by Gale Stanley
"It's about time, bro." Jude slapped him on the back and pumped his hand. "This is great news."
Then why didn't he feel great about it? His siblings were more excited than he was.
Janis looked at him funny. "What? Getting bridegroom jitters already?"
He plastered a big smile on his face. "It just seems so final."
"Nothing is final nowadays. Not when getting a divorce is so easy. But, you and Nicole will be fine. You've been together long enough to know if it'll work. And it will. I'm really happy for you, Jonas. Nobody should be alone."
"Hey, don't get all emotional." Jonas put an arm around her. "None of us are alone as long as we have each other."
"Don't get me wrong. I'm blessed to have you both for brothers, but I want to meet my soul mate before I'm old and gray. Eligible men are few and far between in Black Wolf."
"I know. I've been thinking about that a lot lately." This was the perfect time to segue into plan B. "I need someone to handle a real estate deal in Philadelphia. A change of scene might do you good. And it will give you a chance to meet some new people."
Speechless, Janis gawked at him.
"Why don't I know about this?" Jude asked, peeved. “What kind of property?"
"An apartment building. Prices are down, and I can get it for song. I've been wanting to branch out, and this is the right time."
"Okay, I'll get right on it."
"No. I think Janis can handle this one." He ignored their stunned faces. "I need you here, Jude."
"Who's going to take care of you? Clean the house and cook?" Janis protested.
"I think Jude and I can manage on our own for a short time."
"But you're getting engaged."
"Don't worry. I'm not going to get married without my sister."
"Well, if this is what you want."
"It is," Jonas stated firmly. "And the sooner the better. The owner wants a quick settlement, and you'll need to meet with the lawyer. I want you to leave this week. Book a flight at Erie International, and Jude will drive you to the airport.
"This week! Jonas, I have appointments, and I need to buy a few things."
"What's the problem? Philly doesn't have stores?"
Janis threw down her dish towel. "This is insanity." She gave him a dirty look and stormed out of the kitchen.
Jude waited until she left before turning to him, fire in his eyes. "What the hell is this all about? I'm not capable of taking care of business all of a sudden?"
"Relax. It's got nothing to do with you. Sable needs more freedom, and after the fiasco with Nicole the other day, I'm thinking it's best if Janis isn't here. I can't have them running into each other. The sale is a no-brainer, but I'll make sure Janis is occupied with fixing the place up. And, who knows, she might meet a nice guy while she's there."
"I get it, I think. But how are you going to keep Nicole and Sable apart?"
"Nicole isn't living here, and I'm not getting married tomorrow. We've been dating for years. We can be engaged for a few more."
"Why get engaged at all?"
"I didn't have much choice, she gave me an ultimatum. She's antsy, but a nice ring will keep her quiet for awhile."
"And you think a long engagement is going to fly? Just how long is your research gonna take?"
"You can't put a time limit on something like this. I have to know where the she-wolf came from, her genetic code."
Jude looked mystified.
"The genetic code is important because it passes data through the generations. If I had a baby to study, I might be able to discover how she passes on her special abilities to her offspring."
"That's really more than I need to know," Jude muttered, shaking his head.
"Just know this, if I can successfully reproduce her traits, we can live longer, healthier lives."
"Okay, bro, I'll leave the Dr. Frankenstein stuff to you, but how can you be sure Sable won't run away."
He hesitated for a minute. "I'm going to put a shock collar on her."
"Don't you think that's a little harsh?"
"Who's going soft now?" Jonas forced a nervous laugh. "This thing has a vibrating alarm that'll warn her before anything happens."
Jude remained silent, a sullen expression on his face.
"Look, we're going to keep a close eye on her. That's why I need you here. She'll be fine. And just in case she gets past the fence, the collar is fitted with a tracking device that works in densely covered areas."
"Okay, bro, I guess you know what you're doing. You can count on me to take good care of her."
* * * *
"Jeeez, bro, a checkered tablecloth, I didn't think you had it in you." Jude pulled it out of the wicker basket and spread it over the grass. "I'm impressed."
Sable's mouth watered. There were sandwiches with thick slabs of roast beef, potato salad, and even a bottle of red wine.
She was wearing Janis's clothes today instead of the scrubs she normally wore. The khaki shorts, red T-shirt, and sandals were a good fit. She almost felt normal, like any woman on a picnic with her man—actually, her two men. Jude might be her mate, but Jonas had fathered her child.
In the past few days, Jonas seemed more relaxed. Jude told her their sister had gone on a trip, and she figured that must be the reason. Maybe Jonas got rid of the other woman, too. The thought pleased her. She wouldn't be here much longer, and she wanted them all to herself in the time they had left.
Today Jonas decided they should take advantage of the Indian summer and eat outside. If he was trying to appease her, it worked. Even the heavier restraint she wore didn't make a dent in her good mood. At least the new collar didn't smell like dog piss.
She gave Jonas a few points for trying, but she didn't delude herself into thinking it meant anything. A prisoner, no matter how well treated, was still a prisoner. She had about as much freedom as his other dogs. So what. She played her own game. The little bit of freedom he allowed her was her ticket to escape.
The food disappeared quickly. Her men had big appetites, and so did she. The wine mellowed her. She wanted more, but she only allowed herself one glass. Lycan babies were big and strong. The women had never worried about drinking intoxicating spirits when they were pregnant. But her baby was half-human, and she had no idea how the infant might react. Besides, she needed to keep a clear head and be alert to anything that might help her escape. Jude went on and on about his new hunting rifle. The man-talk bored her, and she curled up like a cat snoozing under the warm sun.
A smack on the butt brought her up snarling.
"Hey, sorry." Jude backed off and put his hands up in mock surrender. "I thought you wanted to enjoy the great outdoors." He gestured around the enclosure.
"I am," she protested.
"You know, you're getting fat and lazy," he teased. "Your stomach used to be flat as a board."
She patted her stomach. It couldn't be noticeable, not yet. Shit. Soon there would be no hiding it. She really needed to leave. "It's your fault. I've spent too much time indoors.”
"Well, you're not indoors now, and I don't see you taking advantage of it. I doubt you could beat me in a footrace."
"Oh yeah? I can beat your ass any day." She jumped up and kicked off her sandals.
"Hey, I'm only kidding."
"Well, I'm not." She took off running.
Jude rose and took off after her. "No fair, you got a head start," he yelled.
She ran like the wind. The earth felt good under her bare feet. Her hair flew out behind her like a contrail. Jude shouted, but she paid him no mind. He couldn't catch her, and his voice faded in the distance.
Unused muscles came to life. Her speed increased as she let her long, powerful legs take over. The collar vibrated. Jonas must be tracking her. Let him. She had no plan to get over the fence—not yet. But she could test its strength. There it was in front of her. She stretched out her hands and slammed into it.
A sharp pain stabbed her neck like a hot needle and buzz
ed through her body as if she'd touched a live wire. She went down, landing on her back. Her muscles contracted, and a shadow crossed the sun, like an eclipse.
"Sable, wake up. Talk to me."
Her eyes fluttered open, and she saw Jonas's worried face looking down at her before Jude yanked him up by his shirt and started screaming at him.
"What happened?" she mumbled.
Jude released his brother and dropped down beside her. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. It's Jonas's new toy, a shock collar. It was supposed to vibrate to warn you." He glared up at his brother. "Take this goddamn thing off."
"I will when we get inside," Jonas said quietly. "I'm sorry. It was a bad idea."
"Christ!" Jude tried to look under the collar.
"Oww! It hurts."
Bastards! Of course, it had to be Jonas's idea, but Jude should have said something. Too often, he let Jonas take the lead and played Beta to his Alpha. Screw both of them. Maybe she could use this to her advantage. She felt better already, but they didn't have to know it.
She buried her face against Jude's shirt, thought about sad things, and pinched the tender skin between her thumb and pointer finger. When she looked up at Jude, big crocodile tears rolled down her cheeks. She'd perfected the art of crying during her years living on the streets. Crying on cue had come in handy more than once.
Jude looked stunned. He cupped her face in his hands and swept the tears away with his thumbs. "This is coming off. For good."
"Let me take a look." Jonas brushed the hair away from her neck and checked around the collar. "There's a slight burn, but it's already fading. I don't see anything else. Except your bite scar. You'll be fine."
Sable shed a few more tears just for good measure.
"Now, Jonas," Jude insisted. "Take it off now."
"Okay," Jonas said reluctantly. "I'll be right back."
Yes! She would get this fucking thing off her neck and be one step closer to freedom.
Jude fussed over her. He insisted on carrying her back to the blanket and pouring her more wine.
"I'm okay, really."
Jonas returned and crouched next to her. He held out a silver choker necklace. "Let's try it on, and I'll take off the other one." He produced a tiny key and locked the narrow band around her neck before removing the heavy leather collar.
She ran her fingers over it. "It feels like a steel rope."
Jonas lifted her chin with a finger. "Exactly. You look like a sexy slave girl." A pulse beat in his throat.
She felt feverish and tried to fight her own rising hunger. He made her feel helpless and compliant. He pushed all her buttons. But she wanted him more than she thought possible. She met his gaze squarely and saw something in his eyes that sent shivers down her spine. A question asked and answered in a visual exchange that needed no words.
"Your wish is my command, master," she whispered.
His eyes burned with blue flame. "What if I said that right now I want to be inside you so bad I can't think straight?"
His words left her speechless. They started a fever in her blood, and her womb tightened in response. The mark on her neck, his mark, glowed hot. It burned a path to her soul and terrified her.
"But first I want to bury my face in that hot, little pussy of yours." Jonas's breathing turned rough, his voice, strangled.
Gods, she wanted it, too. She knew to the second how long it had been since he'd been inside her. His absence was a burning need, an emptiness that only Jonas could fill.
Jonas watched her intently, gauging her reactions. He circled her neck with one hand and trailed his fingers up her bare thigh with the other. She wanted to kiss him, but Jude turned her head and gave her a serious look.
"You're not his slave," he told her. "You don't have to do this."
"I want to."
Before he could protest, she grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. The sun warmed her swollen breasts. She cupped them, as if in offering. Jonas pushed her hands aside and replaced them with his own. He strummed the pebbled tips with his thumbs, and she couldn't contain her moan of pleasure.
"That feels so good," she whimpered and leaned back against Jude.
"Tell me what you want, Sable," Jonas murmured, as he rolled and tugged her nipples between his fingertips.
"I want you both." She felt flushed, whether from the sun or Jonas's hands on her body, she couldn't tell.
Jude's grip tightened on her arms. She knew he didn't miss her reactions to Jonas's touch, and it made her hotter. The men moved in unison. She loved to watch them undress. They were similarly built, tall, lean, and muscular. Jude's pale blond hair seemed to glow in the sun. Jonas's hair, while several shades darker, had gold highlights that mesmerized her. Already hard, their impressive erections electrified her.
Jonas helped her lay back on the grass, and Jude sucked one aching nipple into his warm, wet mouth. She shuddered.
Jonas fumbled with the zipper of her shorts and pulled them off. He slipped a hand between her legs and groaned at the wet heat that greeted his fingers. He kissed her stomach and circled her navel with his tongue.
"Jonas, please."
He settled between her thighs and lapped at her cream. Jonas nibbled and sucked until her clit throbbed with need. They would drive her mad.
Jude took her breast in his mouth with the strong suction that made her heart lodge in her throat. He drew her nipple taut with his lips and then nipped it with his teeth.
She trembled on the edge of orgasm and then Jonas sucked her clit into his mouth, and a wild wave of pleasure took her over the precipice.
When her shudders quieted, Jude released her breast, and Jonas climbed up her body. He supported his weight on his elbows and ground his hips against hers. A fire started in her belly. He looked down at her. His eyes blazed hot. "Tell me what you want, Sable."
"I want you inside me. Fuck me, Jonas."
Jude withdrew, and she turned her head. "Jude, I want you in my mouth."
The two men looked at each other, and an unspoken agreement passed between them. Jonas rolled off her body, and she crawled toward Jude. He lay back on the grass, and she positioned herself between his legs. She rubbed her cheek against his penis, silk over steel. He reached up and wrapped his fingers in her hair, urging her to take him in her mouth. His musky scent enticed her, excited her. She didn't need much persuasion.
She tongued a drop of pre-cum from the tiny slit on the mushroom head of his cock. His taste exploded on her tongue and made her hungry for more. She started at the base and licked her way up his length, clamping her lips around the crown and gently sucking on it.
When she increased the suction, he cursed softly and widened his legs. Afraid he might come too soon, she squeezed the base of his cock with her thumb and finger and scraped the sensitive head with her teeth as she pulled off.
"Fuck!" Jude shuddered.
She looked over her shoulder for Jonas. He fisted his cock and watched them with hungry eyes. "Don't make me wait any longer, Jonas."
She bent over Jude and slid her mouth down his cock. His groan vibrated through his body. He tasted so damn good. She sucked and licked, but she needed more. Where was Jonas? She lifted her bottom higher and felt him come up behind her.
He caressed her ass, squeezed, and then kissed the small of her back. She shivered in delight. He covered her with kisses and then bit the cheek of her ass, making her cry out. Her cunt throbbed and pulsed with her hunger. "Gods, Jonas. Fuck me."
Instead, he withdrew. She snarled around Jude's cock, but a second later, she felt Jonas’s warm tongue on her cunt. He licked her sex from bottom to top, and her soft, keening sounds filled the air. She lifted her head. "Stop teasing me," she begged. "Please."
"I think our girl wants to come," Jude muttered. He twisted her hair in his hands and held her head in place.
Jonas reached under her and pinched a nipple. "Soon," he promised.
She loved the feeling of being overpowered, of bei
ng at the mercy of her two delicious men. Every moan, every touch sent currents of pleasure through her. She'd never seen them so hot, so like two wild animals in their hunger for her. They had to feel the bond.
Jonas put a hand on her belly to anchor her and penetrated her soaked cleft. He panted against her back as he moved inside her, his rhythm gradually increasing as his excitement mounted. He stroked her pussy, so stretched around his cock, and found the little bundle of nerves that would send her into a shattering release.
They were killing her. She would surely die from pleasure. Her heart rate increased as primal need took over. Jonas growled, and his thrusts became erratic.
She grasped Jude's balls and felt them tighten in her hand. His body stiffened, and he cried out her name as he spilled his hot seed in her mouth. Jude's flaccid member slipped from her mouth, and he rubbed and kneaded her breasts while Jonas fucked her.
He pumped faster, one hand on her stomach, one on her clit. She was so close. One more hard, deep thrust and she shattered. Her scream scared the birds from the trees. She heard them take flight as Jonas found his own release.
He held her until she came down from her peak, then he tumbled over, pulling her down with him so she lay between him and Jude. Now she felt complete. They lay in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"Let's sleep outside," Sable said suddenly.
"Are you crazy?" Jonas laughed. "This ground gets awfully hard after awhile.”
Jude leaned over and kissed her. "If you want to sleep outside, I'll take you camping one day."
"Really?"
"Sure, a tent and one sleeping bag, that's all we need."
"For the three of us?" He really sounded serious.
"I don't know about this," Jonas said doubtfully.
"Good, that means more room in the sleeping bag for us." Jude tickled her and made her giggle.
"Can we do it soon?" she asked eagerly. Afraid they'd get suspicious, she didn't say anything else.
"Sure. How about tomorrow?"
"Oh, yes." She threw her arms around Jude and squeezed. Tomorrow she might be out of here.
Chapter Eleven
Jonas's grim expression unnerved her. Whatever he decided would seal her fate.
