McKenzie, Cooper - Autumn Healing [Welcome to Sanctuary 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Cooper McKenzie

  “Mmmm, yum,” she said, climbing onto the bed and sitting on her knees. “I want.”

  “You want what?” the men asked in unison as they stepped closer to the bed.

  “I want it all,” she replied.

  Sitting back on her heels, she spread her legs enough that the brothers dropped their eyes below her hips. She smiled as they climbed on the bed, one on either side of her.

  Frank helped her turn so she was on her hands and knees. “Damn, I can’t wait to feel your hot, wet pussy around me.”

  “I want to be in that hot, wet mouth,” Evan said as he moved to sit in front of her.

  Autumn’s belly was already contracting with arousal, and her men had yet to touch her intimately. She sucked a breath when Frank brushed the head of his cock over her wet, open entrance before sliding it down between her pussy lips until he reached her clit.

  She moaned softly as he drew circles around the knotted up bundle of nerves. She stopped breathing all together when he brushed the velvet-soft skin of the crown directly over her clit, sending shock waves racing through her. Then he slowly dragged his cock back up to push just the head into her cunt before pulling out and brushing his way down to her clit again.

  Autumn was so focused on what was going on between her legs she’d forgotten about Evan until he brushed his cock across her lower lip. With a hungry moan, she parted her lips and took hold of the head of his cock. As she swirled her tongue around the bulbous head, she moaned. Frank had just pushed a little deeper into her cunt as his hands began to massage her ass cheeks.

  She tried to move back to take more of his cock while at the same time moving forward to take Evan’s deeper into her mouth. When she couldn’t do both at once, she whined with exasperation.

  “Easy, sweetness,” Evan said as his hands came up to stroke across her shoulders and down her back. “Relax and let us take care of you.”

  She moaned and nodded in agreement then took him deeper, licking at the thick vein that ran up the underside of his cock. Then she pulled back until only the head was in her mouth and sucked out the pre-cum, smiling and sighing at the delicious taste of her mate.

  She froze when a fingertip slid down the valley between the globes of her ass.

  “Has anyone ever taken you here, ladybug?” Frank asked as his finger circled and then tapped at her back hole.

  She shook her head quickly, her entire body tensing in response.

  Evan continued making soothing sounds and rubbing his hands over her back and sides, working his way underneath her body to cup and play with her tits.

  “Just think how good you’ll feel with me in your ass and Evan filling your pretty pussy.” Frank leaned down and brushed his face against the back of her neck as he pushed his cock in her to the hilt. “What do you think, ladybug? Would you like to try that sometime?”

  Autumn whined as her entire body began to shiver with reaction. Then she moaned her need as Evan pulled his cock from her mouth.

  “Lift her up, Frank,” he said through gritted teeth. “Our baby is thinking too hard again.”

  Autumn went willingly when Frank wrapped an arm around her middle and lifted her. His cock went fully into her and she sighed as he lifted her so her back brushed against his front. She started panting as Evan turned around to lie on his back. Then Frank lowered her until she rested over Evan’s body, her forearms resting across the tops of his thighs so she could play with the base of his cock and balls.

  She took his cock in her mouth just as his tongue swiped across her clit, causing her to suck another breath. Frank began to fuck her in earnest as Evan took her clit between his lips and began to nibble on it.

  “Let go, ladybug,” Frank ordered. His voice sounded deep and harsh as he began to move faster and faster in her.

  As he stroked her, she then slid up and down Evan’s body, his cock fucking in and out of her mouth in counterpoint to his brother. It wasn’t long before she gave up trying to control anything and just let herself go.

  She screamed when Evan bit her clit and Frank slammed into her even faster and harder. Every muscle contracted in response to the release, and her mouth clamped down on Evan’s cock. The tiny part of her brain that still functioned worried that she’d hurt him even as he roared and came, filling her mouth with his salty, tangy seed.

  At the same time, Frank thrust a single finger past her puckered star as he howled with his own completion. That penetration felt strange, yet so right that it immediately caused Autumn to come again just before she lost all ties to consciousness.

  When she came around, her men were lying on either side of her. They cuddled her and stroked her, brushing kisses over whatever skin they could reach as they begged her to wake up.

  “Wow,” she murmured, opening her eyes and looking around.

  “How are you feeling?” Frank asked as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

  “I can’t feel my legs,” she answered honestly with a grin.

  “That’s okay, I can’t feel my eyebrows,” Evan said as he kissed her shoulder. “But we need to get up and get you some breakfast before we unpack your truck and then go furniture shopping.”

  Autumn groaned and pulled her pillow over her head. “Nope, I think I’ll go back to sleep. I’ll see you for lunch.”

  “Sorry, ladybug, but that’s not going to work,” Frank said as the men climbed from the bed.

  Lifting the pillow from her face, Autumn frowned at them. “Why not?”

  Before he could answer, a heavy pounding sounded from downstairs.

  “What the hell?” The brothers shot out of bed and pulled on their jeans before racing downstairs.

  Autumn moved slower, redressing and making sure she didn’t look like she’d just had sex. When she arrived downstairs, Adam stood at the door, looking frantic. He pushed past her mates and grabbed her hand. In response, Evan and Frank growled, and she saw their faces change. It was a subtle change, and when they changed back, she couldn’t really figure out what had shifted, she just knew it had.

  “Come on,” he said, pulling on her arm.

  “What’s happened?”

  “Spring’s water broke,” Adam said as he pulled her out the front door, “and she demanded you come and help her.”

  That announcement shocked Autumn so much that she lost her footing on the steps. She jerked her hand from Adam’s as she fell forward, not thinking that she might injure herself. All at once, she flashed back to the last birth she’d attended. The one that would remain with her until her dying day.

  Suddenly, she wished she’d gone against her father’s wishes and driven to Wyoming instead.

  Before her knees touched the ground, an arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her back to her feet.

  “Frank,” she murmured after a quick breath.

  “You okay, ladybug?” he whispered as he held her steady until she found her balance again.

  She shrugged in response. No, she wasn’t okay, but there was nothing she could do about it now. Her sister was having a baby and expected her to help.

  Chapter Twelve

  Instead of turning in the direction of their house, Adam turned the other way and headed toward the Wash House.

  “Where is she?” Autumn asked as she jogged to keep up with three men as they race-walked along the path.

  “The parents’ house,” Adam said. He continued around the circular path until he reached the three-story Victorian.

  “Why?” she asked, looking from Adam to Evan and Frank as they followed his brother up the stairs to the wide porch.

  “Because every generation of Sullivans has been born in the original Mrs. Sullivan’s brass bed,” Bridget explained, rising from one of the rocking chairs on the porch.

  “What are you doing out here?” Adam asked.

  “Spring is fine. Brock is with her. I came down because I need to talk to Autumn,” his mother said as she wrapped an arm around Autumn and stared her sons down. “Go join your wife whi
le Evan and Frank unload Autumn’s things.”

  Frank opened his mouth to argue. Before he could say a word, Evan grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

  “You know you won’t win,” she heard Evan say as they headed down the steps.

  As her men walked toward the parking lot, Autumn allowed Bridget to guide her to the two rocking chairs. Suddenly nervous, she hesitated when Bridget released her arm and sat in one of them. Instead of pacing, which was what she really wanted to do, she followed the other woman’s example and took a seat.

  “Relax, Autumn, I’m not here to interrogate you or threaten you,” Bridget said, her voice soft and soothing.

  Autumn didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. She had not talked about her failure to anyone except the soldiers who’d debriefed her after her rescue and the psychiatrist at the hospital. She did give the doctor permission to tell her father, once again with the caveat that he would tell no one else unless absolutely necessary.

  Autumn tensed when Bridget reached over and took her hand. It took several minutes to calm herself, but the other woman waited as she took several deep breaths and slowly relaxed again.

  “Your father called me the other day and told me,” Bridget said softly as Evan and Frank carried bags and boxes up the path.

  As her men passed where they sat, each looked over and met her gaze, giving her a reassuring smile.

  Autumn swallowed hard and grabbed hold of the arms of her chair to keep from jumping up and running away. “He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”

  “He didn’t tell anyone. He told me. And I don’t share other peoples’ secrets. When you’re ready to talk about it, you will. I just wanted to remind you that Spring is young and healthy, and there will be no complications. In ten generations, there has never been a problem.”

  “That’s what I figured the last time. The girl was young and seemed healthy, and there should not have been a problem. Only there was. She was too young, only thirteen. She was just a baby herself. She should never have been married, much less gotten pregnant,” Autumn whispered intently as her eyes filled with tears and her mind flashed back.

  Without meaning to, Autumn began to tell the story that had ended her Army career and thrust her into a life of nightmares and pain.

  * * * *

  She’d been off duty when a boy came from the village just outside their base, begging for someone to come and help his sister during her birth. Her husband was one of the locals hired as an interpreter. He was out on patrol with the Army and his young bride had gone into labor early.

  Autumn agreed to go and after getting permission, found herself being dragged across the village to what could only be termed loosely as a house. Two rooms, no bathroom, no running water, but with a woman in the later stage of pregnancy whose bone-chilling screams Autumn heard from a block away.

  She did what she could, but the mother was too small, the baby too big, and there was no time to send for an ambulance and more help. Autumn did what she could, but by morning, both mother and child were dead.

  That’s when the real trouble began. The woman’s brother-in-law decided to take it upon himself to punish Autumn. He tied her to a post behind the house and beat her with a stick off and on for two days.

  Though he never broke the skin, he had broken numerous bones. By the time his brother, the husband of the dead woman, arrived home, Autumn was one large, swollen bruise from neckline to the bottoms of her feet. He’d done even more damage to her spirit, causing her to question her right to live when she had not been able to save the young mother and her baby.

  She’d spent one day in the hospital’s emergency room waiting for transport out of the country then a month in the hospital in Germany. Only then did the doctors feel confident that her bones had healed properly and the bruising that covered her entire body would have no long lasting ill effects. Finally, they released her back to full duty, and she returned to the desert.

  Problem was that when she returned to work, she froze when faced with a pregnant woman or any blood-related injury.

  Then the nightmares began. She spent her nights sitting in a chair staring out a window instead of resting and skipped more meals than she ate. When she collapsed while on duty one day, it was decided to transfer her back to the States. Only, the change of location didn’t matter. She still dreamed of the girl and her baby. She still had nightmares of the unending pain she’d suffered as a result of failing that family.

  * * * *

  “Oh, my God,” a deep voice brought her back from the painful memories.

  A moment later, she was plucked out her chair and pulled into a strong chest. Arms of steel wrapped around her back and held her tight, containing her easily despite her wiggling to get free.

  When a second hard body pressed against her back, she tensed for a heartbeat until she realized who it was. Her fear of being trapped in a crowd did not seem to kick in when securely sandwiched between her men’s hard bodies.

  “Oh, sweet Autumn, it’s going to be all right. You are not alone. We’re here for you. No one will ever again lay a hand on you, not even our brothers. We love you too much and will never let you be hurt again,” Evan said. He hugged her from behind as Frank rubbed a hand up and down her side.

  “You love me?” she asked, trying to look into their faces.

  Though she’d known them less than twenty-four hours, she recognized the love that flowed through her. She was surprised that they felt the same way. After all, weren’t men supposed to be the ones who balked at commitment and saying the L-word?

  “Of course we do. Shape-shifters have one mate, and the challenge of their lifetime is to find the person that Fate has destined them to spend their lives with. We would rather cut off our own arms before hurting our mate. We will protect you from anything and anyone who tries to harm you, even if that person is yourself.”

  “I think I love you two, too,” she admitted softly.

  Her words caused her men to shift even closer together. Their arms wrapped even tighter around her. She enjoyed it for a minute until she realized she couldn’t breathe.

  “Can’t breathe,” she gasped.

  They immediately eased their hold. Feeling brave since they hadn’t run at her confession, she voiced the fears that had silently nagged at her since seeing her sister’s pregnant belly.

  “What if I freeze again? What if there are complications? What if I kill Spring and her babies?” Autumn began to sob, burying her face into Frank’s shirt.

  She felt a soft hand touch her cheek. Opening her eyes, she turned her head and met Bridget’s serious, though loving, gaze. “I’ll be right there beside you. And if need be, Thomas and Michael can step in and take over. They had to deliver all of our boys. But that won’t be necessary because you’re going to do just fine,” Bridget assured her.

  Just then, a door squeaked, and someone stepped out onto the porch. “Spring says she needs to see Autumn.”

  The men reluctantly dropped their arms, allowing Autumn her freedom. Then they each kissed a cheek before they stepped back, releasing her completely.

  “You two need to finish then you can come and join the party,” Bridget said to her sons. She then took Autumn’s hand and led her into the house.

  “You’ve got them well-trained,” Autumn said as they walked through the living room.

  As they did, she made a quick note of the beautiful antique furnishings and decorations. Though a bit fussy than she liked, she wondered if she should consult Bridget when it came time to decorate her new home.

  “It’s taken a lifetime. Before the wedding, we’ll sit down, and I’ll share the secrets of how to handle Sullivan men,” Bridget said with a wink and a smile.

  Bridget led her to an open doorway just off the kitchen. Autumn paused in the doorway and found the small room was painted a soft peach. The only furniture was a large brass bed in the center of the room and a table in one corner.

  Spring was in the middle of the bed, propped
up on pillows with a sheet covering her from waist down. Brock and Adam reclined on either side of her murmuring softly. Each man had a hand on her belly, rubbing circles as they panted with her, breathing through a contraction.

  Before approaching the bed, Autumn stopped at the table and checked the supplies piled there. A stack of towels and an empty basin. Turning to Bridget, she said, “I need the large red bag from my truck. It has everything else I’ll need.”

  “I’ll get it,” one of the fathers said before leaving the room.

  “What can I do?” the other asked, looking uncomfortable.

  “Could you boil some water, please?”

  “Sure, no problem,” he said, heading for the door. At the last moment, he turned back. “How much water do you need?”

  Autumn smiled gently. “A quart or so should be enough.”

  “Okay,” the man said before disappearing.

  “Coffee?” Bridget asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Autumn shook her head with a grin. “Tea. I gave coffee up after…you know.”

  Just then, her mates hustled into the room. Evan carried her red medical bag in one hand. “Dad said you need this?”

  Autumn nodded with a smile. “Thanks,” she said, taking the bag and setting it on the table. “Now go help your father boil the water.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  As Spring’s contractions quickly grew stronger and closer, Autumn found herself growing more and more nervous. Having to deal with her two mates who were more anxious than their brothers didn’t help any.

  Though Adam and Brock never left her sister’s side, she kept finding reasons to send Evan and Frank away. She didn’t want them to witness things if she failed to deliver Spring’s babies successfully. And after sharing her story, she felt fully exposed and wasn’t sure she could face them.

  Had the story of her failure changed their minds? Did they not want to be mated to her anymore? What would happen to her then? Would they run her out of Sanctuary? Or do something more drastic to end the mating?