Sugar, Spice, and Shifters: A Touch of Holiday Magic

by Élianne Adams

  “You'd be better off focusing your anger at Sutton on Sutton instead of turning it inward.” A brief pause. “You have a lot to discuss. I'll see you at breakfast instead of dinner.”

  A couple of seconds later she heard the door click behind Liza. Remembering the beer in her hand, she took a long pull and struggled to order her thoughts. There was way too much to process all at once and no one spoke until she'd finished her drink and threw it away.

  THREE

  Kade was worried. Finley was too quiet, had drawn into herself.

  “What happened in Waterford, baby? Why haven’t you joined Freegate? They're your people and you wouldn’t have to suppress your strength with them. They already know you.”

  She stared at him so long he was afraid she'd refuse to answer. Finally gave an exasperated sigh. “You heard about the rogue attacks?”

  He nodded. Everyone had. They were hardly a secret.

  “When our old alpha and beta refused to step down, Sutton wanted to challenge them. I wouldn’t back him up, so he and most of our strongest soldiers broke away. Everything fell apart after that.”

  She didn’t elaborate but she didn’t really need to. He scented her anger and frustration. And self-recrimination though it was buried pretty deep. He wasn’t sure if she was even aware of it.

  “Who are you more angry at? Yourself or him?”

  He expected her to turn on him, most dominate wolves would for forcing them to face a difficult truth. It was a sign of her suitability for a paladin position that she didn’t. She'd make an excellent beta, too, but paladins needed finesse. Needed the ability to be brutally honest with themselves and the savvy to know what should be shared and with whom.

  “If I had supported him, less people might have died. So yeah, maybe I am angry at myself too. And I'm angry at him for abandoning us. For not working with me to find another way.”

  “Can you let it go now?” Dane asked. “We'll find someplace else if you can't. Hell, can't you two start your own pack?”

  Kade shook his head. They'd discussed it before. The problem was territory. Freegate was their best option. It was close to Dane's center of power. Also, it would be difficult enough for Kade to leave his pack and family behind. There was no reason Finley should have to do the same, but he was still surprised when she didn’t refuse outright. He hadn’t expected her to consider, another indication of how good a paladin she'd be.

  “It wouldn’t be healthy for the pack for such a big rift to exist between the alpha and paladin,” she said after a few minutes, shaking her head. Her voice turned wry. “And of course, there's my pride to consider.”

  “Difficult to return after refusing so long. On the other hand, Sutton did come to you,” he pointed out.

  “Yeah. To try to blackmail me.”

  She snorted. A teasing hint of amusement entered her scent. He edged closer without meaning to, breathing her in. He wanted to strip her and taste every inch of body, bite a little while he was at it. Chimes interrupted his fantasy, and he considered taking away the phone she pulled from her back pocket. She scowled at the screen and he looked over to see Sutton's name. She swiped her finger over it to answer on the third ring.

  “Speaker,” he growled.

  She arched an eyebrow but did as he asked.

  “What do you want, Sutton?” she asked.

  “Finally,” he said. “You got my note. You know what I want.”

  She laughed. “You do not want to marry me. I've watched you with your women for years, remember? I'd drive you crazy.”

  “You don’t have a submissive bone in your body, true.”

  He sounded as amused as she did, and Kade didn’t hear anything in his tone that suggested the alpha felt anything but friendship toward her, but he wanted it made fucking clear Sutton wouldnever have her as anything but a friend and paladin.

  “Finley filled us in on the arrangement your parents made,” he said, not bothering to temper his possessive fury. “She hasn’t reached the deadline yet.”

  There was a short pause.

  “She has less than a week,” he countered lightly. Confidently, as if he knew things he shouldn’t. He sighed. “Finley, darlin', is Dane there too?”

  “I'm here.”

  “Did you honestly think I didn’t know she was your mate? In every way but blood that's my sister. You broke her heart when you never came back. I'm giving you the chance to fix it. Both of you. Yeah, Kade I know about you too. I saw the way you looked at her.”

  Damn. He'd thought he'd hid it when he met her. She'd been too young, and hell, they'd had time. Had she known? He hadn’t seen any indication she had.

  “You fucking asshole, Sutton,” she snapped. “What the hell are you doing?”

  He made a sound that was a cross between a growl and a laugh. “Looking out for one of my pack members. I am your alpha, remember?”

  While she stared at the phone with a mix of shock and outrage Sutton went on the add, “I'll change the dinner reservations for four. Seven o'clock. Don’t be late.”

  He hung up before any of them could respond. After dropping the phone on the counter separating the kitchen and living room, Finley threw up her hands.

  “Well, he's as bossy as ever.”

  No. surprise. He was an alpha werewolf. Kade would only follow his orders if he agreed to be his beta, though, and that hadn’t been decided yet.

  “So, baby, what do you think? Shall we give you a new pack for Christmas?”

  She held his gaze, confusion and something that might have been hope gleaming in her eyes. Then she turned that gaze on Dane.

  “What Sutton said…You know he maneuvered you here,” she said softly, glancing Kade's way to include him in her statement. “Mating is permanent. It can't be undone.”

  “You think I'd turn away from such a gift?” Dane asked. “That either of us would?”

  She looked away. Kade didn’t like the hurt that scented the air.

  “Finley, we're with you because we want to be. Nothing is going to change that,” he said. “Sutton may want you and I in his pack, but if you don’t want to go we won't.”

  “We can't stay here.”

  “No.”

  “And Liza is right, there aren’t any other packs that need two top ranking members. I'd have the same problem in any other pack that I have here.”

  Frustration edged her voice, but he got the impression she'd already accepted the pack predicament. She knew their best option was Freegate. So what was bothering her? Chuckling, Dane shook his head. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the couch. Kade joined them, sitting on her other side.

  “I was waiting for you to come to me. Can you forgive me for that?” Dane asked. “It took everything I had to not bind you to me when I had the chance, but I needed, wanted, you to make the choice on your own.”

  Her eyes widened while he spoke, then a line formed between her brows as she frowned. He was tempted to smooth it away. “Lupines can bind their mates. I didn’t know mages could,” she said.

  “Not all of us can. I'm known for my visions, but I'm also a telekenetic, and strong enough to create a psychic bond. It's similar to a lupine bond.”

  “Did you think I couldn’t handle it or something?”

  — — —

  Dane wished he could go back in time and slap his younger self. He hadn’t realized he'd caused her so much pain, desperately wanted to make it up to her.

  “I asked you to come with me,” he reminded her gently. “When you said no I thought you weren’t ready. I believed once you had time to think about it you'd contact me. I underestimated your stubbornness.”

  She huffed. “I might be regretting that particular trait,” she muttered, and he had to smile.

  “Good. Now will you please greet me the way you would have two years ago?”

  He tried to keep the order out of his voice and eyes, but he knew by the flash in hers he wasn’t successful. The feel of her mind changed. There was no more pain o
r frustration. She responded as he dreamed of, with arousal and heat and the love she'd been trying so hard to hide. He glanced at Kade, who'd sucked in a harsh breath, and assumed he scented the change. Dane let his senses expand to include Kade, felt him struggle with envy. Their gazes met and he hoped he communicated his understanding. Kade wanted her to feel the same way about him as she did about Dane, but they didn’t have that shared history yet. Didn’t really know each other yet. They'd get there. Dane had no doubts about it. Kade nodded. Understood what he wanted to communicate, and while he couldn't scent love for him from Finley knew he had it from Dane.

  Dane didn’t fight his rising possessiveness. They were his, both of them, and he hoped they could handle him unrestrained. He didn’t think Kade understood just how much he'd been holding back, but he saw the knowledge in him now, felt his disappointment but it quickly changed to chagrin. Yeah, he'd been holding back too. Perhaps they'd been waiting for Finley. When he looked back at her, it was to find her watching Kade. Lifting her hand, she stroked her fingertips down the side of his face.

  “You knew all these years?”

  “You didn’t?”

  She cocked her head to one side. “I…thought there was some kind of connection, but after I met Dane I figured I was mistaken. Why didn’t you ever come back? I grew up, you know.”

  He grinned. “I see that.”

  “So?”

  “I'm six years older than you but it was pretty fucking clear you would rise to the top of the leadership of your pack. I would have come back for you then.”

  “When you were sure I was strong enough to take on a beta. Sweet, but I could have done that years ago, you know.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Definitely.”

  Dane found the verbal sparring amusing but he was done with talking. He wanted to get his hands on her. Wanted to give into the urge to bind them together. Her head whipped around to face him.

  “Not yet. Not tonight. Too many things are changing at once. I need a minute to adjust.”

  He didn’t like to be denied. No one had told him no in years. He put the fear of God into wizards and witches and not a few lupines. He didn’t ever want to see it in her though, so he pushed the part of himself that wanted to do it anyway aside.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “Oh, there's going to be a cost, sweetheart,” he promised.

  “What?”

  It wasn't refusal or fear or suspicion in her tone. Nothing but anticipation. Desire. He leaned down and kissed the side of her throat, spoke softly but he knew Kade would still hear. “Pleasure, Finley. So much you never deny me again. So much you won't imagine a night without me at your side again. So much.” He paused to nip at her sensitive skin. “You beg me for that bond.”

  He saw the pulse point on her throat begin to race and stroked a finger over it.

  “You might be a touch evil, Dane.”

  She gasped and he looked over to see Kade sliding her sweater up. He shook his head. “Not in here. We need space for what I have in mind.”

  “I have a king sized bed.” He stood, pulling Finley to her feet. “Come on, baby. We're relocating.”

  In no time they were in Kade's dimly lit bedroom. The sun had gone down while he'd been focused on Finley. He locked the door and considered turning on the lights, but none of them needed illumination. Finley and Kade saw fine in the dark, and every inch of her body was burned into his memories. It didn’t take long to get everyone naked and to stretch Finley out on the bed between them. His eyes were already adjusting and he took his time looking her over. Damn, she was beautiful. She had sleek muscles and gentle curves. She was much shorter than him, 5'4 to his 6'1, and he'd always wondered how she contained so much strength in such a small frame.

  “Dane?” She didn’t continue until he met her gaze. “Didn’t you promise to addict me to you? You're just staring.”

  He laughed softly at the complaint. Tilting her chin with two fingers, he lowered his mouth to hers. Spoke against them. “Outside of our bedroom, wherever that happens to be, you're that strong, beautiful lupine I fell in love with. But here, you're mine and you know I won't be rushed. We aren’t going to struggle for power here. You're going to submit to me and I'm going to make it worth every second for you. Remember?”

  She trembled, but she didn’t try to move away. She smiled. Teased him. “I don’t remember the rules being quiet so stringent.”

  This time he trembled, fighting against the urge to crush her to him, to fuck her until she gave him everything. “Two years, Finley. That's a lot of built up need.”

  She cupped his face. “Then kiss me. Please.”

  “If you won't move. I would be happy to,” Kade interjected. He reached over, gripped the back of Dane's head. He turned enough to meet his lover's gaze.

  “There's way too much talking here,” Kade said. “All I want to hear for the next couple of hours is her screams as we make her come.”

  Lust rushed through Finley's mind and he saw Kade's nostrils flared as her scent changed. He was right. No more delaying, no time to ease her into what was coming. He saw it wasn’t necessary when he focused on her again. She was with him all the way, if a little impatient. He gave into the need pulsing through him and kissed her. Her lips parted for him, her tongue meeting his eagerly. He wrapped his hand around her nape and shifted to cover her body. He wanted,had, to feel her pressed against. It was the only way to convince himself she was really back with him. She groaned as he deepened the kiss. It took a moment to realize it was because Kade had stroked his hand down her side, then back up to brush the side of her breast with his knuckles. Dane shifted to his side, pulling Finley with him so Kade could press against her back. He gave the wolf enough room to slip a hand between them so he could pluck at her nipple. When he pinched she whimpered and thrust against him.

  “So hot,” Kade murmured. “Perfect.”

  Dane broke the kiss long enough to agree and go one step further. “Yes. And ours.”

  FOUR

  Yes, she thought, burying the fear. She was theirs but she couldn’t let herself be taken over. Not completely. She had to keep something for herself. They were both such alpha males, eventually they'd try to take over. Maybe not on purpose but those instincts were ingrained deep and hard to fight. But she'd never imagined being with both of them like this before today, and it was the season of hope and miracles, wasn’t it? She made a conscious decision to let go of fear and worry and just feel. And damn, did they feel good. Dane's kiss was deep and intense, demanding and marauding. The hands molding her breasts and teasing her nipples were just as claiming and a little rougher. Then Dane kissed his way down her throat to her chest and they let her roll gently to her back. Dane's tongue stroked over a hard nipple as Kade closed his teeth around the other and tugged. Bowing her back and crying out, she thrust her hands into their hair. She wasn’t sure if she wanted more or less, wanted them closer or to yank them away.

  Before she could decide, Dane broke away and continued his slow teasing trek down her body. She felt heat in the fingertips that caressed her skin. She knew he could start fires with the internal flame of his, but for her he used it to increase her pleasure. She swore she could feel it licking in her blood, building an inferno that would consume her. Didn’t sound like a bad way to go either. He spread her thighs and settled between them while Kade gripped her chin and kissed the hell out of her. He was wild and out of control, nothing calculated, nothing seductive. He wanted to claim her mouth so he did. And while he did, fingers spread her labia and a tongue flicked over her clit, trailed down to her opening to thrust inside before returning to suck on the hard nub. One hard tug sent her flying in ecstasy. Her whole body spasmed, the kiss forgotten as Kade gently stroked her sides, her breasts.

  “Is it me or is this way better than before?” she panted when she could speak again.

  In response, Dane licked her again and again, forcing her body back to that tight point on the ed
ge of oblivion and holding her there. He didn’t let her fall over until she begged. This time it took her longer to recover and find them both watching her.

  “My turn,” Kade said. A whimper escaped her lips. “Baby? You okay?”

  She looked down her body and read the uncertainty his eyes. She bit her bottom lip. She didn’t know how much more she could take, but she also didn’t want to hurt him. Wanted to know what he felt like against her. How his orgasms would differ from Dane's.

  “I'm okay,” she whispered. He smiled, like he knew she was unsure of her limits.

  “I need to taste you, Finely. Then I need to fuck you.” He slid his hands up her inner thighs. Blew a hot breath over her sex. “Shall we do fast and hard or slow and gentle? How about both?”

  Oh god. She'd thought she could handle them both but she'd been wrong. So, so wrong. His tongue was rougher than Dane's, not surprising since he was a wolf. His grip on her thighs, holding them spread wide, harder. The teeth that closed over her clit were sharper as he worried it. And the orgasm that ripped through her destroyed any barrier she'd thought she could keep around her soul. How many years had she been missing this rapture? Why had she let stubborn pride stand in the way off it? She should have sought them bought out long ago. She didn’t have time to pursue that idea before Kade crawled up her body, fit the head of his cock against her pussy, and thrust out. She cried out at the invasion, the perfection of it, and wondered what it would be like to have them both moving inside her at the same time. He rolled them over so he was on bottom and she rose as Dane moved behind her, snaking his arms around her to cup her breasts. Kade sat up and took one of the offerings into his mouth, while keeping his hands on her hips and guiding her in a slow grind that was eroding even the semblance of control from her mind. She was lost, and she liked it. She let her head fall back against Dane's chest, turned eagerly to accept his kiss. Slow and deep, his signature move. They were both intense but in totally different ways. The dichotomy was fascinating. She started to see the benefits of having two mates where before she'd been wondering how to handle it. It was…Freeing. When Dane slid a hand between her and Kade and pinched her clit, she let herself fall.