by Ruby Madden
Immediately, both bears were on full alert. Emma found herself thrust behind their broad backs as they made a wall of impenetrable bear between her and whatever was in her bedroom.
Wait, her sister was in the bedroom.
“Damn, damn, damn,” she cursed under her breath. She tried to push her way between the brothers.
A large arm held her back. “Who’s in the bedroom, Emma?”
“No one.”
Another thump. Ryland’s brown eyes glittered with rage.
“I, um, I have a dog,” she blurted out.
Ryker stared down at her. “A dog? You’re a cat. Why would you have a dog as a pet?”
“State the obvious, why don’t you?” A little snark never hurt a tense situation.
One of Ryker’s eyebrows rose at her response. He took a deep breath. “I don’t smell a dog, Emma. All I smell is you.” A frown immediately settled on his face as if he’d caught wind of something. Or nothing at all.
Two emotions rushed through Emma as the truth hit the bears square between the eyes. Fear at what the shifters would do now that they had discovered the sisters’ deceit. And relief that they could finally stop running.
A flood of anger raced across Ryker’s features and she braced herself because the crap was about to hit the fan.
Before she could stop him, he was striding across the short distance to the bedroom door. Flinging it open, it crashed against the wall, revealing a fleeing Abigail climbing out the window onto the fire escape, a black backpack slung over one shoulder. Out of necessity, they kept bug-out gear in more than one location.
Ryker grabbed the woman trying to make her way out of the bedroom window. The backpack dropped to the floor. His body, which had refused to cooperate during the seduction of Emma, instantly came awake when the curvy ass of the woman pressed back against his groin as he dragged her back into the room.
The hooded jacket covering her face fell away, revealing her features.
“What the hell?” The bears growled as one.
The face of the woman was identical to that of their mate.
The first to recover, Ryland drawled, “Well, damn, there’s two of them.”
CHAPTER SIX
“Mine.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Ryker dragged Abigail into his arms.
The growl that emanated from the shifter made Emma’s pussy gush. She could just imagine what the testosterone laden word had done to her sister. She was amazed that Abigail was still standing on her own two feet. Oh, wait, she wasn’t. The big bear had gathered her close, lifting her off the floor and was kissing her as if his life depended on it.
Another growl sounded behind her and she felt thick arms wrap around her middle. Ryland tugged her sharply to him and there was no doubt of his arousal. Was he angry because his brother had aroused her with his claiming growl? Emma didn’t want to admit the sight of Ryker ravishing her sister’s lips was turning her on. A lot. Instead of angry words, she felt the soft whisper of his breath as he licked the shell of her ear. Another panty drenching act by a Blackwood brother.
“Did Ryker’s growl turn you on, baby?” Before she could answer, a sharp nip on her earlobe let her know she better be careful how she answered that question.
Yeah, the two bears had been doing their best not moments before to convince her she was their mate and she should let them have her. That had all changed the moment Ryker had laid eyes on Abigail.
She moaned when Ryland’s palms cupped her breasts much like Ryker had done earlier. His touch went beyond what his brother’s had been. He pinched her already hardened nipples between his thumb and forefinger. She closed her eyes when he pulled at them, deepening the touch of pain. He shifted his hips until his cock nestled between the cheeks of her ass. Ragged breathing was all that could be heard as the bears laid claim to their mates.
Abigail’s head started to swim as Ryker continued to kiss her, depriving her of oxygen. It wasn’t a kiss; it was a branding, he was stamping his ownership all over her. Surprisingly, his mouth was soft despite the hard line it had been set in when he’d burst into the bedroom and discovered the girls’ deception. His arms loosened their breath-stealing hold as his hands slid up to cup her face. She clung to his thick forearms, knowing she should be pushing him away instead of trying to pull him closer.
Gathering her courage she did just that.
“Stop. Stop,” she cried as she used some of her shifter strength to break his hold. He took a staggering step backward, his arms falling to his sides.
He stood there, a mountain of a man, his big chest heaving. His bear present in the rigid set of his shoulders and the deep growl of his voice. “Mine.”
“I, um, I.” She wiped at her lips and he let loose a vicious snarl. Immediately she realized he thought she was wiping away the feel and taste of him. Nothing could be further from the truth. She never wanted to forget that, the first kiss from her mate. Instinctively, she licked her lips, calming the bear. Her eyes closed as she pulled his taste back inside her mouth.
Ryker’s growls snapped Ryland’s attention back to the situation at hand. He dropped his hands to Emma’s hips, away from the temptation of her full breasts. It would be so easy to yank her shirt up and push her bra out of the way and take his first taste of her abundant flesh.
“Easy, Ryk,” he cautioned his twin. He could see his brother was seconds away from grabbing the woman and throwing her onto the bed and claiming her. Claiming the woman who was the damn identical twin of his mate.
His mate. Not theirs. His.
He’d never felt so damned fucking relieved as he did right then.
Watching as the woman stared down his older brother, he immediately saw the differences between the sisters. Oh, to a human, they were mirrored images of each other. But, just like him and Ryker there were differences. Differences that weren’t difficult for a mate to distinguish.
The other woman was slightly taller than his mate. Hell, he grinned, feeling a wave of fondness wash over him, the other woman was soon to be his sister-in-law.
The difference in height wasn’t the only thing that set the two women apart. Emma’s hips were slightly wider and her hair was a shade darker. His fingers tightened on those generous hips. When Ryker kept making grumbling noises in the back of his throat and it didn’t look like his mating heat was going to cool down, Ryland placed Emma behind him. He knew how volatile his brother could be and didn’t want his mate to get hurt if she decided to protect her twin. Frankly, he was just damned relieved that he hadn’t been going crazy the last few months with the hot and cold lust he’d been experiencing.
He eased himself forward and was immediately treated to a low, angry growl.
Well, shit. He hadn’t seen his brother’s bear so close to the surface for years.
“Mine.”
He held up his hands. “I know Ryker. She’s yours. Not mine. Never mine. I’ve got my own, buddy. Right there.” He pointed to the trembling woman behind him. “See, we’ve got two Barbie dolls to play with.”
Emma snorted loudly. “We’re hardly Barbie dolls.”
Before Ryland could stop her, Emma’s twin stepped forward, right into Ryker’s face. “Look, Mr. Growly Bear, I’ve got bigger problems to deal with than your possessive claim. A claim, I might add that I haven’t agreed to yet.” She stood before the big bear with her hands on her hips, daring him to touch her.
Ryland cringed, ready to pull the woman away. He didn’t think his brother would harm his own mate, but he knew if he failed to protect her, even from Ryker himself, there’d be hell to pay.
“Abigail.” Emma’s voice held a note of warning and Ryland smelled a healthy dose of anger come from Ryker’s mate. What was Emma warning her about? He turned his attention to his mate, but she ignored him. Deliberately, he was certain.
“What the fuck do you think you were doing?” Ryker grabbed his mate by the shoulders and shook her o
nce, hard, before his bear pulled him back. He took a deep breathe, trying to calm his rage, but all that did was draw her scent deeper into his lungs and pump up his desire. “Do you have any idea what it was doing to me? The thought of having to share you?”
Abigail cringed at Ryker’s anger, but her heart melted at the anguish he tried to hide. “We didn’t think—”
“Fuck no, you didn’t think.”
“Maybe we should take this conversation someplace more comfortable,” Ryland suggested, seeing the lust still riding his brother hard, underneath the anger. Ryker eyed the bed and immediately Ryland knew what he was thinking. They could share the bed and claim their mates. His bear wanted it. Oh, God, how his bear wanted it. Something was driving the animal to claim Emma as fast as it could, to hell with wining and dining and getting to know her better. They looked at each other, grateful to realize the silent communication that drove their family members mad was back. Both agreed, now was not the time for claiming.
“Come.” Ryker’s hand wrapped around Abby’s arm and pulled her out of the bedroom. In the small living space, he pushed her onto the couch. Ryland and Emma followed them out. Ryland was a tad gentler, but just as firm, when he insisted Emma join her sister on the couch.
Ryker stood before them, his long legs spread and his arms crossed. “Name.”
Abigail refused to allow the big bear shifter see how much he intimated her. She’d faced down roaring lions, pissed off cats, and vicious jackals. She was not just a bag of bravado. But she had to admit this bear intimated the hell out of her.
“Abigail. Abby to my friends. You can call me Abigail.” She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. Damn, wouldn’t you know it? She’d found her mate and he was turning out to be a first-class ass.
At the sound of his mate’s name, Ryker’s bear settled down. Lust, hunger, and possession had formed a red haze in front of his eyes. He raised his hand and wasn’t at all surprised that brown fur had sprouted along his knuckles. What scared the hell out of him was his lack of control. Fuck. He took a step back, and then another until his back was pressed firmly against the wall on the other side of the living room.
Looking from one woman to the other, he cursed again. Fucking hell. “There are two of you.”
Emma leaned forward. “Yes, but only one of us is a mate. And that’s Abigail.”
The bears stepped forward and Ryland spoke, “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Emma drew in a deep breath and said the words that would seal her fat. “I’m not your mate. Abigail is. For both of you.”
Ryland’s growl was vicious and he looked as if he wanted to punch something. “And why the fuck would you believe that?”
Emma refused to give into the emotions that threatened to drown her. “Because I have no scent.”
Her announcement stunned the bears. Ryland was the first to recover. “I don’t understand, why would you think you don’t have a scent?”
“Because I don’t,” Emma yelled. She was so tired of being different.
Ryland snorted. “Well, I hate to tell you, Emma, but you do have a scent.”
“No, I don’t.” She looked Ryker who had remained silent after her outburst. “Do you smell me?”
“Depends.”
She blushed when Ryker’s mouth quirked. Surprisingly, the man was teasing her. Not that she’d ever been as aroused as she had in Ryland’s arms, but she was pretty she’d had no scent then either. Just like she had not scent when she lied.
This time he answered honestly. “No, the only scent I smell belongs to Abigail.”
Emma jumped to her feet. “See? That’s all anyone ever smells. An echo of Abigail. It’s because I’m never ten feet away from her or I wear her clothing. If people notice anything, they just assume my scent is lighter because we’re twins. But it’s not my scent. It’s never been my scent.” Emma breath caught on a sob as she turned away. She didn’t want anyone to see the tears of frustration and hopelessness. “Abigail is your mate. Not me,” she whispered.
“The hell you say. You have a scent or my bear wouldn’t go batshit crazy every time I’m around you.”
“Then what is it? What do I smell like?”
“Orange blossoms and honey.” Ryland didn’t hesitate. There’s no way this woman wasn’t his mate Ryland reasoned with himself. “Your pussy smells like fucking orange blossoms and honey and there’s nothing more I’d like to do than lick you clean and fuck you until you can’t stand.”
Ryland’s voice was almost a roar by the time he stopped talking. Seeing the closed expression on Emma’s face, he knew he’d crossed a line. She looked frightened and sad. He wanted to turn her over his knee and spank her ass until she cried. Because that’s how angry he was.
“Whoa, bro. Settle down just a little.” Now it was Ryker’s turn to comfort his twin. He was impressed with the power Ryland was exhibiting but he wasn’t sure that now was the right time. He had to agree with his brother about licking his mate clean, then starting all over again. He’d be doing that to his just as soon as he could. “Let’s try something. Emma, strip.”
If Ryker had thought Ryland was powerful before, he damn well rethought that as his twin stepped toward him, almost shifting in his rage.
“I didn’t mean in front of me, dude. I’m not suicidal.”
“You better not be,” Ryland muttered, backing down. “What are you proposing?”
“Well, I propose we just sling them over our shoulders and sort this out tomorrow, after we’ve fucked them a dozen times or so. But I have a feeling they won’t go along with that, right ladies?”
His mate just glared at him and he thought Emma was going to burst out in tears.
Well, fuck.
“Emma, do you have anything you can change into that Abby hasn’t worn lately?”
“I guess we have some clothes that we just washed.”
“Good, both of you go change. I’m going to prove your mate can scent you. Come back out when you’re ready.”
The girls looked at each other than at the men who were ordering them about. “Go,” Ryker growled.
Inside the bedroom the sisters turned to each other, a little shell-shocked by the sudden turn of events.
“Do you think, maybe?” Emma’s eyes were beseeching when she turned them on her sister and Abby vowed then and there that she would do everything she needed to do to make sure that Emma had her mate. She knew it was a long shot, this experiment Ryker was suggesting. Emma was her sister and Abby had never discerned a scent. “He is very adamant that he can scent you.”
“Yeah. Your scent.”
“He’s your mate, Emma. He’s much more important to you than me. Maybe he can sense what no one else can.” A note of sadness crept into her voice. They had never discussed what would happen if Abby ever did find her mate. How that would change their relationship as sisters and twins. Probably because they never thought Abby would find her mate, given their lives on the run.
“The only thing I know for sure is that we have to make certain these two bears know what they’re talking about. I am not going to trust your safely to a horny grizzly. Or mine either for that matter.”
A roar came from the living room and Abby rolled her eyes. The protectiveness that could save them had already started. Too bad, it would probably drive the girls mad as well. They stripped. If their mates were determined to do this, so were they.
“We’re ready.”
Ryland tensed when he heard his mate’s voice.
“You don’t have to do this,” Ryker stated.
“It was your damn idea.” He popped his neck, ready for whatever fate threw at him. He knew Abby was Ryker’s and Emma was his, despite anything his stubborn little mate might think. A rush of anger filled his body. Damn little fool, thinking he couldn’t tell the difference. That he couldn’t recognize his own mate. He was spitting mad they’d been trying to fool them for weeks. He realized
he’d spoken that last thought out loud.
“Hey, they were scared,” Ryker reasoned.
Great, now he was the hot-tempered twin. “I know.”
“Come on out, ladies.”
It still shocked Ryland how easygoing Ryker was being about all this. His brother grinned at him, easily reading his thoughts again.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. When I get the curvy cat alone, she’s going to pay for her little subterfuge.”
“Now that’s the brother I know and love.” Ryland allowed a smile to soften his expression. Yeah, he was angry as hell, but his bear was grinning from ear to ear. They had found their mates!
The bedroom door opened and out stepped the solemn faced cat shifters. They were dressed exactly alike. A pair of jeans and a white, nondescript t-shirt. Their hair was pulled back in a ponytail and their faces were wiped clean of any makeup. Instead of Emma coming out in clean clothes, with no scent of Abby, they had overpowered her with Abby’s scent—along with a thick layer of perfume on each of them. Ryland guessed they’d use this same trick a time or two before. He watched as his brother stepped forward.
Ryland watched as Ryker went straight to Emma and pulled her into his arms. He tilted her head back and ran his nose along the seam where her neck met her shoulder. He saw Emma clench at his biceps as if her knees had gone weak. Damn it, did his mate have a thing for his twin?
He mimicked Ryker’s move and pulled Abby into his arms. His bear grunted in satisfaction when her arousal filled the air. He felt the surge of anger over the link that connected him to his brother’s bear. Instead of letting her go, he licked the curve of her shoulder. He knew it was taking all of Ryker’s control not to tear his head from his body, but turnabout was fair play.
With a coordinated move they had perfected over the years, they swapped women.
Abby yelped when Ryker nipped her neck as he sniffed her. She pulled back, immediately realizing that he’d known all along which woman he held in his arms. She relaxed against him.
“Did you?” she whispered, asking if he’d been able to identify a scent on Emma.
