Riptide [Kismet Cove] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (32 page)

“No, I think I’m ready now. I just realized that this is why Mom sent me here. She knew what I needed more than I did. I needed a family.” Jess pointed to the headland and then waved. “I needed you and Evan and all of them. You’re all what’s been missing from my life, and Mom sent me to find it, for both of us.”

Tears sprang to Jess’s eyes and she had to swallow down the lump in her throat. “She wanted us both to come home.”

“Ev, it’s time.” Rory called and Evan turned off the engine before coming out to join them, putting his hand on Jess’s other shoulder. She leaned out over the stern, trusting in her men to keep her steady as she opened the lid off the top of the urn and turned it upside down, letting the pale-gray ash fall into the ocean.

“I miss you, but I made it, Mom. I got us both home,” Jess whispered as her tears flowed down her cheeks and dripped off her chin to land in the ocean to mix with her mom’s remains. As the urn emptied she leaned back and her mates closed in around her, holding her between them as they kissed away her tears. Jess let herself cry for a little while longer, but her grief faded quickly, to be replaced with a feeling of contentment and peace.

* * * *

Vivian settled the crown of flowers on Jess’s hair and pinned it into place. “There, you’re all set.” She stepped back and gave Jess a head-to-toe check. “You are the most gorgeous non-bride at a non-wedding I have ever seen. Your men are going to fall all over themselves when they get look at you.”

Jess took a deep breath and tried to fight down the mutant-sized butterflies that were currently bouncing around her stomach. “I really shouldn’t be nervous, after all this is just a formality, right?” Jess brushed a hand over her gown and was surprised to see her fingers were trembling.

“Jess, you’re getting married, or as close to it as you’re ever going to get. If you weren’t nervous, I’d be worried about you. You’re supposed to be nervous on your wedding day, or at least that’s what I’ve always been told.” Viv shrugged. “I am still jealous you managed to find not one man, but two, and they’re both gorgeous. Not to mention they are both nauseatingly, completely, and utterly smitten with you.”

She put her hands on Jess’s shoulders and turned her around so that Jess could see her reflection in the mirror that had been brought in to her makeshift dressing room, and Jess gasped in surprise.

“Is that really me?”

“One hundred percent.” Viv smirked. “I told you that dress was perfect.”

Jess’s wedding dress was a rich amethyst purple with shots of silver running through the fabric here and there. The sleeves and hem were trimmed in lace, and they’d picked white roses for her bouquet and to form the crown of flowers that she wore instead of a veil. Her pearl earrings were a gift from her grandmother, and the only other jewelry she wore was the necklace that marked her as Rory and Evan’s mate to the other members of the colony. Vivian had spent an hour curling and styling Jess’s hair so that it hung in ringlets all the way down her back. She’d also touched up the purple streaks, so they were an exact match to her dress.

“You are positively glowing. I think that being in love suits you.” Viv brushed a quick kiss to Jess’s cheek and then hugged her. “Just let me grab your bouquet and we are good to go.”

“You have the rings?” Jess asked for the fifth time. Or maybe it was the sixth. She was getting so nervous she couldn’t remember anything.

“Yes, I have the rings. No, we haven’t forgotten anything. If you ask me one more time, I swear I’m going to get you to knock back a shot of tequila before you go out there!”

“I can’t, no booze until afterward or the cut will bleed too much, remember?”

Vivian wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, I remember. I still don’t get the whole thing about cutting and bleeding on each other. It seems weird to me, but if that’s the local tradition, who am I to question it. I’m not the one getting cut.”

Jess didn’t like lying to Vivian, but there were some things she knew her friend wouldn’t be able to accept, and even if she could, Jess was now bound by the laws of the colony, and that meant she had to keep the existence of selkies a secret, at least for now.

“It’s just a scratch, and then the hand-fasting and it’s all over.”

“Not quite. After that, we party!” Viv crowed and spun Jess around, laughing. “And I am going to dance with every single hottie here. Did you see some of the eye candy? Holy crap, I may never go back to Toronto!”

“You’re welcome to stay in the cabin as long as you like. I’ve missed you so much.” Jess hugged Viv one last time and then someone was knocking on the door.

“It’s time, Jess.”

Vivian shot Jess a wink and then handed her the bouquet of roses. “It’s show time. Let’s go get you hitched to your stud muffins.”

Viv went first, leading the way down the short hallway and into the small communal hall that made up part of the Kismet Cove colony. The utilitarian space had been filled with flowers and lit up with fairy lights, transforming it into something resembling a garden at twilight. As Jess stepped into the hall all eyes were on her, but she didn’t see anyone save for her two men, waiting for her under an arch of evergreen boughs.

“Holy crap, they’re wearing kilts!” Vivian whispered. “You could have warned me!”

“I didn’t know!” Jess hissed back.

Both Rory and Evan were wearing formal tuxedo-style jackets that were fitted to go with their kilts. Their tartan patterns were predominantly green and blue, but Evan’s had a border of white that Rory’s lacked. As Jess got closer she saw the look of approval in their eyes and she smiled, pleased at their reactions. When she got to the arch, Viv took her bouquet from her and stood to one side, waiting for the moment she’d hand over the rings to Jess.

As Rory and Evan stepped forward and took her hands, Darius appeared, nearly overflowing with pride as he began the ceremony. Jess knew that words were being said, but none of it really sank in. Her mind was already linked to Rory’s and Evan’s and they were whispering wicked promises that had her distracted from the solemn vows they were each speaking in turn.

When it came time for Jess to speak, both men managed to stay quiet just long enough for her to get out her vows without distracting her, for which she was extremely thankful. They exchanged rings, and Jess was stunned by the white gold band with a diamond that was set between two smaller sapphires that they slipped onto her finger. She had picked out simple bands gold for both her men, and as she placed the matching white gold bands on each of them she let her love for them flow from her mind to theirs.

Darius then produced a small but well-honed dagger, and both men offered up one hand, while Jess presented both, palm up so that Darius could make the cuts that would bond them for life. At least that is what would have happened if Evan and Rory hadn’t claimed her that day several weeks ago. Darius was well aware of that fact, and as he carefully made the identical slices along Jess’s lifelines he winked at her.

“I’ll make these shallow, since they are only for show. Just remember to look woozy,” he whispered so softly no one else could have heard him. But it was enough to make Jess blush and distract her from the temporary pain in both her hands. The moment it was done all three of them joined hands, and Darius bound each of their joined hands together with a piece of knotted silk cord. Three knots, three cords, and then they were bound together, physically as well as spiritually.

A cheer went up as Darius declared them bonded, and then Jess was in Rory’s arms as he claimed the first kiss. She didn’t have to pretend to feel overwhelmed. Her love and the love of her two men was enough to make her head spin as Rory kissed her. His lips were gentle and his kiss was as tender and sweet as she had ever known from him and as he lifted his head he grinned. “You’re mine now, baby.”

“Ours, bro. She’s
ours
now.” Evan laughed and tugged her out of Rory’s arms and into his to give her a passionate kiss that curled her toes and made her pulse race.

“I think you both have it wrong,” Jess declared when she finally got her breath back. “You two belong to me, now and forever.”

Both of their voices sounded in her mind at the same time, making her heart swell.
“You have us both, always.”

THE END

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Susan lives out on the Canadian west coast surrounded by open water, dear family, and good friends. She’s jumped out of perfectly good airplanes on purpose and had lunch next to royalty by accident. She’s worked for local law enforcement, been a freelance wordsmith, and bakes what she claims are the world’s best double-chocolate-and-caramel brownies. She’s passionately in love with the written word (and a few of her more hunky creations.) Writing is her joy, her escape from reality, and the only way she knows of to quiet the nagging harridan of a muse she claims the universe assigned to her.

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