“You won’t have to make her pay. You’ll be happy. We’ll have to work at it. I’m sure we’ll have a few troubles and adjustments to make, but we won’t give up.” Tony stood. “I’ll walk Dixie to the door. Why don’t you three head up to the room?”
What he said could be seen as a threat by some people. No one in a whyr city would, but in a human city, she might be able to get a restraining order. Chloe shook her head at the thought. Dixie said good-bye and left. Tony followed to see her out.
“Does the heat affect you, too?” She lifted her head and looked at Logan. They said the pheromones aroused her. What did the mating heat do to them?
“Not in the same way it does you. If you were a bear, we’d be all over you. Your pheromones would push us to it. Yes, we’re aroused. Your scent and the mating heat increases that, but the urge to claim and keep you safe is stronger,” Logan said. His voice roughened and his muscles drew tight.
As she drew in a deep breath, she tried to think and not react. She wasn’t happy that her body went wild while they didn’t seem aroused at all. If she was fighting the urge to rip their clothes off, she wanted them to feel the same.
“Relax, baby, talk about it.” Jason patted her leg above the knee.
He leaned closer to her and she could see the concern on his face. She wondered if he’d seen something in her expression, but then remembered the bear sense of smell. They wouldn’t need a facial cue.
“Freaky sense of smell.” She shook her head and scowled at Jason. “I don’t like that I’m the only one affected this strongly. If I’m burning with arousal, you should feel the same. I also don’t like that something aside from my feelings and my mind is controlling me.”
“We do long to touch you. Bears love to touch, cuddle, and hug whether in sexual or social ways. With you, there will always be a sexual element to it though.” Jason touched her hand.
“The desire isn’t controlling you, Chloe. Can you tell me that you weren’t attracted to us? That our pheromones are causing all of the sweet scent of your honey to rise.” Logan cupped her cheek and turned her to face him. His fingers glided over her cheekbone.
He was right, but she didn’t like admitting it. She’d had the desire to run her hands over Tony’s chest in the store. There hadn’t seemed to be the intensity to his scent in the store.
She wanted to have something to blame, something that would give her a little distance between them, at least emotionally. She didn’t think she’d be able to put any physical space between them for a while because of the way the hunger flared now.
“I desired you, but I could walk away from it when we first met. Now, I’d probably jump you if you walked away from me,” she answered, though it brought a blush to her cheeks.
“Chloe, the one thing it does is draw you to us so that we’ll complete the mating.” Logan rose to his feet and scooped her up. “You’re not the only one feeling desperate. My bear would like you plastered to him.”
She frowned, confused. Dixie had said that bears shared a mate and shared responsibility for caring for her. “I thought you were all part of the relationship, equally.”
“We are, but the heat is further along with him. His instincts are pushing at him. Since he didn’t know anything about you for a time, he and the bear within are focused on solidifying the mating.” Jason squeezed her thigh. “That part should ease once he mates with you and the bear marks you as his mate.”
“This is crazy.” She shook her head and tried to summon the will to push away from him. She shouldn’t picture riding the man into exhaustion when she’d met him once. She tried not to think about what she wanted to do to the other two men.
“It’s natural,” Jason said. “Take her upstairs. We can talk a little more, maybe reassure her before you mate.”
He patted Logan on the back. Logan took a deep breath. A shudder ripped over his body as if he hung on the edge of his control. She bit her lip, but couldn’t suppress the thrill that went through her because of that response. Even though she felt conflicted about the sudden hunger raging through her, his fierce desire made her feel feminine and beautiful.
Logan carried her upstairs and down a hallway. He walked until they came to the end. Tony eased around them and opened the door to a large bedroom.
A fireplace dominated the center of one wall. On the opposite side of the room, two nightstands flanked a huge bed with a black headboard. In the corner, a grouping of chairs sat near a large window. She blinked at the space in the room.
Can I get through conversation without either chickening out and making a run for it or jumping one of them? She swallowed hard.
Chapter Five
Cradled in the strong arms of a sexy man. Normally it was one of Chloe’s fantasies. Although the obvious strength added to her hunger for him, she wasn’t sure how she felt about all of this.
Logan walked over to the sitting area and lowered her to her feet. He kept surprising her. She’d expected and had wanted him to put her on the bed. Part of her had anticipated him urging her onto the blue bedspread and kissing away any thoughts. The desire didn’t care about any talk or explanations.
“Why don’t you sit down? I can’t guarantee that we’ll be talking for long, but Jase is right. We do need to talk a little since there wasn’t much interaction between us before this.” Logan’s hands fell away.
Her eyes followed the movement and watched his fingers clench. He stiffened as if he had some trouble not reaching for her again. This would be a short discussion.
She sat in one of the chairs. Maybe it would help him see that she wouldn’t run out of the room. She had to admit that the idea of putting some significant distance between them had crossed her mind. She wondered how long it would take for the hunger to fade if they weren’t right there. If she couldn’t find out the truth, she’d have to ask Dixie about it.
“What would you like to talk about?” She licked her lips. She clenched her thighs, trying to ease the ache in her clit. The desire made it difficult to concentrate. While she’d love to have sex, she had questions.
“We wanted to lessen some of your fears. This mating is sudden to you. No buildup, no dates. We would have tried for a little normalcy in our relationship if we’d discovered you in an ordinary way.” Tony sat in the chair across from her.
“The mating fever having a grip on Logan and to a lesser extent me makes that impossible. Ask us anything. You can ask about mating or about us.” Jason didn’t sit in a chair. He leaned a shoulder against the wall.
He looked a little tense, but he didn’t seem anxious. He wasn’t quite looming over her since he stayed across from her and near the window. The fact that he remained on his feet did unsettle her, although she couldn’t say why. She didn’t feel threatened, but his stance did add to the feeling that a clock was ticking.
“What do you do? Tell me a little about you. We don’t know anything about each other and that does bother me a little. I feel strange sitting here aching to fuck someone when I barely know their names.” She rubbed her hands on her thigh, trying to ease some of the tension and nervousness from her body. The energy combined with the high sexual need, making her too aware.
They’d consider her worries so human, but she was human. She had been raised with human attitudes. She hadn’t seen a different viewpoint until she’d become friends with a few whyr.
“I own a restaurant and a bar. Maybe you’ve been to my restaurant, O’Donnell’s.” He leaned forward and smiled at her.
She tilted her head. “No, I don’t think I have. Did you buy an already established restaurant? You told me that your last name is Landon.”
“No, the restaurant is named for my maternal grandmother. The idea of owning a restaurant is hers. It was her greatest dream. I like cooking, love food, and am pretty good with people. It seemed to be a good idea.” Tony shrugged. “After I took business courses and worked for a friend in the industry to get some experience, I started my business.”
&nb
sp; “You’re the chef there?” She leaned forward. That was something she’d have never guessed about him. She’d supposed he was a fireman or something a little more active or power driven.
“At first, I did, but liking to cook and being a chef are different things. I like the business side as well. I leave my chefs to the work in the kitchen and pay attention to the numbers and front of the house.” Tony looked from her to Logan.
Chloe couldn’t miss the significance. If she didn’t start asking questions of the other two, she’d run out of time.
“What do you do, Logan?” She thought he’d interrupt first if he became tired of waiting.
He sat forward in the chair. The muscles in shoulder shifted and tightened. Even with his shirt on, she could tell the muscles in his shoulders were tight. His hands gripped the cloth arms, and she wondered if the fabric would rip right off with the force of his hold.
The tenseness she saw in his body showed the same strain she felt. She wanted to know about them, but her body didn’t care about the intellectual side. It craved release with these men.
“I’m a police officer. Investigator with the homicide and burglary division. Since it’s a small force, we tend to work in more than one position.” He took a deep breath. The words emerged at a measured pace, as if he concentrated on maintaining his control.
“Is it something you’ve always planned to do?” The urge to get up and walk over to him to soothe him pulsed through her, but if she wrapped her arms around him, she’d forget about everything except the urge to peel off his clothes.
“No, I wanted to go into arson investigation and planned to become a fireman and work my way up to that, but my family convinced me to at least try a few years of college. I did a criminal justice course and ended with a degree in that. During the last year, I went to the academy, graduated that around the same time that I earned my diploma.” His shoulders rolled, but he remained seated.
“And what about you, Jason? What do you do?” She looked at him and smiled.
“I’m a police officer. I’m a forensic investigator, but I also work with the special investigations unit. I’ll tell you more about the job later. I don’t think Logan will last much longer.” Jason straightened away from the wall. “Any questions about what will happen?”
“Will this go away after we…um…mate?” She worried her lip with her teeth.
Logan growled.
Tony rose and put a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Will what go away?”
“The intense desire, the pheromone pumping, barely able to think feeling that has me thinking about pinning one of you to the floor and attacking your body.” She narrowed her eyes on him.
What did he think she wanted to know about? The rest of her questions would wait. The mating was permanent. She realized she should be more nervous about this whole thing, but she couldn’t focus beyond the moment.
Tony laughed. “The desire will always be there to a greater or lesser extent. The pheromones won’t be at a constant high level. They’ll surface when we’re hungry for our woman and recede after.”
She exhaled, a little relieved. The words took away a little of the worry. She pushed the other worries to the side. They would wait until she found a little relief from the ache pulsing through her.
“This first time with you we won’t be wearing a condom. The bear needs to mark you not only with teeth, but also with our scent mixed with yours.” Tony met her eyes.
“You can’t get pregnant until you’re changed. I don’t know if Dixie told you, but whyr don’t carry human sexual diseases,” Jason spoke slowly, as if prepared for an interruption before he finished the explanation. “Once the transformation is complete, you’ll only be able to get pregnant by us.”
“Are you ready? I don’t want you to be afraid of us or regret this.” Logan rose to his feet in a slow, deliberate glide. He watched her intently.
The skin across his cheeks drew taut. His patience seemed stretched thin. He needn’t worry. She wouldn’t demand he wait or ask for more explanations. The man was a bear. He had to know about the riot of desire and need swarming over her body.
“I’m ready.” She didn’t know what she’d feel after they satisfied her hunger, but her body craved sex. They’d have to figure out the rest later once their pheromones didn’t push her sexual desires into overdrive.
“Let’s get you out of these clothes. I might rip this pretty dress if we get caught up in kisses and touching. I also crave the honey I can smell spilling from your body.” Logan’s fingers went to her front closure. He unfastened them and tried to lift the dress over her head. The garment rose to her breasts before it wouldn’t go any farther.
“There’s a tie at my neck and a few closures near midback. If you’ll let me reach back, I can get them.” She ran her hands over his chest.
She didn’t reach back herself, because she remembered he’d had some concerns about her leaving or doubting the connection. She didn’t want to intensify that doubt. It would delay the hard fuck she craved. If she could get her clothes off, they’d soon be down to action.
“I’ll do it.” His hands slid over her ribs and trailed over the back of her shirt over her spine until he found the tiny catches. He flicked them open and the fastenings loosened. A moment later, the ties fell and dangled in front of her.
She began easing open his shirt. Her fingers weren’t quite as nimble. The clumsiness frustrated her. She’d like to run her hands over the warm skin she could feel beneath fabric. With frustration pushing at her, she edged her fingers inside his shirt, slipping over the skin she could touch. He hummed and a smile stretched across his lips.
In a smooth move, he pulled the dress over her head, before dropping the green garment to the floor. His big hands cupped her shoulders and stroked over her arms. The slow, controlled movements revealed his strain. Tension corded his muscles and showed in the hard lines of his face.
He seemed determined to move slowly, but if his body ached half as much as hers did, it wanted physical connection now. She couldn’t take the slow torture any longer. He might be afraid of scaring her off, but he could handle a little aggression from her.
Chloe took a half step forward, bringing them almost body to body. She grabbed one of his hands and guided it to her breast. His fingers curled over the flesh without any encouragement. Blunted by the fabric of her bra, the touch left her aching for more. She slid her hand down and cupped his cock through his jeans.
“I want this. I don’t want to play or be soothed. Would you like me to ride you, or do you plan to fuck me?” She stared up at him. While she thought about the possibilities, she tilted her head to the side.
His eyes widened. She swore he stopped breathing for a moment. He exhaled. The rough sound exploded from him. His free hand swept around her. He pulled her body tight against his. She tightened her fingers on his cock, letting him know that she wouldn’t sit back and wait.
“I’m going to fuck you and sink my teeth into your shoulder as I drive deep.” He leaned down.
His breath brushed over her ear. The light puffs of air sent tingles prickling through her. He lifted her off her feet and put her on the bed. The soft mattress dipped.
He flicked open the closure of her bra, pulling it off first. Her silky panties went next, leaving her bare and ready for him. She opened her legs, hoping to entice the big bear into fucking her. He was moving too slowly.
“I know you’re aching and wet, but I have to taste you a little. I’ve been going crazy. I didn’t have a face to put to the feeling inside me.” He dropped to his knees and gripped her thighs, urging them wider.
“My face is up here.” She tangled her fingers in his hair, not that she hoped to dissuade him from his plan at all.
“This sweet smell is coming from down here though.” Logan leaned close and inhaled. A slow smile lifted his lips. “Don’t come.”
“You’re planning to lick my pussy and you tell me not to come?” She grinned. He was askin
g for a lot with the way desire flared through her.
“Hold on for me. I need to taste you, but then you’re going to come around my cock.” He drew his hands up and down her thighs.
It wouldn’t be easy to hold onto her control. The image sparked by his words excited her. Chloe would try. She wanted to feel his dick sliding into her.
His tongue glided over the slick lips. A shiver ripped up her spine. Her thighs tightened.
“Let me take in every scent, every taste. Damn, you’re sweet.” His tongue swept between the lips and stroked upward over her clit.
The words vibrated against her. She clenched her hand on the blanket and drew in a desperate breath. If he kept that up, she didn’t know how much she’d be able to take. His mouth roamed downward. He lapped at her entrance as if he hoped to take in her essence.
When his tongue speared into her, she gasped and shivered. Her inner muscles clenched. Frustration rose in her. She craved what he promised. Her stomach muscles tightened. She could feel the swell of tension building within her, warning of the impending climax.
“Logan, I don’t think she’ll be able to hold on much longer. If you’re going to feel her come apart underneath you, you better get to it.” Tony’s voice cut through the haze building in her mind.
Logan growled, but his hands clasped around her hips and lifted her. Relief washed through her. He straightened. His hands went to his pants and worked on the button fly. She heard a rip and a ping. One of the buttons flew across the room. He pushed the pants down and stepped out of them.
His gaze locked on her. Hunger blazed in his eyes. The intensity held her in place even more firmly than strong hands. He climbed onto the bed.
She widened her thighs in invitation. That was where she wanted the big man. He eased close. His hands clasped her hips. He took a few deep breaths. She ran her hands over his shoulders. The sudden hesitation confused her.
“I’m close. Let me slide into your sweet pussy. Won’t hurt you.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. His fingers tightened a little as if to keep her where he wanted.
Latent Desires (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 4
