by Roxie Noir
“What were you restraining yourself from?” she asked.
He pulled her gently and Sam slid out. Annika put her hands on his chest to steady herself, and Sam held onto her wrists gently, his eyes still intent on hers.
“Want me to show you?” Calder asked, the tip of his cock nudging against her entrance.
Annika didn’t ask, she just pushed herself backward onto Calder and heard him groan as he entered her. His hands moved up and down her back and he filled her utterly, somehow finding different and new spots from Sam.
Annika laughed, and Sam raised his eyebrows, even as Calder bent forward and kissed the back of her shoulder, pulling her against him and burying himself.
“Yes?” growled Calder. He pulled out and thrust again, and Annika could hear herself grunt, the animal noise ripping itself from her throat. “That feel good?” he asked.
“He talks too much,” Sam said, below her. “I know.”
“He’s just saying that,” Calder said, still into her ear. He thrust again and again, hard and deep, and Annika bit her lip, steadying herself against Sam’s chest. He let go of her wrists and moved his hand down her torso until he was fingering her, moving in slow circles around Annika’s clit.
“But if I say I can’t last long because watching you two fuck was almost too much for me, he’s into it,” Calder went on.
Sam shrugged, his hand still moving.
“Or if I said I could watch him make you cum like that all day, every day, he’d like that too,” Calder murmured.
“What if I just said harder,” Annika said. She felt like her brain was blinking in and out from sheer pleasure. Now she was on her elbows on Sam’s tattooed chest, and Calder bent over her, closing a hand over her shoulder.
Calder thrust harder, and Annika cried out, dropping her head onto Sam’s chest.
“Like that?” he gasped.
“Yes,” Annika said. “Fuck yes, like that.”
He did it again. Everything began to go white.
“I’d say I hope you’re close,” he said. He thrust again, this time with a growl and Annika moaned.
“Come on,” she said, and Calder buried himself in her and finally, she came again, like a curtain coming down over her eyes. Everything went blank and white, and she heard someone shouting. She realized it was her, and even as the pleasure moved through her in a raging river, she started laughing.
Finally she collapsed onto Sam, and he put his arms around her as she panted for breath. Calder kissed her shoulder again and pulled out. She hadn’t even realized that he’d finished.
“You completely had us fooled,” Sam said, his voice coming out lazy and laconic.
“What?” Annika asked. She didn’t have the energy to raise herself off his chest.
“Your whole ‘I’m not sure about triads’ thing,” he said, a smile in his voice. “You’re a liar.”
Annika laughed, her cheek against his chest.
“Sorry,” she said.
“We’ll forgive you,” Calder said. “If you’re a little more sure now.”
Finally, she rolled off of Sam and laid between them. She took a deep breath.
“Just don’t fucking break up again,” she said. “Okay?”
“Want me to sell the motorcycle?” Calder asked.
She looked over at his completely serious face.
“No,” she said. “I just want you to not use it to leave us.”
Instead of answering, he kissed Annika on the temple.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said softly.
He stretched one arm across her and found Sam’s hand and laced their fingers together. They fell asleep like that.
Chapter Twelve
Sam
“Your ride’s here,” Scarlet said.
Sam kept wiping the mirror, turning the paper towel over to the dry side so it wouldn’t smear.
“Thanks,” he said. “They coming in?”
His question was answered when he heard the back door open, and Annika and Calder walked into the main room of the tattoo parlor.
“Hurry up,” said Annika. “That hot tub isn’t gonna relax in itself.”
“Impatient,” he said, wadding up the paper towel in his hands, replacing the glass cleaner in its cupboard, and taking off his latex gloves. He threw them in the trash, and then crossed his arms, looking around.
“I’ll be fine,” said Scarlet. “It’s all black lines and touchups for three days.”
“Yeah,” said Annika. “Just be glad you’ve still got Scarlet.”
Scarlet rolled her eyes.
“I bet Cascadia’s got plenty of ex-cons who can get their aggressions out by kneading bread dough,” she said.
Annika just harrumphed, even though she was smiling.
“Don’t forget to pull the blinds down when you leave,” Sam said to Scarlet.
“I won’t,” said Scarlet.
“Make sure that the autoclave completes its full cycle before you open it, otherwise you might get steam burns,” he said.
“I know,” said Scarlet very, very patiently.
“And call me if you need—“
“Sam. She knows,” said Annika. “Come on before we lose our reservation.”
Sam frowned and looked around the Midnight Gun one more time. The shop was his baby, and he’d never left it in someone else’s hands before.
“Should I just carry him out of here?” he heard Calder ask Annika.
“I’d like to see you try,” he said, and finally uncrossed his arms. Calder grinned and shrugged. “Okay, okay, I’m coming,” Sam said.
He grabbed his sweater and the three of them walked through the back, Scarlet following behind them. He climbed into the backseat of Calder’s new Subaru, and then turned and watched the back entrance of the Midnight Gun as Scarlet stood there, waving.
“Okay,” he finally said when they turned the corner. “Let’s have a vacation, then.”
It was past nine when they got to the cabins in the mountains above Mammoth. Since it was late August, the ski town was in summer mode: quieter, full of people who liked hiking and alpine slides. The road up to the cluster of cabins was steep. Half-asleep in the backseat — car rides always made Sam fall asleep — Sam was glad that they had the four-wheel-drive.
Calder parked in front of the office and got out.
“I’ll be right back,” he said. “Sam’s probably asleep.”
“I’m not,” Sam protested quietly, rubbing his eyes with one hand.
“You were,” Calder said, and then he was out of the car.
Annika turned around in the front seat and looked back at him.
“Good morning,” she said.
“We’re there?” Sam asked, still trying to catch up to what was going on.
She nodded, and Sam wound down the back window, sticking part of his head out of it, smelling the wind, and he shut his eyes again, leaning into the back seat.
The mini-vacation had been Calder’s idea. Just them, for three days: no work, no family, no nosy town of Rustvale. It had been nearly four months since Greta’s wedding, and Sam finally felt like they were in some kind of rhythm that was personal and specific to them.
Earlier that week, Sam had woken up and Calder hadn’t been in their bed. For the first time, Sam hadn’t panicked, hadn’t felt the cold stone drop into his stomach. He’d just thought he’s probably making breakfast, rolled over, and gone back to sleep.
Somewhere on the mountain below, he watched a car’s headlights come up the steep road and then turn off, the bright cones of light sweeping through the trees.
It’s strange how the things that matter the most don’t announce themselves, Sam thought. I finally believed that he was back for good, and I didn’t even notice. I rolled over and went back to sleep.
The only way to prove you’re staying is to stay, I guess. The only way to prove to someone that you trust them is to trust them, day in and day out.
In the front, Annika yawned
and shifted in her seat.
“He’s taking a while,” she said. “I hope everything is okay.”
“He made these reservations weeks ago,” Sam said. He unbuckled his seat belt and leaned forward, resting his chin against the shoulder of the front seat, draping an arm forward over Annika.
“It’s only nine,” she said. “Don’t fall asleep yet.”
“It’s car rides,” he said, yawning. “It’s always happened.”
She’d hung in there too, even though she had no real reason to believe that they wouldn’t implode again, especially at first.
There’s only so much you can do, Sam reflected sleepily, as she put her hand in his. You keep waking up in the same bed and kissing each other goodbye and working through your shit, and then it’s months later and you’re really, truly happy for the first time in years. And if someone asked how you got there, you could never tell them, except it was slow and it was worth it.
Finally, Calder came back out of the office, opened the car door, and got in.
“Good news and bad news,” he said.
“Bad news first,” Annika said automatically.
“They gave away our cabin because we were late,” he said.
Annika leaned her head back against the headrest.
“Please tell me the good news is really good,” she said.
“They felt really bad, so they’re giving us the Mount Shasta,” Calder said. He grinned, and even in the dark, Sam could see his eyes light up. “It’s got a kitchen, a fireplace, and a luxury hot tub.”
“What makes it luxury?” Sam asked.
“We’ll have to find out,” Calder said. “Buckle up.”
The Mount Shasta cabin was barely a cabin. It was more of a house, mostly made of massive logs with a stonework fireplace, huge patio windows, and a loft where the bed was. The three of them dropped their bags off by the couch, and Sam pushed back the sliding glass door and walked onto the deck.
The hot tub was toward the end, out in the open, nearly surrounded by the forest, and he took the cover off, found the controls, and got it going. Then he walked back into the cabin.
“Seriously, what did you do?” Annika was asking Calder. They both stood in the kitchen, where Calder was untwisting the top of a champagne bottle.
“We got champagne?” Sam asked.
Calder shrugged.
“It was in the fridge,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s any good.”
“It’s free,” said Annika. “It doesn’t have to be good.”
“What did you do?” Sam asked. He walked to the cabinets and started opening them, looking for champagne glasses.
“I’m just very charming, I guess.”
In unison, Annika and Sam snorted.
“Seriously?” said Calder, laughing. “Of all people, you two don’t believe I’m charming?”
He grabbed the cork and pulled, the muscles in his arm flexing. It popped out, and he tossed the cork onto the counter.
“I don’t see champagne glasses,” Sam said, opening the last cabinet. “How about tumblers?”
“Good enough for me,” said Annika, and Sam got three out. Calder poured, and each of them took one, then held them up.
“To vacation,” Annika said.
“To free champagne,” said Calder.
“To luxury hot tubs,” said Sam.
They all drank.
“I turned it on, by the way,” Sam said.
“It’s on the deck?” Calder asked.
Sam nodded.
“Let’s do this,” Calder said.
“My swimsuit’s in the suitcase,” Annika said, making a face.
Sam and Calder looked at each other, then at her.
“There’s no one out there,” Calder said.
“It’s still outside,” Annika said.
“But there’s no one out there,” Sam said.
She opened her mouth and then shut it.
“I’m getting in,” Calder said. He walked onto the deck and balanced his champagne on the railing, then took his shirt off.
“Same,” said Sam, following suit, throwing his clothes onto the deck in a messy pile before getting into the tub, sliding down next to Calder. Behind them, Annika hovered in the doorway, looking slightly uncertain.
“Humans,” Calder said, waving at her. “They just don’t get naked enough.”
“She’ll learn,” said Sam.
“Turn out the lights in the house,” Calder called, and Annika disappeared for a moment. The lights inside flicked off, and then everything was bathed in the silvery light from the half-moon above. Underwater, Calder’s hand found Sam’s and squeezed. Sam squeezed back, and Annika reappeared in the doorway.
She paused. Then she took off her shirt.
Sam put two fingers into his mouth and whistled at her.
“Take it off!” Calder shouted.
Annika ignored them, tossing the rest of her clothes onto the deck and walking over, stark naked in the moonlight.
“Hubba hubba,” Calder said.
“You two are ridiculous,” she said, even though she was clearly pleased. She stepped in carefully, setting her tumbler of champagne on the deck by the tub.
“You like it,” Sam said.
She said nothing, just sipped her champagne and rested her foot on his knee.
“Yeah,” she said. “You’re right.”
Her knee came to the surface as she sank further into the water, and without thinking, Sam bent down and kissed it. The peaceful, perfect quiet stretched out between them.
“How much do you think about Marie?” she asked, suddenly, staring up at the sky.
Sam looked at Calder, and Calder looked at Sam.
“Some?” Sam said at last.
“I’m just curious,” Annika said. “At first I really thought I’d be jealous, or feel like you two have this thing in common that I can never understand or share, but I don’t,” she said.
Calder took a long drink from his champagne glass, then put it back on the deck.
“I still miss her, but I don’t wish she was here anymore,” he said. “Does that make sense?”
Sam nodded.
“I used to be completely certain that I’d never love anyone else,” he said slowly. He cupped his hand around Annika’s calf underwater, sliding his hand around her ankle. “I had this idea that my heart only had two slots in it, or something. Like that was all I got, one for you and one for her,” he said, nodding at Calder.
Then he shrugged.
“I was wrong,” he said. “There was another one.”
“Well, I’m glad about that,” Annika said softly.
Calder got up and moved to sit next to Annika, sliding an arm around her.
“I write a lot of shit where people overcome obstacles and then they get engaged or married or whatever and there’s a happily ever after, but that’s bullshit,” he said. “There’s just happy right now.”
“Are you?” she asked.
Sam scooted over to sit on her other side, and Calder’s hand found his shoulder.
“Yes,” Calder said.
Sam kissed the top of Annika’s head, and she put her hand on his thigh, holding it there lightly. He rested his chin on top of her head.
“I’m not a chin rest,” she said.
Sam grinned, his eyes meeting Calder’s.
“Well, I’m resting my chin on you,” he said. “So it stands to reason that you are a chin rest.”
Annika sighed. Calder leaned forward and pressed his lips to Sam’s, a long, slow, lazy kiss, and Sam didn’t think about a single thing besides the feeling of Calder’s lips on his own, Annika’s body pressed against his.
“You cannot make out on my head,” she finally grumbled.
Their lips still touching, Calder and Sam both started laughing, and Calder pulled her onto his lap, her nipples puckering in the cool night air. Sam closed the gap between them, his arm around Calder.
“Can I make out with your head?”
Calder asked.
“Not sexy,” said Annika, laughing.
“Disagree,” Sam said, grinning.
In the whole world, there was only the three of them in the moonlight, laughing. Annika bent down and kissed Sam and then kissed Calder, and then she pressed their foreheads together.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too,” Sam said. He didn’t even have to think about it, and then he was kissing her, and Calder was also saying I love you, and nothing else mattered.
THE END
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Greta Waltz doesn't take crap from anyone. As the owner of the Tooth & Claw Saloon, Rustvale's only wolf shifter bar, she can't afford to. Even when a couple of sexy newcomers shift and get into a bar fight, Greta doesn't hesitate to scruff them and boot them into the street. Sure, she'd rather be touching them somewhere else, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
Recovering nerd Elliott Whiting just moved back home, and brought his mate Shane along with him. Their very first day in town, Shane gets into a bar fight - and the most beautiful bartender he's ever seen tosses him out of her bar. Ever since, neither of them can stop thinking about the curvy, fiery wolf. Could she be the only to finally complete their triad?
It doesn't take long for Elliott's past as a dorky, bullied kid to resurface, and when it does, Shane can barely control his temper. At the same time, Greta's dad - the pack's alpha - makes his expectations for her perfectly clear, and they don't involve running a business or Greta staying independent.
Can Greta defy her pack's expectations and find love on her terms? Or will the pack and the past get in the way of this fated menage?
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