Free Morgan's Mates (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Dani April

hoped he wouldn’t lie about something so important to her.
    “So it’s true.” Morgan pulled away from his grasp and kept walking down the line of the fence, picking up her pace as she went. Drake followed at her side. “Why wouldn’t Nathan tell me that before he left me?” She didn’t expect Drake to have an answer. Her question was merely shouted to the big blue sky above where no answer could be found.
    “I think Nathan didn’t want to worry you. I’m not even sure I should have told you this much. We may be in for a long, hard haul before he comes back, and now you’re going to have to wonder every day if he’s dead or not.”
    Morgan stopped and leaned back against the fence. She ran her hand through her hair and tried to think. Her mind was spinning. “I can’t leave this place now. I could never do that to Nathan.”
    Drake stepped up close to her, but he didn’t touch her. That was good because she didn’t feel like being touched at the moment.
    “You really do love him, don’t you?”
    “I always said he was my only weakness.” Morgan smiled at the memory and sniffed back her tears. “Nathan’s the only guy I ever allowed myself to fall in love with.” She gave a half laugh, half sob as she wiped at her eyes. “I never really had a choice. He swept me off my feet in Chicago. I had never met a shape-shifter before. Nor had I ever met anyone with his brilliance and zest for living. The two of us had made a million plans, and we were just crazy enough to think we could make each one come true.”
    Morgan was impressed that Drake was sensitive enough not to say any more. This was difficult for her, to discuss her boyfriend with him. It was made all the more difficult because she found him sexually attractive. If Drake had tried to say anything, it would have ruined the moment. But he kept his silence and backed off from her a few feet down the fence. He merely leaned back and looked up at the sky while he waited for her to recover her fragile composure.
    She finally felt confident enough to face him again and change the subject. “When you guys leave, I’d really appreciate it if you’d leave the tractor behind.” She thought maybe to bargain with him. “I could rent it from you or even buy it from you.”
    He gave her a stern look. She almost thought he looked angry with her. “You expect men to leave you now?”
    “No.” She shook her head. “You guys are good. You don’t owe me anything. I’m just asking if I could use your tractor.”
    Drake reached out and wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye. He was very gentle. Then he brushed back the hair across her forehead. Morgan let him. His touch calmed her, and she felt he cared about her.
    “I’m not leaving.” There was conviction in this sentence. “Hunter’s not leaving. The tractor’s not going anywhere. We’re going to stay out here with you, Morgan.”
    “Other than friendship, I don’t think there’s anything else I can offer you.” A shiver ran down her spine. She had never felt more open or vulnerable in her entire life. Her emotions had overloaded, and she felt raw inside, numb.
    Drake smiled, and she knew he had accepted her offer of friendship, and that was all she had offered him. Or was it? If she let these two men stay with her, how long could she resist them?
    “You’re not a bad cook.” Drake’s fingers still gently caressed her cheek. He was so kind to her. “You throw a home-cooked meal into the bargain, and you’ve got yourself two cowhands until your man gets back.”
    She gave him a quick hug. Her body touched his for a second too long. She had misjudged Drake. He was really a very good man. “Thank you.” She turned from him and hurried back inside her home. The bargain had been made. Eventually she knew she would have to submit to them both.
     
    * * * *
     
    Hunter took off his shirt. The mountain air was cool, but the sun beaming down from the high cloudless sky was warm. He was