Authors: Khloe Wren
“What happened to Tilly?”
Cammi had wrapped her arms around her knees, bringing
them close into her chest, and held herself still, waiting for the rest of
Tim’s story.
“She disappeared.
Didn’t see her for
years.
Even the police couldn’t find her. Her folks didn’t know where
she was, either. Then last year, four years later, she shows up at my work.
To apologize.”
He paused to huff out a disgusted breath. “She
married the bastard that attacked me.
Jace
Jag was
his name. Said they were destined to be together, and she was sorry I got hurt.
Ripped my heart out all over again.
She swore to me
that he never hurt her, but I don’t believe her. He’s an animal, with animal
instincts. He nearly killed me, and I did nothing to provoke him.”
Tim’s story broke her heart, yet she couldn’t see Luca
and Nate behaving like that. They’d been so gentle with her, protective.
“Luca and Nate aren’t
Jace
.
They could have taken me this morning, but they didn’t. They didn’t try
anything weird at all. I saw Luca’s brother shift down on the beach and I
passed out. I woke up back at their place. Then they walked me home. They did
nothing violent or scary. I’m sorry you and Tilly went through that, but I’m
not Tilly.”
“
You planning
on seeing them
again?”
“Tomorrow, they’re picking me up and we’re going
hiking. I was going to go anyway, you know that.”
The look in Tim’s eyes said more than anything he
could voice. He wasn’t going to let Cammi go with them tomorrow if he had the
choice, but she was going. Especially now she had questions they needed to
answer.
Chapter
Three
“
Man, that
was the longest
night of my life!”
Luca’s voice was strained as he sat with his coffee
opposite Nate, who had been up for a while now. He’d been sitting silently
contemplating how much his life changed yesterday as he nursed his morning cup
of caffeine.
“It sure was. To know her scent and taste, but not
have her here, is pure torture.”
Like Luca, Nate’s night had been long and painfully
lonely. His body, heart, and soul cried out for his mate. He downed the last of
his drink.
“C’mon, let’s get moving.”
Luca took a large swig of his coffee before he tipped
the rest down the drain and led the way out to the carport.
“Seeing
Cammi’s
going to
wake me up better than any amount of caffeine will, anyhow. Let’s go.”
Nate chuckled, “We’ve got it bad, don’t we?”
After climbing into the car he caught Luca’s serious
gaze and all humor drained out of him.
“What is it? You don’t want to share her anymore?
Because that won’t end well.
You know that.”
“Don’t be stupid, I haven’t changed my mind that we
can make this work between the three of us. I just want it clear that I’m aware
you got first taste of her boobs and her pussy yesterday. It’ll be me that she
kisses first today. We have to share the firsts between us. We can’t be selfish
with her. We’ll end up tugging her back and forth and she’ll run from both of
us.”
Nate focused on starting the car and driving out the
gate before he responded. He hadn’t thought about Luca when he’d taken Cammi
into his mouth. Hadn’t considered he was being selfish taking the first times.
“I’m sorry, Luca. I just didn’t think about it. But
you’re right. We can’t turn her into a toy we’re constantly fighting over.” He
paused to sigh. “Neither of us have a say over who she’ll seduce first, but I
promise I’ll back off if I can, to let you in first.”
“The first to have sex with her is her choice, and
don’t you dare back off her if she picks you. She might take it that you’re
rejecting her. We can’t risk losing her.”
Nate glanced over to see Luca grinning widely and had
a gleam in his eyes.
“And, Nate, if you’re in her pussy.
I’m going to have her sweet little mouth wrapped around me. First.”
Shaking his head on a chuckle, he pulled up to the
curb outside her house. Turning the engine off
he
grew
serious and took a deep breath.
“I’m actually a little nervous. Do you think she’ll
like our place?”
They’d packed up and moved home from the holiday
house, hoping to have Cammi there with them by nightfall.
“She said she hikes out there already, so she must
like the outback. She’ll love our place. C’mon, let’s go get our mate.”
Nate got out and, after locking his car, followed Luca
up the short path to her front door. Luca raised his fist to knock when the
door quickly swung in and the space filled with a face he’d hoped never to see
again.
“Go. Leave now and never come back.”
Like hell! Anger raced through Nate as he focused on
the man attempting to prevent him and Luca access to their mate.
“We can’t do that, Tim. You know we can’t, and
shouldn’t it be Cammi who makes that decision?”
“I won’t let her be taken and brainwashed like Tilly.
She’s too important to me.”
“Tilly wasn’t brainwashed.
Jace
made some mistakes, we agree with you on that. However, there is no forcing
going on with any female.”
“Tim? What the hell do you think you’re doing? I
thought we covered this earlier.”
Cammi’s
sweet voice, laced with steely anger, came from inside the house. Nate
couldn’t help but grin as she appeared beside Tim, shoving him hard out of the
way. Their little mate was strong-willed and didn’t that make him fall even
further in love with her. She’d always stand up for what she wanted. He didn’t
need to worry she’d lose herself to his and Luca’s dominant personalities.
“Cammi-doll, no.
Please don’t do this. You don’t understand—”
“You don’t know what I understand. That’s the point,
Tim. This is my life, not yours and I’m not Tilly. I’ll be back later tonight.
See you then.”
She pushed out the door and Luca wrapped her up in a
tight embrace, when Nate saw her reserve.
The tightness in
her body.
Tim had told her more than he should have, and now she was fearful
of them. How had
neither he or
Luca put the two
together, that the Tim she lived with was Tilly’s ex.
Damn it
.
Luca’s shoulders slumped as he released Cammi and
stepped back with a small sigh, obviously picking up the same vibes Nate had.
“C’mon Cammi, lets head out to the reserve and go
hiking like we planned.”
“Whatever.”
Nate turned to watch her head down the path to the car
in shock. ‘Whatever’ was one of those dangerous words women
used.
Hearing one was like being in a boat about to run into an iceberg. You could
see the tip, but it didn’t give you any idea how big the hazard below the
surface truly was until you ran into it.
“Damn Tim and his big mouth. I hate to think what he’s
told her.” Luca whispered from beside him as they moved to follow Cammi.
Cross and upset, Nate turned back to the house to
speak to Tim, who stood with his agonized gaze following
Cammi’s
every step.
“Your stupidity has caused an entirely unnecessary
situation now. You realize that, don’t you? Cammi is ours, we will both move
heaven and earth to keep her from harm, yet you were quick to hurt her with
tales of what another man did five years ago. We’ll bring her back when she
wants to return. I wouldn’t wait up for her.”
Nate headed quickly down the path, pressing the button
to unlock the car as he walked. A very small part of him felt sorry for Tim and
what the man had been through, but mostly Nate was furious that their mate now
didn’t trust them and they’d have even more proving to do before she’d accept
them.
“Have fun banging your chest to Tim?
Gah
, all males are the same.
Still stuck
in a cave.
Bloody macho bullshit.
For the
record, I’m only coming with you to get answers, and to prove to Tim he can’t
control my life. So don’t get any ideas about what we’re going to be doing
today.”
Nate wasn’t sure whether to be proud of her strong
fiery spirit or peeved that their plans for the afternoon and evening had just
evaporated. Either way, it was going to be a long drive out to their home if
neither he or
Luca could come up with a way to fix this mess.
****
Luca hopped in the car beside Cammi, leaving Nate up
front on his own. They had some serious damage control to do to fix what Tim
had told her.
“
Darlin
’, what did Tim tell
you?”
She turned toward him, and he could see the anger and
confusion in her gaze.
“He told me about Tilly. What
Jace
did to
her.
To him.”
“I thought that’s what he’d done. I can’t believe I
didn’t guess it would be the same Tim when you said your house-mate’s name.”
“Tim’s a fairly common name, Luca. No one would have
guessed. I gather he’s telling the truth, then?”
“He told you his truth. That’s not the whole story.”
“And I suppose you’re going to tell me he got it all
wrong, that the scars on his body—which I’ve seen with my own eyes—aren’t
real?”
Luca sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He
was going to kick
Jace’s
ass the next time he saw his
damn cousin.
“What if you met them?
Jace
and Tilly, would that help ease your mind? Then Tilly can tell you herself what
happened. Because, honestly, all me and Nate have heard is second hand
information. I don’t want to lie to you, Cammi, not even unintentionally.”
He hated the look in
Cammi’s
eyes. She looked at him with distrust.
“Okay. So she’s with him by choice, right? He doesn’t
force her to stay?”
“Cammi, with jaguar shifters the woman holds all the
power. Even if a male forces his mate to stay by his side, if she doesn’t
willingly participate, there is no mating, or bond, or children.” He moved his
hand to cup her face and was relieved when she didn’t pull away like he’d
feared she would. “For us to mate, you need to seduce us.
Me
and Nate have to allow you to come to us, offer yourself to us and make the
first move. The first time we have sex,
darlin
’, it’s
going to be totally up to you and it will bind us all together for eternity.”
She relaxed a little as he started stroking his thumb
over her cheek. “Is that why you and Nate kept your pants on yesterday? Why you
wouldn’t let me touch you?”
The car was now out of town and on the farmland owned
by the Jags so he removed his seat belt and slid over the seat to press
himself
against her. “We’d already started by seducing you,
we couldn’t let you touch us or we’d have taken you, and until you’re willing
to accept us both as your mates, we won’t make love to you.”
“I, um, I’d thought you didn’t like the feel of my
touch. That neither of you truly wanted me.”
Oh, by the stars above, his little mate got all sorts
of strange ideas in her head. Still cupping her face in his palm, he lowered
his face so their cheeks touched, and with his lips next to her ear he spoke
quietly. “Does this feel like I don’t want you?” He took her hand with his free
one and placed it over his swollen groin. “Did what Nate and I do to you
yesterday feel like something we didn’t want to do? If your touch repulsed us,
we certainly wouldn’t have wanted to taste you, sweet mate.”
He felt her shudder before her hand left his cock and she
wove her fingers into his hair. She tilted her head with a sigh as he kissed
and nipped his way over her jawline and down her now exposed neck.
“You taste so good.”
Her fingers tightened in his hair as he licked the
soft skin at the junction of her neck and shoulder. He would bite her right
there when they mated. He opened his mouth and bit gently over the spot he
would mark, hopefully later today. Hearing her gasp at his action caused his
heart to swell and his body to tighten. He trailed one hand down her front
where he quickly undid the buttons of her sensible hiking shirt. He ran his
fingers under her bra strap, down until her breast was resting in his palm. He
groaned as he kneaded her soft flesh. He’d missed her beyond belief in the
short time they’d been parted. His thumb brushed over her tight peak and she
shuddered beneath him again.
“I love how you do that when I touch you, Cammi.”
“You’re a little hard to ignore … I don’t think I
could
not
react.”
The door next to Cammi opened and Luca lifted his head
on a growl, fully prepared to rip out the throat of anyone…
“
Wanna
move over and let me
in?”
A little shocked to see Nate, Luca give him a quick
nod and an apologetic look. He hadn’t even realized Nate had stopped the car.