by Morgan Fox
He grinned. “Damn, you have such a sexy way of describing things.” He kissed her. “I really like that about you.” He kissed her again. “Now stop that brain of yours from working overtime and get some rest. When I wake up, I expect you ready for round two.”
She smiled and closed her eyes. Before he went to sleep, he kissed her lips gently, and the powerful connection sizzled and jolted inside him. As long as Lance learned his place, things were going to be interesting between them.
Chapter Twelve
Naked, Silence slid from the bed as stealthily as she could, tiptoeing her way to the door, hoping she wouldn’t wake her lycan lover. Gazing back over her shoulder, she took in his serene expression as one that told her he was resting peacefully, perhaps something he hadn’t been fortunate enough to do in quite some time.
Smiling, she retreated from the room in search of something cold to drink. The incredible sex she’d had with Walker had been like running a marathon at hyperspeed. The quality time she’d spent with him had her sore in all the right places. Now, more than anything, she needed something to quench her thirst, and then she wanted to sleep for at least a week. As if Walker would allow that to happen.
His newly discovered abilities had been amazing. The connection of energy they shared as they made love had been like nothing she’d ever experienced. As he touched her, she couldn’t think straight. The overwhelming sensations that flooded through her kept her mind and body so distracted with pleasure there was nothing left to do but enjoy the ride, which she did immensely.
She had the strangest impulse to sing, something she never did. What did that say about her current situation? The situation that had Walker lying naked in her bed, and he would at any moment awaken to make love to her again. She hoped.
Stumbling into the kitchen, she kicked the shoes she’d tripped on out of her way, and reached into the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water. Unscrewing the cap, she drank the contents down fast and then reached back inside and grabbed another bottle.
“Thirsty?” a familiar, deep voice asked.
Startled, she turned around, clutching the cold bottle between her breasts. Breathing hard, she found Lance staring back at her. As if floating on air, he made his way into the kitchen to stand in front of her. His eyes drifted over her body in a slow, appreciative perusal. Clearly, from the growl rolling low in his throat, he liked what he saw.
Heart pounding wildly, she quickly told him, “Walker’s in the bedroom.”
* * * *
Grinning, Lance said, “That’s so sweet, Silence.” He removed his shirt. “You are genuinely concerned for me.” He closed the distance between them, yanking the bottle from her hand. She immediately tried to hide her nudity, but he took her hands and wrapped them around her back, capturing her within the confines of his arms, placing his bare chest against hers. “I didn’t come here to see Walker. I came here to see you.” He looked down her body, her nipples erect and teasing him. Gazing into her soft-blue eyes, his chest ached as he told her, “My God, you are so beautiful.” Instantly, his mouth crushed down upon hers. The strength of his body had increased since he’d last been with her, and he loved the way he was able to possess her with just the touch of his lips. “You taste like heaven.”
He refused to stop touching her and caressing her, and nothing would stop him from kissing her. Desire unlike any he’d ever felt consumed him, knocking away all reserve. He needed her, not just because she was his mate. There was something so incredible about the woman in his arms, and he planned to never let this precious creature go.
Nibbling at her bottom lip, he coaxed her mouth open and plundered his tongue inside. In a heated instant, she was kissing him back with dueling tongues and fevered kisses. Her arms surrounded him, clawing up his body as he held her close. Caressing her smooth hip, he lifted her thigh, wrapping her leg around him. He slowly pulled her up into his arms without breaking their kiss. Her legs surrounded his waist, locking her in place. He cupped her ass in his hands.
He was enthralled by this woman, and there was nothing he could do about it. She was heaven, and he never wanted to be anywhere else. The instinct to have her was always present, but now it had turned into something that almost alarmed him.
Before he even had time to question what that overwhelming sensation may have been, she shook her head to keep his lips from claiming hers. “We can’t do this. I’m in love with Walker.”
He gently gripped her chin, forcing her to stop shaking her head away from him. Holding her bewildered expression, he said, “I’m well aware of that, but you also have feelings for me, and if you just allow yourself to let me in—”
Immediately, she said, “No, I can’t.”
Why the hell not? His patience was running thin. Through clenched teeth, he told her, “It would take very little effort to have you on all fours, Silence.” He watched as her eyes rounded. “I know you want me.”
Suddenly, she was shivering in his arms, but he knew it wasn’t from the cold. It was fear that had her resisting him, fighting every instinct inside her. Thankfully, he’d done a lot of thinking on his way over to her place, and as hard as it was to say, he finally asked, “Why can’t you just have both of us?”
All her actions halted, and even her eyelids didn’t blink. She simply stared up at him in wonder as if to verify she’d heard him right. “Why would you be willing to do something like that?”
He knew she could see the lines of tension around his eyes and mouth. He didn’t like the idea one bit, but if it meant having her in his life, then he’d deal with whatever came their way. “If it means the difference between having you and not…then yes, I’d be willing to work something out.”
She shook her head. “Lance, you’re putting on a brave face for me, but I don’t believe you’d actually share me with Walker, and I don’t know how the three of us can make things work.”
“Silence, I’d be a fool to think I could come between you and Walker. You have a history, and from what I’ve gathered about the two of you, you are in love with each other and have been for a very long time.” He placed his finger under her chin, raising her gaze to meet his. “I’m willing to give you and Walker space, and I’m willing to let you and Walker live a normal life, but you have to make room for me.”
Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand.”
Sighing, he said, “Silence, I can’t stay in Silent Falls, not now anyway. I’ve got too much responsibility with my cattle ranch to just up and throw everything away. I’ve got people at home counting on me. I need your help to tame my beast so I can continue my life, but I also need you, Silence. You’re my mate now, and for whatever reason, you were chosen for me. I want a chance to know you. I want you to get to know me, too. Maybe in time we could even learn to love each other.” He smiled at her. “I don’t think I’m asking too much.”
He was still holding her, cradled against his body as if afraid to let her down. She rested the palms of her hands on his shoulders, pressing back just enough to really look into his eyes. He wasn’t hiding anything from her and doubted he ever could.
“Let me get this straight. You want to date me.”
He nodded with a grin. “Yes, but without the having to wait to sleep with you part.”
She smacked his shoulder playfully. “Stop teasing me, Lance. I’m trying to be serious here.”
“I am, too. Surely, you must know that I’d never give you up fully. There’s no way in hell I’d just hand you over to Walker without a fight, and I’m certainly not going to just walk away from you.” He turned and placed her ass on the counter and cradled himself in between her legs. “I might’ve been raised a gentleman, but I’m also a greedy man who’s very hungry for his girl.”
He cupped her face in his hands and pressed his lips against hers. He was compelled to possess her, and he wasn’t going to wait another moment to have her. The primal roar that screamed for him to take his mate was clawing at his mind. The flesh of his body
felt tight over his bones as he held her in his arms.
Within a few short moments she was kissing him back, her body molding against his. Her hunger seemed to be matching his, and it was about damn time. Tasting her mouth was nothing compared to what he knew sampling her body would be like. His cock hardened at the image of sliding his tongue between her creamy thighs, lapping up the wetness he was sure to find when he feasted upon her pussy.
He spread her legs a little wider, pressing the head of his cock against her slick cunt. He wanted to take her, here and now on the counter, and then he’d take them to the sofa, the floor, the bedroom, and wherever else he could have her.
“Lance, wait,” she gasped, pulling away from his kiss.
He shuddered as he cock slid over her swollen clit. Groaning, he pressed his forehead to hers. “Why do you keep doing this to me? Can’t you see I’m barely hanging on here?”
She gently kissed his forehead. “I have to tell you something,” she said, meeting his gaze. “I learned the reason you were turned and who did it.”
That halted his actions and sparked his curiosity. As much as he wanted to sink his cock into the depths of her hot, wet pussy, he had to hear more about what set him on this path and sent him headfirst into a world he always believed to be fictitious. “Go on.”
She licked her lips. “I had a little run-in with the man, or lycan, that changed you. Verrick Marshall. He only turned you because he was after Walker. He used you to distract me. His plans were for you to keep me and Walker apart.”
He arched a brow. “Well, that worked like a charm,” he said, rolling his eyes in his head. “That doesn’t explain why I wanted you so badly the moment I saw you in the clinic. I didn’t desire your sister the way I clearly wanted you. I’d never felt anything so strong in my life, and I know you felt it, too. Why else would you let me fuck you?”
An exaggerated sigh drew their attention toward the bedroom door. “Because you are both naturally attracted to one another,” Walker said calmly as he strolled from the bedroom. He seemed to be unaffected by his nudity in the presence of another man. “And shit happens.”
“Shit happens?” Lance repeated as a question. Silence stiffened around him, but he wouldn’t let her go, and he certainly wasn’t stepping away just because Walker suddenly appeared.
He was staking his claim, marking his territory, and he wanted everyone to know that she now belonged to him, not just Walker. Lance was not intimidated in the least by his competition, and regardless of the exceedingly high level of testosterone oozing out of the six-foot-four cowboy, and that was even without his damn Stetson on, he wasn’t backing down.
Sliding into the kitchen to stand beside them, Walker stared at them as if preparing to score their performance. “Yes, Lance, shit happens, and right now, watching the two of you is the biggest pile of shit I’ve yet to deal with.”
“Lance, let me off the counter.”
“No,” he growled. “It’s time we have this out, Silence, right here and now.”
“Oh, please don’t fight. My apartment already looks like hell, and I really don’t want to have to pay the deposit on this place.”
“Relax, my dear. I have no intentions of hurting your little Lancey-Poo.” Walker winked at him, and it should’ve pissed him off, but it didn’t. Instead, he just stared back, wondering what the hell Walker’s agenda really was.
Lance could feel that there was something so very different about him now. There was a powerful energy surrounding him, and rather than make him nervous, it had him wanting to get closer to him. Walker had a natural pull, a likeable charm that again was really pissing Lance off. How could he be angry with his nemesis if he couldn’t even get a little annoyed by him?
“What’s different about you? I sense something, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
“He’s a lycan like you and me,” Silence pointed out.
Lance looked at her and then stared back at Walker. Shaking his head, he said, “That’s not it. I felt his wolf the moment I arrived, but there’s something else. What is it?”
“You’re imagining things,” Walker told him.
“Am I?”
Lance did the one thing any man with a naked woman in his arms would do, he started kissing her. He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her into a much deeper kiss. She moaned as he slid his tongue deep into her mouth, and her legs instantly wrapped around him. With Walker standing right there, he intended to fuck her right on the counter. Maybe he could teach the rich guy a few new tricks.
“Stop doing that,” Walker warned with a growl.
Leaving Silence breathless, he paused and licked the seam of her lips. Cocking his head to glance over at Walker, he said, “Then tell me what I want to know, or I’m going back to doing what I was before you rudely interrupted.”
Walker’s body seemed to enlarge right before his eyes, and within a second’s notice, he was chest to chest with him, both growling, preparing to fight. Silence immediately hopped off the counter and wiggled her way in between them. Her hands pressed against their chests. The moment they were joined like that, the power that surged through him was explosive and left him breathless and shocked.
“Please don’t do this,” she begged. Glancing up at Walker, her eyes watered. “You promised me. You said you could handle this.”
“Wait a second.” Lance placed one of his hands over hers and held it more securely to his chest. Eyeing her, he asked, “Did you feel that?”
Silence nodded. “Yes, Lance. We all felt that. It’s what happens when Walker touches me.”
He stared at Walker, whose fists were still balled at his sides. “That energy came from you?”
As Lance watched Walker closely, he saw the taller man’s jaw tick, the muscles shifting as if he were grinding his teeth together. His eyes suddenly darted to meet Silence’s. For a long, drawn-out moment, nothing was said between them, and then he answered him.
“It would seem that I’m a little more than a lycan.”
With an arched brow, Lance snickered. “No shit,” he said, still holding Silence’s hand against his chest, the addictive power still charging through him.
The expression on Walker’s face couldn’t have been more serious as he said, “I’m a witch.”
Both of Lance’s eyebrows sprung up in complete surprise. As if the billionaire boy toy didn’t have enough going for him, now he could add witch to his list of accomplishments. He had to admit that was not exactly the explanation he thought he was going to hear. Holy shit, Walker’s a witch and a lycan. How in the hell am I supposed to compete with that?
“You’re not kidding, are you?”
“No, Lance, he’s not kidding.”
Lance took a step back and leaned against the far countertop. He ran his fingers through his hair, gripping hold as if trying to keep his head from exploding. His mind was a whirlwind of questions. What was he supposed to do with that bit of information? How was he supposed to digest that Walker was a witch when he was still making heads or tails of being a lycan himself? This world was flipping around faster than a bucking bronco.
* * * *
Silence stepped in front of him, taking both his hands in hers. “I know this has all been quite a shock to you, but I honestly believe everything will be okay. I’ll help you to tame your beast, and we’ll work something out between us. Walker’s powers are just another little adjustment in our lives.”
“A little adjustment?” he said with a gasp. “Are you sure you even want me? It seems Mr. Perfect truly has everything going for him. He may just cast a spell on you to strip me from your thoughts.”
“If I could, I would’ve already,” Walker said, folding his arms over his chest. Silence glared at him, and he put his hands up. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I’d prefer not to have to share you, but”—his gaze drifted over the two of them as they stood holding hands—“I get that you need him, too.”
Lance instantly cupped her cheek. His so
ft-blue eyes sparkled as he looked at her. His lips curved into a wicked grin. He slyly said, “So you do need me?”
She slugged him in the gut and stormed out of the kitchen, yelling, “You two are driving me insane!”
They were driving her crazy, emotionally and physically. She couldn’t seem to make heads or tails out of anything. Her heart wanted one thing, and her body wanted another. Nothing seemed to be easy. What were they going to do?
“Good going, jackass,” Walker said, nudging Lance’s shoulder as he trailed after her.
“I’m the jackass? What the hell do you think you are?” Lance said as he, too, made his way after her.
She faced them, her hands up to keep them both at arm’s length. “Gentlemen, please stop. I really don’t want to have to ask you both to leave.”
“You could try,” Walker said in a powerfully deep voice, a voice so primal it made her skin prickle as if his fingers were slowly tracing over the flesh of her body.
Her eyes widened. “Stop using magic on me, Walker,” she growled.
“Stop making me.”
She reached for the throw blanket on her sofa and attempted to wrap it around her, but before she could, the material was stripped from her hands and tossed back into the same position it had been before she tried to pick it up.
Walker teased, “You don’t need to cover up that beautiful body, Silence. I like how comfortable you are standing naked in front of us.” He stepped closer to her, and she immediately felt warm all over.
“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.
“I’m going to show you that I’m all right with Lance being with you as long as I am with you, too.”
She shook her head. “You can’t mean that.”
“Why can’t I? I think it might be kind of fun to see how we can pleasure you together. How each of us can make you come.”
Walker glanced over his shoulder to Lance, who then took a moment to remove the rest of his clothing.