“I don't know what to do. Part of me just wants to say all or nothing. Pick.” Zach laughed. “Might be the best way.”
“An ultimatum? Even if he gave in, he'd never forgive me.”
“This kind of ultimatum?” She swiveled to see Jonas standing in the doorway, her backpack held up in his hand. “Going somewhere, darlin'?” Jonas watched her swallow, the motion as exaggerated as her fear. Good. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this fucking pissed. Bad enough she'd packed to leave him, but to find her with another man? Even knowing Zach was totally committed to Liza didn't soothe the sting of that betrayal. She'd gone to another person, another man for advice? He felt fur under his flesh. Claws poking through his skin.
She stood and faced him, gingerly took one step forward. He clenched his fists and felt skin break. She should be running like hell. He was losing control. But she kept coming closer. Her hand lifted to rest on the side of his face.
“I'm not afraid of you,” she whispered.
“You should be.”
She trembled and nodded her head. “Yeah. Probably.”
He wrapped an arm around her back and pulled her close, glaring at Zach over her head. “Interfering again?”
Zach gave him a hard look. “I'm taking care of a member of the pack. You'd do the same.”
That got through to him as nothing else would have. Protecting, caring for the needs of others was in his makeup. It was the emotional shit he had problems with.
Not being able to deal with that was going to cost him both Mick and Harper if he weren't careful. The only reason it hadn't cost him Mick yet was the man was stubborn as hell. But it wasn't fair to either of them, and Jonas knew it.
With a nod at Zach, he led her outside, taking her hand as he urged her down the porch steps. “Where were you going to run to?” She glanced over at him, but he couldn't read her expression. “I wasn't running exactly. I thought I'd take a few days in town. Think things over.” Right. She was running. He couldn't, wouldn't let her do that. “Look. I know I'm hard to live with.”
His confession startled a laugh out of her. “Ya think?” He scowled down at her. “I'm trying to be honest here in a way that is totally alien to me, okay?”
“Okay.”
She answered simply, calmly, not asking or pushing for more. Unfortunately, she sounded more resigned than anything, and that scared the hell out of him. He panicked. He couldn't lose her now. And not just her. Mick would go with her. He would lose them both.
He waited until they were on the path, out of sight from the house, and pulled her to a stop. But he had no idea what to say. No idea how to make this better.
“What?” She lifted her hand to his face again, her expression softening a little.
He kept his arms at his sides. If he touched her, there would be no going back.
“I can't…” How did he bare his soul? “I can't lose you. Or Mick.”
He thought he could see her heart in her eyes. Just for a second. Just long enough to pierce his soul before she shut down. “You'll lose us both.” She spoke nothing but the truth, and he knew it. “Give me time?” Her nod was reluctant, but she fell into step beside him, quiet until they took a turn she didn't expect. “Where are we going?”
“My house. It's bigger than yours or Mick's, and we have a guest.”
“Who?” She swung to a stop, and he heard the sudden pounding of her heart.
The sudden surge of suspicion and fear.
“Your brother. Do I need to worry about that, Harper? Is he dangerous?” He didn't think so, but her reaction was so extreme he had to ask.
She took a deep breath, her scent immediately changing to one of relief. She'd been afraid it was someone else, probably her father. He was disappointed. And insulted. But he couldn't blame her, could he? She was used to betrayal from the one person who should have loved her more than anything else, and she hadn't been with Redhawke long enough, with him and Mick long enough, to fully accept they were nothing like that. Simple logic that made sense, but it still hurt.
“There is no way I'd bring your father here or hand you over to him,” he said coldly.
She shrugged and started walking again. “I really want to believe that, Jonas.
But you aren't exactly forthcoming, you know.” They continued in silence. She seemed calm, but he stewed. It was an odd reversal. He wasn't used to feeling off balance, and he didn't like it one bit. He reclaimed her hand, which calmed his wolf, so he refused to let her go when she tugged.
“You mean everything to me. You and Mick. The three of us—we're meant to be together. You know it.”
There was a break in the trees, and he saw his backyard. She pulled him to a stop at the tree line.
“Maybe we are. I won't pretend that I can handle this. But I'll try. I want to try, Jonas, if you don't cut me out. I can't take that. Don't treat me like I'm a kid who can't handle reality.”
“And if I think you've dealt with enough evil in your life?” She smiled. “I came through it, didn't I? There isn't any avoiding it.”
“Don't ask me to pretend your life has been normal, Harper. I can't do it.” She sighed. “It's not like I'm bitching and moaning and whining about it, you know? If I can move on from it, why are you dwelling on it?” He pulled her to a stop at the picnic table, set her on the edge, and moved between her legs. She spread them to make a space for him, sliding her hands up his chest, and he felt his heart crack open a bit.
“Why?” he ruminated about it while he traced the freckles across her nose.
“You're mine. It pisses me off to know I couldn't keep you safe.”
“You didn't even know me,” she said softly, her voice soothing.
He shrugged. “Doesn't really matter, darlin'. It's how I feel.” He couldn't resist touching her anymore, and his hands slid up under that stupid turtleneck. Palms flat, fingers splayed as his hands slowly crept up. With each inch her eyes changed, growing hazy with lust. Her breath hitched when he finally reached her breasts and firmly palmed their weight.
“My brother…” she let the thought trail off.
“Sent him off with a pack member. He's getting the grand tour.” He nibbled her neck while pushing the top of her bra down to stroke her nipples. “Then dinner.
We won't see him for a while.”
He lifted her shirt and stared at the tantalizing flesh he'd left bared. Her skin pimpled in the cool air, her nipples growing into hard points that begged to be sucked. He leaned over and pulled one into his mouth, supporting her with one hand on her back.
He heard Mick approach, his scent heavy and aroused, his cock bulging in his jeans when Jonas looked down the length of the table to meet his gaze.
“We should take this inside,” Mick said.
“Mmmm.” He moaned before releasing her nipple with a pop. “Yes.” He swung her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, smiling at her startled giggle. And then she grabbed his ass. The little minx.
“I can walk.”
Her voice was husky, teasing, and very satisfied. He didn't let her down until he'd run up the stairs in the house and walked down the long hall to the bedroom.
There he dropped her on the bed. Laughing, she crawled to the edge and hopped down, giving him the sultriest look he'd ever seen. Oh shit, I’m in trouble.
He stood stock-still, afraid to move as she circled him, trailing one hand on his chest as she walked around his body. When she stopped in front of him, she tugged the hem of his shirt and glared until he cooperated, pulled it off, and tossed it aside.
Then she slid forward, her hands flat on his belly, and licked his nipple. Scraped her teeth over it. He lifted his hands to grab her, and she jumped back.
“No,” she said firmly. “It's my turn.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she pulled off her boots and socks, followed by the shirt. Her jeans. Until she was left only in bra and underwear. He remained rooted in place, gaze clashing with Mick's where he leaned lazily a
gainst the back wall. Mick, who didn't look at all surprised by the new brazenness of their mate.
Had they planned this? The demand for that answer was on the tip of his tongue, but suddenly she was in front of him again. Touching him. Exploring. The look on her face was so rapt he was afraid to breathe.
“I've always wondered,” she said in a breathy wisp of air, kissing her way down his body, “what a man's cock tastes like.”
She dropped to her knees. Then she unsnapped the button on his jeans and rested her fingers on his zipper. She looked up at him through thick eyelashes, gaze a little uncertain, but a lot turned on. Asking for permission. It was damned hard not to order her to unzip him, not to insist she take him in her mouth. It was the heat between them bringing her to this point. He couldn't believe she was really ready for it. His claws pierced his palms, and he forced them to retract.
“You don't have to, Harper,” he managed to croak out.
“But if I want to?” Her fingers gave a little tug. The zipper gave half an inch.
“If I belong to you, then don't you belong to me?” She tugged the zipper a bit, exposing the swollen head of his cock. She leaned forward and gave it a long lick.
“Yes,” he hissed.
Instead of taking him in her mouth, she looked up again. “Yes, you want in my mouth? Or yes, you belong to me too?”
She was killing him. She wanted to talk about the nature of mating now?
“Both,” he ground out between clenched teeth. And if it wasn't soon, he'd throttle her for teasing him later.
But she gave him that sultry smile again, carefully unzipped him the rest of the way, and with her hands starting on his hip bones, slowly pushed his jeans down. They caught at his knees, and as much as he wanted to kick them free, there was no fucking way he was moving.
Okay, Harper. Now what?
She had no idea what had come over her, but she liked it. She liked it a lot.
She especially liked looking up and seeing that bewildered, wild, and barely controlled look on Jonas's face. Everything going according to plan.
She'd realized on the walk to his house that the problem with Jonas was control. He had too much of it, and he used it to hide his emotions. Control saved him from having to tell Mick how much he loved him. Saved him from telling her…
She wasn't sure what yet. The only way to really get through to Jonas was to make him lose control. She just hoped she could handle what she unleashed if she succeeded.
One thing she was certain of, though. She wasn't going back to her old life.
Sterile and cold and full of people who silently hated each other. No way. And she wasn't going to let Jonas create some little microcosm of it to house her in here either.
Decision made, she gripped his hips, then leaned forward to place her tongue at the bottom of his erection and licked up. He tasted masculine and salty. He tasted of the wildness of the forest. She licked again, slower this time, exploring the ridges of hard flesh, searching out and tasting bulging veins. His hands tightened on her nape, urging her up, toward the head.
She followed his lead, and he moved his hands to grip her shoulders. Her tongue followed. First licking around the head, then dragging over the slit, taking in a tiny drop of precum as she did. He jerked when she took the head of his cock into her mouth and sucked.
“Gods, Harper. Like that.”
She let her lips slide lower, taking his shaft into her mouth before slowly withdrawing, sucking as she moved, rolling her tongue under the skin just below the head of his cock. He groaned when she took him back in, this time about half his length.
Her hands rested on his thighs, and she repeated the action, again and again.
His muscles trembled, but he didn't move. Didn't thrust into her mouth. Didn't fist her hair. He was still too much in control.
She might not have any experience, but she'd read. A lot. She wanted to please him, to break his hold over himself. She slid one hand around to cup his balls.
Squeezed and kneaded a bit harder when he rewarded her with a raw groan. She bobbed her head faster on his cock.
And finally his control began to slip. Both hands fisted in her hair and his hips began to subtly thrust to meet her. But she wanted more. So much more. She took him deeper. Allowing her teeth to barely scrape the sensitive skin.
His fingers moved to grip her head, to guide her faster, and she hummed with the exquisite feeling of satisfaction. She dug her nails in his ass when he tried to slow the pace, the depth of his strokes, and to pull away, and with a growl that infamous control finally snapped.
He fucked her mouth. Hard. Fast. The head of his cock hitting the back of her throat. Until finally he was coming, roaring in the still air, cum shooting down her throat as he held her in place to take it all. With a great shudder his grip loosened, but he stood rigidly as she let his flaccid cock slip from her mouth. She licked him, cleaning the last of his cum away, loving the way his cock jerked at her touch even though he'd just come. Loving his taste. Loving the way she'd made him lose control.
When she looked up, he wore a stunned expression she couldn't help but smile at. He pulled her to her feet, but it was the growl behind her that made her gasp.
Mick pushed against her so she was sandwiched between them. Two hard bodies crowding her close, the one behind her fully aroused. She moaned, excitement surging through her, every pore feeling electrically alive.
Jonas took her mouth while Mick's cock pressed against her lower back. He bit into her nape while his hands slid to her front, claiming her nipples in pinches that were just on the right side of pain. Jonas worked his hand down her body, pushed two fingers into her pussy with no warning, making her arch into him and break his kiss with a cry.
She was wet. Hot. Wanting. There was no way to conceal it, and she didn't try.
She just wanted them. Both of them together, at once, she realized with a jolt and pushed back, grinding her ass against Mick.
“Oh, sugar,” he muttered. “Trust me, we'll get to that soon enough.” His fingers tightened on her nipples as he kissed his way across her shoulders.
“Not soon enough,” she complained.
A fire was building in her, so hot it threatened to wipe her away. Jonas removed his fingers, tracking slowly to her rear entrance, and she froze, held her breath as anticipation swept her away. He pushed one finger coated with her juices gently against her opening, rimmed it. He didn't satisfy the need until she made a sound almost like a growl and pushed against him.
He pushed one finger knuckle deep, and it startled her so much her eyes snapped open. When had she shut them? She didn't remember. He watched her, his gaze hooded and hungry and intense. Then he worked his finger in higher, added a second, and she felt the first resistance of her body.
“You are so tight, darlin',” he whispered, leaning in for a quick kiss. “You have to relax.”
She nodded—she couldn't speak if her life depended on it—and concentrated on relaxing her muscles, on accepting him. She wanted them both. She wanted them like this.
Jonas smiled and praised her, his fingers slipping farther into her rear entrance. “Just like that.”
Mick moved one hand down her body, and dipped his fingers into her pussy just enough to pull out her cream before rolling over her clit. Just like that she came, a tidal force of pleasure consuming her completely, and she didn't notice they'd moved. Didn't notice until she blinked and found herself braced on her hands, leaning over the bed with Jonas behind her.
His hands stroked her back, her flanks, dipping in every now and then to rub against her asshole. Groaning, she moved against him. Silently demanding until he chuckled, until he gave her one finger and held her still. She quivered with pent-up need.
“Darlin', I don't think you've done this before.” She gasped when he gave her a slow back-and-forward thrust. “No.”
“Hmm,” he hummed.
She heard a squeaking sound. Then he worked a second finger in, easier t
han before. Lubricant. His fingers worked her, scissoring a bit. Stretching her, she realized. She held her breath, desire building, but then he withdrew, and there was more of that squeaking sound.
He sat beside her, totally back in control. His face was calm, his eyes hot but not demanding. She sensed Mick behind her, tried to turn to look, but Jonas leaned in and took her lips. Mick's hand pressed against her lower back, pushing her till she broke the kiss and her upper body rested on the bed.
Jonas urged her knees apart, and Mick pressed something hard and cold and slick against her ass. Her eyes jerked up to meet his. That was not Mick's cock pressing against her, into her. Jonas smiled.
“Relax. It'll hurt more if you don't. Or we can try another time?” Jonas made the offer, but there was something in his gaze that suggested this was a test. She bit her lip and shook her head. Then there was more invasion, enough to wring a gasp from her and a panicked look. “It's an anal plug, darlin'. You can't take either one of us yet. You need to be…stretched.”
When he put it like that, did she really want to do this? Hell yes. She expected it to hurt at first. But she knew they wanted her to feel pleasure so if it was only pain, they wouldn't do it, would they? She nodded, somehow forced her muscles to go lax.
“Do it,” she whispered.
Mick didn't wait for another invitation. He pushed in, fast and sure, wringing a gasp of pain from her when it pushed past the ring of muscle unaccustomed to such invasion. But then it was in place, and the discomfort faded. Hands gently laid her on the bed on her side, and Mick laid down next to her, propped up on one elbow.
“Better?”
She couldn't answer. Could only nod, because the plug started to vibrate.
Smiling, he pushed her to her back and leaned over her. She was so focused on the wicked intent stamped on his face, she didn't notice Jonas on her other side until he leaned down and sucked on her nipple.
It started easy and gentle, but in seconds his teeth clamped down hard. She lifted her hand to twist in his hair, holding him close. Gods, who knew a little pain could be so good? Her back bowed to give him access, silently begging for more. She squeezed her eyes shut until she felt the same sensation on the opposite breast, this time from fingers instead of teeth. Mick leaned into her slowly to kiss her, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
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