by Marla Monroe
“Holy hell! You’re killing me, babe. So freaking hot,” he ground out.
“Fuck me, Shayne. Stop playing around and fuck me,” she said in a loud, harsh whisper.
His cock finally made it all the way inside of her and he rested his forehead against hers for a second to catch his breath and clam the beast inside of him. Yep. This was going to be a quickie. Even if they weren’t pressing their luck with the others, Shayne had no control left to draw it out any longer. She did that to him, took all of his control.
Pulling out as her flesh sucked at him, he thrust back in and nearly howled like a wolf at the pleasure that heated his blood. Her loud groan told him she enjoyed it as much as he did. With that, Shayne loosened some of the hold he had on his needs and hammered into her over and over. Each thrust sending white hot sensations straight to his balls. He could feel them boiling, tightening in readiness to erupt. Every nerve ending in his body strained toward that end.
The sudden tightening of his mate’s cunt around his dick let him know that she was on the verge of coming, too. He released one hip and slipped his hand between their bodies to locate her clit with his thumb. Stroking it lightly, Shayne fought his climax with everything he had. He wanted her to come before him. She would come before him.
Serenity cried out as the orgasm took her. She buried her face against his chest and shook all over even as she sank her teeth into his flesh. The sharp pain burst through his veins and set off his climax in a hard, earth shattering explosion that had his legs shaking and his ass cheeks clenching to the point of cramping. He roared, or more accurately, his bear roared having taken control for a brief instant.
When the roaring in his ears finally lessened and he could hear around his own heavy panting, Serenity’s purrs undid him. She nuzzled his chest, licking at the wound she’d caused and purred in pleasure. All was right in his world. He’d made his mate purr.
The heavy sound of running booted feet interrupted his satisfied lethargy.
“What in the hell have you done?”
Chapter Twelve
Serenity lifted her head from Shayne’s chest to see Creed standing in the kitchen doorway, glowering at them, his eyes rich brown but rimmed by gold, meaning his bear was close to the surface. She didn’t like the anger boiling just beneath the surface. What was wrong?
“Creed?” she said.
“Did you mate her?” Creed growled, his teeth lengthening as he spoke.
Shayne slowly backed away from her, pulling his cock from her body. He tucked himself back in and zipped up before turning all the way around. Evidently the sight of blood on her mouth and Shayne’s chest bearing her teeth marks enraged the other bear. He threw back his head and roared in what sounded like anguish to Serenity.
“Easy, Creed. Calm down. I didn’t mark her.” Shayne stood in front of Serenity as if to protect her.
Unease crept into her veins at the possibility that Creed might lose control. The sight of his anger directed at his brother worried her. She’d done this. By playing around and seducing Shayne, she’d inadvertently caused a rift between the two brothers. She had to fix this somehow.
“She has your blood in her mouth. You bear her mark,” he said in a low growl.
“I didn’t mark her, Creed. I wouldn’t do that. She belongs to both of us,” Shayne said in a calm voice.
Serenity stared around desperate for something to wipe the blood from her mouth. She spotted a potholder by the stove and leaned over to grab it. She quickly wiped her mouth and face clean of the evidence of her misdeed then hopped down from the counter, very award that she was nude from the waist down with a combination of her juices and Shayne’s seed sliding between her legs. This was so uncomfortable.
I have to stop them from fighting. This is all my fault. I never meant to mark him.
The two bears were growling and chuffing at each other like the wild animals they were. She pushed away from the cabinets at her back and stepped between the two males.
“Creed. Stop it. He didn’t mate mark me. Don’t do this. He’s your brother. It’s my fault. I lost control and marked him, but you’re my mate, too.” She pleaded with her eyes as she slowly moved closer to him.
In his present state, Serenity wasn’t sure he was in control of his bear or not. She also didn’t know if he would want to punish her for claim his brother without him present. This was so screwed up. What had gotten in to her?
“Please, Creed. Don’t fight.” She took another step closer and stopped when Shayne growled at her.
“Get back, Serenity. He’s too angry to think rationally. If he hurt you by accident it would kill him,” he said.
Creed roared loud enough the windows shook. “I’d never hurt a female, especially not my mate!”
“Calm down, Creed. Let’s go sit down while Shayne finishes the sandwiches. I’m really hungry,” she said, babbling in an attempt to calm the big male down.
She took another step closer and before she realized what he was going to do, Creed reached out, grabbing her by the wrist and jerked her into his arms. Despite the jarring to her shoulder, he was careful to not hold her too tightly as he enfolded her in his arms.
“Mine!” he snarled.
“She’s ours, Creed. You know that. Calm down.” Shayne looked worried but he didn’t advance toward them. “She belongs to both of us and we’re going to claim her together, just like is natural.”
Now that she could see more of the room, it dawned on her that almost all of the others of the sleuth were crowded around the kitchen watching with wary eyes. No doubt they didn’t understand why they were fighting.
“Creed. It’s okay. Let’s go take a nap together. Everything will be better once you calm down,” she said, trying again to get him to back away from his brother.
She could feel him slowing his breathing. After a few seconds he felt a little less tense. She was afraid to breathe a sigh of relief until he said something. She watched the others around them. They all seemed to be relaxing some as well. They could see his expression and would know better than she how he was doing.
“Creed?”
“I’m okay, but we need to talk,” Creed said in a more normal voice. “Shayne, fix her something to eat and let the others feed themselves. Bring it down to our rooms.”
With that, he lifted her over his shoulder and turned away from the others to walk toward the stairs leading to the bottom level. Each step he took jarred her where her abdomen was draped over his hard muscular shoulder. She hoped he wouldn’t jog down the stairs. If he did, she might end up bruised from it.
Creed took the stairs slowly then quickly strode across the open den area to their rooms. He closed the door behind him before tossing her on the bed. She bounced before managing to control the motion and scoot to the edge of the bed to stand up.
“Don’t,” he said in a harsh voice. “I need you to stay down right now. My bear is riding me hard right now to mark you before you bond with Shayne alone. Don’t push me.”
She nodded and remained sitting on the edge of the bed, watching as Creed paced the small area available to him between the door and the bed. Despite having reined in his bear, he was still battling to keep it under control. She understood that and remained still, waiting for either Shayne to show up or Creed to speak.
After what seemed like forever, the bedroom door opened and Shayne walked in carrying a large try with a plate full of sandwiches, two cans of beer, and a glass of milk. She couldn’t help but tense until she was sure the two men weren’t going to start snarling at each other all over again. Truthfully though, Shayne hadn’t been the one doing the snarling. Creed had done all of that.
“I made enough for all of us since I doubt we’re going to make it back upstairs for dinner tonight. I told the others to go out and eat but not to get into trouble,” Shayne said. He held up his cell phone. “I brought both cells downstairs just in case they get into trouble. I warned them not to let their bears show or we’ll have the damn
hunters on us, too.”
“As much as I don’t want them out right now with so much on the line, they can take care of themselves, and we need to sort this out. Something isn’t right with this mating. My bear shouldn’t have gotten that riled up,” Creed said.
Serenity hadn’t moved since Shayne had walked in. She was afraid to draw their attention while they were talking without the growly thing going on. Shayne set the massive tray on the dresser then picked up a sandwich in a napkin and her glass of milk then walked over to hand it to her. She noticed that he watched Creed the entire time as if expecting him to freak out again. Thankfully he didn’t.
Creed followed Shayne back to the dresser and opened a beer. The three of them ate in silence. Once they’d finished their first sandwich, Creed spoke up again.
“I keep trying to figure out what all is different about our mating than every other one I’ve witnessed.”
“Besides the fact that there are two of us and she’s feline, not bear or wolf?” Shayne asked with a snort.
Creed frowned at him. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Just the fact that she is one mate destined for both of us is reason enough for our bears to be on edge.”
“The thing is,” Shayne began. “Mine really isn’t all that upset over it. He wants her and is chomping at the bit to claim her, but he isn’t angry or out of sorts that he’ll be sharing her with your bear. It’s yours that seems more distressed by sharing. I don’t get it. I was the one who thought it wouldn’t work while you were adamant that it was our destiny.”
Creed shook his head. “I don’t understand it either. It was something we both knew was right as soon as we were told by Papa Bear. Now he’s stressed out over it.”
Serenity finished her second sandwich and drained the glass of milk before setting it on the bedside table. She couldn’t stand the strained silence any longer.
“I don’t want the two of you to fight over me. Maybe it’s better if I just leave. I’ll grab my stuff and find somewhere else to live. I can’t stay here with the hunters after me, but I couldn’t live this close to the two of you anyway. Once I’m gone, your bears will lose interest in me and find another mate who doesn’t have my issues.” She didn’t wait to see their reactions. She stood up and walked over to where her bags were still sitting next to the dresser and pulled open a drawer.
Before she could grab the underwear and stuff it into her bag, large meaty hands grabbed her around the waist and picked her up, carrying her back toward the bed. Even without seeing Shayne standing in front of the closed bedroom door with his arms crossed, she had known it was Creed by his scent.
“Don’t even think about it. What in the world makes you think our bears or your lynx would ever get over losing their mates? Mating is for life, Serenity. You know that.” Creed glared down at her once he’d dropped her back on the bed.
“We aren’t mated yet. As long as we haven’t marked each other we can walk away. It’s better if we do it now before the bond gets stronger,” she said.
“You’ve marked Shayne. Do you think his bear is going to get over that?” Creed demanded.
She paled. He was right. She’d forgotten what had started entire mess in the first place. Her shoulders sagged as she looked down at her hands, wishing she’d just run when she’d first smelled them the day before. God! Had it only been a day?
“I don’t know what to do, Creed. My lynx isn’t going to willingly let you mount her the way you want to. She’ll fight you. Even if I say go ahead and force her, she’ll just fight until we’re all worn out and she’s traumatized. Then she’ll never trust your bears again.” She felt tears burn at the back of her eyes, but Serenity had no intentions of letting them fall and embarrass her any more than she already was.
“Kitten. Look at me,” Creed said.
When she looked up it was to find that he had crouched down so that they were essentially at eye level now. There was strain in the lines on his face, but his eyes were tender.
“We would never force you or your cat into anything you didn’t want to do unless it was to keep you safe. The bond is there. We have to be patient and look for another answer. I believe that if we weren’t meant for each other, the bond never would have formed to begin with. There’s another way and eventually we’ll find it,” he said with a tight smile.
“And what do we do in the meantime? I can’t stand to see you and your brother at odds with one another. It’s too much of a strain on your sleuth as well. You have to think of them.” She didn’t want them to give up on her, but Serenity didn’t see any way around it.
“Shayne and I aren’t going to do any more fighting. Now that we know this is a problem, we’ll make an effort to remain calm. When you get ready, you can mark me as well, and the three of us will be on even ground again,” Creed told her.
She drew in a deep breath to fight the dizziness that had suddenly slipped up on her. All of the emotions churning in her gut and blistering her skin was making her sick. She needed to relax and forget about it all for a little while. She swallowed past the nausea and nodded.
“I’m going to take a nap. I’m really tired.” Before she could pull off her top, Creed was doing it for her. He also unhooked her bra then while Shayne pulled back the covers, he lifted her and eased her onto the mattress.
“Rest, baby. We’ll be just down the hall working on your spa,” Shayne said as he covered her with the sheet and top blanket.
She closed her eyes without saying anything. She didn’t have the energy to even care about that right then. All she could think about was the need to clear her mind for a few hours. Then maybe she could face the problem they had with a fresh perspective.
* * * *
Creed watched as the little lynx almost instantly fell into a deep sleep. It worried him a bit that she had just sort of crumpled all of a sudden like that. She was a spitfire and didn’t hide or curb her tongue when she had something to say. She’d thought to run from them as if they weren’t already half-mated. It bothered him that they had somehow broken something inside of her with their near fight over her.
“Is she already asleep?” Shayne asked, a note of alarm obvious in his voice.
“Yeah, I don’t think this is normal. We’ve got to control our emotions around her until the mating can be completed. The strain is too much for her.” Creed ran a hand over his face. “I’m well aware that I’m the one who flipped out. I’m sorry.”
He started toward the door, knowing they needed to leave her alone so she could rest without their emotional undertones rousing her cat. He stepped into the entrance area that led into the large open den and waited for his brother to softly close the door behind them.
“Was it the fact that she’d marked me or that we’d had sex without you present that upset your bear?” Shayne asked with a curious expression on his face.
Creed frowned, trying to remember what had first gotten his bear up in arms. It had been a scent. Try as he might, he couldn’t recall the scent now to know what it had been.
“I’m not really sure, but I had been working on the taxes when I smelled something that had my bear perking up. I can’t remember what it was now, but it drew me in the general direction of the kitchen. Before I reached you, I heard your roar and her scream. My bear instantly went into a rage, and I was just along for the ride for a few minutes.”
“That’s not good, Creed. We’ve got to figure this out and fully mate Serenity before something bad happens,” Shayne said.
“I know, but until then, neither of us is alone with her without the other one. We can’t take a chance that something like this happens again.”
Shayne nodded. Creed could tell that his brother felt bad about what had happened. It hadn’t been his fault, but Shayne had always been hard on himself when things went wrong.
“Let’s go work on the bathroom while she’s sleeping,” Creed said.
“Spa. She calls it a spa,” Shayne said with a weak smile. “Complete with message table
and cabana boys.”
“What?” Creed stopped walking and stared at his brother with his mouth open. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Shayne grinned. “Yeah, about the message table, but not about the cabana boys. She expects us to wait on her hand and foot when we shower together.”
Creed’s frown turned into a wide grin. “I can’t handle that. Pampering her isn’t a hardship at all. I’ll even paint her toenails if she wants me to.”
Shayne shook his head and pushed the door open. “She hasn’t seen you paint yet. I doubt that’s going to be an issue once she does.”
“Asshole.”
“Buttface.”
Chapter Thirteen
Serenity woke to the feel of a warm mouth suckling her breast. She hummed her approval and dug her fingers into Shayne’s hair to hold him close to her. He nipped and sucked on her nipple while pinching and tugging on the other one. The electrical sensations his attentions created raced down some invisible line to stimulate her clit as if they really were connected somehow.
“Looks like our mate is awake now, Shayne.” Creed’s voice penetrated the sleepy aroused haze her mind was in.
Shayne removed his devilish mouth from her breast with a loud pop. “We thought you were going to sleep right through the sex, babe.”
She groaned as she realized that Creed was nestled between her thighs and it was his heated breath she felt fanning the trimmed curls of her pussy. What was going on? Had they been messing with her while she’d been asleep? She couldn’t even remember is she’d been dreaming or not.
