Claimed by Love

by Skye Jones

Until now.

  Luke and Sean stirred her up. They made her want, and yearn, and crave in a primal way.

  “Everyone okay with pizza?” Sean interrupted her thoughts with his question. His slight accent struck her, not for the first time. She couldn’t quite place it. Not the clipped English vowels of her father, but not quite American, either.

  Julie groaned, “I’ll get fat.”

  “As if!” Sean flipped open his cell. “I’ll order some salads, just for you.”

  “Okay, great.” Julie nodded.

  “Pizza okay with you?” Sean turned to Kayley, eyebrows raised in question.

  She grabbed onto the normalcy of eating choices with grim determination. “I love pizza.”

  “Order some olives as an extra topping,” Will said.

  “Get artichokes, too.” Luke licked his lips, and her eyes followed the slow, almost lascivious movement. “In fact, why don’t you order two or three different pizzas and a variety of salads and sides? So there’s something for everybody.” Once again his eyes flickered to meet hers across the room. He held her gaze for a beat, then lowered thick lashes and looked away.

  “Why don’t we eat in the cinema and watch a movie?” Julie jumped up from the sofa and clapped her hands together, looking for the entire world like an overgrown child. “It seems a shame to rent a place with its own mini cinema and not use it.”

  “This place has a cinema?” Kayley could not believe the razzle-dazzle rental.

  “A small one,” Sean said. “It’s even got a mini popcorn machine. Do you fancy a movie?”

  “I love movies.” The dark would be good; the dark would mean she could hide away, and not fear her face giving her crazy-lady thoughts away.

  For some reason, Sean and Luke turned her inside and out, and she wanted time out to collect her emotions. With a sad shake of her head, Kayley reminded herself not to dare fall for them. They belonged to one another.

  Chapter 3

  Luke couldn’t bear it. He sat up and ran his hands through his hair, as he listened to Kayley in the next room. She tossed and turned in her sleep and every now and again a low tormented moan left her lips. His extra sensitive hearing easily picked up every sigh, every subtle movement.

  She’d stayed over last night, more relaxed after they’d watched two movies. She’d spent the day, mostly with Will, but Luke witnessed her growing ease around Sean. The two joked and laughed as they lounged by the pool. To Luke’s dismay, he still sensed her caution whenever he personally spent any time around the young woman.

  After a lazy day, the pack retired to bed late, sated by a large meal and copious wine. Now Kayley dreamed, and it wasn’t a good dream. He could smell her fear, more; he could sense her distress on a deeper level. So quickly did he grow attuned to her emotional frequency, despite trying to hold back?

  He gave a low, almost moan in the back of his throat, body on edge, wanting to run in there and soothe her, hold her. Just to be with her.

  “Luke?” Sean touched his shoulder. “Slow, remember?”

  “I know but she’s in pain in there.” Luke bit his lip as a louder cry emanated from the room beyond.

  Images flickered into his mind for a brief moment, of a man leaning in, fists clenched. One blink and they were gone. At times like these, Luke cursed his so-called sight.

  His powers were not easily controlled. Partly because he’d never fully trained them. Sometimes, he read people’s feelings; at others they were closed books. His visions were vague, and mostly came to him in dream form. Often they were mere flashes that only made sense after the event occurred. The only truly powerful glimpses of the future he received had come from the dreams featuring his mates. Then he’d feel the bond as strongly as if they were with him in the flesh. He’d wake with an aching heart as he once again lost the connection to two people he knew were out there in the world somewhere.

  His mother wanted him to improve his skills, honor his Shaman blood, but Luke preferred to focus on his physical strengths.

  He rubbed weary, gritty eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. A headache pounded behind his temples. Finally, after sixty long, hard years of intense dreams, he’d found both his mates. Sadly, one of them lay separated by a thick wall and so much hurt and baggage he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to break through.

  A wave of love swept over Luke as he remembered how accepting Sean had been of the situation when Luke had told him he’d always dreamed of having two mates. “You come first. You know that right?” He propped himself up on one elbow as he stared down at Sean. “If you told me right now to forget this, to turn around and go back to Alaska? I would.” And he would, he’d put Sean first. However painful.

  “You mean that, don’t you?” Sean’s voice was sleep gruff as he leaned into Luke, inhaling deeply and tickling Luke’s neck. “It would half kill you, but I really believe that you mean it. If I asked you, you’d walk away.”

  “Of course.” Luke ran a hand through Sean’s hair, loving the feel of his familiar waves. “I know what you went through before we found one another. I know what that bastard you used to have to call a mate did to you. I’ll never make you feel like nothing, like your opinions don’t count, like you don’t count.”

  “I know, and I love to hear you say so, but I kind of like her myself and…” A hand snaked into Luke’s hair as Sean trailed off, and pulled him down, taking his mouth in a kiss. Luke responded instantly, deepening the kiss further as he pushed Sean against the mattress with a guttural sound.

  Sean arched up into him. He flicked his tongue against Luke’s lips and swept in when Luke parted for him.

  “Luke?” Sean pulled away, his eyes wide and pupils dark in the dim light of the room. “I don’t want you to worry about me.”

  Luke groaned, not wanting to stop as he ground into Sean again, and kissed him once more, cutting him off.

  Sean laughed softly against his mouth, and it tickled his lips. “I’m trying to talk here. It’s always the sex with you. You’re like a firecracker; always ready to go off.”

  “You lit my fuse.” Luke tossed Sean a wink, and continued to run his hands over bare, warm skin as he willed himself to listen.

  “I love to hear you’d do it, for me, but I don’t want you to walk away. Hell, I don’t want to walk away. Maybe at first I would have, when we were together at the start.”

  Sean pushed himself up slightly and rested back against the pillows. “If I’m honest, I didn’t love the idea of sharing you back then, but now? Now, I share your connection to her, through our bond. I’ve dreamed of her, too, and I’ve spent time with her since she came here, and I like her. I’m attracted to her too, which let me tell you is weird for me, with her being female and all.” He chuckled. “Still doesn’t change things. We need to take it slow. She’s Will’s cousin. This is a messed up situation. I’m still not sure why you didn’t sense her for all those years. Why our dreams stopped for so long. There’s something weird about the whole thing.” He chewed his lip and Luke bit back his desire to kiss him all over again.

  “Maybe we’re wrong about her?” Sean said. “I mean…a human? Shifters don’t often mate humans, and she’s such a fragile girl. She’s spent years struggling with panic attacks and Will says she needed antidepressant medication for—”

  “Of course!” Luke sat up. “The med’s.”

  “What?” Sean looked lost.

  “Will told us Kayley took antidepressants for years, right?” As he spoke, Luke believed he’d found his answer. “She’s only recently come off them. They could be why we lost all sense of her. Maybe the drugs muted the connection somehow? I’m no scientist but it makes sense.”

  Sean slowly nodded. “Maybe. Or, perhaps the trauma itself caused it. She shut down so much we lost her? Either way, it’s yet another reason we need to take this slow.”

  His mate might be right, was right, but it still hurt to put the brakes on. Kayley had suffered through something so devastating, Luke only wanted t
o love her and keep her safe, but in order to have any chance to do so, he needed to stamp down on his alpha nature and let her lead. His wolf growled at the idea. Yeah, yeah, calm down, Luke told it.

  Sean worried him, too. What if he only thought he wanted this? Because Luke wanted it? God, the way he idolized Luke it wouldn’t be a stretch. But then it wasn’t surprising after the shit Sean had gone through at the hands of his old alpha.

  Sean had suffered the misfortune of spending years mated to James McFarlane, leader of the Scottish Crows pack. That man was one brutal bastard, and he’d tormented Sean for years while they’d been mated.

  Deep down, Luke feared he and McFarlane weren’t a million miles apart. He possessed the same need to own, to take what he craved. Sean would never know how many times Luke came close to losing it and simply claiming the blond as he gentled him, as Sean put it. Sean might see the good in Luke, the ruthless control he held over his alpha nature, but Luke knew what lurked beneath his tightly locked down surface.

  A cry echoed from the room next door, followed by a sob and a clear no.

  “Do you think I should go get Will?” Sean frowned, the vertical worry crease between his eyebrows deepening.

  “You go.”

  “What?” Sean’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “What part of take it slow don’t you understand?”

  “I am taking it slow. It’s why I’m sending you.” Luke couldn’t resist and leaned down to brush his lips over Sean’s mouth again, tasting toothpaste and the faint cinnamon flavor of Sean himself.

  “Kayley needs to get to know us, to learn she can trust us if we’re to ever have a chance of being together. That’s the bottom line. You go in there, wake her up, be friendly, comforting. Do your Sean thing.”

  “My Sean thing?” His partner stared at him as if he’d grown another head.

  “Yeah. You know what I mean, don’t act all innocent. You’ve got this thing going on and it makes people warm to you, trust you. You can take candy from a baby.”

  “I’ll have you know taking candy from a baby is a piece of cake. I bet even a big, bad scary wolf like you could do it.”

  Luke chuckled and nipped gently at Sean’s earlobe, relishing the gasp Sean made in response. “Christ, I want you. Want to flip you over and fuck you ‘til you can’t speak.” He ground his aching cock into Sean’s hip, letting him know how true his words were.

  Another low sob reached them. Luke groaned. “But you need to go see if she’s okay.”

  Sean licked his lips. “You sure you’re okay with that?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “I don’t know? The whole possessive alpha deal?” Sean ground back against him, slow and sensual.

  Luke savored his mates answering erection pressing into him, his cock twitching in anticipation of a treat it wasn’t about to get.

  “Do you think I’m going to stop you two getting together without me? If we bond there’ll be times you two might get it on without me there, and I’ll be okay with it. In fact.” He grinned down at Sean. “The idea makes me horny.”

  “Everything makes you horny,” Sean said.

  “Nah. Not true. You make me horny, she makes me horny, that’s about it.” Suddenly an image flashed into Luke’s mind, violence so brutal it made him reel. “Fuck.” He pressed his palm against his forehead, willing the pictures to stop and trying to hold off the searing pain accompanying them.

  “What is it?” Sean grabbed hold of his bicep, steadying him.

  “You’ve got to go wake her up; she’s having a terrible nightmare. She’s dreaming about the attack.” He forced the words out through clenched teeth.

  “Okay. I’m going. I know you won’t relax until I go and look after her. And if my presence doesn’t help, I’ll go get Will or Julie to sit with her. I love you.” Sean gave him a last lingering kiss before sliding out the bed and stepping across the room to pull on his pajamas.

  “Take a painkiller or your head will split all night.” He gave a small wave as he left.

  Luke rested his head back and sighed deeply. In truth, he wasn’t completely okay with Sean going in there without him. Not because of jealousy, but because he couldn’t bear being apart from them both, knowing they were mere feet away. But he thought Kayley would be more comfortable with Sean. He’d picked up on how much more relaxed she’d become around his mate as the day progressed.

  Another flash of imagery assaulted him. He turned his face into the pillow and scrunched his forehead up against a fresh wave of pain.

  * * * *

  He ran at her, arm raised, crazy grin on his face. “Don’t fucking talk to me like that, you bitch.” Kayley tried to get away but he grabbed her, held on hard. Dane’s features twisted in hate as he backhanded her across the face. She fell to the floor, fear twisting her gut. Suddenly the room changed, she wasn’t in their old apartment anymore, she stood in a bright, airy condo and all around her were dead bodies. She recognized Julie, her throat torn open, eyes staring unseeing, Taylor was laying in a pool of blood and Will, oh God Will, was curled on the floor, unmoving.

  Dane advanced on her; a demonic grin covering his face.

  “They’re all gone. No one to protect you now.”

  She knew it couldn’t be true. Luke and Sean, they weren’t part of the carnage. They would come, they would protect her.

  “I’m going to kill you. Finish the job off properly. You can’t ever escape me, Kayley. Do you hear me? Never!”

  She screamed and screamed.

  “Kayley? Hey, Kayley!”

  A cry escaped her as the fog of the dream lifted, jerking her back to reality and leaving her dazed. Kayley gasped as she surfaced to full consciousness, heart hammering, and skin damp with perspiration. Safe. She was safe, in her room at the beach house, visiting with Will.

  Sean sat on the edge of the bed. The lamp he turned on cast a warm glow over his features. Normally her instinctive reaction to any man other than Adam in her bedroom would be unease. Somehow though, Sean’s presence soothed her. His open, friendly face made her want to reach out, connect with people again.

  “You were dreaming. You were screaming and shouting in your sleep, I thought I ought to wake you up.” He didn’t try to touch her, and she slowly relaxed.

  “I had a bad nightmare.” She didn’t feel like sharing further. Simply wanted to stop shaking.

  “You need anything? A drink of water? Brandy?”

  “No…thanks. I think I’ll try and sleep some more.” A wave of melancholy so strong she could taste it slammed into her. Loneliness and sadness had her belly clenching so hard, she wrapped her arms around herself and held on.

  “Don’t be sad.” Sean did reach out this time, and he stroked a gentle hand through her hair. “You’re not alone.”

  How did he know?

  “I can stay if you like? For a while, until you fall back to sleep.”

  Before she could reply, Sean pulled his whole body up on the bed, curled around her and held on. It should panic her, this stranger wrapping her in his arms. It didn’t. It felt so very, very good.

  The comforter separated them, the situation not remotely sexual, and this put her at ease. Instead, Sean offered warmth and friendship. Years of not getting held, not being touched, except for the odd hug, fell away as the warmth of contact with another person seeped into her, bone deep. His unique scent curled around her and warmed her inside as surely as his arms heated her outside. It reminded her of baking cookies. He smelled as delectable as he looked.

  “You should go. Shouldn’t you? I mean won’t…won’t Luke be angry?” She paused for a moment not liking the niggling fear worming its way back into her gut. “He might take this the wrong way. He’s your partner, and you shouldn’t be in here cuddling with me.”

  Sean laughed, the sound taking her utterly by surprise. “Oh, baby girl. Luke sent me in here, to see if you were okay. We heard you shouting out. He gets the impression you’re more comfortable with me, that you’r
e still maybe a bit wary of him.” Sean’s voice dropped as he spoke. “He won’t be angry. Shhhh. Close your eyes and relax for once. You’re safe now, here with us. Will’s your family and he’s part of our team, which makes you part of the team too. It’s how we roll.” He yawned against her hair, his body relaxed and boneless against hers.

  A few moments wouldn’t hurt. It wasn’t as if he’d try anything sexual, he had a partner, and his partner happened to be extremely male, so clearly Sean didn’t go for the feminine type. Just a few more moments of his delicious heat, the wonderful sensation of strong arms encircling her, the gentle, reassuring sounds of another human close by, heart beating, breath gently moving in and out. Only a few moments…then she’d make him leave.

  Gulls cried out noisily. Kayley remained completely still, reveling in feeling relaxed and rested for once. She’d not slept so well in years.

  As she’d drifted into oblivion, her last memory was the sound of the door clicking softly shut behind Sean as he went back to Luke. He’d held her for a long while before leaving. Sean didn’t do anything but wrap her in his arms and stroke her hair and it had been comforting, and friendly, and warm, all those nice things.

  Now though, his lingering scent on the sheets worked like some sort of voodoo, unleashing an erotic kaleidoscope of images. She shivered as she threw the cover back, her skin alive with the idea of Sean doing much more than merely lying beside her. Flashes of him touching her, kissing her, trailing his strong hands over her skin flew behind her closed lids. With a determined shake of her head, Kayley snapped her eyes open and banished all such thoughts. A cold shower beckoned.

  By the time she’d showered and dressed, and gone downstairs, Kayley found an empty house. She glanced at the table and saw a note addressed to her in Will’s familiar hand. She picked it up and quickly skimmed its contents. Will, Taylor, and Sean had gone for supplies. They’d be back in an hour or so. That left her alone with Julie and Luke, but there wasn’t any sign of them. Perhaps they’d gone out together? She could only hope. The thought of Luke still put her on edge and made her anxious…slightly off kilter. Something about his powerful presence both attracted and unnerved her in equal measure.