Fated Mates: The Alpha Shifter Boxed Set (12 Book Bundle) (Insatiable Reads)

by Hunter, Adriana

  True to his word—and damned promise—Ethan made sure she got ready for work, driving her in a large, black SUV he owned. According to him, Javier had left earlier on some task requiring his attention. She hated to admit it, but she missed seeing him.

  The drive didn’t lack for conversation as it turned out Ethan enjoyed listening to the news on the AM channels and the question of the day debates. They got into a rousing discussion over the issue of whether or not the province should fund religious schools. To her delight, he provided interesting facts to back up his point, and before she knew it, they’d arrived at her work.

  Silence fell as she prepared to leave him, something she found difficult. A part of her wanted to say screw work, to continue hanging out with him. Madness, and she squashed it by opening the truck door. As she prepared to hop out of his SUV, he leaned over, his big hand cupping the back of her head and drawing her toward him.

  “Behave yourself, if you can, baby,” he admonished with a smirk. “And call us if you need anything. Javier programmed your phone with our numbers.” He kissed her, a slanting embrace over her lips that made her tingle from head to toe. “I’ll see you after work,” he growled, his eyes smoldering. “Javier will be coming by to take you to lunch.”

  He will, will he? Naomi stood on the pavement outside the office complex, her lips swollen, her pussy wet and a silly grin threatening. Apparently, she wasn’t averse to taking orders, from her two jocks anyway. Anyone else who tried would get their face bitten off. Or, she’d report them to the Canadian equivalent of the IRS, which was actually much crueler.

  What a letdown work proved after her titillating morning wakeup and distracting goodbye kiss. To keep herself from thinking of things she might pull off at her lunch with Javier, she checked her email, then voicemail.

  George, her lawyer friend, still hadn’t responded back, his last message still the brusque email to drop her investigation of the uncle’s account. She dialed his office, which again went straight to voicemail, a full voicemail inbox. Unable to leave a message, she drummed her fingers on the desk, somewhat perturbed. Given the incident the previous day with her car, the fact her lawyer friend didn’t answer or return her messages seemed ominous.

  It occurred to her she could wander over to his office a few blocks away. Sure, Ethan had stressed the don’t-go-anywhere-by-yourself thing, but really, didn’t he know to whom he talked to? Nobody told her what she could do. Besides, someone would have to be foolish to try anything in broad daylight.

  Before she could change her mind, she grabbed her purse and headed out.

  “Josie, George isn’t returning my calls, so I’m going to pop over to his office and have a chat with him.”

  “He’s not there,” Josie replied not looking up from her computer screen as she tapped away.

  “How do you know that? Is he okay? Does anyone know where he is? When was the last time anyone saw him? Shoot, I hope he wasn’t targeted as well,” Naomi trailed off, wondering if she could call some shifter authorities.

  Josie’s fingers stopped typing and she looked up at Naomi, her blue eyes wide. “What the hell are you rambling on about now? There’s nothing wrong with George. He happened to meet a woman, his mate, I might add. Turns out, she’s the sister of the uncle you thought was screwing with the money. Speaking of which, I just got a FedEx package this morning with those missing receipts. Seems one of the little guys has been having a problem at school and the uncle’s been setting up some private tutoring. Those receipts along with some others for some specialized equipment and drugs not covered by OHIP are in there. I was just typing them into the spreadsheet for you.

  “Oh. So, George is alright?”

  Josie rolled her eyes. “Well, duh, unless you think there’s something wrong with boinking, like, a hundred times a day. I swear, you’d think they had some bunny somewhere in their gene pool. My cousin, who cleans his apartment, says the place reeks of sex and she’s been washing sheets nonstop for the last two days.”

  Naomi’s cheeks burned at the information, because she had to wonder, if she gave in to her own desires with Javier and Ethan, would she act the same way? Like a bitch in heat. Awooo!

  Stepping back into her office, she slumped in her chair. A startling revelation—that didn’t involve her hunk problem—made itself clear. If the uncle is clean, who trashed my car?

  She didn’t have the slightest clue. Nothing else in her recent dealings with clients appeared in the least shady, but maybe she’d inadvertently triggered some kind of alarm. She’d have to go back through her files and see if she’d missed something.

  The lunch hour arrived and Naomi found herself brushing her hair and reapplying lip gloss. Her girly reaction to the knowledge Javier would soon arrive to take her out made her want to bang her head off her desk—or even better, his hard stomach as she deep throated something long and hard. Oh shit, I am in so much trouble. I don’t know how much longer I can keep denying them. Denying myself.

  The fire in her sex, which had settled to a low burn, flared as she heard the rumble of Javier’s voice through the door. Then he was there, filling her office with his scent. Her eyes devoured him in his casual jeans and button shirt, his hair still slick from a recent shower.

  He held up a brown paper bag and smiled crookedly. “Sandwich delivery guy.”

  “How much do I owe you?” she asked in a husky tone she almost didn’t recognize.

  His eyes flared with heat. “One deep, prolonged kiss.”

  Naomi pushed back from her desk, the wheels on her chair scooting her away, and she beckoned him with a crooked finger, not completely in control of herself, and yet she couldn’t entirely blame her wanton behavior on her wolf who yipped in anticipation. “Come and get it.”

  Dropping the bag on her desk, he moved to stand in front of her. Bracing his hands on the armrests of her chair first, he bent down until his face hovered just in front of hers. Impatient, and glad to see him after what seemed an interminable time, she grabbed his head and yanked him close enough for her to plaster her mouth against his. He held himself still as she slid her lips along his, her tongue teasing the part in them. With a groan, he dropped to his knees and his arms swept around her. Hugging her tight to his chest, she moaned in satisfaction. His mouth opened wide at her probing and his tongue swept into her moist recess, taking over the embrace and setting her on fire.

  Enough sanity prevailed for her to gasp, “My secretary—”

  “Has gone for lunch,” he interrupted, dragging his mouth from hers to slide across the edge of her jaw. He planted rows of kisses on his way to her ear. “We really shouldn’t be doing this, though.”

  “Now you sound like Ethan,” she panted as he clamped onto her earlobe, sucking it and then swirling his tongue in the sensitive shell.

  “Yes, he told me of your naughty behavior this morning before he left for practice. My poor little wolf. Are you feeling unwanted? Unfulfilled?”

  “Yes. No.” Her head tilted back to give him better access to her neck. He took advantage, blazing a trail down her skin.

  “You only have to say the word, and we will give you everything your heart and body desires.” He slid his hand up her skirt, his fingers dancing along her bare thighs to her damp apex. “Just give us permission to be with you forever and we will worship you with our mouths. Tease you with our fingers. And plow you with our cocks until you come screaming.”

  Talk about creating vivid fantasies. Naomi moaned as his fingers pressed against her core, tantalizing her with promised delights. His mouth left the soft skin of her neck to cover the aching peak of her breast, her nipple straining through the silken material for his touch. He bit down on it, and even with the fabric covering it, an electric jolt shot through her. She arched against him.

  “Javier, please,” she begged.

  “Will you take me as mate?” he asked in a ragged voice.

  “Would you accept a maybe?” And that quickly, he moved away leaving her ber
eft, cold—and horny.

  “I brought you ham and cheese on a Panini. Light on the mayo with a touch of lettuce.”

  Through passion glazed eyes, she watched in disbelief as he opened the brown bag and pulled out food. If it hadn’t been for the massive hard on he sported, she would have thought him unaffected.

  “You guys aren’t playing fair,” she complained, trying to quell her wolf, which howled in her mind to pounce on him and bite. “Why can’t we just fuck, and enjoy ourselves. Maybe this mating urge will wear off without the need to mark anyone.”

  Javier swiveled his head and shot her an incredulous look. “I know firsthand how a horny man can be stupid from a lack of blood to the brain, but I hadn’t realized it extended to women.”

  Naomi flushed. “Are you calling me stupid?”

  “Judging by what you just said, yes. That or really determined to ignore the truth. Can you honestly tell me you wolf doesn’t want to claim me right now? To sink its teeth into my skin and leave a mark for everyone to see? To bind yourself to me?”

  Naomi squirmed and scowled, especially since she currently fought the urge he just described. “But I don’t want to. I want a normal, quiet life.”

  A snort escaped him. “Sweetheart, you aren’t normal. But—” he held up his hand when she would have rebutted. “We can promise to do our best to keep the violence and chaos out of our home, unless you instigate it, of course.”

  “Are you implying I have a temper?” She arched a brow.

  “That depends. Will you tackle me like you did yesterday? Because if you do, let me strip before I say yes, you have a formidable temper,” he announced with a hopeful look on his face.

  Biting her lip, she fought it, but lost. Giggles burst free. A moment later, Javier joined her. She grabbed a sandwich when her mirth died down and bit into it.

  “Just because I’m not willing to take shit doesn’t mean I’m not a delicate flower deep down inside,” she informed him in between mouthfuls.

  “The most beautiful flowers always have thorns.”

  They did, didn’t they? “I’m still not crazy about it. I mean one shifter was bad enough, but fate is sticking me with two.”

  “Well, you could try bonding to only one of us,” Javier said, mischief glinting in his eye. “But the one not chosen would probably try to drown his disappointment between the thighs of another.”

  Immediately, her wolf—and Naomi herself—bristled, as jealousy took her prisoner. Javier never saw the sandwich she flung in his face, but he sure felt it. Before he could wipe it off, she’d grabbed him by the balls and snarled. “Let’s get one thing straight right now, my alley cat. There. Will. Be. No. Other. Women.”

  At Javier’s pained grin, she growled. Setup. Totally setup and I fell for it without a fight. But still, it said a lot about her burgeoning feelings that even the mere thought of another woman with them would send her into a tizzy.

  A beeping sound came from his pants and a chagrined look crossed Javier’s face. “I must go. I’ve got a meeting to attend about Friday’s match in Toronto.”

  “You’re leaving town?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh.” She tried to hide her disappointment at the knowledge. Sure, she’d gotten used to seeing them every day since the weekend, but that didn’t mean anything. Liar.

  Javier cocked his head and tilted her chin up. “Why are you looking so blue? Afraid you’ll miss us? Don’t worry, you’re coming with us.”

  And that quickly, her despondency evaporated. Of course, she didn’t let him know how happy his caveman claim made her. Instead, she harangued him for trying to control her, and making plans without asking.

  But when he went to leave, she didn’t fight him when he reeled her in for a kiss she felt all the way to her toes—and back up to her sex.

  Chapter Twelve

  Horny, but happy at how things were progressing, Javier left Naomi’s office and met up with Ethan at the shifter’s private sports complex. The big bear shook his head in silent reply at Javier’s questioning look. Ethan had gone to talk with some contacts he had in the shifter underground to see if anyone might have heard anything about Naomi’s attack, apparently in vain.

  Damn. Another dead end to go with last night’s visit to see Naomi’s client. A total bust as it turned out the bamboozling uncle wasn’t the car vandal.

  Javier, in the hopes of gleaning some clues, had left early that morning—reluctantly from Naomi’s bedside—and slipped into her office where he copied her hard drive onto a USB memory stick. The amount of info to sift through proved staggering, but they needed to find out who threatened her. The most logical explanation remained a client of hers trying to hide something. Finding out who was a task he’d tackle later. Right now, he headed upstairs for a team meeting and strategy session for their upcoming match in Toronto. A waste of time, Javier personally thought. He and Ethan would just do as they always did—plow through the opposition and win.

  Ethan looked pensive as they took the elevator up to the war room. “You know, maybe it was just some random attack.”

  Javier’s gut said otherwise. “How do you explain the note then?”

  Ethan shrugged. “Maybe they hit the wrong car.”

  “Ah, yes, because there are so many other red Miata’s in her parking garage,” Javier replied sarcastically.

  A glower pulled Ethan’s brow down and he bared his teeth. “Smartass kitty. If you think you’re so gosh damned smart, then why don’t you come up with something, because I sure as hell haven’t found anything that leads me to believe it’ll happen again.”

  “Something doesn’t smell right about it.” And his inner cat agreed with bristling fur and soft growls. Their mate remained in danger.

  “So we stick to her like glue. What a chore.” Ethan rolled his eyes and chuckled. “I don’t think there’s a shifter stupid enough to try anything with us by her side.”

  Speaking of which, “I told her we were bringing her to Toronto with us.”

  “And? I see you have your balls still.”

  Javier grinned. “She called me a few names and accused us ordering her around, but she didn’t say no.”

  “Think she’ll let us mark her before then?” Ethan asked hopefully.

  “My friend, I think short of a disaster tonight, nothing will stop her.”

  Fate had a bitching way, of course, of making people eat confident words.

  A frantic phone call by an almost incoherent Naomi several hours later saw them racing in Javier’s Lexus to reach her. They found her standing over her brother’s bed at her parent’s home. The young male appeared bruised and battered, but in good spirits judging by his toothy grins. His source of humor? His livid sister who cursed while she paced and recited in gruesome detail the damage she’d inflict on the ruffians who’d attacked him.

  “How dare they!” she ranted. “Attack my little brother? The nerve! When I find them, I’m going to carve their testicles off and feed them to the birds. I’m gonna break every bone in their body, then run them over with my car. Wait, my car’s broken. I’m gonna borrow a truck then, a big one and—”

  Chris, the injured younger brother, rolled his eyes. “Thank fuck you guys finally got here. She hasn’t stopped since she got here. Please tell my whack job of a sister to leave this one alone. As soon as I’m out of this bed, the boys and me are going to mete out some justice, wolf style.” Chris grinned, his canine teeth showing.

  “Ethan, please take Naomi downstairs for a drink of water. I think she’s thirsty.”

  “Am not,” she retorted.

  “Ethan?” Javier gave his friend a look. With a nod, Ethan didn’t bother arguing with Naomi, just scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder, caveman style. She, of course, shrieked and pounded at his back, but anchored by Ethan’s thickly muscled arm, she couldn’t escape. Screaming invectives that dwindled as they left, Javier sighed and turned to face Chris.

  “You probably don’t have long before
she escapes him and comes back even louder than before.”

  “Thanks, man. I swear, I thought I was going to kill myself if she didn’t shut up.” Chris rolled his eyes.

  “Your sister is understandably upset you were injured.”

  “Yeah, well, she’d be even more pissed if she found out if my beating was a warning to her.”

  His words froze Javier. “What did you say?”

  “The four meatheads who jumped me were hired muscle. West coast boys judging by their accents. They took me by surprise coming off the college campus.” Chris’s face, the parts not purple and blue already, reddened with embarrassment.

  “Those are bad odds for anyone, my friend.”

  Chris scoffed. “I betcha my sister’s boyfriend downstairs wouldn’t have even broken a sweat.”

  Javier inclined his head and smiled. “Yes, but he’s special. Four would have been enough to take me out, though. What did they say to you to make you think this is related to Naomi?”

  “It didn’t make much sense. One of them grunted something like, ‘Tell her to back off if she knows what’s good for her’ and the other said ‘It would never work.’ What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  Puzzlement creased Javier’s brow. “The mystery deepens.” Before Javier could say anything else, movement at the door made him turn sharply. An ashen faced Naomi stood in the doorway. Ethan appeared behind her, his eyes stormy. He shrugged at Javier’s look.

  “They attacked you because of me?” she asked her brother in a quiet tone that made Chris blanch.

  “Now, Noami, don’t— ”

  “Don’t what? Freak? Beat you for not telling me in the first place?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  Naomi whirled and moved to leave, but Ethan stood in her way. “Move or I’ll hurt you again,” she growled through gritted teeth.