by Eve Langlais
Time to go home, to Francine.
* * * *
Despite her friend’s protestations, Francine insisted on seeing the damage at her place. Somehow, though, hearing it secondhand just didn’t compare to seeing it in person. The moment she walked in her door and saw the devastation, the jokes she’d cracked the whole way over-such as, “I hope she didn’t mess with my dildo collection”-dwindled as disbelief took over.
Jenny hadn’t just tossed the place, she’d ruined it. From the slashed cushions on her couch to the smashed china and lamps, the crazy bitch left nothing intact. She’d dumped all her clothes on her mattress and poured bleach on them, shredded her pictures, written on the walls… Everywhere she looked, Francine saw devastation and meaningless violence. Against her. And her only mistake? Wanting the man she knew belonged to her.
While Naomi ranted and raved about how she’d tear the bitch’s claws out one by one, Mitchell following suit, Francine exited via the back door of her townhouse and sank onto her tiny concrete patio, chest heaving and her eyes brimming with tears. A body settled beside her, and she turned to see Javier, his dark gaze so reminiscent of Alejandro, she almost started crying. She missed him so much.
“It’s only stuff, Francine,” he said softly.
“I know,” she sniffed. “It’s not that, well it is, but it’s-” How to explain the violation? The unfairness? “How could she?”
“Jealousy will do strange things to people,” he replied.
She chuckled wetly. “I’ll say. You know what really sucks, though? Is she punished me, and yet, I don’t even have Mitchell.”
“Like fuck you don’t,” was the growl from behind her. “Can you give us a minute?” Mitchell asked.
Giving her a quick one-armed hug first, Javier then stood and said to Mitchell in a menacing tone, “Don’t fuck up.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Mitchell grumbled, taking Javier’s place beside her. Then he went one step further and dragged her onto his lap. She stiffened at first, but then relaxed as he wrapped his arms around her, cuddling her into him. She sighed, a sound repeated by her wolf, and relaxed in his embrace.
“I. Am. So. Sorry.” Each word came out alone and so coated in chagrin she couldn’t help a weak laugh.
“It’s not your fault. I guess maybe you are as good as they say in the sack if Jenny’s willing to murder me just to get back together with you.”
“This isn’t funny, Red. She could have killed you and all because I’m a fucking idiot who refused to see what was in front of me.”
“And what did you not see?” she asked softly.
“I want you. Hell, I think I need you.”
“You’re just saying that because you feel sorry for me and guilty about what happened.”
He sighed. “No, I’m saying it because it’s true. For years I let you scare me into staying away. Avoiding you became second nature.”
“Great. That makes me feel soooo much better,” she drawled sarcastically.
“Smart ass. Do you know why I did it?”
“Because I had cooties?”
“No.”
“Because of my freckles.”
“No, I actually really like those.”
“It’s because my ass is too wide.”
“No, you idiot. Your ass is freakn’ amazing. No, the reason why I avoided you was because deep down inside, when you told me we belonged together, a part of me knew it was true. And it scared the fuck out of me. I honestly saw you as a little sister, so when I started feeling things for you, things you expected and accepted, I freaked and ran.”
“Mitchell?”
“Yes.”
“You are an idiot,” she solemnly stated. Not an easy feat given her heart raced a mile a minute and her body tingled all over with anticipation. Her inner bitch had no such restraint and yipped at her, demanding she bite him before he changed his mind.
A rumble shook his chest. “I know I am, Red.”
“So now that we’ve ascertained the fact that I am the smart one, what happens next?”
“I claim you, that is, if you’ll still have me, dumb genes and all.”
“And Alejandro?”
“Yeah, well, I won’t say that I’m happy about sharing you with a feline, but so long as he keeps out of my face, I’ll deal with it. For you.”
Okay, so it wasn’t as warm and fuzzy as she would have liked. It was still more than she could have ever expected. She’d finally gotten her man. “Kiss me,” she demanded.
At her request, he immediately shifted her in his lap to face him, and she tilted her chin up, welcoming the soft touch of his lips, instant heat warming her. Then giddy joy-mixed with relief-flooded her. Mitchell’s going to claim me! The dream of so long would happen.
Her arms crept up to lace around his neck, her fingers toying with the ends of his hair as she opened her mouth before the probing insistence of his tongue. Wet, wild, and filled with the promise of pleasure to come, it figured someone would interrupt it.
“You owe me twenty bucks,” Naomi exclaimed from right behind them. “Told you he’d come to his senses before Alejandro came back.”
“Ha. He hasn’t marked her yet, so no money,” retorted Ethan.
Mitchell and Francine broke apart and turned to peer at Naomi and her mates.
“What?” her best friend asked, trying to look innocent and failing.
“You wagered on me claiming Francine?” Mitchell asked.
“Well, yeah. If it makes you feel better, I knew you’d come to your senses. Javier here thought you’d hold out a while longer.”
“Are you sure you want to belong to this family?” Mitchell whispered to her loudly.
“Yes.” More than anything.
Intimate moment interrupted, Francine let Naomi take charge of getting her townhouse cleaned and her stuff replaced. Thankfully, her insurance, a small company also run by shifters, would cover most of the costs, with Mitchell insisting on covering the difference. Apparently, living at home, he’d managed to save up, which would come in handy, because as Francine peered about her small living space, it quickly became evident that living here with two larger than life males would have its challenges, especially with Mitchell only accepting Alejandro’s role grudgingly.
But she’d deal with that hurdle when they came to it. First, she needed to get Mitchell alone so he could mark her before he got cold feet and changed his mind again. Okay, that’s a lie. I don’t think he’s going to be running again. She, on the other hand, had a fire in her pussy that needed tending, and she knew just the man to put it out.
Chapter Eleven
The moon had just begun to peek over the tree tops when Francine finally convinced Mitchell to go for a run in the woods. He tried to talk her out of it, arguing for the last two hours that he wanted her to go back to bed and rest. She ignored his order. Actually, she laughed at him, and in the face of her giggles, so much better than her moroseness of earlier at her town house, he couldn’t say no. Nor could he throw her over his shoulder caveman style and drag her back to bed. Although, that idea did have merit, especially given the ropes they’d used to tie him down when trying to keep him abed still remained attached to his broken headboard and footboard. However, the walls in his house were thin, and he somehow doubted he’d be able to keep his hands off her if he had her trussed spread eagle on his bed. And while he didn’t know if she was a screamer or not, Mitchell already knew he was noisy. Besides, knowing his mother, she’d be so happy he’d finally given in to fate, she’d probably stand outside his bedroom shouting pointers to make sure he didn’t disappoint her new daughter-in-law.
So it was the woods, or…the woods. She left him no choice with her insistence that she needed to let her beast stretch.
“Are you sure you can do this?” Mitchell asked once again, unable to completely curtail his concern that Francine would over tax herself. Ever since he found out she’d gotten shot, he’d lived in a state of anxiety. Kno
wing how close he came to losing her made him realize so many things, like how he didn’t want to go a day without seeing her anymore. Actually, in an abrupt one-eighty, he didn’t know if he could go a single day without having her smiling or teasing him. And he knew his body would probably explode if he didn’t get to sink into her soon.
Knowing she got shot because of him…God, the guilt. He now understood Alejandro’s need to make things right. The same feeling made him want to hunt Jenny down and make her pay for her actions, girl or not. But at the same time, he couldn’t leave Francine alone without protection. He’d have to bide his time until Alejandro returned. However, before the cat did, he needed to do something first. Something long overdue.
Their recent time together made him realize so many things; first and foremost, he loved her. Loved the feisty girl he’d known as a child, and loved even more the fiery woman she’d become. No longer did thoughts of her as a sister plague him, because honestly, seeing Naomi alongside her as they organized the clean up just showcased the differences. Buried deep inside, he discovered the real reason he ran all those years and it wasn’t because he had brotherly thoughts. It was because he didn’t and he feared what that meant.
Turns out I am a big, yellow-bellied coward. Because of his unwillingness to accept the truth, he forced her to turn to other men, men she slept with, who touched that curvy body, a body that could have belonged to him alone had he owned the courage to admit his feelings. Fuck, that pissed him off. And explained even more things like why he got so mad at her prom when he caught her and that kid in his car, the windows fogged up. He saw the flush in her cheeks, smelled the virgin blood, and he lost his mind. He almost killed her boyfriend that night, not truly understanding his rage, attributing it to the fact she was like family. Of course, he never hurt Naomi’s first as bad. Nor had he gone after Naomi’s other boyfriends like he had with Francine’s when he came across them. Even then, despite not understanding why, he’d been jealous and freakn’.
The past couldn’t rearrange itself, even with hindsight, but he could affect the future, claim it and her, forging new and beautiful memories. It just sucked that his refusal to see what he had under his nose now meant he had to share and with a cat of all things. It made him wonder if he’d accepted her years ago, whether Alejandro would have ever stood a chance. Or was she always destined for two, the mating fever not truly affecting me until Alejandro came into her life. It would certainly explain a lot, such as how he’d managed to fight claiming her for so long.
A fight that stopped tonight.
Staring down at her petite frame, the pair of them alone finally for the first time-except for the curious eyes he was sure spied from the house-anticipation made his mouth dry-and his cock hard. At Francine’s behest, they were going to shift into their beasts and go for a run. What she didn’t know, but probably suspected, was somewhere in those woods, probably in that sweet clearing with the soft grass, he would make love to her, and claim not just her body, but her heart and soul. Maybe if he made her come enough times, she’d start forgiving him for acting like such an ass all those years.
Despite his pleasurable plans, though, he worried that she’d not yet recovered enough. Hence his repeated statement of, “Maybe we should wait until you’re stronger.”
“Stop molly coddling me. I’m not some delicate freakn’ flower, not like someone I know.” She yelled the last bit, and Mitchell was sure he heard his sister, one of the hiding audience, snort. “For the last time, I’ll be fine. Besides, the full moon is out and my wolf is demanding I let her out. It will help me regain the last of my strength.”
Just over three days of rest and his wound just showed as a puckered scar, but Francine was a girl, and smaller to boot. The urge to coddle her remained. “I don’t know if this is such a good idea.”
With a snort of disgust, she yanked at the hem of her shirt, tugging it up past creamy white flesh. He averted his gaze out of habit and heard her laughter. “Too late for cold feet, Mitchell. Either you join me, or I take you right here and now. Think Naomi will give us pointers?”
“You’re bossy.”
“So I’ve been told. Just so you know, I like to tell you what to do in the bedroom too.”
For some reason, the idea of his little Red giving him orders, like “Lick me,” “Fuck me,” or just plain, “Give me your cock to suck” excited him and made him rock freakn’ hard. “You won’t be able to say much if I’ve got my dick stuffed in your mouth,” he retorted, the dirty words he’d thought slipping out by accident. Or not.
A delighted, husky chuckle erupted from her, and standing there in only a bra, her overly plump breasts spilling out of the cups, the rounded softness of her belly just peeking over her the waistband of her pants, he realized he’d never been so happy or aroused in his life.
Wait, when she pulled at the clasp of her bra, and let her glorious breasts jiggle free, her nipples hardening into points, okay, now he was the happiest and most aroused ever. He actually might have a drooled a bit. His tongue, he managed to keep in his mouth-for now-instead of panting. Another thing he found himself thankful for? She had her back to the house so Chris and his other brothers weren’t seeing her glorious perfection. He’d hate to have to rip their eyes from their skulls. Mama would probably freak if he did.
“Are you going to just stand there and stare, because I’ll have you know, I’m really looking forward to watching you strip. I want to see if you’re as big as they say.”
God but she goaded him at every turn. Teased him into wanting her even as he tried to take it slow and respect her. It seemed she didn’t want that, though. And, truthfully, with his cock aching, her breasts teasing, and the wild scent of her arousal rising, he wondered if he could find the will to wait until they reached the clearing. Screw the eyes in the windows. He wanted her right here and now. Remember the audience.
“You know my family is watching.”
“Oh please. Like they haven’t seen you naked.”
Naked, yes. Naked with a ten foot aching pole stretching from his groin, no. “Since you’re so eager to get buff, then why don’t you go first?” Too late, he realized the challenge he’d thrown her. She, of course, didn’t even hesitate.
Showing no modesty whatsoever, her hands went right to the waistband of her pants and she shimmied them down over her rounded hips to display a skimpy pair of bikini panties that just covered her thatch. Moisture pooled in his mouth as he imagined burying his face in the fiery curls that surely matched the mop on her head.
“Wanna see the back? It’s a thong,” she taunted.
A thong? That meant… shit. Even with her back to the house, she was giving his brothers an eyeful. Mine, ours, his wolf agreed. Just as jealous as his beast, Mitchell swept her into his arms and carried her into the dark seclusion of the forest behind his parents’ house.
“What are you doing?”
“My brothers don’t need to see what’s mine.”
She laughed, a beautiful, carefree sound. “You do know your brothers have seen my bare ass before, right? Heck, just last summer, when I went cottaging with Naomi and Chris, we went skinny dipping in the lake.”
Mental note to self: kill his little brother. Later. Right now, he needed to get some of his chafing clothes off.
Putting her down first, he stepped back and almost chuckled himself when her laughter abruptly cut off and all because he stripped his shirt off. She’d seen his chest before. Heck, they’d spent the last few days in bed together with him pretty much half naked. But now, with anticipation and arousal peppering the air, she regarded him with something akin to awe-and hunger. Beautiful, arousing hunger, for me.
Soft fingers stroked down his chest, circling around his pecs. “Nice,” she murmured. Her digits kept moving until they hit his waistband, her deft fingers unsnapping his pants and pushing them down before he could form a coherent thought.
His erection tented his briefs, and she cupped him, squeezing his girth
while he could only tremble, looking for a way to remain a little aloof. He struggled to find even an iota of his usual control, enough that he wouldn’t throw her to the ground and ravish her.
“I thought you wanted to run,” he gasped as she kneaded him through the stretched fabric.
“I do.” She released him and stepped back, her head tilting back to give him a naughty smile. “I just wanted to make sure you had incentive to chase.” With a flick of her hand and a wiggle of her hips, her panties slid down. Before he had time to fully admire the view, she let her animal take over, her body contorting and reshaping until a small wolf with a silky coat of russet stood in front of him. With a yip, she bounded off, and Mitchell quickly stripped and changed into his own shaggy beast before chasing.
Ghosting through the woods on sure paws, the anxiety of the last few days, the mind-boggling mess of his emotions, everything melted away-except for his desire. The more he chased the fleet-footed she-wolf, the more his blood heated and his excitement grew. When he caught her, there would be no hesitation or doubt. He’d claim her. Sink his cock into her while she stared into his eyes, and as she climaxed, he’d bite her, marking her in the old fashioned way, making her his.
The thought spurred him to move even faster, herding her flitting shape to the location he’d selected. When she finally dashed into the open clearing, he followed right on her heels, and then stumbled as he tried not to slam into her smaller frame. Yipping, his wolf chastised her only to shut up as his mind filtered the sounds they heard. It seemed his clearing of choice was already taken. And despite the fact they knew they must have an audience, the foursome on the grass didn’t stop what they were doing.
Backing away, he and Francine moved back to the shelter of the woods, both of them riveted by the scene before them. For a man who’d never thought much of ménages before, he seemed to be running into them an awful lot lately. Worst, he recognized the woman in the clearing, a daughter to one of his mother’s friends. One of her lovers, an old high school football team mate. Not that their identities made a difference. Anyone could have been a part of the fleshy tangle of limbs and he would have stared, mesmerized.
