by Becca Van
“Why did you make me leave?”
Rex cupped her cheek and turned her face his way. “You were in danger, sweetie. We had to get you out of there before all hell broke loose.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“You’re in heat,” Shaffer said in a growly voice.
Pixie shook her head. “That’s not possible. I’m not a damn animal.” She bit her lip and lowered her gaze. “Sorry. That came out wrong.”
Tatum nudged her chin up. “You’re ovulating, baby. That’s what we mean when we say heat.”
She frowned. “What has that got to do with anything? How do you even know?”
“Your scent has changed slightly and it’s stronger,” Shaffer replied.
* * * *
Pixie couldn’t believe she was having this conversation. She was angry, but mostly hurt after Tatum had carried her out of the hotel without any explanation. She’d also been scared out of her mind when that other guy, Zayn, had tried to get to her. Thank God, Broden and his brothers had stepped in.
She shrugged at Shaffer, not sure how to respond.
“You smell so sweet, so good, my mouth is watering for a taste,” Rex said in a raspy voice.
Heat suffused her cheeks, and then tears of humiliation stung her eyes. Was that why Zayn had gone a little crazy? Because she smelled good?
“You haven’t been claimed, Pixie, and it’s dangerous for you to be around other shifters while you’re in heat,” Shaffer explained.
“I had to get you out of there, baby. If the shit had hit the fan, the humans would have realized that we’re different. We don’t want the media creating a frenzy in our town or bringing every idiot from all over the world here to cause problems. Could you imagine what would happen if the scientists realized shape-shifters existed?” Tatum asked.
“They’d want to cut you open.” Pixie felt the blood drain from her cheeks. “They’d hurt y’all.”
Tatum nodded.
“Okay. I’m sorry for making a fuss, but I had no idea what was going on.”
“So, you forgive me?” Tatum asked.
“I do.”
“Thank you, baby.”
She smiled at him, and the simmering heat in his gaze grew hotter. The smile slid from her face as her own arousal amped up in response.
“I want you, Pixie.” Tatum pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. He opened them again before he continued. “We all want you, baby. Please, will you agree to be our mate?”
Although she’d been, hurt, angry, and confused, now that she understood Tatum’s actions all that angst fled and her hunger for him and his brothers grew. She wasn’t sure what the future would bring, but from what Emmy had told her, she’d never have to worry about Tatum, Rex, or Shaffer leaving her for another woman or cheating on her. Her hurt and anger was because she cared for them, and she wanted to be with them as much as they seemed to want to be with her.
There was really only one way to answer. “Yes.”
* * * *
Tatum wanted to shout with joy, but he wasn’t about to give Pixie a chance to change her mind. He covered her mouth with his and licked his way into her mouth. His cock throbbed, flexing against his zipper, and he caressed down her back toward her ass. He squeezed her cheeks through her jeans and was about to pull her groin into his, but then he remembered her recent surgery. He settled for kneading her cheeks and kissing her hungrily instead. She moaned as he swirled his tongue around hers, and she gasped when he nipped her lower lip. He gulped in a breath and tried to calm the raging desire coursing through his blood. From what she’d told them, she wasn’t experienced with sex at all. She was practically a virgin. Add in the surgery she’d had, and he was going to have to keep his lust on a tight rein. Which was going to be very difficult when all he wanted to do was strip her down and bury himself into her wet heat as far as he could go.
He shelfed her ass under one of his arms and wrapped the other around her shoulders before he scooted to the edge of the cushion and stood. She looped her arms around his neck, hooked her legs around his hips, and held on tight. Tatum didn’t bother to look at his brothers as he headed toward the bedroom. He didn’t need to see that they were just as eager to claim their mate as he was. He hoped they got the chance to make love with her tonight, but if she was hurting too much they were going to have to wait. He’d pull out the alpha card if necessary. He’d do anything and everything he could to make sure Pixie was taken care of. She was his everything, even if she didn’t know it yet.
He kicked the door wider and strode toward the bed before easing her down to her feet. He cupped her face in his hands and stared deeply into her eyes. Tatum needed to make sure this was really what she wanted. There was no way they could turn back time and undo a mating if she changed her mind. Mating was for life, and they would be together until they died.
“Are you sure about this, baby? If we take this next step, there is no going back. You’ll never be able to leave us.”
Pixie shook her head. His heart flipped and pain surged into his chest at her refusal. He dropped his hands from her face and was about to turn away from her, but he froze when her small hand grabbed hold of his shirt.
“I didn’t mean I didn’t want this, Tatum. When I shook my head I wasn’t rejecting you. I want this as much as you do.”
Relief eased the tension from his muscles and the hurt from his heart and soul. She still wanted to mate with him. He stepped closer to her, grasped her ribs, and lifted her feet to the mattress. This way he didn’t have to bend down so far and she wouldn’t get a sore neck.
Tatum threaded his fingers into her hair and cupped the back of her neck as he slanted his mouth over hers. He kissed her with all the pent-up need he’d been keeping in check over the last few days. Pixie wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him closer as she kissed him back. Their tongues danced and dueled before coming to rub along each other’s.
He smoothed his hand up her side toward her breast and then cupped it. A groan of frustration escaped his mouth that she wasn’t naked. He broke the kiss and tugged the sweater up and over her head before flinging it aside.
“You okay, baby?” he rasped out as he inched her long-sleeved T-shirt up over her belly.
She licked her lips and nodded. “Yes.”
“Lift your arms, Pixie.” As soon as she raised her arms he pulled the shirt up and off. He stared at her chest and licked his lips, dying for a taste of those hard, little nipples he could see poking through the lace of her bra. “You’re so fucking beautiful, baby. I’m going to take things nice and slow with you so I don’t hurt you. Okay?”
She nodded again and held her breath when he undid the button of her jeans. He glanced at Shaffer and Rex when they moved up beside him. They were eying her body over as if she was a meal laid out before them and they were starving. He knew exactly how they felt.
He lowered the zipper on her jeans, being careful not to touch anywhere near her bandage, and then hooked his thumbs into the waistband and pushed them over her hips. His heart stuttered and then slammed against his ribs when her matching panties came into view. She was the sexiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on, and he was humbled that she’d agreed to be theirs. “Hold on to me while Shaffer and Rex take your shoes off, Pixie.”
She tightened her arms around his neck and lifted a foot. Rex pulled her shoe and sock off. As soon as she lowered that foot back to the mattress, she lifted the other one and Shaffer removed her other shoe and sock. And then his brothers tugged her jeans off over her feet, leaving her standing in front of him in nothing but her bra and panties.
She shivered as the cooler air wafted over her heated skin. When she met Tatum’s heated gaze, a shudder of need tracked up her spine and she shook. She was so wet her panties were damp and her nipples were so hard she wondered if they’d poke holes through the lace of her bra.
Tatum leaned forward and brushed his stubble cheek against her and then he drew back and stared into
Chapter Eleven
“I’ve fucking found her,” Elwyn snarled into the phone without bothering with any pleasantries.
“Where?” Emery immediately asked.
“Would you believe Ambrose, North Dakota?”
“Fuck! I’m too far away. It’s going to take me days to drive there.”
“You don’t have a choice, bro.” Elwyn sighed. “She saw you kill that bitch, and the moment she walked into the police station and saw my face, she did a runner.”
“I fucking know it. Fucking cunt.”
“If you had kept your temper in check, we wouldn’t be in this position,” Elwyn shouted.
“I hope you aren’t at fucking work.”
“What do you take me for? An idiot? I can’t believe you got caught,” Elwyn shouted and then sighed. “What were you thinking?”
“I wasn’t. That bitch goaded me until I just snapped. Don’t go trying to make out like you’re a fucking angel. You’re just as bad as I am.”
“At least I’ve never been caught.” Elwyn sighed again. “Where the fuck are you?”
“I’m still in Reno, Nevada. I was hoping to spot her since you found her here weeks ago on one of the traffic cams.”
“Shit! It’s gonna take you two or three days to get there. Let’s hope she’s too tired to move on or thinks she’s safe. Either way, it’ll give you time to catch up with her.”
“How did you find her?” Emery asked.
“I set up an alert on her name as you know.”
“She’s been smart though and hasn’t used any credit cards or signed her name on anything.”
“Let me fucking finish,” Elwyn snapped.
“Yeah, sorry. Go on.”
“She must be sick or something because a local doctor sent her blood into a lab for testing.”
“How the hell could you break into the secure medical servers?”
“Don’t ask and I won’t tell you any lies.” Elwyn chuckled.
“You greased someone’s palm, didn’t you? Fuck, Elwyn, that’s dangerous shit. What if that person blabs?”
“They won’t. They owe me. The idiot knows that he’ll be dead or end up behind bars if he so much as opens his mouth.”
“Who is it and what’d you do?”
“Why do you want to know?” Elwyn asked.
“Because I don’t like someone having something on us. The asshole could use that to blackmail us.”
“So, what? You’re gonna find him and take him out?”
“I’ll do what I have to, but first I need to get to that slut.”
“Just keep a low profile. Don’t go flashing your personal information around, and for fuck’s sake don’t tell anyone you’re a doctor.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo, bro. I’m not fucking stupid.”
“I don’t know about that. You were stupid enough to get caught.”
“How was I supposed to know that the cunt had keys to the slut’s apartment and would walk through the fucking door?”
Elwyn sighed. “It was kind of logical that she’d ask someone to feed her fish when she was supposed to be away for the weekend. You should have taken her somewhere else to kill her.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Emery yelled. “I wasn’t fucking planning to take her out.”
“You never do, but we both know in the end you can’t help yourself. How you got to be a doctor, I’ll never understand.”
“Hey, I have brains and I studied and worked hard.”
“Yeah, but we both know you had an alternative reason. How many fucking women have you killed? Twenty? Fifty? You’re fucking lucky the coroner ruled most of the deaths natural causes, but there’s no way I could have covered up your last kill.”
“I know.”
“If someone gets suspicious and starts going over all those files again, they’re going to realize those women didn’t die naturally,” Elwyn said. “You’ve got to stop, Emery. I’m just as angry about how the woman who gave us life ignored us, as if we didn’t exist, how all women are, but someone is going to wise up and I won’t be able to help you. It wasn’t a real surprise the old man offed the bitch when he found out she was screwing someone else. She only stuck around because our father had money. I think he killed that slut across the street he was fucking, too.
“We need to lie low for a while.”
“How could anyone ever know? They haven’t figured it out and they won’t.”
“Famous last words, bro. Famous last words.”
“Whatever,” Emery said. “I’d better get going. It’s going to be a long few days. I’ll drive through the night for as long as I can and then stop and sleep for a few hours.”
“Have you got enough cash on you?”
“Yes. I withdrew a shitload in Reno.”
“Don’t withdraw anymore. We don’t want any of my colleagues being able to track you to that slut. Call me when you get to Ambrose and for fuck’s suck, keep it in your pants. I don’t want to have to clean up anymore of your fucking messes.” Elwyn disconnected the call.
Emery smiled as he remembered the blonde woman he’d screwed and killed the night before. He’d picked her up at one of the casinos and followed her back to her house. There was no way the cops would ever be able to pin her murder on him. He was a doctor and knew to cover up when screwing. After he’d killed her, he had pulled the new pair of surgical gloves from his pocket and wiped everything down, including the corpse. There would be no DNA or evidence that he’d ever been to that bitch’s place.
He started his car and after checking his mirrors pulled out into traffic. He wasn’t looking forward to sitting on his ass for hours on end, but once he arrived in Ambrose, he’d find that slut and get rid of her. No one was going to ruin his life by squealing and sending him to prison.
* * * *
Tatum couldn’t get enough of her mouth. She tasted so good, and his cock jerked every time their tongues came together. He caressed his hands from her hips up her sides, mapping her delectable, feminine curves, and then moved them around to her back. He flicked the clasp on her bra open and skimmed the straps over her shoulders. He broke the kiss, reached toward his neck, grasped her wrists, and pulled her arms from around his neck. The moment he glanced down, he groaned. Her breasts weren’t overly large, but they were full and lush and the dusky rose-colored nipples were hard, little points. His mouth watered for a taste, but first he needed to make sure Pixie was comfortable. He’d planned on covering her body with his while he made love to and claimed his mate, but he quickly rethought that since he didn’t want to put any pressure on her incision site. He could take her on her side facing him, but if he got a little too aggressive he could hurt her. Whatever he decided, he needed to make sure she was comfortable.
While he’d been thinking of the best position, his hands hadn’t stopped moving. Her bra had dropped to the floor, and he was kneading and cupping her breasts. He watched her face, and even though she had her eyes closed, she was enjoying his touch. Her cheeks were flushed and she was panting. He flicked his thumbs over her nipples and she moaned. She opened her eyes and met his gaze. Tatum nearly lost it when he saw the desire hazing her beautiful green eyes.
“Help her onto the bed,” Tatum ordered as he stepped back from her.
Shaffer and Rex hooked their arms under her pits and lifted her. They got onto the bed on their knees and then eased her down onto the mattress. Tatum shucked his clothes faster than he’d ever removed them before, even when he shifted into his lion. He glanced down at his hard, aching cock and gripped the base when pre-cum bubbled to the tip. He squeezed his dick, cutting off the blood supply, and sighed when the throbbing eased some.
Once he was naked and had his hunger under control, he crawled up onto the end of the bed and stared at Pixie’s green panty-covered mound. He licked his lips and salivated after inhaling her delicious sweet-smelling musk. He couldn’t wait to get his mouth on that hot, wet cunt.
Rex cupped her face and turned her toward him before covering her mouth with his. Tatum growled with approval when he saw her open to him as they tangled tongues and kissed rapaciously. He glanced at Shaffer to see his brother staring at Pixie’s gorgeous breasts. He sucked in a breath and held it when Shaffer enveloped one breast in his hand while lowering his head to the other.
Tatum’s lion roared with impatience and charged at his belly trying to escape. He shoved his beast back down and tried to calm his feverish desire. He needed to make sure his mate was as hot as he was before penetrating her pussy and claiming her for all time. He just hoped that he was able to keep his fervor in check.
Her legs jerked when he placed his hands on her shins just below her knees and then he caressed his way higher. Her legs relaxed and parted slightly, and he took the offering, slowly moving his big hands to the inside of her thighs and smoothing them up higher still.
Rex released her mouth and they both gasped in air before he started kissing and nibbling his way down her neck toward her chest.
Tatum hooked his fingers in under the sides of her panties at her hips and tugged them down. His heart flipped in his chest and his breath hitched in his throat when her cunt came into view. His mate was a la natural, and seeing the similar hair color on her mound had his hunger ratcheting up another notch. He loved that she didn’t remove the hair from her pussy. He didn’t get why women did that. He didn’t want to see a nude pussy. Having pubes assured him that she was a mature female and not some kid playing around. The thought made him shudder with revulsion.
Once he had her panties off, he flung them toward the floor, slid down to his belly, and drew the scent of her cream into his nose. He purred and licked his lips.
He was a feline and cats loved lapping up cream.
He glanced up her body when she cried out and arched her chest upward. Both Shaffer and Rex were suckling on and playing with her nipples.
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