Authors: Hazel Gower
Turning to the two
men she mouthed,
“Stay.”
There was a pause before her brother answered, “Five
minutes tops and I’m coming in,
door and turned the shower on. After getting in, she washed the crazy thoughts
of what she saw in her exhausted state out of her mind. She must have imagined
it.
Closing her eyes, she dunked her head under the spray, only
to open them as hands came around her waist and pulled her into a hard body.
Lips came down on her shoulder, and hands leisurely travelled up her stomach to
cup her breasts.
“Zack, I don’t have time to play.” He hummed against her
shoulder, and his hand slid down to dip into her pussy.
“Firebird, there is always time for play.”
Her head fell against him as ecstasy set in. “Where is
Jake?” She panted as he nipped at her neck.
“He went out to meet Philip.”
“He what?”
She pushed at Zack and jumped out of the shower without
bothering to dry herself before she ran into her room to see it empty. She
heard a loud crash from the direction of her kitchen. Grabbing the closest
thing to her, she shoved it on and ran out of her bedroom.
Arriving in the kitchen,
her kitchen floor were smashed glasses and two men she knew well fighting. One
was her lug of a brother, and the other was one of the idiots she slept with
last night.
“Stop.
Stop right now.” They continued beating the crap out of
each other. After growling in frustration, she screeched, “Stop! Stop right
now, you two, or so help me God, you will not like the consequences.”
when a piece of glass cut her. The fighting came to a stop instantly, and she
heard a snarl from behind her as Zack picked her up. Her cut was forgotten as
his bare chest glistened with water droplets. Her eyes followed trails of water
down his chest and watched them hit her body. Oh wow, his chest was
magnificent. His tattoos stopped at his shoulders.
Zack took a deep
breath and whispered to her, “I would cut that out, little Firebird, if you
want to get this mess sorted out.”
Her brother gave a
huff as he fixed his shirt. “The only mess we will be sorting out is why the
hell you two are in my sister’s house.” Philip walked over to Zack and tried to
take her out of his arms. “Give me my baby sister.”
Zack growled and she shot him a glare. “Put me down n—” She
was interrupted by the sound of her front door slamming open and her father and
brother yelling for her.
“Oh my God.
This is so embarrassing.”
to realize what she was doing. She pushed on his chest when she heard her dad’s
booming voice. “
Zack,
put me down.”
He held her tighter and kissed her forehead. “No, you cut
your foot because of these idiots.”
here? Why are you holding my daughter? Baby girl, why are these men in your
house? These men aren’t bothering you, are they? And what the hell happened to
your front door?”
Pushing at Zack’s
chest again and getting nowhere,
answers were unanimous around her. “Crap! Well, can we move out of my kitchen?”
They all trudged to her family room. Zack sat on her lounge
as Jake checked her foot for glass. Once they’d figured out she had only cut
her foot, and no glass was in it, they all sat down and glared at each other.
Her father was the first to break the silence. “Who are
these men?”
Moving herself off Zack’s lap but only getting as far as
sitting between him and Jake, Sandy looked at her dad who sat leaning forward
on the lounge. “This is Zack and Jake. They are Susie’s friends.
Um, my friends.”
“Why are they here,
She shot a stare at both men hoping they would keep quiet.
“They came by this morning to help me organize a surprise for Susie. She’s
pregnant, so I was going to do something nice.”
Her dad raised his eyebrow as he looked at Jake and Zack.
“If this is true, why are you wearing one of their shirts?”
She glanced down and saw that the something she’d shoved on
was Zack’s shirt. Groaning at her stupidity, she ignored the men on either side
of her and tried to figure out how she could get out of all this.
“Zack and I have been seeing each other. Last night was the
first time he stayed over. He came by after work. Jake here had a little too
much to drink, and Zack picked him up. As he lives out of town, I said he could
crash at my house.”
Her father seemed to think this over for a minute before he
looked Zack up and down. “He’s a bit old for you, isn’t he?”
She was about to
answer when Jake butted in. “
so I’m going to rush this along. My name is Jake Bear, and I am one of your
daughter’s mates-slash-boyfriends-slash-fiancés.”
brothers clenching their fists.
Oh shit.
“Dad, I have no idea what he’s talking about. He’s joking. Calm down. Think of
your blood pressure.” She shot a death stare at Jake and elbowed him.
Jake held her elbow with one hand and stroked her cheek
with the other. He brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it before
murmuring in a soothing voice, “I’m not giving you up. I will be open and
honest from the start. You are mine.
Ours.”
Her bothers said, “I
don’t think so,” and broke the spell Jake had woven around her as she stared
into his emerald green eyes.
Philip and John stood and came toward her, and Philip
snarled, “You two
sickos
are not having our sister.
We’ve heard of you Bear men. And I’m not letting my sister date playboys like
you.”
Her temper started
to rise as everyone started telling her what she was going to do and who she
was going to see.
go off with the first man who looks your way. If this is what living out of
home does to you, then you are coming home with me.”
Okay, that was it. She’d had it.
Standing up, she screamed at the top of her
lungs, “Out.
Everyone out now.”
All the men stopped
arguing and turned back to her.
“I have had it. Get out. I moved out so I could have a mind
of my own.
A place of my own.
I moved out so I
wouldn’t be told what was expected of me all the time. I moved out so I could
have a space that I wasn’t so overprotected in. For Christ’s sake, until last
night I was a twenty-four-year-old virgin.”
these are not the first men to offer.”
Pissed off more than ever, she glared at each of her family
members before looking at Jake and Zack, who were grinning at her, which just
made her madder. Pointing at both of them, she gritted out, “You don’t get to
choose if you keep me. That’s my choice.” She stomped back to her room, not
caring anymore what happened.
****
Jake couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face as
their feisty mate marched off.
“What the hell are you grinning about?”
Jake looked up at
one of
brothers.
“I’m grinning because she is a feisty one, isn’t she? I’m
going to enjoy making sure she know she is ours and looked after.”
and his face bright red. “I don’t care who the hell either of you dickheads
are. If either of you hurt my baby girl, no one will be able to find your
pieces.” With that he stalked away.
Her brothers glared at Zack and Jake for a moment before
the older of the two snarled, “Leave our sister alone. She is a sweet innocent
and too good for the likes of you two. You are both too old for her anyway.
We’re going now. Say your good byes, but be gone by the time I get home
tonight.” With that, both men followed their father out.
After looking down at his watch, Jake cursed, pulled out
his phone, and dialed his partner. “David, I’m going to be late. Cover for me.”
He hung up without waiting for his partner’s answer.
Turning to Zack, Jake waited for him to say something. “You
have nothing to say after everything that was just said?”
Zack lifted his shoulders and smirked. “What can I say? She
is our mate, and I’m not giving her up. I know you feel the same way, so her
family is just going to have to get used to us.”
Nodding, Jake walked back to the kitchen and looked for the
broom to clean the mess up. Zack came over with a vacuum and plugged it in to
clean over the spots Jake swept. Working together, they cleaned the kitchen and
were putting away the things they’d washed when the smell of strawberries and
honey washed over Jake’s scenes.
“What the hell are you two still doing here? I told
everyone I wanted them out.”
Jake stared at Sandy who eyed the kitchen. She seemed
stunned until she remembered she was angry and scowled.
Loving her spirit, Jake couldn’t help it when he flashed
his teeth at her in one of his wicked grins that were known to bring ladies to
their knees. “Yeah, but you didn’t mean us.”
Placing her hands on her hips,
thinned, and she snarled, “I bloody well did. I have enough idiotic men in my
life. I don’t need any more. Last night was fun, but it was a one-night deal
only. I’m not looking for a relationship. I don’t know if I will for a long
time, but when I do, it will be with one man. I already cook and clean up after
three, so I’m not going to add another two into the mix.”
He and Zack waited for her tirade to finish before Zack
picked her up and walked toward her room.
“Put me down, you Neanderthal. Put me down now or you won’t
like the consequences.”
Jake chuckled as she pounded on Zack’s back.
“You were right there, coz.
Looks like we
were given a tough one.”
Zack placed
Jake rested himself
over her, caging her in.
“Jake, let me go.”
He kissed her forehead and then both cheeks.
“Never.
I will never let you go, Little Red. You’re our mate.”
thing again. What are you two going on about? Why is this mate thing so
important to you?”
Looking into her eyes, Jake wondered if this was too early
to say anything or to show her what they were. He peeked over his shoulder at
Zack who sighed, stood up, and took his pants off.
“Um, I’m all for looking at his body, but I don’t really
think we should have sex again. My brothers will be waiting and watching until
your cars leave.”
Sitting up, Jake sat her on his lap and wrapped his arms
around her. “Zack’s going to show you something. You have to promise not to
scream because he would never hurt you.”
nodded. Zack started to transform into a big brown grizzly bear. Hair grew all
over his body, his height and width shot upwards and out, and finally, a
rainbow of lights swirled around him. When it cleared, a bear stood there.
A long, drawn out scream left
Zack was hunched as he tried not to touch the ceiling. Zack growled and slowly
walked to them which only scared
“Little Red, calm down.
Zack would never hurt you. We would never hurt
you. We are shifters, bears shifters.” He stroked her hair. “
Shh
, I promise you are the safest person in the world.”
She turned on him, fighting to get away. Realizing they’d
done this wrong, he signaled for Zack to change back.