by Jane Jamison
Soft grunts burst from her as Doug pounded into her. He caught her nipple between his teeth, applying just enough pressure to hurt and give pleasure. His hands gripped her ass as she bounced up and down, her hair dancing along her shoulders. She leaned back, putting her body at the perfect angle, then shot Marty and Jordan sultry looks.
Doug’s expression was intense, his gaze locked to her breasts. First one nipple then the other was subjected to his bites. His fingers dug into her butt cheeks, spreading them until he could move his fingers closer to her butt hole.
“Bullshit. I’m not waiting.” Jordan moved closer, getting high enough on the steps to put his cock even with her. “Suck on me, hon. Suck hard and don’t be afraid to use your teeth. A little pain never hurt anyone.”
She took his cock into her mouth, relishing the flavor of him. Hollowing her cheeks, she gave him that little bit of teeth to flesh. To his credit, he didn’t flinch. Moaning, he rocked his hips back and forth, gently, letting her take the lead.
“Let’s see how I can get in on this.”
Before she knew what was happening—after all, she had other things to concentrate on—she was being lifted away from Doug. Both Jordan and Doug complained loudly, growls and curse words mixing together.
“What?” she said, but her question was answered fast enough. Marty held her against him, his hands cupping her butt cheeks. Instinctively, her body now on autopilot from a primal energy deep inside her, she locked her legs around his lean waist, her stomach pushing against his ribbed abdomen. A quick forward thrust of his hips plunged his cock deep inside her pussy.
Jordan came behind her, his teeth starting on her shoulder then nibbling their way to her ear lobe. His fingers played with her ringed muscles, shoving first one then, a few moments later, two fingers into her dark hole. “Open up, hon, I’m coming in. But don’t worry, it won’t hurt much.”
She couldn’t have denied them if she’d wanted to. And she oh-so didn’t want to. Instead, she gave herself to them, mind, body, and soul. They possessed her, taking charge of her every move, her every breath, her every fleeting thought.
“Now,” Jordan whispered then eased the tip of his cock inside her asshole.
A brief period of pain came next, but it didn’t hurt. Not in the way pain should. Instead, the sensation morphed into something more, a pleasure that seared to the center of her to meet the pleasure Marty gave her.
The three of them moved together, each body giving and taking, pulling and pushing. They held her suspended between them as she cried out, one orgasm rolling through her as another one started building. She moaned, perspiration oozing between them.
When Marty tensed, she knew his end was near. Tightening her pussy walls, she tried the impossible, trying to keep his cock inside her forever. He plunged into her again then stilled again before another plunge gave way to his orgasm. He groaned, his body jerking several times as he shot his seed inside her. She gripped his shoulders, but this attempt, too, couldn’t keep him with her. He stumbled back as Jordan tightened his hold on her then fell to the steps again.
“Ride me, hon.” Thrust after thrust bounced her on top of his thighs.
“And I’ll ride you, sugar.” Doug spread her legs apart and, using the post to keep his body above hers, rammed his cock inside her pussy.
She glided her fingers along Doug’s sweaty chest, her breaths once again being pushed from her. Doug leaned over and kissed her sweetly before giving another long, deep thrust.
Again, she was held between two men. Again, they were as one, each a separate moving entity while becoming joined. The connection, which had always been so strong, became a living thing inside her, telling her she was where she belonged, telling her that she and her mates had been born for each other.
Jordan tensed underneath her then bit down on her shoulder. The bite wasn’t enough to break her skin, but she let the fantasy go on, imagining the bite changing her into a werewolf. Perhaps they were right to tell her to wait, and she would. Yet in her heart of hearts, she knew her answer.
Jordan lifted her off him at the moment of his explosion. Doug fell to the side, catching her, keeping his cock inside her. As she looked into his eyes, her climax erupted, matching the one she saw in his amber-flecked depths.
These are my men. Whatever I have to do to keep them, I’ll do.
* * * *
Shenna stared at the crowd gathered at the Moonstone. The bar was usually crowded, even on a weeknight, but tonight it was even busier. She felt many eyes on her as she approached her men waiting for her at the end of the bar.
“Are you ready, sugar?” Doug slipped his arm around her waist and gave her a quick hug.
“I don’t know that I’ll ever be ready.” She glanced around, saw even more people watching her, then brought her gaze back to land on Marty’s encouraging face. “Isn’t this dangerous? I mean, what if there’s someone here who doesn’t know about shifters? I could be outing everyone.”
“Don’t worry, darlin’. We’ve checked around. Plus, everyone knows why you’re here. If someone shows up who doesn’t know, they’ll keep them out.”
She dragged in a long, not-so-steadying breath. “Damn. I thought I’d found a way out.”
Jordan chuckled then held out his hand. “It’s best to get it over with. Let me help you get on top of the bar. You want everyone to see and hear you.”
Do I?
Yet, now there was no turning back.
The bar covered a good portion of the room with hallways on either side that lead to backrooms and restrooms. “Are you sure you can’t do this for me?” She adopted a pleading look and pouted her lips. “Puh-lease?” Changing to a sexy look, she added, “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Sorry, hon. As tempting as that sounds, you made this problem, so now you have to fix it.”
“Damn. I had a feeling you’d say that.”
“Go on. Get it over. Afterward, we’ll take you straight home.” Marty held out a beer.
If these people don’t string me up first.
She took a long swig but knew it wouldn’t be enough to give her the courage she needed. “You’re talking about going back to the ranch, right?”
All three of them gave her a funny look. Marty took the mug from her. “It’s your home now, too. You’re our mate. After this is over, we’ll swing by the rental home and get your things.”
At least she had that to look forward to. “Good. I’m going to need all the support I can get.” Suddenly, nerves turned into fear. “But what if they don’t forgive me? Will you still want me? A woman the entire town might hate?”
“They’re not going to hate you. Trust me. Apologizing shows you’re a stand-up kind of woman. They’ll respect you for it.”
“I sure hope you’re right. Okay. Here goes everything.”
They helped her up on top of the bar. Her legs felt weak, as wobbly as a newborn foal’s, but she kept her gaze locked on the far wall and tried not to think about what might happen next.
“Go on, darlin’. Remember, we’ve got your back.”
“We’re with you, hon.”
“You’ve got this. Don’t think any more about it. Just do it, sugar.”
Just do it. Yeah, sure. That’s easier said when you’re not the one everyone’s staring at.
Holding her head high, she tentatively walked to the center of the long stretch of wood. Funny how the bar had never seemed so long.
A hush fell over the crowd when she finally turned to face them.
Oh my God.
“Shenna.”
She glanced toward Marty and lifted her eyebrows in question.
“You have friends here.”
Following his gaze, she looked out over the crowd again. It took a minute to find them, but at last she did. Emma and Celia stood alongside the Carr brothers. They gave her warm, encouraging smiles.
I can do this. I know I can.
She cleared her throat. “Everyone, thank you for
coming tonight.”
The responding silence shook her. Couldn’t someone have said something? “Anyway, I think most of you know why I wanted to talk to you tonight.”
“You’re a sneak and a liar.”
Cold swept over her. She didn’t know what man had spoken, but did it matter? She could deny his words, yet she did the only thing she could. “You’re right. I am.”
Murmurs swept over the crowd. Even after studying their faces, she still couldn’t decide if they were angry or simply waiting for her to go on.
“I lied because I came here to expose you for what you are.” She paused and wondered if she should ask if it was all right to go on. When the crowd remained silent, she went on. “I didn’t know you or the town before that.”
“You treated us like animals. Like we didn’t deserve your honesty.”
This time she found the man who had spoken. A bushy beard covered the lower half of his face. Amber glowed in his eyes. She didn’t know his name, although she’d seen him around town. Again, she spoke the truth. “You’re right. I did.”
Anger spread over many of their faces. Even Celia and Emma seemed taken aback.
“Before I came here, the only shifter I’d known, that I’d even seen, had attacked me. He’d chased me to my car and had frightened the hell out of me.”
Another man with long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail spoke up. She immediately recognized the man from the tall grass, the one who had disappeared right before she’d seen the first werewolf.
“That was me. And trust me, sweetheart, if I’d wanted to attack you, to get you, I could have. All I was doing was scaring the hell out of you to send you running back home.”
“I realize that now.” Her gaze met his. “Unfortunately, you only made me want to come back and find out the truth.” She dropped her gaze then renewed her conviction. “Still, that’s no excuse. I wronged you, all of you, and I’m very sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it,” said the man.
“I know.” She shook her head, struggling to find the right words. “I don’t know how I can make this right. But I can promise you that no one will ever see the photos or the videos. They’ve been destroyed.”
“We can vouch for that,” called out Doug. “They’re gone for good.”
“Still doesn’t change what she did,” shouted the bearded man.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Arty.” Suddenly, Emma was by the man’s side, her face inches from his as she got on her tiptoes. “Give the girl a break. She did wrong, but she made it right. Hell, it’s not like you’ve never done a damn thing wrong.”
Shenna held back a smile even as tears sprang to her eyes. Emma standing up for her was more than she could’ve asked for. “It’s okay, Emma. Let him say what he wants. I deserve it.”
“Sure you do,” replied Emma. “And so do a lot of folks in here.” She scanned her gaze around the crowd. “Tell me, everyone. Who here has never made a mistake? I know I sure have.”
“Emma’s right,” Celia shouted over the sudden outbreak of talking. “I know I freaked out when I first came to town. And others have done worse than what she’s done. She’s not the first to think about telling the world about shifters, and she won’t be the last. But she didn’t, and that’s what matters.”
“Thank you, Celia. And you, Emma.” Her voice wasn’t loud. How could it be when her throat was filled with emotion? Yet she knew the shifters could hear her.
The sound of booted footsteps on top of the bar rang out from both sides of her. Marty and Jordan headed her way from the left while Doug strode toward her from the right. Marty took her hand, and Doug took the other.
“Shenna fucked up. So what? Emma and Celia are right. All of you have messed up so I wouldn’t go judging her.” Marty glared at the crowd. “Unless you’ve had your head stuck in the ground, you know she’s our mate. And she might want to change.”
“What Marty says is true,” added Doug. “She’s no threat to us. Especially once she goes through the change.”
“But here’s the thing you better remember.” Jordan, his tone unusually deep, pointed at the crowd. “She’s our mate and, we’ll defend her until the day we die. You don’t like what she did? Fine. Keep it to yourself from now on. Everyone got that?”
Murmurs came again, but this time they were accompanied by many people nodding their heads. Emma and Celia smiled and moved away from Arty.
“Come on, darlin’. You’ve done what you came to do.”
Still, she stayed where she was even after the men had jumped off the bar, gracefully landing on their feet. Once more, and hopefully for the last time, she looked over the crowd. “I am very sorry. Until my dying day, I’ll be sorry. But I’m hoping you’ll let me stay. I’m hoping we can be friends.” She took in a breath, thought a moment, and realized she had nothing more to say. “Thank you for listening.”
Turning around, she squatted down and let her men lift her gently off the bar. “It’s done.”
“Yeah, it is.” Doug kissed her tenderly on the forehead. “I’m proud of you, mate.”
Fresh tears sprang to her eyes but for an entirely different reason than before.
“Why are you crying?” Jordan’s distress shone in the lines creasing his forehead.
“It’s the first time any of you have called me mate.”
At first, they appeared dumbfounded. Once they finally realized what she meant, however, they were quick to smile, quick to touch her, quick to comfort her.
“Well, get used to it.” Doug ran his hand over her hair, his touch soft, possessive. “You’re going to hear it for the rest of your life.”
“Promise?” she asked, her heart filling with joy.
“You have our word on it, sugar,” answered a smiling Doug.
She let Jordan lead the way out of the bar. As she passed, several people, including Miss Clara, gave her a hug and welcomed her to the town.
The elderly woman took Shenna’s arm, pulling her to face her. “You know what you did was wrong.”
Shenna had run in to the town’s matriarch before but hadn’t done more than nod her head in greeting. Emma had filled her in on Miss Clara right afterward, warning Shenna to treat the woman with the utmost respect.
“Yes, ma’am. I do.”
Miss Clara studied her, her look intense and unforgiving. Slowly, though, the intensity mellowed. “But I knew you had good inside you. All you needed were a few good men to make you see the light. Just don’t go and let me or them down, you hear?”
She shook head, perhaps a bit too vehemently. “No, ma’am. I won’t. I swear.”
“We won’t let her,” added Jordan, who then tugged on Shenna’s arm, urging her to start moving again.
The night air was brisk and filled with the aroma of nearby flowers. Getting between Marty and Doug, she looped an arm around each of them and headed to their pickup. “Take me home, guys.”
Epilogue
“Seems like the Carrs have someone in the rental home again.”
Shenna shielded her face from the glaring sun to look up at Marty. “Yeah? Who?”
She’d never really understood why the Carrs had rental properties. How many renters could they get in a town the size of Forever? She’d never understood, that is, until the connection. Now that she knew the connection brought people to the town whether they knew why or not, it was clear that the Carrs were keeping the houses available. How horrible would it have been if she hadn’t been able to find a place to stay? Would she have ever met the loves of her life? She shoved the idea away. She’d gotten lucky. Very lucky.
“I didn’t catch her name.” Marty hopped off the fence where he’d sat while Jordan had gone through yet another session of trying to break their new horse, Ramrod.
Break wasn’t the correct word. Unlike many human cowboys, Jordan wouldn’t force a horse into submission or bend his will. Instead, he got to know the horse and treated it with compassion. By the time he’d finished, the horse was
ready to do anything to please him. Shenna had spent hours over the past month watching how the men worked the ranch. They were close to their animals, using kind and gentle methods to coax the horses into doing what they wanted. Sooner rather than later, Ramrod would get used to the smell of the werewolves, too.
“But she’s new in town?” She’d have to give Emma a call later and get the details. Was it being snoopy? Probably. But gossip was one of the town’s main forms of entertainment.
“Yeah, as far as I know.” Marty headed for the barn.
She followed, knowing Doug was busy working on a broken lead bridle. “Surely Jackson knows about her.”
Marty shot her a look. “You’re getting to be one of those gossipy women hanging out at Milly’s, aren’t you?” He laughed, easily dodging her playful slap.
“I’m not trying to gossip. I just thought it might be nice to drop by and pay her a visit. You know, in case she’s heard the rumors about werewolves in the area.” Grinning, she zipped past him, catching him off-guard so that she landed a gentle punch on his arm.
“Is she gossiping again?” asked Doug. He glanced up from his work, smiled, then went back to it.
She feigned offense and fisted her hands on her hips. “I’m not a gossip. I’m just curious is all.”
“Like a damn cat.” Jordan strolled into the barn, leading Ramrod behind him. “You’d better watch out. Keep it up and folks are going to think you don’t want to be a werewolf. Hell, the rate you’re going, you’re going to end up meowing and slurping your meals up out of a bowl.”
“Oh, ha-ha. You’re so funny.”
“Just saying.” Marty busied himself by snatching up a rake and getting to work cleaning up a pile of hay that had been scattered over the ground.
“You’re all just so incredibly funny. LOL, y’all.” Never mind that they were right. “Anyway, back to the real subject. Do any of you know anything about her? Name? Where she’s from? Nothing?”
“I think she’s a blonde,” offered Jordan. “Has a nice body from what the boys at the bar were saying.”