Overcome

by McKenna, Annmarie

  “And you, sweetheart, are human.”

  Anna bristled at the nickname, but her heart skipped a beat. “Did you send Stern Face out so you could eat me in private?”

  Marc snorted, which annoyed her to no end, and Albatross laughed before he spoke. “Any eating of you on our part will be done in private, for sure, but I doubt it’s the type of eating you are referring to.”

  Oh. Shit.

  The color either drained from her face or flooded it, she really couldn’t tell, and it really didn’t matter when Marc plopped his gorgeous muscled self right next to her on the couch, his thigh running the length of hers.

  “Are all shifters this touchy-feely, or am I just the lucky one here today?”

  “I think many of our females will definitely consider you lucky.”

  “Top bitch might be more apt,” Albatross murmured, his loafer-covered toes wedging their way between her feet and spreading her legs.

  If this wasn’t becoming the most compromising of positions, then she didn’t know what was.

  “Okay, first of all…” She pushed Marc away with her elbow in his gut as he got closer and closer to putting his nose in her neck, “…what do you mean our females and second, did you just call me a bitch? A might personal since you know nothing about me.”

  Albatross laughed again. “Bitch refers to a female wolf.”

  “Which I am not.” She elbowed Marc again for encroaching. “Down boy.”

  “Can’t help it.” Marc wrestled his face into the curve of her neck and she sighed.

  “Do not lick me or I swear to God…”

  “You smell sooo good.”

  “It’s called soap. Get. Off.” She shoved him with both hands this time, but he remained in place, his nose tracing a line up her neck. “You’re like a damn puppy.”

  “Mmm…”

  Albatross finally dropped her wrist, only to put both his hands on her knees to lean over her. “You’ve already got him eating out of your hands.”

  Damned if the man didn’t impinge on her neck as well, on the free side.

  And now she had two dogs sniffing her up.

  “For Christ’s sake,” she shouted, scrambling to her feet and pushing between their obnoxious, overbearing bodies. “You act like I’m part of your threesome or something.”

  When she turned around, hands on her hips in exasperation and annoyed that her nipples were puckered tight, she found Albatross had taken a seat next to Marc, and they were both arrogantly eyeing her as if their third is exactly how they saw her.

  Anna swallowed.

  Because for some oddball reason she kinda sorta wanted to be the middle of their wolfie sandwich.

  •●•

  Marc’s cock swelled impossibly hard, and the only thing keeping him from bending her over the couch and pushing inside her was the knowledge that he’d freak her the fuck out. If she were a shifter, he’d have no such qualms; she’d know the score. But Anna appeared innocent in all, if not most, things shifter. Something he definitely needed to help her correct before she started teaching and the little ones of their pack ate her alive. Figuratively.

  Those pups could smell fresh meat anywhere. First graders were a handful anytime, but make them shifters and your handful just tripled. They could be scheming little monsters. He knew this because he’d been one once. His mother never let him forget it, either. Sometimes he wondered if the only reason he kept them under reasonable control was because they knew he was their alpha.

  Her face was a mix of emotions. Heat, lust, want, need, anxiety, fear, frustration, and annoyance all warred for position. Her sweet lips pursed in irritation, but all Marc envisioned was them wrapped around his erection as she stared up at him with those bottomless blue eyes. He’d tangle his fingers in the long strands of honey, currently a bit snarled from her nap on the couch, and guide her as she took him deeper and deeper in her mouth.

  “Seriously? You’re slobbering. Get your mind outta the gutter.”

  Marc chuckled. Yeah, he’d been caught, but no way would he apologize. If Colton’s squirming next to him was any indication, his brother was of a similar affliction.

  She rolled her eyes at them both. “So let me get this straight. You two want to share me, and you’re already sharing my house, so do you share each other too?”

  “Um, that is called incest, and I can gauran-damn-tee you that is not happening.” Marc shivered at the mere thought and scooted away from Colton.

  “Incest? Wait, that would make you…cousins?” Her gaze went back and forth between them trying to figure things out.

  Colton answered her. “Brothers.”

  “You look nothing alike. And you don’t have the same last name.”

  “Half-brothers,” Marc clarified. He’d rather be doing anything with her than going over their genealogy, but this did need to be hashed out.

  Colton sat forward, put his elbows on his knees, and loosely clasped his hands together. “Our father had two mates. Women. They each had a son, well, and there are a few other siblings thrown in there too—”

  “How many?”

  “Six.”

  “There are eight of you?” Her jaw dropped open.

  Marc chuckled. “Not of us, but kids, yes. Dad was a randy guy, what can we say? He had five pups with Colton’s mom, Karen, and three with my mom, Darcy.”

  “Okay…that’s not weird.”

  Colton sighed. Marc did too, but he shrugged it off. She didn’t know shifter dynamics yet, so he couldn’t blame her for thinking them weird.

  “Anyway, as the two oldest, we took over alpha status of the pack when Dad was done with politics. That’s all it pretty much is nowadays. Keeping order in the pack, settling squabbles, helping raise and teach the pups our ways. Occasionally it means a fight or two to prove dominance or keep someone in line, but that doesn’t happen too often.” Marc settled back on the couch, crossed his right foot over his opposite knee, and waited for more questions. He didn’t have to wait long.

  Anna bit her lip. “Sooo…if your dad had two women mates…why were you both looking at me like—”

  “Like we wanted, want, to devour you?” Colton slowly got up and stalked deliberately toward her. “Our dad was one man. Alphas mate in threes. He didn’t have a brother to fill a mate third with, so two women were chosen for him.”

  Marc watched Anna swallow, her eyes widening as Colton advanced on her, but Marc gave her credit for holding her ground. “Chosen?” The one word squeaked out.

  “Uh-huh. Chosen. Good ole Mother Fate decides which person, male or female, is best suited for a shifter.” Colton circled Anna’s body, his own touching her in a slight caress. “We know when we’ve found them by their smell.” He paused and leaned in to inhale her essence.

  Marc nearly came in his pants. He didn’t have to be as close to her as Colton to know what his brother likely smelled. Fruity shampoo, her skin laced with a touch of soft perfume, the cream between her legs.

  Marc rearranged himself to ease the ache growing steadily in his balls. If they didn’t have her soon, he feared they’d scare her to death with their over-eagerness.

  Colton continued his revolution around Anna’s stiff body. “If Dad had had a brother, one woman might have been chosen for them to share. Like one has been chosen for us.” He shrugged. “Or not. He might still have been blessed with two women mates.”

  “And who’s been chosen for you?” Again her voice squeaked as if she really hadn’t wanted to ask the question but couldn’t stop herself from doing so, and her fingers curled into fists at her sides.

  Marc took the opportunity to join his brother. They stopped right in front of her, and each grabbed one of her hands and brought them to their lips.

  “That would be you.” Marc closed his eyes and kissed the knuckles of her trembling hand.

  •●•

  She was dreaming. A pleasant, horny dream with two hot guys about to fulfill her every fantasy, but a dream nonetheless. She’d f
allen off a chair, smacked her head on the floor, given herself a concussion, and now she was in a coma. Had to be the case because no way would two gorgeous wolf shifters hit on her and tell her she was their mate. As if by the simple act of saying it made it so. She’d have to be out of her ever-loving mind to believe it for more than one second.

  Anna pulled her hands free from their grasps and wiped her sweaty palms on her pants.

  “Ok, well, now that we’ve got that settled…”

  Albatross grinned and Marc took up that I’m-not-taking-no-for-an-answer pose with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “Right. So, any idea how I can get to my car?” She had to leave. Now, before she jumped them both. Then she’d be nothing less than a potty-mouthed whore of a first grade teacher. Oh God. What would the principal say if he found out about this? She turned to leave. “I’m going to lose my job.”

  “Whoa, whoa, wait a minute.”

  Before she could reach the door, Marc stepped in front of her and Albatross closed ranks behind her.

  “First of all…” Albatross nuzzled her neck from behind, somehow settling her nerves a tiny bit. “Your car is at the house, or will be by the time we get back there.”

  “And secondly,” Marc continued, “you won’t lose your job. Why on Earth would you?”

  Did he not have a brain? She shook Albatross off her neck and flicked a finger up. “Got arrested for stealing a car, doesn’t matter it was my car, still got arrested, and…” she flicked a second finger up, “…about to have sex in the police station, and—oh my God.” Eyes wide in mortification, she stomped on Marc’s toe and used his sudden incapacitation to escape.

  Those damn wolf instincts were much quicker than hers, though. Albatross slapped the door closed with a hand over her shoulder. Anna had nothing left in her. Completely embarrassed, she thumped her forehead against the wood.

  “Just can’t keep your trap shut, you little idiot.”

  Strong fingers grasped her nape and soothed her. It was as if her tension ebbed away whenever they touched her. What was up with that?

  “Not an idiot. Just not used to the rush of feelings you’re having. Trust me, we’re a little overwhelmed ourselves.” Marc tried to pull her off the door, but she resisted.

  Maybe if she pushed hard enough, she could somehow pass through it and back into the dimension she’d woken up in that morning. As opposed to the one she currently found herself trapped in. Marc unglued her fingers from the doorknob and gently rubbed along her knuckles with his thumb. Albatross brushed his palm down her spine, she guessed in an attempt to soothe her.

  Anna mustered up any ounce of courage she could before she ended up back on that couch naked beneath two wolf men.

  “I really, really need to go.”

  “So you don’t have sex in the police station?” Albatross’s words whispered against her ear, sending a chill across her skin.

  “That too.” She stood stock still, her jaw clenched as their skin and clothing rasped against her arms. Goose bumps pebbled along every inch, and her nipples threatened to tear a hole in her bra and shirt. They had seduction down to an art.

  “Come home with us.” Marc’s lips moved on her temple.

  She snorted. “I have no idea who you are. No way am I going home with you.”

  “It’s your home too.” Between Albatross at her back, Marc at her left side, the door in front of her, and the wall to her right, Anna was getting down right close to claustrophobic. Albatross’s statement only made things worse.

  She sighed and dropped her chin to her chest. “If what you say is true, then it’s not my home anymore.” Damn it, she didn’t want to do this here. Didn’t want to cry like a blubbering baby in front of two gorgeous men who’d done nothing wrong. Her bastard ex was responsible for the current situation, and as soon as she could manage, Anna vowed to find out what the hell he was trying to accomplish. Selling their house behind her back, then giving her the keys, knowing she couldn’t take possession, and then reporting her car stolen?

  “Sweetheart, the house is yours. I know you’re confused about all that’s happened today, but I promise you, neither Marc nor I have ever attacked a woman and tried to make her believe she’s our mate just to get in her pants.” Albatross threaded his fingers through hers and squeezed.

  Confusion was putting it mildly. But she sucked in a breath, lifted her gaze, untangled their fingers, and turned to face them both. “I…I think…that…well, I sorta, okay, maybe not so much, but I kinda understand where you’re coming from. Not really, that’s a lie. I have no idea where you’re coming from. I’m still in shock from learning about the house and then the car, and now you’re telling me I’m supposed to drop my clothes, make love to you both, and live with you forever—I think that’s what you’re saying anyway—but, really, how many women do you know who’d realistically do that?” She held up a hand when Marc opened his mouth to speak. “I mean human women. Not the ones in your world who know the score. And I can’t just blindly follow you home and park myself in your lives ’cuz that’s just really weird, and if I did that, it’d be like I’m one of those crazy women in a romance book that moves way too fast, and seriously? Who falls in love that fast? It’s not possible. And now I have to go and find out who my ex-schmuck husband thinks he is selling my house and then laughing behind my back after he gives me the key and says it’s yours, and then on top of that reports my car stolen when it was never his to begin with, and why he’s doing this in the first place because, what the hell? He’s the one who had an affair with Ms. Candy Apple, so what the fuck did I do to suddenly cause this problem?”

  Her tirade was cut off when Albatross thrust his lips on hers and insinuated his tongue in her mouth.

  Damned if he didn’t taste sooo good.

  Chapter Four

  She had entered the first circle of hell. Her fingers squeezed her iPhone so tight, she thought it might crumble into tiny glass shards any minute.

  “So you’re telling me there’s not a damn thing I can do?” Her heart pounded so hard she felt it against her rib cage.

  “Anna, I know you’re upset. And you have every right in the world to be. I’m going to work on this immediately. However, until we find out what happened, those men are legally living in your house. They aren’t the bad guys here. Peter is. If he underhandedly sold the house and forged your name, then we’ll take action against him and do our best to get the house back. Until then, I need you to relax and let me work.”

  “My lease is up Friday, James.”

  The sigh he blew across the phone was almost palpable. “Then you’re going to have to extend it or find something else. This isn’t going to be an easy or quick fix. I’m sorry.”

  “Me too.”

  The tears gathered before she’d even disconnected with her lawyer. She’d tried once again to get ahold of Peter, thinking, hoping, she’d maybe dialed wrong in her anger yesterday, but no, the same tones had rung in her ear. He’d changed his phone number and so nicely neglected to let her know. Not that she ever wanted to speak to him again, but dammit, they owned a house together—or did—and now she needed him and couldn’t get to him. Totally convenient on his part.

  Yesterday had been bad, what with finding out her house had been sold out from under her feet and nearly getting arrested for her unstolen car. She guessed she ought to thank her lucky stars her car had actually been at the house when Marc and Colton had driven her there. And though they’d tried their damnedest to get her to stay, she’d hoofed it to her car and peeled out. Feeling overwhelmed was an understatement.

  Today was looking to be just as awful. Talking to James had not left her feeling as though the axis of her world would right itself anytime soon. Instead she saw the chasm of the earth opening larger in preparation of swallowing her whole.

  Seeing the evidence in the mirror this morning of the bruise on her brow from her meeting with the linoleum hadn’t improved her mood. Luckily the bump had gone down, a
nd she’d been able to cover the awesome dark blue color with make-up. She now faced a day of apartment hunting while wallowing in self-pity and indignation. Regardless, she didn’t think showing up to view apartments looking like an abuse victim would help.

  Or maybe it would.

  Her shoulders drooped as she walked to the manager’s office. She’d never stoop so low as to pawn herself off as an abuse victim, no matter how dire her circumstances. She’d pull on her big girl panties, keep her head held high, and hope to shit James made all of the madness disappear.

  For now, though, she had to find a place to live.

  You do, sort of, Anna. You can choose to live in your house with two strangers who want to eat you in a sexual way.

  Damned if her clit didn’t take notice of that thought.

  Anna shook herself of the notion of her naked between them and refused to think about how it would feel to have one cock in her pussy and one in her…

  “Stop. Stop. Stop.” She bit her lip. The day was pretty. Sunshine, warm breeze, unusual for this early in spring in Missouri, right? The weather was glorious. Sunshine, warm breeze, do not think about sex, sunshine, no snow, two penises—“Damn it!”

  Sucking in a breath and steeling herself, Anna threw open the office door.

  “Can I help you?” She’d startled the poor man, the last thing she wanted to do before she begged to keep her place.

  “Yes. Um, I was scheduled to move out this weekend, but the house I was supposed to move into has temporarily fallen through. I need to get an extension on my lease.”

  He turned to his computer and punched in several keys. “You live in 2A, right?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Oooohh, I’m sorry. That place has already been leased to someone else.”

  Nausea bubbled in Anna’s belly, “Is there anything else?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Please, Mr. Cameron. I’m only asking for one month. Enough time for me to find something else.”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Belky, but I’ve already leased your place to another couple. There’s nothing I can do. There’s another apartment coming due in two months. I can move you into that one.”