The Gifted 3: Passions Ascended (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  The Gifted 3: Passions Ascended

  Diana Reynolds can’t believe her destined mates are Logan Firth and Cameron Gilbert. Who are they really, and how did they know to cloak their magic?

  Logan and Cameron are true descendants of the Chosen, those Gifted who stayed behind to protect their ungifted brethren—and they’ve been waiting for their mate, it feels like, forever and she’s just as fiery and fierce as they’d hoped. All they have to do is convince her that they really were all meant to be together.

  Diana expected to teach two latently gifted men how to use their powers, but she quickly decides having them already at nearly full strength is a good thing when she’s attacked by two warlocks determined not to die at fate’s hands.

  And when those two young men quit the field, Diana, Logan, and Cameron know it’s no victory—because there is another power close, one that’s more formidable than any of them ever imagined.

  Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal

  Length: 45,744 words

  THE GIFTED 3:

  PASSIONS ASCENDED

  Cara Covington

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  THE GIFTED 3: PASSIONS ASCENDED

  Copyright © 2016 by Cara Covington

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-015-9

  First E-book Publication: February 2016

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of The Gifted 3: Passions Ascended by Cara Covington from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Cara Covington’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Cara Covington’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you, dear readers, for joining me on this voyage to a new realm. I had often said that if I ever were to write in the paranormal genre, it would have to be stories of magic. I think this goes back to my roots. My father, when he was a young man, wrote a poem called The Fairy Dance. I didn’t discover this small piece until long after he’d passed. In fact, it was shortly before I became published. Funny how something as simple as that made me feel it was okay to dream of creatures of another realm.

  I am eternally grateful to my street team, The Lusty Ladies. Ladies, thank you for your ongoing devotion to all things Lusty, and for encouraging me to give you something different. You’ve honored me with your friendship. Thank you for that. I have the best street team in the whole world.

  To my awesome beta reader, Angie Buchanan Jones, thank you again for your input and your encouragement. Without you, this trilogy wouldn’t have been nearly as good as it was—and certainly, not as much fun to write.

  Thanks to Bea of A Better Way To Write, for being a wonderful PA. You do the things that need doing that I can’t manage. I’m grateful!

  Last but certainly not least, thanks go once more to all the very talented and professional people at Siren-BookStrand. You all work so hard to take care of us authors! A big hug goes to my editor for keeping me honest, so that my world building was consistent. And a super huge thank you to my publisher, Amanda Hilton, for once again saying “yes!”

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to my father, who through genetics bequeathed me the desire to write, and to my husband, David, for continuing to support my dream.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  THE GIFTED 3:

  PASSIONS ASCENDED

  CARA COVINGTON

  Copyright © 2016

  Prologue

  Logan Firth had only one split second to make a decision he knew would change the course of his life. It all happened so fast. One moment he was lying on a blanket at the top of a small hill above the rest of his senior class, with the delicious Jennifer Roberts right there beside him. She was the most popular girl in the entire school and the girl he’d had a crush on since his junior year. He’d caught her looking at him all day and dared to see if he could interest her in spending some quiet, personal time alone with him. This location was perfect because, with the shade of the nearby elm, they were all but invisible to their classmates below.

  He’d be heading to college in a few weeks and would likely never see her again.

  His plan had worked, too, because here they were, on a blanket on top of the hill, alone. They’d already shared a few very hot kisses, and he’d begun to anticipate the intimacy of what was to come.

  A scream rent the air. Some kids were in the lake, swimming. Some were just chillin’ on the beach at this end-of-year class party.

  But one classmate—someone everybody liked�
��was drowning.

  “Somebody help! Oh my God! Ian’s in trouble! Please!”

  Kids stood on the edge of the water, looking for Ian King—basic all-round nerd but the go-to guy when you needed help with a class assignment, any class assignment. Logan jumped to his feet and scanned the lake. From his vantage point, he could see the ripples and the splashing…and then the water calmed. No one was even close to Ian, and in the water, those who’d headed toward him must have gotten their bearings mixed up because they all seemed to be swimming in circles.

  Beside him, Jennifer had jumped up when he had and now had tears streaming down her face. “Oh my God! Where is he? Where is he?”

  No one could see Ian King—no one except Logan.

  It took a heartbeat for Logan to make that decision.

  He stretched out his hand to help focus his magic, and then he lifted. Ian popped to the surface of the water. Keeping him there, Logan used his power to turn him onto his back and then propel him to the shore. He looked like a human torpedo racing toward the sand.

  In moments, a couple of their classmates were helping the young man, doing chest compressions and turning him on his side when he heaved up the water he’d swallowed.

  Logan could hear the sounds of Ian coughing, retching, and gasping. The boy was frightened, but alive. Logan took a moment to look deeper and sighed with relief when he saw Ian had suffered no brain damage from the incident.

  “We should go down and see how he is.” He turned to look at Jennifer. She was staring at him, mouth open, eyes wide, and shock written on her face.

  “What did you do? What…what are you?” She took a step back as if he were some sort of monster to get away from.

  Right here was the reason he’d never—not once—used his powers except in a secure place and in the presence of his mother, who’d trained him how to access them in his early teens.

  And right down there on the sand by the lake, shaky but alive, is the reason you should have been learning about and embracing your abilities all along, instead of pretending they didn’t exist. Instead of being worried about what others might think.

  For Logan, there could be no going back. What he needed to do next was clear. He focused on the young woman beside him. “Stop.”

  Jennifer looked as if someone had flipped her off switch. Her eyes remained opened, as did her mouth, but otherwise she resembled a freeze-frame image, as if someone had paused her personal life movie mid-scene.

  “You didn’t see me do anything. Ian was rescued by the others below.”

  He turned back to look down at the commotion and took a deep breath. “Go.”

  Jennifer’s action resumed, and she turned her head back to the commotion on the shore of the small lake. “Thank God someone pulled him out!”

  “Yeah. We should go down and see how Ian is.”

  “Yes, we should.”

  Logan was no longer interested in seeing how cozy he could get with Jennifer Roberts. Once he assured himself that Ian was all right, and that no one could remember exactly how he’d been rescued, there was only one place he wanted to be.

  Half an hour later, he arrived home. Using his senses, he located his mother in the backyard, sitting on the bench under their small banyan tree that she so loved. Cynthia Firth Gilbert met his gaze as he approached her.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Sweetheart.” She reached for his hand and then brought it to her cheek. “You did well. Ian is all right?”

  “Yes, ma’am. He’s fine. No one remembers how he was rescued. No one ever will.”

  “It’s for the best. But I sense you’re still troubled.”

  “Only in that I’m sorry I’ve been so obstinate. You were right. This power is a part of me, a part of who I am. I’m ready now for you to tell me about our history and the prophecy. And this time, I promise to really listen.”

  “Then I am very happy to share that knowledge with you. Your brother will be home in just a few minutes. Shall we wait for him?”

  “Yes.” Logan grinned. He’d been the leader of the two of them since they’d become a blended family. However in this, Cam was the leader because he’d been ready and eager to learn more. He’d been patient and waited for Logan to catch up.

  Cameron Gilbert arrived home five minutes later and joined them in the backyard. His huge grin signaled he knew everything that had happened here moments before.

  His brother sat beside him on the grass, the two of them ready to hear what their mother had to say. This time, when Cynthia began to speak of a time long ago, when two kinds of humans walked the earth—those gifted with magic and those not—Logan honored his promise just given and listened with an open heart. And as their mother spoke of the Prophecy, he felt a shimmering awareness within him. It would be years before the time would come for that—before she would come. Much needed to happen between now and then.

  But in the meantime, he was a man no longer reluctant to embrace his own identity. He, along with his stepbrother, were descendants of the Chosen. Their history stretched out behind them, and their destiny awaited them.

  Chapter 1

  “I believe this is exactly what our client wants. The tagline is simple, the concept sharp and clean. Media spots will feature young couples on nature dates—biking, hiking, or in a canoe. Then we’ll have some ads featuring a young family, again with the focus on activities that are basic, in this case a picnic. Next, we’ll feature older families, with the daughter and her fiancée and the parents all sitting down, having a meal together. And finally, the fourth set will showcase seniors—again, participating in wholesome activities. In each ad, the product will be highlighted. And at the end of each will be the tagline. ‘Fourstar Yogurt—for families—for life.’”

  Logan Firth froze the screen at that last frame. The tagline appeared crisp and clean, white letters on a blue background spelled out next to a full color picture of the product.

  Everyone around the conference table applauded, some more enthusiastically than others. Diana Reynolds didn’t feel enthusiastic about the person receiving the kudos, but she had to admit Logan had come up with a damn fine promotional campaign.

  Blast his furry little hide.

  She couldn’t deny that he was very good at intuiting what the client wanted and at creating award-winning campaigns. They were tied on that last front, and there was nothing she’d like more in this life than to break that tie, in her favor. Since the day she started here at Weymouth Parsons Inc., Logan Firth had been a thorn in her side, a pain in her ass, and a competitor to be bested. He, in turn, had said she was hell on heels. She hadn’t been certain what that meant, but it sounded good to her. He was the man at the top of her list—all right, he was the only man on that list—under the heading of nemesis.

  What about the ache between your legs and the longing in your heart the studly man inspires in you?

  Diana closed her eyes for one moment. She told her inner voice to shut the hell up. She usually was better at keeping her deepest truths buried than she’d been these last few weeks.

  Of course, she blamed everything on the fact that her sisters had both found their destined, forever mates. She was so happy for both Cheri and Meghan. Her best friends—her sisters—had never been so happy themselves. Their men were perfect for them.

  Cheri finding Max and Tony, and Meghan now mated to Ryan and Jeremy, meant one very important thing for Diana.

  She was next, and she didn’t know what the hell to think about that.

  On the one hand, she hungered for two men who would get her, who would fill in all the empty spaces of her soul and to whom she could devote herself and with whom she could have the family she secretly, in her heart of hearts, had always longed for.

  On the other hand, she had to wonder what kind of Karma she’d stored up for herself all her life. I’m not the easiest person to get along with, and I really do like to get my way far too often.

  She absolutely ignored her inner voice that told her s
he needed a couple of strong alpha males who’d put a stop to that. She also turned deaf and blind to that part of her that pined for Logan Firth. What good was it for her to want him? Her destined mates were likely just around the corner. They’d make an appearance in her life any day now.

  Diana drew her attention back to the moment. Cedric Parsons had gotten to his feet and shaken Logan’s hand.

  “I think you’ve nailed it again, my boy. Good job. We meet with the client in an hour.” Then he turned his attention back to the table at large. Each person seated here was either a vice-president, or a VP’s admin. Diana had made vice president the same time Logan had. On days like these, when it appeared as if Logan’s star was rising very fast, she reminded herself that she’d won her promotion within a year of being hired—the fastest rise to VP in the history of the company.

  Diana Reynolds took particular pride in the fact that she’d never once used her magic in conjunction with her job. She hadn’t had to. Being an advertising executive had suited her down to her toes.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll remind you of the celebration tonight at William and Emily’s. Be there.”

  Diana smiled for the first time since stepping into this meeting. That was as close to a demand as Cedric every made. The Weymouths were celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary, and all of the employees of the firm had been invited. For the senior staff, which was everyone in this room, attendance was mandatory.

  That’s not any kind of hardship at all. William and Emily Weymouth were two of her favorite people in this world.