by T. S. Ryder
"What are you talking about?" he demanded.
She opened her mouth to continue her accusations but stopped. The situation was seriously messed up, but the smart thing would be listening to their side of the story. After all, if McGrath would go so far as to make the bank deny her mortgage to force her into his power, could she put it past him to try to drive away the two Bears that had been helping her out?
"Danita?" Killian came closer, his eyes growing stormy. "What are you talking about?"
Was he angry at her, or had he guessed what was going on? Trying to remain emotionless, Danita told the boys all about McGrath's proposal of 'alternative' payments. The words tasted bitter in her mouth. Before she was even done, Ryan let out a feral roar and leaped from the fire, shifting smoothly into a Bear. His clothes shredded, flying everywhere as he charged for the forest. Danita stared after him with wide eyes.
"What is he doing?"
"He just needs to blow off some steam," Killian said.
Danita could hear it was taking him quite a bit of effort to stay calm. Her eyes filled with tears. Seeing them, Killian's face fell. He brushed his fingers against her cheek, then withdrew them sharply.
"We're not angry with you, Dani. I'm sorry that McGrath was like that, and as for that," he pointed to the burning remains of the corset, "we had nothing to do with it. We didn't buy you. We didn't even think that McGrath knew that Ryan dug up our savings for you."
Relief washed over Danita. Of course. This was just McGrath again, his tricks. Her boys weren't like that. They really did care.
"I'm sorry I thought—"
"Don't be. You had every right to think that."
When Killian held his arms out to her, she gratefully stepped into them. Her shoulders shook with repressed sobs. She didn't even know why she was crying. Maybe it was because she was just so happy that her boys were here for her, not because they thought that they owned her, but because they genuinely cared.
She clung to Killian, letting herself melt into his strong embrace. As long as they were here, she was safe.
Chapter Four – Ryan
His blood reached boiling point quickly. Ryan patrolled the edges of Danita's farm, sniffing for any trace of McGrath. The Leopard was a sly, slippery devil. It wouldn't surprise the Bear if McGrath had been spying on them this whole time.
It was clear that he wanted Danita.
And it was just as clear that he didn't want the hard working, determined woman that Ryan and Killian had gotten to know.
He didn't want her pounding fence posts into the earth, or hauling hay bales around while she prepared to feed her alpaca herd, or climbing into the top of the barn to rip off the old shingles and lay down new ones. He didn't want how silly she got when she was tired, the string of curse words when she nailed her thumb or the way she ran for the first aid kit if someone else injured themselves.
All Dean McGrath wanted was her body. He didn't care if he broke Danita's heart or left her a shell of her former self. He wanted to manipulate her into getting into his bed for as long as he could. It had happened before, and it was only fear of Killian being punished that kept Ryan from taking matters into his own hands before now.
But Danita? No. There was no way he was going to let that stinking Leopard get his paws on her.
It was all he could do to stop himself from chasing McGrath down right now to tear him to pieces. The only thing that held him back was the knowledge that if he did that, Danita and Killian would suffer for it.
The fury still heating Ryan's blood cooled a little. When he had decided to run away from home all those years ago, he expected to go alone. But Killian had sacrificed everything and went with him. Kelly was from a very rich family in the community of shifters they grew up in. His family would have protected him when it came out that he liked to share women with his best friend.
The same couldn't be said of Ryan. His mother was incredibly homophobic, and any sort of indication that her son didn't fit in her narrow view of morality meant he was beaten. He'd learned over the years to hide his pain as his flesh and bones knit back together. At least shifters healed faster than humans. If he had had to spend weeks hiding a broken arm rather than a few hours he never would have made it outside the house.
It continued for years. And when he told Killian, his best friend had bought two plane tickets out west and told him to pack only what they could carry. Killian always knew what to do.
There was no scent of Leopard around the farm, and Ryan's head had cooled enough for him to think straight. He headed back to the house, careful to avoid the alpaca pasture. Danita got upset if they frightened the animals.
Killian was waiting for him on the half-fixed front porch. Night had deepened to the point where the only light was the splash of Milky Way and connect-the-dots puzzle above them. Ryan shifted back to human form, sitting on the porch next to his partner.
"Danita?"
Killian shrugged. "She's sleeping. A little mortified that she would think the worst of us, but I think she'll be okay. The real question is what we do now."
"I think you mean the real question is how we kill McGrath." Ryan didn't bother to stop the growl in his voice. His hands clenched.
Killian might still be trying to convince himself that the reason they were drawn to Danita was just because she was a beautiful, sensuous woman that would no doubt give them great pleasure, but Ryan knew the truth. She was their mate. The one that they had been looking for all this time, even if they hadn't realized they had been looking.
To Ryan's surprise, Killian let out a heavy sigh and shook his head. He felt his hackles rising. His best friend didn't think that McGrath deserved to die over this?
"We are going to kill him. We're not going to let him abuse and destroy Dani that way. Kelly, don't tell me you're even considering leaving her here."
"Calm down. Look, I understand how you feel. I do. There is nothing more I want than to see McGrath dead right now, except—"
Ryan growled warningly.
"Except for Dani to stay safe." Killian glared at his partner. "Killing McGrath is useless if it gets Dani hurt, or worse. So keep your head on straight, so I don't have to beat you."
"Like you could." Ryan flexed his muscles, recognizing Killian's attempts to lighten the heaviness between them. It worked, and both shifters relaxed a little. Ryan rolled his shoulders. "So. What do we do, then?"
"We play this smart. If we decide to kill McGrath, then even if the Leopard doesn't see us coming and kills us, then the Lion will consider us in-house traitors. He'd kill Dani as well as both of us to send a message to the syndicate. We're just a couple of low-level thugs, Rye. McGrath brought us in. We're just lucky he wants to keep us."
"Excuse me?"
"If he didn't, he would have killed us already, rather than trying to just isolate Dani."
"If his game is to force Dani into a situation where she had no choice but to accept his 'offer', then we should be on the lookout for sabotage on the farm." Ryan knew that if he continued to interfere in McGrath's plans it would paint giant bullseyes on his forehead, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to protect Danita. He chewed on his lip as he glanced at his partner. "I'll understand if you decide to go. It's risky—"
"And leave you to get all of Dani's gratitude? No." Killian knocked his shoulder. "But that does bring me to another point…"
Ryan nodded, waiting for Killian to continue. After several minutes passed in silence, his brow furrowed. It wasn't like his friend to leave thoughts unfinished.
Killian shook his head and laughed. "Look at me, acting like that wuss I was when we first decided that we wanted to share women. The point is, Dani's a virgin. We're going to have to adjust our normal game plan for her."
"Why?"
Killian rolled his eyes. "Rye, you know that taking us both in can be a strange, sometimes painful sensation for even the most experienced woman. Dani has no experience. If we're not careful, we could really hurt her. That's if
she agrees."
"She'll agree." It was Ryan's turn to roll his eyes. "Haven't you seen the way she looks at us? Smelled her arousal? She wants us as much as we want her. It's only because of McGrath that she’s been hesitant towards our advances."
"That could be true."
"Of course it is."
"Arrogant SOB." Killian gave him a half-smile. "I talked to McGrath while you were gone."
Ryan snarled.
Killian clouted him on the back of the head. "Shut up! He would be expecting something from us. And I knew that I couldn't do it when you were back because of that damn temper of yours. This was for Dani, and it had to be done."
It wasn't enough of an explanation to appease Ryan, but he kept his growls to himself.
"And what exactly did you tell him?"
"I thanked him for his 'gift'," Killian said.
If McGrath was after Danita, then thinking that the Bears had slept with her would only make him angry. Ryan tensed, but Killian continued before he could speak.
"I told him you looked beautiful in it."
"Screw you!"
Killian laughed and shrugged. "I told him that Dani burned it and won't let us near her. I also told him that we're doing what he wanted us to do, keeping her from running away."
"Did he buy it?"
"No."
"Damn. So should we head for the hills, or kill him?"
Killian sprang to his feet. "No. Stop right there. I already told you killing him isn't an option. We'd need to pay double Dani's ransom to the Lion in order to keep our heads. So just stop. I've made an agreement to buy her from him."
"Buy her?" Ryan got to his feet. His hands clenched, and he wondered if a good blow would knock sense into his partner's head or just kill him.
"He's given me a month to pay her debt and an extra two hundred and fifty thousand. If we can get it to him in that time, he'll leave her alone. Forever."
"We don't have that sort of money!"
"You don't. I have seven hundred thousand in a trust fund set up by my family. It's enough to free Dani from McGrath, and a little extra to help the farm get a better foothold. I've already talked to my family's lawyers, and I'm having the money transferred right now."
Ryan's jaw dropped. All this time, and he hadn't known his best friend was loaded. Maybe there was more to it than what Kelly had just told him, but still. They could have prevented this whole mess from ever starting!
"Don't ask me about it, Rye. Please." Killian turned away, though the pain was raw in his eyes. "There's a reason I couldn't get it before."
"You don't get off that easily."
"Fine," Killian growled. "I couldn't get it until my dad died. And now he's dead. Happy?"
Ryan grunted. Killian was never close to his family, but it wasn't like the guy was made of stone. "Sorry."
"Forget it. He was furious when I told him we shared women, and he never could accept me after that. You’re all the family I need. You and…"
"Dani."
"Yeah."
"She's our mate."
Killian shrugged.
Ryan gripped his friend's shoulder. At least they had a little hope, now. Perhaps the three-quarter of a million dollars was enough for the Leopard to let go of Danita.
But it probably wasn't going to be that easy. Clearly, McGrath didn't know about Killian's wealth any more than Ryan did, but once he did, what was to stop him from changing the terms of their deal again?
We only need a quarter of a million more to pay the Lion for permission to kill McGrath. Ryan set his mouth to a firm line. He'd find a way to get that. One way or another, McGrath was going to die.
Chapter Five – Danita
The sun pounding on the back of Danita's neck made her wish that she had an excuse to work inside. But though it was hot out, it was supposed to rain soon, and they had to get the shingling done on the house. There were just too many leaks. The boys had already stopped for lunch. Danita would go in after she got this row done.
A hand reached out and snatched her hammer away from her.
"Hey!" She whirled around to see Ryan standing over her. She scrambled to her feet, reaching for her hammer. "I'm working."
"You're stopping to have lunch. I can hear your stomach growling from inside." Without even waiting for her response, Ryan picked her up. He curled her into a ball under one arm and scrambled down the ladder one-handed. "Your phone keeps ringing, too."
Danita sighed, but there was no arguing with these two sometimes. She allowed him to carry her into the house, where a tuna sandwich was already waiting for her. Sighing, she grabbed her phone and checked the messages. Ryan brought her a glass of water before he headed back outside. Amelia had called half a dozen times. It wasn't like her to call so often, so Danita called back right away.
"Finally!" Amelia sounded stressed when she answered. "I've been trying to get hold of you all day."
"Is something wrong?"
"Wrong? No." Amelia suddenly sounded sheepish. "Not really. I just needed to let you know the wedding's been moved up. My Alphas and I are getting married in three months now, rather than five. I know that's really soon and I have a million things to do, but we decided we didn't want to wait any longer. You can still come, right?"
Danita smiled. "You live only four hours away. Of course I can take a day off and come to your wedding."
"You won't be too busy?"
"Actually, I've been having a lot of help lately… remember the two Bear shifters you saw that day when I was showing you around?"
An excited squeal momentarily deafened Danita. She pulled the phone from her ear, wincing. She chuckled as her foster-sister started demanding when they started helping her, what they were like, and if they had sex yet.
"It's not like that," Danita protested. "We're not in a relationship together."
"Why not?"
Well, because they were sent by the loan shark to keep an eye on me, holding me hostage on my own land.
Yeah, that would go over well. Danita hesitated. They had been sent by McGrath. But they had given her money to buy herself time to get the farm up and running, not to mention helping her out so much. And McGrath's response? Try to split them up. So they weren't exactly his toadies.
Was McGrath sending them to keep an eye on her still a reason not to go for it? Were they even sticking around for him by this time, or for her?
"Dani? Hello? Is it you or them stopping it from going to the next level?" Amelia's voice was heavily amused.
Danita sighed. "Me. They've made it obvious that they want to… well, they want more than just to have me, Amelia. They want to share me. At the same time. I just don't know if it's a relationship thing, or if they just want sex."
"How much are you paying them to help around the farm?"
"Nothing."
Amelia laughed. "That's not behavior of men who are looking for a one-night stand, or they would have left already. Shifters aren't like us, Dani. For them, more often than not, they see their forever mate and just stay with them, waiting for the pieces to fall into place."
"But… even if that is true… how can it work? The three of us? I know the mechanics, at least I think I do… but what if I don't want…" Danita felt her face heating. It wasn't like she hadn't been imagining what it might be like between the three of them, but there was one thing that made her hesitant.
"Remember what Tori used to say? If you can't say it, you're not old enough for it?"
Danita had to laugh at the reminder of their shared foster mother. "Fine. What if I don't want anal sex? What if it hurts?"
"It doesn't when it's done right. And trust me, when it's done right it feels good." Amelia giggled, no doubt at her own memories. "Just make sure you use lots of lube. I have to go, Dani. Wedding, three months. Be there or face my wrath. And good luck with your Bears!"
"Thanks."
Danita hung up the phone. She ate the sandwich slowly, considering what Amelia had told her. Not just about the
sex, but about why the boys were helping her out. Could it be true that they had decided that she was their mate? Danita didn't know much about how shifters worked, but if she was their mate…
And even if she wasn't, why do all this if they were just going to abandon her?
There was still McGrath to worry about. The boys were convinced he wanted her, and the thought that the Leopard might be watching made her shiver. If McGrath wanted to sell her virginity—
"It's mine," she said aloud. "My body to do with what I please."
She wasn't going to let fear of McGrath rule her life. She wasn't going to deny herself what she wanted because of what he may or may not want. Besides, whatever fears she had had before were gone.
Whatever fear she felt towards Ryan and Killian at first had all but vanished, leaving only desire behind. They were exactly what she wanted, and she was going to have what she wanted.
Her mind made up and heart hammering with excitement, Danita abandoned her sandwich and ran outside to find them. They were in the barn, sweeping up a pile of loose hay. Danita grinned. What luck that they were both together. She stopped before them and put her hands on her hips
"I have a question for you two." She looked between them, unable to stop her grin from widening even further. "Who do I kiss first?"
The two Bears stopped their work. They both stared at her for a moment before glancing at each other. Identical grins blossomed over their faces. They tossed their brooms away. Ryan stalked towards her, causing her heart to beat a strange tempo, while Killian disappeared behind the pile of hay bales.
"Where is he going?"
Ryan picked her up by the thighs, hefting her to his waist easily. "To get the blanket."
Danita opened her mouth to ask what blanket, but Ryan kissed her hard. It was unlike any kiss she had had before: fiery and demanding but at the same time tender. He held her tightly. Danita gasped in surprise but quickly relaxed, immersing herself in his passion, throwing her arms around his head, wanting to be closer. All too soon, he broke the kiss. A second pair of arms wrapped around her and she found herself being handed to Killian. His kiss was just as demanding as Ryan's had been.
