"Looks like I got home just in time." A s.e.xy, familiar voice said. I couldn"t believe my ears.
I pulled Ken back and out of the way. There stood Caleb. He wore a black robe with a red scarf tied around his waist. His hair was pulled back into a long braid. He looked marvelous, he looked alive! I pushed the screen door open and hit him with it on accident. I threw my whole body onto him. He was real, he was alive! I kissed his cheeks, his lips, eyes, nose, and whatever I could get my lips on. He held me up and laughed.
"Caleb, you"re..." I want to say alive, but he cut me off.
"Home--that"s right, I"m home," he said loudly. He turned, and I saw Mitch.e.l.l slowly getting into his tiny red hatchback. He looked at us like we were a daytime soap. In truth, he wasn"t too far off base. As the faerie finds a mate, it could be a hit.
I looked into Caleb"s dark green eyes and wanted to make absolutely sure it was him. He let them shift and start to glow. I squealed with delight. It was him! He put me down and I took a good look at his outfit. The black robes looked very much like the ones I had seen my father wear all the time.
"Kerrigan," I said softly.
Caleb nodded and smiled. "I guess you were right about seeing him."
I stared at the gift my father had gotten me, Caleb. He had saved his life and knew he was still alive when we were talking at the river. He had heard me say how much he meant to me, and he made sure that he found his way back to me. No present had ever been better.
Ken coughed again. I turned and looked at him. I was at a loss for words. Caleb took over. "Hi, I"m Caleb, the umm, husband. And you are?"
Ken"s eyes narrowed. I didn"t want him to hate Caleb. I wanted him to be as happy as I was to see him. I pulled Caleb by his arm into the house. I had to push Ken backwards to get in. He did some sort of macho, "this is my turf thing". Whatever it was, I didn"t have time for it. I pulled Caleb past him into the living room. I jumped up and down, squealing with delight.
He had to bear hug me to get me to quit. I stopped, and he put me down. He ran his hand down over my lower stomach. It was flat and smooth. He looked at me, disappointed. A typical male would have been relieved that he didn"t get someone knocked up. Caleb looked sad.
I put my hand on his and smiled. It was so good to see him. I didn"t want to spoil it with sour moods. As if on cue, Ken poked his head around the corner. He saw Caleb with his hand on my abdomen and looked at me shocked.
"Gwen, you didn"t. You"re not, you can"t be."
I took Caleb"s hand off of me slowly and wrapped my fingers in his. "I did, and I"m not. But I did."
Ken walked away. The front door slammed shut. I didn"t want him out there wandering around, but I didn"t want to leave Caleb. I looked at Caleb for help.
"I"m going to go change. I noticed my truck out front. Are my bags still in the back?" he asked.
"Yeah, sorry about taking it, but I didn"t think you were going to be ba--I didn"t think you"d mind," I said to him. I had no intention of saying I thought he was dead so I drove his truck around.
He kissed me on the lips gently, and sent a rush of blood to my head instantly. "Whatever I have is yours, always and forever."
Chapter 23.
I watched Caleb head out the door and followed behind him. He went to the back of his truck, I went to find Ken. I called his name a few times before he answered me. He was back behind the house, in one of the three barns. He had parked his black Lexus in it. He kicked the tires over and over again. I walked up to him. He stopped.
"Gwen, what the h.e.l.l are you doing? What the h.e.l.l"s gotten into you? You"re sleeping with half the d.a.m.n city now." He bit his lip to keep from saying more.
The time had come. I had to tell him about my past life sometime, better now than never. We climbed into his car and sat. He rolled the window down and I started at the only place I could, the night he sent me to Pallo"s. This time around, I left nothing out. I told him about the way I felt around them. I told him about sleeping with them. I told him about meeting my real father, about being promised to Caleb. And, I told him about making the deal with Giovanni to free Pallo. He sat very still and looked out the window. I sat there with him. I figured he would say something when he was ready.
What he said surprised me. "Marry me, Gwen."
I looked at him like he was on crack. "Ken, have you listened to a word I"ve said? I am in love with two other people."
"Yeah, I heard you, but I also heard you say you loved me too. Now, the way I see it, if you marry me, it solves your problem with them, doesn"t it?"
I let out a long sigh. "I"m not going to marry any of you. Okay?"
"Gwen, I refuse to accept this. Screw fate, or destiny, or whatever. I didn"t get a shot at you two hundred or three hundred years ago. They did, and they blew it. I won"t accept the fact that I"m out of the race. I love you too much to do that," he said.
"Christ, Ken. I"m so screwed up, what the h.e.l.l do you want with me? You make me sound like a trophy to be won. I"m far from a trophy. Whoever I end up with has their work cut out for them, and at least ten years worth of trips to the therapist with me."
I wanted to try to help him see that he needed to move on, but part of me was being selfish, part of me wanted all of them. That would never happen and I knew it. I did manage to convince him to try to be civil to Caleb. He reluctantly agreed, and we made our way back into the house.
Caleb was in the kitchen setting the table when we walked in. He had on a white tee shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He was barefoot. He looked like himself again. We all gathered around the white table and ate. No one really spoke. Ken kept shooting mean looks at Caleb, and Caleb kept pretending like Ken was insignificant. I had had enough of their c.r.a.p and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.
I stopped in the upstairs bathroom and drew a bath. The tub in there was an old claw-foot one, the kind that has no stand shower to them. My adoptive father put another bathroom in on the downstairs level with a tub/shower combo. It was nice, but out of the way. I had always loved soaking in the large, old tub. The upstairs bath was tiny but comfortable. Its bottom half was done in white and a chair rail ran around the room at a little above center, separating the top from the bottom. The top half was painted baby blue. It was cozy.
I made the water extra warm and climbed in. I sunk under the water and watched my hair float all around me. I stayed under as long as I could, beneath the surface of the tub water, then I came up and washed my body clean. I got out, grabbed my robe, and headed to my bedroom.
My bed was a welcome sight. I climbed in and pulled the covers up around me. I let my eyes close. I could feel my mind trying to communicate to me through my dreams. It wanted to reveal more about my past to me. I didn"t want to know. I refused to open the doors that appeared around me. I didn"t want to explore my past anymore than I already had. All I wanted to do was rest.
Chapter 24.
The morning had gone by quietly, without any major arguments between Caleb and Ken. That was a relief. I was tired of conflict. I wanted to have everyone hold hands and sing happy songs together. That, I knew, would never happen. When I had gotten up this morning, I found them both sleeping on my bedroom floor. It was hardwood and couldn"t possibly have been comfortable.
I had sent a very stubborn Ken to town to with a list. If I was to have guests for a while, I needed to have a stocked kitchen. It took me almost an hour of nagging to get Ken to go. He didn"t want to leave Caleb alone with me. His car was barely out of the driveway when Caleb came running to me and picked me up. He spun me round and round. It felt so good to be in his arms.
He set me down gently and kept me pulled close to him. "So, tell me about what happened while I was gone."
I got a sinking, uneasy feeling. I didn"t want to tell him that I slept with Pallo. I wasn"t sorry that I did, I just didn"t want to hurt him. I was so happy to have him with me. I managed to dodge the subject by kissing him.
He pulled me tight to him as our tongues caressed one another. He moaned slightly. I laughed and pulled away from him slowly.
"I"m so happy to see you. You have no idea how worried I was that you would be with..." He stopped there. I knew that he was going to Pallo. He didn"t have to tell me. I couldn"t tell him how Pallo had betrayed me. Doing so would mean admitting that I"d made love to him. I understood his fears.
"It"s different now, Caleb. I can"t explain it, but it"s different."
He looked at me, suspicious. "Are you telling me that you can remember...?" He didn"t know what to call it. h.e.l.l, I didn"t know what to call it.
"No, just a few things here and there. But I remember how I felt about you."
"And, what has changed now?" he asked.
"This time around, I made the decision to be with you. No one promised me to you. I wanted to be with you."
He let out a deep breath. He pulled me close to him and held me tight. I could feel his chin on top of my head while his arms wrapped around me snugly. I wanted to take him upstairs to my room and show him just how much I cared for him. I pushed off his chest slightly, then took his hand in mine as I led him into the house. We made it as far as the living room before we were tearing at each others clothes. I lay on the floor with only my bra, kissing Caleb, when I heard a car pulling up the stone driveway.
"Ken," I said, as I pushed Caleb off of me and got to my feet. I scrambled around the living room to find the rest of my clothes.
"Can"t you just ask him to leave?"
"Caleb!"
"Sorry." He looked so sweet and innocent, sitting on the floor with his long blonde hair spilling down his bare chest. I was happy he still had his jeans on, because he was making no attempt to hide the fact that we had just been making out. I shot him a nasty look, and he jumped to his feet. "Okay, okay."
I ran and opened the door for Ken. He had his arms full of grocery bags. He smiled when I met him. He had been thinking I would have s.e.x with Caleb while his was gone. Well, he wasn"t too far off, was he?
We worked quietly in the kitchen together, making dinner. Every attempt at small talk was made while we sat around the table eating. We finally decided on watching some television before we went to bed. That, thankfully, didn"t require anyone to feel the need to make conversation. After two hours of wrestling, which both Ken and Caleb seemed all too willing to endure was under our belt, I called it a night. I headed quietly upstairs to take a bath and go to bed.
I soaked in the tub for almost an hour. I had to add hot water to it twice, just to keep it warm enough to stand. I needed to relax. I decided it best to get out before I feel asleep and drowned. That would be my luck. I survived being attacked by trolls and h.e.l.lhounds, but drown in a bathtub full of water. Yep, I wasn"t taking any chances.
When I walked into my bedroom, I found Caleb standing there. His shirt was off and his jeans were unb.u.t.toned. Ken came walking in behind me, carrying some extra blankets.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked. I watched Caleb pull his jeans off and throw them aside. He was nude, and didn"t seem to notice or care. He walked over and climbed into my bed. Ken put the extra blankets on the floor and stripped off his clothes as well. When he took his tan pants off he had on a pair of light blue silk boxers on. He walked over and climbed into my bed too. I just stood there. My bed at the farm house was only a queen size bed, and having two grown men in it filled it up.
I walked over and grabbed a long tee shirt out of my dresser and a pair of panties. I turned on my heels and walked out of the room. I headed down the hall to the master bedroom. It was plain, with light tan wallpaper with little brown flowers on it. There were two old oak dressers in the room. The room had two closets, which was nice, and the best part of it was it had a king-sized bed in it. The large oak bed had a white and brown quilt on it. My mother had made it one summer while I was home from college. I pulled the cover back and climbed in.
My head had barely hit the pillow when Ken and Caleb came walking in. Caleb was still nude, and Ken was in his boxers. I gave them a dirty look. I didn"t want to play choose one tonight. I was tired.
"What do you two want?" I asked looking at them both.
Caleb spoke first. "We"ve decided not to leave you alone." He looked at Ken. "We couldn"t come to an agreement on who would stay with you, so here we are."
"Oh, now I get it. You"re naked to try and detour Ken from wanting to sleep in the same bed as you." Ken was h.o.m.ophobic and I think Caleb had picked up on that. I got the feeling that the thought of being with other men didn"t appeal to Caleb, but didn"t repulse him either.
Caleb smiled. I was right, I knew it. "Shut off the lights," I said. I couldn"t believe I was okay with this. I knew that I should have sent them away, but I didn"t want to. I wanted them both here with me. I wanted them wrapped around me, holding me tight all night.
"Come on," I said, pulling the covers back. Ken and Caleb looked at each other. I guess they had expected me to fight with them over this. h.e.l.l, they probably hoped I would pick who would get to join me. I bet they were shocked I let them both in. Caleb slid into bed next to me on my left, and Ken laid on my right. Neither one touched me. They both turned their bodies away from me and lay very still. I could sense their anger for one another growing. They really had hoped I would end it.
"I can"t," I said. It wasn"t much, but it was all I could offer. I put my hands up and touched both of their bare shoulders. They were hot. They were upset. I concentrated on calming them down. I let my power flow up from deep inside of me. Caleb reacted to it first. I knew he would, it was the faerie in him. He turned his head slightly and looked at my hand, then at me. Ken turned next. I looked at them both. Caleb"s green eyes kept pulling me back. I knew at that moment that if I was forced to choose between the two, I would pick Caleb. I was drawn to him on every level, not just s.e.xually. I was happy they weren"t asking me to pick, at least not outright. Not yet, anyway.
They both turned their bodies to me. I looked at Caleb"s dark green eyes. I squeezed his arm slightly, and turned away from him to face Ken. Ken smiled, his brown eyes lit up. He thought that by me choosing to face him, my decision had been made. He won. Caleb knew better. He snuggled his naked body against the back of mine, spooning me. His arm slid around my waist. I reached my hand out and pulled Ken near me, our faces almost touching. I closed my eyes. It felt so good to be held by two people who love you. The only thing missing was Pallo. I couldn"t believe I thought about him at a time like this. He had betrayed me, and then lied about it to my face. Anger took hold of me and the temperature between the three of us huddled together stood. It became so hot and sticky in the bed that I could not breathe. I thought I was going to pa.s.s out when something broke through my anger. It was Caleb.
I tried to draw my power back into myself. I concentrated on pulling it inward. I visualized a tunnel and in it, a glowing and green light that receded into me, in my mind. Through the glowing purple and green light a figure came towards me. As it neared, I recognized the long, wavy, hair and strong body. Pallo! He was working out in his home gym. He had on a loose pair of dark gray pants and was barefoot. His muscles rippled as he took varied steps, twisting and turning his body slowly. He was doing some sort of karate. I could see the sweat glistening from his white, pale body. I swept down next to him. My presence near him blew his hair back slightly. He stopped moving and turned to see what was near him. I let my hand run along his hard arms. He saw nothing, but felt much. His head tipped back and his eyes closed.
I felt how much I cared about him, how much I loved him, how much what he had done hurt me. His words beat in my ear like a drum. "I didn"t make love to that wh.o.r.e, I f.u.c.ked her." Each time I heard that, I pulled my projected presence back from him. I rushed over the glowing purple and green light like it was a playground slide. I came crashing through the tunnel and into my body. Hands were running all over me. I didn"t know whose they were. Two cupped my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, one touched my waist, and one was down the front of my panties caressing me gently. I arched my back. Caleb"s naked body was still wrapped around mine. Ken"s body was pressed against me from the front. He, too, was naked now. I reached down and cupped them both in my hands. They let out small moans. What should have been an awkward moment between three people felt beautiful, it felt right.
Ken"s thick fingers slid between my legs, he worked one into me. I was moist and ready. I slid my hand around to Caleb"s b.u.t.t and pulled him towards me. Caleb pushed into me. I moaned. Ken"s arm tensed. I reached down and stroked him, cupping him in my hand, moving it up and down slowly. Caleb pushed himself in and out of me so gently.
Ken"s mouth pressed near mine, I put my tongue out searching for it. He caught it and we went at each other. s.e.xual noises filled the room. My hand slid up and down on Ken, mirroring Caleb"s thrusts. Caleb pulled out slowly. I tried to hold onto him, but he withdrew himself from me. I sat up with him. Ken followed too.
Caleb sat on his knees on the end of the bed. He was hard and glistening from my wetness. I bent down and crawled to him on all fours, taking him into my mouth. Ken"s body moved in behind me. He pressed gently against me wanting to enter. I slid my hand up his thigh, he pushed in. I cried out with Caleb still in my mouth. I moved my head up and down as Ken pushed himself in and out slowly. Someone starting making primitive sounds, it was me.
Caleb"s hands moved into my long hair as I moved my mouth over him. He tasted salty, yet sweet. I could feel Ken pulling out of me, so slowly. I grabbed at his leg. The feeling of Caleb tightening in my mouth took my attention from Ken. He pulled my hair back, gently bringing my face with it. Ken pushed in and he brought me. I cried out, and he came, too. He pulled himself out of me, and I crawled up and put my body in front of Caleb"s. He hadn"t yet finished. I ran my fingers over his chest and down the front of him. I felt Ken reach his hands around to my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his body pressed close to mine. He whispered that he loved me in my ear, and pulled away. I felt the weight of his body leave the bed. I felt my eyes changing again. They got so warm beneath my eyelids that I thought they might burst into flames. I looked up into Caleb"s eyes they were glowing green. I touched mine, and looked at him.
"Yes, yours are, too," he said softly, pulling me close to him.
"Why?"
He reached his hand down my back. He still hard was as he pressed against my upper stomach.
"You are ready," he said.
I looked up at him with a puzzled look on my face. He bent down and kissed me.
"You"re body"s ready to create life," he said.
I froze. Ken had just finished in me. Did that mean? I looked into Caleb"s eyes.
"But, Ken just..," I said.
He shook his head slightly. "Ken loves you, you love him, but he is not a match for you."
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Your eyes changed after he was done, when you came to me, ready for me to enter you and fill you with my seed."
He was right, they had. I guess it was good to have your own built-in warning flag for pregnancy, but I wasn"t so sure about this. I touched his chest with my hand. He grabbed my wrist and laid me on my back, while he planted tiny kisses all over my chest. I wanted more from him. I tried to coax him on, but he didn"t waver.
He kissed the top of my head gently. "Gwen, I"ve wanted to have this for over four-hundred years. It is the one thing I"ve dreamed about since I"ve known you, but I can feel your love for Pallo. I couldn"t share this with you and watch you go back to him."
"That will never happen!"
He put his finger to my lip. "Don"t make promises that you can"t keep."
I protested. I would never run back to Pallo. "But, you don"t understand..."
"No, Gwen, you don"t understand. The chances of a faerie finding a perfect match are stacked against us. h.e.l.l, the odds of finding a match, even one that"s not a faerie, are high. That"s how our numbers stay in check. We"re immortal, and if we had children all the time we would overpopulate the world."
I thought about what he had just said. "It"s possible to find a non-faerie match, too?" Then it was clear. Yes, it was. Pallo had been the father of my child, and he had been mortal. Was it possible that I had managed to find two perfect soul mates? Was Pallo the one from the past, and was Caleb the present? Did that mean that Pallo could still be? I remembered my eyes burning warmly in the yellow room with Pallo. I had so many questions for Caleb. Asking him would mean revealing that I"d been with Pallo while he was gone. I didn"t feel like tackling that just yet.
I kissed his lips to mine. He held me to him. Our naked bodies huddled together on the bed. The moment was right to continue, but the reality of what I had just done sunk in. I had just had s.e.x with two guys at one time. A week ago, I hadn"t been having s.e.x with anyone, let alone two at one time. I pushed away from Caleb and ran out the door and to the bathroom. I crashed onto the floor in front of the toilet and vomited. I was ashamed of myself, I had become what Pallo had accused me of being, I was a wh.o.r.e.
I flushed away the old contents of my stomach, and turned to start a bath. I adjusted the water to get just the right temperature, hot, and sat of the edge of the tub, listening to it fill. The light flicked on.
"Are you all right?" Caleb asked. He had put his jeans on, and walked towards me, he stopped. His gaze fell onto my neck. I had suspected that Giovanni"s bite mark was bruised now. I lifted my hand to try and cover my neck. He motioned me closer. I stood up, the cool bathroom floor felt good on my hot, bare feet. I walked over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out the toothpaste and my toothbrush.
I saw Caleb"s reflection in the mirror. He stood behind me, looking down. Apparently the bruising was worse from the backside, because his eyes grew wide.
"Gwen?" he said. In that one word he asked so many questions.
I brushed my teeth frantically, like I needed to get every tooth at least six times. I mumbled that it was nothing through a mouthful of toothpaste. He wasn"t buying it. He was definitely not in the mood anymore. His eyes were shifting back to just green. I finished brushing my teeth and turned to shut the bath water off and climb in. He caught hold of my arms.