Free Rite Men for Maya by Zenobia Renquist

just by concentrating and visualizing what she wanted?
    She reached her porch and faced the water. Asking a bunch of questions wouldn’t get the job done. She had to do it and see.
    With a sigh, she closed her eyes. She pictured Tam and Kessen. The first thoughts that came to her mind were of their last encounter. She’d barely fallen asleep when Tam and Kessen appeared in her room, heavy and ready.
    She’d been enjoying herself until the phone rang. Once this mess was figured out, she’d have them initiate it again… in real time.
    * * *
    “Now, this is a first,” Tam said, smirking. “Usually we call you. And we’re not even asleep. What warrants the occasion?”
    Kessen asked, “Did you speak with your mother? Is everything well?”
    Maya opened her mouth to speak but found she was suddenly shy. These men were her husbands, not just casual bedmates. What did she say in a situation like this one?
    “Everything is fine now,” she said softly.
    “Good. We can continue where we left off,” Tam said, reaching for her.
    She almost let him touch her but pulled away at the last second. The time for dream sex was at an end.
    Tam smiled in his knowing way. “You cannot resist us. You never can. Why pretend?”
    “I want to talk. More than a few words.”
    Kessen stopped Tam when he would have pursued her. “About what?”
    “I…” She lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand, and for that my father blames himself. He really should blame me since I never took the time to learn more about being a proper merman.”
    “And what is it you understand?”
    She met Kessen’s gaze. “That what we did at the rite means we’re married. I thought I’d embarrassed myself and my family because of my behavior that day, but my father explained everything to me.”
    Both men exchanged a look, then faced her.
    “And now you accept us, truly accept us, with full knowledge of what that means?” Tam asked.
    She nodded.
    “Good.” Tam faded from view.
    That surprised Maya. She thought he would hold her or kiss her or some other intimate act. She looked at Kessen. “What’s going on? Where did Tam go?”
    “Probably the same place I’m going,” Kessen said before he disappeared, as well.
    Maya gaped at the emptiness. She let the real world close in around her and backed out of the dream.
    * * *
    What had just happened? Were they rejecting her because she’d waited too long? Was this a punishment?
    She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. It was no more than she deserved, she guessed. Stupidity had made her think she was dishonoring her family by accepting Tam and Kessen when the exact opposite was true.
    “Tears should never mar such beauty.”
    Maya gasped and fell back as she looked up at the man who’d spoken.
    Tam. His voice sounded different out of the water. He stood over her, smiling, naked, and holding his hand out to her. A transition amulet hung from his wrist, dangling in her line of sight.
    She hesitated only a second before she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. “What are you doing here? How did you get here so quickly?”
    “Did you really think I wouldn’t act on your acceptance of us? I’m tired of seducing you in dreams. I want the real thing.”
    “As do I.” Kessen walked out of the ocean toward them. Like Tam, he also wore a transition amulet, except his was around his neck. He was as naked as Tam. “We have always been nearby, this entire time, in case you decided dreams were not enough.”
    Maya immediately looked around. Thankfully, the beach was empty. “You two can’t parade around like that. Naked, I mean. You’ll get in trouble.”
    “Then, by all means, take us to your house. I’d like to see how your dream bedroom compares to the real version,” Tam said.
    Heat rushed along her body and pooled between her legs. She backed up a step, and the men followed. “This way,” she said in a breathy voice.
    They arrived at her house with no