ROMANCE: PARANORMAL ROMANCE: Coveted by the Werewolves (Paranormal MMF Bisexual Menage Romance) (New Adult Shifter Romance Short Stories) (151 page)

Wow, so fast,
he thought.
Is she that comfortable with me already?

Soon after, however, he’d closed his eyes and was drifting off as well, the smell of cinnamon on his mind.

He dreamt of the train station in his old hometown. He was smaller, and his mother was backing away from him on the platform. A crowd surged around him, swallowing her figure and carrying her away, and he cried out and stretched his hands forward, but she didn’t reach back. Her face was unmoving, and he finally lost track of her as she was overtaken by foreign bodies. He tried to call out her name, but he couldn’t remember it, and this stirred his panic more; he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he shrieked as he turned around. Eddie realized that he was gazing down at the person, not up---then he saw that it was Martha. She was glowing, and her hair floated around her like a red sea. She held out her hand and caught his, and immediately his panic was silenced. He gazed into her eyes, suddenly consumed with love and a sense of security. How was she doing this?

“Pancakes,” she said, and Eddie was confused. Then he caught the scent of sweet batter, and he gasped as he was shaken awake. He blinked and opened his eyes, startled to find himself in bed with Martha smiling down at him. Was it morning already?

“Hello,” she chuckled. She was holding a tray that was piled high with an array of breakfast foods: bacon, eggs, toast, and the pancakes he thought he’d dreamed. He sat up, gazing at Martha as though he’d never seen her before. Her smile faltered, and she took a step back, but he reached out and caught her wrist before she could move another step.

“Martha,” he said hoarsely. “Say it again?”

“Say what?” she asked, her face confused.

“Are you going to leave me?” Eddie asked desperately. “Will you leave?” He needed to hear the words before he could bring himself to ask the question.

“Never,” Martha said immediately. “I’m not going anywhere. And my answer will always be the same.” She smiled at him gently. “I’ve seen broken men, Eddie James. You’re not one of them. Bent, maybe, and a little bruised. But not broken. Not even a little.” She laughed. “Now, do you want to eat, or not?”

“You’re happy here?” he pressed.

“Yes,” Martha said, chuckling. “Are you?”

Eddie realized he was. The tension had been dissipating all week, and he was down to a glass of beer a day. He hadn’t even missed his liquor, come to think of it. He looked at Martha, the decision forming in his mind. He nodded slowly.

“Okay, so does that mean you’re ready to eat?” she asked, smiling indulgently.

“Marry me,” Eddie said urgently. Martha’s smile faded, and she set the tray down on the table next to him. His heart sank; she’d changed her mind, then; how could she have change her mind? She sat next to him on the bed and looked at her hands while Eddie closed his eyes in shame.

“Can we get married soon?” Martha asked quietly. “I’ve always wanted a spring wedding. If that’s alright.”

Eddie took a moment to process her words, then grinned. “We can get married whenever you want.” He stood and pulled her roughly to her feet. Her brilliant green eyes locked on his, and she took a deep breath and tilted her face upward. Eddie bent forward instinctively, and the sweet smell of cinnamon hit him just before the taste did; a clap of thunder hit his brain as their lips met, and an exhilarating tingling sensation flooded his veins. Martha wrapped her arms around his neck as his hands encircled her waist and lifted her to him, and she cried out as her feet left the floor. He thought he felt the pounding of her heart, and he swore they were in unison. He let her back to the floor gently and stepped away, gazing at her as they both gasped for air.

“Wow!” Martha said, laughing. “What was that for?”

“Great night’s sleep,” Eddie answered. “Waking up to breakfast by a beautiful woman puts me in a good mood too.” He pulled her in for another kiss, and she moaned softly as he plunged his hands into her dark red hair. He pulled back and smiled, seeing her faze frozen in an expression of deliriousness happiness. “I’ve wanted to do that since you first smiled at me,” he said. “Once I knew you were an adult.”

Martha laughed and swatted him playfully. “You should’ve. It would have been a much better start than knocking me over.” Her smile faded, and her eyes grew serious. “But Eddie…are you sure? I’m so happy if you are, but I don’t want you to change your mind in a week. I need you to tell me why you’re sure.”

Eddie nodded, grasping for the right words. “It’s a feeling,” he said after a moment. “It’s like you said before, everything has a solution. You taught me a new way of seeing, and it just changed everything. My heart’s been so black all this time, I thought it was rotten…but it just needed a new coat of paint.”

Martha grinned. “My, that’s beautiful. Are you writing your vows as we speak, Mr. Poet?”

Eddie laughed and kissed her again,  but she broke away early.

“Before I forget,” she said breathlessly. “I wanted to say…you taught me something, too. When I got here, I was expecting some mess of a man that I’d need to fix or nurse back to health. But you’re already so strong…” she shook her head, her eyes full of wonder. “You’re adding color to my life, Eddie James. You painted
my
heart, too.”

Eddie’s lips were sore by the time they got to breakfast, and by the end of the day, his cheeks hurt from smiling. He wrote a letter to his uncle, picturing the look of joy and simultaneous disbelief that would overtake him when he read the news. They joined Evan and Cheryl for dinner that evening, and Eddie’s heart melted when he saw how sweetly Martha interacted with the children. Evan was watching him through the night, and before they left, he pulled Eddie aside.

“She’s really something, huh?” Evan asked, nudging Eddie conspiratorially. “You look like a new man! Better color, eyes not as puffy…you even look like you’ve been eating better. You guys gonna have kids?”

Eddie looked at Martha as she said goodbye to the babies, who were already wailing for her return. “Maybe,” he said, smiling broadly as she stood and walked toward him. He thought about what she’d said---
you painted my heart, too.
Eddie thought he would die if it were true; Martha’s beauty was so pure and lovely, he knew he had no part in it. But he liked that she insisted that he did. She was a work of art, and he was just starting to appreciate her masterstrokes. Eddie knew he was lucky to even be in her presence. She grinned at him and took his hand as the left. The colors of the sunset in front of him reminded him of her hair, and he wondered if he could replicate it with a brush. She saw his far-away look and smiled.

“What are you thinking about?” she teased.

              Eddie smiled and squeezed her hand as he answered. “My muse.”

THE END

His Secret Desires

Jake didn't know what to think of Sam's insistence that he be the best man at his wedding—a wedding that was happening the very following day. His mind drifted back to when he'd gotten texts from Sam early in the day that seemed vaguely ominous; Sam told him he needed to talk to him, that it was an emergency, and that he needed to come alone.

              “I don't even have anything to wear, man,” Jake said. “I didn't plan on doing shit while home for four days of liberty.”

              It was one of those holidays that got all of federal employees paid time off, Jake couldn't remember what one. He'd decided to come home so he could see his family and maybe bang one of the girls that he'd gone to high school with. Back then he'd just been some dorky dweeb, but now he was a highly decorated Marine who'd done several tours of the Middle-east—not to mention the amount of muscle he'd put on since all those years ago when he got picked on by the jocks in high school.

              “You can wear your uniform!” Sam said. “Do you have any idea how fucking cool it would be for me to have you in my wedding as the best man, wearing your kick ass uniform and all of your medals and ribbons! I mean, think about it.”

              Jake didn't want to think about it. He glanced around the dingy dive bar they'd chosen to have their little rendezvous to see if anyone was listening. No one seemed to care that for the last thirty minutes Sam had been regaling him with the story of how he'd just severed ties with his last best man, and now former best friend, after walking in on him fucking his fiance.

              “Do you really think that it's a good idea that you fuck Sarah after what happened?” Jake asked. It was a hard question but he wanted to be sure that Sam had thoroughly thought about what he was doing. “Because from the stories I've heard, once you let cheating go then it just keeps happening.”

              The story had been one that would have been comically to Jake normally, but since he was old friends with Sam there was no way he could even so much as crack a smile. When he heard about how Sam had taken a night off of working downtown at the best insurance place in the area to surprise his fiance  with a romantic candle lit dinner, only to have her stumble through the garage door half naked while being fucked from behind by his the former best friend he had to keep from shaking his head and remarking how it sounded like something that would air as a daytime soap in another country.

              “I know, I know,” Sam said. “I get what you're saying. But she's promised it'll never happen again. You know what I mean? What else am I supposed to do? I love her, you know?”

              Jake nodded as drank deeply from his beer mug in order to hide the wince on his face. He couldn't tell if Sam remembered confiding in him that he'd met Sarah through a BDSM website, or that he had allowed her several on going relationships where she'd sometimes have sleepovers at other mens' houses. Sarah was a submissive in the most extreme sense, almost unable to say no when someone told her to do something sexual. Sam somehow didn't see this as a problem, to Sam it was all just a hot game that turned him on. That is, it had been until she'd decided to not say no to his scumbag former best friend when he propositioned her for a sexual relationship.

              “Do you even have any idea how long it had been going on?” Jake asked. “Not trying to pry or anything. I'm just curious.”

              “Why would I care?” Sam said.

              Sam was a short fat guy, with wispy red hair that had long ago thinned to wisps, and a red face from drinking so much and being Irish. Jake started to wonder if Sam was going to put a ring on Sarah to try to have dibs on her forever since she was so hot. Because she was smoking hot, Jake had to admit that. Sarah was the kind of blonde that would have walked onto the cast of
Baywatch
back in the day.

              “I mean,” Sam continued. “She says it's over and that's that, so I'm just going to move forward.”

              “Are you still letting her fool around with other people?” Jake asked him candidly.

              It was Sam's turn to glance around the bar. He hadn't mentioned any of that when he'd been recollection how surprised he'd been to Jake just a few minutes before.

              “No, that kind of played itself out,” Sam said. “It stopped being fun when I realized how submissive she is.”

              Sam nodded and looked toward the video game at the end of the bar that had plastic shotguns resting in racks while scenes of deer and elk grazing in field. He wanted more than anything to have a few more drinks to make the game a challenge and spend the rest of the night waylaying herds of unsuspecting, digital game than try to figure out what the hell was going on with Sam. But it looked like he was going to get roped into the wedding. Sam was looking at him, knowing that Jake would let him know what he planned to do by the look on Jake's face, as old friends often do.

              “All right,” Jake said. “Fine. You want to marry her even after all this bullshit. That's your business, and as your friend I support you in that decision, so I'll be at your wedding tomorrow.”

              “Great!” Sam said, partially standing in his excitement, only to plop back down in his chair to raise his mug in a toast.

              “To you, my friend,” Sam said. “You've done so much for this country, and now you're going to do so much for me as a friend even though I know you want to get some ass instead of hanging out at my wedding with a bunch of insurance salesmen you don't know.”

              Jake raised his glass to toast, but hesitated.

              “Is there an open bar?” he asked.

              “For you there is!” Sam said.

              Jake slammed his mug into the other with a loud
*clunk*
that drew the attention of the few people drinking around them for a brief moment before their eyes trailed back to televisions.

              “All right,” Jake said. “So I show up. I do the best man thing. I leave.”
              “Nothing to it,” Sam said.

“Do I have to give a speech or anything?” Jake asked.

              “Oh. Yes. There is that,” Sam said. “I mean, you could just do it off the cuff, no big deal. Usually the best man gives a speech and he's too drunk to really do a good job, but he tries to make up for it by showing everyone how good of a friend he is to the groom by throwing out a bunch of trivia about him and following it up with inside jokes with close friends and family.”