by Marla Monroe
“That doesn’t mean we are destined to be soul mates or anything.”
“Actually,” he said with a small smile, “it does. You aren’t a shifter, so the feeling is strange to you. The more we are around each other, the closer you will feel to us. The bond will grow even stronger once we’ve been intimate.”
“So if I leave right now, it will just go away.” Her eyes seemed to be searching his.
“No. It won’t go away, baby. You’re a part of us now no matter what. We’ve taken your scent into our bodies. Wanting to be near you—to fuck you—will never go away or weaken.” Joseph leaned in closer to her and sniffed near her neck.
Jessup wanted to beat his brother to a pulp. He wasn’t helping matters by being so blunt. She didn’t deserve to be subjected to his pissy attitude. Neither was she ready for all of the mating details. They had to go slowly with her or risk losing her forever.
She surprised him when she stood up and shoved at Joseph with both hands. Flashing eyes should have warned both of them that she was about to blow up. Instead, he tried to placate her while his brother pushed back by getting in her space.
“Don’t get in my face and try to tell me that I’m the reason you’re horny! I don’t know you. I don’t care if you are Jessup’s twin brother. You’re no one to me.”
Fuck!
Jessup started to push between Nessa and his brother, certain that Joseph was going to lose it with her. He’d never known his brother to raise his hand to a woman, but he honestly didn’t know what his brother was capable of these days.
Joseph managed to shove him aside and had Nessa against the wall behind the chair before Jessup could stop him. He wasn’t touching her anywhere at the moment, but had her caged in with his hands planted on either side of her head and his body a hair’s breadth from hers. If Jessup hadn’t been so pissed off and worried, he would have found the sight erotic as hell, their woman dominated by his twin with wild eyes and swollen lips.
“Joseph?” He couldn’t help the question in his voice as he eased closer to the two of them.
“You wanted me to be a part of this, Jessup, so back the fuck off!” He leaned closer to Nessa and rubbed his face against her hair.
“You aren’t helping…”
“She has a right to know all of us, brother. Not just the soft underbelly you want to court her with. She deserves the full truth after what she’s been through already.” He nuzzled his cheek against hers. “Don’t you, baby.”
“Nessa. Just relax. He won’t hurt you.” Jessup’s dick felt as if it was on fire at the sight of his brother rubbing—marking—their woman.
He watched as she seemed to fight against herself as Joseph licked a long line along the side of her neck. The rise and fall of her luscious breasts grew faster, more pronounced, even as her eyes darkened. She couldn’t deny that she felt something for either of them now. The scent of her arousal called to him. Jessup had to fight the instinctive need to claim her right then and there. As much as he wanted her bound to them, she wasn’t ready yet. Not for both of them, but it wouldn’t be long. There was no way his wolf, much less his brother’s, would wait much longer.
* * * *
Heat raced along her body, burning her skin, sizzling through her blood. She didn’t understand what was going on. Nothing and no one had ever affected her this way before. She felt as if her skin was going to crawl off her body. And that scent. Nessa wanted to rub herself in it. Where was it coming from? The earthy smell of the woods on a warm spring day seemed to permeate the air around her.
“W–what are you doing to me? I can’t think.” She couldn’t bring herself to move away from him.
“Showing you what it feels like to want you, need you like the air that I breathe. Can you feel it? My cock is so hard right now that I could drill a fucking hole in the wall. You smell like chocolate mint to me. I want to feast on your juices and lick every single inch of you.”
She nearly gasped when he ran his tongue up one side of her neck along her jugular then all along the edge of her jaw. The wet trail he left cooled, and chill bumps erupted all over her body. Her eyes closed in the wake of his sensual touch. How was she ever going to resist what they were suggesting? She couldn’t give in. Could she?
“Let her go now, brother. You’ve made your point.” Jessup stood on the other side of them, not touching but close enough she could smell him.
Where Joseph’s scent was earthy and raw to her, Jessup smelled of a meadow on a warm summer day. They were unique and yet part of the same whole in their personalities. Jessup made her feel comfortable and content while Joseph stirred her up in ways she’d never imagined in a thousand fantasies.
Joseph leaned closer and nuzzled along her throat and jaw before slowly stepping back and dropping his hands from beside her head. He didn’t go far though. The door out of the bedroom was still blocked.
“Nessa. There isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for you,” Jessup started saying.
“Except leave me alone.” She managed to get out around the hard lump in her throat.
“You’re everything to us. We want to make you happy and keep you safe. Knowing that you are in danger right now is pushing hard at our wolves. We won’t tolerate any threat to you.”
“To your mate, you mean.” She didn’t understand being their mate.
“You are our mate, Nessa. There is no doubt of that.” Joseph’s voice rumbled along her nerve endings.
She stared at Jessup then Joseph. Both of them had the same determined expressions on their faces, but on Joseph, it was almost painful to look at. His held a desperation that called to her, while Jessup’s appeared less intense. How could she trust that these two men wouldn’t hurt her just like her stepbrother and his friends? What made them any different?
They are werewolves, Nessa. Wouldn’t that make them more likely to hurt me when they get angry?
Joseph hadn’t hurt her earlier though. Could she believe that given another reason when his brother wasn’t around that he wouldn’t hurt her? Nessa just didn’t know what to think. Everything swirled around in her head, mixing with her already innate distrust of men. Where did that leave her now?
“I—I need to think. I can’t think with you so close,” she finally said.
“You need rest, sweetness. Let’s go to bed and we can talk more in the morning.” Jessup walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers.
“That’s a good idea. I’m going to get ready for bed. Goodnight, guys.” She slipped away from Joseph, still very aware of his intense gaze that followed her.
Gathering up her things, she escaped into the bathroom, praying they would leave while she was in there. All of what had happened in the last few days poured over her as she went about preparing to go to bed. What was her stepbrother thinking now? He’d kill her for sure when she returned to the trailer. Jessup and Joseph hadn’t done her any favors by bringing her to their house. It would just be worse when she finally went back. She couldn’t stay here. Could she?
When she opened the door and walked back into the bedroom, she stopped, dropping her bag to the floor in shock. Instead of leaving while she’d been in the bathroom, Jessup had climbed into bed minus his clothes while his brother stood next to the door leading out of the room in just jeans.
She looked from him over to Jessup and opened her mouth to tell them to get out, but she couldn’t make a sound. What were they thinking? That she would happily jump into bed with them? Anger soon replaced shock and she planted her hands on her hips.
“Get out of here. I’m not sleeping with either of you.”
Jessup didn’t say anything, but Joseph took a step closer to her. She took a step back. When he stepped even closer, she lifted her chin and refused to back down again. He didn’t scare her—much.
“We aren’t going to rape you, baby. We don’t like bedding unwilling women. All we want to do is sleep and keep you safe between us. No one can get to you through us. You are hurt and need to rest. L
et us care for you, Nessa.” The words that flowed out of Joseph’s mouth should have come from his twin’s because they didn’t sound right coming out of the very territorial male standing in front of her.
“I won’t be able to lying between the two of you. You’re shifters and you’re huge and I’m certain that from what I can tell already, I’ll get too hot to sleep.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew she’d said it the wrong way. When both men roared with laughter, she cringed in embarrassment. Damn her overactive mouth!
“Easy, little Nessa. We know you didn’t mean it as it came out, but you have to admit that it was funny as hell,” Joseph’s voice no longer held the growly threat from earlier.
“I’m glad I could amuse you. Now get out.” She wasn’t going to forget her original demand.
“Sorry, precious. We’re staying. You are our mate. We couldn’t sleep anywhere but with you and especially when you’re in danger. Now climb on into bed so we can all get some sleep.” Jessup patted the bed next to him.
She shook her head and frowned. They weren’t cooperating one bit. Just as she had decided to go back to the bathroom and make a bed in the tub, Joseph moved so fast she barely registered it and picked her up in his arms. Her startled squeal turned into a moan when he captured her mouth with his.
Heat filled her body as his teeth nipped at her lower lip. He easily gained entry inside as she gasped at the slight sting that he quickly soothed with his hot, wet tongue. Goosebumps erupted all along arms that wrapped around his neck as if desperate to touch him. She felt as if she had no control of her body as he explored the inside of her mouth with determination.
Each stroke of his tongue across hers amped up the budding arousal that she never thought she would feel for any man, much less one as wild and untamed as this one. But then he wasn’t just a man, was he? She shivered.
“I could lose myself in your mouth, Ness. I love that minty taste, that spicy bite that tightens my balls and makes me want to howl.” Joseph spoke near her ear, barely making enough of a sound for her to understand the words he spoke.
The next thing she knew, Joseph had settled her in the middle of the bed with Jessup curling around her. Then Joseph pulled off his jeans and Nessa realized that he wasn’t wearing anything under them. And neither had his twin.
Chapter Six
Joseph watched his mate’s face as he stood up straight after stepping out of his jeans. He was nail-pounding hard, his dick standing out from his body as if reaching for her. Perhaps it was. He wanted her more than he wanted anything right then. He hadn’t expected to actually feel this way after not feeling much of anything but blinding rage for so long. When he’d told Jessup he would help him claim her and leave, he’d been a fool. There was no way he could leave her to his brother.
He let Nessa look at him and almost laughed when she realized that his twin, who had curled around her, was just as naked as he was. Her eyes flew wide, her pupils dilating with alarm. Her mouth opened in a small silent oh that had his cock jumping at the erotic sight.
Then she seemed to focus on him again and slowly took him in. All of him. He once again remembered that he was covered in scars from his time in captivity. Self-loathing inched its way back inside of him. How could he expect her to be attracted to him with his monstrous appearance? He started to bend down to pick up his jeans and leave her with his brother.
“What happened, Joseph? Who hurt you like that?” she asked.
He saw no pity in her eyes, only sorrow. She didn’t appear the least bit repulsed by the sight of him. Still, he hesitated to say anything. Thoughts of those endless days of pain and hopelessness filled him, overwhelming him for a second. The bedroom dimmed around him as he slipped back into that nightmare that had been his reality.
“Tell her, Joseph. You said we had to be honest with her. She deserves to know what happened to you.” Jessup’s voice jerked him back, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
“I was held captive in Afghanistan for over a month. I was part of a special unit made up of other shifters. There were three of us who’d been captured when we got cut off from our unit while scouting for our target. They knew we were coming. They knew what we were. We’d been set up.” He looked over her head to stare into his twin’s eyes.
He’d never said anything to his family about being set up. He wasn’t sure why he was telling Nessa and Jessup that now. For some reason, it seemed important that Nessa know how he’d felt betrayal from someone he thought he could trust as well. She would understand how that felt. Her stepbrother should have loved and protected her instead of abusing and using her.
“How did you get away?” she asked, looking up from where his brother had her wrapped in his arms.
“They thought I was unconscious after”—he hesitated to say “they tortured me”—“one of their interrogation sessions and left me there while they took a break. I managed to get up and release the other two men who were still alive with me. We escaped.” He kept his eyes on her face as she listened to him.
The fact that she didn’t wince or cringe only nodded relaxed him for some reason. He abandoned his clothes and climbed into the bed with them. He needed to touch her, hold her. She calmed him, took away some of the persistent rage that dogged his steps like the plague. If being near her was what it took to escape some of that relentless, all-consuming rage, Joseph wouldn’t push her away. In fact, she was fast becoming vital to his emotional and mental well-being.
As he pulled the covers over him, Joseph reached for her. His brother relaxed his hold on her and let him pull her into his arms so that she ended up draped over his chest with her head resting on his shoulder. Jessup wrapped an arm over her back above her wounds, burying his nose in her hair as he once again got comfortable.
“I’m tired. I’m not giving in to your crazy idea that we can all three be together,” Nessa said in a sleep-infused voice.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow when everyone is rested,” his brother assured her.
Joseph looked over her head at his brother. Jessup’s expression was still just as serious as it had been earlier. He had no intentions of letting her go either. Now, his twin would realize by looking into Joseph’s eyes that he wasn’t going to be stepping back once it was finished either. By the slight upward tilt of Jessup’s mouth, Joseph knew that his brother had never planned for him to abandon them and return to his home in the wilds of Montana either.
“We belong together, brother. When things get too intense here, we’ll all go to your retreat and chill for as long as it takes.” Jessup’s quiet voice whispered across their mate’s hair as he spoke.
Joseph merely nodded at him as he thought about how much work needed to be done to accommodate a mate. She would not be shifting and living as her wolf as he had done much of the time. Nessa would need comfortable surroundings. Suddenly, his escape from life wasn’t as perfect as it had seemed once before. He was a little ashamed of the way he’d lived when faced with how Nessa had been forced to live. He didn’t want her to witness his decent into madness.
“Put it away, brother. Sleep. We can worry about everything tomorrow. She’s in our arms and in our bed tonight. That’s all that matters at the moment,” Jessup said.
“And if tomorrow brings even more problems?” Joseph asked.
“We let our family help us solve them like always. Pack protects pack, Joe. You tried to break that law when you wouldn’t let us help you all these years. That comes to an end now. We have a mate to care for, and she will always come first.”
Joseph agreed, though he wasn’t sure how he would manage to avoid spilling his shit all over everyone at times. Sometimes the building rage demanded an outlet and he had to give it one or risk losing himself totally. He thought about how Nessa helped calm that massive, boiling pot of madness and wondered if her calming presence would be enough to keep it under control. If not, he wanted her far away when he erupted. He would never want her anywhere nea
r him when he lost it. The thought of accidently hurting her turned his bowels to water and created bloody icebergs in his veins.
Slowly he relaxed, breathing in her calming scent until his heartbeat slowed and his churning stomach settled. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would help convince his precious mate she belonged with them. Tomorrow they would decide how to prevent her stepbrother from ever laying a hand on her again.
* * * *
Nessa woke to warm, firm lips caressing her shoulder where her overlarge T-shirt allowed some of the skin from her neck and shoulder to peek from beneath the material at the neckline. She wasn’t sure if she were relieved that they hadn’t stripped her during the night or not. Something inside of her had shifted, leaving her wondering if just maybe she would now be fighting herself even more than the men.
Someone’s hand slipped beneath her shirt and cupped her waist. She had no idea who was doing what to her, but suspected it was Jessup’s mouth and Joseph’s hand. She needed to move and put a stop to their teasing touches before they grew bolder.
When she tried to pull away from them, Jessup refused to budge where his chest lay almost plastered to her upper back and Joseph tightened his grip at her waist.
“Um, guys? I need up.”
Instead of complying, they seemed even more intent on teasing her now that they were sure she was awake. She squirmed as Joseph ran his hand around her waist to rest against her softly rounded belly where he brushed the callused pads of his fingers back and forth across her skin.
Jessup nipped her shoulder with his teeth then slid his tongue over it before finding a new spot to torment. She wanted to sigh at the wonderful, decadent feeling of their hands on her. She thought that if she were a cat, she’d be purring, but another urge hit her, stronger this time.
“I’ve got to get up. Now! I need the bathroom.” She wiggled between them again.
Jessup groaned at her shoulder where he had his mouth covering a large portion of her skin there. Teeth rasped but he pulled back.
