Tymber Dalton - Triple Dog Dare

“Okay, fine. But what if they come after us again?”

“If they come after us again,” he said, “then yes, we’ll pull out all the stops and finish it.” He hugged her tightly to him. “Until then, let’s just enjoy the life we have. Okay?”

She tried to relax into his embrace. “Okay.”

Brodey and Cail surrounded her, too, adding their arms to Ain’s warmth. Elain closed her eyes and breathed in their scent. Because of the Abernathys, she’d lost her mother and been forced to fight for her men. She’d lost a childhood of not being with her father, time she could never get back. Not to mention Mai’s baby might be at risk. Or her own future children.

If he tries again, he’s a dead man , she swore to herself.

With all the events of the past few weeks following her mother’s arrival in Arcadia, Elain had gratefully turned over most of the wedding planning duties to her mom and Mai even though it left her out of the loop on some things.

Surprisingly enough, that was fine with her. The night before the wedding, she lay snuggled in Ain’s arms while waiting for Brodey and Cail to come to bed.

“How many of your brothers are coming to the wedding tomorrow?” she asked him.

He laughed. “Two. You’re marrying them.”

She gently shoved him. “I meant your other brothers. You told me you still have ten brothers still alive.” She couldn’t imagine having a family that large. “And why didn’t we bring them into the mess with Abernathy and the cockatrice?”

He shrugged. “They have their own packs and families to take care of. I didn’t want to drag any of them into all of this. It’s our problem, not theirs.”

She sat up and looked at him incredulously. “Are you telling me none of your other brothers are coming tomorrow?”

“It’s all right. Three of our brothers are younger than we are, but the rest are older. Some much older. Most of them don’t even live here in the States. We’re not exactly close to all of them. Doesn’t mean we don’t love them or that they don’t love us, but we all have lives to live.”

“But…but they’re your brothers! Don’t they care you guys are getting married?”

“I called all of them and they wished us well, but it’s okay, really. I think all of them sent us cards. We’re going to have more than enough people here tomorrow to help us celebrate.”

Brodey and Cail chose that moment to walk into the bedroom. She pounced. “Did you know none of your brothers are coming tomorrow?”

Brodey frowned. “You feeling all right, babe?”

Cail smacked him on the shoulder. “I think she means our other brothers.”

“Exactly. Why am I the only one bothered by this?”

Ain chuckled. “Exactly. You are the only one bothered by this.” He took her hands in his and kissed them. “Seriously, we’re fine with it. We love our brothers. Don’t get us wrong, if they needed our help, we’d be there for them in a flash. And if we asked them for help, we know they’d be there for us.”

“Well, maybe not Brighton,” Brodey grumbled.

Cail laughed. “Yeah, he is an idiot.”

“That’s not very nice!” Elain protested.

“Well,” Ain said, “it’s the truth, unfortunately. He’s the one immediately older than we are, born before us.”

“The boy’s just not right in the head,” Brodey said.

“You of all people shouldn’t pick on one of your brothers,” she scolded.

“Babe, Brodey’s exactly right,” Ain said. “He’s not a bad guy, he’s just…”

“Simple,” Cail helpfully offered.

“That’s mean!” Elain said.

“No, that’s kind,” Brodey countered. “I think he took one too many headers off a horse in his day.”

Cail snickered. “He never could ride worth a shit.”

“All right,” Ain said, apparently sensing how upset Elain was growing. “That’s enough. Babe, we’re sorry, but he is our brother, and we do know what he’s like. You’ve never met him.”

“That’s the point. You’ve got this huge family I’ve never met. When do I get to meet them? And why don’t you have any sisters?”

When all three men’s faces looked sad, Elain immediately regretted her tone. “I’m sorry, guys. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, it’s okay,” Ain said. “We only had three sisters. All three of them have long since died. Only one of them was a shifter.”

“Mom always joked she should have gotten Dad neutered when she realized he mostly produced boys,” Brodey said with a smile.

All three brothers laughed at that. “Yeah,” Cail agreed. “Poor Mom. She was always outnumbered.”

“She held her own, though,” Ain said. “She ruled the house.”

Brodey nodded. “Remember the last Christmas, when I was slow to get up and help with the dishes?”

His brothers laughed. “Yeah,” Cail said. “She grabbed you by the ear and had you howling as she dragged you into the kitchen.”

All three men laughed, ending in a nearly identical sad sigh.

“I wish I could have met them,” Elain said. “They died trying to help me.”

“It’s okay, babe,” Ain assured her. “As fucked up as this sounds, maybe it’s better things worked out this way. If your parents had relocated, we might never have met you.”

“You’re right. It does sound fu—freaked up.”

He stared at her for a moment before he burst out laughing and pulled her to him in a hug. “Thank you, sweetheart. I promise I won’t spank you for swearing as long as you promise to try to remember not to do it.”

She laughed with him. “Deal. And thank you.” She looked up into his handsome face. How could she feel this much love, not just for him, but for all three of them, without her heart exploding? “I do want to try to follow the Code.”

His expression softened as he gently stroked her cheek. “I appreciate that, babe. I know as a Seer you’re going to sometimes need freedoms to go take care of things that’s going to set not just me, but all three of us Alphas on edge. We promise we’ll try to be patient and understanding. Just please, be patient with us in return when we lose it. We love you and we worry about you and we don’t want anything to happen to you.”

She nodded. “I will. I really love this kinder, gentler Prime gig you’ve got going.”

“Yeah?”

She laughed. “Yeah. Makes me really horny, too. It’s damn sexy having a hot, hunky, dominant and yet sensitive guy.”

“Well, let’s take care of that,” Brodey said.

“Hold on,” Ain said. He looked deep into her eyes. “Are you really happy, sweetheart? Are we really making you happy?”

She nodded. Then she kissed him. “I’ve never been so happy and content in my life,” she truthfully said. She straddled his lap, her arms draped around his neck. His hard cock rubbed against her clit. “Thank you for having patience with me.”

He smiled. “Thank you for having patience with me. With all of us.”

“Yeah, we’re a handful,” Brodey said with a smile.

She reached between his legs and cupped his balls. “Yeah, you are.”

“Mmm. Keep that up, babe, and you’re going to be full of cock in about two seconds.”

“What if that’s my goal?”

Cail laughed. “Your wish is our command, yadda yadda.”

She grinned as she maneuvered her pussy over Ain’s cock and slowly sank down onto it. “I believe you still haven’t done something yet.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “Are you inviting me to do what I think you’re inviting me to do?”

“Go get the lube and you’ll find out.”

Brodey laughed as Cail scrambled out of bed. “Nice to know I’m not the only one she leads around by the balls.”