by Becca Van
She vowed then and there to keep her distance from them as much as possible because if she didn’t, she could see herself falling for them fast and hard, and then where would she be?
They were strong, domineering alpha type men. She couldn’t see them letting her continue her flying career. From what she’d seen from the men in this…stealth, they wanted to keep their women barefoot and pregnant. Pepper felt bad for thinking that way, but she had learned to think the worst of people. She might be barking up the wrong tree, doing the men an injustice by thinking like that, but until she learned otherwise, she was going to keep as far from them as she could.
“Is there a hotel or motel I can book into?”
“No!” Fin roared as he rose.
“Fin.” Cal gave him a warning look.
“There’s only one motel in Savoonga, and at the moment, it’s totally booked out with tourists.” Fin frowned.
Pepper crossed her arms beneath her breasts and eyed Cal avidly. She wasn’t sure if she believed Fin, but she would take his word for it for the moment since there wasn’t any way she could check for herself. Unless she wanted to try to limp her way around the town to find the motel, but with her ankle so sore and swollen, that wasn’t a good idea. She’d just end up hurting herself further, which would make her recovery longer. She was already pushing the envelope by walking on it so much.
“Then where am I supposed to stay?” she asked.
“We have a guest bedroom you can use.” Cal leaned back in the sofa, looking calm and relaxed, but from the way he was clenching his hands, Pepper realized he wasn’t as tranquil as he was trying to portray.
“What about Celeste, Tammy, or Kat?”
“They don’t have any spare rooms,” Fin said quickly.
“Are you lying to me?”
“I would never lie to you.” Fin scrubbed a hand down his face.
Pepper saw hurt flash across Fin’s green eyes and felt terribly guilty for causing him pain, but she had a hard time trusting people and wasn’t about to change her outlook with him and Cal.
“Pepper, we have been upfront with you from the start. Just because you may not like the answers you’re seeking doesn’t mean we’ll make up fabrications to sway you into doing what we want.” Cal rose and began to pace back and forth with agitation.
Pepper nearly choked on the saliva pooling in her mouth as she watched his quads lengthen and contract as he walked. When he turned his back to her, she couldn’t stop her gaze from zeroing in on his delectable, beefy ass. She’d never noticed body parts on the opposite sex before, but she was drawn to everything about Cal and Fin. Even though they were both wearing long-sleeve T-shirts, the material was stretched tightly over their bulging biceps and built pectoral muscles. She wanted to go over to both of them and push those shirts up so she could touch every rigid delineation under their bronzed skin. She wanted to know what their skin tasted like. Would it be salty or spicy? She wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss them. She wanted to know what it would feel like to have them touch her naked body. She wanted to know what it would be like to make love with them.
“Shit!”
“What?” Cal asked as he turned to face her.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I was just muttering to myself.”
Pepper had been so intent on watching Cal she hadn’t realized that Fin had moved and was standing right beside her before he spoke. “I can smell your arousal, sweetness.”
She startled and spun around to face Fin, but he was at least a foot taller than her, and she ended up staring at his bulky chest. She swallowed around the lump in her throat and then lifted her gaze up toward his.
His green eyes were glowing, and there was so much hunger in his gaze she felt her body instantly respond.
Pepper couldn’t seem to stop herself from licking her lips as her heart rate and breathing increased. Her pussy moistened, her nipples hardened, and all those girly bits began to throb with need. She tried to pull her gaze away from Fin’s, but it was totally impossible. She felt as if she were drowning in those gorgeous, green orbs, and even though she tried to swim away, she couldn’t make her body take one stroke, the step she needed to get herself back under control.
He made a low growly sound that rumbled up from deep in his chest, and when she saw his tongue lick across his lips, she lowered her gaze to stare at those perfect Cupid’s bows. When she felt his large warm hand on her elbow, she noticed she was swaying toward him. She told herself to pull away, to step back again, but the action was beyond her.
“You’re playing with fire, Pepper.”
Her breath hitched in her throat as the deep, raspy voice washed over her, sending shivers of warmth and need racing up and down her spine, and making her pussy and nipples throb. She heard movement and knew Cal was behind her before she felt his body press against her back. Liquid heat pooled in her belly and spread out until she was melting on the inside. A shudder ripped up her back when Fin cupped her cheeks between his large, warm hands as he brought her gaze up from his mouth to lock with his once more.
And then he lowered his mouth toward hers.
Pepper closed her eyes in anticipation, barely daring to breathe in case she broke the spell they were under. The first brush of those full lips on hers had air exploding from her lungs, and as she inhaled deeply through her nose, his delectable scent filled her olfactory senses.
She didn’t remember moving, but in the next instant, the front of her body was pressed into the front of his. A moan escaped her mouth when her hard, sensitive nipples pressed into his lower chest, and then she was moaning for a different reason.
He threaded his fingers up into her hair, dislodging the tie securing her ponytail and then combed them deep into her tresses to hold her head still. He opened his mouth over hers, and she gasped when his tongue licked over her lips. And then he was kissing her with so much passion, her insides felt as if they were on fire.
Pepper whimpered as he slid his tongue along hers, before twirling around in her mouth, and while she tried to tell herself to stop, to draw back, she didn’t want to. His delectable spicy, masculine flavor seeped to every corner of her body, causing her to shiver with a need so profound a deep-seated ache settled low into belly, heart, and soul.
When Cal began to kiss and lick down the side of her neck, all thought, all reason, fled. She was being consumed by the blazing fire running rampant through her veins, through her blood.
Nothing mattered except the next glide of Fin’s tongue, the next lick on her neck as Cal nibbled on her skin.
She didn’t remember releasing her grip on Fin’s shirt but realized she must have when her arms wrapped around his neck. She was standing on tiptoes, rubbing the front of her body against the front of his as she tried to get closer to him. However, it wasn’t enough. Nowhere near it. She sobbed with frustration, tightened her arms around his neck, and lifted one of her legs to hook her knee over his hip. It was hard to do since there was such a height difference between them, but she was determined to get as close as possible to him. She wanted her legs hooked around his waist so that her aching pussy could rub up against the long, thick erection she could feel pressed against her stomach.
Just as she got her leg to the perfect height, Fin broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. She groaned with disappointment and had to swallow back the string of lamenting words racing across her mind. She opened her eyes to find Fin staring at her with such hunger she couldn’t stop the quake from jerking her body against his. Cal was breathing heavily into her ear, and when he nipped and then sucked her lobe into his mouth, she closed her eyes as potent desire raced through her blood.
“We have to stop.” Fin panted a few times and then sucked in a deep, ragged breath as his shallow breathing finally even out.
“Why?” Pepper asked before she could temper her lust.
“Because if we don’t, we’re going to end up claiming you,” Cal whispered against her ear after releasing her
lobe from his mouth. “We won’t do that without your consent, baby.”
Pepper shivered when Cal unhooked his arms from around her waist and stepped back from her. Fin lowered his hands from her face, eyed her body up and down, and moved away. Her insides were shaking in reaction to the hunger coursing through her body, and when she lifted her hands toward her unbound hair, she saw they were trembling. In fact, when she glanced down at the floor, she noticed her whole body was quivering.
Damn it! She hated showing any sort of emotion, but these two men seemed to cut right through the façade she’d wrapped herself in. It was as if they could see through the walls she’d erected around her heart and mind, and could see right into her heart and soul.
She couldn’t believe how much she regretted them stopping things from going further. Nor that now that she’d had a taste of what it would be like to make love with them, the hunger was so intense it was almost painful. Nonetheless, she was glad they’d called a halt.
Pepper wasn’t like this. At all. She’d never capitulated to another person in her life and couldn’t work out why these two men had her questioning all her decisions to keep her distance from the opposite sex, from relationships.
She glanced toward them from under her lowered lashes and sighed with relief when she found they had their backs to her and they were heading toward the kitchen. She was out of control and had no idea how to get back on track. She was drifting with no way to steer. Her breathing sped up again, and her heart slammed against her chest. All the air in the room had been sucked away. The quivering in her body intensified until her knees felt as if they were about to buckle. There was an ache in her heart that got more painful with each breath she inhaled until she was certain she was having a heart attack.
Everything was too much. She couldn’t stand still, yet her body was trembling so hard she wasn’t sure she’d be able to move. However, she was strong willed and wasn’t about to let pessimism win. This wasn’t her game, but she was determined to win the match point.
Pepper dragged in another shallow breath and forced herself to take a step toward the front door, ignoring the searing pain stabbing into her ankle and up her leg. She took another step and another, until she was within reach of the door handle. After a quick glance over her shoulder and finding that Cal and Fin were no longer in sight, she opened the door and gasped as the bitterly cold below freezing wind and snow took her breath away. Right then, she didn’t care that she didn’t have on a coat or any shoes. She was hoping that the arctic blast would take away the deep, burning yearning away so she could think coherently, logically, even if it was just for a few minutes.
She was riding on a roller coaster, going out of her mind and had no control where she landed. A hysterical bubble of laughter rose from deep in her chest and escaped from between her parted lips. The turmoil inside her mind and body were warring with each other, and Pepper felt as if one wrong move would send her tipping over the edge into insanity.
She limped out onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind her, and stood shivering in the death-defying storm and wondered if she’d completely lost her mind.
Chapter Seven
Cal tilted his head when a soft noise reached his ears. He glanced at Fin to see his friend was listening as intently as he was, but he was the first to move back toward the doorway to the living room. He stepped over the threshold just as the front door closed, and his heart lurched painfully in his chest. Cal’s anger was instant as he wondered if he and Fin had pushed Pepper too hard, too fast. He raced toward the front door, mentally cursing the whole way. What the hell did she think she was doing? Did she have a fucking death wish? It was nearly twenty below freezing, cold enough to kill the average human.
“What the fuck?” Fin roared as Cal turned the door handle and tugged it open.
When he saw Pepper standing hunched over with snow and ice pouring down and swirling all around her, the pain in his heart nearly brought him to his knees. He didn’t bother speaking as he scooped her up into his arms, spun on his heels, and hurried back inside, shoving the door closed behind him with his foot. Her eyes were closed with small icicles stuck to her eyelashes and brows, but it was the violent shivering that had the breath locked in his lungs, escaping in a loud whoosh. Fin met his gaze briefly before turning toward the hallway. “I’ll fill the tub with water.”
Cal rushed after him, hoping that Pepper hadn’t been out in the elements long enough to cause permanent damage. Her face was as pale as milk, and her lips were tinted blue. He had no idea what possessed her to go outside without a coat or fucking shoes, but once he and Fin had her warmed up, he was going to get the answers he wanted.
When she stopped shivering, Cal knew she was in real trouble and couldn’t wait for the large spa bath to fill up. “Start the shower,” he ordered Fin.
From the fierce frown on Fin’s face, he was as worried as Cal. He tuned into his inner animal and sighed with relief when he heard a steady heartbeat, but he was concerned over her shallow panting breaths. He was scared she’d made herself ill in the few minutes she stood out on the porch in the artic temperature. Fin checked the temperature of the water and then nodded at him. They were both experienced in this situation since they lived in such a cold place, thankfully. The water wouldn’t be too hot—in fact, it was probably just tepid since they didn’t want to scald their mate while she was near freezing. Cal didn’t bother to remove any of their clothes and quickly stepped in under the lukewarm water.
Pepper moaned and began to shiver again, causing Cal to sigh with relief. When she stopped quivering, he nodded to Fin, who’d taken the time to strip out of his clothes. Fin stepped into the large shower cubicle and slowly adjusted the water temperature bit by bit until steam rose up around them. His mate stirred in his arms, and her eyelids fluttered open. Her beautiful brown eyes were hazed with confusion for a few moments, but she gasped as her memories returned. She blinked a few times, and though she glanced away, Cal saw tears well in her eyes.
“Put me down,” Pepper demanded.
Cal did as asked and shifted his hands to her narrow, dipped-in waist to keep her steady. She must have heard Fin move behind her because she gazed back and up at him over her shoulder. A groan escaped her mouth, and she spun around to face him.
“What the hell? You’re naked?”
Cal’s sabear shoved against his insides, trying to get to his mate. His animal was angry at her for putting her life in jeopardy, and the urge to claim her was so much stronger than before. Heated tingles panned out from his lower belly, spreading rapidly through his blood and though he tried to curb his lust, he realized that the mating heat was upon him. He’d expected a couple days of grace before the mating pheromones kicked in, but it seemed it wasn’t to be. None of the other members of the stealth had reacted so quickly when their mates had landed on the island.
Cal just hoped that Pepper would concede to mate with him and Fin soon, because if she didn’t…he was going to have a serious case of blue balls, and that was going to be the least of his problems. If his and Fin’s animals didn’t settle down soon, he knew their emotions were going to go off the charts. He’d seen how his other friends’ moods had changed from one second to the next and the struggle they’d endured to keep their animals on a tight leash so they didn’t claim their mates without their permission.
From the way Pepper had reacted to everything they’d revealed to her so far, he and Fin were going to have to fight for her every step of the way.
Pepper turned to face the tile wall and closed her eyes as if trying to shut out the image of Fin’s naked body, but when she shivered, Cal knew she hadn’t been successful. The scent of musky aroused woman assailed his nostrils, and his beast chuffed with approval as he paced in circles. Her body language was saying one thing, but her body was saying another.
Her shoulders were tense, and she had her arms crossed beneath her breasts, protectively, defensively, but there was no way she could hide her arou
sal from them.
“Get out,” Pepper ordered.
Cal ground his teeth with frustration. He wanted to strip her down and then caress and lick every inch of that delectable compact, toned, sexy body, but if he gave into his urges, he had a terrible feeling she would never trust them again.
He met Fin’s gaze and nodded at his best friend before stepping out of the shower. Anger, desire, and dejection warred in his heart and soul. His sabear grumbled with ire at his retreat, not really understanding why Cal was holding back and trying to urge him to return to Pepper’s side, but he resisted. He stripped off his sodden clothes, grabbed a towel from the rail, and dried off. Fin had a towel wrapped around his waist and was staring at Pepper through the glass partition.
Cal nudged his arm and nodded toward the door. Fin sighed, ran his hand down his face, and then they both left the bathroom and headed toward their bedrooms.
Five minutes later, they were sitting at the dining table slugging down a beer.
“Why would she do that?” Fin asked.
“She’s scared,” Cal replied.
“Of us?” Fin frowned as he glanced toward the doorway leading to the living room.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Then what?” Fin drained the last of his beer.
“She’s scared of the way we make her feel.”
“So instead of talking to us, she went outside into a blizzard and almost kills herself?”
“She wasn’t thinking straight, Fin.” Cal scrubbed a hand over his face. “We’d just dumped a shitload of information on her. Stuff that most people think exists only in fiction novels or movies.”
“Yeah, I get that, but…fuck!”
“What?” Cal asked.
“The mating heat’s already started.”
“I know.”
“Do you think Pepper’s also feeling it?”
“I do,” Cal answered. “Didn’t you scent her arousal?”
