Claimed by the Mate, Volume 1 (22 page)

She wrapped the scarf back in the paper to protect it and set it by the door with her sweater. A few minutes later, Christa and Steph, Wils, and Ronan joined them at their table, but she didn't show them the scarf. It held too much meaning for her, and she wasn't ready to share it with anyone. Suni and Darnell came over with Evan and Dr. Tuck, but Cherry felt sort of detached from the last night of partying and the celebrating everyone was into.

She wasn't ready to celebrate anything.

She'd obviously done a pretty crappy job of protecting her heart. It would be so much easier if she could believe Cain and Brad when they told her she mattered, but she'd learned the hard way that words were easy, though when Brad suggested they go upstairs to his and Cain's suite, Cherry was surprised by the change in venue but more than ready. Cain had already gone on ahead and it was a simple thing to step into the kitchen and go up the stairs to their private rooms. She doubted anyone would even miss her.

“I had no idea that staircase was even there. I've never been up here before.”

Brad walked her down the hallway with his arm around her waist. “I know. Cain and I just realized that this morning, that we've always gone to your cabin and you didn't even know how to find our rooms. He reminded me tonight, when you said you'd not seen our place.”

“It's not a problem, but you're right. I guess I've had other things on my mind all week.”

“You're not the only one.” They paused in front of a door at the end of the hall, and he kissed her. “This is it. Cain told me you probably thought we were hiding something up here.”

Brad opened the door and stepped aside so she could enter.

“You came.” Cain stepped into the main room, grinned at Brad, and then hugged her close. He stepped back and shrugged. “I was afraid you wouldn't want to.”

“Why?”

“We've thrown a lot at you the past couple of nights.”

“And I've loved every minute. Have you heard any complaining?”

He took her hand, dragged her into the kitchen. “No. I think that's what makes me nervous.”

Brad hung back a bit. She glanced over her shoulder and saw him standing there, watching her, smiling.

Turning, she put her hands on her hips and said, “What are laughing at, Bradley?”

“I was just seeing how you fit in here. I've imagined you in our home, but the visual is pretty amazing.”

She sauntered across the floor and wrapped her arms around him, stood on her toes, and kissed him. In less than a heartbeat Cain was embracing her from behind and Brad was stripping out of his clothes. For a last night with these guys it was shaping up to be a pretty fantastic time.

Chapter 20

She lay awake long after both Brad and Cain had fallen asleep. Her body ached in the most delicious way. Tonight had been absolutely amazing, a truly bittersweet night knowing it was the end of this fairy-tale vacation. Both men had promised they would do their best to come and see her, that somehow they'd find a way not to lose what they'd been building.

She thought about staying the night, but she'd already talked it over with Steph and Christa and they wanted to get an early start. They all had to go back to work on Monday morning, and they'd need all day Sunday just to catch up on laundry and getting back to the grind.

Quietly Cherry gathered up her clothes and took them into the front room, where she dressed. She thought about leaving a note, but she'd see the guys in the morning. For now, she really had to get a good night's sleep before the long drive tomorrow.

Slipping out the door, she gently closed it behind her and went down the stairs. She started for the back door that would let her out through the kitchen when she stopped in her tracks.

“Damn.” The beautiful scarf the guys had given her was somewhere out in the dining room with her sweater. A small light over the bar allowed her to see without turning on the bigger lights, but she heard voices on the front deck. It sounded like Fred and Suni.

It was easy to recognize Fred. She was always complaining about something.

With any luck, the women wouldn't see her and she could still leave by the back. She'd miss Suni, but not Fred. The woman had been downright rude to her on more than one occasion and seemed to excel at giving her dirty looks. Even Christa had noticed.

Walking quietly, Cherry found her sweater and the scarf right where she'd left them. Slipping the sweater on, she grabbed the scarf, but as she turned to leave she heard her name. She hated eavesdropping—no one ever heard anything good—but human nature won out over good sense.

Cherry stood in the shadows, listening.

“What a wasted week. Surrounded by good-looking men and I end up with Trak and his brother, and they're both sanctimonious jerks.”

“No, they're not.” Suni laughed, but Cherry thought she sounded uncomfortable. “They seem like really nice men. You took them back to your cabin often enough.”

“Well, nothing happened, even when I let them know I was interested.”

“You're kidding!” Suni laughed again, but Fred didn't sound all that pleased.

“Yeah, and like I said, the two best-looking guys here fawning all over Cherry. I don't get it. She's fat and she's ugly and she's got the men. What a waste—such beautiful guys with lousy taste in women.”

“She's not ugly. She's a little large—”

“Suni, she's built like a fucking blimp.”

“Anyone next to you is going to look like a blimp, Fred. You're skinny. Besides, I heard a couple of the guys talking about them. They said Brad and Cain are really nice guys who like to make even plain women feel special the week they're here. That's all it is—the guys are just giving Cherry good memories of her vacation. They probably figured, as pretty as you are, they didn't need to do anything to make you feel better about yourself, but why else would they spend all their time with her?”

Why else?
Cherry clutched her scarf close to her chest—a scarf that was a gift from Brad and Cain—and thought about leaving it here. Except it was beautiful and, until this moment, her memories had been beautiful, too. Now she'd keep it as a reminder that she really had to be more discerning about men. She thought of confronting Suni and Fred, but what good would that do?

They were merely stating the truth.

Then Cherry thought of going back upstairs and telling Cain and Brad what she thought of them, but she honestly didn't have the energy, especially if they'd only been trying to make her feel good about herself. If not for Suni and Fred, they would have succeeded.

The women's conversation moved on to something else and Cherry crept silently out of the lodge, tears flowing as she took the beautiful path back to her cabin. The twinkling fairy lights swayed softly, only this time she felt as if they mocked her.

She called both Steph and Christa and left messages to let them know she wanted to leave really early, that if they wanted a ride home they needed to meet her at the car by five and she'd buy them breakfast in Weaverville.

Then she hung up and crawled between the sheets. If she was nothing but a job to Brad and Cain, then they probably deserved a raise, because they'd done a damned good job and she'd enjoyed every minute.

Until now. Now she just wanted to curl up and fade away.

*   *   *

Saturday

“Why do I feel as if we're sneaking out under cover of darkness?” Christa frowned at Cherry.

“Because we are,” Steph grumbled from the backseat. “I was looking forward to a really nice breakfast and a last chance to see Ronan.”

“I thought you were with Wils?” Cherry kept her eyes on the dark road, and wished she'd just kept her mouth shut. She really didn't want to talk to anyone. Not even Steph and Christa.

“She was,” Christa said. “She still is. And she's with Wils, too. And so am I. With Wils and Ronan.”

“She's with me, too.”

Steph's soft voice from the backseat had Cherry doing something she'd thought she'd never do again—smiling.

“I know,” she said. “I figured that out about midweek. In fact, I've wondered for years if the two of you were ever going to figure it out.”

Christa turned in her seat and her focus on Cherry was laser sharp. “We might not have, if not for Wils and Ronan. It took two men who were essentially strangers to pick up on something we still can't quite believe. How could you?”

“Observation, I guess. I've watched the way you two look at each other and wondered if maybe one of you was interested, but the other one wasn't. When I saw the four of you leave together the other night I wanted to cheer. It also probably explains why neither one of you has had a long-term boyfriend—you didn't really want one.”

“See, that's where you're wrong.” Steph was leaning forward now. “Christa and I've talked about it. We're both as attracted to men as we are to each other, but we have a lifetime of love to back up that attraction. Wils and Ronan are the first two we've met who feel the same way about their relationship. They love each other, but they love women, too.”

“Except they were smart enough to figure it out.” Christa sighed. “They said they want to see us again, but they can't get away for at least a week.” She sounded hopeful. As hopeful as Cherry had been until last night.

Her sister turned around and faced forward, staring into the dusky dawn as their car reached the end of the gravel road. The sun was just peeking over the mountaintop when the automatic gate opened and Cherry drove out onto the two-lane highway. In the rearview mirror she watched Steph staring out the back window. Probably thinking about Ronan and Wils.

The same way Cherry was dreaming of Brad and Cain.

*   *   *

“She's gone.” Cain raced into the bedroom and stared at Brad, who sat on the edge of the bed, trying to get his bearings. He'd been sound asleep until he heard Cain shouting at him. “Her sister and Steph are gone. Their car. I checked their cabins and they're entirely cleaned out. Hell, Cherry even stripped the bed. What the fuck happened?”

“I don't know. Last night was amazing. I was sure she finally understood how we feel, but obviously—”

“Obviously, we fucked up. I don't get it, Brad. What happened? Crap.” Cain sat next to Brad with his head bowed. “I love her. I never thought I'd fall in love with anyone but you, but I love both of you.”

“We have to get her back. That's all there is to it.” Brad wrapped his arm around Cain and held him close.

“But how?”

“I don't know. We better find Wils and Ronan. I think they're in love with Christa and Steph.”

“Shouldn't we follow them? We can be in San Francisco in less than five hours. We—”

“No, Cain. We added that one-week rule for a reason—to give women a chance to think about their feelings after they've left Feral Passions. Cherry must have really good reasons for sneaking away like she did. She has to—she's as honest and straightforward as they come, and she wouldn't have left for no reason at all.”

“Fuck, Brad. I honestly thought Cherry was falling in love with us, but with her history with that jerk in high school, she's probably terrified of believing we mean what we say. Okay, we give her a week and then we go to her. But we need to find Wils and Ronan, too, and let them know.”

“Wils and Ronan have just found you.” Ronan shoved the door open with Wils right behind him. “You mean you're not the reason the girls left?”

“No,” Brad said. “And obviously you two aren't, either.”

“We're not.” Wils stepped in ahead of Ronan. “But I bet I know who is.”

*   *   *

Suni, Darnell, and Fred were already in the dining room, looking for coffee when Brad finally got dressed and made it downstairs. “Sorry, ladies. Had some problems this morning. I'll have coffee for you in a few minutes.”

Brad went straight to the kitchen and filled the coffeemaker. Cain watched him for a moment and then went out into the main room with Wils and Ronan and sat at the table with the three women. “Something happened last night,” he said, watching their faces. “Do any of you have any idea at all what could have upset Cherry badly enough that they'd leave in the middle of the night?”

“What? They're gone? I just thought they were sleeping late.” Darnell's quick glance around the room made it clear that she was clueless, but the look of utter disgust that passed from Suni to Fred had Cain's senses on high alert.

“What happened, Suni? Tell me? This is important.”

She lowered her chin and wouldn't look him in the eye. Not a good sign.

“Fred and I were out on the deck last night. The dining hall was shut down, but we were finishing off a bottle of wine, talking about the week.”

“About the way you and Brad have been playing that hippo Cherry.”

The breath left Cain's lungs in a long whoosh. Cain squeezed his hands into fists to keep from strangling the bitch. “You said that in front of Cherry?”

“Hell, no. She was upstairs, with you and Brad.”

Suni shook her head. “No, Fred. I noticed her sweater by the door when we went out on the deck. I think she'd come downstairs to get it. I thought I saw a reflection in the glass, but now I think what I really saw was movement behind the window. I didn't think of Cherry until just now, but her sweater is gone this morning. She had to have heard us.

“Cain, I'm so sorry.” She shot an angry look at the other woman. “Fred was talking trash about Cherry, getting herself all worked up, and I was trying to calm her down. I had no idea Cherry was listening, but I repeated something I'd overheard, that you and Brad were really nice guys who liked to give some of the plainer girls a memorable vacation.”

“Fuck. She heard you and believed the worst.” Cain flattened his palms on the table and stood, towering over Fred. “For what it's worth, Brad and I love Cherry and we want her here with us. Forever. We do not ‘play' women. We enjoy women and we have tried to ensure that every woman here has a good time, but Cherry is different. She's beautiful, she's smart, and she's a good woman. She's certainly a lot more woman than you'll ever be.”