by Becca Van
“We only moved to Ambrose just over six weeks ago,” Rhys said. “Normally, it’s a very quiet, peaceful town.”
“Where did you live before moving here?” Sierra asked after turning to gaze at Rhys.
“We didn’t have a permanent home base. We moved around while serving in the Marines, but most of the time we were on deployment.”
“Thank you for your service,” Sierra said, blushing.
“You’re welcome, honey.” Rhys cleared his throat and looked away before gazing at Sierra again.
Weldon was watching his brother and mate over his shoulder. It was awkward, and his neck hurt, but he didn’t want to miss anything about Sierra.
“Where were you heading before you got stuck here?” Justice asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.
Weldon wished they were already back at home and comfortably seated in the living room. He hated not being able to see all of Sierra’s expressions as she was asked questions. He could tell she was exhausted because of the dark marks under her eyes and wondered how long she’d been riding on the bus. It had to have been days since she’d come all the way from Pittsburgh. What worried him the most, however, was her reaction to Pixie’s story. She’d tried to hide from him and his brothers, but Weldon had seen the tears sheening her eyes, and there was no way in hell any of them had missed the stench of her fear. He had a bad feeling that Sierra was in trouble, but he wasn’t sure they’d ever find out what was going on with her.
She was closed up tighter than a book with glued together pages.
He hoped that she relaxed and opened up with them soon. His wolf was already snarling and growling.
What was his animal going to do if she kept them at a distance?
Weldon wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer.
* * * *
Sierra squinted into the darkness at the house as Justice slowed the truck and pulled into a driveway. The house was big, but other than the size and shape, she couldn’t see much.
Justice stopped the truck on the drive close to the porch steps and turned the ignition off. The three brothers got out of the vehicle, and as she opened her door, she sucked in a deep, fortifying breath.
“Let me help you out, darlin’,” Weldon said and offered her his hand. Since she was on the short side and the truck was big, she clasped his hand and let him help her to the ground. Zips of heat shot through her body, but she tried to ignore her response to his touch as best she could. As soon as she was steady on her feet, she removed her hand from his. Weldon frowned at her before leading the way up the steps. Rhys already had her suitcase in hand, and he and Justice followed her toward the front door.
Weldon flicked lights on, and she blinked at the sudden brightness. When she glanced along the verandah, she realized that it probably went all the way around the house. There were chairs along the deck and a couple of small tables in between them. She could just imagine how relaxing it would be to sit outside in the morning drinking a cup of coffee, or sipping on a glass of wine at night.
The siding of the house was painted dark blue with white trim. When she stepped over the threshold, she took in the gleaming polished hardwood floors. The entrance led directly into the living room, which was huge and open. She walked further into the room, taking in the dining room and what looked like a new gourmet kitchen. She was sure she could even smell the fresh paint on the walls.
The house was a long rectangle shape, and she presumed the bedrooms were at the opposite end to the main hub. She just hoped that she didn’t end up being too close to the three men, because the longer she was in their presence, the more attracted to them she became.
The last thing she needed was to have a crush on her three hosts. They probably thought she was an idiot for not checking into accommodations before arriving in town, or when she’d be able to leave on the next bus.
She lifted her chin and turned to face the three men staring at her intently. Sierra’s cheeks heated, and she hoped her face wasn’t as flushed as it felt, but that was a futile wish since she was a redhead with pale skin. No doubt her face was a pink as a bad sunburn.
“Let me show you to your room, honey,” Rhys said. He swept his hand out toward the hallway.
She glanced at Justice and Weldon, then met Rhys’s eyes again. “You have a wonderful home.”
“We’re glad you like it, baby,” Justice said.
“Come on, honey. I can see how tired you are.” Rhys moved closer to her, clasped her elbow, and guided her through the living room and down the hall. “This is my room. There’s a bathroom between that and Weldon’s room. Justice sleeps across the hall, and there’s another bathroom between his and a spare room. You’ll be staying in the room at the end of the hallway and have your own en-suite, so you won’t need to worry about sharing a bathroom with us.”
Sierra was glad he wasn’t looking at her when she stepped into the large bedroom at the end of the hall. It was so damn big it had to be the master bedroom. There was a huge bed situated along the far wall smack dab in the middle. There were big beside tables on either side of what looked like an oak headboard, and each of them had five drawers. The comforter on the bed was a vibrant royal blue. The walls were a cream color, but the carpet was also blue. It looked like these men really liked blue hues, what with the outside of the house and all.
Rhys placed her small bag onto the bed and turned toward her. She gulped as she watched him look her body over. No one had ever looked at her like that before, and while it was flattering that Rhys, Justice, and Weldon seemed to like her body, she was a bit uncomfortable at the male attention.
“The bathroom’s through there.” Rhys pointed at the ajar door to the side of the room. Then he pointed to another door. “The closet is empty, so feel free to use it and hang your things up. The dresser is at your disposal, as well.”
“Thank you,” she said softly, blinking back the sudden tears of emotion that caught her off guard. Sierra hadn’t had any help from anyone for so long, and now that three strangers were showing her a kindness, she was in danger of breaking down, but she wasn’t and didn’t want to look weak in his and his brothers’ eyes. All three of the Channing men wore confident, authoritative auras about them. They’d probably think she’d lost her mind or was a weak damsel if she started shedding tears.
Rhys frowned in her direction, but then he moved toward the bedroom door. He paused in the doorway, gazing back at her over his shoulder. “Is there anything I can get you, Sierra? Do you want something to drink and or eat?”
“No, thanks. I’m still full after eating dinner.”
“I’ll let you get settled and rest. My brothers and I will hear you if you need us, but please make yourself at home. If we have something you want, it’s yours. You don’t need to ask. Okay?”
Sierra nodded. “Thanks.” She sank down onto the bed with a sigh of exhausted relief after Rhys pulled the door closed behind him.
While she was glad that she didn’t have to spend the night on the streets, she wasn’t sure her decision to stay with the Channing brothers was much better.
Ever since the attack, she’d been terrified of big men, because the man who’d stabbed her had been tall and muscular. She’d relived that terrifying, agony-filled night over and over in her nightmares. Although she was trepidatious of Justice, Rhys, and Weldon, she had a feeling down deep that they were on the up and up, that they were honest when they’d told her that they wouldn’t hurt her, or any other woman or child for that matter.
Sierra felt as if she was drifting on a current and too exhausted to swim. Her mind was in turmoil but so was her heart. She had no idea what to do, what to think. It was all just too fucking problematic and exhausting. Since there was no way she was going to come to any decisions or conclusions, she pushed her thoughts away with a sigh and shoved to her feet. Her shoulder, arm, and leg were aching. Her healed stab wounds seemed to come alive with rejuvenated nerves whenever she was weary to the bone. What she needed now was sl
She’d been traveling for six long months. Sometimes, she stayed in a town or city for a few days working for cash in hand to keep her going. Other times, she traveled for days on end taking any opportunity she could to shower and change clothes. Oft times she barely had time to wash the important parts of her body, spray some deodorant, brush her hair and teeth before getting on another bus or train.
And she never used her credit card. She’d forgotten she put one in her pants pocket the day of the attack. All her other personal items had been lost and cancelled. Except her phone which she’d always carried on her person. She’d replaced her driver’s license but tried not to use that for identification purposes either. Even though she was still using her own name, which she knew was just asking for trouble, she couldn’t bring herself to lie to anyone.
Sierra had been lied to by her mother, and the pain of that had had an everlasting effect on her. She’d only been ten years old when her mom had walked out the door and never come back. While Sierra understood her mother running, what she didn’t understand, nor could she forgive, was that her mom left her behind.
Sierra had no idea who her father was and suspected her mother hadn’t, either. Her mom had been the type of woman who couldn’t live alone. She’d had men in and out of their home from as far back as she could remember, but it was the last bastard her mom shacked up with that had broken the woman. He’d beaten her and dictated every aspect of her and her mother’s life.
One day, her mom left, saying she was going to the shop to get some milk, and that was the last she’d ever seen or heard from or of her. The only thing Sierra was grateful for was that Rod hadn’t wanted to deal with a kid. Instead of looking after her, or using her as a punching bag, he’d called the welfare services, and Sierra had been put into the foster system. Rod’s abuse of her mom had helped shape the way Sierra was and had assisted her to decide what her career choice had been.
She’d kept to herself and hadn’t caused any trouble for any of the foster families who’d taken her in. She’d spent all of her time studying hard and getting good grades. She won a partial scholarship because of her high marks, and when she hadn’t been going to school or studying, she’d been working to pay off her tuition and board.
Now, she had nothing. Everything she’d worked so hard for had gone down the drain. She had no job, money, or home.
With a determination she was far from feeling, she pushed her pessimism aside, grabbed the soft worn sleep shirt and a clean pair of panties, and hurried to the bathroom.
She gasped in awe as she took the room in. The bathroom was almost as big as the bedroom. There as a long, black granite speckled vanity counter with four washbasins. A huge spa bath big enough to sit at least six people was in the corner and had steps for easier access. Along the right wall was a glass screened wet area for showering. She gaped when she counted at least four different jets coming from the tile wall and wondered why anyone would need so many shower heads. Off to the right of the shower area was another closed door, which she hoped was the toilet.
After using the bathroom, she stripped off her wrinkled clothes, dropping them all onto the floor. When she turned the mixer tap on and all six spigots started pouring out water, she wanted to find a way to turn five of them off so she wasn’t wasting a precious commodity, but since she had no idea how, she stepped in under the water, washing her hair and body as quickly as possible.
Sierra was tempted to stand under the hot spray since the water had helped ease the pain in her body, but she turned the water off, stepped out onto the mat, and dried off.
Gathering her dirty clothes, she wondered if maybe tomorrow the three brothers wouldn’t mind if she used their washing machine. She’d made do by washing her underwear and other clothes out in cheap motel room sinks and then hanging them up to dry. It would be a luxury to use a machine and have some laundry soap powder to wash her clothes thoroughly.
But right now that big bed was calling her name, and she couldn’t ignore the urge to climb into it and sleep anymore.
Sierra prayed that tonight was the night she didn’t have the recurring nightmare. She didn’t want to wake the Channing brothers by screaming the house down.
She wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to look them in the eye again if she did.
Chapter Three
“What the hell are we going to do?” Rhys asked.
Justice rubbed at the back of his neck and shook his head.
“I have no idea,” Weldon answered.
“I’m so fucking worried that she’ll be terrified of us if we tell her that we’re wolf shifters, let alone that she’s our mate,” Justice said.
“Maybe we should ask the other men,” Rhys suggested. “They’ve all been where we are. Surely, they’ll have some suggestions on how to go about this without terrifying our woman.”
Weldon clicked his fingers as an epiphany hit. “That’s the key.”
“What is?” Rhys asked.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Justice frowned.
“I think it would be a good idea to get some of the other women to talk with our mate,” Weldon said.
Rhys glanced at Justice. “It might work.”
Justice shook his head. “I don’t want any of the other men anywhere near our woman.”
“Fuck, Justice. It’s not like the other shifters are panting after our mate,” Weldon said. “They all have mates of their own.”
Justice sighed. “I know that.”
Weldon grasped his older brother’s shoulder. If Justice felt anything like him, he was already very possessive of Sierra, but not like she was a possession. His wanted to hold her in his arms, make love with her and claim her, but his human half wasn’t the only being craving the claiming. His wolf hadn’t stopped pacing and trying to urge him to bite Sierra. What concerned him, though, was that he was feeling more aggressive than usual.
He and his brothers were going to have to make sure they didn’t end snarling at Sierra and alienating her altogether. They were going to have to be vigilant as the craving for their mate got stronger and made them even more irritable than they normally were.
The last thing he wanted to do was lose the love of their lives.
* * * *
It had been hours since Justice crawled into bed, but he couldn’t sleep. All he could see was Sierra whether his eyes were open or closed. He’d been tossing and turning and had even tried staring at the ceiling hoping sleep would overtake him, but it wasn’t happening.
With a groan of frustration, he tossed the covers aside and strode into the bathroom. He was hot and achy, and his hard cock was throbbing, but he knew he wasn’t going to get any relief anytime soon. He stepped into the shower under the cold spray of water, hoping to douse the flames heating his body, but other than getting goosebumps and shivering, it didn’t help. He’d been hard enough to pound nails since he’d caught Sierra’s alluring scent in the street. While he didn’t think bringing himself to orgasm was going to help much, he still had to try. He wanted to be able to get a few hours of sleep so he was alert in the morning. Justice had a feeling he was going to need all his wits about him to deal with his woman.
She might have been pretty quiet and docile last night, but he put that down to her being tired. Hopefully, once she was rested, the real Sierra would come out to play. She had red hair, and he had a feeling she was going to be as fiery as all those long tresses hanging down her back.
What he didn’t like was seeing the shadows of fear in the depths of her gorgeous green eyes. Had someone hurt her? Was she in trouble? Though he’d liked to know the answers to those questions, he knew pumping her for information wasn’t going to endear himself to her.
Hopefully, the more time she spent in his and his brothers’ company the more comfortable she’d get with them. Justice wanted her to open up with them and tell them all about herself. Giving her the third degree wasn’t going to put him in her good graces.
Pushing his introspection aside, Justice gripped his hard dick and started pumping it. In his mind, he pictured Sierra in the shower with him. He had her pinned to the wall and his cock buried balls deep in her hot, wet cunt. Her arms were locked around his neck and her legs hooked around his waist. He gripped her ass in his hands as he drove into her depths hard and fast. Her gasps and moans drove him on until he was shuttling in and out of her with quick, deep strokes.
Fire heated the base of his spine and quickly traveled around to his balls. Liquid desire pooled low in his belly, and his balls crawled up closer to his body. Just as he was about to go over the precipice, he imagined pinching Sierra’s clit between his finger and thumb and slamming into her pussy deeply. She screamed his name as she came, and Justice quickly followed her into rapture.
He grunted as his juices sprayed the tile walls with rope after rope of his cum. After quickly washing and toweling off, he gazed down at his wayward dick with shock. His half-hard cock was already starting to fill with blood again. The relief from his self-induced orgasm hadn’t been worth the effort.
With a sigh of frustration, he entered his bedroom, pulled on a clean pair of boxers, and pulled the covers toward the bottom of the bed. He was too hot and bothered to have anything over his body, and his skin felt ultra-sensitive right now.
Justice had a feeling that the overload of hormones and the sensitivity was only going to get worse and worse.
He just hoped he didn’t end up losing his mind. Maybe that would be better than doing something Sierra hadn’t agreed to. Like mating her without her consent.
His wolf was being more aggressive than usual, and from what he’d heard from Zayn when he and his brothers met Tami, their mate, the antagonism was only going to get stronger and stronger.
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