by Khloe Wren
“Can’t imagine Jet took too kindly to you after that.”
She’d gone silent for a moment, but Cooper’s voice got her talking again. The sooner she got it all out, the sooner she could go home. Well, assuming Dale got his ass here and fixed her car.
“I really should have held onto my temper, or at least my tongue. Of course me reacting just enraged him further. Jet had fire in his gaze as he came at me. Just as he neared me a loud growl filled the air. I’m still not sure what on earth could have made it. It sure as hell was not a housecat, nor did it sound happy.” She’d thought at the time it sounded like one of the tigers that people kept saying they saw roam the Blue Mountains National Park, but no way would she admit that out loud. She looked up to see Cooper glaring at Jaxson. She frowned as it appeared they were having some kind of silent conversation. Ebony cleared her throat, and both men turned their intense stares to her. She swallowed against the sensation that she was their prey and rushed on to finish telling Cooper what happened.
“It was then that Jaxson showed up. He told the boys to back up off me.”
Ebony had needed to lean against her car for a different reason once she’d seen Jaxson. All six feet five inches of him had come out of the bush near the cemetery wearing camo pants and a tight black sleeveless top. Jaxson had prowled over to her like he had every right to be there.
“That’s right. I told those assholes to back up, and then I went to Ebony and checked over her injuries.”
As Jaxson took over giving Cooper information, Ebony really looked at them. Jaxson Martin and Cooper Ryan were the only two men who had been able to threaten her vow to stay alone. They were both two years older than she was, and she’d initially seen them on her first day at Emerson High School. They’d both asked her out that year, but she’d forced herself to resist. She hadn’t wanted her heart to be broken any more than it already was, nor did she want to become a tug-of-war toy between two men, so she’d turned them down with some crap excuse she couldn’t even remember now.
Even if she had wanted to date back then, how would she have chosen between them? She had been almost relieved when Jaxson signed up for the Army and left town, taking half the temptation with him. However, she hadn’t expected the feelings of fear for him that she’d felt after he’d gone. She’d heard he was now Special Forces and had been working top secret assignments in the most dangerous parts of the world. Cooper had left town not long after Jaxson to go to Police Academy, and aside from that foolish fling with Brett, she’d maintained her solitude without any trouble.
Jaxson continued to detail her injuries to Cooper, clearly oblivious to Ebony examining them. She retreated back into her mind and wondered when Jaxon had arrived back into town. She hadn't heard that he'd returned. Mind you, she’d never paid much attention to gossip. For the most part, she spent her spare time buried in a book. She was quite certain she'd never experience romance in real life, but in books it was safe to fall in love with the strong alpha male heroes. Those fictional men never left her.
Strong fingers on her jaw brought her focus back to the present.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Ebony? Did you hit your head on the car when Jet backhanded you?”
“I don’t have a concussion, Jaxson. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
She frowned at him as he released her face and took her hand to once more examine her knuckles.
“Does it hurt more or less than before?”
The pain was easing with the tingles running up her arm from Jaxson’s touch, but she wasn’t about to tell him that.
“It’s less. I’ll stick some ice on it when I get home. I’m sure it will be fine.”
She pulled her hand away from his and stepped free, only to end up in front of Cooper. He was looking at her like he was going to start fussing, too. She couldn’t handle it when these two were nice to her. She’d melt and give in. Ebony glanced down to the notebook in his hands, and her thoughts returned to Jet.
“What happens now? With Jet.”
“His buddies will probably just get a warning. Jet, on the other hand, is a different matter. Are you going to press charges against him?”
“Of course! He threatened me with rape before roughing me up. Damn straight I want him charged.”
“Good girl. Well, charges will be laid, and he’ll have to go to court. Then it’s up to the judge. Depending on what his record is like, he’ll cop a fine, good behavior bond, or if he really pisses the judge off, jail time.”
“What about if he tries something else between now and court?”
“We’ll serve him with an intervention order, Ebony. He won’t be allowed anywhere near you.”
“Good. That’s good.”
Chewing on her bottom lip she moved away from both the men. She didn’t know what to do now all the action was over. She looked up the road and saw Dale’s van coming toward them. About damn time.
Chapter Two
Jaxson tried his best not to growl as Dale approached Ebony. The guy was as laid back as an Aussie guy could get and had always flirted with anyone in a skirt. Jaxson knew he was harmless and didn't really have any interest in Ebony, but having just witnessed Jet having a go at her, he wasn't feeling very rational.
"Jaxson, come over here for a sec."
Reluctantly, he went over to Cooper and left Dale and Ebony looking at the motor of her rust bucket of a car.
"Stop giving Dale the evil eye, Jaxson. He's just fixing her Beetle."
"She needs a better car than that."
"Yeah, well, if we can convince her to give us a chance, we can buy her one. You realize why she's out here today?"
"Of course I do, Coop. It's the anniversary of her folks being killed in that damn crash."
"It's been seven years."
"That's a long damn time for her to hide away from the world."
"Think she'll let us spend New Year’s with her tonight?"
"Don't know, Coop. But I'm not leaving her alone."
"How about we invite her around to our place? We can watch the Sydney Harbor fireworks on the big screen. Get some snacks and shit. It'll be a low key night, and we can keep her guarded."
Jaxson's blood heated at what might follow the fireworks. "Maybe we can convince her to make some fireworks of our own afterwards."
Cooper chuckled as he shook his head. "We can only hope."
The sound of the Beetle's motor starting up filled the air.
"Okay, well, I'm going to follow her home before I head back to the station. You want to go around there after you get your car?"
Jaxson had left his Jeep back at on Main Street. He'd been close enough that it had been faster for him to shift and run to get to Ebony. "Yeah, I'll grab a bag of ice and some supplies for that hand of hers. It's not broken, but it's going to swell and bruise up on her."
"Can't believe she nailed him like that."
"I can. Kind of makes you proud, doesn’t it? Ebony’s not afraid to use her claws.”
Dale handing Ebony a slip of paper, the bill no doubt, before he made his way back to his van to leave ended their conversation. Jaxson and Cooper both approached her as she was closing the hatch over the motor.
"Ebony, I'm going to follow you home before I head back to the station. Just to make sure you don't have any more trouble on the way."
"Thanks, Cooper, but it's not really necessary."
Cooper crossed his arms over his broad chest, and Jaxson didn't miss how Ebony's gaze zoned in on his buddy's body.
"Wasn't giving you an option, Ebony."
"And I'm just going to grab my car then drop around and take care of that hand of yours."
With a frown she spun toward Jaxson. "Why would you do that? I'll just put some ice on it when I get home. I'm pretty sure it's not broken. It'll be fine in a day or so I'm sure. I don't need you two playing hero for me."
Jaxson mirrored Cooper's stance with his arms crossed before he grinned at her.
"Again,
we weren't giving you an option, sweetheart. We were just letting you know what's going to happen."
Somehow, he managed to not laugh as she frowned and glared at them both. She was so damn cute when she was mad.
“Just why were you even here earlier, Jaxson? How’d you know I needed help? You’re not stalking me, are you?”
Jaxson was really struggling not to laugh. She was jumping to all sorts of wrong conclusions.
“Ebony, Cooper rang to see where I was, and when he found out I was close by, he asked me to come help you out until the police could get here. Completely innocent I swear.”
With a huff she spun on her heel and hopped in her car.
"Shit, she's not going to wait for me."
Cooper raced over to his bike and geared up quickly. Jaxson stayed where he was and watched as his woman and his best friend took off down the road. Once they were out of view he made his way into the thick bush where he used his magic to strip his clothes and shift to his Siberian Tiger form before he bounded off toward his Jeep.
Half an hour later he pulled up behind Ebony's Beetle in her driveway. His open top black Jeep dwarfed the smaller car making it look more like a toy than a real vehicle. He jumped free of his car before leaning back in to grab the shopping bag of supplies. As he strode over the grass to her front door, it swung open to reveal Ebony glaring at him with fire in her gaze. Damn, that was one pissed off woman. His lips quirked a little at the bag of frozen peas she held over her knuckles. Good girl.
"I told you, I'm fine. I don't need a babysitter."
He didn't stop walking as he approached where she stood blocking her doorway. Obviously realizing he wasn't going to take no for an answer she moved to the side allowing him to enter her home before he mowed her down. Of course, he’d planned on scooping her up in his arms if she hadn’t moved. He’d never hurt her. The door shut behind him with a quiet click, and he turned to look at her.
"Where's your kitchen?"
"I didn't realize how bloody pushy and demanding you are."
He smiled at her. It was who he was. Especially in the bedroom, there he would demand complete control over her. He wondered how she'd react to that now he'd seen her quick temper. With a shake of her head she headed down the hallway, and he followed her. As she went through a doorway to the right, he glanced at the bookshelves that lined the left side of the wide passageway. His eyebrow rose as he caught some of the titles. Jaxson was no expert on romance novels, but it was obvious the majority of the shelves contents were exactly that. And they weren't your standard mushy crap either. He caught the words “ménage”, “Dom” and “alpha” in enough of the titles to notice a theme. There was no way he could hold back his grin as he followed Ebony into the kitchen where he planned to patch up her hand while he convinced her to join him and Cooper for New Year tonight.
****
As Ebony followed Jaxson into the house he shared with Cooper, she wondered how she'd been talked into coming. Spending a social evening with the two of them was not going to help her avoid her attraction to them. They both had dangerous jobs, and she doubted either would die of old age. Her heart couldn't take losing anyone else she loved. Even now, with them having been nothing more than a high school crush, she knew she'd ache for the loss of them should something happen. How much worse would it be if she was intimately involved with one of them?
She thought back to the dreams she'd had about these two men. Her love of reading ménage romances had led to some very hot fantasies about her having both of them. She felt her blood heat and arousal coil low in her belly as she thought about what it would feel like to have their four hands caressing her, and both their mouths worshiping her body.
Lost in her fantasy, Ebony didn't see when Jaxson stopped abruptly, and she slammed into his hard body with an oomph. Before she completely lost her balance and fell, Jaxson turned and wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her in against him. A wave of heat flowed over her, and a pack of butterflies took flight in her belly.
"What were you just thinking about?"
"Ahh, I wasn't thinking about anything. Just daydreaming a little and not watching where I was going."
She could feel her cheeks heat and knew she was blushing. She lowered her face and tried to hide behind a curtain of her long hair.
"Don't lie to me, Ebony. Not sure you're ready for what I do when my woman lies to me."
As he spoke he wrapped her hair around his hand and gently tugged it so her face turned up to his. She gasped in shock at both the dominant way he took control and his calling her his woman.
"You're blushing, your eyes are dilated, and your pulse is racing." His grin was wicked and full of temptation. "And, sweetheart, I can smell you. Were you thinking naughty thoughts, Ebony?"
She gulped down a breath before she licked her dry lips. Jaxson's gaze followed her tongue's movements, and he released a low growl.
I’m doing a truly terrible job of resisting this man.
She had to push him away. She couldn't risk falling in any deeper with him, but he was oh so tempting. All his strength and beauty were right there in front of her. It was almost irresistible.
"My thoughts are private, Jaxson. And there's no way you can smell me. I had a shower before you came barging into my home earlier."
She was pretty sure her eyes showed her desperation as Jaxson squinted at her a moment before he released his hold on her slowly.
"Have a seat while I grab us a couple drinks."
Ebony all but collapsed on the couch as she struggled to get her pounding heart under control. She couldn't stay here. There was no way she'd be able to resist him if he tried to seduce her. Gathering her wits, she rose to her feet and snuck toward the front door. As she reached out to open it, it swung in abruptly. She jumped back in fright and let out a squeal when she landed against a hard body.
"What on earth?"
Cooper looked totally confused as he came in and closed the door.
"I do believe Ebony was trying to sneak out on us, Coop."
Cooper dropped his keys in the pot that sat on the side table before he glared over her shoulder at Jaxson.
"What did you do to make her want to leave?"
Jaxson's palm slid around her waist until it rested over her belly. He pulled her toward him until her body pressed tightly against his. At five foot nine, Ebony was tall, but these two were giants and made her feel like she was tiny.
"I didn't do anything but call her on the naughty thoughts she was having. I was walking a few steps ahead of her and caught the scent."
Ebony whimpered as against her will, arousal once again coiling through her body. With both hands, she gripped Jaxson's arm and tried to move it away from her, but he didn't budge. Panting for breath and desperate to make them understand she looked up to Cooper's gaze. His eyes were similar to Jaxson's but had a tinge of green in the golden brown.
"Please, let me go. I can't do this."
Cooper cocked his head to the side as he squinted at her in concentration.
"Just to be clear, Ebony, you don't need to choose between us. Jaxson and I come as a pair. We both want you and intend to share you."
And just like that her knees gave out. Jaxson quickly swept her up in his arms and strode back toward the lounge where they'd been. Images of being between the two of them filled her mind, and she groaned. As Jaxson sat down with her, his hold loosened, so Ebony sprang up from his lap and moved away.
"I've seen her book collection, Coop. Trust me, the thought of a ménage doesn't freak our girl out. It's something else that has her running scared."
Cooper leaned against the door frame with his arms folded over his broad chest. The crisp blue buttoned up shirt pulled tight over his muscular shoulders and biceps as he stood there.
Ebony winced as they began to discuss her reading preferences as if she wasn’t in the room. Why hadn't she put that bookcase in her bedroom? Obviously, Jaxson had caught sight of her books in the hallway whe
n he'd stormed in and taken over earlier. Hearing Jaxson mention her preference for Doms and alpha males pulled her from her inner thoughts. Instantly furious with both men, she cut off their conversation.
"My reading choices are mine and private! It's not a topic for open discussion, so just shut the hell up about it. You shouldn't have even been in my house to see them! And at least I don’t go around sniffing people! You've accused me twice in the past half hour of being smelly."
****
Cooper used all his control to not laugh. Ebony was so cute when she got herself worked up. But Jaxson was right. There was something going on with her on a deeper level. And as much as he'd love to continue discussing her interesting taste in reading material, it was more important to find out why she wasn't allowing herself to accept their attention. Like Jaxson, Cooper had smelt her arousal earlier when she'd been pressed back against his buddy. He uncurled from his position in the doorway and moved closer to her.
"He didn't say you were smelly. He said he could smell your scent. The unique fragrance that your skin emits, and that gets stronger when you’re aroused."
He glanced at Jaxson with a raised eyebrow. If Ebony was going to be theirs she needed to accept what they were or there was no point in going any further. Jaxson nodded in agreement to Cooper's unspoken question just as Ebony found her voice.
"People's skin doesn't do that. Sure, if you wear perfume, you smell. But I don't wear any."
Cooper took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he spoke.
"Ebony, Jaxson and I aren't normal people. I'm sure with all those books you've read, you've come across shape shifters, am I right?"
Her skin paled a little as she nodded her head, and Cooper paused to wonder if they were doing the right thing. Jaxson obviously didn't harbor the same doubts.
"That growl you heard at the cemetery, Ebony. That was me. I was too far away to stop what Jet planned to do next to you so I growled loud enough to scare him away from you. I shifted back to human form before I came out of the trees. Sweetheart, Coop and I are Siberian Tiger shape shifters."
