From Max’s reaction, it was obvious that this woman was mate to him also, which meant that Calder was in for one hell of a shock when he finally took off his breathing gear.
Chapter 3
Max looked down at the human woman he had just snatched from Axel. His mate, he had found her. He’d known who she was as soon as Axel had emerged from the barn with her. Without the mask blocking his sense of smell her distinctive fragrance had washed over him like a wave, drowning him with her scent. Even the thick smoke in the air could not mask the scent of his mate. Her scent had rippled through his entire body, sparking an awareness deep in his soul that it had just found its other half.
The roof of the barn collapsed behind him and his grip on his humanity slipped, his cat nearly taking over in its anguish at the danger to its mate. His claws broke through the skin at his fingertips and his eyes burned as they filled with his cat’s amber-bright glow. He snarled, his canines dropping from his gums. He fought hard to wrest control back from his cat. This is not helping her.
Forcing a calm he didn’t feel, he focused on her heartbeat, on her chest rising and falling as she breathed. “She is alive and safe,” he said with a growl, squeezing her tightly to his chest. The warmth of her body and the feel of her heart beating against his chest calmed both man and beast. Max felt his canines recede back into his gums as he regained his control.
He gazed down at her beautiful face. She seemed so small, though at six and a half feet tall most human women seemed small to him.
She also smelt unbelievably good. His cock began to fill, and he had to clamp his jaws tight to stop himself from licking along her neck as he ran with her. His cat wanted to taste its mate.
He gently laid her on the ground by the first aid section of the truck and worked quickly to connect the oxygen equipment, in replace of his breathing gear.
“It’s her, Max. Why is she here in this fire?” Axel asked softly, as he squatted down on the other side of their mate. Axel gently opened her shirt and attached the heart monitor. Her full breasts were bursting out of a red lacy bra, and he groaned at the sight, his cock thickening further.
“I don’t know, Axel, I can’t even think right now,” Max said, fixing his eyes on the monitors. If he continued to look at her lusciously pale breasts accented so beautifully by her red bra, he would come in his pants. “We have to get the paramedics here.”
Max was thrilled that she was obviously a mate to them all. They had always been close, even for brothers, and sharing a mate would only make that bond stronger.
Max pulled out his phone and called for the paramedics. He gently brushed the hair off his mate’s face as he watched her color and breathing. Touching her skin was sending a charge of unadulterated pleasure shooting up his arm. It was then shooting to regions further south.
“Her vital signs all look good, Max. This could easily have been a whole lot worse.”
“I know, Axel.” They turned as one to glance at the ruined building. They were lucky that their mate still lived.
“We need to tell Calder, he needs to be here too,” Axel said. He stood and adjusted his crotch before walking over to get Calder.
“Glad I’m not suffering alone here,” Max murmured after him. Calder was still hosing the front of the barn, oblivious to the fact that they had discovered their mate.
He searched her for any form of identification. Finding none, he simply held her small hand and wondered who she was. She was still very pale, despite the oxygen. Her lips were a beautiful rosy pink, with a bow-shaped top lip and a full, bitable bottom lip. He groaned as his cock throbbed in response to the thought of biting that bottom lip. He ran his hand through his hair. She was a truly beautiful woman, but he needed to get a grip on his damn hormones. He was about to have one very pissed-off cat to deal with, and he needed to be prepared.
He loved his brothers unconditionally and would die for them without hesitating. But Calder’s cat ran very close to the surface, making him irritable at his best and downright mean the rest of the time. He was not going to be happy that their mate was hurt and about to be taken away to a hospital.
* * * *
Calder had been hosing the last of the flames when the roof collapsed. It had smothered a lot of the fire, which, consequently, was now nearly out. He had seen Max running to the truck with a body and administering oxygen. This meant they had a survivor, which Calder considered a good outcome. But whoever it was, they were a fucking idiot for causing the fire in the first place. He was constantly amazed at the number of ways people managed to kill or maim themselves through sheer ignorance. Because of this, he regularly gave talks at the local schools, hoping the next generation would not be so stupid around fire.
Calder watched, puzzled, as Axel pulled Dave away from helping Tate on his hose, and brought him over.
“Dave’s taking over, we need you with us,” Axel stated blandly.
Growing anxious, Calder handed over his line and stepped aside to talk to Axel. Now he was worried that Max might have been hurt. He knew that he was perceived as a cold, ruthless bastard by most people, but he loved his family. Anyone who thought otherwise was welcome to go fuck themselves.
“Is Max injured?” he asked, removing his mask as he inspected his twin for signs of injury.
As soon as his mask was off it struck him, the scent incredible. It pulsed into his body like a current of electricity. He felt his heart pound stronger in his chest. His cock grew thick and hard with his arousal, and his cat, for the first time ever, shivered across his skin in excitement, instead of irritation.
He grabbed on to Axel’s arms. “That woman Max was carrying, is it her?”
By the time Axel had uttered the word ’yes,’ Calder was running to his mate’s side. He didn’t need to know any more. He needed to see her, to touch her.
As he knelt at her side he first swept his gaze over the monitors. Reassured that her condition was stable, he then allowed himself to look at his mate.
She was small and curvy, with ivory skin and waist-length, thick black hair. The contrast between her hair and skin tone was exquisite. He guessed her height to be around five feet four. She was dressed in dirty jeans and a checked shirt that lay open, revealing deliciously large breasts. She had muddy sneakers on her small feet and no jacket against the cold. No wonder she had lit a fire.
“Does she have any identification on her?” he asked, taking off his big jacket and laying it over her much smaller frame. It would keep her warm and also stop anyone but himself and his brothers from seeing her exposed breasts.
“I checked her pockets, nothing there but some cash. If she had a bag it’s probably buried in what’s left of the barn. I don’t see a car anywhere either,” Max answered, his gaze never leaving their mate.
Her scent this close was intoxicating and Calder knew he would never tire of it. Gently stroking his fingers down her face, he felt a shiver run through him as all of his muscles relaxed. He knew that for the first time in his fifty four years, he was where he was supposed to be, he had found his place in the world. It was with this woman. He would ensure she was never alone in a burning barn again.
He knew of his reputation as a distant and heartless asshole, especially to the sexual partners he had shared with one or both of his brothers. He had left the post-coital cuddling and sweet talk to them. He had only been there in an effort to ease his sexual tension.
Knowing his mate was in the world and that he was not with her had been a physical pain to him. His brothers had been content to wait for their mate to come along, scratching their sexual itch with any willing woman until she did. But he had wanted to tear the world apart looking for her.
No one was aware of the fact that he had never taken a lover alone, as he knew both his brothers had. He shared women with them only when the need for release became unbearable, but it had always left him feeling unsatisfied and even more desperate for his mate.
Stroking his mate’s face and holding her hand
, he marveled at the surprising absence of pain. It was completely gone. The burning, throbbing ache that had forever lived in his soul had been replaced by a soothing peace.
Without warning her eyes popped open and he was looking straight into her big, sky blue eyes.
“You’re safe now, we got you out of the fire,” he soothed, still stroking the softness of her cheek. “My name is Calder, these are my brothers Max and Axel. We’re firemen. You weren’t burnt in the fire, but you need to go to the hospital so we can make sure your lungs aren’t damaged. We’ll stay there with you, sugar. We won’t leave you alone for even a second. I promise.”
Her eyes widened and she struggled to sit up, clearly panicking over something. She pulled at the oxygen mask, and began to cough. Calder sat down and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her in an effort to calm her. Max held the oxygen to her face and Axel gently held her hands.
Calder’s chest began to vibrate in a purr, as he and his cat both luxuriated in the feeling of finally holding their mate. Having her in his arms released a wave of musk from his pores, the scent an evolutionary quirk meant to attract a shifter’s mate. Calder felt himself smile. I have truly found my mate.
“Just breathe slowly. I’ve got you now, you’re not going anywhere. What’s your name, sugar?” Calder asked. He calmly rubbed his cheek against the softness of her dark hair, further tightening his hold on her.
Looking up, he found his brothers staring at him with stunned expressions on their faces.
“What?” he asked them.
Chapter 4
Peata woke feeling confused and struggling for breath. Her raw and swollen throat made the air seem to burn as it rushed into her lungs. She couldn’t get her eyes to focus, but she heard the word “hospital” ring clearly in her ears, and she panicked. Struggling to get up and run away. They will kill me.
Blinking to clear her vision she saw that she was beside a fire truck and that two firemen were hosing what remained of the barn she had been sheltering in.
“Oh no, what have I done? I’m so sorry, I was just so cold,” Peata said, her voice husky. She felt terrible that she was responsible for this destruction. She was such an idiot. She was also doing a terrible job of hiding.
“It’s all over now, sugar, you’re safe and that’s all that matters,” someone murmured in her ear.
She became aware that she was sitting on someone’s lap. Actually, she was wrapped firmly in their arms. Another man was holding a mask firmly over her face, and yet another was gently holding her hands. Not just men either. Huge firemen.
She stiffened out of habit, but then slowly relaxed as she realized she was not afraid of them. These particular men didn’t seem to illicit the now familiar fear. For the past four years she had been unable to be in close proximity to any man. She functioned at work because her colleagues were tremendously supportive, and by working solely with the young people. She never dated or even went to a coffee shop, too afraid to let a man close enough to hurt her again. Therapy had failed to overcome her flight reflex. It completely took over when a man got too close.
“My name is Axel Wilder and these are my brothers. We got you out of the barn, but you breathed in a lot of smoke,” the fireman holding her hands said. He released one of her hands and gently stroked her face.
Suddenly bile rose up her scalded throat and Peata pitched forward, retching violently. The mask was removed just in time for her to vomit on the ground. Someone was holding her hair and rubbing her back, but she couldn’t stop retching to see who. It felt like broken glass was trying to exit her stomach. When she’d finally finished retching she was pulled back into a warm embrace.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“Here, this will help,” the dark haired man said, handing her a bottle of water.
“Thank you,” she said, taking a small sip. It hurt to swallow, but it did ease the burn.
“I’m Max Wilder, and the man holding you is Calder. Can you tell us your name?”
“Peata. Pronounced Peta, but spelt P-E-A-T-A,” she answered automatically, accustomed to explaining the unusual spelling. Then she clamped her hand across her mouth, she was supposed to be hiding. She sure sucked at being on the run. Burning down a barn and needing to get rescued by firemen was not very covert. She may as well just call Detective Phelps and tell him where to find her.
She looked around at the firemen, they were all very handsome. Max was a huge man with short, spiky black hair and bright blue eyes. His size made her feel petite and she had never felt petite before. The one holding her hands, Axel, had shaggy blonde hair that nearly reached his shoulders. He was tall but leaner than Max. He stared at her intently with pale blue eyes rimmed in gold. Remembering that she was sitting on someone she struggled to slide off his lap before she hurt him.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Are you broken?” she asked, her voice sounding like a hoarse whisper. The man holding her—Calder, Max had called him—just squeezed her tighter. Strangely, she still didn’t feel the stirrings of a panic attack. Examining her feelings, she found she actually felt safe. The opposite of how she normally felt around men, especially men who were strangers. Perhaps it was because they were gorgeous firemen. Or perhaps it was because they all smelt so good. Even over the smoke they smelt wonderful. She felt warm and tingly just breathing the cologne in.
“Peata, a pretty name for a pretty lady,” Calder said, running his nose up the side of her neck. It brought goose bumps to the surface and made an unfamiliar shudder run through her whole body. “Now why would I be in any danger of being broken, Peata?”
“Because I must be crushing you. I’m really sorry.”
“Do I look like a weakling to you?” he asked, lifting her swiftly and turning her sideways on his lap.
This afforded her first look at him. He was also a big man, with thickly muscled shoulders and biceps that threatened to tear his T-shirt’s sleeves apart. He had short dark hair like Max, but unlike Max’s bright blue eyes, his were a warm brown with little golden stars in them.
She coughed and took another sip of the water. It wasn’t the smoke making her mouth dry now.
“No, it’s me. I don’t want to hurt you with my enormous ass,” she said. She watched in surprise as his dark eyes seemed to shine and his jaw clenched so hard she thought she heard his teeth grind together.
“I don’t know who has made you feel this way about yourself, Peata. But from now on, you can be certain in the knowledge that I will hurt anyone who speaks to you with anything other than respect,” Calder said through his gritted teeth.
“Now there’s the Calder we all know and love,” Max said lightly, slapping his brother on the shoulder. “It is neither the time nor the place for this conversation, and you are scaring Peata.” He stared down at her. “We will be having that particular conversation very soon though, baby. You are a beautiful woman and we will take great pleasure in making sure you believe it.”
“The paramedics are here, “Axel said, reaching down and plucking her off Calder’s lap as though she were a small child. Holding her lightly in his arms he walked around the fire truck to the waiting ambulance, Calder and Max walking alongside them.
A beautiful woman? They sure had charisma and a great bedside manner. They must have women falling at their feet. The thought of all those women made her feel jealous for some reason. Since when am I interested in men?
Giving herself a mental slap at her stupidity, she tried to focus on the problem at hand. She couldn’t get admitted to a hospital.
“Please, I’m fine. I won’t go to the hospital. Just let me leave,” she said, coughing and irritating her raw throat further.
Axel climbed into the back of the ambulance and placed her gently on the stretcher inside. “Be sensible, honey, you were nearly burnt to death in that fire, and you can hardly breathe,” he insisted.
One of the paramedics tried to push his way past the three men crowded around her. “Why don’t you men
step back and let us look over the young lady.”
From all around her she heard growling. It rumbled over her skin and into her bones. She quickly wrapped her arms across herself as her nipples hardened painfully. What the hell is happening to me?
The paramedic stopped moving and raised his hands in front of him. “Like that is it? Stay then, but you need to let me near her.”
Calder reached for her hand and held it gently in both of his. “I’ll stay.”
Max and Axel got out of the ambulance, but stayed at the open back doors.
“I really don’t want to be a bother. Just let me up and I’ll be on my way,” Peata told the paramedic. She hoped the fact that she coughed every word still made her sound convincing. She didn’t want him any closer, afraid she would begin to panic.
“I am Caine Prentiss, I would like to examine you and see what damage this fire may have done.”
The second paramedic got into the ambulance. “I’m Caine’s brother, Drake, would you like Calder to leave so we can begin, miss?” Drake glared across at Calder.
The thought of Calder leaving her alone with the paramedics, in this small space, made her body start to tremble. Her scalp began to prickle as the sweat popped from her pores. It had started. She recognized the beginnings of a panic attack. Calder’s presence seemed to be keeping her calm, as no amount of therapy had in the past.
She didn’t know Calder. Why would she even consider allowing him to stay? It was inexplicable, but she remained certain that she needed him with her. This huge man holding her hand and touching her hadn’t caused her to freak out. In fact, he was actually making her panties damp.
Peata [Eminence Shifters 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 2
