by Diane Leyne
“I’m sure I’m wrong about Tim. I mentioned it because it was so recent, but we used to date. Tim doesn’t hate shifters, and I’m sure his dad doesn’t either.”
“Maybe, maybe not. Hell, with his attitude toward shifters, even if he’s innocent, I’m not sure we can tell him what’s going on, even if he is in law enforcement.”
“So what happens next?”
“Firstly, we complete the job we were sent here to do, which may mean we have to leave Harmony if that’s where the trail leads.”
“And then?”
“And then when the perp’s been arrested, we come back here and claim our woman, our Mate. In the meantime”—Sully checked his watch—“we have about fifteen minutes until Samantha comes looking for us.”
“Fourteen,” corrected Ben. “And you know Sam. She’s probably set a stop watch.”
“Yeah,” acknowledged Sully. “We don’t have much time, and certainly not enough time to do this properly, but I’ve thought of nothing but tasting your lips since the moment we met.”
“I’ve thought of tasting something else,” Nate reminded her, “but I’ll start with her lips.”
“Best-looking first,” declared Ben, ignoring his battling siblings as he walked over to where Ginger sat, pulled her to her feet, and leaned down for a kiss.
* * * *
At the first touch of his lips, Ginger knew there was something undoubtedly special about their connection. Did it mean they were Mates? Hell, damned if she knew, but she did know that there was a spark between them that she’d never felt with another man, human or shifter.
From the moment Ben’s lips touched hers, her body reacted. Her breasts swelled and grew tender even as her nipples hardened, pushing out against the fabric of her top, and her pussy grew moist as if it was preparing to be invaded and wanted to ease the way.
He was surprisingly gentle as he kissed her mouth slowly and thoroughly, his tongue asking for entrance instead of invading. Ben’s mouth was soft and sweet, coaxing rather than demanding a response, even as his tongue moved past her lips and his hard cock pressed against her stomach, causing her pussy to clench in need as she involuntarily pressed against him, wishing they didn’t have so many layers of clothing between them.
All too soon, he released her, his reluctance apparent as he gave way to his brother Nate. She expected him to be more aggressive, but he, too, treated her like she was made of spun glass, a precious treasure he was afraid of breaking. By the time he turned her over to Sully, she found her muscles seemed to have melted and she couldn’t stand unsupported, so Sully sat down with her on his lap as he gently and thoroughly kissed her until she felt like she was going to swoon like a heroine in an old-time movie.
Surely this meant something. She’d never been promiscuous. She’d never even dated more than one guy at a time, and she could count the number of men she’d dated on the fingers of one hand, but all she could think about now was these three wolves.
Kissing was no longer enough for Ginger. She wanted Sully. She wanted his brothers, and she wanted them now. She wanted them each inside her. She wanted to get naked and feel their bodies pressed against hers as they fucked her long and hard. She wanted…
The thought was enough to shock her out of her sexual haze, that and the feel of a hand sliding up her skirt to cup her pussy through her panties, which were suddenly wet with her cream, and she knew he had to feel it.
Shocked by her own reaction, she pulled out of Sully’s grasp so quickly, she almost fell as she backed away from his seeking hands. He didn’t look happy, but he let her go.
If fact, she could almost swear his face took on a lupine look, and she half expected him to lunge at her to pull her back into his arms. She backed away further, looking wildly from brother to brother to brother. What had they done to her? She was a strong, independent woman, and yet she had the sudden urge to throw herself naked at their feet.
Mate. It was the word Mate. When Sully had said it, she’d suddenly pictured herself as their Mate, naked and more sexually aroused than she’d ever been. When Ben kissed her, it was like something from her fantasy, and then it was Nate and Sully, and she’d lost her mind a little.
She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. Not going to happen. They were just visiting Harmony for work, passing through town. No matter what they said about permanent, they barely knew her. Their pretty words were just a means to get her into bed. They couldn’t seriously be considering her as their Mate. She wasn’t even sure such a thing existed. She was almost thirty-one. She’d never met a man, human or shifter, that she had the slightest interest in spending a life time with, and regardless of her heritage, there was no way that she was meant to be with these three wolves.
She looked toward the door, but the three brothers blocked her way. Where the hell was Sam?
* * * *
“Damn it, Ginger. What’s wrong? A moment ago you were writhing in my arms and…”
“And that’s the problem. I hardly know you and I was letting you…I wanted you to…”
Sully watched the fear and confusion push the desire from Ginger’s face. She’d felt everything he’d felt. He knew it. Hell, he would never force a woman, ever. And he’d cut off his hand before he’d use it to hurt Ginger. He wanted to reach for her and hold her and reassure her that they wouldn’t push her. They’d give her all the time she needed, no matter how badly they wanted to claim her, and if she rejected them, they’d go quietly, but all they asked was for her to give them a chance.
But rather than say those things, they’d tried to reach her physically, and he was the worst offender. Once he’d touched her, all he could think about was claiming his Mate, and he’d clearly moved too quickly and scared her.
He felt terrified as a thought struck him. What if he’d cost them their chance with Ginger because he couldn’t show patience? He couldn’t behave with the control that a man, an Alpha, should be able to show.
Backing away from Ginger, he took a seat on the couch and signaled his brothers to join him. Maybe with a clear path to the door, she’d feel less threatened and let them talk to her.
“Look, Ginger. I’m sorry, we, I, went too fast. It is just that we’d pretty much given up finding our Mate, and then we met you and we all knew.” He smiled at her. “We’d found our Mate, and we kind of got carried away. It won’t happen that way again, not until you are ready for us.”
“I hardly know you.”
“You know we are Sam’s brothers. You know that we’ve been attracted to each other from the moment we met. And you know that we are your Mates, I know you do. You know that here.” He knelt in front of Ginger and pressed one large hand over her heart as his brothers knelt in front of them, covering his hand with one of theirs before she backed away, her face unreadable.
“You know we are meant to be together, and we’ll take it slowly. The full moon is almost a month away. If we had our way, we’d make you ours tonight, Mate with you so you are tied to us forever. But that’s not possible, even if we wanted to force your hand, so you don’t have to worry that we’d force or trick you into Mating before you are ready.”
Ginger was shocked, but before she could speak, he placed a finger over her lips.
“But we would never force that on you. We want to take this slowly so you can get to know us and learn to love us as men, not just as your wolf Mates. Of course, being wolves, we’re ready to Mate this full moon. It’s almost a month away, and we hope you’ll feel ready for the Mating Ceremony by then, but if you aren’t, we’ll keep asking every month until we wear you down or you kick us out.”
“No, you are not rushing me at all. But if I said no? You’d accept no, if that’s what I decide?” Ginger was shocked. Wolves, especially the Alpha, weren’t exactly known for their easygoing nature or accepting the word no. They would never force a woman to be their Mate, but let her choose to walk away without a fight? Never.
She looked at their stricken faces. Ben reach
ed out and took her hand.
“It would be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but if you decide that you don’t want to be our Mate, then, yes, we’d walk away. We just ask that you give us the chance to court you properly. If you aren’t ready to Mate next full moon, maybe even let Sully give you a Lusting bite during the next full moon, just so you can feel what it would be like as our Mate.”
Ginger shivered. She’d heard about the Lusting bite. It was when the Alpha bit his potential Mate under the full moon, but the full Ceremony was not performed. For the female, the result was the same as being Mated, but the effects wore off after the sun rose, whereas the Mating bite caused permanent changes.
“You don’t ask for much, do you?”
“We want everything. You are everything to us,” declared Nate, but for once, his tone wasn’t sarcastic and she didn’t get the feeling he was exaggerating to entertain her. “If you’d asked me twenty-four hours ago, I’d have told you that this whole Mating thing was a bunch of hokum dreamed up by the older generation.”
“And now?”
“Now I’d walk through fire for you.” His vow was simple and heartfelt with no embellishments, and it made her want to cry. She leaned down and kissed him gently on the forehead.
“What about your jobs?”
“Our boss has been toying with the idea of setting up a branch in the northwest. We could base it in Harmony. Unless you want to move to Florida?”
“No, I’d rather live here,” Sully declared.
“Good,” replied Ginger. “Oh, and one other thing…”
All three men turned toward her enquiringly.
“If you think I’m waiting for the next full moon…”
Chapter Nine
Ginger walked across the room confidently, hoping no one noticed that her knees were shaking. Swinging open the door, she saw Samantha there with her hand raised, ready to knock. She grasped Samantha’s arm and gave a jaunty wave to the men before sweeping out and letting the door close behind her. As soon as it was shut, her whole body sagged as she leaned against the wall, too limp to stand on her own. Sam took her arm and led her into the hallway and sat her down on a bench as the tears started to fall. They didn’t speak for a moment as they heard the three men exit the den and head out into the backyard. Then Sam led Ginger back into the den and closed the door behind them.
“Holy crap, Ginger. What’s wrong? Did they hurt you? I’ll kill them for you, if you like. They may be my brothers, but they can’t go around hurting my friends. What did they do?”
“They declared that they were my Mates and that they wanted to perform the Mating Ceremony with me at the full moon after next.” Ginger wiped the tears away. “Oh, and someone is targeting shifter-owned businesses including Lena’s clinic! And people have died. And they think the bad guy lives in Harmony, and your brothers are here to find the criminal.”
“I repeat! Holy crap. I don’t know where to start.” Ginger saw the different emotions warring on her face. “Let me start with the good news. We are going to be sisters, yeah!” She gave Ginger a quick hug. “I give them grief, but my brothers are actually pretty cool and I am so happy you all found each other!”
“You don’t think it’s too fast?” Ginger’s tone was wry. “We’ve known each other all of eight hours. Shouldn’t we at least give it a day, maybe two to be sure?”
“Yeah. My brothers don’t exactly understand the concept of delayed gratification. Don’t let them rush you. Mating is forever. There’s no way to undo it. Fool around with them, though, all you want. Get to know them and be sure. I know the blood calls. Hell, I was raised with human beliefs and taught that anything other than one man and one woman was wrong. And then I came here and was pursued by five shifters. Five! But deep down I knew from the moment we met that it was inevitable. Something in the blood, the DNA, lets a wolf recognize their Mate or Mates. Think about it. We’re the lucky ones. Other than a feeling that it isn’t proper to move this quick in a relationship, we have nothing else standing in our way.
“Think about Lena. Her Alpha walked out years ago trying to do the right thing and nearly messing all their lives up. And look at Penelope. She had four Mates, but no Alpha. They couldn’t Mate. They nearly broke up because of it. Hell, the pressure, the failures. It tore them all up inside. If it hadn’t been for Oliver coming to Harmony…”
“You’re right, Sam. I’m not going to jump right into Mating. I need time to absorb the thought that after giving up on the idea of ever finding a Mate, I’ve got three of them. But, yeah, I can feel it, too. Deep inside, I know we are meant to be together, but there’s more to living together than just the sex, although I am looking forward to that. We don’t really know each other. Do they leave the cap off the toothpaste? Will they hog the television remote to watch football all the time or hog the covers? And how do we even fit four people in bed? I’ve never been with more than one at a time. Hell, I’ve barely been with anyone.”
“Deep breaths, Ginger. Deep, slow breaths. Don’t overthink things. Take it one step at a time. If you aren’t ready to be Mated, don’t do it. Take your time and don’t let them rush you. You don’t want to set a precedent. And you can still have lots of fun together unmated!”
Ginger smiled and hugged Samantha.
“I wish you’d grown up here like you were supposed to. We would have been best friends from the cradle! You haven’t even mentioned the other thing I told you.”
“That’s because I wanted to take care of what I could take care of first. You are going to be my sister, and I can’t wait. As for the other, I have no idea where to start. Someone’s targeting shifters? Hate crimes? Are they sure they aren’t just normal crimes and they aren’t just targeting them like any other victims?”
“Apparently they have lots of evidence of the crimes and motivation but no idea who did it except for the fact that they probably live in Harmony or nearby.”
“That means it’s someone we know. A stranger would stick out like a sore thumb. And my brothers are here to find the criminal?”
“Yup. Apparently I’m just a fortuitous side benefit.” Ginger giggled. “Kind of like a gift with purchase.”
The two of them dissolved into giggles as they heard a knock on the door. It was Penelope and Lena.
“You two okay? When you didn’t come out, Sully asked if we could come in and make sure Ginger’s okay and Sam’s not plotting fratricide.”
“I’m almost always plotting fratricide, but not this time.”
“I’m fine, I think. It’s just that everything is happening so quickly, meeting Sam’s brothers, their Mating talk, some nut who probably lives in Harmony attacking shifters and their businesses.”
Chapter Ten
Sully sat beside Ginger in the Prius. He’d claimed Alpha privilege to take her home, but when he’d held out his hand for her keys, she’d just given him a look and he’d meekly opened the driver side door and helped her inside before going around and slipping into the passenger seat.
Nate and Ben had given her a kiss on the cheek and told her to drive carefully. They’d added that they’d meet her for breakfast, or more specifically that they’d meet her and Sully for breakfast. Damned presumptuous wolves.
She snuck a glance over at Sully. Presumptuous, but not wrong. She could feel the desire surge through her as she enjoyed the sight of his large body levered into that tiny seat, his pants tented by his rigid cock. Her pussy pulsed in response. She wouldn’t lie to herself. She wanted Sully and his brothers. Were they her Mates? No matter what they said, it was too soon to be sure, but damned if she didn’t want Sully so bad she could taste it. Her panties were soaking wet and her nipples so tight she could probably cut glass with them.
And Sully knew it, damn him. He placed one big hand on her thigh, so high up his fingers almost grazed her pussy lips. Then those big fingers stroked down to her knee. He kept up that stroking rhythm, and she could feel her respiration quickening as her pussy started pulsing,
needing to be filled.
Luckily the drive was short, and in no time they pulled up in front of Ginger’s small home. It was a one-story bungalow, small, but perfect for one. Sully overwhelmed the small living room with his presence, but not as much as he overwhelmed Ginger.
She’d decorated the place herself. It was sleek and spare and perfect. The living room was all dark wood and cool colors, with an oversized sofa and comfortable chairs. Taking him by the hand, she led him to the bedroom. The room was dominated by a queen-sized bed with its intricately carved headboard.
Turning to Sully, Ginger said a single word. “Strip.”
* * * *
Sully felt his cock jerk at Ginger’s order. Holy hell. She almost made him come in his pants. He looked over at her, magnificent and strong, staring at him, waiting for him to obey her command.
As an Alpha, Sully rarely took orders from anyone. It wasn’t in his nature to obey, but this time he wanted to. Almost without thinking, he found himself stripping off his T-shirt and then toeing off his shoes before he started on this zipper.
He could see her eyes were glued to his hands as he unfastened his pants and slowly lowered them to the floor. He watched her eyes flare as she realized he was going commando and his hard cock sprang free.
He could almost read her mind as she took in his cock. He knew it was large. Hell, wolf-shifters all had cocks that would be considered large by humans, but he was long and thick, and he felt himself swell even larger as he watched her lick her lips at the sight of him.
