by Lily Harlem
“Hey,” Caleb said, looking over my shoulder and not seeming the least bit ruffled at being caught with me in his arms. “How did you get on in the mountains?”
“I’m guessing I’ve not had as much fun as you two have.” A smile twitched Isaac’s mouth and he licked his lips.
I turned, slowly, words of apology forming in my mouth. I was kissing Isaac’s lover, his mate, how would I explain this? Was he really okay with it as Caleb had said he would be?
Isaac held up his hand, palm facing me, as though he knew what was going through my mind. “I’m sure Caleb told you that I wouldn’t take offence to him being sexual with you? That’s simply not the way we’re wired.”
“Well, yes,” I managed, “But…are you sure? I…”
Isaac walked over, pressed a lingering kiss to Caleb’s mouth and then cupped my cheek. His had callouses on his palms and his big fingers pressed into my skin. “We do what feels good for our bodies, Bea. It’s how we were made. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
“And it did feel good.” Caleb stroked his hand down my back, over the scratch I was sporting there, of his doing. “I think Bea will agree, won’t you?”
“I…er…yes.”
Isaac grinned suddenly, his eyes flashed and he bared his teeth. “I would have liked to see you in action with a woman, Caleb, quite a novelty.”
“I’m sure you would have.”
Isaac grinned then walked to the edge of the room again and looked into the living area. “So what the hell happened to the front door?”
“Caleb scared me when he turned from his wolf-form,” I said meekly. “I locked him out and he had to barge it down to get in.”
Isaac turned slowly and studied me. He wore no top and his broad shoulders rippled with tensed muscle. “You saw Caleb shift?” he asked quietly.
“Yes. It was a shock, but he’s explained it to me now.”
He shook his head and his dark hair mussed around his face. “And you’re okay with it?”
“Yes, I think I get it, it wasn’t as if I didn’t have an inkling anyway. Though the wolves still scare me. Especially that big black one that snarls a lot.”
Isaac snapped his attention to Caleb. “Yes, I picked up Aatu’s scent on the way in. What was he doing here?”
“He’d heard a rumor that we had a woman staying in the cabin. He came to check it out.”
Isaac made a grunting noise. “No doubt hoping I’d found a she-wolf to breed with and finally carry on his family line.”
“I don’t know about that,” Caleb said with a stiff shrug. “He seemed more concerned about our safety and catching Elfrida.”
“What do you mean his family line?” I asked.
“Aatu is my father,” Isaac said, “though I think he’d rather I was someone else’s son.”
“Isaac.” Caleb said sadly. “Please, don’t say that.”
“Just facing facts,” Isaac said sharply.
“Is he the reason you left the pack?” I asked, glancing between the two men and sensing there was a lot of history to this.
“He and the beta males made our lives misery when we declared we were in love,” Isaac said. “Caleb got the worst of it; his father not being alpha made him an easy target.”
“So Aatu is the alpha male?” I asked.
“Yes.” Isaac nodded.
“What does that entail?”
“He rules the roost; he’s top dog or whatever you want to call it,” Isaac said, “He’s in charge and no one even bothers to contest it anymore. He’s simply too powerful.”
“I’m sorry they were mean to you,” I said, turning to Caleb. “That sucks.”
“Not your fault and it’s ancient history.” Caleb gave a sad smile. “Perhaps one day they’ll be able to accept us.”
“So what else did he say, my father?” Isaac asked.
“That he knows Elfrida,” Caleb said, “He’s crossed paths with her before and considers her to be one of the most dangerous of all of the vampires at the Order.”
“Well we know that,” Isaac said, “and to top it off she’s still lurking about. I kept getting drifts of vampire scent and then losing her, she’s wily and she knows how to hide a trail.”
“It’s a good thing then that Aatu is going to send help, a hunting party, to find her.” Caleb released me and stood. He walked up to Isaac and slipped his hands around his waist. “I’m glad you’re home safe, and I’m glad the pack is going to get involved. We’ve been searching for months with no luck. This way we might actually make some progress.”
Isaac leaned against Caleb, their two big, hard bodies pressing together as their arms wrapped around each other.
Again I felt that little fizz of interest in my stomach. There was no denying these two men, wolves, whatever they were, were seriously hot together. But I dampened the feeling down. Now that Isaac was home and Caleb had his lover back, his interest in me, sexually, would no doubt flicker out.
“Hey,” Caleb said, turning to me and holding out a hand. “Come here.”
I stood, my legs a little shaky and walked over to them. Isaac also held out his hand and between them they pulled me into their huddle. Their skin was hot, their breaths warm and they smelled of fresh male sweat and safety. I closed my eyes and nestled my head between their shoulders and thanked my lucky stars for them finding me on that awful night when I lost everything.
A sudden rumble came from Caleb’s stomach.
Isaac laughed in that gruff way of his. “I think we should feed you, Caleb,” he said. “I’m guessing you’ve had so much excitement you skipped breakfast after your morning prowl.”
“Yeah, a lot has happened since I went out,” Caleb said, stepping back. “I need food.”
Fifteen minutes later I was busy in the kitchen. “You want these eggs flipped?” I called through to Caleb.
“You know I do,” he shouted back.
I smiled and set to turning the eggs Isaac had brought back with him. Caleb was sorting out the fire and Isaac was hammering the door back into place. I found myself humming as I worked. The morning revelations had cleared my suspicious mind. I now knew the wolf tracks around the cabin belonged to the two men who were protecting me. All the tangled threads of my thoughts had been straightened out with the definite knowledge that they were shifters. Yes, they spoke in unusual terms sometimes, were hot despite the cold and felt the need to live isolated, but it all made sense now. They had wolf DNA; they were creatures who didn’t mix with society and appreciated having a large territory of their own.
Also the fact that the Carlton Pack, the wolves that Aimery and Ryle had hoped were here, were hunting for Elfrida now gave me great comfort. If they were all even half as strong and fast as Caleb and Isaac, a group of them should have no trouble seeking her out and flushing her from the forest.
And then what? I wasn’t sure. But London seemed the obvious choice. I’d have to go back to working on Dad’s stall on the meat market. He’d have me back. I was certain of it, though I wasn’t sure how much time he was spending there now. Aimery and Ryle had ensured that he had enough money to live very comfortably and with Bridget on the scene now, the widow who’d filled a gap in Dad’s life, I didn’t know how easy it would be for me to move in again.
I sighed, began to butter the toast and took the eggs off the heat. I’d thought I’d spend the rest of my days with my two husbands, globetrotting, having fun, making love, experiencing life, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Job done,” Isaac said, slamming the door and halting the toe-curling draft that was licking around my feet.
“So is this,” I called, spooning the eggs onto the toast.
Caleb and Isaac appeared, their gaze going straight to the food. They ate so much, enough to feed Dad several times over and he was a man who could eat like a champion.
Soon they were tucking in and I set to enjoying my breakfast. I too was suddenly ravenous. After an energetic night and then the fright on the veran
da this morning, my body was in need of sustenance.
“There’s more snow coming, a storm,” Isaac said between mouthfuls of toast. “I could sense it when I was up on the ridge this morning.”
“Sense it?” I asked, enjoying being able to ask my questions instead of internalizing them.
“Yeah, it makes my hackles tingle and I could smell the air thickening.”
“Do you think it will be a bad storm?” I asked. “Surely spring will be here soon, what is now March?”
“Very nearly April,” Caleb said, “And yes, a few more weeks and we can expect a thaw up here.”
I smiled. “I bet it’s pretty in the spring.”
“Beautiful,” Caleb said, matching my grin and bringing his mug of tea to his mouth.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to get out of the cabin and enjoy it.”
“Only if we’ve tracked down Elfrida.” He shoveled in the last of his breakfast.
My smile faded. “Yeah, I know. But even if she’s still out there, maybe if you were both in your…wolf-form, we could go for a walk. You’d be there then, to protect me like when you saved me at the beginning.”
“It’s too risky,” Caleb said. “She could snatch you in a heartbeat.”
I resisted pouting. The thought of spring grass, flowers, birds and bees was just what my soul needed. It would be so hard to watch the snow melt, and the beautiful mountains come to life and not be out in it. Looking through the window would be like just seeing it on TV or in a picture. I wanted the experience of being in the Rocky Mountains.
“So while we’re on the subject,” Caleb said, setting his knife and fork down. “What the bloody hell did you think you were doing going out of the cabin this morning? You were all alone for heavensake.”
I knotted my fingers in my lap and cast my eyes downward. “I just needed some fresh air, some sunshine on my face. I feel like I’m going crazy in these four walls.”
They were both quiet, something unsaid passed between them.
Isaac placed down his cutlery and moved to the fire. He poked it and I studied the way his long spine dipped and how the shadows danced on his skin. “In that case,” he said, turning. “We’ll need to get you some shoes.”
“Really?” I stood. “You’ll take me out, soon?”
“Only as wolves,” Caleb said throwing a frown in Isaac’s direction.
“To the Ridge?” I clasped my hands together.
“No, that’s too far, just around the clearing here, by the cabin,” Caleb said.
“But I want to go to the Ridge, it sounds beautiful.”
Caleb stood and gathered the plates. He looked down at me. “Do you always push for just a little bit more?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t used to but I guess I know there’s more to life now.” I paused. “And besides, you two make me feel safe.” Just the way my beloved Aimery and Ryle used to, but I kept that thought to myself. I had to quietly hold them close to my heart. Keep them silently in my thoughts, which I would, for all of time.
I tried to persuade Caleb and Isaac to take me out that afternoon, but Isaac was exhausted from his journey to the pass and Caleb pointed out that he’d need to find some deer hide and make me some proper footwear before we did anything. I couldn’t help but think these were tactics to stall me. But even so, the thought of a trip out of the cabin with my two wolves boosted my mood, as did the possibility of Elfrida soon being caught and disposed of.
As Isaac rested and Caleb banged around in one of the outhouses, I busied myself in the kitchen. It was warm in the small room, and with the oven cooking a venison stew I set about making cakes. The novelty of having eggs had inspired the baker in me.
I glanced out of the window several times, wondering if I might see Caleb as a wolf, but I didn’t. Once I saw him moving from the log shed to the outbuilding and another time he was chopping wood and tossing it onto a pile. But he was in human-form and as usual he wore no top, just his jeans and his thick old boots.
When the cakes were done I made icing and decorated with more care than I would ever have bothered with in the past, but now time was both my friend and my enemy. I had lots of it to pass and do with as I pleased.
Once completed I was proud of my baking achievements and set a plate full of cakes on the table between the long sofa and the blazing fire, just as Caleb came in from the darkening evening.
“That smells good,” he said, his eyes widening when he spotted them.
“Frosted cupcakes,” I said, wafting my hand over the selection.
Isaac stirred on the sofa where he’d been resting. “Mmm, it’s nice to have a woman around.” He grinned up at me.
“I agree.” Caleb reached for a cake and as he sank his teeth into it he winked at me and murmured his approval.
I sat on the sofa next to Isaac and reached for a bun of my own. I was going to wait until after dinner but I had a feeling there might not be any left if I did that, plus they were the first sweet treat I’d had in ages. It was also the first time I felt like I’d achieved anything in a long time too.
Within minutes we were all licking our fingers and lips. The sugar had dissolved on my tongue and coated my mouth, sticky and sickly. Delicious.
“Here, have the last one,” Caleb said to Isaac, holding it out.
“Feed me.” Isaac gave a sinful grin and my stomach rolled at the thought of watching them have an intimate moment, even if it was just a little food play.
Caleb held the icing point of the cake to Isaac’s lips.
Isaac bit into it, crumbs of sugar and sponge fell onto his bare chest and the white topping coated his upper lip like a moustache.
“Such a messy eater,” Caleb said, leaning in, kissing off the icing and then ducking to retrieve the crumbs from Isaac’s chest with his tongue.
Isaac remained very still, letting Caleb lick him clean and watching him with narrowed eyes.
I nibbled on my bottom lip and wondered if I should go to my room and give them privacy.
“Mmm, I like it when you taste of cake,” Caleb said in a husky voice. It was the same deep tone he’d used with me right before he’d taken me to bed the night before.
“I want more,” Isaac said gruffly. “I’m hungry for it.”
“I can tell.” Caleb put the half eaten cake to Isaac’s mouth again.
Isaac bit into it, sending another shower of golden crumbs down onto his chest, belly and into the creases of his jeans.
“So much mess.” Caleb tutted and popped the last of the cake into his own mouth. As he chewed he dropped between Caleb’s legs, nestling between his thick thighs as he knelt on the floor. Caleb looked up at Isaac and licked his lips. “I missed you,” he said. “You and your scent and flavor.”
Isaac gave a kind of twisted half-smile that screamed pure sin. “I’m hoping you’re going to show me just how much you missed me.”
“Oh, yeah.” Caleb reached for the button on Isaac’s jeans. “You know I will.” He unpopped the top stud, and the patch of hair-coated skin that ran from Isaac’s navel was exposed lower.
I guessed, like Caleb, Isaac didn’t bother with underwear. Why would they? It was only more to pull on or discard when they shifted.
I glanced lower down Isaac’s groin. There was a long swelling going on, pressing up against the denim, hard and insistent. I shifted on the seat, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do. Sit here and watch them get intimate or sneak off to my room?
Caleb gently took the zipper between his thumb and index finger. Very slowly, excruciatingly slowly, he pulled it down, the zip clicking rather than whizzing because the movement was so unhurried and teasing.
The head of Isaac’s cock came into view, smooth and round and straining to be free. As Caleb dropped the zipper to fully open, the dark length of Isaac’s cock jutted out.
“I should go,” I said, suddenly standing, though unable to stop staring at Isaac’s shaft as I did so.
“No.” Isaac reached out and grabbed
my wrist. “Stay.” He tugged me closer. “Stay, it’s not like you haven’t seen a dick before.”
I wanted to, more than anything. Whatever it was they were doing, or about to do, was super-sexy and my body was responding with heat and arousal. “But—?”
“Lift,” Caleb said, ignoring me and pulling at Isaac’s jeans.
Isaac did as instructed. Shuffling and shifting while Caleb removed his clothing. But Isaac kept hold of my wrist and then parted his knees further as his pants were tossed aside. “You’re here, Bea,” he said, looking up at me again. “You might as well be here properly, with us. I know damn well Caleb isn’t going to object.”
“I’m not sure I understand, Isaac.” His fingers were tight on my wrist and his gaze was burning into me.
“Did you hesitate with Caleb last night?” he asked.
“I, well…no.”
“So don’t hesitate now. We’re all about feeling good, Bea. Feel good with us. No strings, just mating.”
Chapter Fourteen
Isaac released me, but as soon as he did Caleb caught my wrist.
“Sit,” Caleb said, “next to me.” He budged a little and tugged me into the space between him and Isaac’s right knee, so that we were both sitting head height with Isaac’s very hard erection and encased within his long legs.
I adjusted the fold of my knees and rested my hand on Isaac’s warm thigh. His skin was hair-coated and I could make out the solidity of the muscles beneath. My own muscles were tense, and excited anticipation rolled through me.
Caleb leaned forward, his shoulder jostling mine, and took Isaac’s thick length into his big hand.
Isaac moaned softly and his stomach tensed, defining the strength beneath. His hands balled into fists.
“His cock is beautiful, don’t you agree?” Caleb whispered.
There was awe in his voice and I couldn’t blame him. Everything about Isaac was beautiful.
“Yes,” I replied, stroking up Isaac’s leg, the hairs crinkling as I pushed them the wrong way. “He is.”
Caleb ran his hand down to the root of Isaac’s shaft and then back up again. It was the only movement between the three of us for a few exquisite seconds.
