Law of Desire
(Desire, Oklahoma 13)
Contemporary Menage a Trois Romantic Suspense Romance, M/F/M, spanking, sex toys, HEAKrystal Kane lived with memories of the men she loved and been forced by family obligations to push away.
Her fantasies kept her going, but she knew that the two men who wanted to share her couldn’t want any more than an affair.
When her mother died, she wanted nothing more than to get away, not wanting to hear from them the words that would end the fantasy.
Needing them more than ever, she fought the overwhelming desire to call them, only to look up, and find them standing there.
Rafe Delgatto and Linc Barrett had waited for Krystal for years, unable to forget the woman who’d stolen their hearts.
They rushed to her side as soon as they learned she needed them, and quickly whisked her to the home they’d made for her.
She could heal in Desire, Oklahoma, while they proved to her that their love was real—and protect her from a threat they hadn’t anticipated.
Excerpt
Determined to put Rafe and Linc out of her mind, she focused on her mother and the memories of the past and happier times.
During the next hour, her mother’s breathing slowed even more.
Krystal focused on each breath, each time wondering if it would be her mother’s last one, sucking in another breath each time her mother did.
It hurt, but she didn’t cry.
She didn’t even know if she could anymore.
She’d known this time would come, but now that it was close, she felt so distant from it all, as if she dreamed it.
She pinched her own hand several times over the next few hours, half believing that she was dreaming and would wake up to see that her mother had woken from her nap.
She ached for Rafe and Linc, but she vowed to herself that she wouldn’t call them until she’d settled somewhere.
The doctor appeared again, using his stethoscope to listen to her mother’s heart. “Are you all right?”
Nodding, Krystal ran her thumb over the top of her mother’s hand. “I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry. You’ve been so strong.”
She felt like a fraud. She wasn’t strong at all. Lifting her gaze to his, she shook her head and forced a polite smile. “I wish I was.”
Dr. Smith smiled and lightly patted her hand. “You are. Most people wouldn’t do what you’ve done.”
“She’s my mother.”
He gestured toward her mother’s tray. “It looks like Maggie brought you some soup.”
Krystal barely glanced at it. “That was nice of her.” Turning back to her mother, she eyed Dr. Smith. “Is there any chance?”
Straightening, he tucked his stethoscope into his pocket, his sympathetic smile bringing a lump to Krystal’s throat. “I’m sorry.”
Forcing another smile, Krystal nodded. “Thank you for all you’ve done. You’ve been very kind.”
Minutes after the doctor left, Krystal’s mother drew her last breath.
Krystal waited, expecting her mother to take another as she had for the last several hours, but it didn’t come.
Her mother had passed away.
Still holding her hand, Krystal sat there, wondering why she didn’t cry.
Time stood still for her, her mind blank.
She stared at her mother’s hand in hers, suddenly feeling completely alone.
When thoughts of Rafe and Linc started to creep in, she ruthlessly pushed them back, her throat clogged with the tears she couldn’t shed.
She needed Rafe and Linc more than she’d ever needed anything in her life, but she wouldn’t call them.
Calling them would be the most selfish thing she could have done, and she wouldn’t burden them any more than she already had.
They would come if she called. All she had to do was pick up the phone and they would be on their way.
Knowing that made it even more difficult to resist calling them.
The feeling of having her entire life ahead of her hit her hard, the enormity of it overwhelming.
She couldn’t let herself think of anything except the next step.
She had to finish taking care of her mother.
She’d already pre-paid for her mother’s funeral and had only to make the arrangements.
Her mother had lost contact with all of her friends when Krystal’s father had been sick, and she didn’t really expect anyone to come.
She would get a taxi and go to the funeral home. She didn’t relish the thought of lugging her three suitcases along with her purse, but she would just have to figure out a way to do it.
She kissed her mother’s cold hand and tucked it under the covers, just as Maggie appeared on the other side of her mother’s bed. “She’s gone.”
“Yes.” Maggie tucked her mother’s other hand under the covers. “She’s at peace now.”
“I hope so. She’s earned it.”
Her mother would finally be with her father again, the man she considered her soul mate.
Krystal had never believed in such a thing, but after experiencing the kind of happiness she hadn’t known existed with Rafe and Linc, and the empty loneliness since she pushed them away, she wondered if it could be possible to have two soul mates.
“So have you.” Maggie smiled and wiped away a tear that Krystal couldn’t shed. “I hope you find the happiness and peace that you deserve.”
“Thank you.” Krystal glanced at Maggie and started to stand, surprised that her legs wouldn’t support her. “I have to go to the funeral home and make final arrangements.”
Maggie frowned and shook her head. “I wish you would call those men of yours.”
Krystal shook her head, glancing at the three suitcases that stood in the corner, dreading the thought of trying to carry them. “They’re not mine anymore.”
“We beg to differ.”
With a gasp, Krystal spun, her knees giving out at the sight of Rafe and Linc striding into the room toward her.