Theirs (3 page)

How was he taking this so well?

“
She’s more than what I have now, and clearly nature thinks she can be all we need; who am I to question that?” His composure only seemed to agitate me more.

I averted my gaze; I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and angrily gnashed down on it.

Slowly, gingerly, he gathered my hands in his. “Maybe she wants kids, El. You couldn’t give her those.”

A fresh blast of fury erupted within me. I speared him with my eyes. “Not naturally, but we could get a donor or adopt. I’d figure something out.”

He shook his head negatively. “That’s a compromise you don’t have to make now, that
she
doesn’t have to make now.”

“
Dammit, Jer!” My heart split, unfamiliar emotions swelling inside to the point of pain. My chest hurt; my throat tightened. It wasn’t fair. I felt my features twist as I fought more tears. My wolf whimpered, her rage dissipating quickly under the siege of sadness. “That isn’t what I want; what we want,” I said, speaking on behalf of my wolf and I.

“
You’re preachin’ to the choir, sweetie. Apparently it’s what we need though.”

I looked up at him. “Don’t you hate being good all the time?”

He chuckled, his lips lifting at the edges. “You of all people should know what kinda sinner I am.”

I snickered. Damn did I know Jerry’s sins. He was the classic panty charmer. “About that.” I released his hands and patted his chest. “If I’m going to have to look at you on a permanent basis, I’m gonna need you to trim the hedges.”

He rolled his eyes. “She’s seen my hedges, and, trust me, she didn’t mind ‘em.”

I shrugged. “Okay.”

He smiled, shaking his head negatively. “You can’t shake my confidence, El.”

I laughed. “And they call me vein.”

Our gazes locked and we both quieted, sobering to reality.

“
We’ll do this together?” he asked.

My wolf sneered in disapproval. She didn’t a choice, any input, though. I wasn’t willing to risk my half-claimed mate.

Nerves crawled through me, but I knew I had no choice, same as my wolf. “Together.” I nodded my head once in agreement.

Our attention jumped to the bedroom door as the lock clicked open. My heart picked up its pace; my wolf leapt upwards at the sight of her.

—

Chapter Six

KATE

I didn’t know what time it was. It felt like I’d spent hours tossing and turning in the big bed. I heard Ellie and Jerry talking sporadically outside the door, but couldn’t quite make out their words. Instinct told me it involved me.

Unable to quiet my restless spirit with them right outside, I followed my gut. Climbing out of bed, I went and opened the door. The sconces on either side of the fireplace filled the bedroom with soft lighting.

They stood together in the center of the seating area, between the parallel sofas. Their eyes were trained on me. Flickers of honey filtered through their normal iris colors.

Looking at them, I was awe-stricken as novel feelings swarmed me, filling me with warmth, with desire for them. All I could do was stare dumbly at them, taken aback yet again by my reaction to them. I didn’t know what to say.

I was overly aware of my need for them, a need I still didn’t understand. I wanted to hug them, to touch them, both of them. How on earth did I go from wanting a woman for the first time to coveting the experience of a man and a woman at the same time? Slowly I was morphing into someone even I didn’t recognize.

They were strangers I felt a strong, unexplainable connection with. Just seeing them both standing together, my heart beat a little quicker. I could easily imagine throwing myself into their arms at the end of a long day.

Electricity, energy, seemed to sizzle along the path between us. There was no anger, no upset, lingering in their gazes.

I took a deep breath, shaking myself mentally. I forced myself back to bed, leaving the door wide open for them, literally and figuratively. A few seconds after I got situated in the center of the mattress, they strolled in.

Jerry moved in on my left; Ellie on my right. I rolled over to face Jerry.

Ellie immediately hooked her arms around my waist, dropping a kiss on my shoulder. “Sweet dreams, sweet cheeks.”

I couldn’t stay mad at her. “You too.”

Jerry stared down at me as he settled in. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.

“
Tomorrow, please.” I was too raw. I didn’t comprehend what it was about these two; I was confused by my actions, by my own reactions. I would never invite two outsiders into bed with me. My only guess was that they didn’t feel like strangers to me. There was a subtle familiarity, as if I’d known them much longer that was skewing my conscience.

Still, I would never sleep with a guy the day I met them, let alone a girl. I continued to confound myself.

All that time I’d lied in bed, frustrated by the entire situation. It’s like the answer to the riddle was right there, on the tip of my tongue, and I just couldn’t, it just wouldn’t clear up; it refused to unveil itself.

Jerry placed a hand on my cheek, drawing my attention back to him. “Tomorrow, please.”

Heat brushed my cheeks. I gave him a small smile. He’d thrown my own words back at me. He’d known. That was the unnerving part. For not knowing me, they somehow knew me well.

“
Sleep well, sweetie.” Jerry’s lips cascaded down on mine. Desire immediately furled within me; longing flared as he swept his tongue across my inner lips, drawing a tiny gasp from me as he gently tasted me.

I found myself leaning into him, pressing into his kiss. He started out lightly, gently, as a little tease, but slowly progressed. He owned my mouth; he commanded it with silky brushes of his lips and tongue against my own. It was unexpected. Even at his most demanding, Ellie was far more aggressive and dominant.

I reached for him, my body rising, shaking off Ellie’s arms to meet his silent plea. I grabbed at his shirt, clinging tighter to him. My temperature rose with every increase of tempe in my heartbeat. Breathing became secondary to exploring Jerry.

He trailed his lips down along my jaw, across my neck. His lips sent chills racing down me. My flesh tingled where his mouth caressed me.

“
Let me bite you, Kate. Please.” His voice was a tender growl, thick and sexy.

I shuddered. Inhaling swiftly, I angled my neck, giving him better access. He began to nibble on my collarbone before working his way back up. “Please, Kate.”

I felt drugged, dazed. I’d already been bitten once. I guess it didn’t make much of a difference if he did it too. It only seemed to mean something in their world. It didn’t bind me to anything.

I moved to gaze into him. I recalled the soreness from earlier after Ellie bit me. “Please be gentle.”

His expression was fierce. His stare penetrated me, the strong set of his jaw assured me; the flare of his nostrils, the abrupt stiffness of his muscles, the twist of his lips said he was in control of this, not his wolf. It told me that I could trust him. “I’ll be as gentle as I can be.”

I blindly grabbed for Ellie’s hand. She slipped her palm against mine. I squeezed it, my stomach knotting as unease flowed through me. It was akin to getting your ears pierced. You knew after the first what it would feel like, but the nerves, the last minute uncertainty still rose. I found myself holding my breath as I further angled my head. I crushed Ellie’s hand.

She froze behind me; her tension heightened my disquiet.

Jerry looked over my shoulder at Ellie. They silently communicated. When his focus fell to me, his eyes glowed a familiar honey gold hue.

Ellie relaxed a bit. “Stay still, babe,” she whispered.

I halted, allowing Jerry to move me the way he needed me. I watched out of my peripheral, bracing myself as he lowered towards my shoulder.

I was so consumed by Jerry’s next move that I didn’t feel Ellie slip her hand inside my pants. I gasped as Ellie’s fingers brushed my clit. Pleasure and pain wrestled, neither cancelling nor overwhelming the other.

“
Keep going, El. I want to watch her.” Jerry pulled back, revealing his wolf was once again tucked away. He watched me unabashedly.

I felt helpless, and pleasantly enthralled. His mouth crashed into mine, capturing my cry as Ellie sped into action, circling my pearl with a vengeance.

Jerry’s hands grabbed at me, gripping along my curves roughly. He traveled the full length of my body, caressing every lump, bump and swerve before sliding a hand in beside Ellie’s.

Anticipation drove my pleasure higher. My pulse sounded in my head, thumping in rhythm with Ellie’s fingers.

I cried out, breaking away from Jerry’s lips as he drove a single digit inside my sensitive channel. Wonderful sensations burst from my core. He drew novel elation, fresh reactions from his rapid plunges into me.

He chuckled lightly; it was a sultry snicker of approval. He nuzzled my neck. “Oh, you’re fun to watch, darlin’.”

“
Fucking delectable,” Ellie added.

“
You were holding out on me in the kitchen, El.”

Had I not been swept up on an erotic cloud, I probably would have had a few choice words for them on that new information, but my insides felt as if they were twisting around themselves. Pressure began to suppress the pleasure. My body tingled deliciously as their free hands perused my full figure, adding to the feeling of being thoroughly owned.

I grabbed hold of them, arching into their talented fingers.

“
Let go, Kate. I want to watch you,” Jerry commanded. Finally I caught a glimpse of his true alpha dom side.

Ellie caught me off guard, tracing her tongue over the pulsing vein in my neck. “Now, Jer.”

I flew apart as Jerry added a second finger, pummeling me hard and fast. I was forced to do as they said, as they demanded me to with their navigation of me. Pleasure catapulted through me. My thoughts, concerns, vanished. Heat cocooned me as tiny trembles rocked me with erotic bliss.

They pressed against me. They were speaking, but their soothing murmurs were indiscernible. The way they held me and talked me down into their arms was comforting. It was as if they pushed me over the edge but had a pillow-stuffed safety net waiting below. They gave me the freedom, the security, to fly.

If I was honest with myself, I could already see how wonderful they were for me. They pushed me out of my comfort zone, they had me doing things I never otherwise would have; they had me facing fears and facing progression I couldn’t make alone in years. They did it gently though. They were bold, yet soft.

I blinked several times, processing this revelation: together, they were perfect for me. Jerry kept rambunctious, free-spirited Ellie in line, kept her from absently hurting me, and she livened him up, made him approachable and endearing rather than stiff and intimidating.

And, somehow, I knew, together, they could, they would, protect me better than any other. Together, they could open me up, draw the spunky girl hidden in my depths to the surface. Together, they could make me happy, because in this moment, I was carefree and happy, something I’d never been.

—

Chapter Six

JEREMIAH

Kate was bemused, lost in thought. I’d yet to gauge whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

My wolf was satisfied, content in the moment merely observing her.

Oddly, seeing her had my heart warming, seemingly expanding and embracing her fully as my mate. I’d put up such a thick block, attempting to give Ellie time. In the end though, Nature won. Ellie wasn’t fighting me anymore. I sensed her peace across the bed.