Casey's Warriors (Bondmates) (41 page)

She opened her eyes and found herself in the familiar backyard of Lorn’s house with the birds singing and a picture-perfect summer morning blue sky stretching out overhead. She turned her face to the sun and let out a shuddering sigh, filled with immense relief tinged with regret. Then Nast and Lorn took her hands, their worry pressing into her, and her regret faded. She smiled and turned to Nast.

“Welcome to Earth.”

He looked around with wide eyes, examining everything with open curiosity. “It is beautiful.”

She took in another deep breath and something deep inside of her relaxed at the smell of home. “Thank you.”

A nearby man cleared his throat and they turned to find at least two dozen Kadothian men watching them. “Welcome, Matriarch of House Westfall.”

Cormac made his way through the crowd, the relief on his handsome face so evident she had to hold back a laugh. “Thank the Lord of Life you made it.”

Nast let out a little growl, “I just bonded with my Matriarch, and I am not at all happy to be here instead of my wedding bed.”

The men made sympathetic noises while others called out their congratulations. Cormac held up his hand and the fell into silence. “I truly apologize, but I must admit I am very happy to see you. My
alyah
will not let me anywhere near her; she distrusts me completely and has pulled a weapon on me three times. I am praying your appearance will calm her.”

Lorn let out a low sigh. “Let us go meet your parents and soothe their fears.”

Twenty minutes later, Nast helped Casey down from the luxury SUV that Cormac procured for them. On the way over, she’d called her parents from a cellphone another Kadothian man had given her to use. They’d been hysterical, and by the time she calmed them enough to listen they were pulling up to the front of her childhood home.

The well-kept Craftsman style two story house was festooned with pink and grey ribbons, her favorite colors, and a missing poster had been nailed to the telephone pole next to the driveway. Even with all that had happened to her she found herself nervous as shit at the thought of telling her parents she’d married two men. If it wasn’t for the constant reassurance from Lorn and Nast flowing through their bond she would have been a shaking mess.

Roxy burst through the front door, her dark eyes filling with tears as she screamed her name. “Casey!”

Roxy sprinted across the lawn with her long black hair flying behind her as tears streamed down her face. Guilt pierced Casey’s soul as Roxy totally ignored Nast and Lorn and grabbed Casey into a fierce hug. “Where have you been? Are you all right? I was so worried about you! Oh, thank God you’re all right!”

Casey swallowed hard and hugged Roxy back. “What are you doing here? I thought you were still deployed over in Spain?”

Laughing, and crying, Roxy pulled back and her gaze darted behind Casey’s shoulder then back again. “You disappear for two weeks and you’re wondering what I’m doing here? Where the fuck have you been?”

“Casey,” came her mother’s voice and soon she found herself embraced by her entire family, each of them berating her for taking off and telling her how much they loved her, and how much they missed her.

Breaking from the mob of her relatives she wiped at her cheeks and quickly stepped back, grabbing her husbands’ hands. “Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet my husbands, Lorn and Nast.”

Absolute silence filled the air as her family stared at her like she’d just announced she was a fairy.

Her mother was the first to break the silence. “What?”

Clearing her throat, she nodded at the house. “Can we do this inside? Alone?”

Blinking at her, Casey’s dad nodded. He seemed to have aged since she last saw him, stress deepening the lines around his tired eyes and it looked like there was more silver in his hair almost overnight. “Yes, inside…” He cleared his throat. “As you can all see Casey is all right…and married…so if you could give us some privacy to talk with our daughter we would appreciate it.”

Tugging Lorn and Nast after her she quickly made her way inside, nostalgia piercing her heart as she looked around the living room of the place she’d grown up, trying to memorize everyone and everything. She took a seat on the wide floral couch beneath the bay window and pulled Nast and Lorn down next to her before looking up at her family. They all stared at her and her husbands with expressions ranging from amused to pissed.

Her sister Roxy was the one who looked the most angry. Her parents just appeared relieved and confused while her mom’s lips kept trying to twitch into a smile. Casey didn’t see her older brother and his family, or Paige, but she didn’t have the time to wait for them. She only had a few hours to spend on Earth before they had to return to the Reaping ship, and she needed to talk with her family, and reassure her friends that she was okay.

“Casey,” her mother said in a soft voice, her brown eyes filling with tears, “where have you been? Who are these men? Why didn’t you call us?”

“Well, Mom, I’ve been in Las Vegas with Lorn and Nast.”

Roxy took an aggressive step forward, her hands curled into fists at her side. “Why the hell were you in Vegas? And who exactly are Lorn and Nast? And don’t give me that bullshit that they’re European models. Mom and dad may believe it, but I don’t. I’ve been over there. Models don’t fight like that.”

Panic set in and Casey blurted out the first thing she could think of. “That wasn’t fighting, that was part of an act they’re going to perform in Las Vegas. They’re strippers.”

Lorn and Nast turned to her, and though they kept their expressions calm, shock radiated through their bond.

“Strippers?” her mother said in a faint voice while her father glared at her husbands.

“Well, kind of. More like dancers, but not the skanky kind. They’re putting a show together for one of the big hotels in Las Vegas. One of those high-end shows like the Cirque de Solei. But with hot guys, for a reality TV show.”

Amusement now rolled from her husbands and she had to grit her teeth to keep from elbowing them.

Lorn leaned forward and smiled at her mother, who actually blushed. “It is an honor to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Westfall. I apologize for keeping Casey from contacting you, but it is part of the terms of our contract.”

Once again it was Roxy who went on the attack. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Language,” Casey’s father said in a low voice. “But my daughter has a point, what
are
you talking about?”

“This is classified information,” Lorn said in a low voice and leaned forward. “We are part of a reality television show and cannot divulge any information that may tell you who the winner of the contest may be.”

Casey tried to keep the smile on her face as she glanced at Lorn. “Yes, a reality show.”

“What kind of show?” Roxy asked, still suspicious but at least her fists had unclenched.

While Casey doubted her sister could actually hurt Lorn or Nast, Roxy had spent the last five years in the Army doing special ops stuff and could kick some serious ass.

Lorn smiled at her sister, once again laying on enough charm to make the other woman blush. “I cannot go into the specifics, but the men staying in our house are contestants, trying to win a spot in our new production in Las Vegas. Because of the secretive nature of the show we are not permitted to go into detail, but please be assured that the men at our home are good people who have gone through thorough background checks. But like us, they are not permitted to speak about the contest without facing enormous fines.”

Her mother, a reality TV show junkie, visibly thawed and smiled at Lorn. “How exciting!”

Nast rubbed his thumb over Casey’s hand. “That is why the men were evasive about where Casey was.”

“Yes,” Lorn continued smoothly, “the producers believed that the drama involving Casey’s disappearance with Nast and myself would make for good entertainment. We had no idea how bad things had gotten here. As soon as we found out we brought Casey home so you could see she is alive and well.”

Her father gave Nast a narrow eyed look. “And what about marrying Casey? Is that even real or more entertainment?”

After giving Casey a soft smile that made her mother sigh, Nast turned back to her father. “No, our love for Casey is very real.”

“Both of you?” Roxy shook her head. “Is that even legal? I mean I know the world’s gotten a little more liberal after ‘The Event’, but seriously? Two men?”

“Both of us,” Lorn said, meeting her sister’s disbelieving stare head on. “And she loves us as well. It is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Casey gave Nast’s hand a squeeze, his anger giving her the strength to face her parents. “It’s true, Mom and Dad. While it may not be conventional, Lorn and Nast are my husbands. We love each other and we are a family.”

“Holy shit,” Roxy whispered, then snickered, then began to laugh outright. “Holy fucking shit.”

“Roxy, language,” her Dad said in a faint voice as he stared at Casey. “Both of them?”

“Yes, Dad. I know you may not approve, and I’m sorry, but I love them.”

“But Casey, you barely know these men,” her mother said while shooting her sister a glare that only made Roxy laugh harder.

Nast looked at Roxy, now slumped against the wall and howling with laughter. “Why do you find our marriage amusing?”

The hard edge of Nast’s voice sobered Roxy a bit and she wiped the tears from her eyes. “No offense meant, but of all the things I thought had happened to Casey, running off to Vegas and marrying two strippers wasn’t even on my radar.” She abruptly sobered and stood up straight again. “Look, I don’t care if Casey married ten guys as long as they treat her right. Hell, I’m living proof that even the most traditional of marriages fail so if you can make this work, more power to you. But I want you to know that if you hurt my sister I’ll hunt you down and cut your dicks off.”

“Roxy,” her father said with a groan while burying his face in his hands.

Her sister gave Lorn and Nast a feral smile that was a challenging baring of her teeth. “I can do it, too. I’m part of a trial special ops program with the Army and I know ways to kill you in the middle of a crowded room without ever touching you.”

To her surprise Lorn gave Roxy a wide smile. “Your sister is lucky to have such a brave warrior to care for her.”

Roxy blinked while Casey’s mother stood and smoothed her palms down her pants. She came over first to Lorn, then to Nast and gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Welcome to the family.”

When her mother went to hug Casey she stood and found herself clinging to her Mom, taking in a deep breath of her familiar perfume while fighting back tears. “Thanks, Mom.”

Her mother hugged her back equally fierce. “I was so worried about you.”

Stepping back, Casey dug around in her pocket and pulled out the crystal charm necklace. “It’s uh, tradition in Lorn and Nast’s country to give the mother of the bride a gift. We picked this out for you and I hope you’ll wear it to remember me when I’m gone.”

“Gone?” her father said and his gaze darted to Lorn and Nast before returning to her. “But you just got here.”

It took a great deal of effort not to break down into tears, but Lorn and Nast sent her their strength and she clung to it. “We have to head back to Vegas. I’m part of the reality show now and while they gave us enough time to come here so I can talk with you, we have to head back so they can continue filming. I wish we didn’t, but this show involves hundreds of people and they need to get back to work. The show is losing money waiting for us to return.”

Her mom grabbed her in a hug again. “But you just got here!”

“I know, and I’m really sorry, but we can’t stay. We’re flying back to Vegas today on a private jet they chartered for us.”

Her dad joined them and together they hugged Casey. “Are you sure you can’t stay? Just for a little bit? Your brother and his family will be here soon.”

“I’m sorry, Dad, I just can’t. You have no idea how hard it was to bend the rules enough so I could come back and see you.” She hugged them both tight. “And once I’m back in Vegas you probably won’t hear from me for a bit, confidentiality clause and all of that. I’m going to stop by my house and get some things, then we have to leave.”

Roxy tugged her away from her parents and grabbed her in a bone-crushing hug. Growing up Roxy had always been chubby, but the Army had given her sister an impressive set of cut muscles and her hug was strong enough to make Casey wheeze. “The minute, the absolute minute the show is wrapped up I want you to call me, got it? I’m on leave right now so I’ll be staying with mom and dad for another three weeks before I have to head back. If your show wraps up before then maybe I can come visit you in Vegas and you can hook me up with one of those hotties. I could use some nice, guilt-free rebound sex.”

With a laugh, Casey hugged her back while her father made a groaning noise and shook his head. “I’ll see what I can do. You know you could always go visit them on your own. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to hang out with you if you get bored.”

Something flashed through her sister’s eyes and she blushed. “Um, maybe. I didn’t really get off on the right foot with them.”

Casey’s mother snorted. “That’s putting it mildly. She went searching for you at the old Johnson’s farm.”

“What did you do, Roxy?” Her sister had a temper and Casey cringed at the thought of a pissed off Roxy confronting the Kadothian men.

“Nothing.” Her sister went red from her neck up to her hairline.

“Roxy…”

“Let’s just say if they have that house wired with cameras I’m sure I gave them some great footage. Those guys are too hot for their own good.”

Casey’s father and mother moved over to Lorn and Nast, giving them the ‘you better be good to my little girl’ lecture.

Tilting her head, Casey examined her sister, a suspicion forming. “Anyone you find particularly hot? I can put in a good word for you.”

“No.” Even without being able to reader her sister’s emotions Casey could easily see the lie.

“Oh, you think one of them is sexy. Which one is he, Roxy? You can tell me. I won’t say anything.”