Selena's Men (2 page)

“Shit!”
Max heard the confusion in his brother’s one-word exclamation. He honestly had no idea what the dreams meant or who the woman was.

A disturbing notion that she was someone from Malcolm’s past, maybe an old lover, made Max want to punch his twin.

“Dude, you need to stop gritting your teeth.”
Malcolm was openly laughing at him. Max realized he was broadcasting his every thought without a filter, something they’d all learned to do early in life. “
I’ve bedded a lot of women, but I swear I don’t recognize her,”
Malcolm reassured him.

“If you dream of her again let me know and I’ll do the same. This can’t be a coincidence.”

Max wasn’t sure if he wanted to dream of her again or not. Since the first time he’d dreamt of his silver angel he’d been unable to think of any other woman, let alone date one. His dick was only able to get hard when he was dreaming or thinking of his dream girl. Zeus, or Fates, had to be punishing him.

* * * *

Malcolm stared at the ceiling fan spinning above him. After he stopped communicating with Max he knew sleep wasn’t something he’d be getting back to.

The sound of the waves hitting the rocks outside drew him to the patio. He pictured the woman from his, and obviously Max’s, dreams, standing there in nothing but her skin. He never brought women to his home. It made them get ideas of happily ever after. Malcolm didn’t do happily ever after. Being as long-lived as he and the other Ravens were, they outlived most of the population. But he could see
her
in his home.

“I’m getting maudlin.” Malcolm gripped the door frame and shook his head. He had a flight plan for later in the afternoon, but saw no reason not to move it up.

With a nod of his head he turned back inside to make some calls. Maybe if he left the country he’d stop having dreams of a petite woman and sharing her with his brother Max.

Just thinking about never seeing his angel again felt like he’d been stabbed in the heart, even if it was only when he slept. Yeah, time to get the hell out of Dodge.

* * * *

Selena Ramos was officially freaked the eff out. Her first intuition was to call up her best friend Tamara and tell her about the dreams she’d been having. If anyone would know what was going on it would be Tam. And if Tamara didn’t know then her mama would.

When she’d had the first dream of her mystery men, she imagined it was because of the books she read. What woman wouldn’t love to be the sole focus of two gorgeous, uber-rich men who only wanted to please their woman? But that was only make-believe, and Selena didn’t believe in fairy tales.

The unmistakable sound of Buckcherry’s
“Crazy Bitch”
blared from her phone on the nightstand. Tamara’s personal ringtone always brought a smile to Selena’s face.

“Hola, chica. What’s bothering you?” Tamara asked in her slight accent.

“Why do you think something is bothering me?”
Evasion is a good tactic when you deal with a Seer. Not
.

“Oh, baby girl, are you now gonna try and lie to Mama T? Don’t make me come over there and kick your little white ass.”

“Bring it on. I’ll beat you with one hand tied behind my back.” Selena rolled out of bed and headed to the kitchen to get some coffee. By her best guess, Tamara would be walking in the front door within the next five minutes.

“So, you into the BDSM thing now, are you? I didn’t have you pegged for that kind of kink,” Tamara drawled.

Selena trudged down the stairs on silent feet, making her way to the kitchen without turning any lights on, only the barest light from outside illuminating the way. Another quirk she didn’t share with many people was the fact she could see almost perfectly even in the dark.

She came to an abrupt halt at the sight that met her eyes. “Dammit, Tamara. Why did you call if you were already here?” Selena groused.

Seated on top of the island was none other than her best friend Tamara in a pair of fleece pajama bottoms with skulls and a black tank top. A pair of fuzzy slippers lay on the floor where Tamara kicked them off before she hopped up and made herself at home.

Tamara held a mug of Selena’s favorite coffee out to her. As ploys went it worked. Anyone who knew Selena knew that she was a bear before her first cup or two of coffee.

She took a sip of the nirvana. Blissful cream- and sugar-laced coffee met her taste buds. Exactly how she liked her morning drink. Her eyes closed as she savored her first taste.

Being the smart woman that she was, Tamara waited until the cup was empty before she began what Selena called the Spanish inquisition, Tamara Mejia-style.

“So spill, or so help me I’m calling my mama. You do not want me to get her up this early.” Tamara flashed her pearly-white smile.

Selena thought Tamara was one of the most beautiful women in the world. With her mixed Spanish and Cajun ancestry she stood at close to five foot nine without shoes, with black-as-night hair and chocolate-brown eyes. If Selena swung that way she’d totally have a girl crush on her.

But no, she seemed to have a thing for two hot men in her dreams.

“I’ve been dreaming about…men.”

Tamara held her coffee cup between her two hands, looking at Selena like she was crazy. God, did she want her to spell it out? “Me and two men. Like, as in together. The three of us.” Selena stuttered like a fool, holding up three fingers.

She spun around and popped another cup into the Keurig coffeemaker.

“I don’t see the problem here. I mean it’s a little out there for you. But it’s not, like, totally uncommon.” Tamara held her mug out for a refill.

Selena stared at her best friend, sure that her mouth was hanging open at Tamara’s words. “Have you ever done that?”

Tamara cocked her head to the side. “Not me personally, but I’m not against it.”

“Okay…” Selena had no idea what to say to that. She thought she knew everything about Tamara. They’d been best friends for over ten years.

“I see the wheels spinning in that dirty little mind.” Tamara laughed. “Tell me about your dreams, and stop trying to evade my questions.”

Selena explained as best she could. It was like she could recall how large they were. How they smelled. Even how their skin felt in the palms of her hands, but when she tried to bring up what they looked like she was kicked out of her own dreams.

“So when you are with them in this dream world, does it look familiar?”

Selena thought for a moment and realized she had not truly focused on her surroundings so much as the men. “I was on a hill but nothing looked familiar. Fuck…” Selena screamed. As she tried to focus on remembering other parts of the dreams a sharp, stabbing pain brought her to her knees.

“What the hell, Lena?” Tamara kneeled beside her.

“I don’t know. It’s like someone took an icepick to my brain.” Selena rubbed her temple.

“This is not good, baby girl. Not good at all. I think we need to call my mama.”

“No! Absolutely not. She’ll call my parents, or make me come and stay with her, or worse, send one of your brothers here. No way. We are opening our last club if we can find the right place. And I think I’ve found the perfect spot.”

The pain began to subside to a dull throb. Selena took a deep breath, focused on the ache, and sent a healing light to the area that still seemed red. A wash of relief flooded her senses.

“Promise if you need me you will call me no matter the time, Lena.”

“I pinky promise.” Selena held her right hand in a fist with pinky extended toward Tamara. They locked pinky fingers, kissed their fists, and sealed the deal. They’d been doing the same thing since they were teens, even though Tamara was three years older than Selena.

They discussed the new location of the club Selena wanted to open. Their clubs were a mix of honky-tonk and hip hop. She hired big bad-ass bouncers, but her bartenders and waitresses were all primarily gorgeous women.

“Kansas City, huh?” Tamara hitched herself back up onto the counter.

“Yep. They’ve revitalized their downtown district. I think Redneck Paradise would be a huge hit in the Midwest. It’s also a big sports area with the local NFL and MLB, not to mention close to several colleges.”

“Well you’ve obviously done your research. Have you found any property for sale yet?”

“Actually, I was given the name of a guy who brokers for the property developer there.” Selena clapped her hands. Just thinking of the new club gave her goose bumps. “I’m going to give him a call as soon as it’s a decent hour.” Selena looked pointedly at the clock.

Tamara uncrossed her legs and jumped down from her perch. “You had me worried. I may not be able to see into your dreams, but I felt your fears.” She wagged a finger at Selena. “Next time you pick up that phone and you call me. Don’t make me have to go all commando and break in again.”

Selena rolled her eyes. “You have a key.”

“Whatever. You know what I mean.” Tamara put her mug in the sink. “I’m heading back home to see if I can get a couple more hours of sleep. Some of us need more than a few to look gorgeous.”

“Oh puh-lease.” Selena followed Tamara to the front of the house. Her best friend opened the front door, only to stop.

“I know you can take care of yourself physically, Lena. But you need to guard your heart.” Tamara looked over her shoulder.

“That’s not a problem, Tam. Now go home and get some sleep. I’m going to drink some more coffee and then give Malcolm King a call.”

The buzzing of his phone in his pocket stopped Malcolm in his tracks. He puzzled at the unknown number.

Shrugging, he answered. “This is Malcolm. How can I be of service to you?”

“Hi, my name is Selena Ramos. I was given your name as someone who could help me acquire property.”

Usually the double entendre didn’t go unnoticed, but the female caller not only seemed unfazed, but her voice was doing crazy things to his mind and body. His dick decided it was time to stand up and say hello, while his brain simply stopped listening to the words and basked in the tone of her voice.

“Did I lose you? Hello?”

He jerked as if coming out of a daze. “Sorry, sorry. Yes. I can help you. Where exactly are you looking for…I’m sorry, can you start from the beginning again? Service was a bit spotty.” He used the lamest excuse in the book, glad he at least had a reason to not only have her reiterate what she was looking for but also to hear her speak some more.

The husky southern drawl was the sexiest thing he’d ever heard. He truly made an effort to listen to what she needed. When she mentioned the city she wanted, a light bulb went off in his head. His brother may not believe in coincidences, but Malcolm believed in fate. And he believed Kansas City and Selena Ramos was Fate’s way of bringing her to him.

“Do you think you can find something for me?”

Her words pulled him out of his reverie. “Yeah, I do believe I have just the place. Can you e-mail me the specs you need?”

He gave her his e-mail address and promised to get back to her. What she didn’t know was he would move heaven and earth to make sure there was property for her club, even kick his own brother out of one of his properties. The last notion made him chuckle.

“Why are you laughing?” He could hear the smile in her voice.

His unruly cock loved the husky note as it twitched in his trousers. At this rate he was on track to come in his pants with no other stimulation. “I was just thinking of my brother.”

“Oh. Are you guys close?”

“You could say that.” He chuckled. “We’re twins.”

“That’s so cool. I always wanted a sister or brother.”

The wistfulness was obvious in her words. He wanted to flash to her side and comfort her, erection be damned. A first for him. Usually he wanted to pleasure them, several times, then find his own happy ending, then quit them faster than they could offer to cook him a midnight snack. Or breakfast.

“You don’t have any siblings?”

“Nope. It’s just me and my best friend Tamara, but she shares her family with me. She’s like my big sister and her brothers more than make up for my lack of.” Again, she husked out a laugh.

He had to adjust his dick and feared he’d have to change his pants before his meeting with his clients. The visible wet spot confirmed his assumption. “That’s great. I have ten other pseudo-brothers I’d give my life for.”

The Ravens of War were created by the God Zeus thousands of years ago. He and his brothers had fought tirelessly to defeat Cronus and his army of demons. Finally, when they, along with the help from the other gods and goddesses, were able to banish him to Hell, the Ravens were no longer needed.

Just thinking of the gods who had sent them to Earth
for their own good
made Malcolm want to rip their heads off and shit down their throats. Sure they had been given immortality, along with many of their abilities from being created by gods. But it still didn’t seem fair that they were willing to give up their lives, had fought tirelessly for the worthless beings who sat on gold thrones eating grapes like it was their due. He snorted.