pushed a glass into her hands.  Then he pushed the bottom of the glass with his hand, indicating that she should drink.  She saw there was only a little dark liquid in it, so she took a large swallow and then her throat was on fire.  She began to cough and Dominik rubbed her back.

"What was that?"
she asked him in between coughs.

"Just a touch of spirit to help calm you
," Dominik said softly.  "Are you okay now?"

Rochelle nodded
.  "Actually yes, I am.  Thank you.  How did you know?"

Dominik shrugged
.  "It happens after a fight.  The adrenaline is pumping and then you crash."

Marco came in and nodded to Dominik, never saying a word but to Rochelle it seemed they were communicating
.  She watched both of them and then saw Dominik frown.  Something was happening and she wanted to know what.

"What's going on?" s
he asked them.

Marco walked over and sat on her other side
.  "Nothing at all.  Why do you ask?"

"You two are somehow talking to each other
.  I don't know how, but you are.  Now tell me, what is going on? Has something happened to Sophie?" Rochelle demanded. 

Dominik looked surprised for a moment and then smiled at her
.  "Yes, we were talking.  Otherkin can talk telepathically."

"Wow
.  That's amazing," Rochelle said.

Marco leaned over her and practically purred, "When we mate, our mate is able to talk to us as well."
  

Rochelle jumped a little at his closeness
.  They were always doing that, invading her space and sniffing her.  Sometimes it drove her nuts.  She stopped all thought as she realized they were trying to distract her.

She turned to Marco, who was still too close, and said, "Stop trying to distract me
.  What happened?"

Dominik laughed, looking at Marco
.  "You cannot fool her, brother.  This one is smart."

Marco sighed and leaned back against the couch
.  "I think you are right, brother," he said and then looked at her.  "I was filling Dom in on what the plans were and we were trying to figure out how to tell you."

"Just tell me
," Rochelle said, crossing her arms.

"We must leave tonight, to go back to the ranch, to help prepare for whatever battle that is coming
," Marco told her.  Rochelle felt her stomach drop.  They were leaving? Just when she was trying to process that information, Marco continued, "We were deciding if it would be better to tie you up or just knock you out."

Rochelle frowned
.  "What?"

Dominik tsked at Marco
.  "You are not doing it right." Dominik reached over and took her hand pulling it to his chest.  "
Bella
, we want you to come with us.  To the ranch.  Sophie will be going, all of us will.  Then you can meet Jasmine, Sophie's sister, as well."

Rochelle was shocked at what they were asking, she couldn't believe it
.  Then a thought occurred to her.  "What about my father's body? I have to bury him.  He needs to rest beside my mother."

Marco took her other hand and said, "Don't worry
.  Trent and Christian went back out there last night and placed your father to rest beside your mother."

"They did what?"
Rochelle started to get angry.

"We couldn't let you go back out there as you are in danger from Bo and his group
.  This seemed the best way," Dominik told her gently, not wanting to tell her they were worried about wild animals getting to the body first even though it was in the crawl space. 

Rochelle saw they did have her best interests at heart, trying to keep her safe
.  "I understand.  Thank you for taking care of that.  Maybe I should go and thank Trent and Christian."

Marco growled
.  "No, you won't.  I already did and they are fine.  They were glad to do it for you."

Rochelle kissed first Marco's cheek and then turned to kiss Dominik's cheek
.  She swallowed the emotion that overwhelmed her and said, "Thank you.  It really does mean a lot to me to know he is now resting next my mother, that they are together again."

Both men hugged her and then Marco said, "Rochelle, will you go with us?
Come to the ranch?"

Rochelle looked between these two incredible men and knew it was like Mother said, her destiny was with them
.  "Yes, I will go with you.  If you are sure you want me to go and it's okay for me to be there.  I mean, I am marked by the Hunters." She looked down in her lap at the mark on her hand.

Marco's hand came to cover hers and then Domink's hand covered Marco's
.  "We want you, Rochelle, never doubt that.  Do not worry about your mark, we know your heart,
mi strella
," Marco told her as he squeezed her hand in his.

She looked up and smiled again at them both, knowing her life was about to change dramatically
and these men were going to be a big part of it.

****

Sophie stepped out of the shower as Jackson walked into the bathroom.  He frowned as he approached her, taking her towel and began to dry her off.  "I was hoping you were still in there.  I wanted to join you."

Sophie laughed and said, "Stop pouting
.  You will have plenty of other opportunities to join me."

Jackson grinned a feral grin and leered at her body
.  "You have no idea how many I will take advantage of, mate."

Sophie shivered
. 
Mate
.  She was now their mate.  They had made sure they 'mated' her several times over the last few hours.  In many different ways.  It made her excited but at the same time she was terrified.  What if she led the Hunters right to them? She needed to talk to Rochelle some more about their family.  She knew Rochelle had answers she needed, which may keep them all safe.

Jackson realized he had lost her into her thoughts so he leaned down and latched on to her nipple, nipping it lightly to get her attention again
.  "Hey, where did you go?"

Sophie wrapped her arms around him and pressed her breasts into his strong chest and said, "I was thinking about the fact it is hard not to want to get back in the shower with you."

He smiled down at her, knowing she was trying to distract him and decided she needed to learn what it was to be a mate to Otherkin. 
'You know I am in your mind, right? As flattered as I am by your comment, I know that is not what you were thinking,'
he sent her.

Sophie's jaw dropped when she heard Jackson's voice in her head
.  She was looking into his eyes and knew he hadn't spoken out loud.  She decided to try to talk back to him.  She scrunched up her face and concentrated hard. 
'Can I do this too?'
she asked him.

Jackson couldn't help it, he laughed out loud
.  She looked so adorable with her face all scrunched up.  "Yes, I heard you.  Now tell me what you were really thinking about.  There should never be any secrets between the three of us.  Ever."

"I was thinking that
I hope I don't lead the Hunters to the ranch or put all of you in danger.  I want to go talk to Rochelle and find out some more information on my family," Sophie told him as she looked down at his chest.

Jackson put his finger under her chin and tipped her head back so he could look her in the eye
.  "Sophie, you forget, the Hunters already know about Promise and we will deal with that, together.  As for Rochelle, that is what delayed me joining you.  She will be traveling with us tonight back to the ranch."

Sophie's eyes widened as he filled her in
.  "Really? She is going to come back with us? That is wonderful.  Then Jas and I can talk to her together."

Jackson nodded
.  "Yes, it is good news.  She has information we could all use.  We must prepare for what is coming.  Now, Cade has us some food and I need a shower first.  Go, join him." He gave her a swat on her bottom as she went to go past him into the bedroom.

As she was getting dressed, she concentrated and spoke to Cade
. 
'Cade? Can you hear me?'

She heard Cade chuckle in her head
. 
'Yes, baby, I can hear you.'

'This is so cool
,'
she told him feeling giddy.

'I'm glad you like it, baby
.  You know we both hear you at same time, right?'
he said with a hint of humor in his voice.

'You can?'
she asked.

'Yes, we can
,'
Jackson's voice came into her head.

'Oh, wow
.  Now I can tell you both I love you.'
She finished dressing and went out to find Cade, who was setting out their dinner.  She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him from behind, laying her cheek on his back.

His hands came up and covered hers on his stomach
.  "You feeling okay, baby?" he asked her as he turned to take her in his arms.  "Hungry?"

"I'm feeling fine and yes, I am hungry
," she said laughing.  He loved her laugh, wanted to hear it all the time.  He made a mental note to make her laugh more in the future. 

"Good
.  Food is ready.  Come, let me feed you." He pulled out a chair and sat down, pulling her into his lap.

He reached around her and handed her a glass of juice to drink while he cut some of the steak he had ordered
.  He began to feed her little bites of steak, potatoes, and vegetables, making sure to vary them for her taste buds. 

Jackson came out of the bedroom with a pair of jeans on and a t-shirt that hugged his upper torso
.  He sat down across from them and winked at her as he began to eat.  They chatted about unimportant things, the weather they had in New Orleans as opposed to Promise as well as the food and how well it tasted. 

When Cade had finished feeding her dinner, Jackson held out his hand and she went over to him to sit in his lap
.  She saw that Cade had ordered her favorite, the chocolate soufflé, and Jackson began feeding it to her.  She loved that they took care of her this way and when Cade began to eat dinner, she asked them about it.

"Is taking care of your mate something that Otherkin are known to do or is this just a wonderful trait of your own?"
she asked.

"All Otherkin do this for their mates
.  It is how it was always done.  Mates are the most important thing," Cade answered her.  "You are the most important thing to us.  Forever."

He said it so sincerely and with such passion
, it brought tears to her eyes.  Sophie had to take a few deep breaths in order not to burst into tears.  "Thank you, Cade, that was very sweet."

"We mean it, Soph
.  You will always be put first.  We love you, honey," Jackson said, kissing the side of her neck.

Sophie turned and wrapped her arms around Jackson's neck to hug him
.  "I love you both too, so much."

Jackson leaned back and captured her lips in a searing kiss that left them both wanting more
.  He kissed her down her neck while she nibbled on his ear.  She wiggled on his lap, feeling him grow hard under her.  He groaned against her neck and then leaned back.