The blue swirl of energy that surrounded Butler pulled her erotic thoughts under control. She watched in astonishment as Butler transformed into a massive white wolf with the same coloring as his hair in human form. Without hesitation, the wolf nudged her hand and was rewarded when she sunk her left hand into his rich fur to pet him lovingly.
Keeping her hands on both wolves, she caressed them slowly. Her mind was a riot of thoughts and emotions. Their wolf forms were beautiful, and she actually loved the feel of their silky pelts under her hands. Could she accept this unbelievable side to them? Could she truly be their third in this triad mate thing as Laurie had explained it to her? Maybe she should give them a chance. She wouldn’t commit to anything, but maybe they could explore what this relationship might be. Maybe these men would be truthful with her and really want her to be with them because they would care about her and the family they might create—not because of the money she possessed.
“Please shift back,” she told them quietly.
In an instant, blue energy swirled around the wolves and Alexander’s and Butler’s human forms knelt before her. She reached down and took Alex’s injured hand in hers and inspected it. To her astonishment, his hand was totally healed. She held his large hand between her smaller ones, petting him without realizing it. The soft growls that escaped him at her gentle touch made her smile as she looked up at him.
“Does it hurt?” she asked worriedly.
He shook his head, unable to trust his voice as emotion welled up in his throat. Her genuine concern and caring for him made him happy and settled something inside him that he knew only she could heal.
Lifting his hand to her mouth, she gently kissed his knuckles and then held it against her chest tightly. “Please be careful in the future,” she told him sternly.
Butler leaned forward and kissed her cheek gently, drawing her attention to him. “You’ve made us both very happy, Nikki,” he told her sincerely. “Our wolves didn’t scare you, did they?”
Nikki was shocked to realize that she hadn’t even thought about it. “I guess I was more concerned about Alex’s hand,” she told him honestly. Before she could say another word, Alex leaned forward and took her lips in the most tender, exquisite kiss she had ever received. She breathed against his lips as he backed up a bit, hovering near her mouth and licking at the fullness of her bottom lip lightly.
A light knock on the bedroom door interrupted them. Alex and Butler both growled at the constant interruptions. Nikki laughed and ran her fingers through their hair, loving the soft rumbles that escaped them as she soothed them.
“You boys need to cover yourselves,” she told them sternly. “I’d rather not let anyone else see you naked.”
Butler laughed and pulled the comforter across his lap as he sat against the headboard of the bed. “We’ll be naked for you all the time, sweetness,” he told her, leaning forward to kiss her lips quickly.
“And we expect you’ll do the same for us,” Alex added, taking his place against the headboard and carefully pulling Nikki toward them until she was settled securely between them. He couldn’t prevent the smile that crossed his face when Nikki pulled the edge of the comforter across his lap and gave him a look of exasperation. He was going to love teasing her for the rest of their lives.
“Come in,” Nikki called, shushing both men as they settled comfortably against her.
The door opened and Jace and Jackson walked in with two police officers. “Nikki, I hope you’re feeling better,” Jace told her sincerely, stepping to the side of the bed to look down at her in concern. “If you’re not up to this right now, we can have Clay and Hunter come back another time.”
“No, it’s okay,” Nikki assured him. “Let’s get this over with so Patrick can’t hurt Laurie anymore.”
Jace looked down at Laurie’s friend, smiling at her strength. He knew she was a good friend to Laurie. She would be a strong mate for his lieutenants. He nodded once and turned to introduce the two officers.
“This is Clayton Forest and Hunter Stewart,” he told her, indicating the two men who stood at the foot of the bed. “They’re police officers for the local town, but they’re also members of our ranch community. You can talk to them freely. They’ll make sure that you’re protected.”
Nikki nodded to them, amazed that every single man in this ranch community was well over six feet tall and built of muscle. Maybe it was something in the mountain air. She smiled at her own joke, knowing Alex and Butler fell under the same category of delicious men.
Looking toward them both briefly, she couldn’t stop the blush that crossed her face when she realized that both men sat beside her totally naked, and they didn’t seem to be bothered by that fact! Turning to face the officers, she did her best to concentrate on them instead of the two deliciously naked men who sat protectively holding her against them.
“We’ll try to make this brief, Ms. Sinclair,” Officer Forest spoke softly. “We just need your statement as to what happened at the mall yesterday.”
“I don’t have much to tell you,” Nikki explained quietly. “Patrick Anderson, Laurie’s ex-husband, confronted us outside the lingerie store. He said some rude things to Laurie then stepped forward and ripped her bag from her hand. He reached out to grab her, and I put myself between them. He pushed me against the store wall. I was knocked unconscious.”
“Do you want to press charges?” the Officer Stewart asked, his light brown eyes showing concern.
“Absolutely,” Nikki answered without hesitation.
She smiled when she felt both Alex and Butler press tightly against her, hugging her to them. She held their hands tightly against her waist as they drew her toward them.
“We’ve been able to hold him in custody overnight but he’ll probably be released on bail this morning,” Clay Forest told her, his light blue eyes flashing with anger. “Unfortunately, he has a lot of money and a smart lawyer.”
Nikki closed her eyes in frustration, taking a deep breath to try to calm herself. Once again, the amount of money a person possessed made the difference. She opened her eyes and looked at Alex and Butler sadly.
Turning to look up at the officers, she smiled tiredly. “Is there anything else you need from me?” she asked them softly, her voice tight with pain. “I don’t really feel very well right now.”
“No, sorry,” Officer Stewart answered quickly. “We’ll file the necessary paperwork and get back to you. Thank you for your time, Ms. Sinclair. I hope you feel better soon.”
Nikki nodded and closed her eyes, leaning into the softness of her pillow and allowing her body to relax. Every muscle in her body was screaming in pain.
“Thank you, Nikki,” she heard Jace’s voice as if from a distance, then the click of the door and blessed silence.
“We need to take care of you now, sweetness,” Butler told her quietly, leaning in to kiss her tenderly as Alex leaned away from her.
“I’m fine,” she protested.
“No. You’re not,” Alex said firmly, reaching forward to help her stand.
Her groan made both men flinch at the sound of their mate’s pain. They held her firmly between them as she stood on shaky legs. When they reached for her shirt and started to pull it carefully over her head, she held onto the bottom hem for dear life.
“What are you doing?” she nearly screeched.
“We need to undress you so we can massage you with the oils Martha brought us,” Butler explained calmly.
“But then I’ll be naked.” Nikki’s voice held horror as she panicked.
Alex smiled a distinctively evil smile. She looked from him to Butler and saw the same smile cross his face. Both men’s eyes were glowing golden, and they were looking at her as if they could eat her up. To be so intensely desired was foreign to her. It was amazing that these two incredibly handsome men wanted her.
“Naked is good,” Alex told her, chuckling.
Nikki wanted to be outraged, but the sheer joy with which Alex was r
esponding to her made her heart light with happiness. She could feel his emotions calming and was relieved that the despair and sadness she had felt from him earlier was dissipating.
“Okay, maybe I’ll let you help me get naked,” she said finally. “My back really does hurt.”
Both men became serious at her admission. They knew she had to be in some serious pain if she was admitting it to them. Reaching forward, they carefully pulled her shirt over her head. Despite their immediate reaction to the beauty of their mate’s body, they clamped down on their desires so they could take care of her. Alex unhooked her bra and Butler slowly pulled it from her body. Both men couldn’t contain the growls of approval as her full breasts were revealed to them, begging for their touch. The soft rose of her nipples calling to them made their cocks harden completely. They wanted to make love to her, take turns worshiping her body, take her engorged nipples into their mouths, suck them, and nip at them until she was a squirming mess of need beneath them.
“Beautiful,” Alex whispered, leaning forward to kiss her shoulder gently, licking at it and nipping it gently with his canines. He would not claim her without her permission, but he couldn’t prevent the way they had burst through his gums at the sight and scent of her body.
Nikki shivered slightly at the erotic feel of his teeth scraping her collarbone. When he nuzzled against her neck and bit down lightly on the space between her neck and shoulder, she couldn’t prevent the moan of pure pleasure that escaped her.
Butler unsnapped and unzipped her black jeans, and pulled them carefully down her body, leaving her red lace underwear on to appease her modesty. He knelt before her and gently lifted each of her feet to pull the pants from her body. Leaning in, he nuzzled against her hip, breathing in the scent of her arousal and growling possessively. Nipping lightly at the juncture between thigh and hip, he smiled at her responding moan of pleasure and kissed the exposed skin lightly.
Standing, he held her tightly against his body, his rock hard erection fitting snugly between her legs. He closed his eyes at the pure joy of being so intimately close to her. He held her gently, waiting while Alex went into the bathroom to return with a large bath towel and spread it out on the bed. Very gently, he and Alex helped Nikki onto the bed and settled her facedown on the towel, lying sideways on the bed so they could take their places at her head and at her feet, carefully arranging her arms and legs so that she wasn’t in any pain.
Nikki closed her eyes and relaxed, allowing herself to think of nothing except the warmth of the oil that they poured across her shoulders and back and the feel of their hands carefully rubbing the oil into her strained muscles. She couldn’t stop the groans of pleasure that escaped her as they massaged every ache and strain away. She could feel the oil seeping into her tissues and knew that the herbs within the oil must be working, for she soon felt a tingling sensation within her muscles.
“That feels so good,” she whispered as the men’s hands slid across her shoulders, arms, and back.
Alex smiled down at the woman who had already ingrained herself in his heart. He loved watching his hands sliding over her body, enjoying every inch of skin he was able to caress and care for. He slid his hands on either side of her torso, cupping his fingers beneath her body to spread the healing oil. When his fingertips brushed over the sides of her breasts, he had to close his eyes and concentrate on controlling his immediate desire to make her his. He looked up and saw Butler having the same difficulty as he slowly pulled her red lace panties from her body and massaged the luscious globes of her ass.
“How are you feeling, Nikki?” Butler asked her, his voice hoarse with desire.
“So good,” Nikki answered, her voice dreamy, her body pliant beneath their hands.
Butler continued to massage her lower back and sexy behind while Alex deepened the pressure of his hands on her neck and shoulders. The total joy they felt at their mate’s complete trust in them and the gift of being able to touch her body made them both desire her even more. Both of their cocks were hard and leaking. They wanted to bury themselves deep inside her and love her until she screamed their names. But now was not the time.
Instead, they concentrated on the deep tissue massage they gave her, smiling at the continuous groans of pleasure that escaped her. They couldn’t wait until those sounds came from her as they loved every inch of her body.
They massaged her for nearly an hour, loving the feel of her beneath their hands. When they were certain she was fully relaxed and the oils had begun the healing process, they covered her with a clean sheet, wrapping it around her and cocooning her tightly within the soft material, righting her on the bed so that her head was at the top and she was resting comfortably on her pillow from the night before. Climbing up to lie down beside her, they turned her body slowly so as not to disturb her and settled themselves against her. Butler drew the comforter over the three of them, and both men snuggled tightly against her, just as she liked to be held. They wrapped their arms and legs around her, pulling her closely against them and breathing in her scent.
“Thank you,” she whispered softly, holding their hands against her chest as she burrowed deeper into their embrace.
“You’re welcome, Mate,” Alex answered, kissing her shoulder lightly before nuzzling against the side of her neck.
“Stop saying that,” Nikki whispered.
“What?” Alex answered, confused.
“I’m not your mate.”
Alex pulled back and looked down at her quietly. Sadness overcame him, and he tried to push aside the pain that sliced through him. He wasn’t successful. Looking at Butler, he saw the same raw hurt on his triad partner’s face.
Despite the fact that this beautiful, loving woman lay between them both, comfortable within the embrace of true triad mates, she denied their growing love and their fated mating. Alex searched their bond for any sign of hope, but all he could feel was the way Butler’s heart was silently breaking.
Chapter 6
Nikki woke up to a moment of panic until she remembered where she was and why she was surrounded by the warmth of Alex’s and Butler’s bodies. She knew she had to get out of there. She could not allow these wonderful men to become attached to her. She could not encourage their delusions about them being a fated triad match. She would not give in to her desire to be a part of any relationship and then see them hate her as they realized she was sorely lacking in the feminine and motherhood departments. What would really destroy her was if she gave in to her desires for motherhood and having a relationship with the two men only to find that they only wanted her to ease their money worries.
She moved slowly, carefully pulling Butler’s arms from around her. He turned in his sleep to rest on his back, and she watched him silently, her heart aching at the thought that she would have to hurt both him and Alex with unkind words in order to get them to release her and accept that she was not meant for them.
Turning to face Alex, she reached out to take hold of his hand as it lay possessively against her breast and pushed him away from her. Instead of releasing her, his hold on her tightened, and his eyes opened instantly to peer down at her.
“How are you feeling?” he whispered, his voice rough from sleep.
“I’m better,” she answered instantly, only half lying. She really did feel better, but not totally healed. Her back still hurt, but she was able to move without pain searing through her. “I need to get up and shower, and you guys have to take me to get my car.”
“We can have someone bring your car here.” Butler’s sleepy voice drew her attention to the now awake man. He sat up and looked down at her, determination steeling his gaze. “You’re not leaving.”
“Yes. I am,” she insisted, pushing at Alex to carefully climb around him and stand beside the bed, pulling the sheet they had wrapped her in closer around her naked body. “Playtime is over, boys. It’s time for me to get back to the real world.”
Without another word, she turned and walked into the bathro
om, turning on the shower and waiting until the spray was just the right temperature before dropping the sheet and stepping into the cascading stream. She ducked her head under the water and tried to calm herself as the warmth of it saturated her hair and slid down her sore body. She was determined to control her emotions. She couldn’t cry. She had to stay strong. And mean. If she allowed any bit of weakness into her heart she would not be able to walk away from the kindness of these men.
Despite her intention not to lose control, the thought of the two caring men being her men put her over the edge. She didn’t want them. She couldn’t want them. She covered her mouth to muffle the sobs that escaped her. She cried for every moment of loneliness and despair that had filled her life. She cried for the relationship with Alexander and Butler that would never be given the opportunity to grow. She cried for the family that they couldn’t possibly be destined to have together. But mostly she cried because she couldn’t hide the fact that she was lying to herself. She wanted every damn one of those things with the kindest and most caring and gentle individuals she had ever met. She ached because she knew that she would have to hurt them deeply in order for them to let her go.
Butler looked at Alex and saw the same confusion on his face that had to be evident on his own. They watched as Nikki closed the bathroom door behind her and closed them out of her life.
“What just happened?” Butler finally asked.
Alex looked at the closed door, stepping toward it determinedly. “I haven’t got a clue, but I’m going to find out.”
He was about to turn the doorknob when the sound of Nikki crying reached their acute hearing. Butler’s hand on his shoulder drew their bond close, and together they reached out to search for Nikki’s emotions and feelings. Even though the bond was new and not very strong, Nikki’s despair washed over them both. They felt her fears. They felt her insecurity. The felt her desire and caring for them, and they felt her determination to walk away and leave them so they could find someone more suitable and desirable.
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