While Raine worked, Drayven stayed right next to her. Nothing would attack her here while the fire created a distraction—and live. He’d protect her with his last breath, if it came down to it. He and his brothers would not lose another person they cared about, even if they had to break the laws they’d sworn to uphold to keep her safe.
Drayven felt his elder brother’s approach, so when Raine’s skin paled and her brown eyes went wide, he didn’t bother to turn around. Taller and more heavily muscled than he and Ryker, Jakob could intimidate a hardened career criminal so Raine’s reaction didn’t surprise him. And when her skin flushed, her nipples tightened into hard little nubs and the scent of her arousal perfumed the air, he knew without a doubt, her body acknowledged Jakob as her third mate, no matter what she might say. With her body ready to take them as mates, half the battle was won, but getting her mind to accept them, that would be the challenge.
When he looked over his shoulder at Jakob, even his jaw about hit the ground, it hung open so far. Jakob’s hands were fisted by his sides, his knuckles white as though it took all his strength not to grab her and pull her into his arms. His nostrils were flared, his amber eyes dilated as though drugged, so only a rim of golden iris was visible. His entire body trembled as if he were going through withdrawal. His skin, what he could see of it, was covered in goose bumps and a light sheen of sweat, making him wonder just what his brother felt standing this close to their mate. Drayven had expected a reaction between the two when they finally met but not one this extreme.
Shaking his head, he lightly gripped Raine’s hand and pulled her stiff body forward, placing her right in front of Jakob. With both of them apparently stunned silent, it was up to him to make introductions, despite the fire raging around them. “Raine, this is Jakob, the oldest of us and your primary mate.” Taking her hand, he placed it atop of Jakob’s clenched fist. Jakob reacted immediately, pulling her forward until she was pressed against his body from chest to thigh.
Drayven cleared his throat and tried to hide his smile, as the seriousness of the situation they were in made this introduction awkward. “Jakob, meet Raine Nolan.” Even as he spoke, he knew his brother wasn’t paying attention to a thing he’d said.
Why is our mate so upset? Jakob’s voice was filled with menace as he spoke using the special telepathic bond they’d developed as boys once they realized they’d all mate the same woman. They could have spoken on the familial telepathic line that all blood kin share, but speaking on this path was more intimate and the one they used the most often.
This is her brother’s store. No one has seen Taylor so he may still be inside. She may have always fought for her independence, but family is everything to our mate. If her brother dies in the fire, it will destroy her. She’ll blame herself because this demon is fixated on her.
Then we need to make sure her brother doesn’t die in this fire.
There was so much self-assurance in Jakob’s voice, it was hard to doubt that his older brother would be able to pull off a miracle and produce Raine’s brother completely unharmed.
Pushing Raine away and into Drayven’s arms, Jakob took a step back. “Stay by her side. This would be the perfect opportunity to go after her. I’m going to make sure her brother isn’t inside.”
Before he could object, Jakob headed toward the Ransom fire engine, pulled a jacket, mask and oxygen tank off the back bumper that one of the officers had left there and headed toward the rear of the burning store.
Raine struggled against his hold. “No!” she yelled, her voice distraught, like that of a mated woman knowing her man was walking toward his death. It took all Drayven’s strength to hold her to him. Scanning the crowd, his gaze settled on the crowd of onlookers. His hair stood on edge and a feeling of unease worked its way through the mental wall he’d built around his mind. He felt hunted, knew that somebody out there had him and Raine in their sights, something malevolent. Automatically, he reached out for Ryker who was busy taking witness statements from one of Taylor’s hardware store’s employees. Somebody in the crowd is watching us, can you see who?
* * * *
As Jakob Murphy headed toward her brother’s burning store, Raine’s heart clenched in fear. A sense of dread worked its way past her subconscious. She’d known of Jakob for minutes, had been in his arms for mere seconds, and she knew if anything happened to him, she’d never be the same again. How could this have happened to her? Just weeks ago, her biggest worry was for her men at the firehouse, keeping them safe and making sure they were well trained for any emergency. Now, she had three mates she didn’t know, her body would soon be one big hormone as she entered her first heat making thinking and working impossible once it set in, and a demon lord had her in his sights, stalking her for some nefarious reason she didn’t even want to guess at.
The more she fought against Drayven’s hold, the tighter he held her against his chest. Lowering his head, he pressed his lips against her ear. The puffs of warm air sent shards of pleasure rippling down her spine. “Don’t worry, baby. Jakob knows what he’s doing. He’s a volunteer fireman, has been since his teens. If Taylor is in there, he’ll bring him out to you. Have faith.”
Shivering, Raine nodded, but the fear didn’t abate. It grew worse. The hair at the nape of her neck stood on end and her lioness prowled the edges of her mind, warning her of danger nearby.
She scanned the gathering crowd, tried to compare the rubberneckers with the ones from Twila’s fire. The only problem was that Serenity was such a close-knit community, seeing the same people at both fires didn’t necessarily mean anything like it would if they lived in a big city like New York City where millions of people lived. In a town that huge, having witnesses at both crime scenes could indicate their involvement as most arsonists liked to watch their work up close.
Raising her gaze to Drayven’s, she lowered her voice so she wouldn’t be overheard. “Something out there is stalking us. I don’t know if it’s the actual arsonist or the Demon Lord himself, but something evil is out there.”
For a second, she swore Drayven’s green eyes flashed crimson, but it was gone before she could be certain it wasn’t a trick of the light, the flames of the fire flickering against the color of his eyes. Raine shivered, uncertain and wary when she was used to being in her element while on the scene of an inferno. “I know. Ryker is out there taking witness statements and trying to find out who’s paying too much attention to us rather than the fire behind us.”
‘Tell him to be careful. I may not have wanted mates, but now that I have them, I’m not ready to lose any of you,” she muttered. She tried to sound casual, but even she could hear the fear in her voice.
Drayven ran a finger down her cheek, then brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “I’ll tell him.” Taking a step away from her, he dropped his hand by her side. “Go do your job, Ryker and I will have your back.”
Raine smiled for the first time in what felt like years, hope for the future filling her heart. “Thanks for understanding.”
“You wouldn’t be the mate we’ve searched the world over for, if you didn’t care about the people looking toward you for guidance. We’ve got your back while you’ve got theirs and if your brother’s inside, Jakob will get him out. That’s a promise.”
Raine nodded, then headed toward her engine where her men were still working hard at dousing the fire. The building was burning hotter, longer than she’d expected it to, but with all the chemicals and accelerants inside inherent to any hardware store, it wasn’t much of a surprise. Another hour, maybe two and the fire should burn down to small pockets of embers in the debris. After that, she needed to let the site cool for about twenty-four hours before she could get in and search for the fire’s cause. She didn’t doubt it, too, would be arson and knew in her gut she’d find another note addressed to her in the cooling debris. What would he say to her this time? She was almost afraid to find out. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, Raine adjusted her hardhat and approached Ransom�
��s chief. He’d know what his team had found or not found as they reported in. With her mate and possibly her brother inside the burning fire, she needed all the information he could give her.
Chapter
Jakob took long, steady breaths of the oxygen coming through the mouthpiece of his air-mask, wiped the soot off his face shield as he tried to see two steps in front of him. With the burning plastics and melting rubber, on top of the overriding smell of spilled lacquer and varnish, paint strippers and other chemicals found in a small-town hardware store, his sense of smell was negatively affected. If he could just push past the eye-watering odors, he should be able to lock onto Taylor’s scent fairly easily as he shared the same blood as Raine. He had no clue how she’d be able to determine what had started this fire with so many small fires burning inside. It was as if someone had thrown balls of fire at the shelf contents. Raine would have her hands full with this one.
Despite the fire raging around him, just thinking her name had his cock thickening in his jeans. Shoving thoughts of Raine out of his mind, he pulled the mouthpiece out of his mouth and tried to taste Taylor’s scent on the hot air. His lungs felt like they were on fire, but within a couple seconds, he zoned in on his mate’s brother. Putting the mouthpiece back in, Jakob headed in Taylor’s direction, his body hunched so that he would be closer to the floor, making it easier to spot anyone lying prone on the floor.
It took another five minutes before he finally found Taylor lying over another, protecting them from the flames with his own body. In the thick black air, Jakob couldn’t tell if either body still lived. It wasn’t until he knelt on the floor next to Taylor and laid his hand on the man’s back and felt it rise that he knew the man still lived. Thank the Goddess. He wouldn’t have to tell his mate that her brother died inside the burning building, not that they were out of the woods yet. He could still have severe damage to his lungs, but first things first. He needed to get Taylor and the person beneath him out of the store before they all perished.
Shaking the man, he was pleased to see Taylor’s eyes open, his gaze clear despite the hacking coughs proving that breathable air was fast becoming non-existent. Pointing over his shoulder, he let his brother-in-law know that it was time to leave.
“My legs are busted,” he shouted. “Agnes is out cold, and I can’t carry her out of here.”
Jakob nodded. “Shift and get out of here. I’ll carry her out. We’ll be right behind you.”
Taylor nodded once and sighed, the relief evident in his eyes. “Thanks, man.”
As Taylor shifted into a huge lion, Jakob reached for Agnes, a woman who looked frail and well into her nineties. Chuffing his thanks, Taylor stayed at his side as he slowly made his way out of the burning building. He only had to lock onto his mate’s scent and follow it to find his way to the store’s back door, despite the fact that he couldn’t see even a single foot in front of him now, the black, soot-filled air making visibility impossible.
As soon as he emerged from the burning building, the lion next to him shifted. In the light of day, Raine’s brother stood even with his own six-three height, though slightly narrower in the chest and hips than he and his brothers. With his arms filled with a still unconscious woman, it shocked him when Raine threw her arms around him rather than her brother who had his arms open, ready to catch her when she flung herself in their direction.
Taylor’s brows rose in obvious surprise before he looked at Raine then him then back to Raine. It took only a second for her brother to realize just what he’d witnessed. A small, sad smile crossed his lips before he wiped it away, met Jakob’s gaze and gave him a nod of acknowledgement.
Releasing the breath he didn’t realize he’d held, he retreated half a step to lay Agnes on the gurney a paramedic had rolled up next to them. With his arms now empty, he stripped the jacket and face mask off, pulled Raine into his embrace and buried his nose in the curve of her neck.
He didn’t know who was more surprised when she pulled his mouth down to hers and placed a gentle kiss against his chapped lips. Pulling away, her beautiful brown eyes filled with tears. As one lone tear trailed down her cheek, she rested her head against his chest and murmured, “Thanks for saving my brother and Agnes.” She took a long breath then sighed. “Thank you for coming back to me,” she whispered.
Jakob’s heart stuttered in his chest, then pounded a frantic rhythm as her words sunk in. He pulled her closer into his arms, until not even a piece of paper could fit between them, then pressed his lips against her temple in a quick kiss before whispering into her ear. “Always, baby. I’ll always come back to you.” As he held her in his arms, her scent grew thicker, richer, so spicy and enticing it took everything he had not to take her to the ground and mount her now, in front of witnesses as he staked his claim and took her to mate.
Shuddering with the effort to let her go, Jakob finally took a step back, then cleared his throat before meeting her gaze. He had to think. “Where are my brothers?”
Raine blinked as if coming out of a daze and looked over her shoulder toward the crowd gathered across the street from the fire. “Ryker is across the street, Drayven is just over there,” she said pointing toward the Serenity fire engine. When his gaze met Drayven’s, he wasn’t surprised to see the heat and hunger in his eyes. Raine’s scent grew thicker and richer by the second. He could only imagine what being in her presence for the last day or so had been like, knowing that she’d be coming into her heat, needing them to make love to her until her body was fully satiated. Just thinking along those lines had his cock grow thick and rigid in his jeans. For days, weeks, he dreamed of the night he could take her to his bed, and finally, finally that time had come.
Jakob reached out to his brothers using their telepathic bond. It’s time we claimed our mate.
“The fire was arson. Your brother and Agnes were attacked. I want you to come to my home—our home—where I know you’ll be safe.”
Raine’s head snapped toward her brother who was receiving first aid in the back of the ambulance. He had a mask raised to his face and was breathing in clean oxygen. Grabbing Jakob’s hand, she headed toward her brother, stopped right in front of him and looked him over, head to toe. “Is that true? Were you attacked in there?”
“Yes. I don’t even know who it was. I didn’t smell anyone or anything out of the ordinary before someone bashed in the back of my skull. I woke to Agnes screaming and both of my legs shattered.”
“If you didn’t smell anything before the attack, then more than likely the Demon Lord started it himself. I seriously doubt he let the Martin brothers live to start this fire after finding Emily missing when he returned to the campsite earlier,” Jakob stated. “Besides, demon fire would definitely explain the burn patterns I noticed while searching for you in the store.”
“Are you okay, Taylor? Is Agnes okay?” she asked, fear and worry making her voice shake.
“Agnes is a tough old bird, literally. She’ll be fine once she shifts and heals the crack in the back of her head and other than some trouble breathing, I healed almost completely when I shifted.”
“I should stay with you tonight, make sure you don’t have a concussion or something.”
Taylor shook his head. “No. You have mates now, Rainey. You need to be with them. Even I can smell your approaching heat, so go and I’ll gather the brothers and we’ll head over to the homestead, batten down the hatches.”
Raine blushed and Jakob couldn’t help but smile at the fact that his mate could blush. It’d been ages since he’d met a woman who wasn’t as jaded as he. She slowly nodded though he sensed inside she felt torn.
“They’re your family now. With them is your place now.”
Sighing, she looked up at Jakob, stared into his gaze. He knew his eyes would be glowing with his arousal. She licked her lips, then tried to run a hand through her snarled hair. “Okay. Let me make sure my men have everything handled. I really shouldn’t leave until the fire is out though. I am the Fire Chi
ef.”
Jakob ran a hand through her hair and smiled. “You do what you have to. If we have to wait with you until the fire is out, that’s what we’ll do. We won’t interfere with your life, smothering you with our demands unless it’s necessary for your safety.”
A smile broke out across her face and brought a sparkle to her eyes. In that moment, he tumbled, falling in love faster than he thought possible. It wasn’t lust though there was plenty of that. No, this was true, lasting love of one mate for another. The forever kind. He lowered his head toward hers, slowly, giving her all the time in the world to pull away. Instead, she went up onto her tippy toes and met him halfway, brushing her lips against his. She sighed into his mouth, reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, closing her eyes, sinking into his kiss. Once, twice, he brushed her lips, swirling his tongue over her bottom lip, giving a quick nip before soothing it again, requesting entrance into the warm wetness of her mouth to explore her more thoroughly.
She acquiesced. Tongues dueled, a slow caress, tangling and exploring each other. Their mouths mated, hunger and need pulled a growling purr from his chest. The kiss went from gentle to ravishing in a split second. Only the sound of Taylor’s throat clearing kept him from taking the kiss deeper, kept him from wrapping her legs around his waist, lowering his zipper and taking her here and now.
The hardest thing he’d ever done in his life was set Raine away from him. He soothed his beast by promising that before the day ended, he’d have Raine in his bed, claiming her for their mate for all time. When her eyes fluttered open, dazed and filled with hunger his beast purred in satisfaction. “Go on. Finish up here. We’ll be watching your back while you finish what you have to.”
Ravishing Raine Page 4
