Rain (Stranger in the Woods Book 1) Read online

  Suddenly, my legs are taken out from underneath me. Strong warm arms catch me and lay me down. The ground is cold, but my body is heated. Perfect blend. Ryder pulls my pants down, exposing me to the elements, raising my desires and creating more need for his warmth. His heady breath hits my inner thighs as he places my knees over his shoulders, kissing my legs in the process. Then his lips latch between my legs and create magic. I didn’t know elves did this. I thought this is one event I would never experience, but by the time Ryder is exploring my core with his tongue—convincing me to Bond with him—I realize these elves must have invented this practice.

  As I gasp for air after my release is expertly demanded, Ryder crawls up my body as if I’m his prey. His eyes are wild, and he’s practically growling as his rigid organ slides inside me. “Bond with me.”

  I arch. My whole body celebrates his joining mine. “Yes.”

  Per Elf custom, Bonding is a very private event. These wonderful people are so open and free on many subjects but not this one. The commitment to share your whole life is life changing, they say. I understand and respect that it is only Ryder, me, and Isolde who will share the ceremony.

  Gunner is the only one who doesn’t understand. He wants to be there, but Isolde explains, “Bonding is a decision to commit solely to the one you have chosen. Therefore, only the two and their spiritual leader are present.”

  I can’t help wondering what human marriages would be like if their wedding vows were taken so seriously. How many divorces could be avoided if the wedding wasn’t the important part? No competition about who had the prettier dress or the biggest cake. No bridesmaids or Bridezillas coming unglued for some ridiculous reason. What if weddings were for only the bride, the groom, and their choice of a pastor, preacher, rabbi, or priest?

  Ryder and I have this kind of commitment. We’re among the lucky ones, and I will treat this relationship with the respect it deserves. I think of Mama and hope she will be proud of me and not too sad to have missed such a day in her daughter’s life.

  Isolde, Ryder, and I walk to the lake I love so much and quietly take vows from his beliefs and mine. It’s a first for Isolde, but she seems pleased and allows the ceremony to go with the grace and love Ryder and I requested.

  The sun shines, and a union is made.

  Gunner’s, Ryder’s, and my relationship is headed to another level when Gunner asks to be present during another private time. “You want to watch?” Ryder asks Gunner. The three of us sit on the floor of my little home. I face Ryder, getting ready for what is to come. Gunner is supposed to be leaving.

  “I do. I don’t know why, but if we are doing this”—he gestures to my belly—“together, let’s do this together all the way. Is it okay?” Gunner sounds insecure and sad, which is completely unusual for him.

  Ryder sounds stunned. “I am okay with it if Rose is, Gunner. I just thought it was too much for you to witness.”

  “I know, and it was, but not anymore. I-I want to be a part of it.”

  I grasp his hand, questioning the sudden change of heart. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I think so. Well, maybe, I’m feeling a little—” His eyes show hurt. Ryder and I wait patiently for him to finish, but he doesn’t. Gunner just peers at us both as if a little lost. His eyes tear slightly as he shakes his head while trying to get up from the floor. “I’m nuts. Don’t worry about it. I’ll give you your privacy.”

  I hold his hand tighter, refusing let him go. He needs us, I reflect to Ryder.

  He needs you.

  Us.

  Ryder takes a deep breath. He has only supplied me in front of others once, and that was only because I was dying. Ryder lets Gunner into our private world. “Stay with us.”

  Gunner heavily nods to Ryder as he sucks in air and relief. “I’m feeling out of sorts. I hurt in my heart, and I don’t know why. It’s like you two have each other. I’m not with Rose in that way, and no offense, Ryder, but I don’t want to see you naked.” That makes both Ryder and me chuckle a little. “Then the baby,” Gunner adds, “when she comes, she’ll be here, with you two, who are now Bonded. A little family—I’m afraid of—Damn, I sound like a pussy, but I don’t want to be… left out.”

  My arms go around his neck, pulling him to me. “I love you, and I’m so sorry you’re feeling left out. We—the three of us—soon to be four, are as one.”

  Tears fall. Gunner is not a crier. I’ve only seen him cry three times in his whole life. Once when he spoke of his mother, once for his aunt, and the time he was losing me to Ryder. Then it hits me. My hands grasp his face. “Gunner, you won’t lose me.” I’m shocked when his face feels moist, yet I see no sweat.

  He whispers in pain, grabbing his stomach. “It will kill me, Rose.”

  His words slice open my heart. And what I see glowing on my hands brings me violent pain. “Why are you illuminating?” My heart pounds with new adrenaline.

  Ryder calmly tells me, “Rose, breathe.”

  “Why is he illuminating?”

  Gunner’s crying full-out now. “I-I’ve Tied to you, and it hurts so bad, Rose.”

  He’s being tortured. My best friend is being tortured because of me. Causing Gunner pain is against my nature. Then it dawns on me. I glare at my new husband. “You knew this, didn’t you?”

  Ryder looks away.

  “You. Knew. This. And didn’t tell me. You just married me to stake your claim?”

  “No—yes, I knew, but Bonding with you has always been what I want—”

  “Shut. Up.”

  Ryder recoils at my angry tone and rude words.

  “Don’t say or do anything, Ryder. You are to stay right where you are, or I will leave you and this village. Do you understand how serious I am at this moment?”

  Yes, he Reflects, his shoulders sulking.

  Then it happens. I grab Gunner’s face and kiss him on the lips, right in front of Ryder. I hear Ryder’s palms slam to the flooring, and I hear his growl, vibrating our home. The kiss isn’t passionate. It isn’t with an open mouth, only with the love and comfort my best friend needs. I know him better than anyone, and he doesn’t desire me in a sexual way, but he does desire and need me. So have me he will.

  Gunner’s hands grasp my face so quickly that I know I’m right to have done this. He needs to feel me, touch me, know he owns a part of me, which he does and always will. Gunner kisses me back with such an overwhelming emotion. He leans his forehead to mine, shaking. “I’m still alive. So Ryder, does this mean you understand that was not a sexual kiss?”

  I kiss Gunner again to make my point. “Ryder has no say, Gunner. You and I made a pact some time back that we would always kiss as a goodbye. Do you remember?”

  “I do. I had forgotten, but now I remember.”

  “Rose.”

  Not removing my forehead from Gunner’s, I glare at Ryder. “Don’t ever try and get between us again.”

  His illumination drips to the floor. I’m truly shocked he hasn’t attacked Gunner— and me, for that matter. His eyes are on fire. “Rose—” He sharply inhales as I tilt my lips to Gunner’s again. “Okay! Okay. Please come to me.”

  “No. How do you think Gunner felt as you and I walked off to get married?” I take some of Gunner’s illumination and wipe it on my face.

  Ryder slams his hands on the floor again, his fingers denting the wood. “Rose! Please!”

  Gunner’s body suddenly relaxes as he stares at me. “Damn, Rose, he ain’t joking. I feel so much better seeing me on you.”

  “Take it off,” growls the elf having a meltdown while Gunner and I ignore him.

  I tilt my head in thought. “Maybe I should sleep downstairs tonight—”

  “I’m sorry!” yells Ryder. “Gunner, I sincerely apologize for cheating you out of Rose.”

&
nbsp; Gunner quickly gives Ryder a piercing glare. “I love her, Ryder. So fucking much.”

  “I’m ashamed of my actions.”

  “As you should be.” I swipe Ryder’s neck and mark myself.

  Ryder studies his vital fluid on me, exhales, his body relaxing, and he nods with regret. “As I should be.”

  Gunner grins. “Is it bad I’m enjoying this?”

  Ryder weakly smirks. “Asshole.”

  Gunner and I burst out laughing!

  “A cussword?”

  “Ryder!”

  “That’s awesome!”

  Ryder shakes his head and inhales with our laughter. We’re past this now. He says, “I don’t have to be a part of this daily kissing ritual, do I?”

  Gunner kisses my forehead. “No, Ryder, I’m not needing any male love. It’s just… you married her. I don’t think I was ready for that.”

  “I shouldn’t have rushed it, not without considering your feelings, especially after you watched her almost die. You and I have already lost a woman we loved.”

  “What?” I ask.

  Ryder grabs his chest. “Gunner remembers my mother’s death. A new memory for us both.”

  “A nightmare that now won’t end in my memory.” Gunner’s eyes close.

  Both males try to pull in air as they walk down memory lane. I grab the backs of the males’ necks, trying to pull them from a past we hope to not repeat. “Look at me. I’m here. You’re here. We’re here.”

  “For now,” says Gunner, and he’s right. We have no idea what’s in store for us.

  I pull him to me and hug him. “Stop it.” Gunner willingly takes refuge in my neck. I look to Ryder, who is stuck in a terrifying future. “You too. Stop.” I pull him to my lips. He also comes willingly, hungrily. Gunner doesn’t pull away while Ryder reclaims me. “I have no intention of leaving my favorite men—males. Hear me?”

  Both sets of hands pull on me, making sure I’m alive and here with them. We end up sitting so close, trying to find comfort. I refuse to let either of them go, finding a middle ground to tend to both their needs and to pull fear from their scared hearts. I never knew I could be two different women for two different powerful males, but I have to be. They need it. The three of us will be together for the rest of our lives. Our baby will see to it.

  Gunner is right. Do it all together. I kiss Gunner’s cheek to prepare him for what the baby needs, then slowly rest my head on his shoulder with my neck exposed. Ryder repositions himself at Gunner’s shoulder to have a better angle for me. “Are you sure, brother? Once I start, I have to finish.”

  Gunner’s arms tighten around me. “I want to be here.”

  “I’m going to grab on to you to hold her still. She jolts.”

  “Do it.”

  Ryder grabs onto the base of Gunner’s neck, his eyes observing me the whole time as I prepare. He touches my face. “You okay?”

  Gunner holds me close as I watch Ryder share me in a special way with an important man. I feel lucky, so lucky. I smile at Ryder. “I love you both so much.” Ryder kisses me one more time on the lips, moves to my neck to kiss me—like he always does—to show love to the place he has to penetrate. Ryder bites me.

  I jolt with the sting of his fangs, but Gunner doesn’t move. He holds me still. “Do you hurt?”

  I softly answer, “No.” The sting has already passed, and my veins are accustomed to Ryder’s venom now.

  Gunner seems amazed, not disgusted. “It’s so intimate.”

  My eyes close as Ryder expresses in his vital fluid. “Yes, I’m glad you’re here, Gunner.”

  “Thank you.”

  As Ryder finishes, my body goes slack on Gunner’s shoulder and chest. Ryder speaks as Gunner accepts my weight. “Her body has a calmer reaction now, but she still gets sleepy.” I can’t open my eyes. I’m off into the bliss Ryder’s blood supplies.

  Gunner delicately lets me slip into his arms so he can cradle me. “I can’t explain what this means to me, Ryder.”

  Ryder places an herbed leaf on my neck. “Now that we did this with you present, it makes sense. The three of us are Tied in uncharted territory, not just Rose and me. I’m just sorry I kept you out until now, but I won’t again. I give you my word. I wish I could say I am as mature and understanding as Ivar or any Vike, but I’m not.”

  Gunner rocks me, like he always did on my back porch. It’s so reassuring. My body remembers it and is in a state of bliss with what both males have to offer. “Glad to hear it, brother, ’cause I would have to kick your ass if you did share this un-sharable creature.”

  “So we understand each other’s place?” Ryder is staking a claim.

  “Ryder, I will never go behind your back and try to seduce Rose. The only way I can make this any clearer is to tell you how I view it. Is she asleep?”

  “I think so.”

  I’m too serene to move or tell them otherwise.

  “The one night we were together was almost… awkward. We almost didn’t finish having sex. Clearly, we found our way, hence she’s pregnant, and in its own way, it was a beautiful night. But even if you weren’t part of the picture, I don’t think we would ever try again. We were together for comfort, Ryder. I think that’s why I need her like this now. I need her comfort.”

  “Enough said.”

  I’m not hurt by Gunner’s words. The sex was awkward and missing the passion Ryder and I effortlessly share. My body is lifted and placed on my bed. Each male takes a side of me, each holding a hand.

  The sun is rising as our relationship goes down in history.

  We become inseparable. Where you find one, you find three. Sometimes, Storm is with us. I love her company, and she seems to love Gunner’s. Gunner has a special smile for her but never moves on it, even when encouraged by me. He seems consumed with the delicate circumstances that own our world. Ryder tells me to let Gunner do this on his own. “Storm is also pregnant, Rose. Gunner feels his hands are full with his own young on the way. He wants to stay focused on your health.”

  “How do you know this? Where am I during these talks?”

  “Rose, you nap endlessly.”

  Gunner, Ryder, and I cling to each other until we are able to breathe apart again. The baby in my belly flourishes in these months. The love among us seems to be her magic growth serum. She grows and grows at an almost alarming rate, putting a strain on my body. Ryder has to provide me with his blood more and more frequently, to the point he eats meat four times a week for iron to prevent depleting himself.

  It’s no longer a stressful event though. It has become a natural and a very private time for the three of us. You can’t get much more personal than when someone is supplying you their life source to sustain your own and that of your baby. All the while, the other male—who helped you produce the baby inside you—holds your body as it accepts the nourishment.

  Love.

  Maybe that’s what love is: nourishment for the soul, which allows all kinds of growth in all kinds of ways.

  “Where are we going?” I ask Ryder and Gunner as we travel through the forest with Guardians and Vikes on our tail. But I get no answer, just smiling males, until I hear her gasp.

  Mama.

  I. Run. To. Her.

  Gasping and snotting all over myself, I slam into her open embrace. Her smell, her warmth, her tears, all scream… home. In this woman’s arms, I am whole again. “H-How are you here? W-Why am I getting to see y-you?”

  She hasn’t stopped kissing me all over my head. “Oh, baby. I have missed you somethin’ awful.”

  I bawl. I bawl so incredibly hard, internally thanking everyone who made this much-needed moment come to life. I’m a grown woman who has missed her mama.

  Spring and summer are welcomed by my body, which has been
abused by winter. For me to get a break and go to the lake is now a village affair. I’m to never leave the grounds without a heavy escort. It’s enough to make a hormonal woman crazy, but they all try to make it seem as normal as possible. Baskets are packed with blankets and food, and the event is treated like a well-planned picnic—that you just happen to need twenty bodyguards for. No trolls or any other mystical creature are taking me from these elves.

  Vikes, Warriors, and Traveler villagers jump in and out of water that is far too cold for me, but I’m happy lying on the embankment with my two favorite males, one on each side of my belly, as always.

  “She moved!” Gunner yells.

  I stare at the blue sky with my head resting in my palms, flat on my back with two big hands touching my stretching stomach. Heaven, I’m in heaven. Ryder is a mess. “She’s kicking!” They both act as if this were the first time they have felt her.

  “Soon she veel look like dis. Here, practice.” Asta hands Ryder her baby and then dives into the water. Ryder lounges on his back with a baby sitting on his stomach. His knees are propped up to help balance the baby boy, who stares at him with curiosity. Gunner keeps touching me but is watching the little boy. “We’re about to have a kid. Is this finally sinking in for anyone or just me?”

  I chuckle. “I’ve been carrying her. I’m aware.”

  Ryder’s eyes go wide, looking at Gunner. “Me. It’s sinking in now.”

  They protect me. They love me. A belly is growing, but the reality is dawning about how much our lives are about to change. Well, change in months to come because elves seem to have the longest pregnancies ever! Other than that, life has allowed us to find our own rhythm. With no sign of the Blood Demons, Ryder and Gunner have relaxed again. Hope and courage have rooted, and rooted to stay. As the seasons change, my males become sturdy and a solid team to care for me in ways I could never have imagined.