Fated Redemption [Kindred of Arkadia 8] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (16 page)

“I have seen some amazing things in my travels. I have seen Fate step in and change lives before, it’s

why I am not fighting this mating one bit. It’s why I am not holding back and giving myself to you and

Rhys one hundred percent. Mating isn’t about insta-love or insta-trust, that has to be earned over time, and

you and Rhys have that. Eventually the three of us will get there. But for now I feel like I have to tell you

that you may be handling his addiction wrong.” She felt him tense up. She quickly tried to explain what she

meant.

“At first what you did was exactly what he needed. You didn’t rush him and watched over him right?

But after a while I think you ignored what Fate had intended for you to do, which enabled Rhys to

exacerbate the issue. If you had pressed your claim, he would have seen for himself that your blood would

not affect him. Now it’s built up in his mind that he’ll hurt you, us. Like a virgin, the longer you wait to do

the deed, the scarier it will seem.”

“What can we do now?”

“Seduce him and I hate to say it, we need him to drink from us. We need to create an environment

where he feels like he has a safety net. I think I am your safety net. Fate gave you what you needed for this

mating to work.”

“What do you get? You’re not just the fix to my relationship with Rhys.” Moe pulled back and ran his

hand along her cheek. She flushed, embarrassed.

“The two of you are perfect for me. You and Rhys don’t look at my body and see something to fix or

weight to lose. I’ve only recently come to terms with how I look and started loving myself. You accept me

as I am. You have no idea how much that means. You are the rock I need. Cassie is right, I can sometimes

create a bit of a mess. You are so calm, it’s like you’re this unmoveable mountain in a sea of chaos, uh me

being the chaos. I need you to keep me from flying apart. Rhys when he is more himself feeds into my fun

loving side. I can see that Rhys and I will be the ones playing jokes and pulling you in every direction. You

will protect my heart, he will feed my mind, but both of you together will be my soul.”

Moe’s eyes had a fine sheen to them. Unable to say anything, he pulled her into his arms and nearly

crushed her in his embrace. She smiled against the hard muscles of his body.

“And it’s my ultimate fantasy to be taken by two men. So being in a ménage really is perfect for me.”

Abby bit at the spot over his chest where she had claimed him playfully. Against her stomach she felt him

begin to grow hard.

This time when he pulled back his gray eyes weren’t soft, they had darkened to an unreadable black.

“AbbyGirl, you will be the death of me.”

“Only little ones.” She grinned up at him impishly. He shook his head and stepped back. He adjusted his

cock in his jeans, wincing.

“Grab a case of beer. The quicker we start the evening the quicker we can end it, then maybe you will

get your fantasy.” With a gleam in his eye, his hand moved quicker than she could follow and he grabbed

the crotch of her jeans roughly. He gave a quick squeeze, purposefully dragging his finger from the back of

her jeans to her front hitting every one of her sensitive spots. He removed his hand and headed out the

door, whistling. He turned just his head and grinned at her.

“You and Rhys aren’t the only ones who know how to play.” With that he walked out of the freezer

leaving her overheated and panting.

Damn monkey
!

* * * *

To Abby’s surprise, Rebecca, her mate Aleks, and most of the Inner Court and their mates showed up

that evening at the bar. Abby’s heart melted a bit. She knew that Rebecca was doing her damnedest to make

sure she felt welcome.

“Ma said she’d watch the boys overnight to give us a break. She and Pa are in grandparent heaven.”

Rebecca twirled on the barstool next to Abby. Not even turning from his conversation with Liam, Aleks

reached behind him and stopped Rebecca mid twirl. Rebecca stuck her tongue out at her mate and turned

forward to face Rhys.

“Rhys, what’s my drink? You gave everyone else a drink except me.” Rebecca pouted. Abby’s ears

perked up.

“What’s this?” she asked, and Rhys winked at her.

“I’ve been behind a bar all of my life. I can usually guess what my customer wants and mix it up for

them.” Rhys stepped back and eyed Rebecca up and down.

“I don’t think I’ve ever given anyone this designation.” He looked at Abby, then at Rebecca and closed

his eyes, shaking his head.

“What?” Rebecca and Abby leaned in together.

“Abby, you are the Three Wise Men. Three sweet, good ole boys from Tennessee, Jim Beam, Johnnie

Walker and Jack Daniels. Smooth but potent, with slight possibilities for disaster.” Rhys turned to Rebecca.

“Baby girl, you’re the Four Horsemen. You’re the Three Wise Men, plus one shot from a devilish

bastard that goes by the name of Jose Cuervo. You and Abby combined could bring about the next

apocalypse.”

“Please don’t tell me that.” Aleks groaned. Liam leaned over and wrapped his arms around Aleks

rubbing his back. It went on for a minute and Abby caught Kent giving his mate a curious look.

“Aleks, I’m here for you.” Liam breathed into Alek’s ear and continued to rub circles on the bear

shifter’s back.

“Uncomfortable yet?” Liam asked, grinning wickedly. Aleks yawned and lay his head down on the bar.

“Rub lower, I did my rounds today talking to everyone in town, my lower back is killing me,” Aleks

said, sounding half-asleep already. Liam stopped and looked at Aleks, disgusted. He turned to where Rian

and Damian were catching up with Bethy and Asling.

“Rian, I need you to babysit Aidhan more often. Aleks is exhausted and is not responding to any of my

well-thought-out digs.”

“Let me get this straight. You want me to babysit BooBear so that Aleks will get more sleep so he is

awake enough for you to torture?”

“Yup.” Liam nodded.

“Okay.” Rian shrugged.

“Y’all are bad.” Bethy giggled.

“Okay, what about me?” Giddey asked from the end of the bar.

“You’re easy, Giddey. You’re a New Orleans Hand Grenade. A harmonious blend of vodka, gin, rum

and melon liquor that is hijacked by the out-of-control presence of grain alcohol. It’s the kind of drink you

have and the next morning are wondering what state and or country you’re in.”

Giddey’s eyes widened.

“I have to try that!”

“Me too, I wanna try mine,” Rebecca said.

“No,” was Alek’s muffled response.

“But it’s my drink.”

“No.” Aleks repeated, his face still on the bar.

“I want…”

“No.”

“But.”

Aleks sat up and turned to look at Rebecca. He leaned in and whispered something so low that Abby

couldn’t hear what he said. When he sat back, Rebecca’s face was tomato red. She quirked an eyebrow.

“Promise?”

Aleks nodded.

“Just orange juice for me please.”

Abby sniffled a little.

“He really does know you, and loves you anyway.”

“Hey! I think.” Rebecca eyed her with suspicion.

“AbbyGirl, you want to try your drink?” Rhys asked, running his fingers over her hand at the bar.

Normally she would definitely be reaching for some liquid courage, but she knew that she would need to be

clearheaded tonight. Seducing Rhys was way more enticing than a drink. She shook her head.

“No, I’ll just have a coke for tonight.” Rhys brought her hand up and kissed her fingers before turning

to get their drinks. Her heart melted. She was falling in love with him so quickly.

“Well, I might as well work on my crochet. I taught myself so I could make Boo a blanket.” Rebecca

reached into her backpack and pulled out a ball of yarn and a knotted mess. Abby couldn’t make heads or

tails of it, but Rebecca was so proud of her progress she didn’t have the heart to tell her it looked like a

fishing net.

“Giddey, who’s driving you later?” Rhys asked, holding his drink back.

“He’s staying with us at the pride house a few days before settling in with Connor and Madison. We’re

driving him back,” Rian said, holding up his beer. Rhys nodded and handed the drink over to Giddey.

“Sweet baby Elton, this is perfect. Rhys, you are a god!” Giddey took another sip and sighed happily.

“Elton?” Abby asked, curious.

“Elton John, my idol,” Giddey explained.

“Well we’re off,” Ms. Tully said, walking past where they sat.

“Rhys, son, you have been a breath of fresh air in this bar. Your drinks are so lovely.” Ms. Tully patted

Rhys’s hand in a motherly fashion.

“Thank you, Annabeth.” Rhys winked and flirted with the older woman.

“Oh, oh my. You rascal.” Ms. Tully giggled like a schoolgirl. She looked down where Rebecca had her

crochet needle twisted up with her yarn. She looked at it for a moment and then at Rebecca, whose tongue

was sticking out the side of her mouth in concentration.

“Baby girl, what on earth are you making?”

“A baby blanket.” Rebecca held up the “blanket” with sections large enough to pass a hand through.

“Why on earth are you using bondage knots to make a baby blanket?” The conversations in the bar

stopped and everyone turned to look at Rebecca’s creation.

“Bondage?” Rebecca squeaked.

“Yes dear, you have made some lovely patterns which would look simply divine on your bear, but I

don’t see how it can be used for a blanket.” Ms. Tully took the knot work from Rebecca and turned it over

in her hands.

“Rebecca, where in the hell did you learn to crochet?” Abby asked, trying not to laugh.

“A YouTube video,
Pleasures of Knotwork
.”

Ms. Tully clucked her tongue.

“You mean the Knots of Pleasure video. Yes, I enjoyed that one. That was a video about shibari dear,

not crochet.” Ms. Tully handed the piece back to Rebecca who was eyeing Aleks covertly, before a

panicked look crossed her face.

“So you mean that website was ‘adult’ oriented?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Oh my god. I ordered my swing from there. I wanted to get a swing for the back yard so that I could

swing with Aidhan in his baby swing. What kind of adult swing would they sell on that site?” Rebecca

looked around, the picture of innocence.

Abby couldn’t help it. She was howling with laughter and beating the bar with one hand. Aleks was

now sitting up straight, very alert and looking at his mate.

“You ordered an adult swing?” he asked, his eyes wide.

“Yup, it was that box that came earlier this week. I wondered where all the bars and stuff were, I

thought maybe they just sent the swing part and the rest would come via freight or something.” Rebecca

slumped down looking defeated.

“You mean to tell me there is an adult swing in our house and Ma is watching Aidhan tonight?” Aleks

asked, suddenly not looking that tired at all.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Aleks stood, dropped fifty dollars on the bar, grabbed Rebecca’s backpack with one hand and threw his

tiny mate over his shoulder with the other.

“Night everyone,” Aleks said, heading to the door.

“Neanderthal! See you in the morning, Abby!” Rebecca waved and the door shut behind them.

“Oh my,” Ms. Tully said, smiling wide.

“I want a Neanderthal to carry me around like that.” Giddey sighed and sipped his drink again.

“I’m taking bets she comes up pregnant in a couple weeks.” Rian laughed.

“That was so hot,” Sebastian said, and Ashby sighed in agreement. Kate was fanning herself. Gabriel,

Liam, Kent, Caleb and Bran shared a look before sweeping their mates over their shoulders and heading out

of the bar. After the sounds of squeals and giggling faded Nic, Rian, Damian, Giddey, Bethy and Asling all

burst out laughing.

“You young people.” Ms. Tully winked at Rhys and walked out as well.

“It’s so different here. Everyone is so happy and comfortable to be who they are.” Bethy smiled happily.

“It was different before Rebecca. Ma made sure no one got picked on, but it was Rebecca that really

made us family,” Damian said.

“She was like that in college too. Cassandra, Meg, Camille and I would hang out together because it was

better than hanging out with some of the humans, but Rebecca made us like sisters.” Abby felt a large,

warm hand on her lower back.

“It’s her gift.” Moe nuzzled the side of her neck and moved away to wipe down the counter. Abby

noticed that he was doing every small thing he could to ensure that closing down the bar would go quickly.

She was just about to ask for some pretzels when Peyton came running up to Rian and Damian.

“I’m on the last level but I don’t know what to do.” Peyton hopped from foot to foot frantically. Rian

and Damian exchanged looks and stood up quickly.

“We’re coming, little buddy.” They quickly followed behind Peyton. Bethy, Asling, Giddey and Nic

stood drinks in hand and followed.

“It’s bound to be interesting,” Nic said, and they all sat down at the table next to where Peyton, Rian and