Chapter Fifteen

                Abbey could barely feel her legs as she approached the truck, weaving almost drunkenly. Her mind was still floating somewhere in the clouds and she knew she had a goofy smile on her face yet was unable to do anything about it.

                Never in her entire life had Abbey imagined that something sexual could be so….. enjoyable! Naturally she had known that it must feel good to most people because most people enjoyed the act but never had it been something pleasant for Abbey.

                Marcus had just taken her straight to heaven inside that barn and it had only taken him a matter of moments. She could only imagine what the man could do with a little more time.

                Abbey stepped toward the truck door which Julian was waiting to close behind her and she nearly fell face first into the truck when Julian leaned into her and sniffed her neck and her knees buckled.

                A low growl emitted from his chest and sent Abbey’s thighs quivering, “I’ll be right back,” he ground out before taking one last long sniff and striding off toward the barn.

                Abbey was shaking as she got into the truck and Tanner clambered into her lap. Was Julian mad? Had Abbey done something wrong with Marcus? Hadn’t Julian told her that she was meant to be both of their mates? Or were they constantly going to be fighting over her?

                Abbey chewed at her thumb nail as she watched the barn, anticipating seeing both of them come flying out in a tangle of fists.  Instead Julian stepped out first shaking his head while Marcus followed behind, his laughter ringing out in the morning air.

                Marcus offered her and the children a wave before heading toward the second barn and Julian got into the driver side of the truck and slammed the door. As he fired the truck to life Abbey glanced cautiously at him to see that his jaw was tense, his hands were gripping the wheel tightly and he was staring straight ahead.

                “Are you okay?” Abbey whispered.

                “Sure,” Julian replied before put the truck in gear and pulled out of the drive.

                Abbey knew he was lying. The man was clearly far from okay but why? What had she done wrong and what was going through Julian’s mind?

                Audrey and Tanner quickly filled the awkward silence inside the truck cab with renditions of ‘Ol’ McDonald’ that included alligators, eagles and chipmunks. Abbey found herself laughing and singing along with them, her worry over Julian’s temper fading when he did the same.

                They made the forty-five minute drive into town and Julian pulled in front of a tiny clothing store that was nestled on mainstreet between a grocery store and the bank, “We should be able to find plenty of clothes for you and the pups here. We’ll head to the school when we’re done here and see about getting Audrey enrolled.”

                “Yay!” Audrey exclaimed as she clambered from the truck and adjusted her shirt. “Mommy, can I buy some pretty dresses for school?”

                Abbey sent a questioning glance in Julian’s direction and then smiled at her daughter, “You’ll have to ask Julian, babydoll. He and Marcus are the ones buying everything.”

                “You can get whatever you want,” Julian replied as he scooped the smaller than average six year old onto his hip and kissed her hair.

                Abbey felt a tug in her heart as she watched the heartwarming scene. Audrey deserved that. She deserved a father that would love her, cuddle her and show her the way a man should treat her…. If Abbey chose to accept the brother’s proposal her children would have two fathers just like that…. But what would others have to say to them about their mother being with two men.

                For every positive she found there seemed to be yet another negative. If only they lived on an island all alone where no one else’s opinion would ever effect their lives.

                “I still don’t feel right about this,” Abbey said as they stepped into the store. “I don’t want to take advantage…”

                Julian sat Audrey down, “Go find some clothes you like little ones,” he urged and she ran off with Tanner on her heels. Julian stepped close to Abbey and took her hands in his sending little tremors of awareness to dance across her skin. “You are not taking advantage of anything and while I have more patience than my brother even I’m ready to lose my temper.”

                “Why?” Abbey demanded with confusion.

                Julian sighed as he shook his head and his dark hair fell across his brow, “Taking care of you, providing for you, is something that Marcus and I need to do.”

                “Sounds pretty sexist to me,” Ernest’s voice spoke up from behind them.

                He was chuckling as Julian and Abbey both spun to look at him, “Sexist or not, that’s just the way it is. The wolves in us won’t have it any other way,” Julian replied and Ernest’s eyes widened.

                “Really? So you found your mate then?”

                Abbey felt herself redden as Ernest gave her a once over and Julian’s grip on her hand tightened, “Yes.”

                Ernest laughed, his belly bouncing with the movement, “That’s great! But I would have sworn she was Marcus’s mate….”

                “Actually,” Julian began and Abbey pulled her hand away from him.

                “I’m going to go help the kids,” she squeaked before practically running away across the store. Here it came.  Now the whole town was going to know that her fate in life was to be a mate to not one but two werewolves!

                “Mommy, I like this shirt!” Tanner exclaimed as he held up a gray t-shirt with a yellow dumptruck on the front. “Can I get it?”

                “Yeah, bub,” Abbey replied, happy for the distraction, though her gaze kept being drawn back toward Julian and Ernest. “Yeah I think that’s a really nice shirt.”

***

                “So you’re telling me that she’s the mate to both of you?” Ernest asked with wide eyes. Julian’s nod brought a low whistle from the older man’s mouth. “That’s….interesting.”

                “It’s what we expected. Marcus and I were born sharing a soul. It wouldn’t make sense for us to have two soul mates when every soul only has one mate,” Julian replied, wishing he could be close to Abbey instead of standing here talking to Ernest.

                Damn Marcus for sending the woman his way smelling so tempting! Julian could still smell the scent of her arousal, her juices, her passion and it was driving him mad. When he’d gone in the barn and had words with his brother, Marcus had done nothing but laugh. Apparently the other man thought it was funny. Funny! There wasn’t a single thing funny about it.

                “How does she feel about this?” Ernest questioned. Julian saw the sales keeper, a teenage girl fresh out of high school that Julian had seen around but couldn’t remember the name of, approach Abbey and the pups.

                “Undecided,” Julian grumbled, swallowing hard and trying to keep his wolf from leaping at Abbey when she bent down to pick up a shirt that Tanner dropped. “She worries what people will think.”

                “Well of course she does! She’s a mother of two small kids and folks are gonna talk if they know she’s shaking up with…” Julian’s eyes shot daggers at Ernest and the man swallowed hard, held up his hands and shook his head, “I don’t think nothing bad of her, I’m just saying what other people might think.”

                “I don’t care one way or the other what people think and neither does Marcus. She won’t either… not once she falls in love with us.”

                “So you’re thinking love… what’s Marcus thinking?” Ernest asked.

                Julian sighed, “You know Marcus. He doesn’t talk about his feelings.”

                Ernest nodded and rubbed his cheek, “Well I wish you the best of luck with all of this. I don’t want to keep you from the lady any longer because you seem eager to get back to her but her truck is ready. I saw you drive into town so I figured I’d let you know.”

                “Thanks Ernest. We’ll pick it up once we’re done here in town.”

                Ernest nodded, patted Julian on the back and left the store.

                Julian let his gaze wander over Abbey and he realized that Ernest had made him gain a new understanding for her situation. People were going to judge her upon first learning that she was with two men.

                Julian rubbed at his jaw and smiled at the carnal imagery that thought brought to mind. He and Marcus were simply going to make sure that they convinced her they were worth it.

***

                It wasn’t until they were back at the ranch and Marcus had the children busy downstairs that Abbey was able to truly talk to Julian. What they had to talk about wasn’t anything that she had been eager to have her children listening to. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to talk about it at all but knew she had to or it would continue to bother her and cause her guilt.

                “Something wrong, Abbey?” Julian asked from the kitchen table where he sat with a calculator and piles of papers.

                “I was.. I was hoping we could talk,” Abbey replied. Thankfully Marcus had been too preoccupied with the children since they’d returned from town to mention what had happened in the barn that morning or to repeat it… Abbey didn’t want to do anything with Marcus that would upset Julian.

                “Of course,” Julian tossed the pen down on the table top and pushed away the calculator. He rubbed at his temples. “I’d be glad to… this stuff makes my head hurt.”

                Instinctively, Abbey walked behind Julian and began to massage his temples with her fingertips, “What are you doing?”

                “Inventory for the ranch,” Julian replied, his voice tight. He leaned back into her touch and the groan that slipped from his lips had Abbey’s thighs trembling. “That feels good,” Julian moaned.

                Abbey quickly removed her hands, wrung her fingers together and rounded the table to sit down across from him. Julian’s dark eyes were hungry as he gazed across the table. Abbey shifted in her chair, feeling the heat pooling in her core from his intense stare.

                “I’m confused,” she whispered.

                “Why?”

                “You say I’m meant to be with both of you but I don’t know how to do that! I don’t know how to be with two men and I can’t be with Marcus without making you jealous or be with Marcus without making you jealous and I can’t….”

                Julian shook his head and held up his hand to silence her ranting. Abbey began to gnaw at her thumbnail as she waited for him to speak, “What are you talking about?”

                “This morning when I… when I came out of the barn,” Abbey flushed red, “You were angry.”

                “Angry?”

                “Yes.”

                “No, I wasn’t.”

                “You weren’t?” Abbey was truly confused.

                “No…” It was Julian’s turn to shift uncomfortably. “I was… I was frustrated.”

                “Frustrated?” Abbey paused in the chewing of her nail, “I thought you were jealous because you could tell…..”

                “I could tell,” Julian replied, breaking the contact of their eyes as he went about straightening the papers in front of him. “And you smelled so good I nearly lost all control of myself right there at the truck door.”

                Abbey knew her face could not get any more red as she felt it flame with embarrassment, “I’m sorry….” She sighed and rubbed at her face. She found it easier to open up to Julian than to Marcus so she decided to do that now. “I was never good at satisfying one man, Julian, and now I’m expected to satisfy two? Not only that but if I’m with you than Marcus will be jealous but if I’m with Marcus than you’ll be jealous and God help the slut that I apparently am but I want to be with you both that way. I’ve never felt desire like this before.”

                “You’re no slut, Abbey, and you’ll do well to not call yourself one. I can control my temper but if Marcus hears it you’ll set him off,” Julian warned. He stood from the chair and rounded the table before crouching down in front of Abbey and taking her hands in his. Abbey loved the way his hands felt when he held hers. He had strong but gentle hands.

                Abbey knew it was only the mate bond that had her heart tugging in her chest as she looked at this man but it was still a nice feeling. It was a feeling she had never felt before.

                “Abbey, you don’t have to worry about Marcus or I being jealous when you’re with one of us and not the other. We share a soul and we can’t get jealous of each other.”

                “You can’t?”

                “No, it would be like getting jealous of yourself and that doesn’t make much sense does it? I just wasn’t happy that he’d left you smelling so tempting when I was going to be in a truck with you and two pups all day.” Julian smiled up at her, his firm cheeks crinkling with the movement. “You were made to be with both of us and we were made to provide for, care for and satisfy you for as long as you’ll let us.”

                Abbey lost herself in his gentle brown eyes and the peace they always made her feel when they met hers. Julian rose up enough to let his lips brush against her ear, “I won’t rush you, Abbey. When you’re ready to fully accept all this you come to me.”

                With that he rose to his feet and left the room, leaving Abbey to sit there with a lot on her mind. She was made to be with both men… really be with them. Inside she knew that was the truth. She could feel the pull in her soul for them. She longed to be near them, to feel their touches and to hear their voices. She longed to fall asleep at night nestled between them both safe and warm and sated…..

                Abbey’s thoughts caused her to fan her face. This was all so much so fast! She’d been running for her life just days ago and now her husband was dead, his killer was one of her mates and life was simply spinning too quickly. She needed to let things settle for a while and let her head get on straight before she made any decisions that would effect the rest of her life.

                Should she deny her mates and herself and live out a mortal life with her children without the harsh judgments of others or give in to what she wanted and fully mate to the brothers and in doing so become a werewolf herself. Abbey stood up and walked to the sink. Slowly she began stacking the dirty dishes to the side. Chores had always helped her to think and right now thinking was exactly what she needed to do.