by Amy Star
“It’s going to be okay,” Matthew murmured, his lips only inches away from her ear.
“I know,” Nadine said quietly. “It’s just kind of a lot to wrap my head around at the moment.”
Matthew shifted against her, and his lips connected with hers. Nadine melted against him, forgetting the pain in her ankle, the stiff ache at her neck where the stitches were, and almost everything else except for the fascinating way that Matthew’s lips and tongue tasted—the sharp whiskey and Coke flavor mingling with a kind of sweetness she remembered from their first tryst—and the heat of his body pressed against hers.
A moment later, a pair of hands closed on her waist, pulling her gently back and away from Matthew.
“My turn,” Nadine heard Dylan say, and then her lips were claimed once more.
Dylan’s hands wandered over her slowly, and Nadine felt her body heating up more and more as she realized that both men were touching her, that even as Dylan deepened the kiss, she could feel Matthew nuzzling against her breasts. She swayed on her feet, for a moment lost in the sensations coursing through her body, the arousal building up heat in her veins. The sound of someone dropping a pint glass down the street from where they were cut through Nadine’s reverie and she pulled back from Dylan’s lips, slithering free of both men’s hands.
“Okay,” she said, still more than a little breathless, tingling all over with awakened desire. “That was—really pretty cool, but I think we need to make a rule about maybe not having three-way make out sessions in public.”
Matthew and Dylan both grinned, their eyes glimmering with amusement.
“You don’t like the idea of everyone knowing that you’re managing two men at the same time?”
Nadine crossed her arms over her chest, pinning each man with a scowl in turn.
“You realize that it’s just going to make people catcall and shout things at me if they see it, right? Do you think it’s a good idea to have a mercenary-in-training with you who’s attracting a bunch of attention?” Frustration warred with the lust the two men had ignited inside of her, and Nadine struggled to keep some measure of her composure in the maelstrom of conflicting emotions.
“Fair enough,” Dylan said, meeting her gaze with a more serious expression. “But now we need to get back to the hotel as fast as possible.”
“Why?” Nadine frowned, looking around with the sudden apprehension that there were people coming for them.
“Because if we can only jump you at the same time in private, we need to get private,” Matthew explained, giving her hip a brief, but lingering caress.
Nadine sighed, shaking her head; she couldn’t quite help chuckling at the comment—even if she felt a little trepidation at the idea of the two men taking her at the same time.
“Let’s take this kind of slow,” she said, her mouth going dry as images danced through her mind of how just such an encounter would play out. “But whatever we’re doing, I think probably we should get back to the hotel before someone decides that I’m drunk and being taken advantage of.”
Matthew gave her hand a squeeze and then, when the doors to the car unlocked, he opened the back seat door and climbed in. Dylan opened the front passenger side door, gesturing for Nadine to take her seat, and she gave him a quick, flirting look through her eyelashes before carefully sliding into the seat, reaching for the seat belt as Dylan closed the door behind her. The entire drive home, her body was buzzing with desire, and Nadine tried to understand how it was possible for her to have changed so much in such a short period of time. Before meeting Dylan and Matthew, even the thought of a threesome would have sent her running from any man who suggested it; and she certainly never would have had sex with the best friend of someone she’d slept with only a day or two before.
Dylan and Matthew took turns teasing her, each of them finding a way to caress her, to kiss her neck or her cheek or her lips as they drove north from Clematis and headed back to the hotel. Nadine felt her arousal becoming more and more intense with each passing moment, until she couldn’t even force her mind to focus; she was trapped in the sensations crackling through her nerves, reacting to the two men’s hands and mouths, moaning softly and writhing in her seat.
“Guys…” She pulled her face away from Matthew’s opportunistic kiss and nearly collided with the window, pushing three hands away from her body. At least Dylan has one hand on the steering wheel, she thought wryly. She took a quick, deep breath, waiting until the arousal rushing through her veins subsided to a dull roar. “Let’s get to the hotel first, okay? I’m trying to think through something in my head, and I don’t really want the distraction.” She glanced nervously at Dylan and then at Matthew, remembering suddenly that the two men could both become bears.
“Okay,” Matthew said.
“Anytime you ever want us to stop,” Dylan added, “just say it and we’ll stop right then.”
Nadine pressed her lips together, for a moment doubtful of the truth in what Dylan had said.
“We don’t believe in forcing a mate,” Matthew explained from behind her. “The minute you feel uncomfortable, or pushed, or hesitant about something, tell us.”
“I’ve heard that before,” Nadine said, thinking of her first boyfriend, who had gone on for hours about how he would never force a woman—and who had nonetheless convinced her to go further than she had been completely comfortable with more than once.
“It’s the truth with us, though,” Dylan said, glancing at her. “I promise you, Nadine, the minute you say ‘no’ or ‘stop’ or even if you start to feel afraid—we’ll sense it—we will stop whatever we’re doing.”
Nadine considered that; it was true that both men had told her in their trysts that if she didn’t want to continue, they would stop. She also noticed that not only had they both stopped teasing and caressing her; their hands were at their sides, without the suggestion that a moment’s inattention on her part would be the signal to start again.
“I appreciate it,” Nadine said, relaxing slightly in her seat.
She could still feel the arousal buzzing through her veins, the tingling along her nerve endings, but her head felt clearer, her mind better able to function. As Dylan drove them towards the hotel, Nadine thought about the implications of the life she had taken on. If someone had told me that going home early would land me in this situation, I would have stayed late at work just to avoid it, she thought wryly. And yet—now that she knew what she would have missed out on, even with the danger—would she make the same choice? Would she have been better off never having met Dylan or Matthew?
Nadine bit her bottom lip, looking out at the shapes of the scrubby, swampy landscape that flowed past the window in the darkness. At this point, why should I even try and hold onto my job? It’s not like I’m going to be living the normal life I had before. Not if I agree to be Dylan and Matthew’s mate. But did she really have what it took to fall into the two men’s life? She could learn the martial arts—that wasn’t necessarily the concern weighing on her. What did give her pause was the fact that even if she became an expert, the way that Dylan and Matthew seemed to be, her life would always be uncertain with the two men. If she became a mercenary like them—sometimes a bounty hunter, sometimes a facilitator for semi-legal activities, sometimes a private investigator—then she would be in almost constant danger.
“What did you guys do before you got exiled?” Nadine glanced at each of the two men in turn.
“Sort of a similar thing to what we’re doing now,” Matthew said. “But we were affiliated with a sleuth—a clan. We were enforcers. If someone in the clan stepped out of line, or there was an issue with another group of shifters, we looked out for the interests of our sleuth as a whole.”
“So why did you have the murder pinned on you?” Nadine sensed rather than saw the two men shifting in their seats, almost nervous.
“We were pranksters,” Dylan said. “We were brawlers. That’s what you want in an enforcer, really—someone who’s not
afraid to bring the violence if it comes down to it. Our clan leader…” he exhaled sharply.
“He was worried that Dylan might become too popular,” Matthew said from behind her. “And since I would have been Dylan’s second in any kind of succession…”
“So he wanted to get rid of you to keep his power intact?” Nadine glanced at the two men in turn and they both nodded. Nadine shook her head. “I don’t think I’m ever going to understand politics in the shape-shifting community,” she said.
“Fortunately for you,” Matthew told her, leaning over the back of her seat. He gave her hair a quick, playful tousle—more friendly and affectionate than erotic, “you’re probably not ever going to have to.”
“You don’t think you’re ever going to go back? Or—like—join another group?” Nadine frowned.
“It’s not on the list right now,” Dylan said. “Besides, we’ve got you—what do we need a sleuth for?”
CHAPTER TEN
Matthew followed Dylan and Nadine into the hotel room, pushing down the animal impulses crackling along his bones. He and Dylan had promised that they would never transform in front of Nadine during sex—or any kind of intimate activity—but it took an effort for him to keep the animal consciousness in the background of his mind. After the confrontation with C, both he and Dylan had been riding high on adrenaline—and Nadine had been, too. Matthew’s impulse to kiss her, to rub against her, had been too strong to suppress; especially with the scent of her pheromones, all honey and lemon and lavender, flooding his nose.
The door closed behind them with a click and Matthew took a deep breath, looking from his best friend to the woman he wanted to keep as his mate—and share with Dylan.
“Are we going to do this?” He held Nadine’s gaze, trying to gauge her body language, trying to catch some hint of her feelings either way; if she was totally against being with them at the same time, Matthew would back off, approach her later. Dylan had made the first move—Matthew was not about to fight his friend for Nadine’s affections, if Nadine wanted to take it slow and only be with one man at a time.
“I’m a little overwhelmed,” Nadine said, smiling weakly. “I mean—I am incredibly turned on right now, don’t get me wrong. But I’ve never actually been with two guys at the same time.” Her cheeks lit up with a deep blush, and she looked down at the floor.
“That’s okay,” Dylan said, and Matthew watched him move closer to Nadine, not quite touching her. “We haven’t ever had sex with a woman at the same time. But we can take it slow, right?”
Matthew licked his lips, watching Nadine’s reaction carefully.
“I think so,” Nadine said, daring to look up from the floor to glance at Dylan and then at Matthew. “Just—really slow, okay, guys?”
Dylan chuckled lowly and Matthew moved slightly closer to Nadine.
“We can do slow,” Matthew said, pitching his voice lowly. “And remember, any time you want to stop…”
“Okay,” Nadine said.
Matthew glanced at Dylan and then quickly closed the distance between himself and Nadine, wrapping his arms lightly around her waist. Dylan stayed back as Matthew brought his lips down onto Nadine’s. He kissed her as gently as he possibly could, starting slow, giving her plenty of room to turn her head away or to stop him before gradually deepening the kiss. Matthew’s hands began to move on Nadine’s body and he felt the brush of Dylan’s hands as well, sensed his longtime friend’s movements as Dylan shifted into position on Nadine’s other side. Matthew broke away from Nadine’s lips, turning her head towards Dylan, and began to explore her neck and shoulders and breasts, his hands moving to begin stripping the clothes off of her body. Nadine swayed slightly in his arms, her soft moans muffled by Dylan’s kiss, and Matthew felt the heat rising in his body, flooding through his veins to pool at his hips.
Somehow—Matthew never knew how—they all fell into step with each other; Nadine’s hands wandered from his body to Dylan’s without hesitation or pause, returning their caresses as he and Dylan both lavished as much attention on her as she could possibly stand. Matthew easily smelled the scent of Nadine’s arousal as her body warmed up, felt the way she tensed and relaxed in reaction to pawing hands and teasing mouths exploring every inch of her body. He pulled back, waiting for Dylan to pause in his kissing, and when his best friend looked at him, Matthew nodded in the direction of one of the suite’s bedrooms. Dylan grinned and began to gently guide Nadine out of the living room of their shared suite. Matthew claimed her lips once more, helping Dylan to steer Nadine towards the bedroom, towards the bed.
If she noticed the fact that she was being moved, Nadine didn’t stop them; Matthew reached around to her back and unhooked her bra, peeling it away from her body, fully exposing her heavy breasts. Bit by bit, he and Dylan got her undressed, got her into the bedroom, and then, when she was completely naked, they both stopped as one, stepping back to admire their handiwork. Matthew drank in the sight of Nadine’s lushly curved figure: her full breasts, the nipples already hardening from arousal and the slight chill in the room, the flare of her hips, her muscled legs, and the shine of fluids already accumulating along the cleft of her sex, practically beckoning him.
“Who goes down on her first?”
Matthew turned his head, tearing his gaze away from Nadine’s body at the sound of Dylan’s tight voice.
“Should we flip a coin for it?” Matthew’s breath caught in his throat at the thought, desire welling up inside of him. Nadine smelled every bit as good as she ever had—good enough to devour. He gritted his teeth, fighting back the animal desire to throw her onto the bed and take her.
“Nadine, any input?” Dylan’s voice was surprisingly light, but Matthew could smell the deepening musk scent of his friend’s intense arousal—he knew very well that Dylan was a lot more interested in having Nadine than he was letting on.
“Rock-paper-scissors?” she suggested in a breathless, dazed voice.
Matthew snickered, raising one hand and glancing at Dylan with amusement.
They did as Nadine suggested, chanting the children’s deciding game words; the first time, Dylan chose rock and Matthew chose scissors. The second time, Matthew chose rock and Dylan did as well. The third time, to the sounds of Nadine’s infectious laughter, Matthew chose scissors and Dylan chose paper—bringing them to a tie.
“I swear to God if we have to do this five times, I am going to lose my mind,” Matthew said, shaking his head. Every moment that passed with Nadine’s pheromones in his head, while he was unable to touch her or feel her touching him, was torture.
“Rock-paper-scissors-go!”
Matthew threw his hand down in the shape of a rock, and Dylan laid his hand out flat, winning.
Almost before Matthew could react to his loss, Dylan launched himself towards Nadine, wrapping his arms around her and bearing her down onto the bed. Matthew watched as his friend kissed Nadine hungrily, his hands wandering all over her body; he climbed onto the bed as unobtrusively as possible, stripping off his shirt and unzipping the fly on his jeans while he waited for Nadine to come up for air.
Dylan began to trail kisses down over Nadine’s body, and Matthew took advantage of the change to claim her lips with his own, caressing everywhere that Dylan wasn’t touching or kissing or nibbling Nadine. In a matter of moments, any irritation he felt at being put off and made to wait evaporated as Nadine’s hand slipped into his boxers, wrapping around his already rock-hard cock and beginning to stroke him slowly.
Matthew lost himself in the moment, watching Dylan and Nadine with pleasure-hazed eyes as his friend moved down between Nadine’s legs. He shuddered at the sound of Nadine’s moans of pleasure, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples, claiming her mouth over and over again as she stroked him slowly but steadily. Matthew reveled in the sight of Nadine’s writhing body, the sounds of pleasure leaving her throat, the scent of her sweat and pheromones as she became more and more turned on by the moment. She turned her head, lookin
g up at him with pleasure-hazed eyes.
“I can—fuck—we could try…” Her hand tightened on his cock and Matthew raised an eyebrow, smiling slightly at her struggles to speak while Dylan worshiped her with his mouth.
“What could we try?” Matthew rolled and twisted one of Nadine’s nipples between his thumb and forefinger slowly, kissing the corners of her mouth lightly.
“You—your cock…” The delicate pink flush across her cheeks deepened and Nadine moaned out, reacting to something that Dylan was doing to her. “I could…” She opened her eyes, looking up at him imploringly as she trembled and shivered, lost in her own desire.
Matthew chuckled lowly, pulling himself free of her stroking hand. He nodded to show that he understood what she wanted and shifted away from her and Dylan, stripping off the last of his clothes. Nadine reached out for him with one hand, her other tangled helplessly in Dylan’s hair, and Matthew came back to her, positioning himself near her head. He helped her twist around, and then Nadine’s mouth closed around his aching, throbbing cock, her tongue swirling around the tip.
Matthew groaned, his head falling back against his shoulders as Nadine took more and more of him into her mouth. He alternated between losing himself in the pleasure of her attentions and watching the way she and Dylan moved together, feeling connected to both Nadine and his best friend in a strange way. Matthew held himself back as Nadine’s moans became more and more insistent, her lips vibrating around his cock, as she came closer and closer to orgasm. Matthew clenched his teeth as she sucked and licked him as eagerly as he could ever have done to her, her fingers wrapped around the base of his cock. The sight of her contorting, arching, writhing body on the bed, the sight of his best friend’s head buried between her legs, and the sounds of their pleasure filling Matthew’s ears, made it almost impossible for him not to give in to the sensations coursing through his body.
