by Hazel Gower
“You would have shifter children, and they would come out in human form. Most babies don’t have their first change until they are at least a week old.”
She felt her eyes widen and she yanked his hands from her face. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Jake let out a loud sigh and opened his mouth to answer when Zack walked in and looked at both of them with a grin on his face.
“Can I join?”
She shot him a glare before she turned back to Jake to see him shaking his head at Zack.
“Good. You’re both here, so answer me now.”
Jake groaned. “Any woman, bar our mate, we can tell when they’re in heat.”
She relaxed in Jake’s arms for a moment, only to stiffen again as she touched her neck. “What do you mean? Could I be pregnant?” She saw Zack move into her line of sight.
“Yes. You could be.”
Jake squeezed her tight as she fought to get away. “Let me go, Jake. Let me breathe. I need to breathe.”
He released her and she backed away from them, hugging herself. Jake looked over at Zack and nodded before he got off the couch and walked out of the room. She stared at Zack and watched as he slowly came to her with his hands up.
“I can’t be pregnant. I’ve only just met you two. Oh God, I’m a slut. I wouldn’t know who the father is.” Sandy looked around for her clothes, and then stared longingly at the outside door. “I need to go outside. I need air.”
Zack came to stand in front of her. He tucked some hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear. “Don’t ever call yourself that. You’re our mate. And you were a virgin before we corrupted you.” He wiped the tears that had escaped and were sliding down her cheeks.
“From now on, can we use a condom?”
She watched as he scrunched up his nose and his eyes squinted, but he nodded. “Yeah, sure, anything for you, my Firebird.” He pulled her to him and just held her, stroking her hair.
Sandy closed her eyes and breathed in his woodsy smell, loving the feel of his body against hers. She told herself not to worry, that she was over reacting. She had maybe two weeks to wait until her monthly friend came, so she would know if she was pregnant. Sandy told herself to worry about her dilemma and the consequences then. She was a big girl, and if she wanted to play with two alpha men, she had to tell them what she wanted.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed against him. “It’s lucky I turned off the oven, otherwise our dinner would be wrecked.” She ran her hands through her hair. “I’m going to go hop in the shower. When I get out, we’ll have dinner.”
Zack nodded, turned on the TV, and made himself at home. As she walked to her room, she passed a showered Jake, who smiled and pulled her to him for a kiss. When they broke away, he left her panting and forgetting what she’d intended to do.
****
Zack sat in his shop waiting for a client who’d rung to say she would be late. He tried not to think about last night. After the no-condom talk, everything had been awkward. They’d eaten in quiet and Sandy had gone to her bedroom right after she’d eaten. She was asleep when he and Jake came in an hour or two later.
He knew Jake had been upset about her wanting to use condoms and freaking out about having their baby. He and his bear were both uneasy about using condoms. Zack wanted Sandy to be pregnant with his cubs. But he knew they needed to earn her trust.
Sandy woke that morning like nothing happened, which had eased him and Jake a bit. She’d rushed around to get ready for work, kissed his and Jake’s cheeks, and left the house.
He and Jake had debated what they should do for the rest of the morning until they themselves left for work. Did they leave the conversation at what’d been said, or did they try to reassure her that if she was pregnant they would be happy and support her? In the end, they’d both decided to leave it and hope for the best.
Tonight he and Jake were going to get home early, make her dinner, get some girly movies, and relax. Zack looked at the clock again. Quarter to one.
“I don’t think this woman is going to come, Reggie. What did she say when she booked?”
Reggie, one of his tattoo artists, shrugged.
“Look, man, you really need a receptionist. Me and the guys can’t keep answering the phone.”
Zack knew Reggie was right. “I know. Give me some time and I’ll find someone. This time I promise she’ll have a brain.”
Reggie grinned. “I won’t say it wasn’t nice to have eye candy while it lasted.” Reggie’s brow furrowed. “The chick who called yesterday said she wanted a big tat and asked the hours it would take. Then she booked a time and said she would let no one touch her skin except you. So I figured she’d had something done by you before.”
Zack nodded, looked out the door again, and then turned back to Reggie. “I’m going to my office. Come get me if she shows up.”
Reggie winked at him and shooed him away.
Zack sat in his office until the faintest smell of honey and strawberries wafted to him. He was reading over contractor reports for the new shop and tried to ignore the smell, telling himself he had Sandy on the brain.
His mobile rang and he grabbed it. “Hello.”
“Mother’s up to something. It involves you and Jake and some of our male cousins.” Blake sighed.
“How do you know this?”
“Dad mentioned something this afternoon when he came around to help us with our move to the new house.”
Zack snarled. Of course their father never would ring him and tell him what was going on. Only the golden boys in the family were told anything.
“Ah, Zack, don’t be like that. I think he told me so I would tell you. He’s not angry at you anymore, and you’re not eighteen looking for ways to defy him.”
This time Zack moaned because he hated to admit it but Blake was right. “Thanks for the warning. I can ignore Mum’s calls until I see her next Sunday night.”
Blake agreed with him that was the best idea, said he would see him Sunday, and hung up. Zack closed his eyes, trying not to think of family dramas and how his mother would react when she found out another one of her boys had mated a human, and it was a double mating like Brian’s and Blake’s.
Sitting back on his chair, he told himself to forget his family troubles and focus on the current one in front of him.
When his bear started prowling restlessly, thanks to Sandy’s smell that lingered and wouldn’t go away, he stood and stretched. Zack’s stomach growled and he went back out the front of the shop to ask if anyone else wanted something to eat.
As he got closer to the front of his shop, the honey and strawberry smell intensified. He paused as he passed the booths of tattoo artists to stare at Sandy who sat behind the reception desk answering phone calls.
“Hello, Enjoyment Ink.” She held the phone on her shoulder as she spoke and wrote. “I’m sorry, if you’ll give me a moment, I will just double check that.” She turned to Steve, another of his artists, smiled at him, and waited for him to finish talking to his client before she said, “You have a man named Rob, who was booked in tonight, but he wanted to know if it’s possible to change that to two days’ time, same time. I have checked your book and you have someone at eight but not nine. I don’t know how long it tak—”
Steve cut her off. “No, it would have to be ten on that night.” She nodded and turned back to the phone. Sandy didn’t seem to see him as she worked behind the desk.
Strolling to her, he ignored the stares from his artists as he wrapped his arms around Sandy and kissed her neck, lingering for a moment to breathe her sweet smell in. “Hey, Firebird, what are you doing here? This is a nice surprise.”
Sandy turned in his arms and smiled up at him. “Sorry I’m late. I’m your twelve thirty appointment. I had to come and see what you really do.”
His heart soared that she’d taken the time to come and see what he did and his shop. Sandy had already done more than his parents and brothers.
He
lifted her up, and Sandy let out a squeak as his mouth came down on hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck slowly at first. Then his tongue dived in, searching for hers, and she gripped him tightly.
Sandy pulled away panting as the phone rang and, in a breathless voice, answered. He kept himself still, willing his erection to go down.
When she ended the call, she grinned at him as she felt his rock-hard dick against her. “Oh, my poor Zack. What are we going to do? What a pity we’re…” She looked around his tattoo parlor, winked, and licked her lips.
He growled, wrapped her legs around his waist, and walked back to his office, ignoring the laughter behind him. Shutting his office door, he yanked at her clothes and slipped out of his own.
Feral with lust, he sat her on his desk and covered her mouth again, letting his tongue tangle with hers. His hands smoothed over her stomach and moved down to play with her clit.
Sandy seemed as wild as he was, clawing at his back and pulling him back to her mouth as he trailed feathered kisses down her neck.
Sandy arched into his touch. “Zack, oh God, what is it about you that makes me so wild?”
Zack growled as he dipped a finger into her pussy to feel her wetness. “Firebird, you’re so wet.”
Sandy nodded and watched him kiss his way down her body. When he reached her pussy, he dived in, lapping at her and moving his finger in and out of her wet core. Sucking on her nub, he added a second finger and picked up his pace. She ground against him, moaning.
Sandy sat on his desk, legs apart, body arched up. Her hands supported her and her head was back and her eyes closed. She was gorgeous.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful. Come for me. I want inside you now. But first I want that pussy to clench around my fingers.”
He went back to sucking and licking, his fingers moving faster in her until she ground down on his face and screamed, “Zack!”
Feeling her muscles tighten around him and her cream gush out, he lapped to make sure he drank every last drop.
Slowly, he slid up her body, loving the feel of her smooth skin against his. Aligning his cock at her entrance, he stared at his satisfied woman. He looked at his dick about to slip into her pussy and paused at the sight of his bare penis. Fuck. Zack searched for his pants. Seeing them on the floor, he grabbed them as quick as he could, found his wallet, and searched through it for the condom. He ripped it open and slipped the condom onto his cock.
Sandy’s expression had changed to one of surprise and gratitude. As he settled himself between her thighs, Sandy wrapped her arms around him and brushed his lips with hers.
“Thank you. I really appreciate you remembering, especially when I didn’t.” Her mouth came back to his, and her soft naked body was crushed up against his.
Zack held her hips and slowly slid himself into her wet core. Her head fell back, and his lips trailed down her cheek and neck. He smoothed his hands down her back and around and up to cup and play with her breasts
Sandy wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing him further in with his thrusts. Sandy hummed, and ran her hands down to cup his butt. “Zack, faster. Ah, yes, just like that. Yes, yes. Zack!”
Picking up his pace, he captured her mouth again and moved his hands around to hold her close to him. Sandy gripped him to her. Her nails dug into his back, and he started to feel her pussy muscles squeeze around him. She bit his lip as she came around him, quivering and raking her nails down his back.
He pulled his head away to watch her eyes as they glassed over in ecstasy, and a smug grin settled over her. Zack let himself go on a shout, emptying himself into the condom. Resting on top of her for a moment, he sighed in satisfaction.
Slowly he eased himself up, keeping a hold on Sandy. “Firebird, you’re amazing. Thanks for coming to see my place.” He brushed hair out of her eyes, picked her up, and moved them to sit on his office chair.
She sighed and snuggled into him. “Every time you or Jake touch me, I become a sex-crazed maniac.”
Zack kissed her forehead. “Just the way I like you.”
She smacked his chest, and he sat content and happier than he’d felt in years.
“I love your shop. It looks like you have some very talented artists.” She trailed her fingers over his chest. “Why haven’t you got any tattoos on your chest?”
Kissing her head, he held her tighter, loving the feel of her fingers. “At first I got my tats to piss of my parents at eighteen. Back then I only had one or two.”
Sandy grinned. “Oh, you were that type of teenager.”
He nodded. “Yep.”
She circled the brown bear in the woods that he had on his arm. “They’re amazing. The detail is awesome.”
“All of them are my design. I wanted to become an artist but… at the time when I got my first, it didn’t seem like the right choice for me, so I joined the army and served for almost ten years. That didn’t go down well with the family. You see, it’s okay to be a cop or detective, just not an everyday army grunt like I was. Well, anyway, I got out and thought I would try the art thing again. I got some more tats and was asked who designed them. After a while, I figured out it’s what I wanted to do.”
“I’m glad you found what you wanted to do and didn’t let your family dictate to you. Do you think you will do the rest of your body?”
Zack didn’t know if he would do much more of his body. He loved his tats but he didn’t want to be covered in them.
He looked down at his gorgeous mate, who he knew he’d fallen in love with. Since he’d mated her, she’d done things to him no other woman had, and she’d come and seen his business which was more than most of his family had ever done. He looked down at her as she traced his tattoos. A new tat started to come into his mind, and he knew just where he was going to put it.
Pulling her face up, he brushed his lips over hers, lingering for a moment before he pulled away. “I haven’t gotten around to doing other parts of my body. I probably won’t do much more.”
Sandy smiled and rested her head on his chest. “I want to get one. I don’t have any. I wouldn’t mind getting one. Well, two, I think. Two bears together.”
His heart picked up faster at her words and his brain went to mush. Sandy wanted him and Jake on her. Scared that he misheard her, he hugged her tighter and muttered, “You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I would love to do whatever you want a tattoo of.”
She beamed up at him, and he knew for sure that he was head over heels in love, even after such a short time.
Chapter Six
Sandy couldn’t wait for this concert. She’d kissed her boss’s arse to get sixth row tickets. She’d needed four tickets originally, but with Samantha still recovering, she now only needed the three.
She was excited because a bunch of people from her work was going along too. What she wasn’t looking forward to was her boss’s brother Richard. To get the tickets she’d had to promise she would be his date and go on another on Sunday night too.
For the last year at work, he’d asked her out at least once a week, but she always turned him down. Sandy never dated anyone from work. Richard wasn’t ugly. He was quite handsome, she supposed, at just under six feet, and slim, with short blond hair. The problem was he wasn’t her type, no matter how much she wished he was. She liked them big and muscular with dark tanned skin.
Thanking God her men weren’t there, Sandy groaned inwardly as she realized what she’d called them as she waited in front of her house for Richard. Her men. Sandy tried not to feel guilty about the date and told herself she had only met and been with her guys for almost two weeks. Jake was working tonight, and Zack was in his shop until five. He’d offered to drop her and her friends off and pick them up, but she’d said they had it covered. Sandy was grateful he didn’t ask any more questions.
They’d surprised her by not asking her more about the concert, although she had made her stance on the subject very clear early on. They were trying to not be like her family, and
she could tell it was killing them, especially Jake. The cop in him was begging to come out, and she was fighting herself not to fall in love with them for their efforts. The dinner they’d done her the other night had been a dream come true. No one had ever cooked for her. The last person she vaguely remembered was her mother. Her father and brothers were good at takeout and canned or microwave foods.
A red sports car pulled up out front and Richard got out. He wore black striped shorts with a blue collared shirt. He strutted towards her with a huge smile on his face. Forcing her lips to curl up at the sides in what she hoped passed for a smile, she walked the rest of the way to him praying he wouldn’t expect much from her.
Grabbing her hand, he escorted her to his car, opened the door for her and closed it before he got in himself. He turned on the engine and drove away. The smile never left his face.
“I’m so happy you agreed to this. I look forward to getting to know you more outside of work.” He reached for her hand again, and she avoided him. “I’m sorry I had to go to this extreme to get you to go on a date, but I’m sure you will agree by the end of tonight it was the right thing to do. I think we could really have something.”
Sandy bit her tongue and told herself she brought this on herself. She should think of this as an experiment. She had wanted to date different people, men not like her brothers. She’d even said this to Zack and Jake, and Richard was the total opposite to her brothers, Zack, and Jake.
The guilty feeling got worse the closer to the venue they got. When they reached the vineyards and parked, Sandy got out before Richard could come around.
They walked up to the concert venue. He reached for her hand again, and she maneuvered herself out of his reach, pausing just before the gates. She couldn’t take the guilt anymore. If she was honest with herself, she couldn’t stand his touch. It felt slimy and made her sick. “I’m really sorry. I should have said something before, but I’m in a relationship. It’s kinda new.”
“How new?” His brow was furrowed, and his nose scrunched as he looked down at her.
