Good Things Come in Threes (Ellora's Cave) [Paperback]

Anya Bast (Author), Jan Springer (Author), Shiloh Walker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Ellora's Cave | Publication Date: July 14, 2009

A tantalizing trio of tales featuring a strong independent women who is seduced by two gorgeous men. Stories include "Tempted by Two" by Anya Bast, Jan Springer’s "Edible Delights," and Shiloh Walker’s "Voyeur"—sexy stories that that could only come from Ellora’s Cave.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Anya Bast is a multi-published erotic fantasy & paranormal romance author. Primarily, she writes happily-ever-afters with lots of steamy sex. She enjoys the study of Celtic myth, dreaming, and shamanism and incorporates what she learns into her paranormal stories.  Anya got her start writing fantasy romance. Since writing a little hotter seemed to come naturally to her, she had no trouble making the move to erotic romance. She loves writing books that are heavy on plot, emotion and character development, and also have spicy, no-holds-barred sex scenes. Exploring the elements of dark sexual fantasy in her writing is what Anya does best.  She lives in the country with her husband. They share their lives with eight cats and one perplexed dog.

Jan Springer is the pseudonym for an award winning best selling author who writes erotic romance and romantic suspense at a secluded cabin nestled in the Haliburton Highlands, Ontario, Canada. She has enjoyed careers in hairstyling and accounting, but her first love is always writing. Hobbies include kayaking, gardening, hiking, traveling, reading and writing.

Shiloh Walker, the author of over 30 stories for Ellora's Cave, began writing when she was 12.  Married since she was 19 to her highschool sweetheart, she lives int he midwest with her husband and their two children.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

One

Theo watched the glass slip from Miranda's fingers and crash to the floor as the goblin walked into the restaurant.

"Oh, my God," she breathed.

He exchanged a quick glance with Miranda's best friend, Olivia. It was clear that Miranda could see the goblin and that only meant one thing.

She possessed fae blood.

For Theo, it explained everything. He understood then that, on some level, he'd already known Miranda had fae heritage. He simply hadn't realized it. From day one he'd felt a strong pull toward her. In fact, he'd never felt drawn to a woman this way, not this powerfully. Not even once in his very long life.

He should've realized it earlier.

Miranda stared with wide eyes at the greenish-colored creature in the doorway. Her blue-green eyes were like a sea, emotions ebbing and flowing within them. Theo clenched his fists in his lap, wanting nothing more than to comfort her. He wanted to reach over and tangle his fingers gently through her blonde curls, draw her close to him for comfort. But that would seem strange to her since Miranda didn't know about her heritage yet. She didn't feel the pull like he did. Not yet. She was attracted to him, Theo knew that much, but the attraction was shallow.

For the moment.

If he nurtured it, it would bloom.

"What's going on?" asked Will. He was one of Olivia's mates and was also a Gaelan warrior. Olivia's other mate, Mason, sat on her opposite side.

"The doorway," Olivia replied tersely. The goblin turned and fixed his gaze on the table. "There's a full-blood here who wants to see you and Mason."

Mason and Will both centered their gazes on the goblin, and then slid from their seats.

"Want me to come?" Olivia asked.

Mason shook his head and looked meaningfully at Miranda. "You better stay." Will and Mason walked toward the goblin. The three of them talked quietly, and then left the restaurant. They'd been working on a case for some time now and this was possibly related to it. Olivia was in training, learning how to wield her newfound abilities as a seer and find her place as third in a Gaelan partnership, but she wasn't yet ready to fully engage in Gaelan business yet.

Olivia exhaled slowly and examined the remnants of the Chinese food on the table. "That's either a break...or it's trouble."

Miranda stared blankly at the large fish tank behind Theo's chair. "Guys, I think I-I might be sick. Maybe I need to go home and sleep for a while. I'm seeing things."

Olivia covered Miranda's hand with her own. "You're not sick, sweetie. I saw it too."

Miranda's wide eyes snapped to her friend. "You saw that-that thing?"

"It was a goblin," said Theo, "a full-blooded adult goblin. A servant to a kingpin, most likely."

Realization swept over Miranda's face. She laughed. "This is some kind of practical joke! You hired that guy to come in here all dressed up and you're acting like he's real."

"No, honey," Olivia answered. "We didn't -- "

Miranda turned to the waitress who'd come to clean up the shattered glass. "Miss, did you see that man who just came in with that mask on?"

The waitress' brow furrowed. "Uhhh."

"He was wearing a blue shirt, tan pants and a black jacket."

"I saw a man dressed that way, miss, but he wasn't wearing a mask." She smiled. "Actually, he was pretty cute."

Miranda's face fell.

"It's glamour," Olivia said quickly in a whisper, letting the waitress finish cleaning up. "Goblins use a glamour, a type of magick, to disguise themselves as human. Only some people can see through the glamour. Hobgoblins, the smaller and less dangerous of the species, are skilled with glamour. The full-blood goblins are less skilled, but they're the ones you really have to watch out for."

"Okay, I'll play along. If only some people can see through the glamour, why could I see through it?"

Theo glanced at Olivia. "You're a seer. You have something in your genetic makeup that gives you that ability. It's very rare. Olivia has it too. The skill can come upon you at any time." He paused. "Now is apparently your time."

"What kind of something?" Miranda asked suspiciously.

Theo drew a breath. This was too much for her, too soon. "Fae blood, Miranda."

She laughed and clapped her hands with delight. "This is fun. You guys have great imaginations. So how is it my best friend just happens to have fae blood too?"

Theo paused for a moment in thought before speaking. "It's actually not that big a coincidence. On some level, you both sensed blood kinship and it drew you closer. In other words, subconsciously, like attracts like. You bonded as friends because on some level you knew you shared something."

If only she knew just how true that statement was. Theo had been attracted to Miranda in a deep way from the moment he'd first met her. It had been very strong, but he hadn't known until Miranda had seen the goblin that it was because she had fae blood. That fact, coupled with the unusual attraction he had to her, meant that she was his mate. Theo had no doubt of that. Not only was she his mate, she was Marco's mate as well.

Miranda was their third.

Theo sat staring into Miranda's blue-green eyes. Confusion bled into anger. She was meant to link with him and Marco. Happiness and fierce possessiveness surged through him.

"Okay, joke's over," Miranda replied. "You've gone far enough. It's really funny and all, but come clean. You guys are starting to piss me off."

Olivia looked uncomfortable. "It's no joke, Miranda. Plus...there's more, but you need to absorb this before you hear the rest. We didn't have any idea that you would be able to see through glamour. I'm sorry we're not more prepared to explain things to you."

"I should have known," Theo said meaningfully. "I should've guessed."

Olivia's gaze snapped to his and held. Theo could tell she knew exactly what he wasn't saying out loud.

Miranda leaned forward and forced Theo's gaze to her face. "Look, I really like you, but I'm getting sick of this and you guys are scaring me half to death." She stood and grabbed her coat and purse. Before leaving, she leveled her gaze at Olivia. "And you just have no excuse."

Olivia and Theo watched Miranda leave. He wanted to follow, but Olivia was right, she needed time to think about what had just happened.

"She's pissed," said Olivia mournfully.

"No, she's not pissed, she's scared."

Olivia nodded, then leaned forward, rested her head in her hands and groaned. "What the hell just happened? I thought Miranda was normal, human...one hundred percent human." She lifted her head and stared at him. "And you! You thought she might not be completely human and you didn't say anything?"

"I wasn't sure. I only suspected because I'm strongly attracted to her. Now I know it's not just lust."

"God, this is wild." Olivia shook her head. Her brown shoulder-length hair slid over her shoulders. "That was her first time. Poor Miranda."

"If the blood is there, the skill can awaken at any moment. She's lucky we were here. Otherwise she might have gone for months not knowing what was going on and afraid to tell anyone. She might've ended up like you, thinking she was crazy."

Olivia nodded. "You're right." She bit her lower lip. "What are you going to do?"

Something clenched hard and fast inside within Theo as those words were spoken out loud. He felt elated and protective all of a sudden. "I'm going to make her mine."

"Don't you mean ours? There's Marco to consider too."

A feeling of possessiveness made Theo grit his teeth. He had to admit there was something inside him that didn't want to share. He didn't answer her.

Unseen by the shoppers around him, Theo leaned back and watched Miranda. As a full-blooded Tylwyth Teg, he had the ability to use glamour to disguise himself. He wasn't quite invisible in the formal sense of the word. He'd made himself unremarkable. When a person's gaze landed on him, he or she hardly noted his existence and then forgot him the moment they looked away.

Miranda allowed the salesperson to fasten the strap of the red high-heeled shoe around her ankle. Theo envied him. When the salesman -- the male salesperson -- smiled at her a little too long, masculine interest flickering over his face, Theo clenched his fists.

Theo wanted her, wanted her more than he'd ever wanted a woman. From the first time he'd seen her, the first time he'd scented her perfume, he'd wanted her. Now that he knew she was the third in his Gaelan partnership, he wanted her with a soul-deep hunger that nearly made him insane. The knowledge had triggered something primal inside him. After all, he had been waiting hundreds of years for her.

But he had to go slow. Miranda was being initiated into a world completely foreign to her. If he moved too fast, he'd only end up pushing her away.

He watched her walk across the floor to a mirror to admire the pretty shoes. The salesman watched her with appreciation in his eyes.

Theo wanted just a little time with her, watching her, when she was his alone, because he knew she wasn't. His partner, Marco, also had a claim on her, the same deep and inexorable claim that he had. Theo knew it was wrong to keep the knowledge of their third from Marco, but he just couldn't seem to help himself.

He just wanted one more day of her to himself. Of course, he'd said that yesterday and the day before that.

He would tell Marco soon.

Maybe tomorrow.

Miranda apparently had decided to buy the shoes. So Theo watched as she had the clerk box them up and she paid. He couldn't get the image of her in just the shoes and nothing else out of his mind. He could imagine her skin, soft peaches and cream, against the black comforter on his bed. The red shoes would look good against both his comforter and against her pale, pretty skin.

Her long legs would look good wrapped around his waist while he shafted long and hard into her.

Theo blew out a hard breath of frust...

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Original edition (July 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439102945
• ISBN-13: 978-1439102947
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Things Come in Threes, July 27, 2010

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This review is from: Good Things Come in Threes (Ellora's Cave) (Paperback)

ANYA BAST
Tempted by Two

I thought this story was very dramatic, but a good plot. A definite page-turner, and the characters were really sweet and loving and sexy.


JAN SPRINGER
Edible Delights

This was a hot story, it just ended too soon.


SHILOH WALKER
Voyeur

This one was okay, but personally I thought the two men were rough on Ashlyn, when she didn't want it.