by Becca Van
“Yes it is.” Chase kissed Sara on the forehead as he cuddled with her. “Go start a bath for her. I want her to be comfortable so she sleeps through the night.”
Tony nodded and then headed into the bathroom. He couldn’t wipe the smile from his face. He could feel Sara inside his heart, soul and mind and his wolf was finally calm and content. He wouldn’t have to worry about being so angry all the time or watch what he said to any other pack member. She was the love of his life and he would do anything and everything he could to make and keep her happy.
But for some reason he wouldn’t feel completely satisfied until he and his brother had their mate in their home and on pack land.
* * * *
Sara sighed and smiled as she awoke. She was sitting on Tony’s lap in her small bath, and when she opened her eyes she saw Chase kneeling on the floor, and he was washing her.
“Hey, sugar, how are you feeling?” Chase asked.
“Wonderful.” The word had come out almost like a purr and she couldn’t help but giggle. That surprised her, because she was so serious all the time and never giggled. These two men made her feel so much and she knew it would take a while to accept this light-hearted side of her personality. She’d lived with so much responsibility, having to take care of Mel and working to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. She realized she hadn’t taken any time out for so long to just step back and smell the roses.
Now that Tony and Chase had claimed her she felt happy and content for the first time in forever. She actually felt as if she was connected to them by an invisible string, and although she loved that feeling of love, peace, and contentment, she was worried what would happen to her if the connection was severed somehow.
Stop that, you ninny. You’ve never been a pessimist before.
“Are you sore, baby?”
Tony’s voice rumbled from his chest and against her back and she couldn’t help the shiver that ripped up her spine, making her shudder with awareness. She loved the sound of both of their voices and the way it made her pussy weep with desire.
“I’m not sore. Just a little…tender.”
“Let me help you out, sugar.” Chase held his hand out toward her and she grasped it. “I don’t want you getting cold.”
She sighed with contentment and let Chase help her from the bath. He wouldn’t even let her dry herself. When she reached for the towel he pulled it away and then started blotting the moisture from her skin.
She yawned and even though she covered her mouth with her hand, she wasn’t fast enough. Chase frowned at her as he finished drying her off.
“You’re tired. We need to get you into bed so you can sleep.”
“I’m fine.”
Tony stepped out of the bath, grabbed a clean towel from the shelf and began drying off. “Don’t argue, baby. You need your rest. You have to go into work tomorrow.”
Sara sighed with resignation. The only reason she let them boss her around was because she was tired and she did have a busy day tomorrow.
The hair on the back of her neck stood on end when she remembered she would be working with Spicer in the afternoon. She didn’t like him at all. He gave her the willies but she couldn’t have said why.
Maybe it was because she had already met Chase and Tony and the thought of being with another man was repugnant enough to make her feel nauseous. It didn’t really matter what she thought of him though. As long as she did her work as a professional he would have nothing to complain about.
She was a little trepidatious about handing in her notice and trying to finish a week earlier than she should, but Barry was a great guy and hopefully he wouldn’t kick up a stink about her short resignation.
Sara was drawn from her introspection when Chase scooped her up in his arms and carried her toward the bed. He placed her in the middle of her double mattress and then he and Tony climbed in on either side of her. They shifted around, trying to get comfortable in her smaller bed, and she couldn’t help but laugh when she looked down the length of the mattress and saw that both their feet were hanging over the edge. At least her quilt was long enough to cover their feet, if only just.
“Think that’s funny, do you?” Chase grinned at her and then kissed her softly on the lips. “Roll onto your side, sugar. We both need to cuddle with you.”
“Yes, we do,” Tony said.
As she rolled onto her side he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close in against his body. Her head ended up resting in the crook of his shoulder and neck, and Chase scooted in closer to her, slung an arm around her waist, and spooned her from behind. The heat emanating from them seeped into her muscles and she began to relax straight away. She yawned and closed her eyes, feeling comfortable, cherished, and loved, and let sleep claim her.
Sara woke the next morning surrounded by heat. She snuggled into the arm her head was resting on as she slowly opened her eyes and blinked the sleep haze from her vision. She was disappointed to see that Tony was no longer in bed with her, but Chase was behind her and he was curled around her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She was so content and comfortable she didn’t want to get out of bed. It was a great way to wake up, being held by a man. She’d never experienced that before and knew she would love being held in his and Tony’s arms for the rest of her life.
When she inhaled she smelled Chase’s pine and musky scent, but she also smelt food cooking, and her stomach started to rumble as saliva pooled in her mouth. She didn’t usually wake up hungry. Sara was one of those people who didn’t want to eat until around mid-morning. All she needed to start her day was coffee and more coffee. Maybe the activity last night had given her an appetite.
“Morning, sugar.” Chase nuzzled the side of her neck with his nose and then kissed it.
“Morning.” She turned her head and kissed the arm it was resting on.
“How do you feel?”
“Good. Is Tony cooking?”
“Yeah. We thought you’d wake up hungry and we wanted to make sure you ate right before heading off to work.”
“That’s so sweet. Thank you.” Sara shifted and rolled over onto her back so she could see him.
“We need to take care of you, sugar.” Chase was leaning with his head on his hand and he was smiling down at her.
He looked so damn sexy with his hair sticking up every which way, and that damn smile made him look so handsome. She reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand and caressed her fingertips over his morning stubble.
Chase leaned down and kissed her softly, but before she could deepen the kiss he withdrew again. “As much as I would love to ravage you right now, we don’t have time.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose and then sat up.
“What time is it?”
“Seven-thirty.”
“What?” Sara screeched as she flung the covers aside and raced toward the bathroom, but she paused in the doorway and looked back at him over her shoulder. “What happened to my alarm?”
“We turned it off. You needed more rest, Sara, but don’t worry, we’ll get you to work on time.”
Sara frowned at him. “We’ll talk about this later.” She hurried into the bathroom to get ready for her day.
Fifteen minutes later she was dressed and sitting at the kitchen table drinking her first cup of coffee while Tony and Chase brought the bacon, eggs, and toast to the table.
“Thank you for making me breakfast and letting me sleep in, but I don’t like how you guys just decided to turn off my alarm. You can’t be doing things like that, making decisions for me without my input.”
“Baby, we were pretty demanding on you last night. We knew you’d be tired,” Tony said.
Sara glared at them both. “I’m not a damn child.”
“No, you’re not.” Chase frowned at her. “There’s nothing to be upset about, sugar. We’ll drive you to work in plenty of time.”
Sara started eating, and after chewing and swallowing she spoke again. “I
understand that, and I appreciate that you’re trying to look after me. But what if I’d had an early meeting and because you two decided to turn my alarm off I missed it or was late for it? You can’t be doing things like that.”
Chase sighed and Tony nodded his head.
“You’re right.” Chase glanced at Tony before meeting her gaze again. “We’re sorry, sugar. From now on we won’t tamper with your alarm.”
“Thank you.” Sara smiled at them. “And thank you for breakfast.”
“You’re welcome, baby.”
“What are you two going to do today? Do you have to go back home?” Sara’s stomach began to knot up with anxiety. She didn’t want them leaving, not now that they were mated. It was bad enough not having them in her life before she accepted being with them. She didn’t think she could deal with each day if they had to leave her.
“We’re going to start packing up your apartment,” Chase said. “The more work we do the less you’ll have to do.”
“What do you want done with your furniture, baby?” Tony asked.
“Do you have any room for it in your place?” Sara asked as she tried to remember what furniture they already had.
“We have a large storage shed on the property,” Chase said. “You can have whatever you want in our cabin. We’ll move some of our stuff out to make room.”
“Oh but…” she began only to be cut off when Tony started talking.
“None our stuff has sentimental value to us, baby,” Tony said. “It all came out of that storage shed.”
“You don’t have any of your parent’s things?” Sara asked.
“No,” Chase answered. “Our parents died when we were kids. Their cabin caught fire and because they were so far away from all the other dwellings and the main house, none of the pack members smelled the smoke until it was too late.”
“I’m so sorry.” Sara reached out and covered one of the hands with her own.
“Thank you, baby.” Tony squeezed her hand.
“Thanks, sugar.” Chase brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.
“How old were you when they died?”
“I was five and Chase was seven,” Tony replied.
“How did you survive?”
“We were on a sleepover with Lucien, Rafe, and Gabe,” Chase answered.
“Thank God. You could have died, too, otherwise,” Sara said. “So who raised you?”
“Lucien, Gabe and Rafe’s parents took us in. They treated us like we were their kids, too.”
“Do they live on pack land?”
“No. They’ve retired in California, but they come back home about twice a year to visit,” Tony explained.
“That’s nice.”
They finished eating, and when she started to help clear up they refused and sent her to finish getting ready. When she came back out, they were both waiting for her.
“Are you ready to go, baby?” Tony asked.
“Yes.”
Sara loved sitting between them in their truck as they drove her to work. When they pulled into the parking lot and helped her out, she didn’t want to leave them, but she knew it was only for the day and they would be back to pick her up when she’d finished work.
She handed her apartment keys over and then reached up to give Chase a chaste kiss. She should have known that a light meeting of lips wouldn’t be enough. The kiss deepened and turned passionate, until she remembered that anyone could see them since they were out in the open. She sighed into his mouth and pulled away reluctantly and then turned to Tony. He snagged an arm around her waist and slanted his mouth over hers again and again. When he withdrew they were both breathless. She glanced around and was relieved when she didn’t see anyone watching them.
“What time do you finish, sugar?”
“I should be done by five, but I’m meeting with a new client this afternoon and may run overtime. I’ll text or call you when I’m ready to be picked up.”
“Okay,” Chase said.
Sara turned and started walking away, but stopped before she got too far and looked back at them over her shoulder. “I’ll miss you.”
“We’ll miss you, too,” Chase and Tony said at the same time.
After one last lingering look at their handsome faces and sexy bodies, Sara went to work.
The morning flew by and she barely had time for lunch before she was due to meet with Spicer Owens at the paper. Since it was only a couple of blocks away and it was a nice day, Sara decided to walk to the newspaper office instead of getting a cab. As she walked she tried to work out why she disliked Spicer so much. The looks he’d given he had been lascivious and made her feel uncomfortable, but she’d been looked at like that before, and although she hadn’t liked those looks, she’d ignored them. There was something about that man that unsettled her big time. It was like she could see and feel evil rolling off of him in waves. Maybe, hopefully, if she kept everything on a professional level, he would, too.
When she arrived at the paper, she took a deep breath, pushed all her misgivings away, and walked up the steps. She told the receptionist Spicer expected her and looked around the foyer as she waited for him.
Sara was pleasantly surprised that Spicer had everything she’d asked for and that he treated her like any other colleague. By the end of the day she began to think that maybe she’d been a little bit harsh where he was concerned, and put it down to needing her mates at her side, and the repugnance of being near another man who was attracted to her after she’d met the men meant for her.
As she walked back to her office building, she sent Tony and Chase a text asking them to give her another hour to finish up. She would probably be the only one left in the office building except for security at the front desk downstairs, since everyone was leaving as she got back from her meeting with Spicer, but since she’d given Barry a week’s notice that morning, and to her relief he had accepted it without a quibble, she needed to get everything set up for whoever was going to take over from her.
It was easier to work in the silence. Often she heard other people talking and laughing outside her office door and it could be very distracting at times.
Sara was finished twenty minutes earlier than expected and decided it would be better to wait downstairs for her men. She shut down her computer, gathered her things, and headed outside. The sun was low in the sky as she came out of the building, and after sitting down for so long she decided a short walk would help work the kinks out.
She’d just reached the corner of the building and alleyway which put her out of sight of the office and the security guard, and as she stepped off the curb, the hair on her nape stood on end. After turning in a slow circle to see if anyone was watching her she sighed in relief and chuckled softly. There was no one around. But then she heard what sounded like a dog whimpering in pain in the dark shadowed alley. She peered in at the dark void but since the sun was now gone and there were no lights down there she couldn’t see anything. She was about to turn away and walk back to the front of the office and wait for her men, but she heard another whimper.
Sara couldn’t leave if there was an animal hiding in there hurt. She hated to see anything suffer unnecessarily and she began to wonder if it was a dog. It could have been struck by a car and hidden away while it was vulnerable and in pain.
She slowly walked into the alley after a glance at her watch. Chase and Tony should be arriving any minute. They would be able to help her get the animal into the back of their truck and to a vet if it was injured. The further she walked the more uptight she became, but she could see yellowy eyes watching her as she drew closer. When she was only a few feet away she got really scared and started backing away. It wasn’t an animal that had been making those whimpering sounds. It was a man. He was crouched down low to the ground and as she stepped back, keeping her eyes on him, he rose to his feet and began stalking her.
Sara turned to run but she’d taken no more than a few steps when she was grabbed from behind. A
large muscular arm wrapped around her shoulders, pinning them to her sides, and a big hand covered her mouth and nose. She struggled against his hold, kicking back with her feet, but he was too close to do any damage. He grunted when her heel connected with his shin but he didn’t release her. She dug the nails of one hand into his arm, but he had a jacket on and she didn’t think he even felt it. When he started talking to her she froze and got really scared.
“No one refuses me. You should have accepted the dinner invitation instead of turning me down, you little bitch.”
She knew that voice. Sara had spent the afternoon working with this man. He’d been so calm and businesslike, he’d given her a false sense of security. Sara should have stuck with her first instincts and not let her guard down. But then she remembered her men were coming for her. Surely they would be here soon and help save her. As far as she knew there was no way for him to drag her from the alley except the way she’d come in. She relaxed a little and prayed that her men would get to her before this bastard could hurt her.
Spicer started pulling her deeper into the alley, and although she tried to resist he was much bigger and stronger than she was. No matter how hard she wriggled and tried to impede him it didn’t seem to have any effect. And then she was being dragged through a door and it slammed shut behind them. Sara looked around and gasped when she saw two more men standing a few feet away. They were in an underground car park.
He released her and Sara backed away until she bumped into the door he had pulled her through. As she stood staring at Spicer and his two cronies she reached behind her for the door handle and nearly cried with frustration when it didn’t turn. Spicer must have locked it when they came through.
And that was when she noticed that Spicer’s eyes were a glowing gold color. Her heart stuttered and her stomach roiled with fear. Spicer was a werewolf and so were the other two men. Sara was so scared. She didn’t know what to do. She had to get out of here but she wouldn’t stand a chance escaping from three werewolves.