Summer Surrender (Phases Series, Book Six) (10 page)

She shattered, and it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Her pebbled nipples jutted into the air and her skin was flushed pink. Her eyes closed and her lips parted on a desperate scream as Daniel pounded into her from beneath.

The sight of her release was too much for him. There was no warning, there was just him coming all over her stomach and inner thigh. She cried out and jerked again on Daniel’s cock as soon as his release splattered against her skin. There was something earthy and almost primal in seeing his cum decorating her skin.

Daniel flopped back against the couch. “For fuck’s sake. Be careful where you point that.”

Hollis lay back against him, absently trailing her fingers through the white smears covering her skin and sighing contentedly.

Chapter Seven

Hollis unlocked the door to the little cabin, went inside and checked the time. Almost two a.m. The guys had wanted her to stay, but she convinced them that she’d get more sleep at home. Particularly since she had to be up early for school. Of course, so did they.

The truth was, she needed to think. Her mind was so full she was sure half the thoughts had leaked out her ears already. Shape shifters, threesomes, and now foursomes, for God’s sake! Not to mention mates? She could barely tackle one of these issues at a time, let alone all of them at once.

The existence of shape shifters was hard enough to come to terms with. What else was real? Vampires? Zombies? Hell, maybe she’d catch a glimpse of Sasquatch if she left the habitat cams up long enough. She rubbed her hand over her face.

She’d almost gotten to a point earlier when she thought she was okay with it. But to be fair, her hormones had been in overdrive and she’d been distracted by the three, hot, naked men who’d wanted her. Her body hummed with the memory of their possession. They’d definitely gotten her. Maybe her comfort level had more to do with hormone fueled lust than anything else. She certainly wasn’t the first woman who’d ignored good common sense in favor of sex. And she was positive she wouldn’t be the last. She still couldn’t believe she’d had sex with three men.
Twice
.

Making sense of the whole shape shifter thing was hard enough, but when she added in the whole mate aspect… She really, really liked the guys, but was that enough to buy into this idea of mates? Was it love? An ache flared in her chest. Even if it was love or could grow to be love for her, wasn’t it just a biological imperative for them. Using their instincts, they sensed she was their mate. That didn’t mean they loved her. It just meant that she helped fulfill a need for their species. Or maybe, it was more about her knowing. It wasn’t that they really wanted her, it just meant that it was easier to mate with someone who already knew the secret. That way she had a vested interest in keeping it quiet. Nothing more. Nothing less. And that hurt more than anything.

The thoughts battered her as relentlessly as the waves hit the shore. After tossing and turning all night, she finally gave up and called in sick. There was no possible way she’d be of any use to the kids like this. She wasn’t even sure she could make it to the school without driving straight into the lake. Pulling on some clothes, she wandered over to the diner hoping she wasn’t too early for breakfast.

Maggie looked up in surprise when Hollis walked in, the bells jingling obnoxiously above her head. Had she ever liked the sound? Clearly, she was an idiot.

Her friend hurried over to her. “Honey, what’s the matter? Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She nodded, but tears sprang to her eyes. “No. Not really.”

Maggie took her by the hand and led her to a table in the back. “What’s going on?” she asked as soon as they sat down.

In fits and starts and over several cups of coffee, Hollis spilled the entire story. Well, she’d left out the shape shifting bits. That wasn’t her secret to tell. But she tried to get across that she thought both men were more interested in…tradition than love. Through it all, Maggie refilled Hollis’ cup and listened patiently.

When Hollis had finally finished spilling the entire story, Maggie leaned forward and took a sip from her own cup. “It seems like there are some parts of the story missing.” She held up her hand when Hollis opened her mouth. “I’m not going to ask what. It’s none of my business. But sometimes there are some…unexpected or even downright weird things, particularly in a relationship with more than two people. It doesn’t mean that the people in question don’t love and love strongly. It just means that they have different issues at play, too.”

Hollis started at Maggie turning over what the other woman had said in her mind. She also thought about the things that Maggie had avoided saying—the things she’d alluded to. Hollis’ eyes widened as several things about Lucas and Quinn clicked into place.

“It’s not the easiest lifestyle to live, but for us, it’s worth it. Now, I’m not telling you what to do. But I am suggesting that you talk to the guys about how they feel before you make any sweeping decisions.”

Hollis gave Maggie a hug and went back to the cabin. Sitting on the couch, she pulled a blanket over her lap and thought about what she was going to say and how she’d say it. The thing was, the more she thought about it, she was pretty sure she was more than half in love with both of them already.

* * * *

Daniel glanced at Josiah as they raced down M-41. “Try her again.”

“I’ve been trying her this whole time. She’s not picking up.”

They’d left school as soon as he could find someone to cover for them. Daniel’s heart was in his throat. Had they pushed her too fast? Too hard? Had they managed to push her completely away?

Including Dylan had been a risk, but she’d welcomed it. She’d even initiated things the second round. She’d been glorious. But maybe she’d been caught up in the moment and regretted everything that happened.

But she’d seemed fine when she’d left. He should have insisted that she stay.

“No, you shouldn’t have.”

Daniel turned to look at him.

“What?” Josiah asked. “I can hear you thinking from here.”

Daniel pulled the car into the spot next to Maggie’s, relief sluicing over him like a waterfall. He’d been terrified that when they arrived, she’d be on her way back to New York already. That all of this had been too much to handle and they’d chased her away. Hopping out of the car, they pounded on her door. Daniel was just about ready to try the back door when he saw movement behind the curtains. Bouncing impatiently on the balls of his feet, he waited for Hollis to open the door.

Chill, dude,
Josiah said into his mind.

At his first glimpse of her face, he felt awful. Dark circles bruised the skin beneath her eyes, and she looked like she hadn’t slept in at least a week. Confusion marred her brow as she looked at the clock on the wall and back to them.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”

“Well, that kinda depends on you,” Josiah said before Daniel could respond. “Are
you
okay?”

“I’m okay. I just didn’t sleep at all last night, so I’m feeling crummy.”

Daniel noticed that she couldn’t quite meet their eyes.

He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “You want to share with the rest of the class?”

She blushed fiercely at the reference to last night, but he figured it was as good as anything to get whatever was bothering her out in the open. Taking her hand, he led her to the couch and tugged her down next to him.

He shrugged when she looked at him. “You looked like you were about to fall over.”

Josiah sat on the other side of her. “Are you sure you staying home sick today doesn’t have anything to do with everything that went down last night?”

“What do you mean?” she hedged.

“Finding out shape shifters exist…having Dylan join us…pick one,” Daniel said.

“Actually, I’ve pretty much made peace with the whole sometimes-Dylan-likes-to-join-in thing. I mean, it’s not like we didn’t enjoy it, right?”

He and Josiah nodded.

“Not that I want to do that every day,” she added quickly. “That could get a little exhausting.”

Daniel nodded, urging her to continue.

“I can even handle the idea of shifters—of you two being shifters,” she amended. “At least, I think I can. Whether you wanted to or not, you’ve given me the burden of this huge secret. It’s a lot to carry.”

Daniel was about to open his mouth, but she cut him off.

“But no matter what happens with us, you need to know that I’m not going to tell anyone.”

His heart clenched at the sound of her breaking voice, but she pushed on.

“I care about you both too much to hurt you like that. You don’t have to marry me or mate with me or whatever to keep me quiet. I’ll do that on my own.”

Frustration tightened Daniel’s fists, and he clenched the couch cushion. “Is that what you really think? That we’d marry you to shut you up?”

“Danny…” Josiah warned.

Daniel took a breath. He needed to pull himself together. Staring into her red-rimmed eyes, he tucked a lock of flyaway hair behind her ear. “I’m gonna cut you some slack because you’re exhausted.”

“And we’re pretty much to blame for that,” Josiah added.

The ghost of a smile played around her lips as she nodded.

“But don’t ever think,” Daniel continued, “that we would use you that way.”

She swallowed hard. “That’s not the only thing that’s bothering me.”

Hollis launched herself off the couch and began pacing the room. He’d seen her do the same thing plenty of times while teaching.

“It’s just that I get the whole biological imperative thing. I do. But I’m not sure I want to make a relationship commitment to someone.” She paused and looked up at both of them. “Or two someones because I smell like mating material.”

Daniel leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Excuse me?”

Josiah attempted to smother his amusement. Poorly.

“I know you’re not animals, and it’s probably a little more complicated than that, but—”

“But you think that the only reason we could possibly want to be with you is because you smell like a potential mate,” Daniel said, rising and moving to stand in front of her.

“Well…”

Josiah rose to stand next to him. Hollis looked back and forth between the two of them.

“You were saying?” Josiah asked, unable to keep the grin from his face.

Hollis crossed her arms over her ample chest. “I was saying the wrong thing, apparently.”

Josiah nodded.

“We’re not interested in you because you smell compatible,” Daniel said.

“Though we do like your scent,” his friend added.

“Yes, biologically we’re compatible, but we could just as easily be compatible with Kathy the math teacher. It doesn’t mean we’d consider her a viable choice.”

Hollis laughed in spite of herself.

Daniel slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. “We’re falling in love with you, Holl.”

His words erupted through Hollis, filling her with golden, searing heat. Josiah pressed to her back and ran his hands over her shoulders and arms. “It’s really more of a past tense thing as in we’re already in love with you.
You
, Hollis Chambers, not your mateability status.”

Daniel met her wary gaze. “I know it happened fast, but it doesn’t mean it’s not real. We love you.”

“Give us a chance to show you,” Josiah said. “We’ll even go to New York if that’s where you really want to be.”

“Or not…” Daniel added, apparently needing to voice his opinion that he’d go under duress. She saw his hope that they’d convinced her of how they felt. “We’ll be wherever you call home.”

The sadness and tension melted from her body . She bit her lip and shook her head, love filling her. “I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m pretty sure I’m already home.”

The two men gathered her close, with low growls in their throats. As they kissed her and they fell into a tangle on the couch, peace filtered into Hollis—a peace she’d though she’d found by leaving New York and coming to this secluded town. Peace and a home. With her mates.

About the Author

Bronwyn lives in Michigan with her wonderful husband, two amazing sons and six somewhat-psychotic cats. When not tormenting her characters, she can usually be found helping with reading and writing projects in her sons’ classrooms as well as being the car pool mom extraordinaire for five teens and a couple of preteens. Besides writing, she also enjoys reading, knitting, sewing, cross stitching, pottery, drawing—basically anything that helps her avoid the tortures of cleaning and cooking.

Bronwyn loves to talk to her readers and can be found at www.bronwyngreen.com.