Trevor had missed the entire episode and it stung like a sonofabitch.
“She is glorious. A tiny little pixie of a woman, about twenty-one years old, I think.
Dainty, long curly blonde hair, blue eyes like the ocean.” Justin took a deep breath and exhaled it in a sigh while Trevor soaked in his every word.
“My hands spanned her entire waist she is so small. Barely five feet. She smells like honeysuckle and tastes like—” Justin jumped to attention. “Buddy, I was so fucking worried about you … us … she and I … you and I … she and you … fuck. You know what I mean. I thought it was the end of us. I mean I had hoped, but who knew?” Justin was rambling so fast Trevor barely grasped what the hell he was saying.
“So, when do I get to meet her? What did you tell her? What time are we seeing her tomorrow?” Trevor hesitated and stared at Justin. “Please tell me you fucking arranged something for tomorrow.”
“Well, not exactly… And there’s another matter… She’s … human. And … a gymnast.”
“A what? Are you talking about a flying through the air, flipping around, risking her neck kind of gymnast?” Trevor leaned forward, ready to pounce, as if Justin were to blame for this new piece of information.
Justin merely smiled and nodded. “You got it. That’s the kind.”
“Well, did you tell her to stop it? Did you tell her… No,” Trevor slammed his palm into his forehead, “of course you didn’t. You didn’t tell her any such thing, did you?” Justin just continued to smile, tilted his head to one side and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting on the futility of Trevor’s words to dawn on him.
“Right. Well, what do we do now?” Trevor was shaking with the need to meet her, touch her, brand her as his. Theirs. His cock thickened with the thought of holding her.
His blood was boiling.
“We don’t do anything yet. I am meeting her for dinner tomorrow night. You can’t be there.” Justin’s voice was beginning to irritate Trevor.
“Uh uh. No fucking way you get to have her all to yourself. That’s just—”
“Trevor, she’s a human. And rather inexperienced if my guess is correct. I could smell the innocence. It’s been a while since she was with anyone. And I’m sure she hasn’t ever even pondered a ménage. And that doesn’t even take into consideration the fact we’re wolves. We can’t just pounce on her together like this. We have to take our time, weigh our options, lure her in slowly. In essence, court her.” Trevor heard the reason in Justin’s voice but hated it all the same. A frustrated growl vibrated his throat.
“Unfortunately I met her first, so I have to be the one to get her to see the logic of our ways.”
Shit. Justin was right. There was no other way. A deflated sensation caused Trevor to slump. Mating with a human was always dicey, even under the best of circumstances.
They would completely freak her out if they descended on her like … a pack of wolves.
“Fine. But, I don’t like it. And, Justin, you’d better be goddamn quick about it, because I swear, I won’t be able to take it very long.” And that was an understatement. Trevor leapt from his chair and headed straight for his end of the house. Thank God they each had their own master suite with adjoining bathroom, because frankly, he needed a long cold shower and time alone to lick his wounded ego.
* * * *
Barry Welsh stood staring out his apartment window, fists gripped at his sides. His reflection stared back at him. Fury. His black hair stood in a disarray of spikes all over his head from running his hands through it. How had this happened?
The evening had started out just fine, better than fine actually. The hottest little number he ever laid eyes on had chosen this evening to come to Boot Scooters. He had nearly salivated watching her get out of the car with her friends. He could smell her sweet scent from the tree line and his dick grew hard watching her through his binoculars as she kicked her boots in the gravel. She was sweet. A perfect diversion. He knew immediately she would be his.
And then that son of a bitch Justin had dared to lay his hands on her.
He was still seething at the visual of his woman pressed up against the wall of that country bar like some common slut, that bastard groping her. Thank God he’d stuck to the tree line far away from the bar, preventing the asshole from readily noticing his scent and blowing his cover. Too bad the scene he’d witnessed through his high-power binoculars was now permanently etched in his mind. What could she possibly have seen in Justin, of all “people”?
For years Barry had put his own life on hold. Waiting. Watching. Looking for just the right opportunity.
It was time to move forward with his plans… In fact, he thought, as a slow sinister smile spread across his face, even better. The kind of pain he intended to inflict on his victim would be even sweeter. Everything had changed. Plan A just got an amendment.
Chapter Four
After rising earlier than usual to take care of the Saturday morning chores, Justin spent several hours googling gymnastics and everything he could find about one Ms.
Kara Shepherd. Trevor breathing down his neck the entire time had made the search take longer than it should have.
“What is she like? What did she say? Where does she live? Details, man. I need details.” Trevor was pacing the room behind Justin’s chair.
“Calm down.” He swiveled around to face a very frustrated Trevor. He honestly felt sorry for his friend’s plight. “She is tiny. I mean really small. Barely comes up to here on me.” He indicated a spot on his upper chest.
“Lord. How are we going to… I mean…”
Justin chuckled, knowing what his buddy was alluding to. “I don’t know, but we’ll manage. Everyone does.” He paused, looking toward Trevor before he continued. “She has the most angelic face. And her scent … it’s intoxicating.”
“This is crazy.” Trevor ran his hands through his already messy blond hair, making it stick up in spikes. “How are we … you … going to convince her she’s ours?”
“I don’t know, man. I honestly don’t know. One step at a time.” Justin took a deep breath. “First, I’m going to have dinner with her and get to know her better. I don’t want to scare her. I’ll just have to take it one step at a time.”
“I have to go with you. I’ll, you know, go to the bar or something. Just watch from there.”
“No way. You’d never be able to do it. You’d pounce on her so fast, she’d run. You have to stay here and wait. Maybe she’ll come back here with me.”
“You’re right, of course. I’d never last five minutes watching from the bar while you touched and sweet talked ‘our’ woman. Shit. I can’t stand the … the waiting. It’s killing me. I’m going to go for a run.” Trevor marched right out the door, leaving Justin staring into space, his mind racing with the same thoughts.
* * * *
No sooner had Trevor headed out than Ryan showed up unannounced. And he wasn’t alone.
The second Justin heard the screen door to the kitchen swinging open, he knew he was in trouble. The questions would go on and on for hours. His siblings were relentless when it came to mating.
“Justin? Where are you?”
“Coming.” Justin dragged his sorry ass from the office and headed to meet the family in the kitchen.
“Justin…” Tessa was the first to greet him. Being the oldest and the only girl, she had always been rather motherly when it came to the boys. She pulled Justin into a hug and then held him back to look him in the eye. Only a few inches shorter than him, Tessa was a force to be reckoned with. Gorgeous, thick, dark wavy hair hung over her shoulders and eyes the same brown as his own stared into his. He felt younger than his twenty-eight years as she scrutinized him like a mother hen.
“What? Did you think I’d look different?” Justin chuckled and wiggled free of her grasp.
“Congrats.” The others, Ryan, Charles and Michael, stated practically in unison while alternately slugging him in the arm or giving him a
pat on the back, each in his own style of affection.
Tessa brushed them aside. “So? Details, details. What is she like? When do we get to meet her? Oh, my God, I almost forgot! How did Trevor take the news?” His sister covered her mouth with one hand, shock registering.
“Well, that’s interesting actually.”
Tessa looked around. “Where is Trevor? Oh, my. Was he pissed? Did he leave?” Justin laughed. “No. No. I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere. That’s the best part.
He is mated to Kara also.” He waited for their reaction.
“Seriously? That’s great. Did you bring her home with you last night? Was he here?” Tessa’s questions were firing so fast, Justin didn’t even know which to answer first.
His brothers just leaned against the counter and the table. Everyone knew there was no trying to interrupt Tessa when she was on a role.
“Not hardly. She’s a nice girl. I’m sure Ryan told you she’s human.” Justin took a seat. “It was tough, but I had to let her go with her friends. Believe me, Trevor almost pummeled me good when he got home and smelled her all over me. I’ve never been so relieved in my life.”
“Wonderful. When are you seeing her again?” Tessa moved to the fridge and pulled out a soda. It was only ten thirty in the morning, but the whole family would have been up since before the crack of dawn tending to the family farm. Not too early for lunch and caffeine in most of their minds.
The rest of them all lived on his parents’ land. Tessa had her own house with her husband and kids, but the younger brothers lived in the main house. Their parents had always been strict, but incredibly loving at the same time. No one had a great urge to leave the sprawling ranch-style home they’d grown up in. Justin had only moved out three years ago when he and Trevor had decided to buy their own dairy farm.
“I’m taking her out tonight.” Which isn’t soon enough.
“When do we get to meet her?” Charles directed his question at Justin but then turned to Tessa when everyone froze. “What,” he raised his eyebrows, “can’t I ask a question or two also?”
“Ha, ha.” Tessa cocked her hip out and put one hand on it. “No one’s stopping you.” Justin wasn’t about to share Kara with anyone besides Trevor yet. “Give us some time, guys. Trevor hasn’t even met her yet. No one’s meeting her until we ease her into our lifestyle. Remember, she has no idea we’re shapeshifters, let alone that she’s about to begin a life with two men.”
Michael chuckled and reached into the fridge himself. “Don’t you have any beer in here?”
“Get out of there. Even if I did, your underage self wouldn’t be having any, and besides, it’s not even noon.” Justin moved to brush Michael aside and reached in to hand his twenty-year-old baby brother a cola.
“Mom is going to flip. She said to tell you to, and I quote, ‘bring that sweet girl by the house ASAP’.” Ryan’s voice was mocking the exact tone their mother had assuredly used that morning.
Justin just grinned. “What did Dad say?” Of course Ryan would’ve barged into the house last night and blared Justin’s entire business through the imaginary loud speaker, Ryan’s mouth.
Ryan continued, “Again, I quote, ‘’bout time’.”
“Figures.” Their father was not known for wasting verbs and nouns.
“Of course that was before he knew you and Trevor were both going to be mating with Kara.” Ryan’s grin reached ear to ear. “Not sure how he’s going to respond to that tidbit of info.”
Justin gritted his teeth. His parents had always been as understanding as any parents could have been regarding Justin’s lifestyle. It was no secret, although unspoken, he and Trevor shared their women. It didn’t mean they expected Justin and Trevor to form a permanent relationship with just one woman, however. It was rare, relatively unheard of.
As if Tessa had read Justin’s thoughts, she started speaking again. “I wonder when was the last time three wolves mated, not to mention two wolves with a human? I’m going to have to check that out.”
“You do that, won’t you?” Justin began. “And be sure to let Dad know when you figure it out. It will ease his mind a bit.”
Not that his parents didn’t adore Trevor. They had raised him as their own since the age of five, but that didn’t mean they intended for Justin and him to mate with the same woman.
“Now, get out of here, all of you.” Justin moved to shove them out the back door. “I have things to take care of.”
Tessa laughed. “Riiight. I mean, you better get going on your shower and choose which jeans you’re going to wear with those boots of yours. You’ve got, what…” she looked down at her watch, “…seven and a half hours before your date.” With that she made a run for the door, Justin’s brothers scrambling after her to avoid Justin’s wrath.
* * * *
By noon he had a headache, furrows etched into his forehead and a frown molded in displeasure. Thank God Kara was about to graduate, because Justin didn’t think he could stand to watch her flying through the air for very many weeks. It seemed like a terribly dangerous sport.
After lunch Justin headed for the barn for some hard labor and then went for a long run. Even the time spent in wolf form didn’t lessen his anxiety. The clock seemed to trickle at an interminably slow speed toward the six o’clock hour. He’d found her address and phone number easily on the internet earlier, but when he called, no one answered. A brief message was all he left, confirming the location and time for this evening. He was almost relieved he hadn’t had to stammer out a conversation over the phone with her. He just wanted her in his arms again.
* * * *
Kara walked into the Steak House promptly at six. She was feeling a little uneasy about meeting Justin, a man she barely knew. On the other hand, her body’s reaction to him had been undeniable. They clearly had chemistry. She couldn’t resist the urge to see what her physical response might lead to. Butterflies refused to stop fluttering through her stomach at the idea of seeing him again, but what did she know about him really?
That he liked to dance? That he could kiss? Man, oh man, could he kiss.
If she’d been home when he’d called her apartment earlier, she might have been tempted to cancel. Her nerves were getting the better of her. But, he hadn’t left a number, and she couldn’t bring herself to just not show up.
She hadn’t been sure what to wear to this pseudo first date and had almost left the apartment in jeans and a sweater. However, when Lindsey and Jessica saw her, they began fussing about her appearance, causing her to end up in a rather short, black, formfitting dress hugging her hips and barely covering her ass. She looked down at herself now and smoothed her hands over the wrinkles that had settled in her lap from the car ride. How had she let those two talk her into this outfit? Was it too sexy? She had felt confident and fantastic alone in the car, but now she was trying hard not to feel apprehensive. Taking a deep breath for courage, she reached her hands up to smooth back her hair. Usually she liked to straighten the long curls. It was easier to get a rubber band around the thick mass in the gym, but tonight Jess had insisted she wear it down and natural. According to Jess, she looked “like an angel with all those natural blond waves floating about.”
She scanned the crowded restaurant filled with Saturday night diners.
“Hey there,” came a low sultry voice from right behind her ear at the same time a possessive hand landed on her lower back. She shivered at the contact. Before she could even turn her head completely in the direction of the voice, soft lips reached around to meet hers in a gentle greeting, warming her insides and sucking all reason from her system.
When his soft sexy lips retreated a few inches she finally saw Justin, his deep chocolate gaze scanning her face, a broad smile lighting the room and making her feel at ease.
“Well, hello yourself, cowboy.” Was the sensual voice she heard her own?
He looked very similar to last night—jeans, dusty cowboy boots clearly worn for more than just Fr
iday night partying, a rust-colored western shirt stretched across his torso defining his strong muscular body to perfection. He looked … delicious. Warmth continued to spread through her body at his proximity.
Kara wanted him to continue the kissing part and skip the dinner part. What the hell are you thinking? Since when do you fall so head over heels for a man?
“You look fantastic.” Justin scanned Kara’s body appreciatively from head to toe and back up to her face. Perhaps she should have found the action insulting, but somehow he made her feel sexy. “I already have our table, right over here.” He indicated the direction behind her with a nod of his head and a slight pressure on her back.
Justin angled Kara through the crowd of noisy patrons toward a cozy corner table for two, never removing his hand from her back, an intimacy she was acutely aware of.
Was he always this familiar on a first date?
A spike of envy stabbed Kara in the gut at the thought of Justin on other first dates.
Of course he’s had other first dates, you dimwit. Hundreds, assuredly. Just look at him.
The man next to her was a Greek god, the god of cowboys if there would have been such a thing. She bet he would be fabulous posing nude for a class of art students. She literally shook at the image of him naked in front of a group of people.
Seriously Kara, you just met him. You don’t own him.
“Kara? Is this all right?” How long had he been speaking to her? Darn.
“Of course. This is fine.”
Justin, in a true gentlemanly fashion, pulled out Kara’s chair and even pushed her up close to the table as she sat.
“So, I hope you’re hungry and you like steak.” He paused to look at her. “You aren’t a vegetarian, are you?”
“No, of course not. I love a good steak, occasionally.” Justin’s warm, inviting smile made her feel at ease.
Kara smiled thinking perhaps, just maybe, he actually wanted to impress her. She had been out of the dating scene for so long she didn’t even remember what it felt like to be wanted. Well, to be honest, she had never really even been in the dating scene, not much anyway. And she was rarely dressed in more than a leotard and sweatpants, with her hair pulled up in a ponytail, never considering attracting anyone’s attention.
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