by Becca Van
She was so fucking beautiful and sexy. He hoped he and his brothers could make her happy in the long years ahead.
He didn’t know if he’d be able to survive if she ever turned away from him.
Chapter Eighteen
When Shaffer entered the kitchen and saw Rex smiling and joking around with Tatum, his first urge was to go and spend some alone time with Pixie, but there was so much to do, he just didn’t have the time. He dumped the bucket of dishes in the sink, grabbed another empty one, and headed out. If he didn’t have an inner animal with fast reflexes he would have barreled right over the top of his mate.
“Where’s the fire?” Pixie asked.
“In the diner.” Shaffer gripped the bucket so hard his knuckles ached. He wanted to sweep her off her feet and carry her into the office, but she’d already made love with his two older brothers. She had to be tender. He didn’t want her thinking that she had to do the same with him if she didn’t want to. He wanted her to come to him when she was ready.
“Do you want some help?”
“You don’t have—” He stopped when she shook her head.
“I know I don’t have to do anything, Shaffer. I want to.”
“Okay.”
“Order up,” Tatum said.
“Damn it.” Shaffer huffed with frustration.
“Give me the bucket. I’ll do the clean-up and you can serve the meals.”
“Thanks, sugar.” Shaffer handed her the bucket. “Don’t fill that to the top. It’ll be too heavy for you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Actually, I do.”
“I’m a lot stronger than I look, Shaffer.”
“Just don’t go breaking your back. Okay?”
“I won’t.” Pixie grabbed hold of his shirt and tugged him down. She kissed him quickly, released him, and then hurried out to the diner.
Shaffer followed her and collected the meals warming under the hot lights at the serving window. He kept an eye on Pixie as she moved about collecting the dirty dishes and wiping the tables down. As soon as one table was free, more people came in and sat down.
“Where are all these people coming from?” Pixie asked when she came up beside him.
“Damned if I know, but I don’t like it.”
“Is there a convention or something going on across the border?”
Shaffer shrugged. “I’ll ask Tatum when I collect the next lot of meals. You’re looking tired, mate. Why don’t you go back into the office and take a nap on the sofa?”
“I’m not leaving you to deal with this on your own. Rex and Tatum are run off their feet in the kitchen. They aren’t going to be able to come out here to help.”
“Just don’t make yourself sick. It won’t hurt these people to wait.”
“I know that, but it’s not good for business.”
“I don’t give a damn about the diner, sugar. Your needs will always come first with Rex, Tatum, and I.”
“I’m fine.” Pixie shrugged and hurried away with the bucket.
Shaffer had had enough. It was after eight o’clock and all he wanted to do was kick everyone out, close and lock the doors, take his mate home to bed, and make love with her.
Pixie nudged his arm when he hurried behind the counter to get a freshly brewed pot of coffee. “Tatum called Declan. Apparently, they’re having a big-name group playing at the pub again tonight. Word spread and everyone from the surrounding towns and some not so close, decided to come hear them play.”
“Why haven’t we heard anything about it?” Shaffer frowned.
“You were too busy taking care of me and the diner to listen to everything else going on. I’m sorry I was such a burden.”
Shaffer put the pot of coffee down and cupped her face between his hands. “You are not and could never be a burden, Pixie. We loved making sure you were looked after. We never thought we’d ever get the chance to meet our…woman. I love you, sugar.”
Pixie blinked quickly when tears welled. He frowned, worried he’d upset her by telling her how he felt.
She clasped his wrists and whispered, “I love you, too, Shaffer.”
He kissed her passionately, careless of the catcalls and wolf whistles. When he lifted his mouth from hers and gazed into her eyes, he could see that she did indeed love him. He smiled happily as he dropped his hands and grabbed the coffee pot again. “When all this has died down, you and I are going to have some alone time.”
Pixie winked at him. “Count on it, sexy.”
He and his mate worked hard over the next couple of hours, but this time it didn’t seem to be as much of a chore. Pixie loved him. Him. Shaffer. As soon as the last customer left, he was going to close and lock the door. He didn’t give a damn if it was before their usual closing time. He was going carry his mate into the office and worship her body the way she deserved to be worshipped.
* * * *
Pixie groaned as she carried the last bucket of dirty dishes into the kitchen. Her feet were killing her even though she was wearing her sneakers. The soles were burning and she wasn’t sure she could take another step. It was just after nine thirty, and the last customer had finally walked through the door. She giggled when she remembered Shaffer sprinting over to the glass entrance. He’d turned the open sign to closed and then engaged the lock.
She started unloading the bucket but halted when strong, muscular arms wrapped around her waist from behind.
“You’ve been a trooper today, mate,” Tatum said softly. “I don’t know how the hell you’re still standing, but it’s time to stop.”
“But there’s still so much to do.”
Tatum turned her in his arms and lifted her up against his chest. She groaned at the bliss of having her weight off her sore, tired feet as she looped her arms around his neck and hooked her legs around his waist.
“I don’t care. Rex and I will deal with the rest. You’re going home with Shaffer.”
Pixie frowned. “How will you and Rex get home?”
“We’ll shift into our lions and run.”
“Are you sure you have the energy? Today was…insane.”
Tatum grinned. “We’re shifters, baby. We have more stamina than the average human.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am.” He kissed her on the lips and then lowered her feet back to the floor. As soon as Tatum stepped away from her, Rex took his place.
“Thank you for all your help, sweetie. I know we wouldn’t have been able to keep up without you.”
“That’s what partners do.”
Rex smiled. “I like that.”
“What?”
“That you said we’re partners.”
“Aren’t we?”
“Yes, but we’re also mates.”
“Isn’t it the same thing?”
“Maybe.” Rex bent down and kissed her passionately. By the time he let her up for air her lungs were burning.
“Are you ready to get out of here, sugar?”
Pixie turned to face Shaffer who was standing in the doorway.
“More than.”
He stalked toward her and swept her up into his arms. She hooked an arm around his neck. “I can walk you know.”
“I know, but I could tell that your poor little feet were sore from the way you were walking. What you need is a long soak in the bathtub.”
“That sounds like heaven.”
“See ya later,” Shaffer called to Rex and Tatum before he carried her into the office. “Grab your things, sugar,” he said as he set her on her feet. “It’s way past time we blew this popsicle stand.”
Pixie grabbed her purse and then turned toward him again. He immediately swept her up into his arms and headed for the back door and the truck.
She sighed wearily as Shaffer drove them back to the house. It had been a long hellish day and she was glad it was over. She wished that tomorrow would be back to normal with just the regulars to feed, but she had a feeling a lot of the people who’d a
“Here we are, mate.”
Pixie blinked her eyes open. She must have dozed off because the trip home hadn’t seemed to take long at all. She reached for the door handle, but Shaffer placed his hand on her arm. “Let me, Pixie.”
She nodded and watched him as he got out and hurried around the truck. When he opened the door, he handed her a set of keys. “What?”
“You’ll need to unlock the door for me, sugar.” Shaffer scooped her up into his arms, nudged the truck door closed with his hip, and carried her toward the front door.
Pixie couldn’t believe she had no trouble finding the lock since there was no outside light on, but seconds later she pushed the door open.
Shaffer kicked the door closed behind him and hurried toward the bedroom. “Drop your purse, mate.”
She dropped her purse on the dresser and then he carried her into the bathroom. After sitting her on the rim of the large spa bath, he bent over and turned the taps on. He knelt at her feet, removed her shoes and socks, and then helped her to stand. Next, he helped divest the rest of her clothes before shucking his own.
Shaffer lifted her into his arms once more and stepped into the rapidly filling tub. She sighed with bliss as he sank into the warm water with her on his lap.
“Just sit back and let me take care of you, sugar.”
She nodded, too tired to put up an argument to the contrary, and let him wash her body. Pixie looked down when he ran the sponge around the edge of the white, waterproof bandage. “Take it off.”
“No.” Shaffer kissed her temple.
“I don’t think I need it anymore.”
“It’s staying until Broden says otherwise.”
She sighed again and then shivered as he ran the sponge over her breasts. Her nipples peaked instantly and her clit started throbbing. Liquid heat pooled low in her belly and her pussy moistened.
Pixie grasped Shaffer’s wrist, tugging it away from her body, and then turned until she was straddling his lap.
“What are you doing?” Shaffer asked.
She reached down between them and grasped his already hard cock. “I’d thought that would be obvious.”
“You’re tired, sugar. You don’t have to—”
She placed a finger over his lips, halting his words. “I want you, Shaffer.”
“I want you, too, mate.”
“Then take me.” She lifted up onto her knees, aligned his cock with her pussy, and lowered down over him.
“You feel so fucking good, Pixie. So hot, tight, and wet.”
“Oh,” she moaned. “You feel amazing, too.”
“Do you trust me, mate?”
“Yes. What kind of question is that?”
He didn’t answer her but lifted her up off his hard cock and turned them so that she was facing away from him. “Get up higher on your knees, Pixie.”
She did as asked, kneeling higher on the form-fitted seat with the water lapping at her upper thighs.
“When you’ve finished ovulating, we are all going to make love to you at the same time,” Shaffer whispered in her ear as he pressed his front to her back and snagged an arm around her waist. “One of us is going to fuck that hot, little cunt. Another will fuck that sexy ass, and the third is going to take that beautiful mouth.”
“Oh God.”
“I’m going to play with your ass while I fuck that pussy.” He licked and nibbled his way up her neck and then nipped her earlobe. “If you don’t like it, all you have to do is say stop. Okay?”
“Okay,” she replied hoarsely. Pixie saw his arm reach out in front of her, and she shivered with need when she noticed he’d just grabbed a tube of lube. Her breath hitched in her throat when he popped it open, and then he moved back from her.
“Spread your legs, sugar.”
She widened her thighs and quivered with excited anticipation.
When he caressed a cool moist finger over her star, she groaned.
“Do you like that, mate?”
“Yeah,” she moaned.
“Then you’re going to love this,” Shaffer rasped out right before he penetrated her back entrance with the tip of his finger.
Desire raced up her spine, causing goose bumps to speed over her skin. She whimpered with pleasure as nerve endings sparked to life when he began to pump his finger in and out of her pussy. Honey dripped from her sheath and her clit throbbed in sync with her heart.
“You okay, sugar?”
She nodded and shoved her hips back toward him. “More!”
“Take a deep breath and hold it for me, mate.”
She inhaled and held her breath.
Air exploded from her lungs when Shaffer pressed two fingers up into her ass. She’d never even thought about having her rosette breached, but it felt so good, she couldn’t wait to have one of her mate’s cock back there.
She sobbed with need when she felt the head of his cock kiss her wet entrance and then groaned when he surged in deep.
“Are you ready for me, Pixie? I can’t wait anymore, sugar. I need you so damn much.”
“Yes. Move!”
Shaffer didn’t reply but started pumping his hips, gliding his cock in and out of her pussy, hitting that really sensitive spot each time he fucked her.
The pressure started to grow almost immediately. She loved having Shaffer’s cock pistoning in and out of her pussy, hard, fast, and deep.
Pixie cried out when he began to move the two fingers in and out of her ass in counterstroke to his shuttling cock.
Her womb grew heavy, her clit began to tingle, and the coil grew tauter. She gasped in a breath and whimpered when he reached up and pinched first one nipple and then the other.
She was so damn close she was hovering right on the cusp.
She groaned with disappointment when he released her nipple, but cried out when he reached down between her legs and started to rub her clit.
“I love you so fucking much, mate,” Shaffer rasped into her ear.
She shivered as his warm sweet breath caressed her skin. “I love you, too, Shaffer.”
“I want you to come all over me, sugar. I want you squeezing my dick so hard, you pull the cum right up from my balls.” Shaffer pinched her clit as he pumped his cock hard and fast into and out of her pussy. He increased the pace of his thrusting fingers in her ass and sent her hurtling over the edge.
Pixie screamed as nirvana assailed her inside and out. Her whole body shook and shivered. Her pussy clamped down hard around his driving cock before releasing and clenching down again.
Shaffer roared as he stroked into her once, twice more, and as he ground his hips into her ass, he bit down into her shoulder.
She shot straight back up into rapture before the last orgasm ceased. Her mouth opened on a soundless cry and lightning sheeted in front of her eyes. She quaked and quivered, her small frame convulsing with an ecstasy so intense, tears rolled down her cheeks.
Shaffer’s cock jerked and juddered deep inside her pussy, and as the bright light waned, blackness took its place. Just as she thought she was about to pass out, she gasped in a breath and the darkness receded.
When she blinked her eyes open, she realized she was bent over the edge of the tub with Shaffer’s bigger body draped over her. She tried to take a deep breath but couldn’t with him practically on top of her. He must have felt her dilemma because he levered his upper body off of hers. “Sorry. Are you all right?”
“Yeah.” She groaned when Shaffer drew his softening cock from her pussy and his fingers from her ass. He lifted her and turned them both until she was once more sitting in his lap.
“Sit back against me and let me wash you again, sugar. Just close your eyes and relax.”
“I love you, Shaffer.”
“I love you more.”
Pixie smiled as she closed her eyes. She didn’t think that Shaffer could love her more, but she wasn’t about to argue with him. She was just glad that he loved her as much as she loved him.
She hoped that Rex and Tatum loved her, too. Maybe tomorrow she’d tell them what was in her heart and they’d reciprocate.
It would break her heart if they didn’t.
Chapter Nineteen
Elwyn shoved the door to his brother’s motel room open and headed straight for the bed. He was so fucking tired he couldn’t even find the energy to strip his clothes off. He toed his shoes off and flopped belly down onto the mattress, and closed his eyes. “Wake me in three hours. We’ll leave as soon as I’ve showered and changed clothes. You can drive so I can get some more shut-eye.” He was out cold seconds later.
“Elwyn, wake the hell up.”
Elwyn blinked, bleary-eyed, at his twin brother. He felt as if he’d just closed his eyes. “What?”
“You said to wake you after three hours.”
“Shit!” He rolled onto his back and then sat up. Emery handed him a take-out coffee and he sipped at the hot bitter brew, hoping it would kick start his brain. He was halfway through his coffee before he stood and headed to the bathroom. “I hope you’ve got a plan on how to get to that bitch.”
“I do,” Emery answered.
“Good.”
Twenty minutes later Emery and Elwyn were back on the road. He vaguely listened to his brother yammering on about his plan, and when he’d finished, Elwyn drifted off to sleep. The plan was a good one. He just hoped they could implement it without any hiccups.
* * * *
“We should let her sleep longer,” Rex said.
Pixie sighed and rolled onto her side. As much as she appreciated her guys looking after her, she was good to go. She’d had a good solid night of sleep and felt rejuvenated.
She opened her eyes and smiled at Rex who was hovering in the doorway. “I’m fine.”
“You worked too hard yesterday,” Tatum said from beside her.
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