Fox, Morgan - Enticed by the Moon [Moonlight Shifters 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Morgan Fox

  Looking astounded by his cousin’s plans, he asked, “What? You plan to capture the girl and barter her for Brie?”

  He nodded with a smirk, taking another gulp of his drink.

  “And you really think that McCarthy will just sit back and let his mate sacrifice herself over her best friend.” He chuckled hard and loud. “You really have lost your mind. McCarthy’s men will never let you within a hundred feet of her. Trust me, I know.”

  “You’ve spoken with them then?”

  Now it was his turn to nod, sipping his own beer. “I’ve spoken to them, and they’re really not happy with you at the moment.”

  The corners of his mouth quirked up as he said, “I imagine not, considering I tried to kill his precious mate not too long ago.”

  Ryder turned, and annoyance filled his gaze. “Mason, what the fuck do you really want? Tell me why I shouldn’t slice your head from your shoulders?”

  “Because we’re kin,” he said, sounding more like a question than an answer.

  “That makes no never mind to me. I could give a rat’s ass if you were my mother. You’re infected with some mutating lycan DNA, and I’m not exactly thrilled about the side effects.”

  “Side effects? You mean the fact that even with your lycan abilities I’m still stronger and faster than you, or that I have no tangible scent to identify me? Yes, I’d say those are pretty fucking awesome side effects.”

  After all, who wouldn’t want abilities like that? Powers that created the ultimate, undetectable killing machine or to be the most feared weapon on earth? His skin chilled, and his pulse pounded with excitement, knowing that he currently possessed supernatural powers that gave him the ability to infiltrate any army at any time—and soon he would.

  Yes, those were pretty fucking awesome side effects to suffer from, Mason thought.

  Ryder slammed his empty beer mug down onto the countertop, pulling Mason clear from his thoughts. “Levi, let’s get something straight. I might be your cousin, but I don’t like you. Never have. You were fucked up before you somehow got infected, and you’re even more fucked up now. So do me a favor and leave me the hell alone.”

  “Testy, aren’t we?” Mason muttered. “And to think I was here to ask if you wanted a piece of this great fortune I’ve discovered. To know what it’s like to feel invincible.”

  A deep rumble sprung from Ryder’s chest. His eyes rounded with worried surprise. “You might feel invincible, Mason, but you’re not. You would be wise to remember that little fact.”

  Curling a devilish grin filled with evil doings, Mason tsked. “Now Ryder, why do you act like that? I’ve come bearing gifts, and you turn a cold shoulder. What kind of family hospitality is that?” Mason placed a hand on Ryder’s shoulder and Ryder quickly shifted and knocked Mason’s hand free.

  Glancing at his shoulder then locking hate-filled eyes with his cousin, Ryder said coldly, “Look Mason, I’m going to say this only once, so listen very carefully. I’m going to let you leave this bar in one piece this time, but I’m warning you, the next time we meet I will do everyone a favor and kill you.”

  Mason continued grinning as if unaffected by his cousin’s words. He simply took one final sip of his drink, scooted out of his chair, turned, and exited the bar.

  The voices in his head purred and screamed. Unable to decide what to do, but it was Mason who spoke loudest. “Don’t worry, cousin,” he breathed. “You won’t have to dirty those paws of yours. I’ll do you one better. I’ll take your head next I see you.” Laughing as if the devil himself took possession of his body, he launched himself into the night and back onto the trail of Tabitha Burns.

  Chapter Ten

  Luken growled as he sat on the edge of the bed a few feet away from his brother. His older brother by only minutes, the brother whose instincts told him the woman he desired was also his mate. How in all that howls at the moon was that even possible? How could two lycans, especially brothers, share the love of one woman?

  Shit, he mouthed, feeling like such a damned fool, a cursed fucking idiot.

  This was Sebastian and Jonah McCarthy’s fault. The recognized leaders of their pack had gone and mated with the same woman and everything seemed rosy as far as they were concerned. But it wasn’t rosy to him. He was furious to have to share the woman he would cherish for all eternity. The woman he was growing fonder of by each passing moment.

  Growing up, he had shared his entire life with Ryken and damn it, he wanted to be selfish just this once. He didn’t want to share his mate. Sharing her seemed so wrong and unfair. There were some things a man should not have to sacrifice—one of those things being his mate.

  Growling inwardly, he didn’t see how he could have her any other way. He’d pretty much promised her that they would forever take care of her, both of them. That she wouldn’t have to fear them, and they would never hurt her. Fighting with Ryken would do more than hurt her. It would frighten the ever-loving soul right out of her.

  He wasn’t good at swallowing his pride, but he’d do it for her, no matter how much it twisted his mind and burned like acid in his gut.

  Ryken cleared his throat, robbing Luken of his angered and one-sided thoughts. “What are we going to do?” Ryken muttered, glancing over his shoulder towards Luken. “I don’t want to share her with you either. I don’t want to share her with anyone.” He growled low in his throat, not a threatening sound, but more like a sigh of frustration

  Luken snapped his gaze back to his brother. Had he spoken his thoughts so loudly that his twin heard him, or had just being a man given him the same jealous feelings?

  Luken cocked his head towards his brother and asked, “What? And you think I want to share her?”

  Ryken’s elbows rested on his knees, and he cradled his head in his hands. “I don’t want to fight with you, Luken. It doesn’t seem right for something to brew like this between us. I’ve always loved having you as my brother and best friend, but right now, I hate feeling like I want to rip your fucking head off your shoulders.”

  “I know the feeling,” Luken mumbled through gritted teeth, his fingers clawing at the sheets beneath his hands.

  Ryken’s eyes welled with a sea of hopelessness, as he pleaded, “Then what do we do?”

  Surprised by his brother’s question, he responded, “You’re asking me? Aren’t you the one with the plans?” How was he supposed to know what to do? He’d never been in a situation like this before. Never in his life had he needed to compete with his brother for the affections of a woman.

  Ryken stared off into nothingness.

  Luken’s gruff voice strained in his throat as he told his brother, “I’m serious. What can we do? I won’t give her up, and if I know you at all, neither will you.” He turned to look at the bathroom door, wondering if the woman tormenting his mind was thinking of him at all. “So where does that leave us?”

  Groaning, Ryken simply said, “Fucked, and not in a good way.” Then he stood and began pacing the room, carving a trench in the plush gray carpeting.

  * * * *

  Tabitha showered, and the hot water massaging her skin felt like heaven on earth. Relaxing, taking time to bathe was a new experience for her. She didn’t know how to do it, to enjoy herself, to not move at the speed of light.

  When she returned from the woods with them, she found the bathroom transformed into a private oasis just for her. Luken must have done it while she was running for her life. Sudden pangs of guilt welled in her belly.

  She wanted to laugh at the situation now. She really had lost her mind. The proper woman she considered herself to be was absent and missing. And maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

  Luckily, the sexy warrior gods had left her alone, giving her all the time she desired to attend to her herself and think.

  Smiling, she appreciated their attempt to make her feel safe and comforted. And she had to admit that the bathroom did have a welcoming appeal to it.

  Once she had stripped her dirty clo
thes from her body, she stepped into the shower and under the running water. The moment she placed her head under the vibrating beads, she lost herself to the pleasurable sensation. Hands pressed against the wall, she let the water roll down her back and chest. The tingling pulsations teased her body and mind, reminding her of the hands and mouths of both Ryken and Luken. Her lovers. Her mates.

  Well, at least her lovers. She wasn’t too sure about the mate part just yet. There was still so much she needed to learn about them before she committed to something she might really have resisted if not in a highly intense situation. Plus, there were still too many unanswered questions.

  Who were they really? Where did they come from? Where did they live? Who are their parents? How many people have they had to kill to protect their secret?

  The thud of that question sank to pit of her stomach like a lead bomb. She hadn’t questioned Ryken’s actions earlier when he killed that man, hadn’t thought to ask what had truly happened to them. But she couldn’t deny what she saw.

  Once she had finished shampooing her hair and washing the dirt from her body, she shut off the water and stepped clear of the shower. Her clothing had been removed and a feather-soft robe was left behind. Drying off, she slipped the white hotel robe around her and opened the door. A whoosh of steam followed her as she stepped inside the bedroom.

  Ryken and Luken sat on the edge of the bed. Both men had their elbows resting on their knees and their hands on their heads as they waited for her to emerge. Once fully inside the room, both men stood to greet her, and their expressions told her nothing of the thoughts banging around in their heads.

  “Did you enjoy your shower?” Luken asked, his voice a husky rumble as if he’d been choked by emotions.

  Before she could respond, Ryken questioned, “Did we supply you with enough bathing gels and shampoo?”

  “Was the water warm enough?” Luken shot out.

  Ryken stepped closer, his hands nervously balling at his sides. “I hope the robe will be sufficient until we can get you a new pair of shoes and clean clothes.”

  “Guys.” She put up her hands to stop the onslaught of panic funneling out of them. She could feel their anxious emotions as if they were her own. “I’m fine. I’m not going to freak out on you again. I’m not going to run wild through the woods.” She grinned, narrowing her eyes. “At least not yet.”

  Crossing the room, she edged closer to them and placed the palms of her hands on each firm, broad chest. The connection sent a jolt of electricity tingling into her hands and up her arm, surging up and down her spine straight to her toes. God, the things they made her feel—incredible, irresistible, and cherished.

  Licking her lips, she said, trying to ease their worry, “I promise I won’t run off again and I’m not angry about the sex, okay.” She locked her gaze on Ryken. “So you can stop looking at me like that. You have nothing to worry about. Other than the fact that I’m exhausted and would like nothing more than to fall asleep for a few hours.” She yawned, rolling her neck from side to side as she massaged the nape of her neck. “Would that be okay?”

  Her question was met with silence, so she glanced from one set of magnificent azure eyes to the other. Her gaze finally settled on Luken’s. His face revealed no emotion. Narrowing her eyes, holding Luken’s questioning gaze, she asked, “Are you all right?”

  He nodded stiffly. “I’m fine, Tabitha. I don’t think I’ve ever been better.” Luken then glanced at his brother, his jaw ticking under the strain of flexing muscles.

  She arched a brow. “Then why don’t you look like you’re okay? You both look sort of irritated and stressed out and last time I checked that was my department.”

  Luken chuckled. “Yes, well, even us big warrior badasses have our issues.”

  “Right, we big bad warriors find ourselves in need of a good cry from time to time,” Ryken added with a lopsided grin.

  She pressed her lips together into a thin line. “You do? That’s news to me. I thought men like you didn’t feel anything but powerful.”

  “No, Tabitha, we feel a great deal more than that,” Ryken shared.

  She shifted her weight from one leg to the other, gazing at the golden haired warriors with a lot of skepticism. “Like what?”

  “Like passion, desire, and hunger—” The words rolled from Ryken’s tongue to Luken’s seamlessly.

  “Lust, need, regret—”

  “Sadness, longing, jealousy, temptation—” Ryken continued.

  “Lo—” Luken began.

  “Love?” Cutting off his words, she backed away, her heart lodged in her throat. “Why are you sharing these things with me? I told you I wasn’t going anywhere. At least for now. Why tell me these things? You don’t have to fill my head with words you think I want to hear.”

  “Loyalty,” Luken corrected, and the sharp tone he used compelled her to turn her head quick in his direction. “Besides, if it were love it wouldn’t be meant for only you, Tabitha.”

  “No?” She folded her arms over her breast, pushing the palms of her hands hard against her toned biceps.

  “No. They are meant for us to share with you. These are the things we want to share with you as our mate. You’ve already given us the chance to feel more than either of us have ever dreamed, but there is so much more than—”

  Oh, God, what was happening? She couldn’t listen to this, didn’t want to listen. Love was not in the cards for her, and dreaming of impossible things only made for unhappy endings. Damn it. She groaned to herself. Things were starting to go so well.

  “Okay, you can stop right there.” She put her index finger up, slowly waving it back and forth, forcing them to stop their babbling of emotions.

  She couldn’t hear this. It was too much too soon. What the hell were they thinking? If they wanted to freak her out, they were doing a fabulous job. Hadn’t they ever heard of the expression breaking it in easy?

  “You guys don’t know a single thing about me. You don’t know what I want, and you don’t seem to really care to learn. You only seem to want to keep fucking me because some strange ass mating heat is telling you to do it.”

  “No, Tabitha—”

  “I wasn’t done talking, Ryken,” she blurted out, staring up at them furiously, eyes darting from one gorgeous face to the other. “I have no misconceptions of what this is. Sex. A great fantasy you let me explore, an itch you let me scratch. Who could resist an offer to be with two hot twins who offered one night of primal passions? Well, two if you count the train, but still it’s just a fantasy, nothing more. It can’t be, so please stop ruining this for me.”

  Luken’s brow furrowed as he asked, “Why? I thought things were different now.”

  Tabitha narrowed her brows, pinching the skin at the bridge of her nose tight. “Why, because I let you fuck me in the woods? Or because I became more pliant and accepting to you?”

  Ryken growled, a deep thunder that had her attention shifting from him, and then back to Luken.

  “No, because of what we discussed in the woods.” Luken’s eyes rounded as he asked, “Besides, what if we want more?”

  She gasped. “How can you? Like I said before, you don’t even know me. You cannot begin to know what love is, and it’s impossible for you to think you already do. Damn it, why did you have to go and fuck everything up. I was doing great with all this crazy shit and now—”

  “Now what, Tabitha? We know who you are. We know you live alone and are a workaholic. We know you haven’t been in a serious relationship for more than five years. We know you are strong willed and highly opinionated…almost to a fault.” Ryken raised his hands up in surrender as she glared at him with wild hatred. “I’m merely saying we know more about you than you think we do.”

  No, they didn’t know her at all. No one truly did. She was still learning about herself after all these years. How could they look her in the eyes and honestly believe they knew her?

  “Details,” she spat. “A pretty use of words tha
t mean nothing, especially if you don’t give a shit enough to learn what’s truly in my heart rather than what Brie has shared with you or what you managed to research on your own.”

  “We want to know more about you, Tabitha. We only need for you to give us a chance to do so,” Ryken admitted. “We’ve already told you that you are our mate and what that means to us.” He glanced over to Luken then back to her. “We want you as a husband wants a wife. To protect and honor you, forever.”

  Her eyes went wide, and panic grappled with her heart. “You expect too much from me. I can’t ever love you. I can’t be your girlfriend, your lifelong mate, none of it. I’m not geared that way. And even if I was, I’m not worth the time.” As the words left her lips, anger seemed to rage out of them, causing her to take another step back.

  “Why? Why do you think that?” Ryken barked, shifting impatiently, drawing her gaze to his broad shoulders.

  She twisted her hands nervously and questioned, “Does it really matter? All you need to know is it just can’t happen.”

  “Why, Tabitha?” Ryken demanded. “What’s so wrong with spending your life with us? Being our mate?” He stepped closer, tension oozing from his body, his arms locked at his sides looking as if he wanted to strangle her for being so difficult. Shit, she’d like to strangle herself sometimes.

  “I know damn well that no other man has ever made love to you the way we have, made you come so hard your heart felt as if it were going to explode right out from behind your breast. It’s obvious you’re attracted to us—you want us. Why, Tabitha? Why can’t you accept us as we’ve accepted you?”

  Impossible, her mind screamed. What they were asking of her was simply impossible. Her heart was simply tired of being broken and used, left discarded as if she didn’t matter to anyone.

  “I…I can’t tell you,” she stammered as a nervous assault slammed through her veins. Her face heated with embarrassment of her emotionally neglected past.