Disgraced Cowboys (Lone Wolves of Shay Falls 3) [Siren Publishing Ménage Amour] (12 page)

“He can’t possibly be thinking of getting in that river—and at night?” she asked Marcus when Seth vanished from the mouth of the cave. “He’ll catch pneumonia!”

“Our kind don’t catch illnesses.” His tone and expression had shifted in the wake of their lovemaking, and now she couldn’t read either. “And we don’t get cold easy.”

She shook her head. “Amazing.”

With drying sweat cooling her skin and two superheated cowboys no longer sandwiching her, she found she took a chill quite readily. She moved closer to the fire and rubbed at her limbs, which had a weird, floating feeling.

Marcus shook out the dusty quilt and settled it around her shoulders, and she noted he was careful to wrap it with the cleaner side against her.

“Thank you,” she said, offering him a grateful smile as she took hold of the blanket edges.

An image of huddling inside the blanket with Seth crossed her mind, and she felt a fleeting urge to offer the same to Marcus. Yet he didn’t have the same easygoing, devil-may-care attitude. In fact, his taut jaw and curt nod when she thanked him told her he had gone from sexual firebrand to distant acquaintance. What the hell?

She watched him from the corner of her eye as he stood beside her, staring into the fire. Maybe he was upset that she hadn’t taken him up on the offer to make this a deeper commitment. But what did he expect? This was only their first, well, second, time together.

His body was long and sleek, like a dangerous predator. Without the benefit of an erection to call attention to his dick, it still was worthy of long, wistful looks as it hung nicely down between his corded thighs. Ridges of muscle studded his abdomen, which, along with the chest she would love to rake her fingers across, rose and fell with the hypnotic rhythm of his breathing. She’d seen just a small cross-section of the local werewolf community, yet most she’d seen had been utter sex gods. Was that typical of supernatural beings? Or were the werewolves who had bitten them, if that’s indeed how they were made, attracted to gorgeous men?

He caught her staring and met her eyes. His were no longer the bright yellow of the angry wolf she’d seen emerge from the cave entrance. His eyes had faded to the silvery-gray with vague gold flecks that had captured her attention the first time she’d seen him.

“So,” she said after a tense moment. “How is it you were able to find us?”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Wolf senses.” There was pause. “How is it that I found you here with him?”

She heard the rippling note of jealousy that stopped just short of accusation—barely.

“I didn’t realize that avoiding Seth was part of the deposit you paid me. Which I did honor, by the way. You just weren’t around to notice.”

His gaze traced the contours of her face, which lit a new flame of sensual tension in her. “I knew you weren’t at the club for a couple days.” His attention turned from her to stare back at the flames.

She could hear the rest of his unspoken words as loudly as though they were echoing through the cave.
You weren’t at the club because you’ve been here with Seth.

“Did you follow Seth and me from the club tonight?”

“No.” He tossed damp bangs off his forehead, and his brows knit into a scowl. “So, you were at work after all.”

“I was at Hot Pink around six. Not to
work
, mind you. I was looking for you, actually. That’s how I ran into Seth. He was looking for you, too.”

Marcus gave a skeptical grunt. “Is that what he told you? Yet he conveniently found you instead.”

Irritation shot through her. They’d gone from sharing the most intimate, shockingly passionate moment of her life back to his moody attitude and accusations. “Well,
you
would have found me, too, if you’d cared enough to bother trying.”

“I told you I was there.”

“To check up on me, not find me. There’s a difference.”

She turned her head away when he didn’t respond. “Don’t get all male about Seth getting there first. You could have tracked me down with those wolf senses if you’d wanted to. Kade certainly managed.”

His head whipped around at that. “What did you say?”

“You heard me. That’s why I came to find you at the club. Your sort-of-alpha paid a fun little visit to my motel room to leave you a message.” She paused then, just because he was being a dick, she added, “A visit that also wound up with me being naked against a werewolf, by the way.”

The angry fire that flared in his eyes gave her only a moment’s satisfaction before he shocked it out of her by grabbing her arms and letting out a low, warning growl.

“What the hell did you let him do to you?”

Her mouth fell open at his cold, hard tone. Then, something inside of her snapped.

“What did I let him do?” Her voice rose, booming in the cave. “I didn’t
let
him do a damn thing.”

She let go of the blanket, which fell away and left her naked as she gave his chest a vicious shove. “For your information,” she added, giving the surprised-looking cowboy added pushes to punctuate each sentence, “Kade forced his way in. Ironically, the same way I lost the virginity you and Seth are so worried about. It was taken by force.”

She kept shoving him back, both naked, spittle flying from her lips as she let loose on him. Rage swelled in her that was quite out of proportion, but she was helpless to stop it.

“And why yes, I’m fine, thanks for not asking,” she shouted. “It was you he was after, not me. It wasn’t my fault, Marcus. None of it was my fault.” Her voice broke on the last, and she wasn’t talking about Kade anymore. “It wasn’t my fault that it happened. It was done to me.”

She had shoved him to the back wall, and he’d let her without a word. Now, as tears blurred her view of his bemused expression, he captured her wrists gently and held them against his chest.

“I’m sorry,” he said, all traces of his earlier accusation gone. “I’m sorry about all of it. So damn sorry.”

That tore loose the waterworks, and Brandi was pulled close to cry against his warm chest. He cradled her to him as she sobbed for no good reason. Why was she acting like such a crazy, blubbering idiot? Past was past. Breaking down in front of Marcus was stupid. Unthinkable. Yet there she was, crying out tears and guilt over something that happened four years ago. Guilt Marcus had helped stoke by making her feel she’d been responsible for the loss of her purity, when in fact it had been stolen from her.

You had it coming. You were practically begging me for it. Whore.

Words from her past tore a new hole in her nonexistent composure, and she cried harder. Marcus not only held her while the dam burst, but he stroked her back and rocked her gently while he whispered tender, even loving words to her that she couldn’t quite make out. She felt so secure in his arms. So safe. Like she could break apart completely, but the strength of his body wrapped around hers would hold the pieces in place while the strange power he had over her knit them back together.

The thought terrified her. Still, her crying ebbed.

“What’s goin’ on?” Seth’s voice echoed from well behind her.

She turned, sniffling and wiping her runny nose along the back of one arm. Seth strode up, still naked and dripping water everywhere. Steam rose off him from the chill mountain water evaporating off his naturally hot flesh.

He took one look at what must be the train wreck of her face and turned to glower at Marcus. “What did you do to her?”

“Nothin’.”

Seth’s eyes flashed. “Nothin’? She’s alone with me, and you find her pink-cheeked and happy in the middle of great sex. She’s alone with
you
, and I find her miserable and sobbin’ her heart out. What the fuck, Marcus?”

“It’s nothing,” Brandi said, sniffing harder. “I was just feeling a little overwhelmed by, well, everything that’s happened.”

He eyed her warily. “Really.”

She put on a brave smile and nodded. “I’m fine.”

Seth stepped closer, and she could see that his cock was stirring with ideas that were mirrored in the gaze that slid over her body. “Well, I know how to make you feel all kinds of better.”

Marcus shot a hand out to halt Seth’s advance. “Leave her alone.”

Confusion and more than a little anger flared in Seth’s barely golden eyes. “Jealous much?”

Seth reached for her, but this time Marcus stepped fully between them. “I mean it, Seth. Not tonight.”

“Why are you actin’ like this?” Seth said, side-stepping the man to come around where Brandi stood by default behind his bare back. “You ain’t alpha around here, you know. Brandi and I were gettin’ on just fine before your sour ass showed up. It should be her choice what she wants. Ain’t that right, darlin’?”

Fifteen minutes ago, she would have been more than happy to feel “all kinds” of better. Now, however, was a different story.

She gave him a sad smile. “Actually, maybe it’s best if we didn’t. I’m pretty exhausted.”

Marcus gave a satisfied grunt, and Seth’s eyes flicked between him and Brandi. She could see him furiously trying to calculate what the hell had gone on during his short absence, but the resignation in his expression was clear. He’d lost the vote.

Marcus wandered to Seth’s duffle and pawed through the contents until he came up with a button-down denim shirt. “Here,” he said, holding it out to Brandi. “You’ll sleep on the cot tonight.”

He hefted the canvas cot and placed it against the wall nearest the warm fire before laying the blanket on top.

Seth stayed beside her, his arms folded and jaw tense. “By all means, Marcus, make yourself right at home movin’ my shit around.”

She turned to him. “Maybe I should just go.”

His expression softened in an instant. “No, don’t do that. I’m sorry, darlin’. I didn’t mean it that way. Just that I’d have been happy to make you comfortable myself.”

The dark cloud threatened to settle over her again, and she shook it away while she tugged on the borrowed shirt. It hung to mid-thigh and smelled like Seth, which did bring back the touch of a smile to her lips.

Seth turned her to him, setting his hands on her shoulders while he searched her with a look of pure and very sweet concern. “You sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine. And I’m sorry about tonight. I had a really wonderful time with you. Both of you. I’m just really tired.”

She wasn’t lying about that part, either. There had been a confrontation with Kade, a hike through the woods, mind-blowing sex times two, and her sudden and inexplicable emotional breakdown. It was all she could do to stumble over to the cot. Once there, Marcus made a fuss about trying to cover her up, but with an irritable growl, Seth waved him off. He tucked her in and kissed her on the forehead, and she lay on her side, watching while the men sat together, still naked, near the fire. They spoke in hushed tones, and she tried hard to listen. She wanted to know what they were discussing so earnestly. Was it about her?

The rush of the falls outside, combined with the crackle of fire and lull of the men’s deep, soothing voices, helped the curtain of exhaustion descend over her faster. A heavy sigh was the final push that took her into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The misty gray of early morning lit the opening of the cave when Brandi’s eyes pried themselves open again. She peered around through grainy eyes, which were about all that was visible of her considering she had the quilt pulled up over her nose. Someone had kept the fire going through the night, despite the fact that both men claimed they didn’t get cold. The cave had stayed surprisingly comfortable as a result, though the same couldn’t be said for the cot. Even as she tried to shift, she felt an answering chorus of aches and pains from the unfamiliar bedding—not to mention the rather wild paces Marcus and Seth had put her body through the previous night.

She groaned softly and pushed herself up, keeping the blanket wrapped around her. The men had fallen asleep nearby, not far from the fire whose orange flames were fading. They were both dressed, down to the boots, and lay stretched out more or less beside one another with their heads on opposite ends and feet near each other’s hips. Many images of the night before played in her mind, some of which stirred a restless flutter between her thighs. However, none stood out more than the horribly embarrassing breakdown she’d had in front of Marcus.

Had he told Seth why she’d come unglued? Did he, too, know about the ugly secret of how their expected “virgin” mate had been relieved of her purity?

Her stomach gave a nauseating flip as she got to her feet and tiptoed over to where her clothes were laid out and dry. As she crept past Seth and Marcus, she couldn’t help but notice how ruggedly gorgeous they looked, five o’clock shadows and tousled hair and all. They looked so peaceful with their eyes closed and long lashes sweeping their cheeks. So innocent. But they weren’t innocent, were they? They were werewolves, creatures that shouldn’t even exist. Since they did, it raised the question of what else in the lore of horror stories were true. Did they murder people? Prey on innocent virgins during the full moon? Was that why they were so obsessed with her purity?

She kept her eye on them while she got silently dressed. They certainly didn’t look like movie-variety werewolves when they changed. They were beautiful. Majestic, even. Still, wolves were frightening beasts to encounter.