Shadowing the Teacher (Perfect Pairs Book 3) Read online

  Not here though.

  Kane pressed harder, his bad eye watering and stinging beneath the closed eyelid. “I loved Amanda, Reid, just as much as you. She loved us both and in many ways she matched us, but she was not our fated mate. We never felt the electrical first touch, and I often spent nights sleeping alone in my old bed.” He swallowed hard, his chest squeezing tight on the remembered pain. “I’ve spoken to the other twins, and since they met their women, they have never spent a night away from her. They can’t. Brandon said it’s painful and impossible to sleep without her by his side.”

  Reid choked and groaned, doubling over.

  Reid spent even more nights in his own bed than Kane had, citing his need to get up early for work as his reason. Kane had often wondered if that was true or not.

  Kane took another step forward, worry for his twin flowing through him. Reid stumbled out of the room, and Kane followed him.

  “Reid, stop…”

  Reid ripped open the door to their suite and headed for the front door of the building, moving through it with a hobbled gait. He didn’t stop as he practically fell down the stairs and began dragging himself along the path. “Leave. Me. Alone.” Reid began to get his pace right, and his obviously heavy legs got faster.

  Kane stopped on the pavement and watched him go, his heart heavy in his chest for his brother. He turned around and headed back into their rooms, taking an ice pack from the freezer and applying it to his eye. A tear slipped down his cheek as the truth of their new situation finally hit him.

  “I love you, Amanda. I always will, but it’s time for me to be happy again.”

  He closed the door and sank down on the floor, letting the pain flow and the tears run free. His mourning was done.

  When he was finished he pulled himself up and lay down on the bed, gathering his strength for the next conversation he was to have.

  Thirty-eight years since he’d been born a Perfect Pair twin, and today was the day he’d first felt his mate. A soft smile touched his lips, and he sighed. Maybe fate was kinder than he’d given it credit for.

  Chapter Six

  Sam tapped her fingers along the marble bench top in a rhythmic, soothing fashion.

  “Can you stop that, Sam, please?”

  Well, she’d thought it was soothing. “Sorry, Travis.” Almost everyone was gone now, and her cousin was doing the final clean up. She should be doing something more, but she was so tired her arms felt like lead weights.

  “You sure I can’t help you, Travis?”

  “Nah, you stay there. I’m almost done, and you already helped me get all the glasses from outside anyway.”

  True, but she was still guilty of stopping when everyone else kept going. She pulled out her phone and checked the time once again. Three and a half hours since Kane had left, saying he’d be back pretty much right away. She heaved a huge sigh and let her shoulders sag until she felt like a veritable hunchback.

  Travis slid onto the kitchen bar stool next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, his lanky frame a little awkward but still providing the comfort she was so desperately craving.

  “You ok, Sam?”

  “Yeah.” She sighed again and let her head fall onto his shoulder, her chest tightening as hot tears filled her eyes. Why had she thought for one moment that she may have found something really special?

  “Take. Your. Hands. Off. Her.”

  The hard, cold words fell like cannon balls around them, the hairs on Sam’s arms rising to form goosebumps. Travis’s arm fell from her shoulders, and they both swiveled around, Kane’s fuming form in front of them.

  “It’s ok, mate. She’s my cousin.”

  Travis held up his hands and slid off the stool, Kane’s clenching fists and stormy brown eyes obviously too much for her younger cousin.

  Heat flushed up Sam’s cheeks, and she got to her feet too, glaring at Kane as his body began to relax. His hands unfurled, and his mouth lost its grimace. He was happy now, was he?

  “And who the hell are you to tell anyone to take their hands off me? Huh? Apart from the fact that you are two and a half hours late, I barely know you!”

  Kane stepped up and grabbed her upper arms, his eyes wide and filled with passion. His bruised eye. Huh? Who’d hurt him in the last few hours?

  Sam tilted her head up to look at him better just as his lips descended, pressing against hers with a desperation that made her moan and sink into his embrace.

  ****

  Kane’s mouth exploded with a flavor unlike anything he’d ever tasted. It was the stuff dreams were made of, what he’d always hoped a kiss would taste like. Cinnamon and honey sugar, combined with the softest lips he’d ever had beneath his. His head was swimming in magic, swirling with a pleasure foreign and amazing. She pulled back, blinking like a wise owl while Kane felt all the tension from his muscles drain away.

  “What happened to your face?” She swept her fingertips over the flesh beneath his eyes, and he flinched. The eye could open fully now, but the pain was still pretty raw.

  “Just a brotherly spat. Nothing to worry about.”

  She pressed her lips into an unhappy line, so he lifted his lips in a smile to reassure her.

  “It’s all good. Don’t worry. I am sorry I’m late thought.”

  She didn’t respond to that. Instead, her eyes roamed over his face, a soft smile resting on her lips as she inspected him. “You look so different. What’s happening to you?”

  Sam cupped his cheek in a soft, reverent caress that had him arching into it like a cat. Everything she did to him felt so amazingly good. He’d never get enough of her.

  Hang on—what had she just said?

  Kane straightened up and stared down at his gorgeous pixie. “What do you mean?”

  Sam glanced around the room, obviously looking for something, then pointed to the hallway. “Go look.”

  He stared off in the direction she was indicating, but his brain couldn’t coordinate what exactly she wanted him to do. Leave?

  “Oh, come on. I’ll show you.”

  Her voice was a little exasperated as she took his hand, little tingles of heat vibrating along his palm at her simple touch. It was a great reminder of exactly who she was, his destined mate. To be experiencing something that he’d been told about by his family, but never actually known, was mind-blowing.

  “Look.” She pulled him in front of a gilded, silver, mounted mirror, and Kane’s mouth fell open. That wasn’t really him, was it?

  He swallowed the lump of hot emotion that made its way up from his gut as he continued to look at his reflection.

  “Can you see it? Just yesterday you were so grey and pale. Your hair was thinner, your wrinkles more pronounced, and you had hollow cheeks.”

  Kane nodded, his eyes roaming over his full cheeks, his tan skin and vibrant hair. He’d been feeling different ever since he’d touched Sam for the first time yesterday, but he hadn’t realized the effect had been so dramatic. “Yeah, ah. I look better, don’t I?”

  She laughed, the sound strong and musical to his tainted ears. “Better? You look amazing … not that you weren’t handsome yesterday, but the difference is remarkable. How’d that happen?”

  He turned towards his mate slowly, his breathing rate increasing as his heart began to pound a steady rhythm of strength and happiness.

  She was smiling, with both her lips and her eyes, and Kane could practically feel the loving heart that beat with every pulse of her blood. This woman was one of a kind, and she was made for them. “This happened when you touched me yesterday. My body recognized you as its mate and began to heal.”

  It was Sam’s turn to look shocked, her smile dropping down into an open mouth expression and her eyes looking guarded and wary.

  Kane cupped her cheeks and pulled her face up to his, kissing her gently this time. She moaned and grabbed his waist with strong fingers, pulling him closer.

  He growled in his throat at her enthusiasm, and he extended his tong
ue to lick her lips. She let him straight in, and he swept in deep, groaning when she sucked on the tip and met him equally, thrust for thrust.

  They finally broke apart when someone loudly cleared their throat, and Kane stepped behind Sam, pulling her in front of himself to cover the huge erection straining against his jeans.

  He glanced away as a smile threatened to pull his lips up into a smile. His body hadn’t reacted like this in over a year, and he was feeling lightheaded as all the blood in his body headed south.

  “I see you got your hands on your mate after all.” Jack joked as he slung an arm over his wife’s shoulders, and Ash gave them a concerned look.

  “Are you ok, Sam? I mean, don’t you have a boyfriend at home?”

  Sam gasped and stepped away from him, effectively dousing any heat in Kane’s blood.

  Fuck!

  He’d forgotten about that.

  He turned to her, and she had her hand over her mouth, a look of pure of pure horror covering her beautiful face. “I didn’t even think. What sort of horrible person does that make me?”

  Kane reached out and took her soft hands, dragging them down and away from her mouth. His heart broke for her as he stared into her lovely face, flushed with shame.

  “Sweetheart, we’ve only shared one kiss, and we’re fated mates. It’s almost impossible to fight against the attraction. That’s the point of the electrical connection. It ensures that we don’t miss you.”

  She nodded slowly and kept a hold of his hands, her mouth still drawn into a thin line.

  “Ok, I’ll sort it out.”

  They turned together towards the newlyweds.

  “So, any tips, Ash, before you head off into the night?” Sam asked, her voice wavering with emotion.

  Kane pulled her in tight, the rightness of feeling her tucked beneath his arm as perfect as a bolt clicking into place.

  Mine.

  The thought purred through him, and he let his eyes slowly shut.

  It’s true. She is our mate. We’re going to live, and be happy.

  “Yes! Don’t give up, Sam, no matter what. These guys are so worth all the crap that comes with them.”

  “Oh, thanks.” Jack elbowed his wife, then wrapped her up in his arms with a grin.

  Sam exhaled loudly. “I give up, what do you mean?”

  Ash’s clear green eyes slid up to Kane’s, holding his gaze for a moment, then moved back down to her cousin. “Well, with me, I had a problem with the whole ex-wife and kids thing, not to mention the ménage a trois concept, and of course the wild cat part.”

  Kane groaned and froze while Sam said, “Wild cat thing? You mean like your front door? Do you guys have a thing for mountain lions or something?”

  She tilted her head up and looked at him, but Kane stared straight at Jack, whose eyes were wide and speaking volumes of panic.

  “Yeah, we kinda do. I think you’ve helped enough, Ash.”

  “Well, she needs to know.”

  “Yeah, later.”

  Kane watched the interplay with interest, a strange laugh bubbling in his belly as he watched his huge cousin being managed so well by his wife.

  “I think I need to go…” Sam’s voice slipped as she moved out of his arms, and alarm bells went off in Kane’s head.

  “I’m sorry, Sam, I wasn’t listening properly. Should we go and talk somewhere?”

  She bit her lip and nodded, her eyes wary.

  Ash stepped forward, taking Sam’s hand and dragging her in the opposite direction.

  “I need to show Sam her room before we leave for our honeymoon. Get yourself a drink, Kane, and we’ll meet you back in the lounge.”

  Sam gave him one more look before disappearing with her tornado style cousin.

  “Do you think she’ll be ok?”

  Jack chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder, directing him back towards the kitchen.

  “You’re kidding? Ash could sell ice to an eskimo, and if there’s one thing she’s passionate about, it’s the Perfect Pairs in our family finding their mates. Beer?”

  Jack held up a glass bottle, and Kane nodded, taking the drink without speaking. That was all good and well for Ash, but how was Sam going to take it all?

  ****

  “Wow, Ash, this room is just beautiful! Is it really for visitors?”

  Sam gazed around the bedroom she’d been shown into. It had a king size bed, mahogany drawers and expensive knickknacks everywhere. Silver beveled mirrors and photo frames, a beautiful white bed spread and even an original oil color painting above the bed.

  Ash giggled beside her. “Yeah, well it is the room we assigned to Jack if he didn’t quit with the tossing and turning all night, but he hasn’t spent a night in here so far.”

  Sam stared blankly at her cousin. She couldn’t be serious. “You sleep with both of them?”

  When Ash turned around and stared at her while simultaneously laughing so hard she had to sit down on the bed, Sam’s cheeks flamed with embarrassment. Of course she slept with both of them! She was married to them both.

  “Of course I do, what did you think? It’d be one night for Jack, one night for Scott and the rest of the week I have off?”

  Ash grinned and patted the bed, inviting Sam to come sit with her.

  Sam did as she was instructed, shrugging while she did. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”

  She turned to face her cousin, and Ash nodded thoughtfully. “Well I suppose with those polygamy marriages they treat it like that, but this is a full ménage relationship, and my men won’t sleep without me.”

  Sam couldn’t hold Ash’s gaze and instead looked down at her denim shorts and found a blemish in the material, running her fingernail along it. This was getting too real, too intense, too unusual. Too much of everything. She needed a time out.

  “What’s wrong, honey?”

  Sam shook her head. Other than everything? “I don’t know what to do. This is all so strange.”

  Ash was silent for a moment, and Sam ventured to lift her head and look at her cousin. She didn’t want Ashleigh hating her for saying something unfeeling—when Ash herself was living the life Sam wasn’t sure she could handle.

  “I won’t tell you too much. You need to figure things out for yourself. But I want you to know how truly amazing it is, to be loved by two men who were designed just for you.”

  That sounded like a fairytale to her, and Sam had long since given up on the idea of her prince riding in to rescue her. “But I’m not sure that’s even true, Ash.”

  Ash gave her an incredulous look. “Really? Then how do you explain the fact that you had the electricity thing with both twins, found them ridiculously good looking even when they looked like death warmed up, and might I mention the fact that two of your cousins have married men related to them. There is something freaky about our genes that Perfect Pairs are attracted to.”

  Sam gave a nervous giggle and twisted her fingers together. The situation was quite uncanny. “Ok, yeah, well it’s weird I know. But how is this going to even work?”

  “You’ll figure that out after you work out if you want a relationship with them. Once you know that, everything else is nothing.”

  True, but deciding on whether she wanted this was not going to be easy. It went against everything she’d believed in about pair bonding and her desire to only love one man for the rest of her life.

  She let out a sigh and stared at the plush grey carpet, letting her eyes cross as that deep tiredness passed over her again. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

  “I am, and please don’t give up on them, especially Reid.”

  Ash rubbed her hand over Sam’s thigh and she forced herself to look up. She cocked her head at Ash and forced her eyes to concentrate better. “Why do you keep saying that?”

  It was Ash’s turn to glance down and look embarrassed, her throat working as she swallowed hard. “Well, I almost gave up on my men, especially Scott. His ex-wife did such a number on him I wasn’
t sure he could ever love me properly.”

  Ash looked up, and Sam saw the tears shimmering in their green depths.

  “Oh, don’t cry, Ash.” She took her cousin’s hand and squeezed hard. “Ok, I promise. Even though Reid has given me every indication that he wants nothing to do with me, I’ll try to get to know him better.”

  Ash choked out a laugh. “Scott was the same, but they’re just scared. Reid’s going to need some time and a lot of love, but if you want him, the bond will bring him to you.”

  Sam gave her cousin a smile and a noncommittal noise in her throat. She was facing the weirdest love story she’d ever encountered, and she only had a week to find out if it was for her. But first, she had to deal with Bill, the boyfriend who was still lingering in the background, waiting for her back home.

  Chapter Seven

  Sam’s breath kept catching in her throat as she mentally planned the rest of her night. It wasn’t going to be easy to put Kane off until tomorrow, but she had to do something to put some distance between them. “I need to go talk to Kane, and then I think I’ll get an early night, Ash, if you don’t mind? I’m pretty beat.”

  A nugget of guilt sat like a lead weight in her belly as she took a step towards the door. She shouldn’t be running off on Ash, but she had to and besides. Her cousin and new husbands were set to leave on their honeymoon soon, so she’d have the whole place to herself.

  Ash stood up as Sam rose, and together they moved out of the room.

  “Yeah, of course, we’re heading off after dinner so I’ll leave spare keys for you on the bench. Everything’s pretty self explanatory. There’s towels in the linen press next to the bathroom, food in the fridge. Help yourself to everything.”

  Ash waved her hands towards the ultra modern kitchen, and Sam shrugged, knowing she’d be ordering takeout a lot during the week. She wasn’t cooking on her holiday.

  “Thanks so much for this, Ash. I still feel a little bit weird about staying here without you.” She did feel guilty, but she was so grateful to her cousin. She was going to be so much more comfortable here than she would have been at the motel. More space, she’d save money, and she could have a bath!