by Jane Jamison
He wanted her in every way he could. He wanted to find her erotic places both inside and out. He wanted to slide his tongue the length of her. He wanted to put his teeth to her lips, to nibble them until she squealed, then go even lower to find her other lips and make her scream even louder. But he couldn’t wait, couldn’t go slowly. Not when she was breaking down all his defenses with that sultry look.
“I can’t hold back,” he said.
“Then don’t.”
He pressed his face against one breast and moaned with delight. When he brought his gaze to hers again, he saw the humor there. And the power.
Those in his pride who had told him about love at first sight had said something more. They’d said that the only person who could ever get control over a werelion would be his mate. He scoffed at the idea, but now, looking into her sweet brown eyes, he knew they were right. She could control him with one look, one whimper, one purr.
Reverently, he positioned his cock at her pussy, and then, just as she inhaled slowly, he eased his cock inside her.
Holy hell.
He’d found heaven on earth in the arms of an angel.
“Damn it, Danny. Get your head out of the clouds and listen up,” demanded Shane.
Jason whipped the steering wheel to the right then straightened it back out. “By the look of that bulge in his jeans, his mind wasn’t in the clouds. It was in the dirt.”
“Fuck off.” Danny repositioned his cock and wished that jeans were made of a softer material. And without a zipper.
“Nah, man.” Jason laughed. “I think you’re the one fucking off.”
He glared at his brother, but he was used to the good-natured ribbing. “What’s going on?”
“Well, before you went into masturbation mode,” joked Shane, “we were talking about what to do next.”
Danny promptly forgot about their razzing. “Which means what? Do you guys agree that she’s the one or not? She’s our mate, right?”
“Slow down, man.” Jason pulled the truck to a stop, climbed out to take care of the gate, and then was soon back behind the wheel. Nearby cattle, mistaking the men’s arrival for feeding time, mooed their complaint as the truck moved forward.
“He’s right, Danny. We just met the girl like ten minutes ago. That’s moving fast even for you,” added Shane. “We need to think this thing out. Not only for her, but to keep us from fucking things up.”
“So she’s the one? You guys agree with me on that, right?” He had to know. Had to confirm that they felt the same as him. They’d never talked about the possibility that a woman would fall for only one of them. Or that they wouldn’t want the same woman. He hated to even entertain the idea. What would life be life without his brothers by his side? Yet, even worse, what would life be life without his woman, his mate?
“She could be,” admitted Shane.
“Could be?” Danny gaped at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Come on, man. You know she is.”
“Okay, fine. I’m like ninety-nine percent certain she is.” Shane looked to Jason. “What about you?”
As usual, Jason played it cool. “She could be. But, again, we need to take more time. We don’t want to jump into anything too fast.”
Danny gritted his teeth as the truck lurched forward. “What the hell? Too fast? Are you fucking kidding me? We finally found her and you’re afraid of moving too fast? Shit, I’m afraid of moving too fucking slow.” He dragged in a breath, trying to regain control. “You saw her, didn’t you? How could you take one look at her and not know she’s the one for us? Hell, she’s ready to get with us, too.”
“If she’s so damn ready, then why didn’t she agree to meet us at the bar?”
Danny sat up, even more irritated at Jason’s logic. Why couldn’t his brother throw caution to the wind and act on his impulses for once? After all, werelions were known for their impulsive natures, yet that trait seemed to have been left out of Jason. “I don’t know.”
Shane leaned forward as the truck came to a stop in front of their ranch-style home. “I think I know.”
“Yeah?” Danny twisted around along with Jason. “Why? And how do you know?”
Shane held up his phone. “I just texted Carol, and she gave me the low-down. Winnie’s friend—” He frowned. “What was her name?”
“Bree,” answered Jason.
“Yeah. Bree. According to Carol, Bree dragged Winnie to Lonesome to prove to her that shifters exist. It so happens that Bree got surprised in the ladies’ room last year by a female shifter changing back into a woman.”
Jason shoved his door open but stayed where he was. “Dragged, huh? Which means that maybe she’s not ready to admit that shifters exist. Either that, or she’s afraid that they do. Either way of thinking could make her leery that she might run into them.”
Danny half fell out the truck and slammed the door behind him. He fell into step alongside his brothers. “Have you considered the possibility that we may be overthinking this? Maybe she really was tired.”
Shane shot him an amused look. “I’m calling bullshit on that one. She looked like she was about ready to pounce on us and tear our clothes off. Even if she was kind of tired, I doubt that would’ve stopped her. Nah, man.” He hit the front door first and led the way into their cozy, yet sparsely furnished home. “If she wasn’t afraid, she was definitely nervous.”
“Yeah. You’re probably right.” Danny stalked to the small kitchen adjacent to the living room. The home was small for three very large men, but since they’d grown up in the home like their parents before them, and their grandparents before them, they didn’t see any need to find a different home. Besides, the land was what really mattered. Who cared what the house was like as long as they could ride the range and run cattle?
Then again…
He glanced around, taking the place in with fresh eyes. Just because his mother and grandmother had loved the place, didn’t mean Winnie would. Their home was great as far as he and his brothers were concerned, but it was definitely small. If Winnie wanted a bigger home, then he’d gladly sacrifice their family home and build her a mansion.
“Okay, so we’re agreed?” Jason bumped into Danny to get to the fridge. He handed Shane a beer, then Danny, then got one for himself. “We give her some time. A couple days maybe.”
Danny sputtered a sip. “Two days? Are you fucking messing with me? No fucking way.”
“Two days isn’t a lifetime,” quipped Shane as he moved to throw his bulk onto the big leather couch his mother had always hated. Still, the couch had served a lot of male werelions well, so she’d kept it.
The hell it’s not.
Instead, he said, “Maybe not, but I still think it’s still too long.”
“Fine. We put it to a vote.” Jason lifted his hand. “I vote to check back with her in two days.”
Danny snarled, his lion angry and ready to take his brothers on. “No. I vote we go back tonight and see her again.”
“Calm the shit down, will you? She said she was tired, remember?” Shane lifted his hand. “I vote for two days.”
It happened all too often as far as Danny was concerned. He wanted something, and his brothers voted against it. “Fuck. If we lose her because you two waited too long, I’m going to tear your fucking balls off.”
“Take it easy.”
Danny shrugged off Jason’s big brotherly hand on the shoulder.
“One of us could give her our allure,” suggested Shane.
Danny jumped on the opportunity. “Yeah, that’s right. And we should. After all, she’s over at the Dayton ranch. One of those guys could make a move on her. We need to stake our claim.”
“They’re not going to do anything to Winnie,” said Jason. “They were all but drooling over Bree.” He held up a hand, warding off Danny’s next argument. “But, just in case, we’ll give her a taste of The Allure when we see her in two days.”
Two days is two days too long.
But Danny knew when to keep pushing his br
others and when to give it up. “Fine. We’ll do this your way.”
I’ll give up the argument with them, but I’m not giving up on seeing her soon. Real soon.
Chapter Three
Winnie heard the sound of rustling then the distinct creak of the front door.
Where is she going?
It wasn’t like Bree to up and leave, much less sneak out. But Bree hadn’t been exactly acting like the Bree she knew since coming to Lonesome. The Bree that had been dead set on finding a real live shifter had changed once she’d met the Dayton brothers and their cousin. Not that Winnie was ungrateful to the men for letting them stay in the bunkhouse, but did she have to lose her friend in the process?
Still, Winnie understood what Bree was thinking. Her friend was crushing big time, and she couldn’t blame her. At least, not since the moment she’d met the Landerson men.
Damn, but they’re as perfect as men can get.
She could easily see her crushing on them, and even falling in love with them.
Whoa, girl. Talk about getting ahead of yourself.
She jerked her thoughts back to Bree. Where had her friend gone? Throwing off the covers, she hurried to the small window and peeked out.
Was that the door to the kitchen closing? Had Bree gone inside the men’s house? But why?
She snorted, making a very unlady-like sound. She knew why. Unlike her, Bree didn’t have a problem holding back with her sexuality. Bree’s openness, her freedom to let herself jump into any situation, including a sexual one, was a trait Winnie admired. All too often, she would hold back, missing a great opportunity to let go and enjoy life to the fullest.
Did Bree worry that the men could turn out to be shifters? Werelions? Nope. In fact, her friend was hoping they would. “Okay, Bree, I hope you know what you’re doing.”
She thought about the Landerson men. What if they were werelions, too? Would she still want to be with them?
She was surprised to realize that she would. She found the realization unnerving, yet it was the truth.
She caught movement out of the corner of her eyes.
What was that?
Yet as soon as she’d asked the question, a dark figure appeared in front of the bunkhouse door. She let out a small yelp and stepped back. Her heart did a skip, and she flipped on the light on top of the front door.
Danny?
She couldn’t have been more surprised to see him if he’d been a polar bear. “What in the world?”
He lifted his hand and smiled. “Hi, Winnie. Do you have a second?”
She glanced at the house, noted the kitchen lights were on, then opened the door. If Bree had her way, she wouldn’t be back until much, much later. “What are you doing here?”
“I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”
Oh. My.
What was she supposed to say to that? “Really? Are you kidding?” Or more to the truth, “me, too”? Instead, she opted for silence and letting him take the lead.
“Yeah, well, anyway,” He pushed the door open wider. “Like I said, I couldn’t stop thinking about you, and I couldn’t get to sleep, so I decided to take the chance at stopping by and hoping you were still up.” The corners of his mouth lifted in a small, yet knowing smile. “Did you get some rest?”
He knew she’d lied. That much was certain. But how much more did he know? That she would’ve loved for them to have taken her to bed? That, shy or not, if she hadn’t been worried about him and his brothers being shifters, she wouldn’t have held back? “Um, yes. A little.”
“But you’re still up.” He gazed past her. “And your friend?”
“Bree.”
“Yeah. Bree. Is she still up, too?”
She couldn’t tell him where Bree was. “No. Um, she’s sound asleep.” She hoped he wouldn’t glance past her and see that both bunks were empty. To get caught in one lie was bad enough, but to get caught in two would be much worse.
“Good.” He took her arm and tugged her out of the bunkhouse. “How about we talk out here? I wouldn’t want to wake her up.”
She glanced at the house again, hoping Bree or, even worse, one of the men wouldn’t come outside. “No. I guess we wouldn’t.”
He cleared his throat. “Look, I’m going to come straight to the point.”
“Okay.” Did she really want to know what “the point” was?
“I like you. A lot.”
Was that amber in his eyes? Didn’t that mean something? Yet, for the life of her, with him searching her so intently, she couldn’t remember what.
“But you don’t even know me.” That was the logical thing to say, but it still couldn’t squash the excitement welling inside her.
“You’re right. I don’t.” He skimmed his palm along her arm. “But I feel like I’ve known you all my life. Is that crazy sounding? You bet. But that’s the truth of it.”
Although he’d taken his hand away, she could still feel the sensation of his touch warming her skin. It was almost as though she could feel every nerve come alive. “I’m not sure what to say.”
“Say you’ll come on a walk with me.” He pointed toward the dark tree line. “There’s a terrific little pond nearby. With a rowboat.” He grinned, his enthusiasm spreading to her. “Let me take you out in the boat. I’m sure Matt and the others won’t mind.”
She couldn’t, shouldn’t. If he were a werelion, she’d be putting herself in danger. At least, that was what her head told her. Her heart, however, didn’t agree. Yet, as she looked toward the kitchen again, she channeled her inner Bree and told him the truth. “Okay. As long as it’s safe.”
She held back the urge to tell him that she didn’t like being on the water. At least, not after some kids at the local swimming pool had upset the raft she’d been floating on. She’d been caught by surprise, giving her little time to react before she’d plunged into the deep water. She’d come up sputtering and mad as hell. Yet, the only one who knew how much their prank had scared her, had made her think, if only for a moment, that she was going to drown, was Bree.
He gave her a searching look. “Safe? Yeah, it’s safe. Why wouldn’t it be?” Taking her hand, he pulled her along with him. “Winnie, you’ll always be safe with me.”
Strangely, she believed him.
* * * *
“You were right.” Shane kept low and as far from Danny and Winnie as he could.
“Yep. I figured him right.” Jason stopped abruptly, crouching when Danny paused and looked back over his shoulder.
What would Danny do if he realized they were following him? Take Winnie back to the bunkhouse? Out them? Or, more likely, let them follow and watch from a distance.
“Are we going to let him get away with this? What if he gives her the full blast of his allure?”
“We’ll face that if and when it happens.” Jason knew Shane wasn’t as worried as he was acting. They’d voted on it and had decided to give her time. Still, if Danny put his allure on her, they’d just have to go with it. There were worse things than his brother alluring the woman they wanted.
Maybe if he hadn’t lied? After all, he’d felt the same almost irresistible pull toward Winnie as Danny had. He’d wanted her from the first moment, too. But he was the oldest of the three and needed to act rationally and carefully.
“This is fucked up. Why don’t we show ourselves? Why give him time to be alone with her?”
Jason could sense Shane’s lion eager to rise to the surface. His own was giving him hell, too, clawing and growling, demanding to be allowed to take over. Not for the first time that night, he shoved his animal into submission.
Still, that didn’t mean he was going to let Danny get away with it. “Just follow my lead. Danny won’t have his way much longer. I’ve got a plan.”
* * * *
“I don’t know about this.” Winnie studied the dark water then the bottom of the rowboat beneath her feet. She’d been hoping for something more substantial. The rickety old boat didn’t look like
it could hold her weight, much less hers and Danny’s. And yet, there she was, sitting in the middle of a large pond with the black water all around her.
What would it take to capsize such a small boat? She averted her gaze away from the boards at her feet back to the water. Which, of course, was exactly the wrong thing to do. Her already jumpy nerves began to jump even more.
Oh, shit. Why am I doing this?
“Are you okay?”
She jerked her attention to Danny. “What’d you say?”
“You look a little pale.”
She was sure she did, although it wasn’t what any girl wanted to hear while sitting in a rowboat under a beautiful moon with a sexy man. “I’m okay.”
Unless I upchuck.
No. Don’t even think about it.
Doing her best to ignore the queasy feeling in her stomach, she concentrated on his eyes. Eyes that would make any woman feel safe.
“It’s fine. I know the boat doesn’t look like much, but I swear it won’t sink.” He hooked the oars to the boat. “I’m not going to risk getting wet. I’m not much of a water person.”
“Then why did you suggest we get on a boat?” Why had she gone along with it in the first place? She blamed it on his winning ways. Plus, watching his muscles flex as he’d rowed the boat had been a very delightful sight. Delightful and stirring. She squirmed on the hard wood and tried to keep the lust-filled urges swirling in her from breaking through to the surface.
He stood, making the boat rock side to side. She grabbed hold of the edges. “Sit down before you tip us over.”
He sat, laughing, and took her hands in his. At once, she forgot all about getting wet.
“I wanted you to see the moon from out on the water.” He pointed toward the bright moon. “It’s great, right?” Then he pointed toward the water. “See the reflection? Pretty cool, huh?”
“Very cool,” she countered. But she’d only given the moon a short look. After all, why look at a moon when there was something so much more appealing to look at? He was cool. Very cool.
“And pretty, right?” He leaned forward, touched her cheek.
