He seemed to be the one who was the most protective, perhaps even possessive. We'd left Helena without incident but they had wanted to keep watch for Peters or any man he might have sent. So far, nothing.
"I've never heard of several men marrying one woman and I have to admit, am not used to the idea."
"You wouldn't be used to the idea of wedding just one man as quickly as you did either," Rhys added. "It was done with extreme haste."
True, it would have been a surprise even then.
"Simon and I were in the same army regiment. We left England and were stationed in the tiny country of Mohamir."
"Isn't that near the Ottoman Empire?"
Rhys smiled. "You know your geography. It is that country's custom for a woman to be married to more than one man, in some cases brothers, in others, men who have come together and vowed to treasure and protect one woman."
"In England, lass," Simon swore, "those bloody Brits often marry for social standing or money and the men have strict rules for their wives, but none for themselves."
"There have to be some who marry for love," I countered.
"Aye, lass, that is true, but in the circles I traveled, it wasna the norm. We had friends whose wives were neglected and unhappy while they were off slumming in brothels. It disgusted us as to the lack of honor. In Mohamir, however, that honor existed and it was the way we want to be."
"Don't you and Rhys someday want women for your yourselves?" I asked Cross.
I didn't like the possibility of being left for someone else, for they were handsome men and surely women had flocked to them in the past. How could they not be sought after in the future as well?
"No, love. We only want you."
"We will always want just you," Rhys added. He angled his head and looked at me with dark intensity. "You may not think it now, but the Mohamiran way protects the wife, for if something were to happen to one of us, you would still have the others to cherish you - you and children that will surely come. You will never need of anything ever again."
"If you liked their ways so much, why didn't you stay there?"
"Our commander did something...terrible and one of our friends, Ian, was framed for the crime. We knew he was innocent and justice would not be served, so we left," Rhys explained. "As a group, we chose to band together and make a new life. We traveled to America to find a place where we could practice what we learned in Mohamir, while escaping Evans and any repercussions that might follow us."
I turned my head so I could look up at Cross. His eyes were so green in comparison to Rhys and Simon's dark ones. "What about you? You sound as American as me. Surely you didn't spend time in Mohamir."
He kissed the tip of my nose. "I was raised in Boston and that was where their ship came in. I wasn't as big back then as I am now, but I was involved in a fight to protect a woman and these two helped me."
"There's more to the story than that, isn't there?"
Cross put his chin on top of my head once again, forcing me to not look at him anymore. "My past isn't a good story, love." His voice sounded flat at the mention of his childhood. "Bridgewater is my home now. Your home. It is where our future is. You are our future."
CHAPTER SIX
RHYS
"You went to Helena for a stud horse and came back with a bride as well?" Kane asked, holding the halter as Simon brushed the animal down. He'd been working in the stable when we arrived and had come to help with our horses.
"Turns out the man who sold us the horse is a bloody bastard and hurt Olivia and most likely set fire to her house." Cross shared the events of our trip with our friend.
"So you married her for protection alone?"
"We wanted her the first time we saw h
er," I stated plainly. "I knew when I danced with her, had my hands on her. There wasn't any decision to make."
Kane nodded. He was as dark as I, although a few inches taller. He'd married Emma the previous summer, saving her from a ridiculous brothel marriage auction. At the time I hadn't exactly understood the depth of his awareness that Emma was the woman for him and for Ian. They'd had only a minute or two to look at her before the auction had begun, but they'd known. Just like Cross and I had known at the dance.
He and Ian had protected Emma from the other men at the auction, but they'd married her because they wanted her. There was no doubt of the love match. They were very attentive to her, and she’d given birth to their first child not long ago.
Kane smiled and nodded. "Once the women hear of her existence, they will want to meet her straight away."