Blackthorne, Fiona - Moonstruck [Blue Moon 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Online Free PDF Page B

shrinking back from them as Sean took a step toward her. “Please, you got what you wanted, now leave.”
    “We will leave,” Robert said, “but, first, you have to hear us out. If after that, you still want us to leave, we’ll go.”
    “There is no bargaining here!” Ava cried, her shoulders starting to shake. “I’m sorry if I led you all on last night, but what happened is…is done and over. I don’t want to talk about it, and I don’t want to see you, any of you, ever again.”
    Robert couldn’t stand it any longer as the tears spilled out of her eyes and rolled in great raindrops down her pale cheeks. He crossed the room in three strides and wrapped her in his arms. She struggled against him, but couldn’t do much as she was trying to hold up the quilt around her body.
    In a second, Sean and Declan were there beside them, picking up the rest of the quilt and wrapping it around her, stroking her hair, kissing her shoulders and rubbing her back, and Robert held her tightly to him.
    Ava broke down in gut-wrenching sobs, each cry like a knife to his gut. This was all going so wrong, suddenly! They were supposed to make her happy, make her fall in love with them, and so far, she feared and mistrusted them to the point of trying to recoil from their touch.
    “Hush, sweetheart, shhhh,” Declan murmured, rubbing her back and smoothing out her hair. “It’s all going to be okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to be afraid of.”
    Robert listened to Declan’s words, grateful for his brother’s insight. He would never have guessed that part of Ava’s anguish was from believing she had done something bad, something deviant. He watched as Sean grabbed a pair of Ava’s jeans, a top for her, and some underwear and sped to the bathroom where he heard the shower start running. He marveled at how she brought them all into perfect balance finally, with Sean’s humor and energy, Declan’s patience and insight, and his strength and ferocity.
    “Come on, sweetheart,” Declan said, nodding at Robert to release her to Declan’s arms. “Sean’s got a nice hot shower for you.”
    “I’m showering alone!” She hiccupped between sobs.
    “Yes, Ava, absolutely,” Declan reassured her. “Come on.”
    Fifteen minutes later, showered and dressed, Ava sat rigidly at the table as Robert put a cup of coffee in front of her, and Sean slid eggs and bacon onto her plate.
    “Eat while it’s hot, baby,” Sean said with a grin. “Cold eggs are worse than remorse in the morning.”
    “This isn’t funny,” Ava snapped. “You have five minutes to tell me what you insist on believing I need to hear from you, and then you are all leaving.”
      Robert and Declan sat on either side of her while Sean leaned against the counter. Robert reached out to touch her face, something in his heart breaking as she flinched and pulled away. Declan tried to cover her hand with his, and his eyes were tortured when she yanked her hand back.
    “Don’t touch me,” she snapped. “Just talk.”
    “Eat, and we’ll talk,” Robert ordered.
    She shot him a cringe-inducing glare that made him feel like a barbarian for ordering her around, but damn it, she needed to eat! Instead of eating, she took a sip of coffee, as if to spite him.
    “What happened last night was…” Declan’s voice trailed off as he searched for the right words.
    “Amazing!” supplied Sean with an enthusiasm that seemed to make Ava cringe.
    “Was good and right for so many reasons.” Declan finished his sentence and shot a warning look at Sean to shut the hell up. “Believe me, Ava. We are not perverts or into swinging or orgies or anything like that. That was new for us, as well. I am sorry it happened so quickly, before we had a chance to tell you things you should have known first.”
    Ava paled, and her hand holding the coffee mug shook so badly that Robert had to grab it before coffee went everywhere. He held it to