JENNIE SAT AT THE BAR between Taehyung and Jimin as Jungkook served up plates of ham and eggs. She glanced between them often, gauging their mood, their reaction to her, but they seemed unruffled.
It was as if they made such proclamations every day. She shook her head and speared another piece of egg with her fork.
How could such a relationship work? Jealousy would be inevitable. And things would be much more difficult for her than for any of them. They only had one 'spouse' to contend with, she had three.
Three men to please, put up with, all different. The mere idea of the complexities involved in the situation made her head ache even harder.
Jungkook was obviously the easiest going of the three brothers. She relaxed around him. It was a natural reaction.
And Taehyung though he had gone to great lengths to make her feel at ease, she knew he could be dangerous when crossed. He exuded power and authority, wore it like a mantle draped around him.
Her gaze flitted sideways to Jimin. He was an enigma. The only one she didn't have an idea formed about already. He was quiet and serious, but more than that, she saw pain in his eyes. Like her, he'd seen the darker side of life. She'd bet her last dollar on it.
"Are you all right?" Jungkook asked.
She looked up to see him frowning at her.
"Just a headache," she replied.
He walked to one of the cabinets and retrieved a bottle of ibuprofen, shook out several pills and handed them to her. Just one more example of them taking care of her. It warmed her to her toes and scared the hell out of her all at the same time.
"What's on your mind, baby?" Taehyung asked.
Was she that easy to read? Could they already see inside her mind and soul? Her fingers tensed on her fork for a moment as she contemplated denying that anything was on her mind, but Taehyung's honesty compelled her to be equally honest.
"The dynamics of the whole relationship you all propose... It's rather mind-boggling," she admitted.
She didn't miss the triumphant smiles passed between the brothers. Surely to them, this was a sign they were making headway. And maybe they were, as insane as she was to even contemplate it.
"Anything in particular you want to talk about?" Taehyung prompted.
She sighed and set down her fork. "This has all pretty much blown me away. I don't even know where to begin. I keep expecting to be told this is one huge joke at my expense."
Jimin put a hand on her knee. "This is no joke. Now tell us what's on your mind."
She took in a deep breath, told herself she was completely nuts and then proceeded to tell them precisely what concerns she had.
"The thing is, you guys only have one person to concern yourselves with, relationship wise. I have three. Three overbearing, overprotective, rather large men. I don't see how it's remotely possible that I could please all of you all of the time."
Cocky, self-assured grins adorned the three men's faces.
"I don't think any of us expect perfection," Jungkook said. "Though," he added with an up and down sweep of her, "I'm not arguing with what we've been given."
"We've discussed this many times," Taehyung said in a serious tone.
"We know it won't always be easy. It wasn't always easy for our mother and fathers, but if we all work at it, there's no reason we can't live in harmony."
"I guess I just don't understand the concept," Jennie said. "I can't wrap my brain around it."
Jimin reclaimed her attention by turning her back around to face him. "Then think of it this way. Three men completely devoted to your happiness. Three men worshipping your body with theirs. Three men who would love you with complete abandon. Three men who would protect you and cherish you always."
She stared at him open-mouthed. "Well, when you put it that way," she muttered.
"Damn, Jimin, why didn't you speak up earlier?" Jungkook said in amusement.
"The first order of business is to go into town and buy you some clothes and whatever else you need," Taehyung said, changing the subject.
"But I don't need anything," she protested. Well, that wasn't entirely true, but she didn't want them buying her a bunch of stuff.
"Jimin, you care to repeat that part about three men devoted to her happiness, worshipping her, etc.?" Jungkook spoke up.
"Because I'm pretty sure making sure our woman is clothed and provided for falls under that heading."
Jennie blushed.
"Jungkook, you and Jimin want to drive her into town? I need to check out the horses and get the hay out. It's supposed to snow again tonight." He turned to jennie.
"There's a western store in town. It isn't much but you'll be able to get boots, jeans and some shirts. And a coat. You need a decent coat. Next week, we'll drive into the city to do the heavy shopping for you."
"Thank you," she said softly. She couldn't manage much more around the huge knot in her throat. She felt dangerously close to tears and fought to contain them.
Taehyung leaned forward and brushed his mouth across hers. He was surprisingly gentle. For the first time, she reached a hand out to touch him, running her fingertips across his cheek, feeling the slight stubble along his jaw.
When he drew away, his eyes were burning with passion, and she felt heady with the knowledge she had affected him so.
"Well if we're going into town, we need to go now. We don't want to be late getting back if it's going to snow," Jimin announced, standing up from his seat at the bar.
"Is it...is it safe for me to go into town?" she asked. The idea that someone might see her and report back to kai struck fear into her heart, no matter the brothers' vow to protect her.
"We'll make sure you're not seen," Jungkook said. "A clothing Store is on the edge of town. We'll park you in a corner of the store and do your shopping for you, let you try on stuff if you need to, and we'll keep a sharp eye for anything unusual going on."
"Okay," she said, expelling a long breath. "Let's do it then."
The drive into town was long and quiet as they traveled down the mountain. Jennie sat up front while Jungkook drove and Jimin sat in the back of the Land Rover.
During the course of the trip, Jungkook reached over and twined his fingers with hers.
She drew comfort from the small gesture and readily laced her fingers in his.
Mid-morning, they drove into the small town of Busan. Taehyung had been right. There wasn't much beyond a small grocery store, a feed mill, a few cafes and the western store, but there was a quaint main street and the businesses were clean and well-kept.
Jungkook pulled up at the western store, and he and Jimin surveyed the area before opening their doors.
Jimin opened her door and gestured for her to get out.
Once she was out, Jungkook and Jimin flanked her and they headed into the store.
They led her to the area beside the one small dressing room and had her sit.
"Now tell us what sizes you need, and we'll bring you some stuff to look at," Jimin directed.
She laughed. "There's no one else in here. I think I can look myself if that's okay."
Jungkook glanced around once more. "Okay, I'll go stand by the door. Jimin, you keep an eye on Jennie while she shops."
Jennie walked over to the racks in the center of the store and began thumbing through the shirts. She found a few long sleeve flannel shirts in her size and removed them from the rack. She wasn't sure how much she should spend so she only took a few and moved onto the jeans.
As she was searching for her size in the pants, Jimin walked up behind her with several more shirts over his arm. At her self-conscious glance, he shoved the shirts toward her, his expression brooking no argument.
"Take them up to the counter for me, will you?" she asked. "I'm fairly certain they'll fit."
"Want me to pick you out a pair of boots while I'm up there?" he asked.
She smiled. "I'd like that. Thanks."
She walked closer to the window overlooking the street and picked out a few pairs of jeans in dark blue and one each in black and khaki. As she turned to follow Jimin to the checkout, her eyes stopped on a familiar black vehicle pulling down the street.
Frozen to the spot, she watched in horror as kai climbed out of the flashy BMW, his gaze flitting
up and down the street.
+1k reads already..
Wah..