SizzlingInsanity

by Lorna Jean Roberts

  Was Cade right? Was she their mate?

  He took a deep breath, letting the peace of the forest settle him. Whether Cade was right or not, this attraction he felt was stronger than anything he’d felt before. He needed to explore it.

  First, though, they needed answers.

  His mind calmer, he stood and headed back to the house. Tonight, he’d tackle the problem of Shelby.

  Right now, he needed a distraction. Pulling out his phone, he called Cade.

  “Feeling better?” Cade greeted him.

  “Yeah, thought I’d go check that cabin Sam was talking about. You all right with Shelby?”

  “Sure, just took her some breakfast. She’s eating it now. Actually, inhaling it would be more accurate.”

  Connor felt a pang of guilt as he remembered that they hadn’t fed her last night. “Make sure she eats it all.”

  “Don’t think we need to worry about that. I’m going to take over for Dylan for a while. The useless human is sitting on his ass.”

  “I shouldn’t be long. Cade?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What if we get her to talk and we don’t like what she tells us? What if it turns out she is a traitor? If she’s our mate…”

  It would kill him to see her destroyed.

  “We won’t know what we’re dealing with until we get our answers. But you and I both know that we would never allow our mate to be harmed. No matter what.”

  The tightness inside Connor eased somewhat. He’d known that was what Cade would say. If it turned out she was their mate and a traitor, they wouldn’t allow any harm to come to her.

  They had ties to their old pack, but no real pack of their own. Which meant they had no one to truly answer to. They could take Shelby and disappear.

  Werewolves needed to be around others of their own kind or they risked going rogue, but the three of them could form their own small pack.

  Standing, he sighed. “You’re right. Answers first then we take what comes. But if she’s our mate, we protect her. Always.”

  “Good,” Cade said with approval before hanging up.

  Connor headed to where Sam had told them the cabin was. It was a simple construction, a log cabin with a small deck out the front. He unlocked the padlock on the door with the key Sam had given him and stepped inside.

  It was one large, open-plan room with a small bathroom attached. The queen-sized bed took up most of the cabin, leaving barely any room for the two armchairs that sat in front of the open fire.

  Even though it was simple and small, there was something cozy and romantic about it. Connor could imagine them here, Sam and his Annabeth. This was their haven, a place to meet that no one else knew about.

  He didn’t really expect to find anything here, but it was best to check the place out. The only connection between Shelby and Sam that they’d been able to find was the Sunnyland pack. He wasn’t sure how it connected them though. Maybe Annabeth had hired Shelby to spy on Sam? Maybe she wanted him back?

  Seemed like a lot of effort when she could just pick up the phone or come visit Sam. Plus, why wait all this time?

  He ran his hand over one of the armchairs. It was covered in dust. The whole place smelled musty and closed in. Sam said he hadn’t been here since locking the place up twenty-two years ago.

  Connor ran his gaze around the room. Any scent that may have been here was long gone. Hell, he didn’t even know what he was looking for. Prowling the room, he inspected the small toilet, shower, and sink.

  Nothing.

  He moved to the large bed, pulling off the covers, even going so far as to lift the mattress.

  Nothing.

  He moved over to the hearth, the rug on the floor shifting under his feet. He lifted it, checking underneath. Nothing.

  Sighing, he placed the rug back and left, locking the cabin behind him.

  A dead end.

  Well, that only left one way to get the answers they wanted.

  Shelby.

  Chapter Five

  Shelby pulled her legs up to her chest and held on to them tight. The room was closing in on her like a trash compactor. Was there even enough air in here?

  Stop panicking!

  I’m being a wimp. The walls aren’t moving. I’m not going to be squashed to death or suffocate from a lack of air.

  The door opened and she jumped, standing.

  Connor stepped in, his gaze narrowing as he looked her over.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “You mean besides being held against my will? Abused and starved?”

  “Abuse? What abuse?”

  “You touched me without my permission.”

  He grinned. “Don’t even try to pretend you didn’t enjoy every touch. I could smell your arousal, trouble. If anyone should feel abused, it’s Cade and me.”

  She smirked. “Cade still singing soprano?”

  Connor raised a brow. “He’s just changed and gone for a run. When he returns I’m sure he’ll be back in fighting form.”

  She swallowed nervously. Her stomach growled and she placed her hand over it, trying to quiet it. A blush covered her cheeks.

  “Didn’t Cade bring you some food?”

  “That was two hours ago. I have a fast metabolism.”

  He nodded. Catching her by surprise, he moved forward, grabbed her around the waist, and swung her over her shoulder.

  “Hey!” she screeched, pounding at his back. “What the fuck! What are you doing?”

  He had a heavy arm placed over the back of her thighs, holding her legs in place as he stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

  “You bastard, cock-sucking asshole, answer me!”

  “Should have gagged you first,” he replied with a growl. “You need to control your mouth.”

  “Or what?” she dared. “What the fuck are you gonna do about it?”

  “Or I’m gonna spank your ass until sitting becomes a distant memory.”

  He gave her a handful of sharp, heavy smacks in quick succession. Shelby sucked in a deep breath. They stung, sure. But they also sent waves of heat directly to her clit. What the hell?

  “So that’s what it takes to quiet you down? Interesting,” he said as he climbed the stairs.

  “Fuck off,” she told him.

  He opened a door and stepped inside. After locking it, he pocketed the swipe card before taking a few steps forward. Then she was flying through the air again. She landed on the same bed she’d woken up in that morning.

  Before she could move, Connor grabbed hold of her wrists in one hand. He pulled them above her head, tying them.

  “What the hell?” She glanced up to see her wrists secured to the bedhead with a strip of soft leather. Shelby tugged at the binding frantically, but Connor knew how to secure a knot and there was little give. “Untie me.”

  “Nope,” he said cheerfully. “Told Cade I’d have you all ready by the time he got back.” He grabbed one ankle. She tried to kick out at him with her other foot, but he stood out of reach as he secured the ankle he held to the foot of the bed.

  Shelby drew her other leg back, but she didn’t have a hope in hell of holding out against his strength as he grabbed her other ankle and firmly tied down her leg.

  What was he planning?

  Connor grabbed his cell phone off the bedside table and played around on it for a moment before putting it down. He opened one of the bedside drawers, searching through it. “Now where did I put them?”

  “What are you doing?” she asked, unable to keep the tremor from her voice. She tugged continuously at her restraints.

  “You won’t get free,” he told her. “All you’ll do is tire yourself out. Ahh, here they are.”

  He stepped toward her, holding a pair of scissors in his hands.

  “Let me the fuck go!” she screeched.

  Shaking his head, he reached for the bottom of her T-shirt. “I should wash your mouth out with soap.”

  “You’re not my father,
asshole.”

  He glanced up, his gaze hot. “No, I definitely am not. But I am going to take great pleasure in spanking your sweet, round ass if you keep swearing at me. Now it’s time to be honest, trouble. Why were you looking so afraid when I walked in before?”

  “Ahh, maybe because I’m being held against my will.” Duh.

  He shook his head. “Nope. That wasn’t it. Last chance to tell the truth.”

  “Fuck you.” Like she was giving away all her secrets.

  “Have it your way.” He used the scissors to cut the T-shirt up the middle.

  Shelby gasped, freezing. He ripped at the collar before proceeding to cut the sleeves. Then he pulled the T-shirt free, leaving her completely naked.

  “Why are you doing this? What do you want? I thought you said I had to ask you for sex.” She felt extremely vulnerable. Fear had her trembling.

  He stilled, looking down at her.

  “Calm down, I meant what I said. I’d cut off my right arm before hurting you.”

  “You cut my fucking clothes off, what the fuck am I supposed to think?”

  He raised a brow. “I’ve noticed you swear more when you’re scared. I won’t hurt you, Shelby, but I never said anything about not touching you.”

  Why the hell did she believe him?

  “Now, why were you so afraid?”

  She glared up at him stubbornly.

  “Beautiful.” He ran his fingertips over her mound and she barely held back a shiver of pleasure as he brushed over her clit.

  The heat in his gaze was unmistakable and it helped her relax just a little bit to know he liked what he saw. Why she cared she didn’t know, but she wouldn’t have been able to stand it if he’d ridiculed her or looked at her with indifference.

  She hated being this needy, but there was a part of her that longed to receive praise, to be accepted. He brushed his fingertips over her thigh then down her leg. He moved to her other leg.

  How could such a simple touch have her instantly trembling, the need for more burning a hole in her stomach?

  Connor ran a finger up and down her folds, gently, not pushing for anything more. He didn’t linger over her clit or try to push his finger inside her. Up and down, almost absentmindedly.

  “Stop it.”

  “Hmm?” he asked. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you; your words were kind of slurred.”

  “Stop touching me.”

  “Why? You like it, I can feel your moisture coating my finger, your breathing has deepened, your heartbeat growing faster. You want me to touch you. But you think you shouldn’t because you believe we’re enemies.”

  “We are,” she replied breathlessly. Her thighs trembled as she stopped herself from begging for more.

  What had happened to her self-control? She was acting like a mindless slut. One little touch and he’d stolen her ability to think.

  “No, we’re not. If you were my enemy I’d hate you. I wouldn’t care about what has you so afraid. I wouldn’t find myself wanting to slay all your demons, to erase any fear from your life. I certainly wouldn’t tie you to my bed and I definitely wouldn’t be about to taste your arousal.”

  Taste her what?

  Connor pulled his moisture-covered finger from her pussy, drawing it into his mouth and sucking strongly.

  “Yum.”

  Shelby knew her cheeks were bright red, a mix of embarrassment and need. “That’s disgusting.”

  “Oh I disagree. It was delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I’m going to need another taste. I think I might be addicted.”

  “Don’t even think about it, you’re not touching me again!”

  “Even tied down and naked she thinks she’s in charge, doesn’t she?”

  Shelby glanced over at Cade’s voice. He was standing in the open doorway between the two rooms, a tray of sandwiches held in his hands.

  Shit, she hadn’t even heard him come in.

  Connor stood and took the tray from his brother, setting it on the bedside table.

  “Wow, she’s beautiful,” Cade said, standing at the foot of the bed and looking down at her.

  “These ties are hurting me,” she complained.

  Cade raised both eyebrows. “I’ve shared a number of women with my brother and he’s never had any complaints over his bondage skills.”

  Connor snorted and sat beside her, his thigh brushing against the side of her stomach. She sucked in a breath as jealousy hit her at the thought of them with other women. She had to get over this. They were the enemy.

  “You share women? That’s weird.”

  Cade shrugged. “I’m weird. Women don’t really like me, but they don’t mind having us as a package deal.”

  Don’t mind? Yeah, she bet they didn’t mind. The two of them were out of this world hot. What kind of women had they been dating though? Who wouldn’t want Cade?

  “Idiots,” she muttered.

  “What was that?” Cade asked.

  “Nothing,” she replied. Her stomach growled and she glanced over at the sandwiches. “I’m hungry.”

  Surely they’d have to untie her so she could eat. Then she could make her move. Lying here completely naked while they stared at her made her feel extremely vulnerable. She was on edge, jumpy.

  Shelby hated feeling out of control. She’d tried drinking alcohol with a few people from college once. Generally, werewolves had to drink a lot before alcohol would affect them, but although she had a fast metabolism, it had only taken a few vodkas before she’d been feeling tipsy.

  She’d ended up completely trashed with barely any idea where she was or who she was with. Luckily, she’d had enough sense to call her cousins. Unfortunately, for her, it was Owen who answered. He’d come to get her, held her over the toilet as she spewed her guts out, then put her to bed with a glass of water and some aspirin.

  And he’d spent the next week lecturing her about everything that could have happened to her.

  It wasn’t an experience she was ready to repeat. But when Connor and Cade touched her, she had that same heady feeling, only a hundred times more intense.

  Connor reached over for the sandwiches, placing the plate on the bed. He handed one to Cade who sat on her other side. Then he grabbed one and broke it in half.

  “Open wide,” he said.

  She gaped up at him. “Seriously? I am not letting you feed me. Let me sit up and I’ll feed myself.”

  “No can do, trouble. You’re not getting up until we decide. Now open up and I’ll feed you.”

  “I’m not hungry,” she said stubbornly, turning her head away.

  “I can hear your stomach rumbling,” Cade told her. “We don’t like being lied to, Shelby. Best you know that now. Each time you lie, you get punished.”

  Her jaw dropped open. “You cannot be serious.”

  Cade broke off a bit of his sandwich and popped it into her mouth. “Chew. Swallow.”

  She didn’t have much choice, unless she wanted to spit the sandwich back out at him and she was too hungry for that. She needed to keep her strength up if she was going to escape them.

  “We’re very serious,” Connor told her as he fed her some of his sandwich. “The kid gloves are off, Shelby. We’re tired of waiting for our answers. You better be very careful about what you say, because any lie is going to get you punished.”

  Assholes! How dare they? Fine, then she wouldn’t say a word.

  “And we have ways of making you talk, so don’t think the silent treatment will work.” Cade grinned evilly. They continued to take turns feeding her until she was full.

  Get her to talk, would they? Ha, they didn’t know how stubborn she could be. Her uncle had told her that her mother had been the same. Stubborn as an old goat, he’d say fondly.

  She couldn’t lose sight of the real reason she was here. To avenge her mother’s death and make sure that Garrison paid for what he did.

  “Where did your mind just go?” Connor asked.

  “Wherever it was, her mi
nd wasn’t on us,” Cade said as he lay alongside her. “And that’s not good enough.” He ran his finger around her nipple. It puckered. Traitor.

  “How pretty,” Connor said, mimicking his brother as he lay down on her other side and pinched her nipple lightly.

  “How did she taste?” Cade asked in a thick voice. He pressed himself against her and she could feel his heavy erection through his jeans.

  “Like heaven.”

  Shelby snorted. “Heaven? Seriously, does that line actually work for you?” Okay, so much for the silent treatment.

  “What would you rather I compared you to, trouble?” Connor asked as he continued to toy with her nipple. “Peaches? Strawberries? Chocolate? You taste like none of those things and yet you were so delicious it’s all I can do not to dive between your legs and feast.”

  “My turn first,” Cade demanded as he sat up then positioned himself between her spread thighs.

  Oh God, no.

  “I need to go to the bathroom,” she blurted out. Anything to stop Cade from touching her there. She couldn’t take it.

  “Hold on,” Connor told her.

  “Wait!” she yelled out as Cade lowered his mouth to her pussy. She could feel his breath against her lips.

  “What?” he asked impatiently.

  “I’ve got an STD, a nasty one.”

  “Werewolves don’t get diseases,” Connor said, rolling his eyes.

  “But I’m a half-breed. I can get human diseases.”

  They both paused at her words. Would that make a difference, that she was a half-breed? Would they stop touching her now?

  Sorrow welled up and she squashed it. She should be happy if it did affect how they saw her. Maybe most werewolves were as shallow and stupid as the members of the Sunnyland pack. She’d kind of hoped that it was just Jack’s attitude toward half-breeds that had influenced the other members of the pack.

  But maybe all werewolves hated half-breeds.

  Cade knelt and reached to his left, untying her ankle. They were letting her go? But he didn’t reach for her other ankle, instead he twisted her over onto her side.

  His hand slammed down on her buttocks. He wasn’t playing around. These were hard smacks.

  “I wasn’t lying,” she yelled, trying to wiggle away. “I am a half-breed.”