Claimed by Love

by Skye Jones

  “It is kind of decadent. The team deserves it, though. Our work is hard and at times dangerous. And Sean does love his luxury.” A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. His love for his partner shone through every time he spoke of the man.

  “Is your place in Alaska all decked out like this?” A tremor ran through her words as once again Kayley realized she wanted so much more from life. She wanted someone to smile whenever they spoke about her. She didn’t know how she’d ever find it. Didn’t know how to let the walls down she’d spent so long building.

  “No.” He laughed. “It’s much more basic. Sean calls it ‘utility chic.' It’s a lot nicer since he joined us, but it’s where we work, as well as live, so has to be functional. We do have some pretty expensive toys but our coffee machine, nice as it is, didn’t cost as much as a car.”

  “You sound like you miss it.” She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you like coming away, getting some sun?”

  “I like it plenty, but I don’t need it. Sean, he needs it. He loves the sun, and he gets depressed if he’s in the cold for too long. Me? I love Alaska. I think it’s the most beautiful place on God’s green earth. I like vacationing, but I don’t know if I’d go as often if it weren’t for Sean. Of course,” he turned and fixed those soft gray eyes on her. “We came to Miami to see you, really. Will really needed to tell you about Dane. So it’s a vacation, but it’s also personal.”

  “I miss it.” Her voice cracked as she spoke, and she coughed to clear her throat. “I know most people would give anything to live in Miami. It’s hot, it’s got the beach, it’s so vibrant and lively but it’s not home…you know?” Not able to meet his gaze, Kayley turned and stared out the window instead.

  His breath warmed her neck, letting her know he stood close behind.

  “Think about coming back with us. That’s the favor I wanted to ask you. Will wants it so bad, and I’ll feel terrible if Julie pushing like she did today put you off the idea.”

  He turned her to face him, and once more her skin tingled where his hands touched, making her gasp. “You don’t have to plan to stay forever, you can see how it goes but come see your family, spend some time with Will.” He tipped her chin up to meet his gaze. “I swear to you, Kayley, we’ll protect you. I’ll protect you.”

  She held still, frozen. His hand remained under her chin, the sensation of him touching her blocking out all rational thought. She wanted him so badly it hurt. Wanted him more than anything in her whole life. It thrilled and terrified her in equal measure.

  He wasn’t hers. She shouldn’t covet him, not when she liked Sean so much. Still, the urge to touch rode her, and before she knew what she did, Kayley stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against Luke’s cheek. “Thank you.”

  He turned his face slightly as she pulled away and warm lips brushed over hers. A whisper of contact, nothing more. Time seemed to stop, and instead of pulling away, she leaned in closer, pressed her lips more firmly against his. He tensed for a second, opened his mouth, and murmured something she couldn’t catch.

  His parted lips moved against hers, and she grew punch drunk on sensation. The velvet softness of his mouth taunted her, and Kayley yearned for more with every fiber of her soul. She wanted to snake out her tongue and really taste him. Moving on instinct, Kayley angled her body closer to his. Hard thighs pressed against hers as something else hard and insistent nudged against her belly. Reality hit, raining cold water down on her parade. She pulled back with a gasp, wiping her mouth as heat flooded her face. What was wrong with her?

  She’d kissed a man she could never be with. A man whose partner she liked and respected. The man who had taken her cousin under his wing. She’d basically kissed the last man on earth she should ever lock lips with!

  “Oh, no.” She sobbed the words out, still backing away. “I’m so sorry, Luke. I don’t know what came over me…it won’t happen again.” She turned and ran for the door, but he got there first, holding it closed with his palm.

  “It’s okay. Look at me.” He moved toward her but at her cry of alarm he held his hands up. “It’s okay. Please, don’t walk away. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have done that. God, Kayley, I’m sorry.”

  “I’m so ashamed.” She put her head in her hands, tears sliding wet and warm down her cheeks.

  “Don’t be. Why ashamed?” He pulled her hands from her face. His touch, gentle but firm, soothed her somehow, calming her enough to allow her to speak.

  “Let’s see, shall we?” She held a hand up and started to count the reasons off as she spoke. “Not only did I kiss you, but you have a partner. A partner I like, which makes me a betrayer. I practically assaulted you…and you probably found it disgusting.”

  “I think we could argue the toss as to who kissed who. And did I respond as if your kiss disgusts me?” He stood close again, too close for her poor, confused system to handle. “I enjoyed your kiss, so you don’t have to worry about that aspect of things.” His eyes danced with amusement as he watched her. “As if you could disgust anyone.”

  “You’re gay, so I assume kissing women is not up there on your to-do list.” She shrugged, laughing softly.

  Luke sucked his lower lip in between his teeth for a moment before blowing out a short breath and running a hand through his thick, dark hair. “I’m not gay, Kayley.”

  “What?” Her eyes shot up to meet his. “But…you and Sean…”

  “I’m bisexual.”

  As the meaning of his words sank in, her pulse leaped. She’d noted his arousal, thought it must simply be an automatic response, after all he’d been left hanging only minutes before in the shower room. Now his words made her hope it could be more than that. Maybe he found her attractive?

  Still, they shouldn’t do this. Flirting, touching, the way they had been the other day by the pool and now the kissing—it all had to stop. She raked her hair back from her face. “It doesn’t make it right, Sean’s going to—”

  He interrupted her, “Sean will be fine with this. More than fine. He’d do the same if he had the chance.” Luke’s features remained remarkably calm. It seemed as if he didn’t care he’d cheated on his partner. Frustration at his response bloomed in Kayley’s chest.

  “I know he’d do the same, he kisses you all the time but I should—”

  “No, honey.” Luke brushed the hair back from her face as it fell forward, his eyes searching hers. “He’d kiss you. You might have made the first move, but I kissed you back, and Sean would do the same. We like you.”

  “What?” She couldn’t make sense of the words falling from Luke’s beautiful lips.

  “We like you. Both of us.”

  Anger churned in her gut, dousing the lust. She was such an idiot. “So that’s your plan? Seduce the new girl, have some fun. Is this something you do all the time?”

  She’d known guys who liked to pass girls around, pretending they liked the girl, but using her badly before throwing her away. Some of the men who did so had been friends of Dane’s, back when she’d been Dane’s girl. Dane always acted as if he disapproved, but he maintained his friendships with the guys. The worst of it came afterward, when the men would trash talk the women involved, calling them names, laughing at them. She’d known one girl leave town rather than face the jokes and sneers. It had been a story as old as time, one rule for the guys, quite another for any women they used.

  Luke took a step back from her, his brow drawn together. “What plan?” His words were clipped, terse. “There is no plan. We don’t do this sort of thing. Ever.”

  He moved back into the room, turned his back on her, and looked out the window. The rigid set of his shoulders spoke volumes about Luke’s reaction to her words.

  Kayley hovered by the door. Part of her still wanted to flee, but a bigger part wanted to stay, to thrash this out. Years of therapy helped her break free from her past but no matter how many gains she made, Kayley didn’t think she’d ever stop second guessing herself.

  Her e
go hummed with pleasure that two such gorgeous men wanted her. Her body responded to the idea instantly. Her nipples were hard and her core damp but another, more insistent, corner of Kayley quaked with fear. Fear they would merely use her and discard her, fear she wouldn’t be able to respond to them, and fear they’d view her lacking in some way. Such an outcome would trample her fragile new sense of confidence forever.

  “Look.” Luke turned to her. “There’s no pressure here, okay? We don’t expect anything of you, and we weren’t going to tell you about this. We’re aware it seems a bit…strange. But I can’t bear you walking around feeling stupid or guilty as if you did something bad or unwelcome. The truth is we are attracted to you. Know you don’t disgust us, but don’t worry yourself sick thinking we want something you’re not ready to give. It’s all cool.”

  He paused for a moment and the furrow between his brows smoothed out. Then he loped toward her, gait relaxed. “Know one thing. You could never disgust me.”

  He trailed his fingers down her arm, the touch brief but tender, and walked past her out of the room. Left alone, Kayley found her stomach full of those damned butterflies again, as the significance of what he’d said sank in. Luke. Hot, sexy, confident Luke had just declared his attraction to her. Furthermore, he claimed his rather fine lover felt the same way.

  Taking a deep breath, she walked the length of the library, her legs a little less than steady. She forced herself to keep calm as she looked out over the view. Grounding herself in the moment always helped Kayley figure things out. Her brain didn’t function too well unless she kept her whole system calm.

  Once she’d quieted the nerves and anxiety, allowed herself to focus on her bone deep intuition, Kayley found she believed Luke. On some deep level, she knew the two men didn’t do this sort of thing regularly, which scared her even more than the fear they toyed with her. Because the idea her own strange and out of control desires could be matched by two men she’d only recently met seemed completely crazy. It sounded even more insane when she added in the part about having dreamed of them for weeks. She doubted Luke would want her if she told him about her dreams, he’d probably think she’d lost her mind. Heck, she worried she’d lost her mind. Rubbing her suddenly cold arms, Kayley sat against the edge of the desk and pondered what the hell to do next.

  * * * *

  Luke paced up and down the games room. Sean would panic about his conversation with Kayley. They’d agreed to take it slow, and yet he’d gone and blurted everything out. Fuck! Sean was going to kill him. Right then, Kayley could be packing her bags to get the hell out of there. Damn it though, he couldn’t stand her seeming so rejected and out of sorts after they’d kissed. He shouldn’t have said what he did, but it almost took more strength than he possessed not to have thrown her on the floor and taken her right there. Christ, the taste of her! Sweet and creamy and rich, she’d tasted like her scent, and he’d wanted to feast on her, never let go. Her lips were glorious against his, her slender body wonderful pressed up against him.

  Sean might say Luke gentled him, but if Sean had kissed him like Kayley did there’d have been no gentling, Luke would have lost control and taken him. Kayley burned for them. When they’d kissed, her arousal and need had scrambled his brain before he’d had a chance to block her, and give her the privacy she deserved. As if rummaging around in her head weren’t enough, his heightened senses meant he could smell her arousal. She wanted them as powerfully as they wanted her, and he grew tired of playing games. He’d never force her or coerce her, but he wouldn’t pretend anymore.

  Unlike Sean, Luke didn’t think ignoring their feelings for Kayley would bring her to them. He sensed too much turmoil in the young woman. Something within her grew and grew by the day, like a dam waiting to break its banks, and he didn’t want that very thing to be what drove her away. He’d reacted on instinct when he’d told her they wanted her, but his instincts rarely let him down.

  With a muttered curse, he shoved the balls around the billiard table, watching as one slid into a pocket opposite. He needed to get a grip and calm down. His own emotions were too near the surface, and his wolf demanded its second mate more and more each day.

  The door opened with a quiet click, and Will walked in. For one awful moment Luke wondered if he knew about the scene in the library but the other man merely gave a small nod, as he propped himself up against the bar.

  “So…” Will picked at non-existent lint on his shirt. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.” Luke kept his voice steady. Maybe Will did know? Perhaps he’d run into Kayley and come straight to Luke.

  “Are we the only ones?”

  For a moment, Luke was completely thrown. “The only ones what?”

  “The only things. I mean…supernatural things. Or do others exist. Taylor told me we’re not the only ones. Is it true?”

  Luke would smack Taylor upside his head for deciding now was a good time to get into such a conversation. They’d told Will the basics, but somehow the conversation about others like them had never come up. Vacation didn’t seem like the right time, not with Will so twitchy. Yeah, but you’re the one who thought traveling the breadth of the country with a newly turned shifter might be a good idea, an inner voice taunted.

  Should he lie, hedge, or just tell Will the truth? In the end, Luke went with the truth. “Yes, there are other creatures like us.” He let out a short laugh. “Or I should say, not like us. We’re all unique.”

  “Christ!” Will strode around the bar and poured three thick fingers of brandy from a bottle of Hennessey. He did the bouncing thing again on the balls of his feet, something he’d stopped since Kayley joined them, and Luke frowned.

  “What other things are there? Do any of them come after us? Are my mom and grams safe? Are there things like elves and the like? Like Lord of the Rings shit?” Will’s eyes were huge.

  “Elves? No. Or, I should say, not as far as I know. I wouldn’t like to say things definitely don’t, or can’t, exist because I’ve seen more on this earth than most would imagine. But vampires I know exist.”

  “Vampires are real?” Will looked about to explode with fear and rage, and Luke tried to keep his voice calm and soothing.

  “Yes, vampires are real.”

  “And they suck the blood of virgins I expect?” Will rolled his eyes dramatically. “Do they look like Christopher Lee and turn into bats?”

  Luke’s patience began to wear thin, where was Sean when he needed him. He handled this shit better. “No. They look ordinary, mostly, like you or me. They are night creatures, so you won’t see them in the day, but if you saw them at night you wouldn’t know. Although some, the very oldest of their kind, they look…” He paused for a moment and took a deep breath, remembering the time he’d come up against an ancient vampire. “The eldest of their kind look and smell like death. They’re foul and they are strong and you better hope and pray you never come across one.”

  Will seemed to simmer down some at Luke’s strong words. “I’m sorry. I’m giving you attitude, and it’s not your fault. But all of this is so crazy you know? Every time I find something new about this shifter business, it throws me again. It’s even worse now I’ve found Kayley. I’m not used to keeping secrets from her.”

  “Then tell her.”

  “What? Are you insane?” Will screeched.

  Luke tried for calm, but his wolf growled and snapped its teeth at the impertinence. “Watch your tone, pup.” Luke’s voice dropped an octave.

  “Pup!” Will exploded. “You did not call me a fucking pup!”

  The door burst open, and Sean stood illuminated in the light of the hallway. “What’s going on in here?”

  “Where’s Kayley?” Luke snapped. The last thing they needed would be her overhearing any part of this conversation. She should be told, but not like this.

  “She went to the beach with the others a couple of minutes ago. And thank all that is holy she did, because you two are loud enough for the dead
to hear.”

  “Will here needed some answers…he doesn’t like the ones he’s got so far.” Luke walked to the bar and got right up into Will’s space. He waited until the other man backed down and moved before he grabbed a beer out the cooler.

  “What answers?” Sean cocked his head.

  “Well, I’ve found out vampires apparently exist, amongst other things.” Will shook his head. “I don’t get how we hid from humans all this time. How humans didn’t exterminate us when we first came about.”

  Luke snorted as he popped the top off his beer. “You think we came upon this earth after humans?”

  “Didn’t we?” Will’s eyebrows rose high, giving him an almost comical appearance.

  “No, we didn’t,” Sean spoke, calmly and quietly as he moved into the room. “We were here long before humans walked this earth.”

  “No.” Will shook his head again and moved out from behind the bar. He started to pace. “Are you telling me werewolves and vampires and…what else is there?”

  A wave of emotion so powerful it knocked him nauseous hit Luke. It overrode his anger, and even his wolf quieted in the face of it. Will’s feelings reached him again, smacking into him with the power of a hurricane. Oh Lord, the guy was about to totally lose his shit.

  Luke glanced at Sean, trying to telegraph his concern over Will’s emotional state. Most shifters were born; those who were turned could sometimes face problems controlling their newfound power, as well as their emotions in the aftermath. Will’s equilibrium hung by a thread. Turning Will had always been a risk, and if it hadn’t been a choice between turning Will or letting him die, Luke would never have made the young man a shifter. Now wasn’t the time to tell him everything. That could wait. Luke needed to calm Will until he could think more rationally.

  “Please. Tell me. Don’t hide it from me. I only want the truth, and if you really see me as a member of your pack, you owe me as much. What else is there?”