Authors: Cooper McKenzie
Winter could barely breathe, much less think, when Hawk lifted his head and looked into his eyes.
“Baby, we want to claim you as our mate, right here, right now. What do you say?”
Winter looked up into sky blue eyes that glowed with life and love and knew deep in his soul that he never wanted to be with anyone else. “Yes. Claim me. Make me your mate.”
Hawk nodded and looked down his body at his brother. Something passed between the twins though neither said a word. Garrett bobbed up and down several more times, sucking, licking, sending bolts of lightning through Winter that came back to coil deep in his pelvis.
“Come for us, baby,” Hawk murmured in his ear before taking the lobe between his teeth and biting gently.
That was all it took to shoot Winter to the moon. His head arched back as fire raced through him from groin to every cell in his body and back again. At the peak, he felt Hawk bite where shoulder and neck came together and knew Hawk had claimed him.
Needing to belong to both his mates, he cried, “Garrett, now. Claim me. Please make me yours.”
In a heartbeat, Garrett slid up his body and bit the other side of his neck. But the extra pain only added to Winter’s pleasure, and his orgasm swelled and overwhelmed him once again. A feeling of completeness filled him that he’d never ever felt before.
“My mates!”
It took a few minutes to recover, but when he did, he looked from one brother to the other. “That was incredible, but it seems I’m the only one getting happy.”
“Don’t worry, sexy,” Garrett said, licking the spot he’d just bit. “We’re happy just making you ours. And we have the rest of our lives to make each other happy.”
Winter frowned as tears filled his eyes. “Don’t you want to have sex with me?” he asked softly.
The brothers looked shocked for a minute. “Oh, baby, of course we want to have sex with you,” Hawk assured him, running a hand up and down his chest. “But you’re injured and need to rest and get better before we get too rambunctious.”
“Mmmm,” Winter purred. “I think I’d like rambunctious.”
“And when you’re healed, we’ll get as wild as you want, but for now you’re going to let us take care of you,” Garrett said, his tone just strong enough to melt any opposition Winter might have.
“Could I at least suck your cocks, please? I want to give you pleasure, too.”
Before his mates could answer, three stomachs rumbled loudly.
The men all chuckled before Garrett said, “I think we’ll wait until later for that treat. Right now we’re getting out of this bed, getting dressed, and going out for breakfast.”
Winter pouted for a moment. “Okay, but tonight I am going to give you pleasure,” he stated.
“Yes, sir,” Garrett said with a sexy smile.
“Can’t wait, baby,” Hawk agreed with a grin.
Chapter 4
After the twins pulled on their clothes, they helped Winter dress in baggy sweatpants and a comfortable fitting T-shirt. On their way out the door, Winter struggled to pick up the soft-side black computer bag that was sitting on the floor by the front door.
“What’s in that?” Hawk asked gently, taking the strap from Winter’s fingers. He slung it over his own shoulder, surprised that it was heavier than it looked.
Winter shrugged and looked away. “Stuff I might need. I always carry it with me. If I get inspired, I can write or at least make note of my thoughts. Snacks in case I get hungry while I’m out. A book or two. I guess you could call it my man purse.”
“Do you have your keys, sexy?” Garrett asked as he opened the door.
Winter pointed to a smaller hook by the door. “Right there.”
Hawk took the key ring that held two keys and pocketed it then followed the other two out the door. He pulled the door closed and confirmed it had latched and locked before leaving. Though they hadn’t talked about it, he wanted to meet Winter’s ex-boyfriend. He wasn’t sure if he would thank him for bringing them to Winter’s rescue or beat the shit out of him like he’d done to his little mate.
Once on the sidewalk the brothers turned toward the Hummer then stopped when they realized their mate wasn’t with them. Turning, they found Winter walking in the opposite direction. A moment later he stopped and looked back at them, his expression worried.
“We can walk to breakfast, if that’s okay. It’s not that far,” he said.
Hawk nodded and watched his brother do the same. They joined Winter and headed up the sidewalk. He looked around the parking lot, but didn’t see any car that looked like it belonged to their man.
“Which car is yours?” Garrett asked once they’d caught up with him, once again proving their thoughts ran along similar paths nearly all the time.
Winter dropped his head again, but kept walking. His pace was fast, challenging Hawk to keep up even though he was a half a foot taller than his little mate.
“I don’t have a car,” he finally admitted as they approached a small coffee shop at the end of a strip mall. “That’s why I like this apartment. Everything I need is within walking distance, which forces me to exercise. If I have to go across town I’ll call a cab, but most of the time I just walk where I need to go. Besides, cars are expensive, and I’m a struggling artist living in a big city.”
That brought to Hawk’s mind another group of questions. “You said you write. What kind of writing?”
Again Winter didn’t answer. Instead he opened the door and held it for the other two men to enter first.
Once they were all inside, he pointed to an empty booth along the back wall. “That’s where I usually sit.”
Hawk nodded and waited for Winter to lead the way. As they crossed the dining room, their mate stopped every few steps to say hello to the other diners and had to evade questions about his injuries.
When a busty older woman stepped in front of them and grabbed him, Hawk balled his fist to keep from pushing her away and declaring to the room full of strangers that Winter belonged to him. A glance at his brother proved Garrett to be just as affected.
“Sweetheart, what happened? It was Scott, wasn’t it? I told you that man was no good for a sweet thing like you. And who are these hot honeys you brought with you today? Research? Or purely pleasure?”
The woman’s questions came at machine-gun speed as she led Winter to the booth he’d indicated earlier as being his. Once they reached it, Hawk understood. A bright yellow sign sat at the front edge of the booth stating “Reserved for Winter.”
“Anna, these are me mates, Garrett and Hawk,” Winter said in a perfect Irish accent as he slid into one side of the booth. Garrett sat next to him so Hawk settled across the table.
She laughed loudly at his accent. Apparently this wasn’t the first time he’d done this. “Your mates, eh? Does that mean you kicked Scott to the curb?”
Winter nodded as he settled both casts on the table. He once again looked uncomfortable, so Hawk decided it was time to divert the woman’s concerned nosiness.
“Do you have a breakfast special?” he asked without looking at a menu.
Anna stared at him as if searching for something. He met her gaze evenly, trying not to shift as she studied him intently for nearly a minute. Then she turned her attention to Garrett and did the same thing. Finally she nodded with a broad smile. “You’ll do. But I’ll warn you now, you hurt my boy and you’ll answer to me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Hawk and Garrett answered as one.
“Now, breakfast. I’ll assume you two drink coffee?” She waited until they nodded. “Good, because anyone who doesn’t drink it won’t last long with this one. All right, then. I’ll bring coffee, and your breakfast will be up in a few minutes.” She nodded once again after looking at the three men. Then she walked off without another word.
Hawk looked at Winter. “She didn’t ask what we wanted.”
“She never does. But you’ll love whatever she brings. She’s magic that way,” Winter said. “I just don’t know how I’m going to eat with these things.”
“Don’t worry, sexy, we’ll take care of you. That’s our job now,” Garrett explained softly. “We’ll keep you safe and love you and make you so happy, you’ll forget all about Scott and any other man who’s ever hurt you.”
Winter’s eyes grew wide as he digested the solemn vow. He looked at Hawk who nodded his agreement. “You’ll never be sad or alone again, baby.”
* * * *
Winter swallowed hard before he said softly, “I just hope I can make you happy, too.”
Hawk reached across the table and held Winter’s fingers as Garrett dropped a hand under the table and ran it up and down his thigh.
“You make us happy just sitting there,” Hawk said softly. “Will you be okay moving to Sanctuary?”
“Do you have Internet?”
“Yes,” Garrett answered.
“Will I be able to leave and go to book signings and conferences and stuff?”
“Of course,” Hawk said.
“We’ll want to go with you because we won’t want to be far from you for too long.” Garrett answered a moment later. “Mates prefer to spend all their time together, which is why our ancestors settled Sanctuary. That, plus the fact that many people frown on triad relationships.”
“Will your family be okay with this? With your mate being a man, I mean.”
“As long as we’re happy, our family will be. Plus there’s nothing they can do about it. Fate determined we were mates, and no shape shifter can go against their destiny. Of course it helps that we’re all gay,” Garrett ended with a chuckle.
Before Winter could ask another question, Anna returned with three mugs and an insulated pot of coffee. After serving the three men, she handed Winter a tablespoon that had an extra large handle. “You’ll need this to eat with.”
“Thanks, luv.” Winter shifted back into his Irish brogue, earning a questioning glance from his mates.
With a smile he explained. “It’s a game we play. Anna has always been supportive, and when I got stuck writing my first book she suggested this so I can get in the heads of my main characters. It worked so well that every time I start a new book, I become the main character. I play with accents, and we talk about clothing choices and personality traits. She also shares stories about some of the other customers. I think she’s one of the reasons I get so many compliments from my readers. They like the fact that my characters are sometimes less than perfect with a limp or a scar or a bad attitude.”
The brothers nodded and seemed to understand before turning their attention back to the waitress.
“So, what’s for breakfast?” Garrett asked when Anna didn’t immediately move away.
“Don’t worry, honey, you’ll love it,” Anna responded with a wink and a grin. When she walked away she left the coffee pot behind, as if knowing they would need it.
“You know, every time we try to find something out about you, something happens to derail the conversation,” Garrett pointed out when a tense silence descended over the table.
Winter blinked, startled at his mate’s observation. A moment later he shrugged. “Sorry.”
“There’s no reason for you to apologize, we just want to know all about you. Now, please tell us about your writing. Or is it a secret?” Hawk said gently.
“No, not a secret exactly.” Winter dropped his gaze to the table, suddenly nervous about how they would take the news that he wrote in a genre most people snubbed their noses at.
“Look at me, Winter,” Hawk demanded gently.
When Winter lifted his eyes and met the big man’s gaze, Hawk said, “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. We are your mates. There should be no secrets between us.”
Winter nodded and took a deep breath. “I write romance novels. Gay erotic romance. I write under the pen name Ryan Winter.”
He looked from one to the other as he waited for their reactions.
“You’re Ryan Winter?” Garrett whispered, going pale as he digested Winter’s announcement.
“Yes.”
“Really?” Hawk asked, looking just as shocked as his brother.
Winter nodded. He watched as the brothers’ eyes got wider as they looked across the table at one another. Again they seemed to be communicating silently before both turned back to look at him. Before they could share their thoughts, Anna returned with their breakfast.
First she set a glass of orange juice in front of each man. Then she placed a plate with three strips of bacon, a large bowl of oatmeal, and a small pitcher of milk in front of Winter. “It’s got apples, raisins, and extra brown sugar, just the way you like it.”
“Thanks, Anna,” he said with a smile as she served his mates.
A large platter was placed in front of each man. On the platters were a half dozen strips of bacon, three fluffy, golden brown pancakes, and two fried eggs. He grinned as the brothers looked at their food, then at the waitress.
“How did you know?” they asked in unison.
“I told you,” Winter said before Anna could speak, “she’s magic.”
“I just know when I see two men with big appetites,” she said with a wink before sashaying away to tend to her other customers.
After they were alone again, Winter focused on his food. He was scared about what his mates would say about the secret he’d kept to himself for so long. Only two other people knew that Winter Ryan was Ryan Winter, gay erotic romance author, and he trusted them both implicitly to keep his secret.