Chapter 1
Cora Walker slipped out of the door to her apartment and walked down to her friend Kaia’s place a few doors down. Rolling a suitcase along behind her Cora smiled and wondered what this trip was going to be like. Rubbing her barely rounded tummy Cora couldn’t believe she was so lucky to have such wonderful friends. Who else would sweep her away on a two week trip to help her forget her cares? Certainly not the baby’s father!
Cora’s smile turned into a grimace as she thought about Sean. He’d fled back to Ireland the day after she told him about the baby, leaving only a note behind begging for her forgiveness and protesting that he was sorry but he wasn’t ready to be a father. Odd how some men felt they could just run out and leave the woman behind. Cora hadn’t been ready to be a mother but apparently taking birth control pills and using condoms simply hadn’t been enough. She was four months along, 17 weeks really, and barely starting to show.
Now she and her friends were heading out of their suburb near Atlanta straight for the mountains in the north of Georgia. It was time for some fun before the baby came and she had to get used to life as a mommy. With her smile back in place the tiny red-head knocked on her friend’s door and waited, her excitement at going away making her want to do a happy dance.
She hadn’t been on vacation since she’d met Sean. Four years of “nah, not interested” had meant she had saved a ton of money on not renting a hotel room or airfare but it also meant she’d not been anywhere in ages. Before she’d met Sean she’d been all over Europe and to several South American states. He didn’t even like to go to the coast of Georgia. Cora could barely get him to move off of the couch to even go to the grocery store with her. He’d rather play video games when he wasn’t doing graphic designs as a freelancer online. He’d been little more than a lump after a while.
A lump that managed to get her pregnant and then disappeared. Dirtbag. Cora would have kicked the post on the porch of Kaia’s apartment if it had been hers but controlled herself. She could be the stereotypical red-head with a fiery temper to match her hair. Barely five foot three and slim, Cora was like a tiny matchstick but she was beautiful inside and out.
Jumping when Kaia opened the door, rolling her own suitcase out with her, Cora’s eyes met Kaia’s dark brown eyes. Kaia’s eyes squinted as she looked at Cora.
“You’re thinking about that dirtbag again aren’t you? I can tell by the color of your eyes. They’re light green when you’re happy but when you’re angry or thinking about him they go an almost brown color. You can’t help it that your baby daddy doesn’t want to be a baby daddy, Cora. You have us so stop worrying about that loser. You’ll never need him, not with Tessa and me around!”
“I know but it still makes me so angry when I think about it. Luckily he left some information about himself behind. I don’t think he realizes it’s all I need to collect child support from him. He can run back to Ireland all he likes, he’s not getting away from his responsibilities!” Cora grinned at her friend as they waited in the dark for Tessa to show up.
“Where is Tessa at?” Kaia fussed as she looked down at her watch one more time. “She’s never late!”
“You’d better call her. You gave her that horror novel to read. You know she never reads stuff like that. I bet she was up all night hearing ghosts and goblins!” Cora laughed and settled into her chair as Kaia called their friend.
Not long after they heard a vehicle zooming in their direction and then the squealing of tires as the brakes were thrown on. Cora stared in wide-eyed wonder at her friend. Tessa never drove like that!
The next few minutes were spent getting settled into Tessa’s SUV then gaining an explanation of what had happened. Tessa’s alarm hadn’t gone off. When they stopped for food Cora wished she’d ordered two biscuits instead of the one she’d got. She was still hungry. After four months her craving for food had finally kicked in. The first three months had been spent being sick all day every day, now she was at a point where she could eat again and it seemed to be all she was doing. Eyeing Kaia’s biscuit she wondered if Kaia was going to eat it all.
“We may need to stop again soon. Baby says that one biscuit isn’t going to cut it.” Cora beamed a smile at Tessa in the rearview mirror and saw that her pale skin looked translucent today, lovelier than usual. Settling back into her seat Cora wondered how many more changes she was going to go through in the coming months.
Cora was a free spirit without a conservative bone in her body but she did have morals. “Living in sin,” as her mother had called her relationship with Sean, hadn’t bothered her. It might have if Sean was married but he wasn’t so it wasn’t an issue. But as she thought about her baby she realized that her independent streak was increasing. She wanted to provide for her child, she wanted to care for it and give it all the love it would need. She didn’t need a man.
But a tiny voice in the back of her mind said this whole process would be much nicer if she had a mate to help her. Or just someone to hold her for a little while. She knew people tended to think a pregnant woman was tantamount to a holy relic that could, and should, not be soiled but dang it all, she was lonely! She needed some tender, loving, care, and if she got that far on this trip, she decided, she was taking it.
A few stops, and many baby gifts later, they arrived at the lodge. Cora was astonished at how beautiful the place was, set against the backdrop of the mountain landscape. The exterior was designed to blend into the forest behind it and it did that well but the glass in the windows made it stand out. She knew she was going to love her room if for no other reason than the view.
A rather unpleasant interlude at the check-in desk with a very rude staff member led to her apparent firing when she all but kicked Tessa out and the owner showed up, but we were soon ensconced in our own rooms. Hale Masters, the owner, sent up a bottle of champagne she couldn’t drink but also sent an invitation to dinner. That she could accept.
A quick soak in the tub told her that yeah she’d be spending time in the Jacuzzi later because it was overlooking the window and balcony, a scene that she’d be taking pictures of for her blog later. Maybe Sean would see it all the way in Ireland and would know that life without a lump was pretty fabulous! She knew she had some seriously wonderful friends and thanked whatever fate that brought those two women into her life.
For such a lump he sure had run a long way when it came time to being a parent. She was about to carry on with that train of thought but reminded herself quickly that she was on holiday. No more Sean! Sliding under the water, she washed her hair and got out of the tub. An hour later, she was riding the elevator down with Tessa and Kaia, a summery top of thin white muslin over a black skirt hiding her tiny baby bump.
Kaia and Tessa showed up, ready to go down and they joked about Hale for a while. Kaia and Cora teased Tessa mercilessly about him and she wondered aloud if the man with the startling and magnificent eyes was a shifter. The other two hadn’t seemed too sold on the idea so she dismissed it and followed them out of the door, giggling as they went along like teenagers.
When the elevator door opened, she knew neither Cora, Kaia, or she quite expected the sight they were greeted with. She knew they were all going down to have dinner with the owner of the Singing Stones resort but she’d had no idea he was inviting friends. Four gorgeous males stood there in suits and ties, ready to greet them. She thought they’d have been just as sexy standing in a sunlit barn with nothing on but boots, low-slung jeans and cowboy hats.
She couldn’t even grin; all she could do was produce a sound that came out something like “harrrrum”. She had no idea what she was actually trying to say but felt her cheeks go red as two of the men gave her huge grins and a wink. Hale, the owner, started to introduce the men, his friends and partners apparently, and Cora watched the two men Hale called Rhys and Knox. Yeah, those two were her type. The laughing, jocular way they kept whispering to each other caught her attention.
The taller one, but not by much, was called Knox. His eyes turned serious as he continued to watch her, the joking air disappearing as something else replaced the laughter in his eyes. Cora couldn’t define that look but it intrigued her. He was blond with dark brown eyes. His dirty blond hair fell into his eyes and she was jealous of his fingers as they drove through the silken strands, pushing it all back. Longish on top and short on the sides he had the hair of a model or one of those European soccer players that appear on the cover of magazines.
Cora controlled a sudden urge to make that odd noise again and looked at the other guy. He had the same dark eyes and a shaved head that gave him a sophisticated air rather than the creeper vibe it gave to some guys. She knew his name was Rhys and he was just as handsome. A little more serious than Knox but not by much.
Cora watched the men for another moment then gave them a tentative smile. Just what she needed exactly, two fellas to spend the night laughing with. Excellent. She felt more confident, stronger, the more she looked at the men. Not normally one to depend on men to boost her confidence she still felt her spine straighten as their gazes stayed on her and her smile grew stronger as well. She had to meet these two.
Hale carted Tessa off and the remaining three men walked up to the women. They all had brown eyes, just to varying degrees. She told herself that wasn’t unusual but her earlier thoughts about shifters returned. There was just something about them that was different from other men. And no, it wasn’t just that they had money, she’d met plenty of those over her 25 years.
Earth had known about shifters for a few months now but a lot had chosen to stay in hiding, not wanting to be singled out for attention of any kind. They looked like regular humans, there was no sign on their foreheads proclaiming their species or some other identifying marks that would make them obvious. Cora could understand their reasons for hiding but it would be nice to know who she was dealing with. And if this oozing sex-appeal was their only identifying factor then Cora was certain these were shifters. A whole group of them.
“I guess those two only have eyes for each other.” The one named Knox said with a charming laugh. “We’ll be on ignore for the rest of the night. I hope we can keep you entertained.”
For a moment she felt like a deer being stalked by a predator, the gleam in Knox’s eyes intent and hungry. Gulping she looked over at Kaia and couldn’t believe how relaxed the other woman looked. Kaia was a cool customer but seriously, these men were hot with just enough air of danger about them to be intriguing. Looking over at Rhys she saw the same look in his eyes. Oh dear.
Gulping once more Cora tilted her head to the restaurant. “Shall we?”
“Oh, sure, come on guys, stop drooling, the ladies are hungry. May I?” Rhys asked as he held his elbow out to Cora.
“Sure.” She said with a happy smile and took Knox’s elbow on her other side when he offered.
Sparing a glance at her friend, Cora saw that Kaia had tilted her head at the man in front of her. Cora thought his name was Zed. A handsome fellow but Cora was too enamored with Knox and Rhys to pay too much attention to the man.
Keeping her hormones under control during dinner proved difficult and Cora didn’t know whether to blame her pregnancy or the two men. Maybe it was a combination of the two. She wasn’t sure but she was having some seriously dirty thoughts as the men made her laugh with their antics over dinner. An ability to make her truly laugh was far more attractive than looks to Cora. And these two had game.
“So, Cora, you going to be here for long?” Rhys asked, punching Knox in the ribs as he tried to kiss his ear playfully. “I’m going to break his knees in three seconds so don’t worry about him.”
“Oh my!” She responded. “Should I start calling you Hopalong now?”
“Oh, I have to hop anyway.” Knox responded with a dirty wink. It should have made her groan in revulsion but she laughed instead. From him it was just funny.
“I bet. That ego is tough to carry around.” Her smirk was gentle and teasing.
“I know something else I’d like to carry around but we’ve only just met so I’ll be a good boy.”
“That might be a good idea. For tonight at least.” She broke out in a laugh as she spoke. “We’re here for two weeks. That might be long enough.”
“For?” Rhys asked as he pinched Knox’s neck. Knox’s reaction sounded as though the pinch was painful.
“For me to make a decision of course.” A smoky look from under her lashes had the men settling in their chairs, serious looks plastered on their faces.
“About?” He seems stuck on one word questions.
“On what to have for dessert for the rest of the week, of course. We women are notorious about not being able to make our minds up, you know? For now, I think it’s bedtime. It’s been a long day. But I hope to see you gentlemen soon. Both of you.” She stood, looking down at the men.
They stood with her and walked her to the elevator. Tessa had gone up with Hale earlier and Kaia and Zed seemed to be glued to each other. Cora felt a pang of happiness for her friends and thanked the men as they dropped her at the elevator like gentlemen.
“Thank you for such a lovely evening fellas. It’s been lovely and I’d love to do it again.” Cora stepped into the elevator as she spoke.
“Maybe tomorrow then.” Knox offered.
“Yes, tomorrow?” Rhys joined in.
Cora waited until the doors started to close to respond.
“I’d like that.” She said with a smile and a wave as the doors closed. She slumped against the wall of the elevator, her body still singing.
All night she’d clamped down on her hormones and not inviting them up with her had been terribly hard. She’d decided that maybe, if she was going to go wild, she might as well go full-on out of her mind. She couldn’t believe the men were so interested in her but they’d been like two bear cubs play and tumbling over each other all night. She thought perhaps a package deal would be possible and for once, she’d do just as she pleased. Maybe. If she didn’t chicken out. And if they caught on to what she really wanted, that is.
Smothering a giggle as the elevator climbed, Cora wondered if she could really do it. She wouldn’t tell them about being pregnant, they didn’t need to know that, for now. But if she could have her cake and eat it too maybe, just maybe, she’d take that chance. As she slid into bed after changing her clothes Cora smiled to herself once more. She knew it would probably never happen, it was just too far out, but she could dream about it if she wanted to. You could do whatever you wanted to in your dreams without being judged. You could also pretend two of the hottest men you’d ever seen really did want your attention if you wanted to. Tomorrow she’d wonder if they were just being hospitable but for now she could dream whatever she wanted to.