by Milly Taiden
Her yes drifted to the stairs. “Actually, I think I’d like to grab a shower and get into my sweats, first.”
Adam walked to the door for their bags. He picked them up with one arm and turned, gesturing toward the steps. “After you.”
Exhaustion crept in from the edges and she yawned. “No, I’m too tired to play follow the leader. Just point the way, Adam. I want a blanket and a pillow and a place to curl up.”
With a nod, he slipped past her, waiting on the top landing for her to catch up. He gestured to a door on the left. “This is one of the master bedrooms,” he said, reaching to snap on the light. “It’s large and comfortable and has an en suite bathroom.”
Adam pushed the door open and stood aside for Grace to enter. She walked in and he followed behind, placing her bag on the bench at the end of the king-sized bed.
“The bathroom is through there.” He lifted a hand toward a darkened doorway to the side of the bed. Snapping on the light, he waited for her again. “There’s a drawer with toiletries in the vanity. Shampoo, body wash and such,” he said.
“Nice. Thanks.” She walked toward the large sunken shower to peek around the glass block wall. The shower was huge with a long marble bench and body sprays along the back wall, and a strange curved seat that looked a lot like a chaise. Maybe it was for taking a steam bath? “Wow, it’s big enough for—”
“Three?” he interjected.
“And you say I’m like a dog with a bone?” She turned, but before she could argue further, Adam’s lips claimed hers.
Walking her backward, he only stopped when her butt hit the vanity. “I can’t wait to have you, Grace. My balls ache, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Not yet.”
“That stupid triad thing again?” Exasperation cracked her voice as he broke their kiss.
His fingers traced the curve of her jaw. “Yes, and it’s not stupid. It’s actually a beautiful thing. We each share in our connection pleasure. I feel what Zach feels and he feels what I do, and together we have one goal and that’s to rock your world. To bring you twice the pleasure any one of us could give alone.”
“Triad shmiad, Adam. If you want me to believe I’m somehow connected to this mystical trinity, which, to be honest, I’m not exactly buying, it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than a few hot kisses to convince me.”
His eyes darkened and he took her hand. “There’s much more attached to those words than you think, Grace, but trust me, when we take you, it won’t be confined to one place after a few heated kisses. You’ll be spread wide and begging for my cock…for Zach’s mouth on your clit…your pussy glistening and so wet, you’ll drip down my balls as I fuck you…you’ll scream when Zach makes your body quiver as you come.”
His words were so raw, she gasped. If Adam reached between her legs and touched her, she’d agree to anything right now. As if reading her mind, he lifted her onto the vanity. Toiletries and knickknacks toppled everywhere, but she didn’t care as his hand slid from her waist to her chest, rounding one full breast. Grazing her nipple, he teased the hard bud making her breath hitch, but his hand didn’t linger. He continued lower until he stroked her sex.
Pushing her knees apart, Adam pressed his thumb to her clit. He circled slow and hard, his eyes never leaving hers. He leaned in and kissed her mouth, his tongue tracing the outline of her lips. “Come for me, Grace. I want your scent filling my nose as you get off. I want to lick your juice from my fingers.”
“What about the triad rules?” she asked, her voice catching.
Adam curled his hand into her waistband and dipped his fingers low to her naked flesh. “I can pleasure you, Grace. I can tempt you and tease you and make you come, but I can’t have you. Not alone. Not yet.”
She sucked in a breath as his fingers worked her slick cleft. He circled her spot, his thumb still on her hard nub.
“Imagine it, Grace. Two sets of hands to fill you, work you until you cry out. Until your body shakes and trembles and your breath locks for a tense release. Two men faithful only to you. Who live for nothing but to pleasure you, together and individually, to love you unconditionally—”
She clung to him, his fingers working her spot as his mouth teased hers. Her nipples ached for his touch. Adam was right. This wasn’t enough. She wanted to taste every inch of him as much as he wanted her.
“So wet and warm. I want to drive my cock deep and ride you hard, Grace, but I can’t. Not yet. Come for me, baby. Come hard. Come NOW!”
His hand moved with incredible speed and she cried out. How the fuck was he able to vibrate harder than her best battery-operated toy?
Body cresting, her orgasm exploded and she clung to him, forcing his hand deeper as she rode the wave. Finally, she slumped against his arm and chest. Adam smoothed her hair with his free hand, kissing her damp forehead before slipping his fingers from her pants.
Grace lifted her head and watched while Adam licked each digit clean, his eyes dark with need as he moaned at her taste. With a sharp breath, she reached for his zipper, but he held her wrist. His eyes were dilated with need, yet he shook his head. “Take this gift from me tonight, Grace. Remember our little interlude, so maybe you’ll understand. Interlude means a break in time, but once I get you where I want you, you won’t get a break from me. I want you every way I can have you. You’re not the only one who’s been waiting.”
She shivered thinking about all the possibilities. Everything Adam said—or didn’t say—came back in a rush. “You said this trip was truly a matter of safety. You said I needed to trust you—and I do—”
He opened his mouth to say something, but she lifted a hand to his lips. “Just tell me one thing. Is the source of that danger my stepmother?” Grace already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear him confirm it.
Adam nodded again.
Gracie let her hand drop and then drew in a shaky breath. “Okay then.” She nodded. “Do what you think is best. I’m all yours.”
His gaze was unfathomable. “Oh, honey. If you only meant that.”
7
The sun peeked through the curtain sheers and Grace blinked, drawing her arm in front of her eyes. Her head throbbed almost as much as her crotch. Not because Adam hurt her, but because of the X-rated dreams she had all night because of him and his triad.
His words painted a picture on her brain that wouldn’t let go. Her lips pulled into a smirk under her forearm. Margot thought she was such a loser. Fat and going nowhere. Yet here she was with two men, shifters with their own special set of skills, wanting her and only her.
Adam was sexy and hotter than hell. She could only imagine what Zach looked like. She pictured the large black wolf, its muscles coiled and ready to strike. Its powerful hind legs. What kind of dominant man was behind such a magnificent animal?
“Okay, Gracie Lou,” she snickered to herself. “Bordering on bestiality there, babe. Get a grip. We want the flesh not the fur.”
She lowered her arm from across her face. Did she want the man…men? The idea intrigued her, but it also made her cringe. Did it make her some kind of pervert or just one hell of a lucky woman?
Throwing the covers off, she sat up and caught her reflection in the mirror above the dresser ahead. She dragged a hand through her hair and then inhaled. “Definitely one lucky wolf bitch.” She grinned at her mirror image. If her mother was a wolf shifter, then hey…why not? She was wolfy until proven otherwise.
Getting up, she went into the bathroom and snapped on the light. The vanity counter was a mess. Everything on top was knocked over or broken, and the truth of it made her blush. Adam had lifted her onto the granite top and he made her— She inhaled, squelching the thought. He made her all right. Like never before. Now in cold daylight, it was time for a reality check.
And coffee. She needed coffee.
Slipping her arms through a terry robe on the back of the door, she shoved her feet into a pair of fuzzy slippers and headed downstairs. The smell of fresh brewed coffee hit her ha
lfway to the landing along with the scent of muffins and croissants from the bakery Adam mentioned last night.
Her mouth watered and she hurried the rest of the way to the kitchen. Grabbing a steaming mug and a croissant, she nibbled the corner looking out the sliding doors, past the back deck and beyond.
The staccato sound of an axe hitting wood drew her eyes and her hand lowered with the croissant halfway to her mouth. Looked like Adam wasn’t the only early bird around here. The man was shirtless and strong, his back muscles rippling with each stroke of the axe. He lifted the heavy blade like Thor, except this gorgeous piece of god flesh was dark and rough. Strange tattoos decorated his arms, but it was the one across his back that caught her attention, like claw marks entwined with a Celtic knot.
He turned at the moment and his dark eyes locked with hers. Her mouth went dry. She knew him. Well, not knew him knew him, but his face had a starring role in her X-rated threesome dreams last night. Him, her, and Adam.
He stared with the axe poised for another blow, and the weight of his stare was as if she were naked. He licked his lips and Grace looked away, her skin tingling as if feeling his touch.
Oh my God! Sex fantasies about total strangers! Ugh…I am a pervert.
She lifted her eyes to steal another look. With his eyes still on her, he lifted his axe higher and hurled it against a tree without aim. It sunk perfectly into the bark, as the target was already in his mind. Grace’s mouth dropped open, but before she could unlatch the sliding doors, he turned and headed into the woods with her staring after him.
“Good morning,” Adam said, coming up behind her. He pulled the corner of her robe from her shoulder and moved her cotton nightgown aside to kiss her bare skin. “How’d you sleep?”
“Good…” she answered absently, her hand on the glass door. “Adam, who was that man?”
“What man?” he asked, still feathering kisses along the back of her neck.
“The one who was just here…chopping wood. Dark hair, naked from the waist up despite the cold. Tattoos like claw marks.”
Adam stopped feathering kisses and lifted his head from her shoulder. “That was Zach.”
“Zach. As in the alpha of your pack? The last piece in your triad thing?” Sandpaper coated her mouth.
He nodded, glancing out the window to the freshly chopped wood pile and the thick woods beyond. “You mean our pack. And it’s not my triad thing, it’s our triad thing.”
“Why didn’t he come in and introduce himself formally, then?” she croaked, not sure what she would have said to the man if he did. Not with the things she did with him in her dream.
Adam stood, his eyes taking on a pained faraway look. “Let’s just say I’ve complicated matters.”
“Why.”
He raised an eyebrow.
Grace’s lips parted, but then she pressed them together. “Wait, you said the rules said you could do unto me, but that I couldn’t do unto you, right?”
“Yes, but—”
She shook her head and reached for the sliders. “If there’s anything I hate, it’s double standards. I’ve had a lifetime of psychological warfare with Margot, and I’m not about to put up with that shit here!”
“Gracie! Wait!” Adam rushed after her, taking her arm, but she pulled out of the terry robe and ran into the woods after Zach.
“You have no clue where you’re going!” he yelled, but she turned, lifting a hand. “I’m part wolf, right? I’ll figure it out!”
“Grace!”
She waved him off, and raced into the woods in just her nightgown. She looked for footprints and anything that might give her a hint she was on the right track. Slowing her pace, she stopped to catch her breath when a handful of ground birds took flight. Jerking her head in that direction, she took off again. Something disturbed them in their nests and she hoped it was Zach and not a real predator.
The woods grew thick and dark in patches, even though it was mid-morning. Listening for anything that could lend a hand, she leaned against an oak and looked up at its barren branches. “A little help would be appreciated right now.”
A raven’s caw called as if answering and she turned, stopping short. “Wh…where did you come from?” she asked, gulping what she hoped was air and not her tongue.
“I could ask you the same thing. Then again, I know where you come from and where you’re going.” Zach smirked.
“Oh really. And I suppose that makes you think you’ve got one up on me.”
He laughed. “One up on you? Is that how city wolves think? I turned around and tracked you, darlin’, if for no other reason than to make sure you didn’t hurt yourself.”
“Hurt myself?” she blinked. “You’re the one half naked in the snow and ice.”
Zach’s eyes traveled her full length, from the scoop of her nightgown to its dripping hem just above her soaked slippers. “I’m a shifter, Gracie. The cold doesn’t bother me. Then again, I might need a dunk in that icy lake if I keep looking at you.”
Realizing her gauzy nightie was practically see-through in the morning light, she crossed her arms, but it didn’t do much good. Not when the breeze molded the thin fabric to every curve, leaving nothing to the imagination. Plus, he called her Gracie. As if they’d known each other forever.
“The cold doesn’t bother me much either,” she shot back.
He walked past, inhaling as he did and she tensed. The man generated heat. The snow should’ve melted from the tree branches as he moved by, but maybe it was just her reacting to him in the flesh.
“Guess you’re more shifter than I gave you credit for,” he said. He stopped for a moment and his dark eyes softened. “You look like your mother.” He nodded, giving her a small smile. “You even smell a little like her.”
She blinked, following after him as he walked toward what looked like a clearing. “Wait, you knew my mom?”
“Yes,” he stopped to glance over his shoulder at her. “You have the same raven black hair and red lips.” His eyes took on the same look people get when remembering. “Same pale skin, too.”
He turned and continued walking, and she took a step after him. “Wait! That’s it? That’s all you have to say to me?”
“What would you have me say, Grace? You’re the one who came looking for me. So, the question should be what do you want with me?”
With a frustrated breath, she blew her hair from her forehead and trudged through the snow as well, pushing thin branches out of the way and climbing over winter brush to keep up.
She caught up with him on the edge of what looked like a wide clearing, but on closer inspection she realized it was a lake or large pond. Some of the snow had been cleared from the ice and small slushy holes dotted the surface in places.
Zach walked out on the ice, leaving her on the frozen shore. “You sure you’re not chilled to the bone yet?” He squatted to toy with a fishing line, checking the bait.
“Can’t you please come back to the house so we can talk? I only knew my mother in my world. I want to know more about her here. How did you know her?”
She waited for him to answer, but he didn’t reply. She continued, “You can’t be much older than Adam, and that would make you about ten years older than me. My mother left the pack to marry my dad a year before I was born. That means you couldn’t have been more than eight years old when she left, yet she made an impression on you.”
Still squatting, he dropped the fishing line back into place and turned with his hands on his thighs. “She was like a mother to me. My father wanted her to be his mate, but she wanted more than what the woods could offer. She wanted the city, and with it, your father.”
Gracie’s mind whirled. “What about your mom? What happened to her?”
Zach wiped his hands on his pants and then straightened. “She died when I was born. My father’s triad was severed. Your mother was the one who could have replaced her, but she refused.”
“Wait, you mean there’s a choice? I have a choice?�
� she stammered the words, and at the look on Zach’s face, regretted them immediately. “I…I mean, I didn’t know anyone had a say. I thought, I mean…”
Zach walked from the ice to where she stood on the banks. He stepped close enough that they were toe-to-toe, his breath mingled with hers in wet, white clouds. “There’s always a choice, Grace.”
The heat from his body set hers aflame and she stepped back and slipped on the ice. Zach’s hand shot out to catch her, but the momentum of her fall pulled them both into a snow drift. They landed in a tangle of arms and legs, her nightgown soaked and pushed high on her thighs.
The feel of him was exactly like her dream, only better because it was real. Her body reacted with a mind of its own. Wetness, hot and slick, formed between her legs and heat flushed her cheeks.
Zach’s dark eyes locked on hers, and his hand traveled the outside of her bare thigh to her waist. All she wanted was to wrap her legs around his hips and let his heat sink into her, deep and hard.
His hand stopped at her waist and he watched her face in the same assessing way he did in wolf form. Checking for weakness, only this weakness was more like willingness. Willingness to fuck his brains out.
“You want me, Grace. I can smell it on you.” His hand slipped to her hip and his fingers splayed wide, covering her lower belly.
Only a thin layer of wet cotton separated her flesh from his, and where he touched, her body shivered with want. His hand moved lower, gliding between her legs to cup her pussy. He stroked the sensitive flesh, slipping his fingertips between her slick folds.
A half grin took his lips as he curled his fingers in making her gasp. “Slippery when wet,” he teased, and then circled her clit with his thumb.
Grace moaned, forcing his hand deeper. His mouth took hers and he kissed her hard, but then drew back, taking his fingers with him. He lifted his hand to the light, letting her slickness shimmer on his fingers.
