Free The Rhythm of Rain by C. L. Scholey

memory washed over her. The floodgates of remembrance suddenly opened. Rain did have her mother's inner strength. She stood still as the storm crashed around her. She hung her head and closed her eyes, thinking. The feel of a tentative hand touched her shoulder, and Rain turned to see both men near her side.
    "Rain?" Telor said. There was so much raw emotion in his voice. "I understand if you can't choose one of us."
    Rain couldn't help but smile lovingly at him. Always forgiving, always so special, her Telor. God, how she loved him. Her gaze settled on Jaron. She saw him tense and could sense his apprehension. Rain could see by the expression on his face he was positive she would once again abandon him to his fate of loneliness and betrayal.
    Rain smiled at him too. "The night Papa found me dancing in the storm, I dropped my doll. I left her behind on the ground. I was so distraught. Such an awful feeling of failure overcame me. When Telor returned her, I knew I needed to keep my dolly safe. I hid her, just like Jaron hid me. And I left."
    "Just like I left you," Jaron said.
    Rain grabbed each of them by the hand and took them under the shelter of the old willow tree. In a hollow knot near the ground, Rain squatted. Carefully reaching within she pulled out the ratty doll wrapped in an old piece of cloth, then stood, showing them.
    "It's been here all along?" Telor asked.
    "Safely hidden away until I would be old enough to look after it—save it," Rain replied. "I wrapped her in a blanket because I had been in darkness. After a while there is safety in what you can't see."
    "I always wondered why you chose to dance in this spot every time." Telor's words were thoughtful.
    "To be close to her," Rain said, feeling sad. "I had been so angry with my mother for leaving me when I was a child. But when the doll dropped and I couldn't get to her, I understood how helpless my mom must have felt."
    Jaron took the doll into his hands, feeling it over. "There's something in here with the stuffing. Like small, hard rocks."
    "It's where my dad said she kept her love. It's so I could feel it under my fingers when I touched her."
    Jaron looked at her and seemed hesitant. "Rain, can I…?"
    Rain nodded. "It's what you've wanted to do all along."
    Jaron placed his hands on her shoulders. "This may be what I was after, but I've found so much more."
    "So have I," Rain admitted. In that statement alone she knew both men realized she couldn't give up either of them.
    Jaron slit a small hole in the doll's head. When he dumped the contents into his palm they all gasped. The doll was filled with diamonds, raw and uncut.
    "There's a fortune in this doll," Jaron said and smiled. "With Carver gone, they're yours, Rain."
    "No, they're ours ," she replied. She could feel a smile curve her lips. Her grandparents were staying at a quaint bed and breakfast. They had asked her to join them, but Rain had told them she needed the security of Telor's arms. Surprisingly, even Papa made no protest.
    Rain led both men back into Telor's home. All three were drenched. Jaron put the doll and his handful of diamonds on the coffee table in the living room. Rain stripped off her shirt and tossed her sodden long locks to rid her hair of moisture. She wore no bra. Droplets streamed down her bared breasts.
    Both men were bare-chested and also barefoot. Rain stalked them both. She felt predatory—hungry. She'd never had a threesome but she was determined to now. Rain couldn't give either of them up, and she wanted to make certain neither would give her up.
    Rain peeled her tights off, then stood in only her panties. She gave the coffee table a gentle push, jostling the doll and diamonds, and sent it back, giving her room. Smiling, Rain began to dance. The area was large enough to spin when she kept her movements tight. It was a lover's dance. She gyrated her hips in open invitation. Coaxing, taunting, she wanted them to burn for her because she was on fire with the need for