“Damn, you’re too serious, Bro. Lighten up. She’s enjoying herself, and we aren’t even close to being done with her yet.”
Isser scowled at Sol.
“There you go looking all intense. Dang it. She’s beautiful and wants you. Enjoy this.”
Isser’s gaze remained on the woman. Sol was right. He’d enjoy this, but he’d ensure that she did too.
“Lie on your back, beauty,” Isser said.
Ruby obeyed. She stared up at Isser with blind obedience.
Chapter Three
Sol suffered a flicker of jealousy but reminded himself of how much he cared for Isser. If he had to share, at least it was Isser with his woman. He was already feeling possessive of Ruby. He took a deep breath. He’d never suffered from these emotions before. The other wolf’s magnetic presence brought him more women. He was also handsome. The man had short, thick black hair and piercing green eyes. His back stood out, covered in a black tattoo of the wolf code, and made him appear dangerous in a way women liked. Tanned and strong, even with all the time he spent in space, Isser’s body was enviable masculine perfection. His chiseled features and muscular body were what women craved. Sol was shorter with light hair and plain brown eyes. The truth was, he’d never be the tall, dark, and handsome male females expressed a desire to find. That fact had never bothered him until today. He was a worthy male and could protect and provide for his woman, but he wanted her to desire him.
He breathed in the perfumed air. Her pheromones called to him. He knew the biology, but it didn’t matter that he wanted her. He could accept Ruby wasn’t a wolf. Shifter desire crossed species. He’d never have imagined himself taking a tiger as a mate, but then again, he’d never imagined truly having a mate. They could have children, and the strong drive for a pair bond still called out to him. When he’d first seen her, he thought she was sexy, but now her scent caused him to react as if she belonged to him.
“We’ve shared women before, Brother. They don’t always prefer me. I feel your pain. You’ve never been like this in past. What can I do to put you at ease?” Sol felt Isser reaching out mentally with compassionate empathy.
“She’s made her preference clear. She wants you,” Sol thought bitterly. An ugly stab of resentment caused him to turn away. He couldn’t meet his brother’s eyes. The woman surveyed them curiously. Even in her altered state, he could tell she knew something was going on between them. Her expressive, pensive face said it clearly. When he glanced back at her, Ruby gazed at him—just him. She lay on her back, spreading her legs widely, her body inviting him. She wasn’t looking at Isser. The gesture was only for him, and Sol’s heart soared.
“I want her too, Brother. Her virginity will make this even harder for us to prevent a mating. The nature of our wolf is to claim a woman who trusts us to be her first. We will let her choose who does the claiming, but we will both have her.” Isser’s thoughts were steady, but Sol sensed the man’s desperation. He wanted to be first just as badly as Sol did.
“Do you want us both?” Sol muttered timidly.
She nodded. There was innocence in her expression, and the absence of resistance suddenly struck him. He saw her accept him—them. A strange need to protect her overflowed in his heart. He’d never cared so much about a woman. This one he barely knew. She shouldn’t mean any more than his port women should, but in some inexplicable way, she was the most important woman in the universe when he gazed into her face.
She grabbed Isser’s hand and put it back on her pussy. The new sensation of possessiveness made her clear preference for Isser all the more cutting as Sol scrutinized her movement.
“I want to taste you. May I?” Sol asked.
She appeared confused.
“I want to put my mouth where his hand is,” Sol said. Isser pulled his hand back, and Sol gave her clit a quick pinch. She bucked. He glanced at her face. Ruby gazed at him with a mixture of confusion and fear, but she nodded. His earlier flippant bravo disappeared. Humbled, Sol knelt next to the large bench where she lay. Her legs widened just a bit, and he leaned forward. Softly he placed his mouth on her intimate lips, and she cried out. Her ass wiggled just a bit. Isser made calming noises as if he were trying to tame a wild animal. Sol smiled sadly. He had no way to tell which one of them would tame her tiger, but he wanted to be the one she accepted. Every breath twisted his emotions as the primal carnality called to his base desire for a true mate.
“It’s all right, pretty Ruby. He’ll make you feel good,” Isser said.
She moaned and ground her pussy against Sol’s mouth. Her movement was all the permission he needed to let himself enjoy her. He was tender, but he didn’t hold himself back. He drew her clit into his mouth and sucked her hard. She screamed. He didn’t relent. Lapping at her labia, he moved to flick her clit again. Ruby made unintelligible utterances. He plunged his tongue inside her and then wiggled it in and out, fucking her. She grasped his hair and pulled him closer.
“Please!” she cried. Her simple plea resounded in the small space. Confusion saturated her tone. Sol knew she was calling for cock without realizing what she really needed.
Sol moved back to her clit. His tongue worked harder as he licked her faster. He applied as much pressure as possible. She whimpered. He reached under her and squeezed her ass cheeks gently while pushing her harder against his mouth. He put all his passion into devouring her. He tasted the salty-sweet flavor as she gushed. Ruby cried out, and he knew she’d come for him.
He sat back on his heels and gazed up to notice Isser lying next to her. Her head rested on his left forearm, and with his right hand, Sol stroked her face, breasts, and stomach. His hands roamed her restlessly as he gazed deeply into her eyes. She regarded him with complete adoration. Something dark twisted in Sol’s heart until she peered down at him with a sexy smile. There was tenderness in the way her lips curved. His heart became buoyant. Isser studied him. Isser hadn’t been able to hide his emotions as well as he’d hoped. The blood bond of telepathy was too strong.
“One of us will take you, Ruby. Your heart will want a bond. If you claim one of us as a mate, claim us both. Our pack is accustomed to sharing mates, for security, so we would want to share. Would you accept us both?” Sol said.
Her eyes widened. She stayed so quiet. They didn’t really know her, but lack of a history didn’t matter to Sol. He still wanted her. He would still accept her as his if she was willing. True love would grow between them. Rion, Makis, and Jewel proved a nourished relationship grew into something beautiful.
“I want to cherish you,” Sol said quietly.
When she peeked at him from beneath her long lashes, he saw her fear and curiosity. “I—I need you both,” she gasped. This wasn’t the response they’d hoped for, but it was a start. Ruby made Sol burn inside as he stared at his blood brother.
“Who shall have you first?” Darkness inundated his tone of voice. She had made her preference clear. She wanted Isser. He’d never truly resented his brother until this moment. Sol wanted her. He wanted the joy of having a mate. Tigers weren’t wolves. He had no idea if she would accept two males as her mates.
She moaned, and her back arched. “I ache…please!” Ruby cried out.
Isser glanced over to Sol with concern. “We can’t keep wasting time,” Isser said.
Her legs splayed even wider. He wanted this, but more than the desire to feel her pussy wrapped around his cock, Sol wanted her to want him.
She enjoyed looking at Sol. The expression on her face and the smell of her desire made that very clear. Her glorious eyes widened slightly. The soft pink lips on her face puckered into the softest pouting expression he’d ever witnessed. She was pure desire—the embodiment of sex—and he wanted to enjoy everything she had to offer. “You,” she whispered.
His nostrils flared. The scent filled his lungs. Ruby wanted him. She gazed at him, her eyes soft and dreamy. “Please,” she gasped. The soft plea filled his ears. Each syllable rang as if sweet music. His breathing
sped up. Sweat beaded his chest. His balls ached with a need so great he feared he’d never be able to give her what she needed.
“Oh, I want you to make the burning stop!” she wailed.
He was the one on fire. “Yes,” he muttered as he leaned over her body. Sol fought back the desire to plunge within her heedlessly. This was the most important moment of his life. He knew it. This would define his future. He didn’t want to screw it up. Ruby mattered too much to him. When he gazed into her warm golden-brown eyes, his destiny stretched out in infinite possibilities, and all of them delivered him right here between her beautiful and shapely legs.
He cradled the back of her head in his hands. Only a slight trace of the tiger remained in her face. Even though she wasn’t telepathic, he experienced an echo of her reaction. Her thoughts came to him, as if she were a radio on a low frequency. The message was there, but static obscured bits of what she was trying to tell him. She fought hard to hold on to her humanity.
Sol’s soul cracked, and he knew Ruby filled a place deep in his heart. He hadn’t experienced the emptiness in its entirety until she warmed him. He held her head gently and gazed into her face so he could memorize the way she appeared at this very moment. He wanted to make sure he never forgot the most precious minutes of his life.
“And now we become one,” he said as his cock found her ready entrance. She gasped with surprise as he slipped thrust into her. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but she didn’t cry or scream, instead she stilled and held her breath. “Breathe for me, Ruby,” he whispered as he nuzzled her neck. She took a deep gulp of air, and he thrust. He entered Ruby once and then again before an overpowering urge to mark her consumed him, and his teeth lengthened painfully in his mouth. She closed her eyes. He ignored the sensation. His eyes focused on the woman and nothing else, and then he bit her shoulder.
Ruby snarled, and he ignored the tiger’s anger as he ingested her life force. He bound them together for all time. The warm sense of joy didn’t last long. Realizing what he’d done, he stared grimly at Isser. There was sadness radiating from his blood brother. He’d claimed her as his and only his. He remained joined with her. She murmured, and her hips bucked.
“Bring her joy,” Isser ordered him quietly. The pain in the other wolf’s eyes cut Sol to the quick. He should have resisted the urge, but nature demanded he mark her. He’d done it, and there was no changing how he’d stolen her from his brother.
His cock remained buried deeply in her warmth. She bucked again, and he gasped with the pleasure of her heat. “Fuck yes!” Forgetting his guilt, he began sliding in her pussy again. She responded to him perfectly.
Chapter Four
A kaleidoscope of color exploded behind Ruby’s eyelids as Sol bit her. Her tiger wanted to fight, yet the beast in Ruby instinctively understood the call to join as strongly as she did. The pain from his bite quickly became pleasure, and she lay still under him, waiting. Her body responded to him without her conscious decision. She rocked against him, sliding him deeper. She opened her eyes, and for a moment they just gazed at each other. Then she threw back her head, panting. The beautiful friction brought her over the edge. Her tiny wails of joy echoed in the shuttle. When she came, she came just for him. His expression was filled with wonder. Ruby squeezed her eyes closed and just let her body become mindless sensation. Every single stroke of his cock brought a fresh spasm of pleasure through her core. She had known this day was coming; nonetheless, she hadn’t expected to live through her heat like this—with enjoyment. Fire raced through her veins, igniting lust and passion she’d never imagined possible. These men were so different. One was serious, stern, and sensitive while his brother was fun loving and passionate. She arched her back as Sol drove deeper. The pleasure didn’t ebb. The physical joy continued as the seconds became timeless. Nothing mattered but this man and his cock.
Isser’s fingers played with her nipples. His erection bumped against her arm. He was as large as Sol. The sexual energy radiated, and it made her feral. She reached out and grabbed the other cock. Isser cried out as her fingers gripped him gently. She wanted him inside her too. All they could give her, she would take. Ruby opened her eyes and gazed at Sol. His face twisted into a mask of concentration as he pumped his hips. A keening wail escaped her throat, and her breath hitched. She held the cock in one hand and reached up the free hand to feel the hard shoulder and back of the shifter fucking her. Nothing in her whole experience prepared her for this nirvana of orgasm. Her mind floated disconnectedly as her body indulged in the sinful consummation of mating. She didn’t care about the house of worship and the other cats spending every day of their lives in service there anymore. She would never belong to the goddess. Being in the flesh-and-blood arms of this wolf was so much more satisfying than cold, lonely prayers to the vengeful cat mother.
She became a goddess as she let Sol worship her—and then she hit the pinnacle of the most amazing moment of her life. She squeezed her eyes closed. Sparks danced behind the lids. Her body became nothing but light and sensation, and for a second she lost her grip on reality. She floated on pure pleasure. Then she felt her pussy spasm around his thick cock. Ruby bucked against him. She let go of Isser’s cock and held tightly to Sol as her entire torso jerked off the cot. Shuddering in the wolf’s arms, she screamed with everything she had. Years of restraint crumbled. Convulsing around him, Ruby gave her soul to the wolf as the full onslaught of her orgasm rippled through her body, mind, and spirit.
“Yes!” Ruby wailed as the pleasure tore through her brain.
Sol held her tightly, his arms wrapped around her shoulders, as he released himself inside her. His masculine grunts filled her ears, and he shook as he came. “Ruby!” Sol cried her name. The simple statement of his satisfaction filled her with joy. His sexy deep voice made her shiver, and emotion clogged her throat. Then the strangest echo hit her mind, and for a second she almost believed she’d heard his thoughts. Shaking off the bizarre moment, she loosened her grip on him.
“I am yours,” she whispered in her wolf’s ear. The tiger was still there, but she had a better control. She wasn’t lost. Sol had saved her. The weirdness of his thoughts intruded again, and his satisfaction hit her.
“Am I reading your mind?” she whispered in awe.
“Wolves are telepathic. It’s very possible. Our alpha’s mate is human, and being with him has made her telepathic. Maybe wolves and cats aren’t so different after all?”
“Maybe,” she mumbled as the disturbing revelation spurred her imagination. She’d learned little of anything outside of the temple, and nothing about other shifters.
“We will keep you safe. Do not fear, my sweet mate.” Sol spoke softly.
She pulled back so she could see his face. “What? Are you reading my mind?”
“No, you are shouting you’re worried into my head. I am not even trying. I can hear your fear as clearly as if you spoke. Amazing. Before I couldn’t get anything but the slightest dying echo of your thoughts. Now you are open to me. I was trying very hard. This is wonderful, incredible. I love you!”
“Love? We don’t even know each other.” She might not be educated about the outside world, but she was still a woman, and she understood love needed some sort of foundation besides sex. “You don’t need to lie to me. I want you, Sol. I want you to make me feel like that again.”
“I speak only truth, you foolish woman! I love you.”
Ruby gazed into his eyes. The magnitude of his statement filled her. The telepathic link made it clear he hadn’t lied. Warmth unlike anything she’d ever experienced made her heart thunder. She realized what she was feeling, and it scared her. For the first time in her life, someone cared about her. She’d been raised kindly but never really honestly loved. These men mattered to her so much the knowledge made her ache.
“I love you too. Thank you for saving me from an empty life,” Ruby whispered as she put her hand softly against his face.
Sol held her tightly. “I
have loved you my whole life without ever knowing you. You were meant for me…” His voice cracked and trailed off. He glanced at the other man.
She’d forgotten all about Isser. He sat back against the wall of the shuttle, looking devastated. Her heart raced. Somehow she knew there was something fundamentally and inexplicably broken between the men. Perhaps it was her new connection with Sol, but she could sense her role in the damage. She wanted to fix the rift. Then she listened, hard, and heard. The men were speaking using their minds.
“I am sorry, Brother,” Sol thought, communicating telepathically.
“You did what was natural. I gave you the right. I will accept and forgive, but for the sake of the gods, give me some time. It could have been me. I love you, pup, but she could’ve been mine.” Isser’s broken internal plea tore at her heart. This mind speaking added texture and dimension to every word. It made his pain so much more real and clear. Ruby bit her lip and fought her own tears. The thought had a surreal substance, as if he thought in tears instead of images. Nothing made much sense, but the primal, raw pain touched her without her having to understand how it worked.
She moved to stand, and Sol helped her. She knew the unnatural new connection made clear what she wanted to do. Naked and unashamed she went to Isser and knelt beside him on the floor. She took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her.
“I feel something for you, something that doesn’t make sense. I am not complete. My tiger is trying to take over again. I need you. You have to mate me. Sol needs you to love me. Will you claim me?” Ruby spoke in a low, gentle voice. His pain was almost too much for her to tolerate. Each second she touched him, the churning emotional distress inside him grew louder. Her connection to him wasn’t as strong as it was to Sol, but he was part of her now because he mattered to Sol. He had beautiful eyes. She hadn’t noticed before.
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