Seducing Their Wayfaring Souls [3xtasy Lake 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (15 page)

“How was your day? Did you two have fun?” He could scent Lars all over her along with the soft tang of a satisfied woman. He couldn’t wait to get her between him and Lars.

She blushed and coughed, while Lars lifted Zack onto the bike behind him. “Are you feeling okay? You look flushed.” Cris teased her and watched as her cheeks turned a darker red.

“I’m fine.” She stepped away from Cris’s arm and gave Zack a quick hug. “Remember to hold on tight, Zack.”

Zack’s response was stifled behind the helmet wrapped around his face and he held up two thumbs. Cris made out the muffled “yes, Mom” before Zack grabbed two handfuls of Lars’s jacket. It caused the big guy’s shirt to gape open slightly and from where he stood Cris noticed the black markings on Lars’s chest.

He met his friend’s gaze. Lars looked more contemplative than ever when he nodded and said, “We’ll be back in a while.”

Lars readjusted Zack’s grip, making him a bit more secure and then slowly rolled away from the curb and down the street. They stood and watched as Lars made a U-turn and headed back down the road. He gunned the engine a tad as he passed them, making Zack scream out and laugh. The two of them waved as they headed down the road.

“I’m going to head to the hotel.” Tara pushed her hands into her pockets. “I need a shower.”

“I’ll walk you down there.” Cris reached down and tugged one of her hands out of her pockets and laced his fingers with hers.

“You don’t have to.” She kept her gaze down the street as if she was deliberately avoiding looking at him.

“What’s going on, Tara? I thought we had fun earlier.”

“We did but…”

“You feel like Lars and I are passing you back and forth like a toy?”

Her face flicked up and she met his gaze. “No…are you?”

“No, not at all.” He adjusted his stride to match her shorter one. “I was worried you might feel that way. My hope is you had fun today.”

“Yes, it’s a bit overwhelming. Thinking about the dichotomy of it all and how it has to work and what the rules would need to be.”

“See, you’re overcomplicating it already. Relax and let whatever happens happen. We aren’t interested in keeping score. You have the final say in what does or doesn’t go on.”

“And after I leave?”

The idea of her walking away from him tore at his heart and made the animal in him howl out its displeasure. “Then we reassess. You still have the final word, although, and I can speak for Lars as well, we’d like to keep in contact with you and be a part of Zack’s life in the future.”

“That sounds fair. So what are we doing right now?”

“I believe we’re walking toward your hotel, unless there’s somewhere else you would like to go?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“I know and let’s not try to define anything at this moment. For now, we’re three adults taking things one day at a time.”

* * * *

The next morning he and Lars waited in the lobby of the hotel for Tara to come down with Zack. They’d both developed a habit of going to The Shack for brunch Mondays and wanted to make certain they spent as much time together with Tara as possible.

“Are you going to tell me about that?” Cris motioned to Lars’s chest as they waited.

Lars rubbed his chest with the heel of his palm. “It’s a Mate mark.”

That got Cris’s attention.
Could the Fates be that kind?
“You told me once your kind didn’t have Mates.”

“I believed I was never destined to find mine.”

Cris had never heard better news in his life, but it also ramped up the importance of keeping Tara and Zack here in Ecstasy Lake. “We’re doing the right thing here.”

“
This
has the potential of C4.” Lars stood and looked out the front window at the lake.

“I’ve no intention of having this blow up in our faces. If you have any other suggestions, then I’m open to them.” Cris was feeling no small amount of guilt over how he was deceiving Tara.
She’s our Mate, and that changes all the rules.

“We need to tell her the truth…and soon.”

“Hi Crith! Hi Larth!” Zack came running up to them, a big smile on his face. He knuckle bumped Lars and then came over and did the same thing with Cris. Tara trailed behind at a more sedate pace, her cheeks flaming in color as she looked back and forth between him and Lars.

“We thought we’d walk you two down to breakfast. Catherine said she’s making maple scones today and they’re my favourite.”

“That was very nice of you.” Tara looked over at the reception desk, but Albert had made himself invisible. “I’ve been trying to call the auto body shop this morning and still no answer. They must have some news on my car by now. Albert said yesterday he would drive past Luc and Georges’s home and see if they’re back from fishing.”

“We’ll take you over there later.” Lars drew Tara’s arm through his and she wrapped her hand around his bicep. She glanced up at Cris and he winked in response. Cris didn’t want her to feel the least bit uncomfortable touching Lars in front of him and vice versa.

“I’m tharving!”

“Okay buddy, let’s go get you fed.” Cris tossed Zack over one shoulder and tickled him while he was up there. Zack giggled and wriggled around, trying to tickle him back. Cris flipped his son over before placing him on his feet. Laughing, Zack ran down the street with all the energy a six-year-old could muster.

“I don’t know how you’ve kept up with him.” Cris waited for Tara and Lars to catch up and then grabbed her free hand in his.

“Um, I don’t know if this is proper.” She nodded to each of them.

“We’re holding hands, Tara. I promise you, no one will even blink.”

If Zack noticed his mom holding hands with both of them, he didn’t say a thing. By the time they reached The Shack, he was already inside sitting at the counter. “Larth.” He patted the stool next to him. “Can we play the string game again?”

“Of course.” Lars pulled out a loop and the two of them started playing the game Lars taught him yesterday.

“Hi, Zack!” Lulu Roberts bounded up to the counter and hopped on a stool next to Zack.

“Hi, Lulu! Look what I can do!” Zack showed her the basic movement he’d learned from Lars.

“Oh, cool, can I play, too?” Lars handed over the loop of string and Zack showed Lulu what Lars had taught him.

“I love seeing that,” Tara whispered, watching her son with the little girl. “I can’t believe how well he’s doing.”

“Perhaps this town would be good for both of you,” Cris whispered in her ear and then sat back. Tara turned in her seat and pinned a suspicious gaze on him

“Tara, you remember Officer Walker, don’t you?” Lars distracted Tara’s ire by introducing her to the couple that had followed Lulu in. “This is his wife, Brenna. She’s Lulu’s older sister.”

Tara and Brenna shook hands and spoke for a moment while Lars arched an eyebrow at Cris. Sure, he knew he might be pushing a bit, but if Tara got ahold of the Benoits she’d know her car wasn’t as badly damaged as they’d first thought. She’d be in her car and gone before Cris had a chance to change her mind. He’d begged them not to give her a direct answer right away and buy him and Lars a bit more time.

“Craig and I were going to take Lulu on a hike today. Zack’s welcome to join us if he’d like.”

“Oh, that’s kind, but I don’t want to put you out.”

“I’m homeschooled and my mom said today is a science trip,” Lulu stated. “Brennie and Craig are going to show me animal tracks and we’re going to collect leaves and put them on a board when we get home. Zack, come with us.”

Zack looked so excited by the idea even Cris could see the pleading in his eyes as he stared at his mom. “Pleath, pleath, Mom. I want to go on the thience trip, too!”

“I’m sorry to put you on the spot like this, Tara.” Brenna frowned at her little sister for a moment.

“I promise he’ll be fine, Miss Brewer.” Craig wrapped a hand around Brenna’s waist. “We’ve packed a picnic lunch and have plenty of food. I promise we’ll keep him safe.”

Cris looked over at Lars, who was leaning back against the counter watching the conversation swirling around him. Cris had known his friend long enough that, when Tara finally gave her permission to Zack, Lars’s lips curled into a small smile, and he glanced over Tara’s head at him. For a moment, Cris wondered if Lars hadn’t orchestrated this entire situation. Regardless of whether it was Lars or Fate at work, they now had Tara to themselves for the entire day.

Tara was still uneasy about letting Zack go out with Brenna and Craig. Her nerves practically vibrated off her skin.

Lars reached out and patted Tara’s hand where it lay on her thigh. “Zack will be fine with them. It’ll be an exciting day for him and he’ll sleep well tonight.”

“This will give me a chance to get some things done today without him being too bored.”

Catherine came up to the counter and picked up Tara’s cup. “Zack will be perfectly fine, my dear,” she commented as she turned Tara’s cup here and there, peering at the leaves that coated the inside of the cup.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell too much right now.” She turned the cup on its side and held it up a bit higher. “Telling the future isn’t an exact science, especially when free will can cause such drastic changes. And you have a lot of decisions to make before you’re on a solid path to your future.”

Tara’s shoulders dipped slightly and Cris grinned.
So for all her denials she does believe, even a little bit.
That was good to know because there were a few important things she was going to have to believe in.

“I do see waterfalls, though.”

“Waterfalls? Is that good or bad?”

“I don’t know, you’ll have to wait until you get there.” Catherine winked at her and then patted Lars’s hand before gathering up the empty cups. “Don’t waste your day sitting here. The sun’s shining and my weatherman, Frankie, says the weather’s going to stay warm for another couple days.”

* * * *

Tara had spent the last twenty minutes sitting between Lars and Cris in the cab of the pickup truck, trying not to lean too much on them. It was incredibly difficult when all she could do was smell the heady scent of healthy males inside the small cab. Neither of them wore cologne of any kind, which was a blessing. There were times guys would hit on her at the restaurant and they smelled like they’d gotten hit by the Aqua Velva tanker. She’d been intimate with both of them separately and her head continued to provide a stream of mental images of the three of them together.
Stop thinking like that!

What if I get pregnant again?
Didn’t sleeping with two men at the same time double the chances of that happening, even if they were careful and using condoms? While she didn’t regret Zack for a moment, she knew she couldn’t take care of two children right now. She needed the room and board that came with the job in Manitoba, because she couldn’t afford to live there.

Maybe in a few years, she’d find an appropriate man who would be a good role model for him and maybe be willing to help raise him. After the way she’d been treated the past day by the men in this town, her standard bar was set so high she wasn’t certain if any man could meet it.
What’s wrong with the two you’re sitting with?

She wasn’t ready to face truth behind her thoughts so she ignored them. Instead, she concentrated on looking around. Lars pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the truck.

“I thought we were going to go see my car?” Tara asked as Cris took her hand and helped her get down from the side rail of his truck.

“We’ll head over there, but I wanted to show you something first.” Lars walked around to her side of the truck and took her other hand. He lifted a backpack out of the back box.

“What’s in there?”

“You don’t like surprises do you, Tara?” Cris tugged her hand and started walking through the trees.

“No, not really,” she admitted. “I like to plan and surprises mess up my decisions.”

“Sometimes the best things happen when you let life unfold the way it wants to.”

“Yeah, I took a chance once and had to begin a new life on my own.” No sooner had the words crossed her lips than she remembered Cris was responsible. He turned so quickly she walked right into his chest. Clasping her hand against his chest, he gripped her hand firmly as if he feared she’d tug her fingers from his.

“What do you mean you had to begin on your own?” The confusion and remorse on his face tugged at her heart. “You said you were part of a big family.”

Tara glanced up at Lars, who stood back and watched her and Cris. Guilt gnawed away at her. She didn’t want to discuss her short time with him in front of Lars. It would make her look even easier. “It’s no big deal. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to take a dig at you. It came out wrong.”

“You’re lying.” Lars leaned against a large tree, watching her. His hooded eyes felt like they looked into her soul. “Tell him, Tara.”

Tara frowned up at Lars. He might be intimidating and make her insides feel like gelatin, but she wasn’t going to deliberately say anything that would hurt Cris. “It’s in the past.”