“Jelly bean, that wasn’t a joke. Put her on her seat and make sure she’s belted in,” Caleb commanded.
“On it.” Aleki set her down next to him, then reaching across her, drew the seatbelt over her.
Were they kidding her right now? He didn’t undo the blanket, so she was still trapped with no way of getting free. “What is going on? This has to be a joke, right?”
She moved her gaze frantically from Aleki to Caleb. They couldn’t just steal her. And where the hell was Wolfe? Okay, things were bad if she was waiting for Wolfe to be the voice of reason.
Aleki shook his head. “Afraid not. We’re stealing you. We’re taking you home to Escana with us.”
“But . . . but I told you why I couldn’t come with you.” And they hadn’t really argued. That had hurt her, truth be told. It felt like they gave in far too easily.
“No, you told us that your father and this mystery asshole are a threat to you,” Caleb growled at her. “Did you seriously think we would leave after that? That we could just walk away?”
She was taken aback by the vehemence in his voice. That note of steel. This wasn’t the gentle dominance she was used to. This was pure Alpha.
“You’re in danger and we can’t just walk away,” Aleki told her. “If you think that’s the case then you don’t know us at all.”
They weren’t boys anymore. These were battle-hardened warriors.
And aren’t warriors what you need? You can’t do this on your own. Without protection, you’re dead.
But what if I cause their deaths? What if they’re hurt because of me?
Isn’t it selfish to bring them into this?
“We know that you will sacrifice yourself to keep us safe. Well, you’ve done that once and we lost you for eight years. So this time, you’re not getting a choice,” Caleb told her. “You’re coming to Escana with us.”
“You can’t just kidnap me! Someone will notice. They’re going to wonder why you’re carrying me around like a giant burrito. What if I tell your bosses that you kidnapped me?”
“Well, burritos are my favorite food,” Aleki told her. “We’ll just tell them it’s a fetish I have. Burrito kink. Could become a new thing.”
“Aleki, can you be serious! This isn’t the time for jokes.”
He stiffened and turned to her. The car’s internal lights had gone off, so she only had the light from the streetlamps outside to try to make out his features.
“No, you’re right. This isn’t a joke. It wasn’t a joke eight years ago when you fucking walked away to protect us. It’s not a joke now when you’re trying to do the same thing.”
A tear dripped down her face. “I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you guys because of me.”
He wiped the tear gently away. “Don’t you think we feel the same? We want you with us. Where we can protect you. Take care of you.”
“But won’t they find out where I am once I try to leave? I don’t even have a passport.”
“Wolfe is taking care of all that, as well as picking up some things for you,” Caleb told her. “You’re going to travel on a different passport. We’re flying on a private plane.”
“You have a fake passport for me?” How’d they do that so quickly?
“Baby, not our first rodeo,” Aleki told her gently. “You need to start trusting us to take care of you.”
“What about the princes? Will they be all right with you bringing me back to Escana? What if I put them in danger?”
Aleki burst into laughter. “First of all, the security of the palace is run by us. And we have shit locked down tight. Second of all, the princes are both well-trained and extremely protective of women. They would hang us by our balls if we left you here. Thirdly, they won’t interfere even if you tell them we kidnapped you.”
“What?”
“There’s something we haven’t told you about Escana,” Caleb told her. “Actually, several things. But they have some traditions that are closely guarded and sacred.”
“Like kidnapping?” she squealed.
“They call it bride stealing,” Aleki said cheerfully.
“B-bride stealing?”
“In Escana, harems are normal. Encouraged even,” Caleb told her.
“H-harems? Like one man and multiple wives?”
“Actually, it’s the reverse,” Aleki informed her. “In Escana men form the harem. Then they go searching for a woman to be the center.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’re serious? That really happens? It’s legal?”
“It’s not just legal, it’s a sacred part of their culture,” Caleb told her. “Escanaian men are very protective of their women. They figured out hundreds of years ago that keeping their women safe was their job, and it was made easier if they shared the responsibility. They cherish them. Adore them.”
“Discipline them when they’re naughty,” Aleki added.
Her heart raced.
“When the harem finds a woman they want as theirs, they can approach her guardian,” Caleb told her. “Or they can call on the ancient law of bride stealing.”
“They just take her?” What sort of place was this?
“Yes, but it’s not as bad as it sounds,” Aleki said.
“Right. Really? Because right now it sounds pretty barbaric.” And kind of intriguing.
“Like I said, women are cherished,” Caleb said. “There is no abuse tolerated. When a woman is stolen, she’s taken back to the harem’s house where she is, well, how do I describe it . . .”
“Wooed,” Aleki said with a grin.
“Wooed? Seriously?” She glared at him.
“You don’t want to be wooed?” Aleki asked.
“What do you mean by wooed? Do you even know what wooed is?”
“Sure, it means we do romantic shit,” Aleki said cheerfully. “We prove to you that we can take care of you, protect you, cherish you.”
“Are you saying that . . . that you want a relationship with me? All of you?”
Aleki cupped the side of her face, turning her head towards him. “Baby girl, I didn’t want to come here. I didn’t want to see you again. I didn’t want to know that you’d been happy these past years without me because I’ve never been whole.”
“Aleki,” she whispered. She wished she could get free of the blanket to hold him. Tears raced down her cheeks. She hated that she’d caused him such pain. “I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault,” he said fiercely. “We would have figured that shit out together. But it’s my fault too. I let you go. I should have known something was wrong, but I let my own insecurities get to me. I should have fought for you.”
“You want me?”
“With every fucking breath I take.”
“But . . .” She looked to Caleb. “You said that you planned on sharing a woman. The three of you.”
“That’s right,” Caleb told her. “It might have been eight years, but it felt like yesterday that you left and took our hearts with you.”