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

  “Tara, where were you and Zack headed?” Jelani asked as he made some notes on the laptop next to him.

  “I was going to Manitoba.”

  He gave her a curious look. “What’s in Manitoba? Do you have some family I can call to help you out?”

  Her chest tightened for a moment at the thought of her family. They didn’t want her. She’d been an embarrassment to them and their community. She’d disappointed her parents when she hadn’t followed the path they’d chosen for her. No one would make decisions for her ever again. She would live her life according to her choices. “The cost of living in the greater Toronto area is too high. I wanted to find a nice place I could raise Zack and not have to work three jobs to afford it. I have a cousin who lives in a small town outside of Winnipeg. He has a job waiting for me when we get there.”

  Jelani typed out another sentence on his laptop before speaking. “To be honest, Tara, I would feel more comfortable if you and Zack stayed here for a couple days so I can keep an eye on you. Injuries from accidents like this can sometimes take up to three days to surface.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is, you have a slight concussion right now and I don’t think you’ve suffered whiplash, but I can’t say for certain yet. If you’re planning a long drive to a new place, you need to know these things before you get too far.” He rolled over to the table and patted her hand where it rested on her leg. “You haven’t said anything about having anyone to watch out for you right now. I would feel much more comfortable if you stayed in town for a day or two. The hotel down the street has very reasonable rates this time of year. It’ll take at least a day to pull your car out of the ravine and make sure it’s still roadworthy.”

  Tara ran her fingers through her short hair as she debated her choices. “I don’t know…I guess I can stay. I don’t have a specific timetable to meet.” She thought about her second cousin, who offered her a secretarial job at his used-car lot. He’d phoned her a few weeks before and offered her the position because he thought it was the right thing to do. She’d debated refusing the offer. She didn’t want to leave Ontario and get out in the middle of nowhere and be unable to find the extra help that Zack would need as he got older.

  “Good. I’ll have my wife call Albert. He’s a sweet old man who runs the hotel. I want to follow up with you tomorrow.” He lifted a business card from the holder and quickly wrote out a number on the back. “This is my home number. If at any time you notice something’s really hurting or you’re frightened, I want you call me immediately.”

  Tara held the card in her fingertips and stared down at the bold script. If this was what small towns were like, she should’ve moved years before. The card blurred and she blinked quickly trying to clear the tears from her vision. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “There isn’t anything to thank me for.” She felt him gently pat her shoulder. “I’m glad you and Zack seem to be unscathed.”

  She nodded and quickly wiped a tear that managed to escape. Taking a deep breath, she pulled herself together and slid off the examination table. “Okay, I’ll come back tomorrow. Any particular time?”

  “No, pop by tomorrow afternoon and we’ll see how you’re both doing. I don’t have any appointments I know of. But, don’t be afraid to call me if you need to.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Bennett.” Everyone acted very casual around here, but she couldn’t bring herself to use his first name. It didn’t seem respectful enough, considering.

  “Please call me Jelani.” He opened the exam room door and waited for her to exit before following behind her. A framed picture hung in the hallway. As she passed, she noticed that it looked like it had been taken somewhere exotic. Jelani was in it with his wife and the man named Marcario. Each of the men were pressing a kiss to her temple as she laughed between the two of them. The strong resemblance between the two men made her think they must be brothers. She brushed away the possibility that first crowded her thoughts. She must’ve knocked her head hard if she was envisioning this man sharing a woman with his brother.

  “Come through here.” Jelani opened another door and waved her through. “Jess said she took Zack to see the animals.”

  She heard Zack’s giggles the moment the door opened. Following the sound, she walked down the hall and stopped at an oversized viewing window. A large room tailored to every cat’s needs lay on the other side of the window. A little girl sat in the middle of the room next to Zack. Both of them had kittens pouncing over their legs and batting at their fingers.

  Zack looked up and waved at her. “Hi, Mom!”

  The little girl turned and waved as well. “Hi, Zack’s mom! Hi, Jelani!”

  Jelani waved, too, and then smiled down at Tara. “I’ll go and find Jess. She can take you down to the hotel and get you settled in.”

  “She really doesn’t have to go to the trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble, Tara.”

  Tara waved at them both and smiled as they erupted into giggles. Zack acted so much older than his years at times that she sometimes forgot he really was a little boy. He perked up again and waved at her. “Mom, thith ith Lulu. She’th my new friend.”

  The little girl beamed up at her and then placed another kitten in Zack’s lap. Tara watched as Zack carefully stroked the kittens. He never tried to pick one up, and it broke her heart. She knew he was afraid of dropping them if they started to wriggle. Zack had delayed development with his fine motor skills, something he could overcome, but it would take a lot of time, money, and both physio and occupational therapy. Time and money were the two most important factors and what she had the least of. She’d read everything she could on the Internet and all the books at the library she could find, making note of things she could do to help him along. Moving to a slower lifestyle she hoped would help. Her ultimate goal would be to homeschool Zack and continuously help him with his therapy, a pipe dream that drifted farther and farther away with each year he got older. She stepped away from the window and leaned back against the wall. Reality had a way of sneaking up on her sometimes. What am I going to do? She had a small amount of money saved up, but she couldn’t afford to be out of work long. A week, maybe two, tops. She couldn’t afford for her car insurance to go up. Oh god, I forgot to call the insurance. What if her car couldn’t be fixed? She didn’t have anywhere to go or anyone to ask for help. She wracked her brain trying to come up with a solution. Short of standing on the one corner she noticed in this town, she couldn’t figure out a solution. She didn’t have anything of value.

  Chapter Two

  Lars paced the floor in the waiting room of the clinic watching for Jelani to come out. He and Cris had been out for a ride when they’d come around the corner and had seen Tara’s car slide off the road. Cris had raced ahead after they saw the accident and managed to catch up to the truck that hit Tara’s car. He’d called the police, who had arrested the driver for DUI.

  Lars remembered the way her body had curled against his when he carried her out of the ravine. Her breath on his neck and the soft scent of strawberries on her skin. Until now, no woman had managed to snag his attention as much as she had. It wasn’t just her sleek curves or creamy, soft skin. There was something else to her, a fragility he normally would’ve run in the opposite direction from. Femme fatales weren’t his type. Neither were overdramatic cling ons. He enjoyed free spirits who happily shared his bed and then moved on. But from the moment he’d scooped Tara up into his arms, he’d felt possessive about her. Allowing her to go back into a room alone with Jelani tore at his instincts. He wanted to be in there guarding over her. If it wasn’t for the fact Jelani and Marcario Bennett were happily Mated to Jessica, he would’ve insisted on going back there with her.

  Tara’s and Jelani’s voices echoed in the hallway and it took everything he had not to rush down the hall to see her. Instead, he forced himself to turn around and walk outside. He took a deep breath of the fresh autumn air. They’d had an unseasonably
warm fall, but it looked like the weather might start to turn. Too bad, because he had hoped the warmth would hold out for the kids so they could have a warmer Halloween. Trick-or-treating was always more fun when a kid didn’t have to bundle up.

  A flurry of leaves scuttled around his boots as he walked across the parking lot and stopped to lean against a large maple tree. Its dark-yellow, orange, and rust leaves rustled in the soft breeze coming across the lake. He and Cris had gone out for a drive today to enjoy one of the last chances to ride their bikes before storing them for the winter. Lars loved Ontario at this time of year. There wasn’t a more beautiful place in the world, and he was lucky enough to live in the middle of it.

  He was relieved they’d been in the right place at the right time. They’d heard the sound of brakes locking up, followed by the unmistakable sound of metal hitting metal. For a moment he would’ve sworn he heard a woman scream. It was a terror-filled sound that had made him gun his engine the exact moment Cris had.

  Lars paced across the parking lot a couple times and then headed back toward the door to the medical clinic, unable to stay away any longer. There was something incredibly special about Tara that called to him and made him want to take care of her. Frankly, it was frightening because he knew deep in his heart that she was going to change his life but he couldn’t stay away. He nodded to Jelani, who was talking softly to his wife and Carol at the reception desk.

  “They’re with the kittens,” Carol Henderson said as he passed.

  Lars gave her a smile and nodded his head. “How’re Jaxon, Kaden, and Sloan?”

  “They’re doing great. You should come out to dinner one night.” Carol was an incredible cook, and with three shape-shifters as Mates she was used to cooking lots of food at one time.

  “As long as you’re the one cooking, I’m there.” He nodded toward the hallway behind them. “I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

  Jelani, Jessica, and Carol stood there and smiled at him as if they knew what was going on in his head. Mated couples tended to think no one was truly happy alone and didn’t understand he preferred to be on his own. He valued his freedom. Keep lying to yourself and one day you might believe it.

  “I’m going down and seeing Albert about getting her a room for a couple days.” Jessica gave her Mate a kiss and patted Lars on his arm. “Can you bring her and Zack down to the hotel when they’re ready?”

  “Meet you there.” Lars passed them and headed down the short hallway. He glanced into the cat room and saw Zack and Lulu playing with the kittens, but Tara wasn’t anywhere in sight.

  He followed the sound of her ragged breathing and found her backed into a corner. She jumped when he stepped around the wall and caught her hiding. Her eyes were red and her cheeks glistened with tears. “What’s wrong?” Lars couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her close. She stood there stiff and unmoving, her entire body shaking with the force of her silent tears. Tara’s tears felt like sandpaper against his skin. He never liked to see any woman crying, but he felt Tara’s pain as acutely as if it’d been his own. A deep, visceral ache throbbed in his chest and pressed against his skin with a need to be closer to her and destroy what had upset her.

  “I’m. Sorry,” she hiccupped, trying to catch her breath as she spoke. “I. Can’t…Stop…”

  “Shhhhh.” Lars rubbed her back between her shoulder blades and rocked her gently. It was a natural response to her pain and tears, and he prayed he was helping her. “This is a normal reaction to stress. You both are fine, and after a good meal and a solid sleep I bet you feel like a thousand bucks in the morning.”

  That made her cry even harder, and Lars tried to figure out what he’d said wrong. “Would a million bucks be better?”

  Tara coughed and laughed slightly although there was no real humour in it. “I’d settle for a hundred.” She wiped her face with the backs of her hands and sniffed.

  “Don’t worry. We’re going to take care of the two of you.” He reached over to the desk and handed her a box of tissues.

  “Why would you do that?”

  Lars looked at the tissues and back at her. “Because your face is all wet and you might want to blow your nose?”

  She laughed again and this time it sounded a bit more real. “No, why do you all want to take care of us? Everyone has been so incredibly kind.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Ecstasy Lake is a special place. We like to take care of each other.” He pulled a tissue from the box and lifted her chin and wiped the wash of tears from her cheeks. “I don’t like seeing you crying.”

  “Why? You don’t even know me.”

  How could he explain to her what he feared to admit to himself? Seeing her cry felt like acid dripping on his soul. He wondered what kind of life she’d had up to this point. What would make her so suspicious of a person offering basic human kindness?

  “I can’t seem to stop.” She sniffed and her eyes welled up again. This time, she grabbed another tissue and turned her back to him as she blew her nose. Lars reached his hand out to stroke her hair but pulled it back before she noticed. She was trouble, and he was sunk.

  He’d put a lot of effort into not allowing his emotions to get the better of him when it came to women. He couldn’t allow himself to love again, and he didn’t want any female to develop feelings for him he would never be able to return. But Tara was different. Something about her drew him in. She awoke things inside of him he hadn’t felt in a century. His first thought was to pat her shoulder and get far away from her, but his feet were rooted to the ground. When he saw the tremors wrack her shoulders again, he moved closer to her and pulled her into his arms.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist. Her small hands felt like brands pressed at his lower back, her cheek against his chest over his heartbeat. He felt her tears soak through the front of his T-shirt and seep directly into his heart. She smelled like lush tropical flowers first thing in the morning. He could almost imagine that her skin would feel like silk under his fingertips and fought the urge to find out. This was the last thing I expected when I woke up this morning.

  She was the perfect height. Her head fit perfectly under his chin as he rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. It felt like every muscle in her body was knotted up and that couldn’t be good for her. She needed to be tucked into a large bed and surrounded by men who loved her. Where did that come from? “Did you know crying is good for you?” He needed to distract himself from the runaway train his thoughts had turned into.

  “Really, says who?” She sniffed and wiped her fingers under her eyes but wouldn’t look up at him.

  “It’s true.” He pulled another tissue from the box and handed it to her. “They’ve done studies about how tears cleanse toxins out of your body and releases positive hormones into your system.”

  “Yeah, well, all I have is a headache and I feel like I got hit by a truck.” She straightened and put some distance between them. “I’m sorry for blubbering all over you.”

  “It’s all right.” He ran his fingers along the side of her face and tucked some wayward hair behind her ear. She reminded him of a pixie with her short, tousled hair and big eyes. She blinked up at him and he forgot what made him want to keep some distance between them. His heart pounded against his ribs and that possessive sense washed over him again. He wanted to keep her safe for the rest of their lives.

  He closed the space between them, thankful she didn’t retreat. Could she be caught in the same spell? This had to be some sort of magic. A small tear escaped the corner of her eye and slipped over her cheek. He brushed it away with his thumb, but left his hand cupping her cheek. Her lashes drifted down and she turned her face into his touch.

  A kiss. One kiss was all he wanted and then he would walk away from her, far away from her. She was a single mother and he had no right to even think of inserting himself into her life. He couldn’t survive the heartbreak again when she grew older and he didn’t. To watch
a child grow and be denied the right to claim him as his own. He couldn’t do that again.

  One kiss. He leaned down and pressed his lips against the corner of her eye, and then the other, kissing away her tears. He brushed the corner of her mouth next, teasing them both, enjoying the hunger building up in his body. With one hand cupping her face, he pressed against her lower back with his other one, feeling the fine tremble along her skin. His cock thickened and bucked behind his leather pants. A taste. One taste and then he would let her go.

  “Mom!”

  They both started and she jumped back from him, her eyes wide, her fingers pressing against her cheeks. What was I about to do? Lars couldn’t believe how fast the moment had spiraled out of control. He’d had every intention of lifting Tara against the wall and seducing her.

  “Zack, you startled me.” Tara quickly stepped to the side and smiled down at her child. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, but thereth a kitten that wanth to come home with me really badly.” He shifted his weight back and forth from foot to foot.

  “Oh, sweetheart, we can’t take the kitten with us. Maybe once we settle down we can think about a pet, but it’s a big responsibility.”

  “Oh, well, can we live here and then the kitten can come home with uth?”

  Lars felt really bad for the kid and this was quickly morphing into an uncomfortable situation for his mother. “I think I remember Brenna saying the kittens were too young to be separated from their mother quite yet. They need to grow up a bit more.”

  Zack nodded and grinned. “Oh, okay.”

  Tara smiled at him, but Lars could see the exhaustion in every drooping line of her body. Guilt pounded at his thoughts. What the hell was I thinking? She was exhausted and possibly injured from an accident. “Why don’t I take you down to the hotel?”