by Jane Jamison
Casey was right. “There is, or was, one man in his life. His name is Dirk Hoffsted, and he tried to teach Harry things. Werewolf things. But he always wanted something more.”
“Don’t tell me. The something more that he wanted was you.”
She nodded at Casey. “Yes. And I have to be honest, I tried to care for Dirk, but I just couldn’t. He never seemed right, you know? Then lately, he started getting more possessive. You know. Acting like he owned me. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“We get it. Old Dirk probably never found his own mate, so he latched onto you.” Joe shrugged as he drove down the main street of Forever.
“That’s why you came to Forever, isn’t it?” Casey smiled, showing brilliant white teeth. “You’re looking for the right man to show Harry the finer details of becoming a full grown werewolf. Am I right?”
It was amazing how easily they picked up on things. Was that part of the connection they’d talked about?
“Yes.” She hurried to add, “For Harry’s sake. I didn’t come looking for a man, much less men, for myself. This is all about Harry.”
“Maybe you didn’t, but here we are.”
They were simple words, but they were words that made her feel special, needed, wanted. When was the last time she’d felt that way? Certainly not with Dirk. His attention, his attraction to her had only made her feel like a possession he could toss away anytime he wanted.
Joe parked the truck in front of the diner. “Ready to chow down?”
“Yes.” She smiled, grateful to be there. Maybe once they were inside the diner, the questioning would stop. “I’m starving.”
They slid out of the truck. She loved how Joe opened the diner door for her. She went in first as Casey waved her ahead of them. Stepping inside with her son for the second time, she glanced around and saw that the place was almost filled with customers.
“Hey, Bonnie, nice to see you again.” Milly hurried from behind the counter and waved them over to the table closest to the front door. “Hi, Harry.”
Harry’s sullen “hey” back at Milly embarrassed Bonnie, but there was nothing she could do about it. If she chastised him, it would only draw more attitude from him and more attention to them. As it was, most of the diners were already watching them.
“Here, y’all. Take the best table in the house.” Milly gave the already clean table a swipe with her towel, then waited as they took their seats. Casey and Joe took off their cowboy hats and dropped them on the window sill.
Bonnie felt like a queen when Casey pulled out her chair for her. She tried to ignore Harry’s scowl. “Thanks. It looks like you’re doing a bang-up business.”
Milly glanced around. “It’s usually this way in the morning. What can I say? They love their steak and eggs.”
Bonnie hadn’t noticed before, but it was true. Most of the other customers were busying digging into half-cooked steaks and over-easy eggs. “Um, I’ll have the same thing we had the last time we were here.”
“The works, huh?”
“Yes, please. And Harry will have the same. Is that okay, honey?”
Harry jerked away from her attempt to brush the hair off his forehead. “Yeah. Fine.”
She had to hand it to Joe and Casey. No matter how awful her son acted, they were taking it all in stride.
“We’ll have the usual, Milly. And tell Mack to wave the steak over the flame just long enough to make it warm.”
“Will do, Casey. It’ll be out in a flash. Until then, I’ll get juice for Harry.” Milly pivoted around and headed back behind the counter.
Bonnie adopted a pleasant smile that was a façade for the wild emotions running rampant inside her. The more time she spent next to the Colter brothers, the more she wanted to throw caution aside and launch her body on top of theirs. At times, she was so focused on keeping that goal that she forgot that her son was nearby. She gripped the edge of her chair and forced herself to stay seated.
“Bonnie, do you have a phone?”
She pulled her purse to her and checked to see if she’d remembered to bring her phone with her. She was always leaving it lying around somewhere. “I think so. Why?”
Joe dug into his pocket then slid his phone over to her. “I won’t ask you for your number yet. But take mine down, okay? Just in case you need anything. Course, if you want to give me yours, that’ll be fine, too.”
She felt odd exchanging numbers in front of Harry, but he was right. She could use a local number in case of an emergency. She did both, getting his number into her database and adding hers to his. She slid his phone back to him.
“So how about you two? You heard all about me during the ride here. Tell us your story.”
“What’s to tell?” Joe shrugged one shoulder and helped Milly as she returned with coffee for the adults and juice for Harry.
“Don’t let them sell themselves short.” Milly poured their coffee then motioned to the cream and sugar packets already on the table. “These two boys may act like fools at times, but they’re two of the best men I know. Aside from my own, of course. And in Forever, that’s saying a lot.” She winked at Bonnie and moved away.
“Sounds like you have an admirer.”
“Milly?” Casey added two packets to his coffee. “Yeah, Milly’s a sweetheart, but like she said, she’s already found her mates.”
“Mates?”
Right. That’s what gets my son into the conversation.
“That’s what werewolves call their wife. Or husband.” She was floundering and looked to Joe for help.
“Your mom’s right. Since male werewolves generally share a mate with their brother or cousin or even a friend, we can’t legally marry the woman. At least not all of us. So it’s easier to call them our mate.”
Harry didn’t seem too surprised to hear about mates. Had Dirk already explained that much to him?
“Do you have a mate?” Harry tilted his head at Joe.
She could imagine the options running through Joe’s head. Did he tell her son what he’d told her? That she was their mate? Or did he fudge and try to get out of answering?
“Uh, yes and no.”
Way to fudge, Joe.
“Anyway, to answer your mom’s question,”—Casey came to Joe’s rescue—“Joe and I have lived here all our lives aside from a short stint in Passion, Colorado. But we knew we couldn’t stay away from Forever forever.” He cracked a grin. “Get it? Stay away from Forever forever?”
Joe groaned. “Talk about lame, bro.”
“Yeah, well, blame Matt Hudson, one of Milly’s men. I got it from him.”
“Bro, that’s even worse. It’s secondhand lame.”
Milly, along with the large man—Mack?—that Bonnie had seen in the kitchen, carried their food to them. Everyone stopped talking while they set the plates down. “Y’all enjoy, okay? And let me know if you need anything else.”
“Sure will, Milly.” Joe pulled out his wallet and gave her a wad of cash. “I’ll settle up now and wipe out our tab, too.”
Milly didn’t count the money. Instead, she shoved it into her apron pocket. “Thanks, Joe. I appreciate it. Enjoy, Bonnie.”
“Thanks.” She ducked her head and saw how white her knuckles were from holding on to the sides of the chair. When she looked up, all three of them were staring at her.
“Are you okay, Bonnie?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, Joe. Go on with what you were saying.”
“Okay. Anyway, we’re just two guys who love running our ranch.”
“Do you have a lot of cattle?”
“Not a large herd, but not a small one, either. It varies depending on the time of the year. A hundred head or so is the usual. That and the few horses we have keep us busy.”
She mumbled some kind of reply but suddenly she couldn’t think straight. Standing up fast, she scooted the chair back, making a loud screeching sound that drew the attention of everyone in the diner. “If you’ll excuse me…”
Before the
y could respond, she was off and running toward the back of the diner. She skidded to a stop in front of the one and only door that wasn’t marked with Employees Only. The sign on it read Skins and Furs.
“I know it’s a weird name and all, but then that’s Milly’s sense of humor.”
She whirled around to find Joe standing behind her. At once, the sensations spiraling through her body doubled in intensity and a wave of dizziness swept over her.
“Hey, are you all right?”
She swallowed as Joe leaned closer. “Yeah. It’s just that whenever you or Casey are near me, I feel like the world is spinning off its axis.”
He leaned even closer. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek. “Yeah. It’s the connection. It kind of takes you over and doesn’t let you go until…”
She met his gaze. “Until what?”
“Until you satisfy the urge.” He crushed his lips to hers.
She had no choice but to give in to the temptation. She wrapped her arms over his broad shoulders and knitted her fingers together behind his neck. His tongue pushed its way into her mouth and she sucked on it. It was the lifeline she’d needed to stay grounded to the floor.
He moaned and opened the restroom door. They stumbled into the small space without breaking the kiss. His hard chest pushed against hers as he brought up a hand to cup her breast. She moaned and rested her lower back against the sink.
When he broke the kiss, he feathered his mouth along her neck, nipping at her skin. Then without any effort at all, he lifted her and placed her butt on the edge of the sink.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, the logical part of her shouted for her to stop, that her son was in the diner, but that part of her had lost the battle from the second Joe had kissed her. Instead, she gave into the storm of sensations overwhelming her and did the only thing she could do. She clung to him and dug her fingers into his back.
“I’ve got to have you.” His tone was guttural, animallike.
She was aware of her hard breathing, but she couldn’t find her voice. She answered by wrapping her legs around his waist.
He pulled the hem of her T-shirt out of her jeans then slid his hand under the material to tug her bra aside. Shoving the shirt aside, he bent his head and drew in her nipple. She arched, the flame of lust searing through her, and laid her head back against the mirror. Thrusting her hips forward, she urged him to fuck her.
He slammed his crotch against her and whipped his tongue over her nipple. His teeth sent a sharp pain into her breast, but she liked it. She wanted him to bite her all over her body.
“Please, Joe.”
He lifted his gaze to hers. “Don’t tell me you want me to stop. I don’t think I can.”
She gripped his face between her hands. “Do I look like I want you to stop?”
He groaned and took her nipple into his mouth again. Without turning her loose, he pulled her off the sink, then unbuttoned her jeans and yanked them to her ankles along with her panties. His jeans were down at his feet a moment later.
They were molten lava together and nothing and no one could stop them. She muffled a cry as he lifted her and set her down on the sink again.
She ran her hand through his hair and took hold of it. Wrapping her legs around his waist again, she opened herself to him.
He paused then shoved his cock deep inside her. At first, she was sure that he’d broken through to the other side of her. His cock was huge, filling her more completely than she’d have thought possible. She bit down on his shoulder, gathering the material of his shirt into her mouth to stifle her cry.
He plunged into her again and again. The muscles in his back rippled under her fingers and his buttocks, flexing and releasing, bumped against her ankles.
He nibbled at the curve in her neck. “I want to bite you so much.”
Bite me? But wouldn’t that mean that I’d become a werewolf?
As though he’d heard her thoughts, he lifted away from her but kept slamming his huge cock into her pussy. His eyes were flecked with bits of amber and his intense expression left her breathless. “If—No. When I bite you that means that I’m claiming you.”
She parted her lips, ready to say something, but was left without the power to speak.
A brief glint of sadness clouded his eyes. “I know you’re not ready for that.”
A part of her wanted to scream that she was ready. More than ready.
He groaned and brought his mouth back to her neck. She tightened her legs around him and held on, pushing aside the questions that assaulted her. Now was not the time for questions. Now was the time to answer the call his body sent her.
His thrusts quickened as he pummeled into her. She held on, concentrating on the growing storm between her legs. Her pussy wept and her clit throbbed.
She stiffened in the same moment he did. Together, they paused, then released their climaxes together. He bit her neck, but not hard enough to break the skin as she shoved her mouth against his shoulder to smother the sound of her orgasm.
Their bodies trembled, but they stayed still, allowing the aftermath to roll through them. Her mind was drugged with sex, and she let him hold her as her strength left her.
“Joe? Bonnie? I’m sorry, but you two need to get out here right now.”
Chapter Six
Joe and Bonnie pulled themselves together, then Bonnie hid behind Joe when he opened the restroom door. Milly’s gaze flicked over Joe, then whipped to the mirror and caught Bonnie’s reflection. Bonnie cringed but didn’t look away. Something was wrong.
“I’m sorry to, uh, interrupt you two, but Harry just flew out of here like a bat out of a cave.”
Bonnie’s mouth went dry. “Where’d he go?”
“I don’t know, but Casey took off after him.”
Joe hurried past Milly and Bonnie rushed after him. They’d just made it out of the diner and into the street, when the sight of Harry standing next to Dirk slammed her in the gut and brought her to an abrupt stop. She clenched her hands and fought to keep from yelling at Harry to get away from him. Casey stood, feet planted apart, in front of Dirk and Harry, and twisted around as they approached.
“Harry, why did you run off?” She gritted out the words, careful to keep her tone on an even keel.
“Are these the guys, Mom? Are they the ones you want to teach me how to be a werewolf?” Harry leveled an angry glare at Joe and Casey. “Because now I don’t need either one of them. Dirk’s here.”
“Your mother seems to think differently.” Casey glanced at her, giving her the chance to interject.
She had to admire how calm both Joe and Casey were. Yet although they appeared to be relaxed, they both had their feet apart, ready for a challenge.
“Dirk, what are you doing here? I told you we were over.” She wished she’d never mentioned that she was heading to Forever. If she’d kept quiet, then he couldn’t have followed her.
Dirk put on a pleasant smile, but the amber flecks in his eyes belied his cool demeanor. “I figured I needed to check up on Harry.” He slung his arm around her son’s shoulders. “Looks like I was right. Who are these clowns, anyway?”
Harry snorted derisively. “Just a couple of guys she met.”
Dirk’s head jerked toward her. He narrowed his eyes as he darted his gaze between her and the Colter men. “Who are they, Bonnie?”
“We’re her mates.” Casey’s words came out sounding like a challenge.
“Her mates?” Dirk’s sneer changed into a snarl. “The hell you are.”
Harry’s jaw dropped. “Your mates? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Harry, this isn’t the time or the place. We can talk about it later.” Bonnie fought to stay under control. The whole mate thing was new to her, and she wasn’t sure she believed it yet.
Joe hooked his thumbs in his jeans. “Name’s Joe Colter. I don’t think I caught your name.”
Dirk’s voice was filled with disgust. “I’m Dirk Hoffsted and you’re horning in
on my territory.”
“Your territory? What are you talking about?” She stepped closer, her anger spurring her on. “I’m not your territory, your property, or even your girlfriend. And right now, I’m not even your friend. You need to leave us alone and go back to Dallas where you belong.”
“Mom, stop. Dirk’s here to help me.” Harry fisted his hands. “I don’t want these other guys. They’re lying and calling you their mate.” His lip lifted into a sneer. “All they want is to get into your pants.”
She felt the air around them thicken. Casey, anger showing on his face, shook his head. “Kid, I don’t know you very well, but I do know you shouldn’t talk that way about your mother.”
“Fuck off!” Harry jerked out of Dirk’s hold and dashed off.
“Harry, come back here!”
Bonnie bolted after him, but Casey grabbed her arm, whirling her around to face him. “Hold up. Give him some space.”
She yanked her arm away. “Give him some space? To do what? To shift?” She paced in the direction Harry had gone, then realized it was hopeless to chase after him. If the other night had taught her anything, it was that she couldn’t catch Harry. He was too fast for her whether he was in his wolf form or not.
She whirled on Dirk, putting her anger on him. “Damn you, Dirk. I told you to let us go. Why the hell did you have to show up?”
Dirk’s hard expression didn’t change much even though his words were the exact opposite. “I came because I love you, Bonnie. And I love that boy like he’s my own.”
He’d never said the word love before. Did he mean it? Or was it a ploy to get her back? She shook her head and wished he’d never said anything. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Tell him that you’ve found your mates. Your intended mates.” Joe leveled his gaze on Dirk. “You should back off, man, while you still can. Respect the connection we have with her.”
She doubted that Dirk would ever respect anyone’s feelings, much less Casey’s and Joe’s.
“The connection? Are you two really trying to pull that old scam?”
Scam? Are the Colter brothers playing me?
