by Becca Van
“Yeah and every time she moves my wolf gets a whiff of that sweet pussy cream,” Roan groaned.
“I can’t wait to get between those slender thighs. I could feast on that sweet little cunt for hours,” Chet rasped.
“She’s taking too long,” Justin interrupted. “She should have been back by now.”
“Fuck! You don’t think she’s made a run for it, do you?” Chet rose to his feet.
“No.” Justin sniffed the air. “She’s in the back corridor and she’s scared. Move!”
Justin, Roan, and Chet hurried through the tables and people until they were at the entrance to the dimly lit corridor which led to the restrooms. A rumbling growl started low in Justin’s chest, and the hair on his nape stood on end. Their mate was currently trying to push through two human males as they caged her against the wall.
Justin didn’t even realize that he’d moved until his hand wrapped around the nape of one man as he heard Samantha asking to be released.
“The lady asked you to let her go. Didn’t your momma teach you any manners?”
“Hey! Who the fuck do you think you are? Back off, man.”
Justin turned his back toward Sam so she wouldn’t see his face and let the bastard see the full force of his angry wolf. He bared his teeth and let his eyes change from their normal gray to golden fury.
“What the fuck! Uh, hey, sorry, man, I didn’t know she was with you,” the idiot whined.
“It doesn’t matter whether she is or not. You shouldn’t be treating her that way. Women are to be looked after, not accosted or abused,” Justin spat out. “Leave and don’t come back. If I catch you, or your friend, anywhere near this town again, there’ll be trouble.”
“Sure, whatever you say. We were just leaving.”
Justin watched the two men until he saw them leave the club and then turned back to face Samantha. She was currently sandwiched between Roan and Chet, her head hiding against Chet’s chest.
“Are you okay, honey? Did they hurt you?” Justin asked.
“No,” came her muffled reply, and then she lifted her head. Her cheeks were pale, her pupils were dilated, and he could see the slight tremors wracking her small frame. “They didn’t hurt me. They were just out to start trouble. Thanks for coming to my rescue.”
Justin was about to pull her out of his brothers’ arms and into his own, but she buried her face again and he heard her sniffle. Shit. She was crying. Those two fuckers had really scared her. He frowned over her reaction. He could understand her being nervous and angry, but Samantha was terrified. “What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know, bro, but she’s shaking like a leaf,” Chet replied.
“Shh, it’s okay, sweetness. They’re gone now. We won’t let anyone hurt you,” Roan said as he caressed her back.
“Do you think her husband abused her?” Chet asked.
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out,” Justin answered firmly. “Sam, come here, honey.”
She peeked up at him, and when he saw tears sparkling on her lashes and the wet trail down her cheeks, he wanted to track those two pricks and rip out their throats. Taking a deep breath to control his anger, which he knew was an overreaction to her fear, he pushed those thoughts aside.
Moving slowly, so as not to startle her, he took hold of her hand and pulled her into his side. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he led her to the doorway halfway down the hall, opened the door, and stepped into the office. Roan and Chet followed and closed the door behind them.
He walked her over to the couch, sat down, and pulled her onto his thighs. Expecting her to make a fuss and push away from him, he was surprised when she turned her head and hid her face between his pecs. God, she felt so right, on his lap and in his arms.
“I can understand you being afraid of strange men coming on to you, honey, but why were you so scared? What’s going on, Sam?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she replied, her forehead still nestled into his chest.
“Sweetness, we only want to help you. Are you in trouble, Sam?” Roan asked as he sat down beside them.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you mean by that, darlin’?” Chet inquired from his position, leaning against the desk across the room.
She didn’t answer this time, just gave a shrug of her shoulders. Justin had had enough of her trying to hide from them, so he placed an arm beneath her knees and a hand between her shoulder blades to keep her steady and shifted her around on his lap. When he had her back cradled in the crook of his arm, he took her chin between his index finger and thumb, turning her head so her eyes met his.
“Answer the questions, Sam. Are you or are you not in trouble?” he demanded to know.
“I was, but I ran.” She tried to pull her chin from his hand. Letting her go, he placed his hand around her throat, holding her lightly, caressing her soft, silky skin with his thumb. Hearing her breath hitch in her chest, he let go immediately. The last thing he wanted was to have her scared of him.
“Tell me,” Justin commanded.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Sam stated with a haughty tilt to her chin.
Justin’s wolf pushed against him, wanting to make her submit to him because of her little action of aggression and defiance. He inhaled through his nose and knew instantly that was a mistake. Her sweet scent wrapped around him, making his wolf howl inside, begging him to claim her. She smelled of oranges, peaches, and feminine arousal. He closed his eyes both to regain dominance over his inner beast and to hide his irises in case they began to glow gold. He pushed back hard against his wolf. When he felt it was once again safe, he opened his eyes to look down at her.
“All right, I’ll leave it be for now, but don’t think you can hide from us too long, honey. I will get the answers I want.”
Samantha pushed off his lap, and he reluctantly let her go. Standing before them, her head lowered, she wrung her hands together, but when she lifted her head there was fire buried in the depths of her eyes.
“I really should be going now. Thank you for the job and dinner,” she said, edging toward the door.
“I’ll drive you back, sweetheart.” Roan stood and moved toward her.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. It’s not too far to walk, and I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Do you honestly think we are going to let you walk back to the motel, alone, in the dark, after what just happened? You aren’t a bother, honey. Let Roan drive you back,” Justin stated firmly.
Expressions flittered across her face. First there was nervousness, anger, then fear, and finally relieved resignation.
“Okay, thank you again. It was nice meeting you all,” she said quietly and opened the door. She left without a backward glance, Roan following behind her.
“Do you want me to get Chris, Blayk, and James to run a check on her?” Chet asked.
Justin pondered whether his aforementioned cousins, who happened to be the heads of security of the Friess Pack, should look into Samantha’s background. Even though the thought was tempting, he really wanted to give her the chance to open up to them on her own.
“No, not yet. Let’s give her some time to get used to us first. Yes, she’s submissive to a point and running scared from something, but she also trusts us. Give her a little more time and I think she’ll trust us even more.”
“Why do you think she trusts us?”
“Because she didn’t try to leave even though she was nervous, and she didn’t try to push us away when we protected her. She snuggled into Roan as if she had known him for years, even when she was scared of those two idiots. And she didn’t protest when I pulled her onto my lap.”
“Hmm, you may be right. We’ll ease her into wanting to be around us, and then, God willing, she’ll want to mate with us when the time is right. Fuck! How do you think she’s going to react when she finds out we’re werewolves?”
“That’s the million dollar question, isn�
��t it?” Justin smiled wryly as he stared at the door she’d left through only minutes earlier.
* * * *
He watched from behind the dark windows of his car and felt anger building up inside him. He snarled aloud. The man leading her to the motel room was holding her elbow as if he had the right to be possessive.
He recalled everything her weasel of a husband had told him about her. How she loved to be tied down and helpless during sex. The way she loved to be smacked around and got off when beaten during copulation turned him on more than anyone else ever had.
Just the thought of having her was enough to arouse him. He was about to pull his dick out from the material confines of his jeans when he saw the brute with her look toward him.
He didn’t think he could be seen, but he felt uneasy when those eyes didn’t waver away from his. Deciding caution was the better part of valor, he started his car and pulled out of the parking lot. Looking back in the rearview mirror just before he was out of view, his gaze connected with the man’s once more. He was going to have to be very careful to avoid that man. He didn’t like the feeling of being prey one little bit.
Chapter Four
Roan felt his hackles rise and heard a growl of anger coming from a car hidden in the shadows of the parking lot. He turned toward the sound and, using his wolf vision, pinned the man in the vehicle with his gaze. The bastard looked to be watching Samantha, and Roan could feel the fury rolling off him in waves.
When the car started and peeled out of the parking lot, Roan knew his assumption had been correct. Whoever that man was, he had been watching his mate and had thought he was safe until Roan heard and spotted him.
His mate had someone trailing her. The desire to know she was safe and protected clawed at his insides with possessiveness. There was no way he was leaving her alone when she could be in danger.
“You need to pack a bag, sweetness. It’s not safe for you here. I want you to come back to our family home where we can protect you,” Roan stated firmly.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“The car that just left was occupied by a man, and he was watching you. I think it would be better for you to stay with us.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Besides, how the hell could you see who was in the car? The windows were tinted, and it’s as black as sin out tonight.”
“I have excellent vision, Sam. Be a good girl and pack your bags. Whoever you’re running from has found you.”
Roan saw her shiver and knew he had finally succeeded in making her think about her own safety.
“I could just move to the club?” she asked more than stated. But he could hear the fear in her voice and wanted to protect her more than anything else right now.
“Well, you could, but there is no one else currently renting the rooms upstairs. I wouldn’t feel right leaving you there by yourself. Anyone could break in and hurt you if that was their intention. We have our own suite of rooms in the house we share with our family, and you could bunk down in the spare room as long as you like.”
“I’m really not sure I should…”
“Sweetheart, I’m not sure you understand the situation. Whoever that was watching you wasn’t just out to enjoy the night air. Now, you have three choices. One, you can pack your things and come back home with us. Two, I can stay here with you, or three, I can summon Justin, and believe me, he won’t give you a choice. So, what’s it to be, Sam?”
She was nibbling on her lip and looking anywhere but at him. He could see the uncertainty in her face and the frown between her eyes. A need to reach out, to pull her into his arms and soothe that lip with his tongue before he plundered her mouth, grabbed him by the balls. Clenching his teeth and fisting his hands didn’t help one little bit.
“Are you sure you have a spare room? And who do you all live with? What if they don’t want me in your house?”
“First off, you will be welcomed by everyone. We have a large family, Sam, lots of cousins and such. Since we have all worked together to combine an entrepreneurial empire, we decided that living in the same house was the best option. Some of my cousins are into the security business. Others look after properties we’ve acquired, and others, such as ourselves, work wherever we’re needed. You’ll be able to meet all of my relatives but also the CEOs of our operation, Jonah, Mikhail, and Brock Friess, along with their wife, Michelle.”
“Their wife! What do you mean by that?” Sam asked as she finally unlocked and pushed open the door to her room.
“Just what I said, sweetheart. Their wife. Our family is a little unconventional,” Roan explained and the phrase “understatement of the century” drifted through his thoughts. “The men in our family tend to fall in love with the same woman, and if she is agreeable, she ends up in a relationship with them.”
“What?” she asked incredulously.
“Shit. Sorry, Sam I don’t mean that all the men in the family share the same woman. What I meant was that brothers seem to love the same woman. So far, my Al—ah, cousins Jonah, Mikhail, and Brock Friess are mate—married to Michelle. Greg, Jake, and Devon Domain are married to Keira, and Chris, Blayk, and James Friess are married to Talia.”
“But how is that even possible? Last I heard, polygamy was against the law!” Sam exclaimed.
“It is, sweetheart. The woman marries the eldest male but is committed to the other men in her heart,” Roan explained.
“Oh boy, when you said your family was a little unconventional, I had no idea how much.”
You still don’t, sweetheart. God, I wish I could tell you everything right now and then take you to bed and claim you. I want to see those sweet eyes glazed over with passion and to taste those sinful lips of yours. You have no idea how much I want to bury my cock into that sweet pussy and bite you so you will be by my side for the rest of your life.
Roan cleared his throat and pushed his thoughts aside. Thinking like that only seemed to rile his wolf, and that was the last thing he needed right now.
“You still haven’t told me what you’ve decided, Sam. What’s it going to be, sweetheart? Do I stay here with you or at the club, or are you going to come home with us?”
Once again Sam nibbled on her lip. Expressions flittered across her face as she tried to decide. Her face was very expressive, and he watched as first nervous apprehension skated over her features, then outright fear, and finally acquiescence. He held his breath, hardly daring to hope her decision was going to be what he wanted, but no matter what she said, he wasn’t about to leave her side.
“I’ll take you up on the offer of your spare room, but if we get there and I find you’ve lied to me, I will make you bring me back here straight away,” she declared, gazing at him coolly.
“I promise I have not lied to you once, Sam. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Okay, but I’m sure you can understand my caution. I hardly know you. We’ve only just met.”
“I know, sweetness, and if I do anything at all that you don’t like, you just come right out and tell me. Okay?” he asked. “That goes for Justin and Chet, too.”
“All right,” she answered on a sigh.
“Do you need any help packing your things?”
“No, thanks anyway, but I prefer to do it myself.” She began to do just that.
“Justin, Chet, there’s been another change of plans,” Roan said through his and his brothers’ intimate mind link. “Sam is going to come and stay in our spare room. I’ll explain later, but I don’t want her to be alone. From now on one of us will be with her at all times. I think whoever she’s running from has found her.”
“Fuck! I’m glad you were able to convince her to come home with us, where she’ll be safe. I’ll contact Jonah and let him know we are bringing our human mate home so the others will know not to let her see their wolf tendencies,” Justin replied.
“Shit, how is she going to react to the unconventionality of the relationships between our Alphas and the Betas and th
eir mates?” Chet asked with agitation.
“You don’t have to worry on that score. I’ve already told her the men of our family like to share their women.”
“How did she take that?” Justin inquired.
“Much better than I expected. Even though she may trust us, she is still wary, so make sure you don’t do anything to upset her. I don’t think it would take much to send her running,” Roan cautioned.
“Okay, I’ll try to curb my dominant tendencies, but you and I both know it won’t be long before we try to get her into our beds,” Justin said firmly.
“Yeah, I know. Just try and give her a few days to get to know us. Okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll try, but I’m not promising. She wants us just as much as we want her. If she makes the first move, I’m not holding back.”
Sam finished packing, and they walked back out to the parking lot and to her car. Roan was appalled at the condition of Sam’s rusted bomb of a car but didn’t feel it was right for him to comment just yet. He made sure to get a good look at the tires. Seeing they had plenty of tread, he sighed over the fact she had at least one thing safe on her car, but there was no way he could tell the condition of the brakes, and he wasn’t about to let her drive that piece of junk without checking.
“Let’s go and pick up Chet. He wanted to drive back with me, then we can come and get your car, sweetheart,” he suggested in a light tone, not wanting her to know he had an ulterior motive.
“That’s not necessary. I’ll follow you to the club. You’ll save on gas that way.”
Her last statement and the condition of her car made him realize she was broke.
Oh, honey, you are in financial trouble as well, aren’t you! Taking a deep breath, he knew he was going to have to relent. Thank goodness it was less than a mile to the club. He didn’t want to have to explain his protectiveness toward her by clarifying he didn’t want her driving that piece of shit.
“Okay, but when we get Chet, I want you to let him drive your car. These roads aren’t familiar to you, and I don’t want you getting lost. Are you ready, Sam?”
