by Morgan Fox
“Why, damn it?” The animalistic roar in Ryken’s voice shook her to her core. She gasped as his eyes began to swirl with murky silver. “We’re risking everything for you. The least you can do is explain why you are rejecting us.” Ryken growled through clenched teeth.
The fierce rumble that vibrated from his chest might have intimidated someone less pissed off, but not Tabitha. His feeble growls did nothing but amuse her…and anger her even more.
“I’m not rejecting you, Ryken,” she corrected, hands digging in on her hips.
His dark blond brows shot up as he blurted out, “You’re not? Because it sure as shit feels like you are.”
Her hands sprung up to her damp hair, her fingers twisting around the wet strands. She begged, “Please stop doing this.”
Ryken moved in, crowding her. “Doing what, asking you why you can’t be a part of our lives? Why do you refuse to even try?”
Tabitha forced her way around Ryken, stabbing her elbow into his hard stomach. “I can’t, and that’s all you need to know.”
Grabbing her by the arm, Luken spun her to face him, halting her retreat to the bed. “The fuck it is,” Luken roared. His body loomed larger in the shadows of the room. “We desire to know because unlike you, we’ve accepted that you are our mate and we will forever be linked to you. What you don’t realize is that each time you fuck another, we will know it, and it will be like a knife slicing into our hearts, our minds…our very souls.”
Her eyes welled with tears, and her heart thudded heavy in her chest. “Stop trying to make me feel guilty over this. I didn’t ask for this.”
Luken’s hands cradled her face, brushing back her fallen tears with his thumbs. “Guilt is not my motive, sweetheart. But if you are not willing to divulge more of yourself to us, I thought you should at least know what your selfishness will cause us.” He held her weary gaze, and said plainly, “A great deal of fucking pain.”
She slammed her fists into his chest, trying to push him away. “Damn it, Luken, I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t have a choice, and now you think that because you offer a future with me, one filled with passionate nights, you think that’s all I need. Well, you’re a major idiot if you truly believe that.”
Holding her against him, Luken’s voice was resonating as he said, “Stop stalling, whining, complaining, or whatever the fuck you are doing and just tell us why.”
Their hammering need to know her secret sank into her mind like quicksand. They were on her, digging into her soul with such fury, such aggression. Raw, seething anger filled her head and she realized that they were invading her thoughts, somehow trying to dig inside her brain for the information she kept private.
Panic slammed inside the soft tissue of her heart, shredding the tender walls she had erected over the years. She did her best to block her thoughts, fighting against their aggressive telepathic link with all her might, concealing her past fears. A battle she was losing.
Fists balled at her sides, she shouted as tears fled from her eyes, “Because I can’t trust or rely on anyone—ever!”
Dropping to her knees, hands over her face, she sobbed hard. Gut-wrenching cries tore from her chest and throat. Tears that had not been shed in all her life were now spilling from her eyes like a waterfall of emotions. She was finally breaking down. Why did it take two men she barely knew to free her of the bottled-up emotions?
Twisting sensations untied inside her, unraveling with each tear that slid down her cheeks. “I had everything taken from me as a child. My parents pretended I didn’t exist, leaving me with nannies and caregivers who abused me. I was forced to do things on my own. I ran away from home so I could be free of the torture I was enduring. I changed my name to escape my parents. Brie was the only person who knew my secret. She was the only person I turned to for help.”
Remembering what the nannies and caregivers had done to her over the years was the return of a nightmare. She had long hoped to forget what had happened to her as a child.
Luken knelt in front of her, his voice low as he told her, “Tabitha, we can’t change what was done to you when you were a child.”
“No, you can’t!” She cried harder. “You can’t take away the memories of all the beatings I sustained. You can’t take away the number of times I was yanked from my bed, terrified that I was going to be killed by my nanny all because she had had too much to drink. You can’t take away the laughter I heard from my parents as I told them what was being done to me. They didn’t believe me. No, you can’t do shit to take any of that away.”
Gripping her by her shoulders, Ryken lifted her effortlessly into his arms and held her close. “No longer, Tabitha. You will never have to be alone again. No one will ever hurt you like that again.”
She shoved him away, beating her hands against his hard chest. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Damn, why is it that when a woman cries, a man feels that his arms around her are all she needs? Well, it’s not.”
Surprise blanketed Ryken’s face. He muttered, “I’m sorry, I just thought—” His voice grew soft and disappeared into the silence of the room.
Tabitha trembled, not from cold, but from the pure adrenaline, which fired emotions that rocked through her body—emotions she had blocked and never thought she would be forced to relive again. It wasn’t Ryken and Luken’s fault. They had actually been wonderful to her, and maybe it was good that she was getting all this out in the open. Then, they would understand exactly why she could never give them what they wanted from her. Why she could never be their one true mate.
Shaking her head, she whispered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload so much on you. I’m sure you think of me as the poor little rich girl whose family was just too strict so I’m just having a temper tantrum. I don’t blame you for thinking that. Most people did.”
“We don’t feel that way, Tabitha,” Luken said. “But we would like to be a part of your life. You pick the terms for now, but know that we are not going anywhere.”
Now, that got her attention.
She rubbed her runny nose with the sleeve of her robe. “My terms?”
Luken nodded. “You’re worried that we are going to step on your freedom, the freedom you fought to achieve. To prove that we’re not looking to stop you from being who you want to be, we’re going to step back and let you lead.”
She cocked her head slightly in Luken’s direction and narrowed her eyes. She questioned, “You won’t force me to do anything I don’t want to do, like move to McCarthy Ranch or quit my job because you think I’m your mate?”
Luken said plainly, “Could we really make you if you didn’t want to?”
She licked her dry lips. “I’d like to think the answer would be no.”
“Why think?” Ryken asked. “We don’t have any control over you.”
She released a husky laugh and said, “You really don’t know the kind of power you hold over me, do you?”
Luken stepped up beside Ryken, both men towering over her. She swallowed at the intensity gleaming in their eyes.
“The only power we hold over you, Tabitha, is the power you allow us to have. The power you hold over us is no different. We just—”
“I know,” she whispered, cutting off Luken’s words. She didn’t have to hear the words emerge from his mouth to know exactly what he was about to say to her. They were practically beating the idea into her head as it was. This was their world, one they were used to and comfortable with.
Glancing at them both, she finished Luken’s statement, adding, “You just accept it.”
Chapter Eleven
Ryken wanted to murder them all. The coopery taste of blood kept him grounded enough to not demand she tell him who those vile people were from her past that hurt her so terribly. He felt the claw of his wolf and was desperate to deal with those inexcusable varmints in the way he believed they deserved—torture them the same negligent and uncaring way they had tortured her, and maybe a little worse.
; Loving and caring for Tabitha was a powerful need he had that blinded him with supernatural possessiveness. As he stared at her, and heard the honesty of the words, his chest tightened. Accept it. Her words echoed in his head. Accept it, that’s what he wanted Tabitha to do more than anything—needed her to accept not only the changes in her own body, but the emotional changes that charged like lightning between them. But he didn’t want her to want him just because the power of the mating heat told her to. He wanted her to want him because she, heart, body, mind, and soul yearned for nothing else.
Eradicating the distance that separated them, Ryken cupped her face, tilting her jaw to capture her lips, sampling them with alarming passion. His fingers were quick to dip into the collar of the robe, parting the material and pushing it off her shoulders. The garment dropped to the floor.
Surprisingly, she didn’t resist him. Instead her arms surrounded his neck, pulling him closer to her. The warmth of her body felt beyond good. It felt familiar, like a warm cup of cocoa on a cold day. Amazing. That was the way her flesh felt beneath his fingers and calloused palms. Everywhere he touched tingled and pulsed as if liquid fire flowed within her blood.
“I need you, Tabitha,” he whispered against her lips. “Can you feel how much?” He pressed his cock against her belly and heard her moan at the pressure. “That’s right, baby. My cock is hard for you. It will always be hard for you. No other woman will ever do to me what you do.”
A heavy sob rasped from her chest as she forced him to kiss her again. Her mouth ferociously took control over his. Damn, his mate was hungry, and he was more than ready to satisfy her appetite.
Guiding her down onto the edge of the bed, he eased her back, pushing her knees up and kneeling down between her spread legs. His gaze drank in her savory, wet pussy. The little pink clit pulsed with life, beckoning his mouth to taste and tease it.
“Baby, I’m going to eat your pussy, and then I’m going to fuck you until you can’t take any more.”
“Okay, hurry,” she urged.
Chuckling at her urgent command, Ryken stripped his clothing in record time, and then he closed his lips around the swollen clit, sucking it hard into his mouth. She cried out instantly, letting him know she liked the exquisite play. Good, because he had no intentions of stopping. He spread the wet folds of her pussy, lapping at her cunt and swirling deliciously around her clit, flicking his tongue in a rhythm that had her panting and writhing in his hands.
Her fingers dug into his scalp, holding him in place, and just as the first orgasm hit her, she screamed. He rammed his tongue deep into her pussy and tasted the delicious cum flowing from her. Divine. That was how she tasted. The sweet honey that belonged to him and his brother. No one else could ever taste her, touch her…love her.
Crawling up her body, he tucked his arm around her waist, and lifted her up further on the bed. Then he pressed her legs wide, sliding his hard cock into her wet pussy, ramming it inside. She gasped and arched her back.
Hissing, she begged him, “Oh, God, yes. Do that again. Fuck me hard. Just like that.”
Pounding his cock inside her pussy once again, he found a rhythm that had him hammering away at her cunt like a bomb that was about to explode. He fucked her, shoving his cock into her depths with a supernatural force…and she loved it. Her fluttered cries of passion filled his ears as her nails dug into the flesh of his shoulders, raking across his skin, driving him mad with lust.
Tabitha arched her back as Ryken drove into her pussy again. She pulled and tugged at her hard nipples, caressing and massaging her breast. She sucked on a finger, wetting it before returning the moistened tip to her rosy, pink nipple.
“Ah, fuck, that’s hot,” Luken muttered, crawling onto the bed, clasping a rough hand over one supple breast, and then placed the erect nipple into his mouth.
She hissed the moment his mouth clamped down. “Oh, God, yes,” she cried. “That’s it, Luken, suck my nipples, pinch them.”
Ryken growled at the erotic orders she gave his brother. She was a vixen. His luscious vixen.
Damn, he loved fucking her, and strangely, watching Luken was like being a fly on the wall, as if he could step outside of himself, but still watch as he made love to his mate. Ryken’s body tightened as her pussy clamped down, squeezing and pulsing around his cock. Crying out, she climaxed again. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him against her with hard, vigorous strokes.
“That’s it, baby. Let me fuck that slick pussy.”
“Oh, God,” she cried as another orgasmic wave seemed to take possession of her body.
Once he felt the pulsing of her pussy ebb, he pulled out of her tight sheath and switched places with his brother.
“Get on your hands and knees, baby. Luken’s going to fuck you, and you’re going to suck my cock,” he said with a dark, seductive edge to his voice.
She did as requested, and Ryken moved into position beneath her, lying flat on his back. Luken’s cock eased inside her, and Ryken knew by the look on her face that his cock was stretching her pussy nice and wide, and she loved it. The warm, rosy glow in her cheeks was enough to make his cock harder.
Licking her lips, Tabitha took Ryken’s cock into her mouth, the wetness from her pussy still glistening on his shaft. She moaned heavily as she sucked him deep, her tongue swirling wickedly around the head and along the shaft. She sucked his cock to the beat in which Luken fucked her, and his body tingled. He wasn’t going to last long. Fucking her, making her come twice, and now having her delicious mouth working over his cock was enough to make him dizzy. The air was leaving his lungs as quickly as it filled them.
“Ah, fuck, baby. Ah, that’s it.” He groaned deep in his throat.
His head pressed into the pillow as his entire body tightened. He growled and cum spurted from his cock like a fountain. The sight of Tabitha licking up every drop pleased him immensely.
Luken bucked several more times before he found his own release, slamming hard into her pussy until he and Tabitha both collapsed on top of Ryken.
Speechless and out of breath, none of them said a word. Luken simply moved to the side, tugging Tabitha against him, giving Ryken room to move into position on the other side of her. As if this was their traditional way of falling asleep, all three did just that.
And one thing was certain for Ryken, he was never going to be able to let Tabitha go. Not as long as he was alive to fight for her.
* * * *
When Tabitha awoke, sore in all the right places, she was bundled up under the comforters, but the warmth of Ryken and Luken was gone. Their scent still lingered on the pillows beside her. She listened carefully to hear if they were nearby, and she picked up the deep rumble of their voices lurking outside the hotel room door.
Flipping the comforter off her body, she stood, only to discover a new pair of jeans, shirt, panties, bra, and tennis shoes lying on the desk table located at the foot of the bed. One of them had managed to find her clothing and surprisingly enough the clothing was even in her size. Her heart raced as she slid on the black thong underwear and bra. One of them had picked out the sexy lingerie, but she was sure they both had touched the fabric. Her body tingled just as it did when their hands were caressing her, massaging her in ways that made her body crave the passion she found with them.
Blowing out a pent-up breath of air, she quickly put on the rest of the clothing, ran to the bathroom to tame her wild hair, and returned to the front door, opening it to find both Ryken and Luken staring at her, arms folded over their chests, each with a foot propped up on the railing.
“Good morning.” She greeted them with the best morning smile she could conjure. She wasn’t one to enjoy the kiss of first morning light, but she’d do her best in any regard.
“Good morning,” Ryken replied. “There’s coffee in the car if you would like one. We were just about to come in a get you when we heard you getting up.”
Grinning, she knew she was still getting used to the idea that all her a
ctions and sounds could be heard by them. She would have to put that little fact to memory fast and be sure not do to anything that might embarrass her later. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to all this,” she muttered.
“Sure you will,” Ryken said, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. “After all, you don’t really have a choice as far as that’s concerned.”
“Right. Thanks for reminding me.”
Tabitha scrunched her nose up at them both and sauntered past them, holding her hands on her hips, wondering which car they were supposed to take. The junk heap they had stolen the night before was nowhere to be found. The only cars that lined the parking lot were a beat-up pickup truck and an old rusted van. Surely, neither of these were the vehicle they would be traveling hundreds of miles in. That would just suck.
Turning to face them, her eyes narrowed, and she asked, “Seriously, which vehicle are we taking?”
Smiling from ear to ear, Ryken glided up beside her and put a comforting hand on the small of her back. “Our ride is around back, princess.” He chuckled. He led her around the side of the building, and the moment she spotted the new Chevrolet Camaro, a little whimper of joy fluttered from between her lips.
“Seriously,” she gasped, clasping her hands together like a joy-filled child. “You stole a Camaro?”
Chuckling with a deep rumble, Ryken explained, “Actually no. Sebastian was good enough to ship a car to us overnight. Brie mentioned to him that the Camaro was your favorite sports car. Apparently, after the conversation you had with Sebastian on the phone the other day, he figured you would enjoy riding in it. He thought it might help you calm your wacked-out nerves.”
She cocked her head. “Oh, really? And I’m sure Brie also mentioned that my favorite color was red, as well?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact she did,” Ryken said grinning. “But I do have to tell you that until we reach McCarthy Ranch, you’ll have to leave the driving to us.”
Was it possible that she was actually okay with the idea of being chaperoned by them? Yes, strangely she was. Trusting them was becoming easier, and having both Ryken and Luken see to her safety just felt right. But she still had to tease as if she wasn’t exactly thrilled, she didn’t want to make everything too easy for them.
