Alyssa's Wolves (Wolf Masters, Book 4) (13 page)

They stayed like that, locked in their embrace for long moments, both heaving for oxygen. Finally, Tyler let his hands wander up her back and buried them in her long strands of hair to lift her head. He forced her to meet his gaze and smiled into her eyes.

She had reverted to a shyer Alyssa, not the one who’d just dry humped his crotch until she came without him touching her.

“I—”

He cut her off. “You are the sexiest, most beautiful creature on earth.”

She tipped her head and let her face relax on an exhale. “I don’t usually do this sort of thing. I mean I didn’t, not until…”

“Yesterday,” he supplied. “I know.”

When she narrowed her gaze at him he continued, “I mean I don’t know the details, but I can imagine.”

“This is the most confusing, crazy, complicated situation. What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know, sweet, but we will figure it out. Together. The three of us. As soon as Michael stops stomping around in the barn.”

They both chuckled.

Chapter 9

They weren’t far off the mark. When Alyssa stepped gingerly into the barn, she found Michael slamming things around in the tack room, mumbling incoherently under his breath. No doubt cussing.

Tyler stood inches behind her, his breath tickling her neck. Neither of them made a noise as they stared at Michael’s back. As it turned out, they didn’t need to.

“Are you two done
bonding
?” Michael’s words stung and made Alyssa flinch.

Tyler cleared his throat before he spoke. “Could we address this bizarre arrangement civilly? It won’t help things if we keep barking at each other.”

Michael’s shoulders sagged. He still had his back to them, but he stopped flinging things around on the bench in front of him and froze.

When he slowly spun around, his look was apologetic, a half smile, his head cocked to the side. “You’re right. Shall we find someplace to get to know each other? It’s nice out. We could go sit on the back porch?” Michael nodded in the direction of the house and headed that way.

Alyssa followed behind him, well aware of Tyler at her back.

The porch was usually so welcoming with its wooden rocking chairs interspersed with small tables and quaint lounge chairs. Today, however, the space seemed ominous and confined, even outside. As though it wasn’t quite large enough for the three of them and the air they would need to breathe.

“The view here is gorgeous, breathtaking.” Tyler sat facing over the railing.

“Yeah, I hope I never start taking it for granted, even though I’ve lived here all my life.” Michael took a seat across from Tyler.

Good, the men were making chitchat. That was a good sign. Right?

“Will you miss it?” Tyler leaned his elbows on his knees and turned to face Michael.

Or not
. Alyssa slouched against the railing between the two men.

“When would I ever miss it? It’s still here every morning when I get up.” Michael chuckled as though Tyler was dimwitted, and then the corners of Michael’s mouth lowered, and he narrowed his gaze at Tyler. “Wait… You think I’d move away from here?”

“Well, I… You plan to stay here forever?”

Alyssa watched the ping-pong game, her head swiveling back and forth between the men, judging when she’d need to interject to keep peace.
Wait for it… Give them a chance
.

“Of course. Who’d ever leave this land? I just got back. I only went to Spain so Alyssa could grow up. I’ve no intention of ever leaving again.” Michael squared off, his hands planted firmly on his thighs.

Tyler flinched and leaned back. He ran his fingers through his hair as he tipped his head toward the ceiling. Alyssa worried he’d start shouting. His jerky movements reminded her of a ticking time bomb.

“I just had a promising job interview in Denver.” He lowered his gaze and pinned it on Michael. “I’m a finance guy. What the hell would I do out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“Nowhere? You think this is nowhere? Where the hell else can you get wide open space, plenty of room to shift and roam free, as well as unpolluted air to breathe at one with nature?” Michael stood and started pacing. “Denver? What the hell makes you think I’d move to Denver?”

“Frankly, I never considered you even existed when I went there to interview.” Tyler stood to face off with Michael.

“So, you just thought you’d sweep in here, claim Alyssa, and drag her to Denver?”

“Yes. She’s my mate. What else would I have thought?”

“She’s my mate too.” Michael’s voice rose. “And I’m not moving from Oregon until the cows come home.” He leaned forward to punctuate his words.

Alyssa would have laughed at his ridiculous pun if she hadn’t been more worried about the fact that all heck was breaking loose.

“Guys.” Both men turned to her, stern looks on their faces as though they were irritated by the interruption. She glared back pointedly, letting her gaze land on each of them in turn. “Stop it. I feel like a rag doll being yanked back and forth between you two, and frankly, the testosterone posturing is getting on my nerves. Sit.” She pointed at first one vacated chair and then the other before repeating, “
Sit
.” The command made her shake, surprising even herself with the force behind her tone.

When both men took a seat, she continued. “This is not a contest. I’m so sorry to burst your bubbles, but you aren’t involved in a tug of war in which he who pulls the hardest gets the girl on his side of the line. I’m not choosing between you two. Do you hear me?”

She took a deep breath. “This isn’t some sort of game. As much as this wouldn’t have been my first choice, or even a flicker of a thought, you are both my mates. I don’t know how this is going to work … and I shiver to picture the logistics of letting you claim me, but it is what it is. The quickest way to ensure you don’t get to be a part of my life is to keep acting like you’re both wild animals.”

At that last bit, she grinned. She felt powerful. In an instant she realized she indeed had all the power. These men were secretly both hoping she would
choose
between them. She stood straighter, her spine stiffening. Even with both men sitting and her standing, she was barely taller than them.

They had no idea how sexy they were, both of them staring up at her as though surprised by her outburst. Her body had not forgotten the orgasm she’d just had at Tyler’s hand, nor the ones from yesterday at Michael’s. There was no choice to be made. It was suddenly clear as day. She craved both these men.

On her next inhale, she breathed in their scent, and her gut clenched wanting them to touch her, both of them.

Alyssa smiled demurely, filled with a self-assurance she’d never known in her twenty years. “This package is all or nothing, boys. Like it or not, we are a threesome. So, I suggest that the two of you sulk off someplace and work this out like men. You can stop trying to one-up each other for my affection. It belongs equally to you both. I will have both of you or neither; you decide.”

With that, Alyssa turned on her heel and stomped into the house, hoping the effect of slamming the door shook them to their senses.

She leaned against the wall just inside the kitchen and took a deep breath.
I hope I’m doing the right thing
. She couldn’t exactly allow Michael and Tyler to continue to tear each other apart. She wasn’t kidding. This was no contest. Instead of fighting
over
her, they needed to start fighting
for
her.

She just hoped they made up their mind soon because she didn’t think she could take much more of this. Even through the door, she could smell their masculinity and craved their touch. She definitely needed a few friends right now to help her understand her body’s response to these virtual strangers.

And she knew just the women to call on…

*

Michael stared at Tyler, still scowling.
She’s right
. He knew that, but it didn’t make things any easier. “So … you’re like some over-educated college grad?” He turned to Tyler, trying not to cringe.

“Something like that. I have a masters in finance.”

Michael looked him over from top to bottom. The man was dressed for the city. Starched white shirt, pleated khaki pants, and some sort of loafers. “I don’t suppose you even own a pair of wranglers and some boots?”

Tyler laughed. “Of course I do.”

How the hell were they ever going to work this out? “I can’t leave this land. It’s my home.” Couldn’t the man see how beautiful this dairy farm was? Why would anyone want to leave it?

“And I can’t stay here. It’s dreary and cold and boring. I’d suffocate in Oregon in about two days. Besides, what the hell would I do on a farm? I’ve never even been near a cow or a horse in my life.”

Michael didn’t know how to respond. He wanted to tell Tyler to fuck off and get the hell out of there, but Alyssa’s words rang inside his head. He wanted that woman more than anything in the world. Even if he had to share her with this highfalutin jackass.
Even if you have to leave the land you love?

“What the hell would I do in a city?”

Tyler didn’t respond.

Michael could still smell the remnants of his mate’s scent on the porch. The woman had reeked of sex, her recent orgasm at the hands of another man permeating the air through her jeans. At all costs he had to have her. But what would that cost be?

The crunch of gravel made Michael turn and lean around the side of the house. A long, sleek black pickup pulled to a stop. Ryan. His second oldest brother. And his timing was perfect. If any of his brothers could understand this situation, it would be Ryan.

“One of your brothers, I presume?”

Michael turned to Tyler and smiled. “The perfect one.”

Ryan climbed down from the truck and strutted over to the back porch. “’Lo, boys.” He tipped his hat and reached a hand toward Tyler. “Ryan Masters.”

Tyler shook his hand, standing quickly and awkwardly. “Tyler Evans.”

“My mate tells me there might be a bit of a problem over here.”

“News travels fast around here,” Tyler mumbled.

Ryan laughed. “You have no idea. These women get on the phone with each other, and within minutes, your private business is … well, no longer private. Hell, I expect Jessica and Kara are sending a representative even as we speak. Lindsey was headed to Kara’s when I left to come here.” Ryan turned to Tyler. “Lindsey is my mate. Well, mine and Alejandro’s.”

“Things are a little … tense … unexpected I guess you could say.” Michael angled his neck to one side and then the other, trying to alleviate the tension throbbing up to his temple from his shoulders.

Ryan pulled up a chair and sat between Michael and Tyler. “I don’t really understand why you’re so surprised, to be honest.” He looked right at Michael. “I mean I get it that Tyler has been blindsided, but not you.”

“I didn’t want this for me.”

“I didn’t want this for me, either, you might recall.” Ryan leaned back. “When I walked into Justin and Trevor’s house that day and first saw Lindsey, and then Alejandro, I nearly swallowed my tongue.”

“You hadn’t been in a ménage before?” Tyler spoke up.

“Nope. No intention. Justin and Trevor had always shared women. It was natural for them. I’d never seen Alejandro before in my life until that moment. And I wanted to punch him.”

Michael stared down at his fists.
“I know the feeling.”

“You and me both,”
Tyler concurred.

“You’re communicating telepathically already, aren’t you?” Ryan nodded at them both.

“Yeah, and it’s strange as hell.” Tyler ran his hands through his strawberry-blond waves.

“We’ll let me advise you not to take swings at each other. The women frown on us mates fighting. I don’t think it’ll get you any brownie points.”

“So, pardon my ignorance, but how does this work?” Tyler waved his hand back and forth between himself and Michael, his eyes on Ryan. “I mean, in my own fucked-up pack, it’s the women who are mated to one man. I don’t get the logistics of two men sharing a woman quite frankly. And the idea makes me cringe.” He visibly shook.

Michael realized the guy thought they were somehow going to have to do each other. “Oh, fuck no, man.” Michael shook his head a bit violently back and forth. “We are not touching each other, dude. Just Alyssa.”

Ryan nodded and grinned at Tyler. “Don’t worry. Your masculinity is not in question here. Alejandro and I don’t do each other. Sure, our cocks rub against each other when we’re both inside Lindsey, but other than that… Just, no. The relationship, for us anyway, is two on one. We’ve never had a problem.”

“What would we do? Take turns?”

Jesus, Tyler really was naïve. Michael felt a twinge of regret for how he’d been treating the guy.

“Is that how they do it in your pack?” Ryan asked the question. He was probably more curious that anything else. Frankly, Michael was too.

“I … I’m not completely sure. My pack isn’t very open about what happens behind closed doors, but I do know the gossip amongst teenage boys. Especially those whose parents are in such relationships. It seems in most homes the women each have a room, and the man switches off each night. I know some of the men like the women to … perform for them … together, but … I don’t think the women like the idea too much.” Tyler ducked his head as though ashamed. Hell, it wasn’t his fault his pack was so fucked up.

“And your women agree to this?” Michael asked.

Tyler shook his head, making Michael swallow around his suddenly dry throat. “I don’t think so, no. Not in most cases. The marriages are arranged. The women have no choice.”

“I knew that was why Alyssa fled, but I’d hoped that was the exception, not the rule,” Michael mumbled.

“’Fraid not.”

Ryan cleared his throat. “Well, we don’t operate that way here. No mate is taken against their will. When we meet our mate, it’s obvious, and nature kind of takes over.”

Tyler looked pointedly at Ryan, and Michael could just imagine what he was going to ask next. “Can she turn us down?”

“Oh, she can. No doubt about that. It wouldn’t be pleasant, for any of you, for a long time, but if she decides she won’t mate with you two, that’s her right. Believe me, Lindsey threatened the same thing, and as my dick grew harder and harder with each passing hour, Alejandro and I learned to get along fast.”