Danea nodded slowly. “I’m glad you’re alright,” she said finally, her attention shifting suddenly with the loud noise from the window. She was on her feet and crossing the room almost immediately.
“Does he always do that?” Noah looked from the large bird that had landed on the wide perch with a flurry of wings striking the side of the building.
“I’ve known him since he was little and trapped in a discarded fishing net,” Danea answered with a smile. She pulled a plastic wrapped bag from the fridge and opened the twist tie. She laid out the trout and tossed the bag into the trash. “I know they’re okay. They’re right here…I told you to be nice.”
“So he just comes by for a fish now and then?” Noah asked quietly. Both men stared and listened to the faint chirps and beeps the bird gave off.
“He doesn’t believe the fight last night was an accident. My father knows about you,” she whispered, breathing quickly, her head shaking. “The casino? You’re sure…no, no…I know…thank you,” her hand went easily to his large, white head, stroking over the soft feathers. “Have them watched.”
“Danea,” Wade was frowning when she met his gaze. A gaze that went from the departing bird to the woman. “He talks to you?”
“He always has,” she returned to her seat and added some of the pot roast to her plate.
“And he said your father knows about us?” Noah pressed. “What does that mean?”
“Did you know there were groups out there not only opposed to hybrids, but wanting to experiment on how to make specialized hybrids for purposes probably less than decent?” Danea asked with a smile at the two men watching her. “I have a friend working for the Institute in Devil Hills. But I also have a few friends who are mixed breeds. There are people who want their blood for experiments but they’ve also been known to create their own hybrids as well as taking homeless and testing them.”
“You have some informative friends,” Noah commented slowly as he ate.
“They watch the missing persons’ lines from police departments,” Danea said slowly, her head shaking. “I think my father is involved in helping some of them. He doesn’t believe…he’s adamantly opposed to interspecies breeding…even though…but I don’t believe he would do things to hurt people,” she said adamantly, and almost to convince herself of the words. “Not if he knew the full truth of what they were doing.”
“So he would be opposed to us,” Wade nodded. “And your bird friend was warning you that he was here. Where does he normally live? Your father, not the bird.”
“His name is Galileo and my father lives south of here…far south where it’s much warmer,” she said thoughtfully. “The fact that’s he traveled here, is annoying. And I don’t know how much of his behavior is posturing for…just posturing. He’s never behaved meanly toward others at all….but that doesn’t mean someone isn’t using him. With the proper incentive and…” she sighed. “He can be blind at times to certain behaviors and activities.”
“Why is he determined to have you with him, Danea?”
“He just believes his daughters should all live near him,” she waved a hand in the air, digging into her food and eating quickly. “But if he’s here, and he knows about you…that’s not good. And it means the fight was probably his way of making an assessment of you and your skills.”
“Want to tell us why?” Noah said with a firm line that said he was quickly losing patience.
“Which also means he has someone watching me,” she said softly, standing up and gathering plates as she considered that. She carried a large handful of plates to the sink, frowning at the thoughts she was trying to unravel. She had the water running warm and was loading the dishwasher, absently taking the new things they brought in when she turned. She was about to go forward when they backed her against the sink.
“Talk to us, Danea.”
“Noah…this is really not a fair tactic…” Danea’s gaze swung from one to the other, her head shaking. “My father is just obstinate. Very, very…he doesn’t believe I should be mingling with shifters and other people than humans. Unless it’s my his mandate. I told you. He’s…opinionated.”
“And we don’t fit his idea of mates for you,” Wade watched her face.
“I’m very sure it never occurred to him that I would end up in bed with…” Danea felt her cheeks heat up. “With either one of you, let alone, possibly both of you.”
“Possibly?” Noah tugged gently on the tie belt at her waist. “You do know I can tell when you’re lying to me, Danea. It’s a shifter gift, if you will…so why do you want to lie to us?”
Chapter Ten
“Because right now it’s safest that way,” she said, her chin up in defiance. “Excuse me,” she pushed hard against both their shoulders and turned sideways to squeeze between them when neither moved. “I…need to clean the table…” she suddenly knew exactly what the filling felt like in a sandwich because neither of them was allowing her to get free.
“You believe your father will be against our…”
“Partnership,” Wade suggested firmly.
“My father…” she sighed and tried wiggling to the side only to find a pair of hands on her from both sides. Her wiggling came to a complete stop when she felt the hints that it was noticeably affecting them. Front and back, she felt the hardening erections and heat filled her cheeks. “Umm…my father doesn’t give a fig who I date or…or do…anything else with. He’ll make posturing sounds but it’s not about you at all. It’s about what he wants from me, and that I return to his little kingdom with the other daughters. And half of them have already been promised, but they remain in the area because they are part of the power he needs to control things.”
“Why is none of this making sense?”
“Who makes sense of crazy relatives?” She scoffed lightly. She knew how to regulate her temperature and hoped it was enough to keep him off balance with his lie detecting. “It’s simple enough and I’ll handle my father if the time comes.”
Noah knew she was lying to them. Breaking her of the habit and figuring out the pieces he was missing, however, was becoming an issue. He leaned his head down. He was behind her, his hands on her hips; while Wade had a grip on her waist. Neither of them was allowing her movement.
Her eyes grew to wide, dark circles; her breaths little pants when she felt his tongue begin at the hollow of her throat and shoulder. He traced a slow, wet path up to her ear.
“What’re you doing? Stop that,” she hissed, about to wiggle when he pressed his cock into her ass.
“I’m tasting what flavor a lie is on you. And while it’s a delicious thing,” his voice whispered over the damp line he’d drawn and pulled a shiver from her. “Does she have that kissable look, Wade?”
“Hmm…puzzled…a little dazed…definitely kissable,” he agreed seconds before he captured the stunned ‘OH’ of her lips.
Wade wasn’t able to tell if she was lying or not, but he knew something was wrong. He knew well enough that she felt she was protecting them, and in her mind, that meant keeping some of the facts from them. But when his mouth covered hers and she parted her lips to gasp, he took full advantage to deepen the kiss.
Her hands were released and immediately slipped between them. Her palms flattened against his sides and pressed over the firm, solid muscles hiding beneath the shirt he wore. When he felt her fingers began opening the buttons down the front of his shirt and slipped against his skin, his groan rumbled against her mouth.
“I need to talk,” Danea whispered shakily, dropping from her toes and pressing her face against his chest. “I read…researched…”
“What do you want to talk about, Danea?” Wade’s voice was rough with the hunger she’d aroused. He watched Noah walk toward the other side of the apartment where the bedroom door was.
“Shit,” Noah said flatly.
“A problem?” Wade asked, his arms loosening to allow Danea to turn and face Noah. She offered no protest when he held her agai
nst him, his hands crossing in front of her and casually untying the belt at her waist.
“I don’t have a full sized bed,” she said with a slight giggle.
Noah heard the nervous sound and shook his head. “Who sleeps in a single bed these days?”
“I do,” she answered, her head resting against Wade’s shoulder.
“You were telling me what you read,” Wade urged gently.
“I…I was trying to…figure out…”
“Let’s sit and talk, Danea,” Noah suggested, his gaze meeting Wade’s.
“Do you want us to leave, Danea? If you’re uncomfortable or uneasy…” Wade felt the counter keenly behind him when he backed up, the force of her spinning to face him startling him. “We are not going to push you into something you don’t want. That is a promise from us both.”
Danea looked for a long minute into his eyes, warm and caressing as he stared back. She turned quietly and looked over at Noah, taking in the jeans that seemed to cling to every muscle he owned, his legs long and lean. She knew the decision was hers, she felt it far deeper than either of them could understand. She pulled in a long, slow breath and crossed the room to the open bedroom door.
Moving quickly, she scooped all the blankets, quilts and pillows into her arms and stumbled with them into the living area, dropping them to the large open space. Then she went to the closet outside the bathroom and collected all the extra items she had, adding them to the pile before she looked up to find them watching her.
Okay, she thought, swallowing hard as they came forward, almost in sync and urged her to sit on the sofa. Wade went to one knee and pulled her shoes free, setting them off to the side. Noah stacked things and slowly shook out blankets and quilts to create a large, soft pallet on the floor. The six pillows tossed down last.
“Talk to us, Danea. What’s wrong?”
“I…I don’t know…I don’t want the word afraid…you don’t frighten me…but I don’t know how…and I read and saw…some…”
“Danea…slow down…we would never do anything you don’t want,” Noah frowned and glanced toward her computer. “You researched…what?”
“Three people…two men and…one…me,” she cleared her throat a few times. Her face was up, but her eyes closed as she tried dealing with the heat flooding into her cheeks.
“I see,” Wade said slowly. “And this worries you? Do you think we’d hurt you?”
“No,” her eyes opened to find Noah sinking to her other side. She looked over to see Wade sitting on the chair, his elbows on his knees and hands clasped in front of him. “Of course not. I know…I feel that…you’d never hurt me, either of you. But…what if I can’t…what if I’m too…too inhibited or…god, I feel like a little kid.”
“Are you afraid to try?”
“I had no idea…no, I mean, I had ideas but never thought…” she stopped and inhaled slowly. “No. I mean, no, I’m not afraid to try…obviously I have two men wanting to have sex with me so how can there possibly be something I’m afraid to try?”
“You also have to face the fact that what we want from you is a great deal more than simple sex, Danea,” Wade said carefully.
“As if sex with three people is simple?” She squeaked after giving up trying to clear her throat.
Noah brushed the backs of his fingers over her face. “Alright?”
She nodded.
“And you know nothing…and I mean nothing…is set in stone, Dani,” Noah kept watching her face. “You are the one in control. If you’re willing to accept us, you’re the binding center for us. Without you…”
“What if I’m not good at…” her voice had fallen a little with each word. “What if I’m just not good at this…”
“Good at what, Danea?” Wade frowned.
“Sex.” She threw the word out and groaned. “If I didn’t feel my knees fall apart when you kiss me…I’d seriously swear your other halves have made a big, big mistake. I’m nothing like what I read online. I am not a strong pivotal point between…”
Her words came to an abrupt and sudden halt with a tiny yelp when Noah stood and pulled her to her feet. Before she realized what was happening, she saw her tunic fly over her head and land on the chair.
“Hey!”
“Now…tell us what you want, Danea,” Noah took a step back.
“What I want…” she repeated slowly, suddenly forgetting that her top was gone.
“After you take off the pants,” Wade suggested gruffly, standing up to take in the full effect of her curves and femininity. Hesitation had her hands shaking just a little as she reached for the band at her waist and she peeled the leggings off to toss them over with her shirt.
“I want to touch. I want you both naked,” she said firmly, drawing her tongue around her lips. “Umm…I don’t have…I’m not on…” she stopped when both men reached into the pocket of their respective jackets and tossed a hand full of condoms to the ledge above where the pillows rested on the floor.
“I think we’re prepared,” Noah said, reaching for his belt buckle.
“No.” Danea looked from the condoms to them. “I changed my mind,” she said hastily, two low groans making her shake her head. “No, I mean, I want to undress you…one at a time…and I think that’s more than enough. I have to work tomorrow…and be able to walk…and think coherently…at least a little,” she said with a soft laugh.
Neither man moved as she stepped up to Noah and replaced his hands with hers on the buckle of his belt. She moved his hands to the side and pulled steadily on his t-shirt until it was free. Her hands went beneath the fabric, stroking over his stomach, onto his ribs and then his chest, taking the shirt higher with each foray. She maneuvered it over his head and let him shrug it off before turning to Wade and stepping closer.
He wore button shirts and she noticed her fingers shaking just a little as she worked the buttons free. Then she pulled the shirt from his pants. His chest was different, she thought, her fingers tangling in the light covering of dark hair that began in a thin line at his belt line and rose onto his chest. A framed T of coils across his upper body, the two small male nipples drawing her attention for a quiet minute, one fingernail circling each curiously.
“Are we allowed to touch?” Wade asked, his voice edged with streaks of the sexual tension filling the room. He met the surprised look on her face with an arched brow. “Did you believe we didn’t mean it when we said you had the power, Danea?”
“I…I’m not sure I know what that means,” she answered cautiously, lost in the textures beneath her fingers. Her breath caught suddenly in her chest when a pair of hands appeared on her panty covered behind. She was panting lightly when the hands stroked over her waist and onto her back, the snaps of her bra set free next. Soft hands; rough hands; gentle touches that sent a shiver through her and made her back arch through the sensations that heated her from her toes upward.
“It means no matter what, we talk,” Wade said, His breath caught when her fingers toyed with his nipples, fingernails drawn over them before she pressed her hands higher to his shoulders and her mouth against his skin in a series of slow, wet kisses. The shirt was pushed to the edges until he had to shrug it off and let it fall to the floor. “If this isn’t what you want…if you’re not ready for what we feel, Danea, please…”
“I know that what I feel is like nothing I’ve ever known before,” she whispered, stepping closer and dragging her tongue over his chest, scrapping it over one nipple and enjoying the shudder that ran through him. “I know you both have some kind of power over the sensual side of me that makes me wet and…and hungry. I…I can feel myself tingling and swollen…like parts of my body are only just now coming alive.”
“Perhaps our little human has mating instincts of her own,” Noah said from behind her, his groan low as he stroked his hands over her ass, holding her against his swollen cock. “Which means you chose us, Dani…that makes it all the more special.”
Danea closed her eyes, a swe
et sensation of heat flowing through her every time their hands roamed over her. Somehow, Wade had slid her bra off and it was gone, her breasts in his hands. A shot of intense pleasure swept through her when he trapped both nipples between his thumbs and fingers, stroking and tweaking until they were hard and aching for more.
“We need to flip a coin…” Noah bit down on the hollow of her throat.
Danea moaned against the mouth that covered one breast. “I want both of you this first time…it’s important,” she whispered, realizing her fingers had covered Wade’s head and was holding on, arching her back toward Noah.
“Dani…”
“The sofa…sit there…” she said, pulling herself from the euphoria they were promising the sensual side of her. She stepped back, her body protesting when the sensual touch was taken away. Both of them stared as she peeled her panties down her legs. A heat flush struck from her toes to her cheeks. “I’m not used to…to being naked…well…I mean…I am…when I swim…”
Noah crossed the room and hit the light switch before going to the ledge above the fireplace. He flicked the long lighter there and lit the candles she had dotting the surface before he crossed to the dining area and tapped that light switch.
“Better?”
Danea was positive she was dreaming as the light vanished and shadows of gold filled the room around them. She felt tears burning in her eyes and tried to blink them away. Their consideration…all for her. She was important enough to them that it shook her to her core thinking of the emotions rushing through her.
“Hey…what’s wrong?” Wade framed her face, turning her to face him when she tried to avoid him. “Danea…”
“I don’t know,” she whispered honestly, shaking her head. She backed up and reached for the belt at his waist. “You two decide…tonight…I want to kiss you,” she said boldly, opening his belt and the button before sliding his zipper down. She could feel his cock pulsing beneath his boxers and he groaned when she stroked her palm down the length to the base. “And maybe…I’ll taste you both tonight…”
Newport/Aftport #2: Danea Page 8
