Blake, Abby - Soldier [Altered Destinies 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Abby Blake Page B

thought and acted like a soldier.
    Like today for example. The girls were scheduled to go on a school excursion to the zoo. Alana had made sure that Jenna knew she was welcome to join the kids, but Jenna had assessed the risk, calculated that the girls were safer in public without her, and declined the invitation. No amount of planning and reassurance from Zane and Rick that they would keep her and her daughters safe had swayed her decision.
    Remove the emotions of the situation and Zane was inclined to agree with her. It was risky. If the girls were seen in public with her, anyone watching Jenna would find Hailey and Kara. And Jenna had warned them that it was Hailey and Kara the Professor really wanted.
    She came out of the bathroom with a soft towel wrapped around her and glanced up at Zane in surprise before scowling at him again. “What do you want?”
    “I have a gift for you.”
    “A gift?” She said it with such childlike excitement that he wished he’d used another word. It wasn’t exactly a gift for her, but rather something that would benefit all three of them. He wasn’t sure that a purple butt plug would quite fit her idea of a gift.
    “Um...sort of,” he said hesitantly.
    “Dickhead,” Rick’s smug voice said inside his head. “Lucky for you I picked up that present we ordered. Bring her into the kitchen. We’ll give it to her now.”
    Trying not to be obvious about the sigh of relief, Zane reached for Jenna’s arm and entwined his fingers through hers. She smiled just a little as they walked into the kitchen.
    “Mmm, almost perfect, but maybe you should lose the towel, too.” Zane watched her smile grow wider as she pulled the towel apart and dropped it to the floor. She stood in front of them, without a hint of embarrassment on her face. He supposed the fact that they’d been exploring every inch of her body for the last three weeks might have had something to do with her confidence.
    “Beautiful,” Rick said as he stepped forward and ran his knuckles down the side of her face. “Zane and I thought you might like this.” He handed her the small, rectangular jeweler’s box and stepped back to let her open it.
    Zane could feel her emotions spiking wildly. She bounced between excitement and gratitude and confusion and of course the ever present anger. Slowly she opened the box, tears filling her eyes before she managed to blink them back.
    She lifted the long chain from the box and held it up to admire. Attached to the chain was an old fashioned, heart-shaped locket, the type that opened up and could hold two photos inside.
    “We can’t put the girls’ photos inside until we’re sure you’re all safe, but we thought that the locket would be a way to carry them close to your heart.” Zane smiled as Rick said the exact right words. Thank God he had Rick’s sweet-talking charm to back him up here. Zane was pretty sure he would’ve thrown the box at her and fumbled his way through a few poorly considered words. Rick managed to say the things Zane felt, but in a more effective way.
    The chain was long enough to lift over her head, and when she put it on, the locket nestled perfectly between her breasts. He’d never wanted any woman more than the beauty standing naked in his kitchen, wearing only the gift he and Rick had given her.
    “Bend over the back of the sofa.” The husky words startled her almost as much as they surprised him. Rick laughed quietly and winked at her when she hesitated. Zane held his hand out to her, his dominant side rising to the fore, but relief washed through him as she put her hand in his and let him lead her to the couch. He positioned her where he wanted her, her ass pointing high in the air, her face pressed against the seat part of the sofa, her hands supporting the rest of her weight.
    Rick moved to sit on the sofa beside her. He ran a soothing hand up and down the column of her spine as he explained what Zane was about to do. She seemed a little anxious,