by Becca Van
“Where are Ed and Palmer?”
“They’ll be here soon, baby. Lucien wanted to discuss something with them.” Barrett walked up onto the porch and sat down in the chair before turning to look at her. “You don’t mind that I’m here alone, do you?”
Prim scrutinized his face when she thought she heard a vulnerability in his tone, and when she met his gaze, she could see he was waiting tensely for her reply. She reached out and was pleased when he met her halfway and took her hand in his. “No. Why would I? I like all three of you. It’s nice getting to spend some one-on-one time with you.”
She smiled when the tension eased from his muscles.
“Do you like to play games, baby?”
“What sort of games?”
“Card games, board games, things like that.”
“I love Scrabble and Boggle. I don’t mind the occasional card game, but I’m not very good at them.”
“Have you ever played poker?”
“Yes, but again, not very often and I don’t know all the rules.”
“What do you do in your spare time?” Barrett asked.
“I love to read and garden.”
“Do you go out much?”
“No. Mel and I got together occasionally, but not very often. I guess I’m more of a homebody than a socialite.”
“I think you’d like Sugar Creek Inn. It’s only twenty minutes from here. Our pack members like to go there for the occasional drink and game of pool. That’s where Melissa met her mates. In fact, from what I’ve heard Luke knocked Melissa over and she ended up with a concussion. Luke and Damian brought her back here to take care of her.”
“That’s terrible and funny.” Prim snickered. She could just imagine feisty Melissa giving Luke and Damian a piece of her mind for hurting her, but in the same breath, she would probably have told them not to worry about injuring her since it obviously hadn’t been intentional.
“Can we go there one day?”
“Sugar Creek Inn?” Barrett asked.
“Yeah. I’d love to play a game of pool with you.”
Barrett smiled, lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “I’d like that, baby. We could all go and have a night out. We can all take turns playing pool with you and we can dance after eating dinner.”
“Sounds good.” Primrose loved the playful side of Barrett. She could see that he was more mischievous than Ed and Palmer. She liked their different personalities and looked forward to spending more time with them all.
“Palmer and Ed are here, baby.”
Prim looked up and gasped with awe as she watched them walk. All of them moved like poetry in motion and for such big, brawny men, they walked with a fluidity that surprised her, but she decided it was probably because of their inner animals.
Barrett rose to his feet and moved over to the edge of the porch, and it looked like he was scanning the trees. She wanted to see what he was looking at, or for, but she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of them, to look beyond them. Barrett turned back and smiled at her before nodding at his brothers.
Palmer was the first to reach the steps, and when he was on the porch, he poured himself and his brothers a cup of coffee before sitting in the seat beside her. Ed and Barrett grabbed their mugs of coffee and leaned back on the porch rail. She started when Palmer’s hand landed on her bare knee and drew in a deep breath before turning to face him.
“We’re pleased you weren’t scared of us in wolf form, sugar. The last thing we want to do is frighten you.”
“Are you kidding me? That was freaking awesome, seeing and touching all three of you. What’s it like?”
“What’s what like, honey?” Ed asked.
“Being in your…wolf skin.”
“It’s amazing, baby. Everything is just so much…more,” Barrett answered. “Our sight is better, we can smell damn near everything, and moving around on four paws is freeing.”
“I haven’t seen all of you change, just Barrett, but it looked and sounded painful. Does it hurt?”
“Not really,” Palmer answered.
“What do you mean?” Prim asked.
“The first few changes cause our bones and muscles to ache as our bodies reshape, but it’s not painful enough to cause us to moan or anything.” Palmer squeezed her knee, and then his fingers started stroking her skin.
Primrose sucked in a breath and shifted in her seat when her pussy contracted and more moisture dripped out. Palmer leaned in and licked against the side of her neck before inhaling deeply. “I can smell your desire, sugar. You smell so damn sweet, so good.”
Prim’s face heated and she knew she was probably blushing. She was a little embarrassed that they could smell her arousal.
“Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed of what you’re feeling, Prim,” Barrett said. “It’s a natural reaction for a wolf’s mate.”
Prim decided a subject change was imperative before her face became any hotter or redder. “What do the three of you do?”
“We do whatever’s necessary, honey,” Ed began to explain. “Our pack all have shares in all the businesses we own. We all get an income from the profits of those businesses. The pack owns a lot of establishments in this area, and in some other parts of the state, too. We spend a lot of time with Damian and Luke, as well as Chase and Tony, and Gabriel and Raphael, dealing with pack security. We have to make sure that no unsuspecting humans find their way onto pack land, and we also make sure that the women and children are safe at all times.”
“So you’re like bodyguards?”
“In a way,” Palmer replied. “But we also help out in all the businesses when we’re needed.”
Prim nodded and bit her lip as she digested that information. She couldn’t see them having any trouble protecting anyone, since they were all so big and muscular.
“When is the school being built going to be finished?” she asked.
“It should only be a few weeks now. The moment Melissa became mate to Damian and Luke, construction was started,” Ed said.
“Can I see it?”
“Of course you can, baby,” Barrett said as he gathered up all the now-empty cups, placed them on the tray, and took them back inside.
“Why don’t you go and get your shoes on, sugar, and we’ll show you around?” Palmer suggested.
Prim nodded and was about to push to her feet, but Ed stepped forward and held his hand out to her. She smiled at him as she clasped his hand and he pulled her up, and she hurried inside. She met Barrett in the living room as he came out of the kitchen and the heat in his eyes singed her skin. He didn’t stop walking until he was right in front of her, and then he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lightly on the lips.
“Get your shoes on, baby,” he said, dropping his hands and stepping back before heading outside.
Prim wondered how he heard her talking with his brothers, since he had been inside while they were outside, but she guessed it was because of their wolves and enhanced senses. She hurried toward her bedroom, grabbed some socks, and put them and then her sneakers on. When she got outside, it was to find them all watching for her. Ed smiled, holding his hand out toward her, so she smiled back and took it in hers. He guided her down the steps and then Palmer moved to her other side and clasped her other hand in his.
“You’re looking a lot more relaxed than yesterday, honey.” Ed squeezed her hand. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, I did actually.”
“You sound surprised by that, baby,” Barrett said. “Why?”
“Um…I’ve just had trouble sleeping lately,” she answered cautiously.
“I’m glad you feel you can let your guard down here, sugar. No one here would ever hurt you.” Palmer lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it.
They walked past a large ranch-style house and toward the back of it. “Who lives in that house?” Prim asked.
“That house belongs to our Alpha, Luc, his Beta brothers Gabe and Rafe, and our queen T
essa,” Ed replied.
“How many houses are on this property?”
“Thirty-five, at last count,” Barrett said.
“Are they all occupied?”
“No, honey,” Ed said. “There a few empty ones.”
It took them a good fifteen minutes to walk to the building site, and Primrose wondered how big their land was, but she didn’t ask. She could see men working on the building with their shirts off and their sweat-coated skin gleamed in the sunshine, and although she liked watching such muscular, handsome men at work, they did nothing for her libido. It was only the three men at her sides that had her body lighting up with desire.
“How many rooms does the building have?” Prim asked, once she could speak without sounding breathless with lust.
“Ten,” Palmer answered. “There’s a small kitchen and office for administration and the other eight are for classrooms.”
“Wow, will that many be needed? Is the school only going to be open to kids here or other children from the surrounding area?”
“Only pack kids,” Barrett said. “Do you think you’d like teaching here?”
Prim felt Palmer tense up and when she looked up at him, she saw that he was glaring at his brother, and she wondered what was going on. Barrett moved in front of Palmer and scowled back, and then Edison shifted between them and shoved Barrett in the chest.
“What is going on? Why are you all so angry?” Prim dropped Palmer and Ed’s hands and moved away from them. She watched them nervously as they glared at each other, but when they turned to face her, their eyes softened and the anger in their eyes dissipated.
“Barrett’s getting a little impatient, sugar. I just told him to back off,” Palmer explained.
“You were talking to each other inside your heads?”
“Yes,” Edison said. “Arguing, more like.”
“I don’t want to come between the three of you. If this is what’s going to happen and you are at each other’s throats because of me, maybe we should just call it quits before we even start.”
“No!” all three men stated emphatically at the same time.
“That was my fault, baby,” Barrett said. “I’m sorry for making you nervous. I guess I want you to stay so much and couldn’t help but ask if you would want to work here.” He spun away. “Forget I ever said anything.”
Prim hurried to catch up to him and grabbed hold of his wrist. He stopped and turned to face her. “Don’t be sorry.” She looked over her shoulder and glared at Palmer and Ed before meeting his gaze again. “I don’t mind you asking me questions. In fact, I’d rather all three of you were upfront. I just don’t want you to get into fights over me.”
Palmer moved in behind her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her back to his front. She shivered as the heat from his body sank into hers and she found herself relaxing back against him.
“We won’t ever fight over you, sugar, but we will have some heated discussions. We always have and always will, but that doesn’t mean you’re the cause of it, so get that out of your head right now.”
Ed moved up to her side and stroked a finger down her cheek. “So are you going to answer Barrett’s question, honey? Can you see yourself working here and teaching all the kids?”
“Actually, I can,” Primrose said quietly. “I love this place. It’s so quiet and peaceful. I would love to live here.”
* * * *
Barratt felt the tension leave his muscles at Prim’s answer. As soon as he’d asked that question about her teaching in the pack school, he felt bad, and Palmer had snapped at him angrily, and rightly so. But now that she seemed to have accepted his straightforwardness, he was relieved. He wasn’t usually the impatient one of the three of them. Usually it was Palmer and Ed who were querulous, but he’d been champing at the bit since yesterday to know whether their mate was going to be with them.
It was really hard to keep in control when his wolf was pushing at him to claim her and didn’t understand why he hadn’t done just that. But he and his brothers needed to give Primrose time to come to terms with everything before she could make her decision. He just wished she’d hurry the hell up, because his cock was so damn hard it was aching. Every time he was near her and inhaled, he got a whiff of that sweet cream between her legs and saliva pooled in his mouth as if he could already taste her on his tongue. What he wouldn’t give to eat out her pussy and make her come before sinking his dick into her tight, wet heat.
“That’s good to know, sugar,” Palmer said, bringing Barrett from his fantasy.
“How about we go and meet some of the others?” Ed suggested. “I think the women are having their usual morning get together over coffee right about now, and we want to introduce you to our queen, Alpha, and Betas.”
“Okay,” Prim said.
Palmer released her waist and took her hand in his. Barrett quickly moved to her other side and clasped her other hand. He looked over to see Ed smiling at him.
“She’s so fucking sexy, isn’t she?” Ed asked.
“Gorgeous,” Barrett said.
“I hope she agrees to mate with us soon,” Palmer said. “It’s getting harder and harder to keep control of my wolf.”
“I hear you.” Barrett sighed. “My cock is going to have permanent zipper marks.”
“Yeah. So is mine.” Ed groaned. “I’ve been leaking pre-cum since yesterday and I’ve never done that for any other woman.”
“She’s special. I love her so damn much. I want her to stay here with us forever,” Barrett said.
“We all do, Barrett, but we can’t push her. We need to give her time to get used to all this.” Palmer looked at him over Prim’s head.
Barrett nodded as they walked up the steps to their Alpha’s house and hoped like hell his wolf wouldn’t get control and do something unequivocally stupid, like claiming their mate without her permission.
Maybe he was going to have to release his wolf morning, noon, and night so it could expend some of the pent-up energy running through his system, but Barrett wasn’t sure that would help one damn bit. He’d jacked off in the shower last night as well as this morning, and the release had only taken the edge off, but he didn’t think any amount of wanking would appease him or his wolf. Not until he had made love to and claimed his mate.
* * * *
Prim was glad to see Melissa and her sister Sara in the large dining room as the three men led her across to them. She began to feel a little conspicuous when everyone turned to look at them. The men lifted their heads and sniffed the air, and she couldn’t help but giggle nervously when she realized they were probably all smelling her. And then her face heated with embarrassment and she hoped they couldn’t smell her desire for Palmer, Ed and Barrett. But since there was nothing she could do about it, she tried to push those thoughts from her mind.
“Primrose.” Mel called her name and waved her over to the big table. “Come and meet everyone.”
Prim glanced over her shoulder at the men and Palmer smiled and nodded to her before giving her a gentle push.
“Primrose Costa, this is our queen, Tessa, and of course you already know Sara. Over in the kitchen is Tessa’s housekeeper, Alice.”
“Hi, Tessa, nice to meet you.” Prim nodded and smiled at Sara before turning to look at Alice. “Hello, Alice.”
“Hi, dear. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll bring some more coffee over?”
“Thank you.” Prim pulled a chair out and sat down next to Mel and baby Carmen. “What’s your baby’s name?” she asked Tessa.
“Jake,” Tessa answered.
“How old is he?” Prim smiled at Alice and thanked her when she brought over a mug of coffee.
“Two months.”
“He’s so cute.”
“Do you want to hold him?”
“I’d love to.” Prim took baby Jake from Tessa, supporting his head and little body, and then cuddled him to her chest. “He’s so cute, and I love how he smells. Babies always smell so fres
h and clean.”
Tessa chuckled. “You wouldn’t have said that earlier. He was such a mess, he needed another bath. I can’t believe how messy and stinky someone so little can get.”
“But it’s all worth it,” Prim said.
“Oh yeah,” Tessa sighed and looked so lovingly at her baby it brought tears to Prim’s eyes.
She’d always dreamed of having a wonderful, loving husband and several babies, and she could see that her dreams were in reach. All it would take would be to accept the three men at the other end of the table.
“You haven’t met my mates…husbands yet, have you?” Tessa asked.
“It’s okay, I know, and no, I haven’t.”
“Oh, thank God. I’d thought I’d put my foot in it for a minute there.”
“Melissa would have given it away by introducing you as their queen.”
“Damn, I didn’t even think about it,” Melissa said, and glanced toward the end of the table.
“Lucien, Raphael, Gabriel, this is Primrose Costa, mate to the Vargas men,” Tessa announced.
Lucien rose to his feet and then all the other men followed suit. Prim stared at him and his brothers, feeling rather intimidated by the aura of power that surrounded him, and even though they were as tall as her men, they seemed way more authoritative and dominant and she found herself bowing her head to them as she said, “Hi.”
“Primrose,” Lucien began. “We are so happy to have you here.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ve already met Damian and Luke, but you haven’t met Sara’s mates. Sara, introduce your men,” Melissa ordered.
“That’s Chase and Tony.” Sara pointed out each of her mates.
“Hi,” Prim said.
“Hi Primrose, pleased to meet you,” they both said at the same time.
Prim was glad when all the men sat down, and after her men gave her a smile, they went back to their conversation. They weren’t talking very loudly and she couldn’t hear a word they were saying. She gave a mental shrug and kissed the top of Jake’s head.
