Seducing Their Wayfaring Souls [3xtasy Lake 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

  3xtasy Lake 7

  Seducing Their Wayfaring Souls

  Lars Vandargard has spent centuries as a hermit grieving his past and dreading his lonely future. Finding a best friend in Cris has helped mend his wayfaring soul, but he longs to find the missing piece of his heart, the woman who would complete their trio.

  Cris Beauvert first met Tara Brewer years ago and lost her in a moment of carelessness, cursing himself to a life without his Mate. Now that Fate has delivered her to Ecstasy Lake, he comes up with a plan, enlisting the help of the citizens of Ecstasy Lake to make certain she can’t leave.

  A fluke accident has landed Tara in this unique town. She’s eager to embrace the future she’s arranged in another Province but comes face-to-face with her destiny in Ecstasy Lake.

  Tara is the missing piece to their ménage family, but in Cris and Lars's eagerness to convince her to stay, will their secrets drive her away?

  Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter

  Length: 56,676 words

  SEDUCING THEIR WAYFARING SOULS

  3xtasy Lake 7

  Corinne Davies

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  SEDUCING THEIR WAYFARING SOULS

  Copyright © 2012 by Corinne Davies

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-055-1

  First E-book Publication: December 2012

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Seducing Their Wayfaring Souls by Corinne Davies from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

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  This is Corinne Davies’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Davies’s right to earn a living from her work.

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  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  DEDICATION

  For my husband, Chris. I could never have accomplished as much as I have without your support. After sixteen years of marriage, I still love you more and more every year.

  My writing partners and dear friends, Bella and Heather. You two help keep me focused on my “shiny” days and I love the incredible ideas that flow from some of our crazy conversations.

  I have a wonderful beta, Tracy, who is the keeper of all those small, important details I tend to forget. I love our tea days! We need more of them.

  And for everyone who works so hard to make Siren the best publishing house to write for. I cannot thank you all enough.

  SEDUCING THEIR WAYFARING SOULS

  3xtasy Lake 7

  CORINNE DAVIES

  Copyright © 2012

  Chapter One

  Thwack!

  Tara Brewer’s car jerked forward at impact, the inertia throwing her head back hard against the headrest. Her seat belt locked against her chest as her body followed the car’s momentum and lurched forward. She reached wildly for the steering wheel as the seat belt bit into her shoulder. I knew that truck was following too close.

  “Mommy!” The fear-filled cry ripped into her heart as she twisted the wheel to counter the car’s wild movements. Time slowed down as she glanced up into the rearview mirror and met her son’s terrified gaze. She’d failed. The most important person in her life and she failed to keep him safe. She wanted to smile and reassure him, but she couldn’t.

  “We’re okay,” she cried out, wanting to reassure him. The side of the road raced toward them as she wrestled with the steering wheel. The gravel shoulder ripped the control from her hands and sent the car’s back end swinging around. She winced as her front end headed toward the truck that was swerving to miss her. The truck’s engine sounded like a roar when the massive vehicle sped past, disappearing from view as she skidded off the road.

  The car slid backward over the edge, and she turned, trying to look as she prayed. Time seemed to stop moving with her realization she had no control over what was about to happen. How long would they fall? She remembered seeing some steep drop-offs along the side of the road a ways back. Please god, don’t let this be a cliff.

  Her car slammed to a stop at the bottom of the small ravine. Tara gasped for air as her heart felt like it thumped against her throat. She twisted in her seat and reached back for her little guy as she gripped the wheel with one hand and tried to decide what to do next.

  “Zack, we’re okay. Are you hurt?”

  Her six-year-old son’s lower lip quivered, the motion more obvious since he’d lost both his front teeth last week. He gripped her hand tighter than she’d ever felt him squeeze. “Mom. That thcared the thit out of me!”

  Laughter bubbled up from her chest. She could hear the hysteria in her tone. At this moment, she didn’t care where he’d picked up that phrase. It fit. “Me, too, baby. Me, too.” She tugged her hand, but her wide-eyed child wouldn’t let go. “You have to let go, baby, so I can get us out of here.”

  Zack nodded, released her hand, and tried to manipulate the seat belt but couldn’t manage to hit the small button. “I can’t. I can’t.” He smacked at the lock with his palm as his frustration started to overwhelm him.

  Tara popped her seat belt open, turned in her seat and reached down, capturing his hands. “Zack, stop. Take a deep breath and calm down.” She stretched out as far
as she could but couldn’t reach the belt. “I’ll open the door and come back to help you.”

  A loud rumble drew her attention up toward the road. Could that be the truck coming back? Her heart fluttered and she felt her stomach cramp. What if he planned to hurt them further? Get a grip. You’ll be fine.

  She turned and tried to open her car door. At this angle, it felt like it weighed a ton, making her arms shake as she tried to push it up. The implications of what had happened seeped into her thoughts followed quickly by a wave of what could’ve happened. Fear and panic threatened to overwhelm her. How am I going to get us out of here?

  “Is everyone okay down there?” A low muffled voice echoed over the ditch as she heard footsteps racing over the gravel. A large man appeared above her. He was dressed in jeans, a well-worn black leather jacket, and thick, heavy boots on his feet. He looked ten feet tall from this angle. His long blond hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, but some had come loose and was drifting across his face as he moved. The rumble she had heard must’ve been a motorcycle and not the truck. He stood there with a phone to his ear talking to someone.

  Please let him be here to help.

  He hopped over the edge and eased his way down the gravel incline like a mountain goat. His mouth moved, but if he said anything it wasn’t registering with her. The closer he got to the car the bigger she realized he was.

  “Mom!”

  She turned and saw the man had the back door open and reached for Zack. “What are you doing? Don’t touch him!” She swatted at his shoulder and he looked at her as if she’d gone insane. She gripped his shirt in her fist, as if that would stop him. His eyes widened slightly and then his gaze softened.

  “It’s all right. My name’s Lars. I’ll help your son up to the road. Stay here and I’ll come back to help you as well.”

  “Oh, yes. That would be a good idea.” Tara felt silly for her reaction as she pressed her hand to her forehead. It was so hard to think right now. She could hear Lars talking to Zack, and her son didn’t sound as panicked anymore. She watched him carry Zack up the incline, disappearing from view for a second before he came back down the ledge.

  “Does your head hurt?” She looked at Lars as he spoke. He stood there holding open the car door as if it weighed nothing at all.

  “What?” He’d asked her something, but she forgot already what it was. “Oh, right, my head. No, I’m okay. We can walk from here.”

  “Before you try to move, think about how you’re feeling. Does anything hurt? How’s your neck and back feel? Any numbness anywhere?”

  Tara moved her body carefully, double-checking if anything didn’t feel right. “No, I think I’m okay.”

  “Be careful.” Lars held out his hand and she tried to grab ahold, but her arm shook so badly it didn’t feel like she could hold on to him. He must’ve understood her predicament, because he slid his hand up and gripped her forearm as she moved toward him. Her entire body felt like it was made out of gelatin as she slowly twisted and tried to hop out of the car safely.

  “You’re shaking like a leaf.” He placed her arm on his shoulder and reached around her. “Put your arms around my neck. I’ll carry you.”

  “If you’re sure you can. It looks steep.” In the next breath she found herself pulled out of the car and he wrapped his arms around her back and under her legs. The door slammed behind her as he let it go and started up the incline.

  “I could carry you all day.” He smiled at her and she felt her stomach flip-flop. His eyes were as blue as the summer sky framed with long dark lashes. With his blond hair, she could’ve plunked a horned hat on him and he’d look like a Viking off a romance novel. Somewhere in the back of her mind a warning bell sounded. She fell for a beautiful smile and soft words once before. Never again.

  True to his words, he navigated the stone incline like a mountain goat and had her on the surface a moment later. Her son sat sideways on a large bike a few feet away. “Hey, Mom, how cool ith thith! I’m on a big motorthycle!”

  Lars put her down and she rushed over to her son.

  “Wait, Mom. Watch out for the muffler. Ith hot.” He pointed at the chrome muffler. Lars must have warned Zack when he brought him up here. She avoided the dangerous metal as she hugged Zack tightly and kissed his forehead. “Sweetie, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. That was thcary, Mom.” He wrapped his thin arms around her neck and hugged her. She could feel the tremors starting in her arms again and tears burned her eyes.

  “Mom, are you going to let go?”

  “One more second.” Tara tried to take deep breaths and control her emotions, but it seemed like a momentous effort beyond her abilities at the moment.

  “Ith okay, Mom.” Zack patted her back. “You can cry if you want to. I’ll pretend I didn’t thee. Larth thaid momth need to cry thometime and there ithn’t anything to be afraid of.”

  Tara couldn’t help but laugh, feeling tears slip down her cheeks at her son’s reaction. Sometimes Zack sounded very old for his six years on this earth, and then other times she feared the world may forever be too scary a place for him. “Lars?”

  “Yes,” the big blond man answered and Tara looked up. He towered over her and Zack, and she’d never considered herself a short woman. She kissed Zack’s cheek one more time before standing and quickly wiping the moisture off her cheeks with her sleeve.

  “Thank you for your help.” She reached out to shake and he accepted. “My name is Tara Brewer and this is my son, Zack.” She watched her hand disappear in his.

  “Lars Vandargard,” he replied.

  He felt so very warm and she was freezing. She wanted to wrap herself around this big man and let him take care of all her problems. Yeah, like that would ever happen.

  “No problem.” He bent over and flipped open one of the saddlebags on this bike. Tara peeked and was certain her mouth dropped open at the sight of his perfect ass. She quickly turned her attention to Zack before Lars noticed. Zack sat astride the bike with his hands on the handlebars, pretending to ride it.

  Lars pulled out a blanket and flicked it open before wrapping it around her shoulders. It smelled clean and fresh and a bit like the leather bag it’d been sitting in. She liked the smell and it helped her to feel a bit warmer.

  “Let’s keep you warm, too.” He ruffled Zack’s hair a bit. “You still feel okay? Has anything started to hurt?” Lars asked Zack a number of questions as he pulled out another blanket. He flicked it open and wrapped it around Zack, tucking it around her son’s legs. He must have children of his own…

  Tara watched Lars take care of her son, thankful for the extreme kindness of strangers. She felt so lost and unsure at the moment. Lars turned and gently rubbed her upper arms. “I called the police as soon as I got here. They should be here any second.” Part of her relaxed in his support, while another part of her panicked. She had to stand on her own two feet.

  “I can’t seem to get my thoughts in order.” She wandered to the edge of the road where she could make out her front grill peeking over the embankment. “I hope it can be pulled out and we can get going. Do you know the number of a tow truck?”

  “Don’t worry about that right now,” Lars answered.

  “I have to.” She rubbed her temple with her fingers. “I should take Zack to a hospital to make sure he’s okay.”

  “We’ll help you, Tara.” Lars gently rubbed the back of her shoulders. “There’s a nurse practitioner in town. The nearest hospital’s kilometers away.”

  An unmarked cruiser pulled up next to them with the window down. The police officer inside scanned the area and Tara was sure he took notice of every detail. “Lars, do we need an ambulance?”

  “No, I called Jelani Bennett and he’ll meet us at the clinic,” Lars replied. The officer nodded and then pulled forward in front of them and parked.

  “That’s Craig Walker. He’s a friend of mine and I promise we’ll take care of you.”

  Tara felt like a whi
rlwind had descended around her. In a matter of a couple minutes another cruiser arrived and she was being questioned about the accident. Another officer spoke to Zack to see if he saw anything she didn’t. She felt less than useless because she hadn’t been paying attention to the road. She and Zack had been discussing what animals would live in the forests around them when she’d been hit. She couldn’t even remember what colour the other vehicle had been other than it was a truck of some sort.

  After, she and Zack had been placed in the back of a cruiser and driven into town. Lars followed behind them on his bike. Ecstasy Lake looked like a beautiful place. She hadn’t quite understood why she’d been taken to a veterinary clinic until they’d explained the front half housed the vet clinic, and the back half, a medical clinic. She’d thought it was strange to have it in the same building but hadn’t been about to argue.

  The nurse practitioner was a man named Jelani Bennett, who’d insisted on her calling him Jelani. She’d explained what she could about the accident and had answered a lot of the same questions the police has asked her. No, her air bag didn’t go off, no, she didn’t see the impact coming, yes, her head hurt. No, she wasn’t pregnant, nor did she have any history of illness and allergies.

  Jelani checked her eyes and her reflexes and had patiently answered all her questions. Even when every other one was “how is my son.” Jelani’s wife, Jessica, had taken Zack to the other side of the building to the veterinary clinic so he could play with some of the animals there. At least she’d thought Jessica and Jelani were married. Jessica had arrived holding the hand of a man named Marcario and had kissed him good-bye. I must’ve hit my head harder than I thought.