Dawn, Dakota - Blessed Times Two (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (15 page)

Finding Gaven talking to Trent, she watched them for a moment. She’d found out that Gaven and Trent were good friends. Trent had touched a soft spot in her heart. Glancing down at her left arm, she couldn’t help but envision the scar beneath the thin sleeve. She could hide hers. Trent couldn’t hide his. A jagged scar slashed across his left cheek. He was almost a copy of Troy and Trey, tall and handsome. His black hair was shorter than the twins’ but was still enough to run your fingers through. His green eyes were guarded. They still held a hint of laughter, but she could easily see the pain in them as well. Later she would ask Trey and Troy about him.

Moving her gaze, she saw
Nonno
and
Nonna
with their heads together and their hands moving quickly. Whatever they were talking about seemed important. She watched
Nonno
as he walked up to Trent and told him something in a hushed tone. Trent looked confused, but headed out of the room. Next,
Nonno
went up to Troy, who was talking to Cason. Troy left the room after hearing whatever
Nonno
told him. Turning toward them,
Nonno
headed in hers and Trey’s direction.

In a low tone, he said, “I need you both to go into the master bedroom. It is most important.” Without another word, he headed over to Trey’s parents, Emilio and Trina.

Doing as he wished, they went to the massive bedroom.

Trey asked Troy, “Do you know what this is about?”

“No, I was hoping you did.”

Nonno
ushered
Nonna
in then closed the door behind him.

“
Nonna
and I acknowledge these are changing times. The blessing seems to be conforming to these changing times. We have never seen the blessing pick one woman for two men. It could be because they are twins. We do not know. All we know is that we are learning new things about the blessing. Since we do not know the extent of the change, we need to do one more test.” With
Nonno
’s last statement, he looked right at Trent. His sharp green eyes assessed Trent with compassion and determination.

Trent didn’t look happy. “What did I do? I’m not part of this. I’m happy for them, but their getting together has nothing to do with me.”

Troy growled. “What is this all about,
Nonno
?”

In a controlled tone,
Nonno
stated, “I need Branda and Trent to come to me.”

Confusion swirled in Branda’s head as she wondered where
Nonno
was going with this. On shaky legs, she walked over to him.

Trey and Troy looked sick as something seemed to be starting to sink in. She wished it would start to sink in to her as well.

Trent scowled.

Emilio ordered, “Trent, do as
Nonno
says.”

“I don’t want to. This is crazy,” Trent grumbled.

Emilio spoke in a vexed tone. “I understand that you don’t want to, but you don’t have a choice. This is important. We have to know how Branda responds to you. Now take Branda’s wrist and give it a licking kiss.”

Understanding hit Branda with the force of speeding train. The tension in the room had become unbearable.

Gritting his teeth, Trent met Branda next to
Nonno
. Taking her wrist, he brought it close to his lips. Looking down at her, their gazes locked. Pain wrenched at her heart and stole her breath. Closing his pain-filled green eyes, Trent grazed her wrist with his lips then darted his tongue out in a hurried lick.

Nothing happened. Physically, at least. Deep down, though, she knew she’d never be able to forget the tormented look in his eyes. Never be able to forget the deep-seated sorrow.

Troy, Trey, Branda, and Trent all released the breath they’d been holding.

Nonno
officially confirmed the family findings. “It is done. Proof has been shown. Branda has been matched to Troy and Trey. Does anyone disagree?”

All heads in the room shook—no.

Nonno
nodded his approval. “Good. Once again I welcome you, Branda McFalls, to the Cortino family. Soon we will have a wedding, and your last name will be Cortino. We want the whole world to know you belong to the Cortino family.” Cheers were yelled. “Now that all of our business has been concluded, I say we go celebrate.” More cheers were given as they all filed out of the bedroom.

Troy and Trey pulled her into the bedroom they’d been sharing and closed the door.

Troy nuzzled her hair. “How are you doing, baby?”

Branda leaned against him tiredly. “All right, as long as you two don’t have any other brothers. I don’t think I could go through that again. You two are the only men I want.” She paused for a moment, and a frown knitted her brow. “Don’t think I don’t know what you two did.”

Trey came up behind her and pressed against her. “We didn’t do anything,
tesoro mio.
And to answer your question, we don’t have any more brothers. You don’t know how happy I was to only have to share you with Troy. Trent is too young to see the things I plan on doing to you.”

Troy snorted. “Now there’s a lie if I ever heard one. You’re just greedy.”

“With a fine woman like her, you bet your ass I am. In this case, four’s a crowd,” Trey retorted.

“Ahem.” Both twins turned to look at Branda. “Let’s get back to Trey’s statement ‘We didn’t do anything.’ You didn’t do anything? How about making me wear a super thin bra and blouse then kissing my wrists in front of all your family. You two knew my nipples would stand out for all to see.” Anger laced her words.

“That was the point. The family needed to see all the proof of the blessing. Don’t be angry,
tesoro mio
.” Trey’s voice was low and calming.

“Well, it was embarrassing. Don’t do that ever again.” Branda’s words radiated her aggravation.

Troy kissed her cheek with the lightest touch. “We are sorry about embarrassing you, little angel. Now that the family knows you are ours and we are yours that will never happen again.”

Branda sighed, cooling down a little at the sincerity in Troy’s voice. “It’s too personal a reaction to share with a room full of people. Promise you won’t—”

A knock sounded at the door.

Troy groaned then called out, “Just a minute.”

Cason’s voice drifted through the door, “Your mom sent me to tell you three to quit hiding.”

“All right, all right. We’ll be there in a second,” Trey answered in a disgusted growl. His body tensed, showing how unhappy he was at the interruption.

Voice full of mirth, Cason added with delight, “Don’t shoot the messenger. I totally get why you two would want to be alone with Branda in a bedroom. If you need any pointers, just ask. I’ll even give a demonstration if you need me, too.”

“Shut up, Cason!” the twins yelled in sync.

Retreating footsteps and laughter could be heard coming from the hallway.

Troy looked deeply into her eyes. “We are sorry for embarrassing you. We didn’t tell you what would happen because we didn’t want you to stress over what had to be done. The family had to see your reaction to both of us. Now that they have, it will never have to happen again. Do you forgive us? We promise to make it up to you.”

“I forgive you.”

“Thank you,
tesoro mio
. We promise to show you later how grateful we are,” Trey’s voice purred into her ear.

After kissing her deliciously, they guided her out of the bedroom and into the dining room where most of the family was.

Sitting in the back, she watched her new family interact. Troy was listening to his papa tell a story about a fishing trip that had gone wrong a few months ago. The hilarity of it had him laughing uncontrollably. Troy hung out mostly with his papa,
Nonno
and uncle. He seemed to really enjoy their company. Although he hung out with them, she noticed his eyes were drawn to her on a regular basis.

Trey had shown himself to be kind and giving. He was quick to get his mom,
Nonna
, aunt or Branda a drink or more food when needed. The perfect host, he walked around and visited with all the relatives. Most of the time when he made the rounds, he’d make Branda go along with him. Being honest with herself, she was glad he’d taken her with him. It made her get to know them, but with no awkward moments of being alone. Most of the time he stood listening to his family members with his arm draped lazily across her shoulders. That had been nice. She was beginning to feel more and more like she belonged with them.

Her parents would never have thrown a party like this. Truthfully, they never hosted any parties. They said it was a waste of hard-earned money. Looking around at all the happy people, she didn’t think it was a waste at all. She would never forget Trey helping his
Nonna
while she chuckled about getting old or Troy laughing at his papa’s story so hard he couldn’t catch his breath for a good three minutes.

Spying Trent, she noted that he stayed close to Gaven, Cason, and Carlo. They were catching up and telling dirty jokes, she believed. At one point, Trent had gone into the kitchen and come back out with a handful of her cookies. Waving one around to get Troy’s attention, he’d asked where they’d come from. Troy let him know she’d made them. He’d whipped his head around and looked at her then said, “Pretty, and you can bake. I’m likin’ you more by the second.”

Nonna
, Trina, and Bellina sat at the table talking about any and all things. They seemed to know a little about almost everything.

Nonno
walked into the dining room and stood behind
Nonna
. His sharp green eyes made contact with Branda. “It’s time I tell the story of the blessing. It is important for you to know. We must always pass it on to our children.”
Nonno
paused and waited as the rest of the family came into the dining room.

When everyone was comfortable,
Nonno
began. “Ettore Cortino is my father’s name. He died a few years ago as well as my mother, Cara. God, bless their souls as much in death as in life.”
Nonno
raised his glass, and everyone else followed. “Salute!”

Everyone drank, then
Nonno
continued. “Ettore loved to fish. He lived in Capri and fished all the waters around it. His papa told him never to enter Gradola. Gradola is a sea cave that is now called Blue Grotto. Gradola was rumored to be the home of witches and sea monsters.”
Nonno
’s eyes panned the room as he told his story. “Ettore didn’t believe the stories, because in all the years he had fished the waters around Gradola, nothing bad had ever happened. So when he hooked a monster of a fish and it took off for the Gradola, he let it pull him into the notorious sea cave. Once inside the cave, he forgot all about the fish and didn’t even care when the fish stole his fishing pole. The prettiest shade of blue reflected off the water and sparkled on the cave walls. He’d never seen a prettier sight. Rowing his boat farther into the cave, he saw a woman floating face down in the water.”

Branda gasped. She knew her eyes were as round as saucers as she listened intently to his story.
Nonno
seemed to be happy to see her so enthralled by the story. She knew it was a true story, and it needed to be passed down from one generation to the next. Any children she had would need to know it.

Nonno
continued his story in a low voice. “Rowing his boat quickly to her, he pulled her into his boat and pumped the water from her lungs. She didn’t come to immediately, but he knew she was alive, so he guided the boat out of the sea cave and headed to Capri. While he was paddling, she woke up. Sitting up, she looked around and asked how she came to be in his boat. He told her what happened and that he was taking her to Capri to get medical attention. To Ettore’s surprise, she smiled and put her hand to his chest. Heat like he’d never known spread throughout his body. When she pulled her hand back, she said, ‘Your heart is pure. You just saved my life, a life that an evil witch tried to take. For that and your pure heart, I am going to bless you and all your generations. You will marry this year. My blessing will guide you to her and all your offspring to their true loves.’

“She put her fingers on his temple then said,

‘To your true love’s inner wrist

you must place a licking kiss.

If she’s yours you will not miss

the shudders of her bliss.

Her nipples will come to a hard peak.

You can have her within a week.

Her emotions you can feel