Heart of the Pack

by Kristen Banet

  Was she ready for this?

  A real relationship?

  “Only one way to find out,” she mumbled to herself as she took her things from Johnny. “Have a good night.”

  “You too, Miss Harris,” Johnny chuckled, waving her along.

  She met the guys at the door and Antonio was the one who pulled her outside to the parking lot, locking her lips in a passionate kiss as her back hit James’ chest. She gasped for air when he pulled away, shivers going down her spine as he growled with pleasure.

  “That real enough?” Antonio taunted with a grin, holding her between him and James.

  She nodded slowly, her face warm, her heart racing. “Yeah,” Abigail breathed out. That seemed very real.

  “The house, Antonio,” Thomas chuckled. “Come on. Let’s get home and play some cards, have a few drinks. Get out of the crowd for the night.”

  “Seems a bit early for the evening,” Abigail giggled, leaning back on James’ chest. “Going home.”

  “We have a talk to have,” James whispered in her ear, running his hands up her sides. It reminded her of everything.

  They left after that in silence, loading into the wolves’ trucks. Antonio pulled her close to his side as he drove them away. They spent more of the drive in silence until they got close to the farmhouse.

  “Abby.”

  “Antonio.”

  “When are you going to consistently call me Tony?” he teased, playing with her hair with one hand, driving with the other.

  “I think Antonio is a fine name,” she explained. “You’re a fine man, Antonio.”

  “Do you mind that I call you Abby?” he asked quietly, a teasing note still in his voice.

  “Not at all. It’s something only you have ever called me. And James, sometimes,” she responded, ignoring the bump of the dirt driveway. “I like it.”

  “Then you know why I like to be called Tony,” he chuckled. He parked them right outside the garage, behind Thomas and James. “Come here,” he growled playfully, pulling her on his lap, leaving the keys in the ignition.

  “Antonio!” She laughed as he kissed her neck. “We should go inside.”

  “Not until I get what I want,” he insisted, kissing lower as he moved her legs to straddle him.

  “Tony,” she purred out as he tugged her shirt collar down to nibble on her collarbone.

  “There it is,” he crooned. “Let’s go play some cards, I guess, and have this talk.”

  He opened his door and just got out of the truck, with her still on his lap. He didn’t release her, only guided her legs around him and carried her inside.

  “There they are,” Thomas chuckled as Antonio let her go to drop on the couch. “James is getting a bonfire going. It’s a nice night, no reason to waste it.”

  “Sounds wonderful,” Abigail whispered, nervous again.

  “Let’s call it a date,” Antonio murmured seductively in her ear, causing another round of shivers down her spine, goosebumps rising on her arms. “Sound good?”

  “What are you guys planning?” Abigail asked, unwinding her legs from Antonio. He shrugged, his jade green eyes dancing with humor she didn’t know.

  “Come find out,” he dared, taking her hand. Thomas was chuckling as Antonio led her out the back of the house to their firepit. Abigail looked back to see him following. When she looked to find James, she noticed that he already had a decently sized fire going and was still throwing wood on to make it grow.

  There weren’t any chairs out tonight, only several blankets on the ground and she knew what was going on. She sat down on the mound of blankets, grabbing one to wrap around her shoulders. Antonio ran back inside as Thomas sat down behind her, his legs stretching out on either side. She leaned back into him and sighed happily.

  They were making this a date, all right.

  “What are you guys planning, Thomas?” she asked again, quietly, trying not to disturb the night.

  “Haven’t figured it out yet?” he replied mildly, not giving anything away.

  Antonio ran back out with a radio, one of those solar-powered ones, and turned it on before dropping onto the blankets. James nodded at the fire and lay down as well, leaning on Antonio. “Abigail, you said we weren’t in a real relationship. We want to be in one with you, though.”

  Abigail’s heart thumped faster than she thought possible. “I was going to talk to you about that,” she whispered. She couldn’t turn and look at Thomas, so she looked between James and Antonio. “I want this to be real too. It already is, really. I misspoke earlier, and I didn’t mean to make this sound like I don’t care. I do. I care so much that I’m always worried about what’s going to happen when I go looking for a new job, what’s next. If I came back, would you be with different people? The thought kills me. I-” Abigail was silenced by Thomas reaching out to place a finger on her mouth.

  “Will you be our girlfriend, Abigail Harris? Ours?” he asked softly. “Will you let us take you on dates? Take this to the next step? Know you are ours and that we can come to you, no matter what? Abigail, I want to talk to you about Chris. I just don’t want you and him to be in the same room. He’s an ass to women.”

  She pulled Thomas’ finger away and nodded. “Of course,” she whispered. “Yes. We’ll take this to the next step.”

  “There won’t be other women for us,” James said from his spot on the blankets. “None of us want other women. We’ve been committed to this since the moment you joined the Pack, maybe even before that.”

  “I know,” Abigail kept whispering, curling back into Thomas. “And there aren’t any other men for me. I promise.”

  “We know,” Antonio chuckled. “I would wonder where you were hiding them if you were. Under the bed in your hotel room?”

  Abigail giggled as Thomas wrapped his arms around her again. Antonio turned the music on, some low, romantic country music. Her favorite. James snuck up on her while she was giggling into her hand, kneeing her legs open. She looked up to him as he drew closer. She couldn’t say anything before he kissed her, pushing them all back. Thomas didn’t even try, it seemed, to hold them up, chuckling as he fell on his back. James ground his hips to her core, pulling a moan from her lips.

  There was so much else to talk about, to think about with doing this but it was all forgotten. It was all tossed to the wayside as James brought her attention on him and only him.

  “My favorite sound,” Antonio murmured, getting closer as well. He lay down on the side of the strange pile Abigail was in. He ran a hand over her stomach before yanking her shirt up to get to her skin.

  “It is,” Thomas growled softly, fondling her breasts through her sweater and bra. Her back arched as he did, making James pull away and look down at the sight of them. She watched his shirt come off and get thrown to the side. He undid his pants and shoved them down, along with his boxers. Her gaze locked onto his erection, thick, with a drop of precum already on the tip.

  Thomas and Antonio got her sweater off and she felt the night’s chill cool her skin, but only for a moment as Thomas’ warm, calloused hands went back to her breasts. He pulled the cups down to roll his fingers over her nipples, eliciting another moan from her. Antonio undid her pants and James pulled them down, taking her tiny boy shorts with them.

  “Beautiful,” James whispered, looking down at her. “Undone like this, you’re still so beautiful.”

  “Damn right,” Antonio chuckled, claiming her mouth. A hand, she didn’t know whose, slid between her legs. Her hips bucked as a finger grazed over her clit. A finger slid deep inside her, making her gasp into Antonio’s mouth. “You want it?” Antonio growled against her lips as that finger thrust into her, another hand traveling up and down her thigh.

  “Yes!” she pleaded, reaching out to James between her legs as his finger left her. He leaned over her, smiling, his cock pressed against her core. “Please.”

  Antonio pulled away as James kissed her and pushed into her at an excruciatingly slow speed. Thoma
s continued to stroke her, keeping her skin warm with his attentions, massaging her breasts, rubbing her sides and ribs. Her skin felt electrified from it.

  James started off easy, slow and gentle, bracing on his hands, caging her between him and Thomas fully. She panted and moaned as he picked up the speed. Abigail wrapped her arms around his neck and held on, letting him rock her slowly to the peak.

  “Look at me, Abigail,” James gruffly commanded. “Look at me.”

  She met those warm, brown eyes, his forehead touching hers as he thrust into her. Between whimpers and moans, she said his name, clinging to him, lost in his eyes, the intensity of his gaze, full of things she couldn’t identify.

  That gaze sent her over, as he rolled those hips one last time, pushing deeper than he had before, burying himself with a groan. Her eyelids fluttered as her orgasm rippled through her, nerves firing off in ecstasy. They both were breathing hard as James came with her, his muscles shaking from holding the position over her. They stayed like that for several moments, catching their breath until he pulled himself out of her.

  “Roll over,” he whispered before kissing her. Then he pulled away and she felt a hand stroke her thigh.

  “You heard him,” Thomas chuckled. She blinked a couple of times, and saw Antonio taking James’ spot, his hand on her thigh. She let Thomas push her up a little and she rolled over. She tried to get off Thomas completely, but he and Antonio kept her over him, now looking down into his eyes. “I like this quite a bit…” he whispered, running a hand through her hair which curtained their faces.

  “Abby,” Antonio huskily said her name, his hands running over the curve of her hips and ass. She tried to look back at him, but Thomas brought up a hand and grabbed her chin. He pulled her down for a kiss as Antonio slid into her. She whimpered against his lips, making him growl.

  When Antonio thrust into her a second time, she threw her head back in a scream. Thomas stopped touching her, and when she looked down again, he was throwing his shirt away from them. She laid her head down on his chest, biting down as Antonio fucked her hard. She had lost gentle Antonio after their first time in the woods; now he always took her like it was the last time he would get the chance.

  Somewhere, a belt was coming undone, but she was lost to the hard, driving pleasure of Antonio behind her. Thomas wrapped his arms around her again, holding her as she screamed out Antonio’s name. He whispered sweet nothings as she clung to him. It all ended in an explosion, one that felt like it tore open her soul and left stars in her eyes.

  Dazed, Abigail practically collapsed completely on Thomas, feeling his hard cock on her stomach. Antonio kissed her back and shoulders, nuzzling into the back of her neck.

  “Want to keep going?” Thomas asked gently, playing with her hair. She nodded. Of course she did. She just needed the bones in her body to solidify. They had group sex like this often, but it always left her boneless and drained.

  An arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her. She leaned back into Antonio, turning to kiss him over her shoulder.

  “I should have been softer. I just can’t help myself,” he growled softly. Underneath her, Thomas kicked off his pants and revealed he wasn’t wearing any underwear. “Now he’s going commando. Can you believe it, James?”

  “It’s a great idea,” James chuckled, laying out on the blankets nearby, just watching them.

  Abigail giggled down at Thomas, who made a spin with his fingers.

  “Rest on my legs,” he ordered. She turned as he raised his knees up. Her stomach and ribs leaned on them, her chest to Antonio’s. She felt Thomas’ erection rub against her. She was overly sensitive and tender from Antonio and James, so the sensation seemed like more than she could handle. Antonio captured her mouth as she moaned.

  “I got you this time,” Antonio whispered after the kiss. She nodded mutely, nuzzling her face into his neck and shoulder.

  Thomas grabbed her hip with one hand, and she felt his cock slide into her. He lowered her down on him slowly, inch by inch.

  “Oh god,” she whimpered. Antonio continued to kiss her, Thomas growling once she was completely lowered on him.

  She didn’t have a chance to catch her breath. Thomas lifted her back up and brought her back down hard, thrusting up at the same time. It made her scream. Antonio ran a hand through her hair, grabbing hold and forcing her to look at him as he kissed her. Thomas didn’t stop after that. Every thrust upwards into her was rough. His calloused hands were tight on her hips, maybe hard enough to leave marks.

  She loved it.

  Every stroke against all her sensitive nerve endings. Every sound that was pulled from her lips. James even closed in on them, running a hand up and down her back, kissing her neck on one side as Antonio went down the other. The growls that came from Thomas. Those were just erotic.

  This last orgasm was just as explosive as the previous. She fell forward a little, Antonio catching her as Thomas held himself as deep as he could get. As she climaxed, so did he, snarling loud enough that it practically echoed back in the night.

  When it was all over, Abigail couldn’t move. James just moved her off Thomas and settled her between them. He pulled her to his chest as Thomas rolled to his side, threw an arm over her waist and curled against her back.

  “You are great boyfriends,” she mumbled. A blanket fell over them and she blinked to see Antonio smiling down at them. He lay on James’ other side, cuddling them all closer together.

  Her eyes drifted closed as Thomas kissed her hair. It was just so warm in her pile of wolves.

  9

  Abigail

  Abigail didn’t wake up outside. She was in Thomas’ room, his comfy bed, and swaddled in blankets, a hard chest pressed to her back. Since the room smelled like all of them, she didn’t know which wolf was behind her. She turned slowly and looked down at the arm around her waist. James. Less body hair than Thomas and she knew the scars on each of them now. This was James.

  “Good morning,” he mumbled into her hair. She moved more, putting them chest to chest and watched him crack his eyes open.

  “Good morning,” she whispered, kissing his cheek. His arms tightened on her and shifted her closer to him. She kissed his lips this time, biting down on his bottom lip gently, smiling. He pulled her even harder into him and she raised her eyebrows at him. His morning wood was hard as steel against her thigh.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked innocently. “Sore?”

  “A little bit,” Abigail murmured, letting her head fall back to the pillow. “I mean, we did…have a lot of sex outside.”

  “You had a lot of sex,” James chuckled, correcting her. “I had sex once. Fair point, though, you did have a lot of sex. Sore is expected.”

  “I’m always sore thanks to you guys,” Abigail reminded him.

  “I figured,” James said, kissing her forehead. “Would you like to have dinner with me sometime? Just me?”

  “A date?” Abigail asked softly, meeting his eyes. The things they had decided last night. A relationship, not just the casual sex they had been having. Not just packmates with Thomas as their Alpha. They were dating.

  “A date.”

  “I would like that.” She looked to the other side of the bed. “Where are Thomas and Antonio?”

  “It’s late,” James yawned as he said it. “Like ten in the morning or something. Thomas went to the bar to make sure no one burned it down last night and dragged Antonio with him.”

  “Any plans for you today?”

  “Nope,” James smiled down at her. “Hang around the house with my girlfriend?” That made her heart tumble around in her chest. “Anything you need to get working on?”

  That soured her good mood just a little bit.

  “Job searching,” she mumbled shoving her face into the pillow. “I need to look around, post my resume, see what’s available. Make calls. If I’m unemployed by the end of April then I need to start moving now to make sure I have something lined up. I’m lucky I have
a heads-up. The SSTF just laid me off that same day and I spent a month without a job.”

  “I’ll help,” James whispered. “We all will.”

  “Why are you so great?” Abigail groaned.

  “I’m not. I can be an ass, cranky, aggressive, a bit stuck in my ways. Too quiet for a lot of people. You just make me happy, so I want to see you happy.” James shrugged, the gesture strange in bed. “Thomas is a bit controlling, stand-offish…distant sometimes. He carries around some dark demons, but he tries to ignore them and just live in the moment. Antonio is…well he’s got the mentality of a fifteen-year-old pup who wants to hump your leg all the time, but he means well.”

  “Are you trying to convince me that none of you are great?” Abigail teased, poking his shoulder. “I think you’re all different. There’s nothing wrong with that. No one is perfect.”

  “You are,” he whispered, looking thoughtfully down on her.

  She shook her head. “No. I’m not.” Abigail laughed as she shook her head. “I’m nervous. I have anxiety about a lot of stuff. I’m scared of the future. I’ve never fit in with my own kind. I’m possessive, which thankfully, you guys don’t mind.”

  “Own me,” James growled. “I have no problem with that. Neither do they.”

  “I haven’t been in a relationship in a long time,” Abigail reminded him. “This will be…different for me. And there’s three of you.”

  “That hasn’t been a problem so far,” James huffed. “Don’t get weird about it now.”

  “When it’s casual, I…didn’t worry as much. How much is this going to change now?” She wanted his honest answer. She needed it.

  “It’s not going to change at all, nothing between us,” he said, rolling her to her back and moving over her. “We didn’t think so last night. You didn’t mention it, either.”

  “I was…distracted, last night.” Abigail gave a throat-clearing cough, her cheeks flushing. “I considered it…for a moment.”

  “You want to know what this changes? I get to claim you as my girlfriend in public and there’s nothing you can do about it,” James growled, grinding against her. She moaned, wrapping her arms around him. “And so do Thomas and Antonio. As for the three of us? Abby, if we had a problem with sharing, it would have already come up.”