Pursuing Paige (2 page)

“Three part... Kaitlyn,
I’m only barely following you. Speak English, please.”

“Okay, I’ll lay it out
for you.” Her sister took a deep breath. “You have two soul mates
and their energies called you over to be with them. The same thing
happened to me about a year ago. That’s why I disappeared.”

Paige didn’t know what
to say. She just stood staring at Kaitlyn, her mouth open. Her mind
whirled. “Kaitlyn,” she said in a trembling voice, “this is
crazy.”

“Nonetheless—”

“So, you’re
saying—insanity of the story aside—that I’ve been yanked from my
reality,
from my dancing
career
, for a couple of
people who think I’m their soul mate?”

“I know how it
sounds.”

“I don’t want a soul
mate, let alone
two
. All I want is my dancing, maybe my
sister back, definitely my reality
and
my sanity—” Paige had
begun to pace back and forth.

Kaitlyn took her by the
arms, stopping her in place. “Just relax. Take a deep breath. You
need more than what you just listed. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t
have been pulled over. Admit it, sis. You want love just as much as
the rest of us.”

She hesitated. Of
course she did. Of course there was a secret part of her that
craved attention from someone who regarded her as his moon and
stars. She missed hugs and she really missed kisses. Hell, she
missed sex. A vibrator was great, but a man was better, and it had
only been herself and her vibrator for years now. “Okay, yes, I
will admit that.” She grasped Kaitlyn’s shoulders. “But I don’t
want to be trapped here against my will.”

“You’re not trapped
here, at least, not yet.”

“What do you mean,
not yet?
”

“You have two weeks to
decide if you want to stay and honor the mating bond. Kind of like
a trial period. You’re locked here for that amount of time. At the
end of it, a doorway will open. You decide if you want to step
through it and return home.”

“
Mating bond?
Trial period?
I don’t need two weeks. I want to leave right
now.”

“You haven’t met Kaiden
and Jarek yet.”

“Kaiden and Jarek? What
the hell are those for names? Kaitlyn, no. I want to go home
right—” realization swept over her. “Wait. You’re trapped here,
aren’t you?”

Kaitlyn nodded. “I had
my two weeks. When they were over, I’d fallen so totally in love
with Lucas and Rafian that I gave up everything to stay here with
them.” She paused. “Even contact with my beloved sisters.”

Paige tried not to feel
hurt. “Wow, these guys must be really great.”

“They are. So are
Kaiden and Jarek. Give them a chance.”

Paige had no intention
of giving these two guys with goofy names any chance at all, but
she desperately wanted time with Kaitlyn. It appeared she didn’t
have much of a choice anyway. She sighed, looking skyward. “I
seriously feel like I’m going to pass out right now.”

“Deep breaths. It’s
okay. I’m here with you. You’re lucky. I was all alone when I was
pulled over.”

“Lucky, lucky. Sure.”
She put a hand to her head. “I really do feel light-headed.”

“You’ll be—”

Paige collapsed into
darkness.

* * * * *

Jarek stared down at
Paige who was sprawled on his sofa. He still couldn’t believe that
she was actually here. Kaiden stood near the mantle, his gaze
focused and intense on the unconscious woman. He had his fists
clenched as though trying to stop himself from rushing over to her.
That’s the last thing Paige needed, some hulking warrior leaning
over her as she woke. She was frightened enough.

Her sister, Kaitlyn,
had signalled to them after Paige had collapsed. They’d been hiding
in the nearby trees, hoping to introduce themselves after Kaitlyn
had explained the situation to her. Instead they’d ended up having
to take dire wolf form to transport her home.

If the mostly human
woman woke up and realized she’d just traveled five kilometers on
the back of a two hundred and fifty pound wolf, she’d probably pass
out again.

Kaitlyn had told them
her sister was about as prepared for this as she’d been. That meant
Paige was shocked beyond all belief. Kaitlyn also gently told them
that Paige really had no interest in a relationship, let alone a
relationship with two men. She was all about her dancing, Kaitlyn
said, very dedicated. She wouldn’t want to give up her career.

From their time peeking
through the veil, a soft spot in the barrier between their
realities, Jarek had already gathered as much. If Paige wasn’t
practicing dance, she was talking about it, or reading about it.
Paige had a passion for ballet.

But he and Kaiden had
passion for
her
. They had two weeks to convince Paige she
could have everything she wanted...and the most important thing was
a relationship with them.

He reached down and
took a tendril of her silky hair between his fingers and rubbed it.
So soft. Just how he’d imagined it. Kaiden knelt beside her and
studied her face with a hungry expression. They had waited so long
to have her and now they couldn’t believe she was here. Kaiden
likely felt as he did—if they let her out of their sight, would she
disappear like a dream?

She roused and Jarek
caught his breath. Her eyes fluttered open, met his, and widened.
“Who are you?”

“I’m Jarek.” He
motioned at Kaiden. “And that’s Kaiden.”

Paige glanced at
Kaiden, bolted up and scrambled off the other side of the couch.
““Where’s my sister?

“She went home.”

“Why didn’t she
stay?”

“She thought we needed
some time alone.” He paused. “You, with us.”

Paige stood warily, her
gaze skirting between them. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not
polite to stare, especially when someone is sleeping? It’s creepy,
just FYI.”

He wrinkled his brow.
“FYI?”

She shook her head. “I
really want to see my sister.”

“And you will,
tomorrow. Tonight, you eat a good dinner, have good conversation
with me and Kaiden, get good sleep.”

Her stomach growled at
the mention of food, loud enough to hear across the room. She
pressed a hand to her abdomen and wanted to turn down any meal they
offered, but couldn’t. She glanced toward the kitchen.

“I can’t cook, but
Kaiden makes the best vegetable stew I’ve ever tasted.”

Probably all vegetables
she’d never eaten before.
Alien vegetables from a different
dimension.
She swayed on her feet.

Jarek caught her before
she went down. She stiffened at the feel of his arms around her and
the alluring scent of his skin. He lowered her into a nearby chair.
“No more fainting. If you do it again we’ll need to take you to a
doctor.”

“You’d faint too if
you’d just been pulled into another reality.” She paused, looking
between them. “So you’re supposed to be my soul mates?”

Kaiden walked toward
them, the expression on his face intense. “Not
supposed
. If
there was any question you were not meant for us, you would not be
here.”

Paige curled her pretty
lip. “I’ll reserve judgment on that one, okay?”

Kaiden was hurt. No one
but Jarek would have seen it because he’d known Kaiden since
childhood, but it was there in his eyes. Kaiden was tough on the
outside, six and a half feet of massive muscle, with a strong jaw
and a stoic demeanor, yet the man had an emotional side too. Paige
could have no idea how intensely they felt for her.

“I’ll make dinner,”
said Kaiden, moving into the kitchen.

Paige watched him walk
away and Jarek had the sense that maybe she did understand she’d
hurt him after all. Breaking her contemplative stare at Kaiden’s
back, she shivered and hugged herself. “So, if I didn’t suffer a
psychotic break and am somewhere in a hospital hopped up on
medications and all of this is actually real, I have two weeks
until I can go home.”

“It’s called the
bonding period. The hope is that you will see that our bond means
more to you than anything you left behind at home.”

“I left my sister at
home. I left my dancing.”

Jarek nodded, but his
heart sank at the tone in her voice. It said
you two could never
equal their worth.

“And why can’t I just
go back and forth? Why does it need to be all or nothing?”

“It’s not easy or
without health consequences to pass through the energy field that
separates our realities.”

“Great, now I’m going
to get cancer.”

“Cancer.” He searched
his mind for what that was. Both he and Kaiden had done much
reading about her world. “We don’t have cancer here.”

“You don’t have— How is
that even poss— Nevermind.” She shook her head.

He hesitated a moment,
watching the pout of her lips. It was wrong how sexual his reaction
was to her. He wished he could stop imagining those lips around his
cock, or parted on a moan from the ecstasy he was giving her. He
tried to think of other things, but it was impossible. He wanted
her too much and had waited too long.

Of course, he was
betting that she hadn’t had sex in a while either. Maybe that could
work to their advantage. She was a young, healthy, physical woman
who seemed to have put her libido in the closet for some reason.
Maybe freeing it from its prison would heat her up and open her to
the possibility of a life with them.

Maybe that would be the
way to reach her heart.

“I’m going to gather
some firewood.” He turned and went for the door. This strategy
definitely bore consideration.

* * * * *

Kaiden leaned back in
his chair and watched the look of total ecstasy settle on Paige’s
face. It was satisfying, but not as satisfying as it could be.
After all, her ecstasy was due to his cooking right now, instead of
something more carnal.

“I never knew food
could taste like this,” she sighed, relaxing into her chair.
“Everything is a lot like what I’m used to, except it tastes
richer, deeper...
more
. Why is that?”

Jarek shrugged his
shoulders. “Your sister believes it’s because everything here is
grown by our hands, in fertile soil. There are no chemicals
involved. In your reality human beings have become divorced from
the animals and the land. Here we live alongside them.”

“Well, whatever the
reason, that meal was fantastic.” She turned her beautiful blue
eyes on Kaiden and gave him a brilliant smile. For the first time
in his dedicated warrior’s life, his heart skipped a beat.

Her smile turned into a
yawn. “You know, you don’t talk very much, Kaiden.”

Kaiden opened his mouth
to reply, but Jarek beat him to it. “Kaiden’s father was hunter and
trained Kaiden to be the same. He’s spent more time in the woods
alone than in the village.”

“And I’ve always had
Jarek to speak for me,” added Kaiden with a twist of his lips.

Paige laughed. “I
see.”

She yawned again and
Kaiden stood. “It’s very late. You need to sleep. In the morning
your sister will come again. Jarek, I’ll show her the room where
she will sleep.”

Jarek hesitated, and
then nodded. Kaiden could practically read his mind. They were
resigned to sharing her. It was their way. Still, it wasn’t always
easy. Jarek wanted just a few minutes alone with her, just a few.
Kaiden would get that by showing her to her bedroom and Jarek was a
little jealous.

“Sorry, my friend,”
Kaiden added.

“This is the way of
things,” Jarek answered. “I’ll clean up the kitchen.”

She blinked tired eyes
and stood, looking down at the dinner mess. “But I should help you
clean up. After all, you two did all the work cooking.”

“Don’t worry about it.
Jarek and I have it covered.” He held out a hand. “Come.”

“Wow, maybe you two
really are my soul mates after all. Gorgeous, great cooks,
and
you clean up afterwards.”

Those words would have
been beautiful coming from her lips if only they hadn’t been
uttered in a humorous tone. Ah, well, they had two weeks to win her
over. “We take care of you, Paige. That’s all we want. Now, to
sleep.”

She slipped her cool,
slim hand into his and her touch made him want to purr. “I won’t
argue.” She paused. “Can I lock the door of my room?”

Kaiden smiled. He’d
been expecting a question like that. He led her up the sturdy
wooden stairs that he and Jarek had built themselves. “We installed
a lock. Anything to make you feel more secure.” He wouldn’t mention
that it would be nothing for either himself or Jarek to take the
door off the hinges with their bare hands. She had nothing to fear
from them, but they needed to earn her trust.

“Good.” She let out a
breath and explored the second floor as he led her through the loft
and down a hallway. “This house is really nice.”

“Thank you. We built it
for you.”

“For....
me?
”

“Of course. We’ve been
waiting years for you to be pulled through the veil. We constructed
this house in anticipation of your arrival, although Jarek and I
have shared it for some time.”

“Oh, are you two
together?”

He chuckled at the way
she said
together
. “We’re friends and nothing more than
that. We have separate bedrooms. There are four in this house, plus
the loft which we use as a sitting room and library. Jarek spends
more time here than I do. My job is hunter and protector against
the Magica hunters. I am gone often, though I plan to spend the
next two weeks here with you.”

“Magica hunters.”

“Ah, yes. A topic for
tomorrow, perhaps.”

“This is the most I’ve
heard you talk since I arrived.”

“Well, I am able to
speak, after all. Jarek was right, however, I have spent far too
much time alone in my life.”