Authors: Cooper McKenzie
“I’m sorry, ladybug, but I can’t wait any longer,” he said just before forcefully sliding his cock into her full length on the first thrust.
Immediately, the hunger, that only seconds before had eased, returned full force. She could see it was costing him to hold still and give her time to adjust, but she didn’t need it. She needed him. All of him. Right this second.
“Fuck me, Frank,” she moaned.
The words had barely hit the air when he pulled out and began to fuck her fast and hard. The fact that her body responded with an instantaneous spiraling of her own need did not surprise her. She had a feeling this was how it would be with these men from now on. She only hoped they wouldn’t do this in front of the rest of the family. It might get embarrassing.
Her orgasm balled up so fast and so tight that the muscles down the front of her body clenched, pulling her head off the table. Needing something to hold onto to keep her from flying away like an overfilled balloon, Autumn grabbed Frank’s arms and pulled on them until he lay hunched over her.
“Claim me as your mate, Frank,” she said.
Turning her head so he had access to the left side, she waited. It only took a few seconds for him to begin fucking her so hard and fast she couldn’t track his movements. Then he slid one arm under her back and lifted her head and shoulders from the table.
Again, she screamed and came as teeth sunk into her shoulder. And, as with Evan, her orgasm seemed to set Frank off as well. He howled as he thrust his cock in her as deep as it would go. She felt it pulse in the same rhythm that he sucked from her skin.
When he pulled his teeth free, she felt herself go completely limp. She couldn’t even lift her arms to hug Frank as he lay over her. For the first time in her adult life, Autumn Ryan felt relaxed, happy, and without a care in the world.
“God, ladybug, what you do to me,” Frank said as he licked at the place where he’d bit her. “I can’t feel my feet.”
“Hmmm,” was the only response Autumn could make.
She whined when Frank moved away. She tried to squirm but couldn’t when Evan gently cleaned her up. After that, she faded into a pink cloud of hazy happiness unlike anything she’d ever felt before.
Chapter Seven
The pink cloud slowly faded away, leaving her feeling like a new person. When she thought she’d regained enough strength she pushed herself into a sitting position and looked around. The men were already dressed and sitting on a bench just in front of her. They looked relaxed and happy, yet also fearful.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, knowing she sounded as naïve as a kindergartner.
“You don’t regret it, do you?” Evan asked.
“Regret what?”
“Regret us claiming you. There’s no going back now. You are ours,” Frank said.
“And you’re both mine,” Autumn pointed out. “I think I got the better end of that deal.”
When she pushed off the table, her legs refused to hold her. Frank caught her and held her while her legs quivered beneath her. Once she was able to stand on her own, Frank helped her get dressed while Evan disappeared somewhere.
As Frank tied her shoes, Evan rejoined them and handed her a large steel travel mug.
“Drink.”
Though he’d spoken the word gently, one look at his expression told her it was a command, not a request. Lifting the cup to her mouth, she took a sip and was surprised to find not water or coffee, but some kind of fruit juice. Suddenly, she felt parched and quickly drank the contents down without pausing for breath.
“Feel better?” Frank asked when she finished drinking.
She nodded, embarrassed that she had not even offered to share. Just as she opened her mouth to apologize, they heard someone banging on the closed workshop door.
“Frank? Evan? Are you in there? Is Autumn with you?”
The men exchanged a look then sighed. Autumn could tell they were not yet ready to share her with anyone else.
“Hang on,” Evan called as he jogged out of the storage room.
Frank and Autumn followed a couple of steps behind so that by the time they reached the front of the doorway, the door had been opened far enough open they could easily walk through.
Spring stood just outside with her arms crossed over an enormously pregnant belly. Looking from one man to the other, she then looked at her sister with one eyebrow and the smartass grin she always wore when she was right.
“So, it happened again,” she said cryptically before walking up to Autumn and hugging her tight. “It’s about time you came to visit. We’ve been so worried about you, and Dad refused to tell us anything. Kept saying something about attorney-client privilege.”
Autumn returned her sister’s embrace with a happy sigh. “I told him not to. I didn’t want anyone worrying,” she said after swallowing the lump that filled her throat.
“Girl, you are nothing but skin and bones. Didn’t they feed you in the Army? Come on, we’ll go up to the Wash House and talk while Evan and Frank fix dinner,” Spring said as she looped their arms and began walking.
Autumn had no choice but to go with her. From the sounds the men who followed made, they were not happy about it either.
“Stop grumbling, you two,” Spring said over her shoulder. “You know Bridget won’t let anyone mess up her schedule, even if you did find your mate.”
“That doesn’t mean we have to like it,” one of the brothers snarked.
Spring giggled. “I want to be in the room when you tell her that.”
Autumn felt like she’d walked into the last act of a play and decided the best thing to do was to keep her mouth shut and her eyes and ears open. There was so much she had yet to learn about so many things. Maybe by keeping her mouth shut, she wouldn’t fuck things up too badly.
“So, where is everybody?” Autumn asked when they reached the Wash House.
“Everybody who?” Spring asked as if there was no one else in the world but the four of them.
Autumn chuckled as she looked her very pregnant sister over.
Spring was the oldest and had always been called the pretty one. She had the pretty face and petite, curvy figure though now her curves were more maternal than sexy. Even so she remained soft, dainty, and always the lady. Even dressed in sneakers, sweatpants, and an oversized T-shirt that must belong to one of her husbands, she looked elegant.
Summer was the smart one whose creative thinking and ingenuity helped to solve problems for people all over the world. She was beautiful as well in a natural, earth mother sort of way.
Winter was the baby, the boy, and had never been compared to his sisters. Autumn knew he was profoundly grateful for that.
Autumn had always been considered the strong one. She’d been the one who went after what she wanted no matter what those around her thought. But for the past year, she’d felt anything but strong, though she’d kept that a secret from everyone, including their father.
“Well, dear sister, you have two husbands. Then there’s Summer and Winter who each have two husbands. And I understand from Dad that the Sullivan twins’ mother and two fathers live in Sanctuary as well, or have I been misinformed?”
“Oh, them. Winter and his mates, Garrett and Hawk, are at a writer’s conference in California. Summer and her husbands, Cole and Dawson, had to go to Virginia to deal with some crisis her boss swears she can only take care of in person. My husbands, Adam and Brock, and the parents, Bridget, Michael, and Thomas, are around here somewhere. You’ll meet them at dinner,” Spring said as easily as if reading from a cue card.
“Good God.” Autumn looked over her shoulder at the brothers, her eyes wide with shock. “How many of you are there?”
“Three parents, four sets of twins, and now four mates,” Spring answered for them as they reached the Wash House’s front door. “With two pups on the way.” She patted her stomach in the proud mama way all pregnant women seemed to grow into.
“When are you due?”
“Christmas by human terms. Before next week by Bridget’s prediction.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a shape-shifter thing, ladybug,” Frank said before kissing her temple and walking away.
“Mom can explain it better,” Evan said as he stroked a hand up her back. “We’ll be back in a few minutes then maybe we’ll go upstairs and take a nap.”
Anticipation shot through Autumn as she watched the brothers cross the room. Before she could follow them, her sister grabbed her hand and dragged her to what appeared to be a bar in the center of the room. After pushing her onto a stool, Spring stepped behind the bar.
“Do you still drink your coffee hot, black, and thick as tar?”
Autumn shook her head. “Gave it up. Do you have chai latte?”
“Hot or cold?”
“Whatever is easiest for you,” Autumn said before turning the seat of the stool around to look around.
The corner by the front door held what appeared to be a library. Bookcases lined two walls and were filled to capacity with books. Several comfortable-looking chairs in burgundy and navy waited for someone to curl up on them and spend the afternoon reading. Each chair had a small table next to it with a reading lamp. Behind that, along the side wall, was an area that was curtained off with deep burgundy curtains. In the back corner and along half the back wall were two closed-off rooms with a small hallway in between. The sign on one wall announced that to be the locker room area.
Across the back of the room was a line of stainless steel washers and dryers with several tables to fold laundry on.
In the far back corner of the room was what looked like a lounge area. The floor was carpeted with dark gray carpet with several couches, recliners, and overstuffed chairs in gray and blue denims. All the furniture angled to face a large flat-screen television that covered the wall over a huge stone fireplace. In the corner were a pile of large pillows that looked like they would be comfortable for lying on the floor with.
The kitchen sat in the left front corner of the building. It looked much like any of the diners she’d frequented as she traveled with the military. It was separated from the dining area by a counter with a half dozen stools. Between the kitchen and the bar area was a dining room that was tiled with black-and-white tile. In addition to a long table in the center, there were a half dozen tables around the edge of the area, each with four chairs. The main dining table was painted black while the smaller ones were painted deep barn red.
Looking up, Autumn found the ceiling in the center of the room rose two stories over their heads. Balconies ran around three sides of the room for the second and third floors. She counted ten doors on each floor.
“It’s like a civilian USO,” she said, turning back to face her sister. “It looks like it’s got everything anyone would need.
“The Wash House. Yes, this is the center of town. During hiking season, we’ve kept busy with visitors. They usually don’t bother us too much. Just point them to a hot meal, a hot shower, and a warm bed, and they’re happy,” Spring said before setting a mug on the bar. “There you go, one chai latte. Whoa,” she gasped as she bent forward. She grabbed her belly with one hand and the counter with the other.
“What’s wrong?” Autumn jumped from her chair and hurried around the bar. “Guys!”
Chapter Eight
“What’s going on?” Evan asked as he stepped out of the kitchen.
Autumn ignored him as she wrapped one arm around her sister and helped her from the bar and to the closest chair in the dining area. Both men joined them as Spring settled onto the chair and rubbed her belly.
“What happened?” Frank asked as both men looked from one sister to the other.
“What kind of a pain was it?” Autumn asked, kneeling before her sister and laying her hands on the pregnant woman’s belly.
“Everything just tightened up,” Spring said. “All the muscles across my back and belly just clenched.”
Autumn nodded in understanding. She glanced at her watch then looked to her mates. “I need to talk to Bridget now. And you might want to call her husbands.”
Evan headed to the front door as she turned back to her sister. “Sit here and relax. It might just be a random spasm, but until I talk to Bridget, I want you to stay still.” Taking off her watch, she handed it to Frank. “Keep an eye on the time. If she has another one, make a note.”
“Do you know about babies?” Frank asked as he glanced from his sister-in-law to the watch.
“I’m an Army-trained and certified midwife. Delivered a lot of babies in all kinds of settings, but never this early. But—”
Before she could finish, a bell outside rang continuously for nearly half a minute.
Autumn checked her sister’s pulse and respiration then felt her hands and feet for swelling. Spring sat relaxed, rubbing both hands over her belly as she continued to ask questions about what Autumn had been up to the past months. She was able to ignore them as she fought with the anxiety that had her own heart pounding as she thought of having to deliver these babies.
When Evan returned, he checked to make sure things were under control before heading back to the kitchen.
“How long, Frank?” Autumn asked once she’d done the subtle exam and found everything to be fine.