Mmmm. Her muscles sagged against him as she tried to relax. Warm again. Finally.
She nuzzled her face into Nate's chest, enjoying the pleasantly masculine feeling of his hair scraping against her skin. He smelt good, too. Like the outdoors. Like pine trees.
Pine trees? That wasn't what he'd smelt like when he'd come for dinner. Maybe he used more than one cologne. Still, she couldn't quite remember what he was doing in her bed right now. Actually, she had a vague memory of spending Saturday night at home, by herself.
An icy breeze glided over the curve of her hip. She shivered and tried again to reach for the covers. Her arm was caught somewhere down behind her, and Nate was on top of her, squashing her.
"Gerr ooof." What should have been a sharp command came out as a murmur. Doubting he'd even heard her, she tried again, only to find herself coughing and coughing as she swallowed a mouthful of the frigid air. Why was it so cold?
"Shhh, honey. Just stay still. I'm here now." Nate's voice soothed away the kaleidoscope that had been whirling behind her eyes as the coughing continued.
Strong fingers caressed her neck, calm and warm, but definitely Nate's.
Gina made an effort to force her eyes open. Why were all her thoughts centered on the concept of 'warm'? And why the hell was Nate talking to her like he would a frightened child? All she wanted was the quilt. There was nothing too scary about that, was there?
She blinked and suddenly realised he was right there in front of her, so close she had to refocus her eyes to actually see him. He smiled down on her, gently, and she shifted awkwardly, for some reason wanting to put some distance between them.
"Stay still. You'll hurt yourself if you move."
Huh?
Those melted-toffee eyes were staring down at her, the obvious tenderness doing nothing to conceal the worry he was trying to hide behind his smile. Hurt herself? In bed?
Well, whatever he'd meant, it didn't seem like he was going to move away from her, or pass her the blasted quilt. She squirmed, trying to escape his closeness, before she realized what he'd meant.
She couldn't move her wrists, her skin was burning, and there was something horribly hard and rough behind her. That was all forgotten in the moment she shifted her head to look over his shoulder. A glimpse of nighttime and pine trees was lost as the agonizing pain sent the darkness sweeping over her.
* * * *
Poor little thing. Her head must really have been pounding if that small a movement was enough to make her faint. Maybe she was better off that way—at least she wouldn't feel it when they had to move her. Nate grunted. If, that was, the family ever bothered showing up.
His fingers were still stroking her neck, the rhythm as hypnotically soothing to him as he hoped it was to her, when the undergrowth rustled wildly and three full grown wolves leapt into the clearing.
Underneath him, he felt Gina start upright, a hardly heard gasp and the fresh lines of pain as she screwed her eyes shut the only sign she was back with him again. He considered using his influence to put her back to sleep and decided against it.. She might have been more comfortable if she was unconscious, but he wasn't willing to risk playing with her head after the thump she'd obviously taken.
"What the hell happened?" Rafe's voice was incredulous.
"What do you think?" Nate snarled in reply. "Took your bloody time getting here, didn't you?"
Sebastian was calm as always, sniffing carefully before standing fluidly upright, his wolf body seemingly dropping away behind him as his shape flowed from animal to man.
"I take it this is the lady you spent last night with?" he asked as he moved behind the tree, tugging experimentally on the ropes that held her upright.
Nate growled. It was der-obvious to anyone with half a brain that Gina was his woman—well, it was obvious to a wolf anyway. After all the sex they'd shared the night before, his scent was literally still seeping from her pores.
"Rob?" Sebastian queried.
There was only one wolf still left in the clearing, and he rubbed his body around Gina's ankles, snuffling at her scent. As elegantly as Sebastian, he stretched upright, shape-shifting as he did, and offered an encouraging smile. "She should be okay. You've got to her in time." He circled the tree thoughtfully, eyeing the ropes. "Can you hold her weight when Sebastian cuts the rope?"
Nate didn't grace him with an answer, just wrapped his arms more firmly around Gina's shoulders. Whether she was conscious or not when she was released, Nate fully expected he'd have to support her entire weight.
"Ready?" Sebastian called quietly, rapidly changing back to wolf shape and using a single claw to slit the coarse ropes.
Gina's weight sagged against Nate's chest and, once again, he had to suppress the wicked little voice that was suggesting how good it felt to have her body melded so closely, so trustingly, against his.
"Nate?" Her voice was tiny, but he heard and instantly looked down at her.
Gina's hazel eyes were wide with shock, and a telltale tremble was moving through her body.
"I'm here, honey," he crooned. "I'm taking you
home. There's nothing to—"
"Who's he?"
He glanced up to find that Rob had moved into the space between Gina and the tree, pressing his body as tightly against hers as Nate was on the other side. Rob was nodding approvingly, but Nate could certainly understand her hesitation. She was sandwiched between two large naked men, and the remains of her nightgown weren't much protection from the feeling of their warm skin on hers.
"That's my cousin Rob," he told her calmly, only an extreme effort of will hiding his jealousy at having another man holding his woman. "He's a doctor. You've been out in the cold too long, and we have to get you warm."
"Oh." Her eyes closed, and she slumped bonelessly back against him, seemingly unaware of Rob's continued presence at her back.
Nate scowled across her head at Rob, who grinned an insincere apology.
Damn! Not only was he going to be overprotective, but jealous, too. A shiver ran through him at the thought, but he refused to put it down to anything but the wind. Standing here without his fur on, he was getting cold himself.
"Nate?" Gina's voice was slightly stronger this time, and her eyes were open again.
"Yes, honey?"
"Where are we?"
"Oldham Forest."
"Oh."
She seemed satisfied with that for a few moments, but jumped against him as Sebastian pushed a furry arm between her and Rafe, reaching for the cord that still bound her wrists tightly behind her back.
"Why is everyone naked?" she whispered into the silence.
Ah.
How the hell was he supposed to answer that one? Nate thought furiously, pulling her closer against him and pushing her face more securely into his chest.
A hearty laugh—totally out of place in the cold forest—broke into his hectic thoughts. He scowled across at Sebastian who was standing slightly to the side, the remains of the rope dangling from his againhuman hands.
"I think you'll have some explaining to do," Sebastian chuckled, totally unfazed by Nate's daggerladen stare.
"Apparently," he agreed carefully, not wanting to worry her any more than she already was.
He looked down, inspecting her face closely. Gina's eyelids had drooped, and she wasn't making any effort to hold herself upright, leaning trustingly into him. The fine lines of pain were still there, but her forehead was smooth and her mouth relaxed. Whatever she thought was happening, she didn't seem to be fretting about it.
Nate shrugged. "Time to go home? Rob?"
"The sooner she's properly warm, the better," he agreed. "You, too," Rob added amicably. "Your nose is blue."
"Thank you for sharing that with me. I really didn't want to know," he retorted.
Nate hadn't needed Rob to point out just how cold he was. His teeth were chattering, and he was quite sure it wasn't just his nose that was blue. His ass had gone numb and his feet were freezing
. And he'd only been exposed for ten minutes or so—he hated to imagine what Gina was feeling.
Before he'd had time to start walking, Sebastian had moved closer and scooped Gina effortlessly out of his arms. "You," he told Nate, "change back and get warm. We'll have to take turns carrying her or we'll all freeze our butts off.
And you," he pointed to Rafe, "had better get tracking. Then we'll know who to go after."
Nate barely hesitated, gladly sinking downwards into his wolf form as Rafe headed off down the fire trail, following the scent of the men who'd left Gina alone in the wilderness. They were all too used to having Sebastian take control to query his orders, and it was only sensible, anyway. He did notice, however, the startled gaze Gina fixed on Sebastian's face as he began to stride through the forest with her, away from the fire trail and towards their house. She apparently wasn't quite so sure about the change of her 'rescuers'.
* * * *
Gina looked wildly up at the stranger who'd pulled her away from the comfort of Nate's warmth, folding her up and carrying her as easily as if she were a small baby. She supposed she was, measured against his size.
"I'm Sebastian," he offered, "Nate's brother."
What could she say to that? Formal introductions seemed more than just a little out of place. Heck, she was surrounded by naked men—large, naked men, she corrected herself—and…wolves? She looked down again, checking that she hadn't imagined it. Yep, they were wolves, all right.
"Uh, Sebastian?" No matter how hard she tried, her voice was whisper-soft.
"Mmm?"
Ignoring the fresh throb of pain, she used her head to indicate the two wolves unconcernedly loping along beside them. Trying to move her arms to point them out seemed like too much trouble.
"Wolves," he said helpfully.
"Uh, yes." She sighed.
How did she explain this? He seemed to think it was the most natural thing in the world to be naked, carrying a barely dressed woman through a forest at midnight, in the middle of winter, with wolves for an escort. Her dreams were getting really weird.
Too weird. It couldn't actually really be happening, could it? She caught herself tensing, trying to burrow deeper into this strangers chest, and had to force herself to relax again.
"It'll make sense tomorrow, sweetie," he soothed. "Just let us get you home and warm, and don't worry about it."
Don't worry about it, the man said. She started to shake her head in sheer disbelief, only subsiding when it sent pain stabbing through her head and down her neck.
Maybe if she just closed her eyes, next time she woke up she'd be at home in her own bed, snugly and warm. She certainly hoped so. On that comforting thought, she let herself drift away from reality,
content to fall back into the welcoming blackness.
Chapter Twelve
"Is she awake yet?"
"Shhh. Not yet." A pause. "Soon, I think."
"What did Rob say? Will she be okay?"
"Yeah." Another pause.
Gina could almost imagine the first speaker raising an enquiring eyebrow at the obvious lack of details. Heck, she wanted to know more herself!
"Quite a few bruises," the second voice finally ceded. "Nothing permanent, and her temperature's back to normal."
The voices were hushed, but there was nothing the least bit soothing about the feeling of being surrounded by men. Rather masculine-sounding men, now she thought about it. Her brain was still feeling very doughy, yet she had vivid memories of being carried through the forest by a stranger. A naked stranger. And there was something about wolves teasing at her, too.
She shifted restlessly, strangely uneasy with her dreams. After all, there was no way she could really have been attacked and left for the werewolves. Definitely too many horror movies, or maybe too many chocolate cookies. That was all.
Still…
She could remember the sensation of being totally surrounded, the rougher skin of the men warm against hers. There'd been the scrape of wiry hair against her smoothly shaven legs, the flattering bulges pressed into her bottom and stomach. Dreamy as she'd been, a tiny part of her had been rejoicing at the way her body had affected them. And the way one of them had so easily picked her up and carried her off—almost like the heroine in a bad western.
Yet through it all, there'd been no fear. She'd trusted them. And she could remember that trust quite clearly.
Less clear, however, was what had followed in the dream. There'd been hands, lots of hands, stroking and caressing. Her nightgown was gone, and she'd stood nude between them, enjoying their touch— encouraging it. But more than that… She wasn't sure. It was more imagination than reality, and if she hadn't been so sure she was dreaming, she'd never have believed it of herself. She—boring little Gina—in the midst of a ménage. Willingly lapping up the attentions of the strangers who were so eagerly exploring her body. She'd wanted it. She'd wanted them.
Was it possible? She doubted it. Apart from the fact her actions had been so out of character, her memories were…
She thought for a minute, drifting in the quiet. Her memories were flat. That was the difference. At first, the dream had been so realistic it was almost scary, but the actual ménage had happened at a distance. When she'd felt the men pressed against her, felt their erections through the fine white silk of her gown, she'd really felt them. It had been dark and cold and the smell of pine trees had been so strong as to nearly obscure Nate's own particular scent.
Nate?
Had he been there, then? Or had the whole thing been nothing but her own overactive imagination? Too tired to force herself to think any more, she let the world retreat, a vague smile creasing her lips as she fell asleep. True or not, the dreams had been very, very nice.
* * * *
The sheet was cool beneath her, the unmistakable feel of crisp, freshly laundered linen scraping pleasantly on her skin. God, she was sensitive! She could practically feel the fibers in the cotton weave under her bottom, a rough caress up the small of her back that tickled her neck as she moved.
She wriggled again, savoring the sensation. She really should sleep naked more often. It was such a nice feeling. Sensual. Her muscles protested as she stretched her arms high above her head, her legs spreading sinuously under the light covering.
A shaft of light fell over her eyes, and she wrinkled her nose in disapproval. Surely it was too early to be morning. Her body felt suspiciously like she really had been out in the forest all night… Nah. She refused to believe it.
"You're awake, then?"
Her eyelids flew open. Okay, so maybe it hadn't been all in her dreams. After all, Nate was here in her bedroom. Admittedly, he was hovering kind of
anxiously, but, nonetheless, he was here.
And so was his brother.
Apparently she looked just as horrified as she felt, because Nate instantly stepped between her and the very large man who looked suspiciously like the very large, very naked, man of last night's dreams. Ah, hell!
"Shhh. It's okay; you're safe at my place." Nate bent and wrapped his arms around her, attempting to soothe her even as she was craning her neck, trying to confirm that there really was another man in her bedroom.
No, not her bedroom. Nate's bedroom.
She banished that thought as the other man moved into her view. He looked precisely the same this morning as he had last night, too. Not drop-dead handsome like Nate, but mighty fine in a very physical, in-your-face sort of way.
Unfortunately, he was dressed this morning..
Where had that particular thought come from? She shook her head wildly. It was all very well and good to dream about a plethora of gorgeous men tossing her over their collective shoulders and taking her home with them; it was another thing entirely to actually have it happen to her.
She gripped the sheet tightly, drawing it up and twisting it between her fingers as she remembered she was naked. In bed.
And naked.
And she certainly didn't remember
getting here herself. How many of them had seen her without any clothes on? There'd been those voices talking about her. Apparently she'd been sick and only half-aware of what had been happening around her. How
absolutely mortifying!
And rather erotic, too. The whole idea of being totally helpless, stripped naked by these men she barely knew, was strangely appealing… Horrified with herself for even thinking about it, let alone the fact she could feel herself becoming aroused by the pictures her imagination was busily painting, she tried desperately to pull the reins on her careening imagination.
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