Finn had finished dressing and he gently took Melanie back from Cooper, their lips parting with an audible smacking noise. “Later, Cooper. We have company awaiting us, remember.”
With that he strode through the door Dane was holding open for them. Dane gave Melanie a quick kiss on the lips as she passed.
Hunter was waiting inside the doorway and he also leaned in for a kiss.” You scared us all, princess.”
“Sorry, Hunter, it’s been a long, confusing, and scary day.”
Finn continued into the kitchen and sat at the big wooden table, arranging Melanie comfortably on his lap.
“Melanie, I would like to introduce you to one of our pride elders, Shana. She is also our pride shaman.” Finn gestured at a tall grey-haired old woman, who was at the stove stirring a pot.
Shana turned. “Come stir this please, Dane. It is a tonic for your mate.” She came over and sat in the chair next to Finn and Melanie.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Melanie stated, holding out her hand.
“The pleasure is mine also, young lady. You have caused quite a stir, I understand.” Shana gently held Melanie’s hand instead of shaking it.
“I’m sorry for all that. I just didn’t understand what was going on.”
“Of course you didn’t. How could you? I am sure these boys tried as best they could to explain things to you, but they are men. They have no idea how a woman thinks. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help you.” Shana shot Finn a look of censure and he growled low in his chest.
“Sorry, Alpha, but you are still a boy to me, and the poor girl should have had a woman here to explain certain things to her. I’m sure you just went at it like a caveman, ‘Me mountain lion, you my woman.’”
Melanie giggled, and Hunter, Dane, and Cooper all snorted, trying hard not to laugh.
“We didn’t quite phrase it like that, Shana, but I think we were perhaps a little blunt,” Finn said thoughtfully. “If any of the other pride males find their mates are human, I think that Melanie or yourself should perhaps be on hand for the explanations.”
Shana released Melanie’s hand and bowed her head to Finn. “You are a good Alpha, Finn, and you will be a good mate to this little human. I have made a tonic that will help her to regain her strength. Now I can answer those questions you have for me.” She went to the stove and took the spoon from Dane. She poured some of the hot liquid into a mug and returned to the seat next to Finn, handing the steaming mug to Melanie with a smile.
Hunter, Dane, and Cooper all came and sat around the table. Melanie smiled at them, and wondered how she could have run from them. She felt in her heart that she was home. She was a complete person here with them. It was a feeling she would not ignore again, no matter how angry she might get at them.
“As I mentioned briefly, Shana, Melanie was injured in Curtis’s escape from the ambulance in Buena Vista last night. She has a concussion, three broken ribs, and some deep lacerations to her leg.” Finn stroked down Melanie’s arm as he related her injuries to Shana. Melanie wasn’t sure if it was to soothe her or himself.
“You should not have gone out in the cold, Melanie. You could have injured yourself further, especially dressed as you are,” Shana scolded.
Melanie blushed and turned her head to look up at Finn. “She is back now, and seems none the worse for her trip outside.”
Melanie was grateful to Finn for his not being too mad at her for her stupidity. She did know better. As a registered nurse she should not have risked a punctured lung by falling on her broken ribs, let alone hypothermia.
“The questions that I have for you, Shana, are about Curtis and about the mating. Curtis has tasted Melanie’s blood. Is there any risk to her from this?”
“You are right to worry. As mate to the Alpha, he would have scented her blood as such. If he wanted to challenge you, or hurt you, she would be a great prize for him,” Shana explained.
“I was afraid of that. We will keep her protected until he is captured. On the question about the mating, we would never put Melanie’s health at risk and we are quite willing to withstand the urge to mate until she is well. However, I seem to recall hearing once that the mating can actually accelerate the healing in a mate if they are injured. Is that true?”
“Yes, Finn.” Shana nodded her head thoughtfully. “The mating ritual can indeed heal an injured human. I have seen it done where there were three mates involved. The human mate was healed a little with each partner, and completely healed by the last bite. I believe you would still have to be very gentle with the mating, which may be hard for all of you.”
“We wouldn’t want to hurt Melanie.” Dane leaned in and kissed Melanie on the lips.
“We can wait as long as it takes, Finn. Cold showers are very effective, I’ve heard,” Cooper said, smirking as he shouldered Dane aside and nipped lightly at Melanie’s lower lip.
Melanie was starting to feel very warm with Finn hard against her back and all the great kissing and nibbling. She turned to Hunter for his input. Hunter leaned across and continued his devastating kiss from earlier. Melanie felt her nipples harden to points under the soft material of Finn’s T-shirt.
“I think if it means Melanie is no longer in any pain then we should do it for that reason alone,” Hunter stated, softly nibbling down Melanie’s neck and making her squirm in Finn’s lap.
“That was my thinking also, Hunter. It will speed up her recovery to hours instead of weeks for those broken ribs. Please, sweetness, stop with the fidgeting, you are making things very hard for me.” Finn smiled softly down at her, and she gave a little wiggle of her hips to see if she understood correctly what he meant. Oh yeah, he was hard, and huge. He had looked large outside while he had gotten dressed, but Melanie had only gotten a glimpse. He now felt massive against her buttocks. Maybe they could never be mated. She was just too small for them.
She felt her budding arousal wash away from her. She knew she should never have started to imagine a life where she was no longer alone. This was just going to hurt so badly when it ended, and she knew it would end soon now, once they discovered they could not mate with her.
* * * *
Shana rose and gripped Melanie’s hand softly in both of hers. “Don’t run, Melanie, talk to your mates. They are good men. The mating bond makes lying to one another impossible, so you can always trust what they say, as they can trust you.”
So that explained why she was always blurting out whatever she felt. Melanie had thought it was the head injury, or the drugs they had given her.
“Thank you, Shana. We are grateful for your help.” Finn escorted Shana to the door.
Shana bowed her head to Finn and then to Cooper, smiled at Hunter and Dane, and left.
“Why are you looking like you want to run again, little one?” Dane asked, moving to the chair Shana had vacated next to Finn and Melanie.
“We promised honesty, angel, remember? Don’t give up on us so soon.” Cooper sat on the chair on Finn’s other side, and Hunter perched on the table next to them.
“I don’t want to run from you, I want to stay. But you won’t be able to mate me, and then you will have me leave. I will be alone again.” Melanie looked down at her hands, not making eye contact with any of them.
“I am glad to hear you are not running, but why were you alone, Melanie? Are you not close to your family?” Finn asked her and gently lifted her chin so he was looking into her beautiful eyes.
“I don’t have any family now. My parents died four years ago and I was an only child.” Her eyes shimmered with tears. Finn wanted to take all of her pain away, but he knew this was an old hurt. He couldn’t change it, but he was now determined to make her future full of nothing but happiness. He nodded his head, urging her to continue.
“They were coming to collect me from my High School graduation party. They were really late, I was the only one left at the school hall, and I was mad at them for forgetting me, and embarrassed when the cleaners started to come in.
One of the teachers offered to drive me home. I refused, and started to walk home. I was only a few minutes from home when I saw all of the emergency vehicles. I recognized the car. It was wrapped around a telephone pole. A drunk driver had run them off the road. They died instantly, so did the other driver.”
She told the story with very little emotion in her voice, but the pain was pouring out of her. It was making Finn’s heart hurt.
“I had always wanted to be a nurse, so I worked three jobs, putting myself through college. I wanted to make them proud. I was working so hard all the time, I had no time for my friends, and eventually they stopped calling. I then found if I never let anyone close, I never felt any more pain. I didn’t want to ever again feel as bad as when my parents had died.”
“So you have no other family, princess?” Hunter asked her, stroking down her cheek softly.
“No, my parents were both only children, too, and my grandparents had all passed away when I was little.”
Finn began to growl low in his chest. She had not mentioned any old boyfriends, and it made him crazy to think of her with anyone else, but he had to know just how alone had his poor little mate been all these years.
“What about boyfriends over the years, Melanie? You must have let them close?” She looked up at him and couldn’t seem to find the words.
“You haven’t had any boyfriends?” She shook her head. “But you must have dated.”
“Never let anyone close—that was my mantra. That’s why you won’t be able to mate with me, don’t you see?”
Hunter and Dane just shook their heads. Finn looked at Cooper. He had a huge shit-eating grin on his face now. If Finn was not so controlled, he was sure he would be wearing the exact same expression. But he would never make Melanie feel the least bit ashamed, so he smoothed his voice and looked deeply into her eyes.
“Our mate is trying to tell us that she thinks are huge cocks are not going to fit in her tight virgin pussy.” Maybe he was feeling just a little smug after all. Melanie gasped and smacked him lightly on the chest before burying her head there.
Hunter and Dane looked at each other, then at Finn and Cooper. They looked as though they had just won the lottery, and the amber was glowing brightly in their eyes.
Cooper was softly laughing. He nuzzled Melanie’s ear and softly growled. ”We will fit just fine, angel. We were made for each other, remember?”
Chapter 12
As glad that she was that it was all out in the open, Melanie was supremely embarrassed. The men, though, looked as happy as kids on Christmas morning, and she was the parcel they were getting to unwrap. That thought had Melanie getting all wet again.
Finn growled in her ear. “You smell happy again, sweetness. Does that mean we have allayed your fears?”
“I feel better, but I am still scared. I can’t see how it is going to be possible. I would hate to disappoint you all. I might be terrible at sex. You all must have much more experience than me. What if I suck?” All that got her was four men laughing, but the way their eyes were on fire, she knew they were happy with her, not laughing at her.
“See, you are so sexy, you can’t possible disappoint us, little one,” Dane said this as he leaned in and started to kiss her. He kissed differently than Hunter, just as hot, but his tongue thrust in firmly, stroking everywhere in her mouth. She found herself thrusting her tongue into his mouth, too, and loving his musky, spicy flavor. It was making her want to get closer to him, so she leaned forward and started to unbutton his uniform shirt, desperate now to feel his skin.
Dane let her undo his shirt and he shrugged it off his broad shoulders. Melanie’s hands roamed over his hard muscled chest and down over his six-pack. He groaned under her gentle touch, deepening their kiss even more.
Melanie broke the kiss and continued to explore Dane’s naked chest with her hands. She leaned forward and kissed his neck and pecs. His skin broke out in goose bumps, and he groaned loudly. Taking that as encouragement, she circled his nipple with her tongue and lightly sucked it into her mouth.
“Oh fuck, little one, you have to stop, I am seriously about to come in my pants.” Dane pulled back slightly. “You are amazing, my mate.” He kissed her on the lips then stood up awkwardly, adjusting his crotch.
“I think you have just shown us all that you are not ‘terrible at sex,’ sweetness. Let’s get you up into a warm bath. Then we will see if you are up to the mating ritual.” Finn stood with Melanie in his arms and started to head upstairs.
Hunter and Cooper raced ahead, stating they were going to run the bath.
“I’m nervous again now, Finn, but I was ready to climb all over Dane a minute ago.”
“People get turned on and their inhibitions disappear and they just go with their hormones. It is amplified about a hundredfold with the mating bond between shifters. It is almost painful not to be touching your mate when you are aroused.”
“That’s how it was, Finn. I want you all, very badly.” She started to nibble his neck, then lick the redness, moving her hands under his T-shirt to feel his ridged abdomen. “You feel so amazing, and taste so sweet and musky.”
Finn stumbled on the steps, and Dane slapped him on the back. “It’s a sweet sort of hell, isn’t it?”
“Bath first, Melanie.” Finn gently placed Melanie on the bed and stripped off his shirt and pants. He had no briefs on and Melanie found that very sexy. His erection popped free. It almost looked like it was reaching for her. It was red and moist at the end. Melanie didn’t even think, she just leaned forward and licked the moisture off the end. The taste exploded on her tongue. She licked some more, loving the sweet yet salty flavor.
* * * *
Finn let out a groan. He was so surprised by his mate’s action. She was an innocent when it came to sex, but, my God, she was a fucking natural. How did he get so lucky? His mate was beautiful, kind, caring, and a fucking sex goddess.
“Fuck, stop Melanie. I want to come inside you this first time, not all over your face.” He reluctantly pulled away from her.
“You taste good everywhere, Finn.” Melanie was licking her lips. Shit he had to get out of here before he came all over her. He had never been so hard before in his life.
“I’ll check on the bath.” He raced to the bathroom.
Dane was by the door, naked already. “That was hot, little one, watching you suck on Finn’s cock. Can I see if you think I taste sweet, too?”
“Bath first, Dane. Bring her.” Finn knew he was sounding like a caveman, but he was in so much pain. His balls were tight against his body, pre-cum dripping off the end of his cock, which was aching and tight.
Dane laughed, but went and picked Melanie up and brought her into the bathroom. Finn lowered himself into the warm bath, knowing a cold shower would have helped more. Cooper and Hunter were already in there. It was a huge square tub with a molded seat in each corner. He reached up his arms and Dane lowered the lovely Melanie into them.
* * * *
“Ahh, that’s nice and warm. Thanks, Hunter. Thanks, Cooper.” She smiled at them. “Why am I the only one dressed?”
“I wouldn’t call that dressed, princess.” Hunter stared at her chest.
The T-shirt was clinging to her now that it was wet. Finn peeled it off her, palming her breasts and rolling her hardened nipples between his fingers. She pushed her breasts into his hands, gasping at the pleasure and at the catch in her ribs that the movement caused.
Cooper came over and lowered his head to her breast, suckling one of her nipples. It felt so good, like he was sucking on her clitoris at the same time. She wiggled against Finn’s hard cock, pressing it tighter against her buttocks and ran her fingers into Cooper’s locks, anchoring his magical lips to her breast.
Dane sloshed over and took her lips in a ferocious kiss, gently cradling her head in his hands. Pulling back from her lips, he breathed heavily. “I want you so badly, little one. I have never wanted anything more. Are you ready to bond with us?”
She didn’t know this person she had become in the last few minutes. She was open to emotions and freely giving herself to these men, and it felt so right. It felt as though the years of loneliness were being erased from her very soul. She knew she would never feel alone or cold again.
She acted on instinct and drew Hunter’s erection to her lips. His cock was not as thick or long as Finn’s, but it was still huge, her fingers not meeting around the solid girth of him. She licked at the end, and when he inhaled sharply and groaned, she lowered her mouth onto it fully, gently sucking as much as she could into her mouth.
Hunter growled and gently rocked his pelvis toward her mouth. Finn was kissing down her neck and she ground her ass against his straining erection. She had never done anything like this before, but somehow, here with these men, it felt nothing but natural.
“Are you ready for this, sweetness? We would never pressure you into this bond, but we could not want you more.” Finn licked her neck. “This is where I will mark you as my mate. It will always be there, showing every shifter that you are mine.”
“I am going to come, princess, stop.” Hunter growled and gently removed his cock from her mouth.
Melanie reached for him again. She wanted more of his taste in her mouth. They all tasted so good, all slightly different, but overridingly sweet and slightly tart as well.
“No more just yet, Melanie. I have to come in this sweet pussy the first time, then I will add my mating bite to Finn’s and mark you as mine. But believe me, after that I will be happy to let you suck on me whenever you like. You have by far the sweetest mouth I have ever felt.”
Melanie [Eminence Shifters] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 6
