Alpha Province_Shining Beacons
Page 8
“Come here, baby,” Broden said as he grasped her hips and turned her to face him on his lap. He caressed his hands up and down her back and then kneaded the knots of muscles along her neck. She sighed with pleasure as the tension in her muscles eased and didn’t even realize she’d closed her eyes until she felt Broden’s lips on her nose. She opened her eyes and stared into his heated, gray gaze. The longer she looked into his eyes, the more she felt the pull toward him. He smelled so good, of clean fresh pine trees and snow all mixed up together.
Dusty didn’t even remember moving, but she must have, because Broden hadn’t breached the gap between them. She pressed her lips against his, and then licked over his full, lower lip.
“That’s it, mate,” Broden whispered against her lips. “There’s nothing you could do that would be wrong. Just let yourself feel and do whatever you want.”
One hand reached up the cup the back of his neck, and the other grasped his T-shirt in a tight grip. She cleared her mind as she took what she wanted.
Broden opened his mouth as she slid her tongue in between his lips, and she flicked the end of his tongue with her own. When he groaned, her confidence grew, and she licked further into his mouth and glided her tongue along his. She moaned as his delicious, masculine flavor exploded on her taste buds, and his hands roamed down her back until they were just above her ass.
Her pussy was so wet, her panties were soaked, and her clit was one big, relentless, throbbing ache. And then his hands were squeezing her ass. Dusty whimpered as sparks of pleasurable need shot deep into her womb and pussy. She rocked her hips against the large, thick bulge in his jeans and gasped when fiery shards gripped her insides. She had no idea whether it was her or Broden who deepened the kiss, but she didn’t care. Their tongue tangled and twirled before rubbing against one another’s, dancing and dueling.
Her clit was throbbing in time to her rapid heartbeat, and all she could do was feel. Dusty didn’t want to ever think again, at least not when she was experiencing something so profoundly special for the first time in her life.
She shivered when another set of hands landed on her hips and heat permeated her back. A tremble wracked up her spine when lips nibbled and licked up the side of her throat. When she gasped in a breath through her nose, she knew right away that it was Archer kissing her skin. She could tell by the delectable scent of his spicy-wintery scent. She groaned when he nipped her ear and then sucked her lobe into his mouth.
“You smell so damn good, sweetness. Like hazelnuts soaking in honey. I could just eat you all up.”
Broden broke the kiss, and she panted air into her burning lungs. His gray eyes were hazed with blazing, heated desire that had another slew of cream trickling from her cunt.
Airen lifted her hand to his mouth and nipped the tip of her middle finger, before swirling his tongue around it, then sucking it into his moist depths. Wet heat surrounded her finger, and the nerve endings became so hot and sensitive, heat raced up her arm, centered in her chest, and then swept down between her legs.
When she met Airen’s blue eyes, she shivered, and her clit throbbed when she saw the lust in his gaze.
“Do you like that, sweetness?” Archer rasped out as he pushed his hands in under the borrowed sweater.
She nodded and moaned.
“You are so fucking sexy, baby,” Broden said, just before he leaned up and laved his tongue over a sensitive spot just beneath her ear.
“Just imagine how it would feel to have Airen’s, mine, or Broden’s mouth sucking on that little clit between your legs,” Archer whispered into her other ear.
Dusty shook as another gush of cream wept from her pussy.
“We can smell all the sweet honey between your legs, baby,” Broden said in a hoarse voice. “Kodiak bears love honey.”
“Oh,” she moaned with hunger and disappointment when Airen removed his finger from her mouth.
Broden gripped her ass and began moving her forward and back on his lap. The friction he created as he moved her over the hard, thick ridge of his cock was so good, she never wanted him to stop.
“Mate with us, sweetness,” Archer demanded in a firm voice.
“What have you got to lose, honey?” Airen asked. “We promise that we’ll do everything within our power to make you happy. Say yes, Dusty.”
She gasped in a breath when Broden drew back from her neck and locked gazes with her. “There is only one woman meant to be ours, baby, and you’re it. Please, will you agree to mate with us?”
For a second, she thought that Broden was trying to use emotional blackmail on her, but when she saw the blazing yearning in his gaze, she knew that wasn’t the case. He’d stated a fact, and although she felt a little guilty for what she was about to do, she just needed to know for certain.
“I’m not sure this is right.” Shame immediately filled her heart and soul when she saw Broden’s gray eyes cool and empty of all emotion. Archer moved away from her back, and Airen shoved to his feet and walked toward the kitchen. “I’m sorry.”
Broden removed his hands from her ass and leaned back into the sofa. Dusty wanted to grab his hands and pull them back to her body, but first she needed to clarify what she’d just done.
“You don’t need to be sorry, Dusty. If we’re not the men for you—”
“Stop!” Tears of remorse welled and rolled down her face. She lowered her gaze with mortification and hoped she just hadn’t screwed everything up. “I lied.”
“What?” Airen snapped out as he appeared in the doorway to the living room.
“What did you lie about, Dusty?” Archer asked through gritted teeth.
“About wanting to be your mate.”
Broden scrubbed a hand down his face, grasped her waist, and lifted her onto the cushion beside him before standing. He shoved the coffee table away with the nudge of his foot, and then turned to face her with his hands on his hips. She licked her lips as her gaze wandered over his massive frame. There was no way she’d ever be able to miss the hugely prominent bulge in his jeans, but when she realized she was staring, she quickly looked up.
“So, you want to be out mate?” Broden asked snarkily as he threw his hands in the air.
“What the hell kind of game are you playing?” Archer snarled.
“I’m not playing games.” Dusty sobbed and swiped at the tears on her face. “I know it was cruel, but I was testing you.”
“Testing us?” Airen frowned as he moved around the sofa and stood next to Broden. Archer scowled at her when he came to stand on Broden’s other side.
“Why the fuck would you do that?” Archer snapped. “Do you get off on playing with people’s emotions?”
“No!” Dusty covered her face as the tears flowed faster. If she was going to salvage what little respect she had from these men, she needed to get herself under control so she could explain. Lowering her hands, she said, “I needed to make sure you all felt something for me other than lust. I’ve never had a relationship of an intimate nature before, and the only male who was supposed to look out for me, supposed to love me, betrayed me.
“I don’t know why you all want to be with me. For all I know, it’s because your animals chose me, because they like the way I smell. What about the human side of you? If you didn’t have your…Kodiaks, would you have even given me a second glance if you passed me on the street? Your bears may have decided that they want me, but your man side may not like what they’ve chosen after you get to know me better.” Dusty covered her face again—she didn’t want to see their eyes as the pondered over what she’d just said. If their human side came to the conclusion that she wasn’t the right woman for them after all, she wasn’t sure she could take it.
The thought of walking out the door and never seeing Broden, Archer, and Airen again ripped her heart in two. That was the second she realized that she was well on the way to falling in love with the Higgin’s brothers, but she didn’t trust it. Didn’t trust that she could feel so much so quickly. D
Her chest was so tight with the emotions she was trying to hold in it hurt, and she could barely get any air in through her constricted throat. Even though she covered her face to try and hide the fact that she was crying, yet again, they trickled out from between her fingers and down her face and over her hands. She’d fucked up big time. Broden, Airen, and Archer hadn’t said a word, and that was all the answer she needed.
Dusty stumbled to her feet and kept her head lowered, intent on getting her things from the bedroom and leaving. At least she had somewhere to go. She would lease a room from Emmy, and maybe she could ask for a job. She didn’t care what she did as long as she could earn some much-needed cash. There was a bus heading to town at the beginning of next week, and she intended to be on it.
* * * *
Archer was angry, so angry and disappointed, he wanted to hit something. It wasn’t until Dusty explained why she’d said what she had that he realized she wasn’t as confident as she portrayed. Someone had hurt her, had told her she wasn’t good enough, and he suspected it was her motherfucker of a stepbrother who’d done it.
He’d been so stunned by her insecurities it took him a few moments to process everything she’d said. However, when she got to her feet and headed quickly toward the bedroom, his mind finally kicked into gear. He rushed over until he was in front of her and snagged her around the waist when she slammed into him. His heart ached when she kept her head lowered, and he saw the tears rolling down her face. He glanced at his brothers and nodded to them right before he scooped her up into his arms. She was so fucking small, and yet no other woman had ever felt so right in his arms.
Archer didn’t speak as he carried her toward the bedroom, but he could sure as hell feel how tense she was holding herself, and he didn’t like it. It was as if she’d closed herself off to him and his brothers totally, but that wouldn’t do. If they wanted to have a long-lasting relationship, they needed to thresh things out. He couldn’t believe she didn’t know how special and amazing she was. He was already deeply in love with her, and while he wanted to tell her just how much she meant to him, he wasn’t sure she was ready to hear any undying declarations.
They were shifters, and yes, they’d been attracted to their mate right away, but their emotions had been engaged instantly, too. However, Dusty wasn’t a shifter, therefore she didn’t have the luxury of knowing that they were the right men for her. She might be attracted to them, but she didn’t have their sense of smell or an inner animal to rely on when she met the man or men meant to be hers.
He sat on the edge of the bed and gazed at his brothers as they entered the room. When he looked down at Dusty, all he saw was the top of her head. She’d buried her face into his chest, and she was still crying. She hadn’t made a fucking sound, and he realized she was trying to hide how upset she was while keeping her face hidden, but his damp shirt told him everything he needed to know.
“Look at me, sweetness.”
She shook her head and pressed her face tighter between his pecs. He sighed and then threaded his fingers into her short locks of blonde hair, before gently tugging her face away from his chest. His heart broke when he saw the sadness and redness in her beautiful green eyes. If he had his way, and he was hoping he would, he would never see that look in her eyes again.
“Who told you, you weren’t good enough, Dusty? Did your stepbrother say you were worthless while he was beating you?” Archer groaned when she lowered her eyelids to shield her gaze as she nodded.
“He was a fucking lying asshole, baby,” Broden said as he sat beside them. “He was the one with the insecurities and took it out on you.”
Airen sat on her other side and clasped her hand in his. “Would you normally listen to someone tell you something like that if you knew they were on drugs?”
“No.” Her breath hitched on a sob.
Archer nudged her chin up until she was staring into his eyes. “Your stepbrother lied, Dusty. You are the kindest, sexiest woman I’ve ever met. When a shifter finds his or their mate, it is the most wondrous, magical experience ever. Our animals are the reason we are able to tell when a woman is meant to be ours, but it’s the man who makes that first move. Do you honestly think we go around just taking any woman home with us?”
She shrugged.
Broden cupped her face and turned her gaze his way. “The instant I saw you, I nearly went to my knees, baby. I was stunned by how beautiful you were. And I was scared out of my mind.”
“Scared? What did you have to be scared of? I was the one who was terrified,” Dusty said indignantly. “You three are so big, and the way you were looking at me had my heart racing.”
“Yes, I was scared, baby. We had no idea who you were, how you’d gotten to Ambrose, or how long you’d be staying. I was petrified you’d only stopped in town to get something to eat before you’d be moving on again. I was frightened after seeing your beautiful face that I would never see it again.”
“He wasn’t the only one in a panic, honey,” Airen said.
“The hardest thing we ever did was turn away from you and head to the bar,” Archer said in a raspy voice. “We wanted to pick you up, carry you out to our truck, and take you home. Our Kodiaks were fighting to get out, so we were wrestling with our bears and our instincts to snatch you up.”
“I’m glad you won the fight.” Dusty smiled. “I probably would have screamed hysterically and passed out if you’d done that.”
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.” Broden stroked a finger down her face. “You skin is so soft and pale and warm.”
Archer swiped the last of the moisture from her cheeks and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She sighed with contentment, melted against him, and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Do you understand that our bears would never have known you were our mate if we weren’t attracted to you, sweetness?”
She nodded against his chest.
“I’ve been hard since the first time I saw you, honey, and so have Archer and Broden. Do you think we’d be walking around with constant boners if there hadn’t been any sparks?” Airen asked.
“No.”
“We know you’re attracted to us, too, mate. We can smell your arousal.” Broden leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Can you promise me something?”
“That depends on what it is,” Dusty said as she straightened on Archer’s lap. He groaned and closed his eyes when her ass pressed against his hard cock. She gasped and then giggled nervously.
“Promise you won’t ever be afraid of us again,” Broden commanded.
“I promise,” she answered.
Archer wanted to strip Dusty naked and ravish her, but he wasn’t sure she was quite ready for that yet. However, holding her was just as amazing as the sexual act, and he could have stayed right where he was for hours. He moaned when she shifted on his lap and gazed down as she looked up.
“You’ve got to stop moving, sweetness. I’m hanging on by a thread here.”
“What will it take to break it?” Dusty asked in a sultry voice.
Chapter Eight
“You need to say the words, baby,” Broden said.
Dusty drew in a deep breath and met each of their gazes. “I want to be your mate.”
“Be very sure about what you’re saying, honey.” Airen lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it.
“If we mate with you, then that’s it, sweetness,” Archer said. “Once we’re mated, it’s for life. There is no divorce or separation. We want you to be in our lives until we’re no longer breathing. You will be by our sides each and every day. You’ll be in our beds every single night.”
“I want that,” Dusty whispered. “I’m very attracted to all of you. I don’t know if what I feel is love, but I want to be with the three of you.”
“You’ve made me the happiest man alive, mate,” Archer said as he cupped her face between his hands and lowered his mouth to hers.
She groaned as his tongue licked inside her mouth and swirled around, before rubbing along hers. Without breaking the kiss, she turned on his lap until she was facing him and clutched at his shoulders. The kiss they shared was long, wild and passionate, and had her insides flaming to life. Her body ached to have Archer’s, Airen’s, and Broden’s hands on her naked skin. She released his shoulders and tugged at the large sweater covering her, hating that her clothes were the way of what she wanted.
Archer released her lips, grasped for the hem of the sweater and waited. After she gave him the go-ahead, he tugged it up over her head and flung it aside.
“Stand up, sweetness,” he ordered her breathlessly and lifted her from his lap before she could move. As soon as her feet touched the floor, she gazed over at Broden and Airen and gasped when she saw they had removed most of their clothes. They only had their boxers on, and the knit cotton did nothing to hide their huge cocks. She licked her lips nervously and panted for breath.
“Don’t be afraid of us, baby,” Broden rasped out as he palmed her face. “We promise to go slow so we don’t hurt you.”
“You’re all so…big.” She waved her hand toward Broden’s crotch but kept her eyes locked with his.
“You were made for us, mate. You wouldn’t be ours if you couldn’t handle us.”
“I’ve never been…I’ve never had…”
Airen came up to her from behind and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “We’ll make sure you’re ready, honey. If you feel pain at any time, all you have to do is say stop. Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Let’s get these clothes off you, baby.” Broden kissed the tip of her nose and released her face.
Airen pulled her own sweater up over her head and then reached for her long-sleeved shirt. She shivered as the cooler air touched her bare skin and caused goose bumps to break out over her flesh.
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