Almost time.
But the minutes stretched on and on until the wolf that was sometimes Jonas thought Dane's vision must have been wrong. The wolf grew restless, then agitated when suddenly the forest around it felt wrong. Too quiet. Too still. There was a yelp—Ethan's—that was cut off too quickly to indicate anything other than unconsciousness or death.
Teeth bared, he crept forward from his place hidden in the trees, sharp wolf's eyes quartering the open space. Watching and waiting for the wizard to reveal himself. The only movement was from Zach, who crouched in bushes close to the house.
Sensing something approach from his left, he froze. His muscles coiled tight, ready to spring at any attack or threat. Careful to keep the movement small and natural, unnoticed, he swung his head in that direction, keeping his eyelids narrowed to tiny slits to avoid giving his location away. The glow of a werewolf's eyes couldn't be mistaken for anything else.
He saw nothing but a blackness where there should have been trees, and barely restrained his triumphant howl. The wizard was cloaking himself, or trying to, but he couldn't hide from Jonas. Couldn't hide from justice.
The wolf edged closer, still careful, but moving faster now. The wizard was too far away to spring at. Yet. The blackness moved forward, no longer cautious as it approached the house. It didn't notice the wolf pursuing at its back. But the other wolf had been spotted. The blackness solidified into form for a moment and Zach rolled out of the way just in time to miss a blast of energy erupting from the wizard's hands. Then Alexander was that almost invisible again.
Jonas leaped for his back, worried only fleetingly as his teeth sank into the blackness. The illusion dropped so fast Jonas almost lost his hold, disoriented. The hesitation nearly cost him everything. He was amazed at the strength of the wizard, who dropped desperately to knock him off his back. Then there was nothing but a human cry of pain as Jonas's teeth closed over his jugular. Nothing but the sound of gurgling death when he ripped it out.
He shifted as he dropped the wizard. Spit blood out of his mouth, then wiped it away with the back of his hand. Zach joined him as Gabby ran out of the house, shaking and panicked.
“Ethan?”
He didn't smell Ethan's death in the air, but that didn't mean he wasn't in trouble. “We'll find him. Go get Mick.”
She took off up the trail. Zach jerked his head to where the trees were thickest.
“This way.”
It only took a few minutes to find Ethan. He was unconscious, pale but breathing. Jonas slung him over one shoulder and followed Zach back to his house, where a crowd had gathered inside. He wasn't surprised Gabby and the others had beat him back to the house. Jonas carried him to the living room and laid him out on the couch, where Elspeth approached and looked him over.
“Knocked out by a blast of magic. He'll be fine in a few days,” she gently told Gabby, who'd knelt by his side and taken his hand, refusing to be moved. “He'll be more comfortable at home in bed.”
Jonas stepped forward to lift him again, but Zach and Caleb stopped it. “We'll handle it. And get all our women out of your hair,” Caleb joked, his critical eye sweeping over Dane also. “And the boy. Grab your things.” Harper, looking pinched and worn, jerked forward. “Why?”
“Don't worry, little one,” Zach said. “He'll be safe at our house.” Mick stood behind her, his hands massaging her shoulders, and she nodded, relaxed at the comfort given by her mate. Jonas felt something tighten, then snap in his chest. Emotion overwhelmed him. He couldn't speak as everyone left. Didn't know what to say when it was just the three of them alone. It was Harper who broke the spell. With a cry, she pulled free of Mick and rushed to him, clinging around his waist.
“What is it, darlin'? What's wrong?”
Chapter Eleven
She shook, but it wasn't until she looked up at him that Jonas realized it was with fury. “If you ever scare me like that again, I swear I'll rip your heart out.” That seemed a little extreme under the circumstances, especially coming from his gentle-souled mate. He looked over her head at Mick and cocked an inquiring eyebrow.
“Gabby was pretty freaked-out when she came to get us.” He shrugged one shoulder, but Jonas knew he wasn't as unaffected as he appeared. He seemed to vibrate with pent-up energy. “We didn't know until you walked out of the woods with Ethan that you were safe.”
Harper's hands fisted in his shirt at the base of his back. “I mean it, Jonas,” she said fiercely. “Never again.”
He held her tighter, sliding his hands up and down her back in an effort to comfort her. He kissed the top of her head and looked up to meet Mick's gaze.
“Let me make it up to you,” he whispered, letting the desire, the love he felt for them color his voice.
Mick didn't budge, and his arms were crossed over his chest. “Is this a breakthrough, then? Something has changed?”
He laughed. “You mean other than I've been an idiot?” That startled Harper enough that her scent changed with it, the anger finally leaking away. She leaned back in his arms. “You'll have to explain that. Now would be a good time,” she said tartly.
She amazed him. So vibrant. Full of life. His. “Why did I ever think you were submissive?”
Mick finally moved, hands dropping to his sides as he strolled closer. “Oh, she has her moments, don't you, sugar?”
“Um.” The scent of arousal spiked, lush and tangy in the air, on his tongue.
“We're talking about Jonas right now.”
“Later,” Mick murmured against her nape. “He's not going anywhere.”
“No, I'm not.” Not now. Not ever.
Harper escaped from their arms and retreated a few feet, switching her gaze back and forth between him and Mick. He groaned when he got a good look at the mutinous, stubborn look on her face. She pointed a shaky finger in his direction.
“I have questions you two need to answer. I'm new here. Not a werewolf. I'm flying blind, and sometimes I get the feeling you prefer it that way.” Well, hell. “That's not true. I just forget that you don't know our world like…” He almost said like Liza, but something told him that would be a mistake.
“We can answer questions just as well naked, sugar,” Mick drawled, his voice deep and sexy and coaxing, rushing to Jonas's rescue.
Harper wasn't being deflected, however. One eyebrow cocked, she switched her attention to Mick. “Maybe the more answers I get, the more skin you'll see.” He jerked at the tone of her voice, felt the subtle flare of magic she used to infuse it with a sultry invitation to sin. “Not fair,” he croaked.
She shrugged. “Neither is you keeping me in the dark. I'm here for more than sex, aren't I?”
Finally, he could retreat into irritation. This emotion shit sucked. “Of course you are,” Jonas snapped.
Mick sighed and gave him the baleful look that seemed to scream you damned idjit. This was his worst nightmare. Outnumbered. Hell, he'd said he wasn't going anywhere. They knew how he felt. Why did he have to put everything into words?
He was so much better at action. He almost said all that. He almost stomped out of the room. One look over and he knew Mick was his usual calm, or maybe resigned, self. He didn't expect Jonas to do anything but avoid expressing how he felt. Hadn't he promised himself he wouldn't do that to Mick anymore?
Then he looked at Harper. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her face blank as she waited for him to respond. But though she seemed relaxed, she stood straight and sure, like she'd built a wall around herself. A wall that kept him and whatever cruelty he might come up with out. There was a hurt, a disappointment in her eyes she couldn't quite hide.
And all it would take to make that go away was to answer a few uncomfortable questions. He nodded.
“But let's go out on the porch.” He needed to be outside, under the cool glow of the moon, where his animal nature was more at peace. “And, darlin'?” No reason he couldn't have a little fun while he bared his soul. “For each question I answer, you lose an ar
ticle of clothing.”
She met his gaze with a startled one of her own. “Outside? It's cold.”
“No one will bother us. And the sun porch is enclosed and heated.” He recalled all the games of strip poker he'd played as a teenager. “Shoes and socks stay inside.” They'd slow the game down.
“How is that fair?” she grumbled but sat to remove them, and when she stood, her color was high, her eyes bright. It was a weird game to play with his mate, but he didn't think she'd had much chance to play in her life.
Just to make things even, he took his footwear off too, then gestured for her to lead the way. It was full dark, the moon high and bright, and she walked away from him to lean against a glass wall with one shoulder. She didn't say a word, just watched, and the longer she remained quiet, the more nervous he became. What the hell was going on in that pretty little head? Finally, though he knew it hadn't been more than a couple of minutes, Mick joined them. He was barefoot and tossed a bottle of lube on the double-wide lounger.
“We're all here, darlin'. Start.” Jonas ordered.
“Okay.” She licked her lips nervously. “But we all take something off. Not just me.”
“Fine,” Mick answered and elbowed him sharply in the side when he opened his mouth to point out that had not been the original deal.
Harper nodded acceptance, though, straightened away from the wall, and gave him a hard look. “Are you still in love with Liza?” Fuck. He turned to glare at Mick, who backed away, hands held up in a placating gesture Jonas didn't buy for a minute. “Don't look at me. I didn't talk to her about it.”
He turned his glare to Harper and then ripped his shirt over his head. She wanted to play? Fine. They'd play.
“No, I'm not. I don't think I ever was. We're friends. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for her.”
“You wanted someone like her,” she accused.
How could he deny it? “I thought I did. Then I met you, and I started to rethink things.”
“Why?”
He fought a smile. This might work out well after all. “That's two questions, darlin'.”
With a huff, she pulled the turtleneck off and tossed it away, then let her arms fall to her sides. Oh yeah. He could get used to this game. The anticipation was invigorating. She was left standing in tight jeans and an even-tighter, barely there white lacy bra. He wanted to lick his way around its edges but managed to stay still. First things first.
“I thought, for a long time, that if I had a mate, she needed to be another soldier. I thought that was the only kind of woman strong enough to stand up to me.
To take me on. I was wrong.”
“So you don't want someone as tough as you now?” He smiled, looked her up and down in a blatant reminder of the rules. She played with the snap on her jeans and rolled her eyes before popping it free and shimmying out of them. She was left in a tiny pair of panties that matched her bra.
Oh yeah, baby. He edged closer to her.
“I've decided soft is more appealing.”
He was calling her soft? Was that a good or bad thing? Part of her said bad, bad, bad. But the other part pointed out how good bad could be. Playing by the rules, he and Mick both dropped their jeans. Bad was looking better and better.
Focus on something besides sex, Harper. But gods, was that difficult to manage with two hard, sexy, and mostly naked bodies in front of her.
“Nothing soft there,” she whispered.
Mick chuckled and approached, then moved around behind her. He set his hands on her hips while leaning forward to nuzzle her neck.
“Mmm, no. But this is soft.” He pushed his erection against her ass. “And this.” His hands slid up her back to the clasp of her bra, and she felt it pop free. He moved to cup her breasts, his teeth nipping the sensitive skin between her shoulder and neck. “More softness.”
“Any more questions, darlin'?” Jonas asked, approaching her and Mick. His gaze ensnared her. Hot. Open. He stopped close enough she could feel the heat pouring off him, but not close enough to brush against her. Mick held her still when she tried to close the gap. Jonas cocked an eyebrow. “No more questions?”
“Um.” How could she think right now? Mick's hands were hot on her body, stoking a fire she wanted to set free, and Jonas's body was tight, coiled to spring, his eyes full of carnal promise. Finally, he stepped closer, lifting one hand to stroke the side of her face.
“I choose you, Harper, and Mick. I don't want anyone else. Does that answer your questions?”
She couldn't do anything but jerk a nod. He grinned in response, and oh was it wicked. When he kissed her, it was slow and unhurried, a deep exploration that left her gasping when he broke away. Mick took her hand and pulled her to the lounger.
“Lie back,” he whispered, and she did as he ordered, her anticipation building.
Jonas knelt in front of her and spread her legs wide to accommodate his shoulders. His hands slowly slid up the insides of her thighs, rough calluses leaving a hot trail in their wake, until he reached her panties. He leaned forward, his tongue tracing the edge, his fingers working under the sides to tug them down. She lifted her butt and helped wiggle them off, raising her legs to kick them away.
Jonas's clamped his hands under her thighs and held them high, staring at her like a starving man. She shivered and held her breath. Gods, she hoped so.
Then his mouth was on her, his tongue spearing inside her while his fingers found her clit. It was exquisite. It wasn't nearly enough. She tried to wiggle free.
She wanted him inside her. She wanted them inside her. But he held her still with one arm across her pelvis, fucking her with his mouth.
She turned her head to look for Mick and found him kneeling beside her. He smiled when she met his gaze, leaned forward to steal a quick kiss before breaking away. It wasn't until she heard a squeaking sound that she realized he was holding a bottle of lube for Jonas. Until she heard the squeak, she hadn't realized his arm was no longer holding her hips down.
She lay frozen in place as Jonas lifted his head and held his hand out to Mick.
She watched half-fascinated, half-scared as Mick squeezed a generous amount of the lube onto his fingers. And then those fingers disappeared from view, and she could do nothing but wait, shaking, unsure. Jonas blew a hot breath over her sex.
“Relax, darlin',” he whispered, and her laugh strangled on a moan of pleasure as his teeth closed over and tugged on her clit. She was so focused on the sensation that she didn't flinch when his wet, cold fingers circled her rear entrance, when he slowly, carefully worked two fingers inside.
When Mick lay down next to her, he kissed the tip of one hard nipple before sucking it, biting it, and she came with a hoarse yell. Yet neither stopped what he was doing. Jonas worked another finger inside her, eased them back and forth, stretching her. His mouth moved over her clit. Sometimes slow and gentle, sometimes fast and hard, until she was begging, pleading for release, her hips thrusting against his fingers. She was desperate to come.
She wanted to weep when Jonas pulled away, when his tongue and fingers abandoned her body. But she knew it was only temporary, watched with nothing but anticipation as he reached for the bottle of lube. He squeezed enough on his palm to coat his shaft and more around her opening. She held her breath when he moved into position and paused with the head of his cock pressing against her.
“Ready?”
She nodded, unable to speak, hoping her eyes held her response if the motion did not. His entry was slow, what felt like a millimeter at a time. She tried to thrust against him, eager to come, but he held her still.
“Easy, baby. I don't want to hurt you.”
He worked the head of his cock in, then more, giving her so little at a time she thought she'd lose her mind until he started working through that restricting ring of muscle, and she gasped. Pain and pleasure. Pleasure and pain. She didn't know which was more, which was in control. Mick put a finger under her chin and turned her to face
him. He tugged her bottom lip with his teeth, swept his tongue into her mouth, then broke away.
“Relax, sugar.”
He stood, the bottle of lube in his fist, and moved to kneel behind Jonas. His grin was sinful, his face flushed with excitement, and Harper felt her own grow.
Jonas slid more of his cock into her ass, and this time there was no pain, just some residual discomfort. He smirked when she met his gaze.
“You like the idea of watching me get fucked, darlin'?” He withdrew his cock a bit, thrust back in a little harder, deeper. He wasn't quite all the way inside yet. She was disappointed when he kept his thrusts shallow.
“Harper? Answer my question.”
She looked over Jonas's shoulder to meet Mick's gaze. His hands stroked down Jonas's back, face bent forward to nuzzle his neck. He held her gaze while he waited for her answer.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I like it.”
Mick groaned and straightened, and she heard that telltale squeak again, but she couldn't see anything from her position. She could only guess from Jonas's reaction.
“Gods, babe, a little warning,” he growled. “Remember foreplay?” Mick laughed, one hand gripping Jonas's shoulder as he leaned over to look down. “How much more do you need?”
His tone, his expression was teasing as his gaze traveled up her body, winking when he met her gaze.
“I just need someone to move,” she said a little more tartly than she had intended.
“Yes, ma'am,” Mick drawled, and when he thrust into Jonas, Jonas thrust into her. She gasped. This time his cock was fully inside her. He was a tight fit. She couldn't believe it was possible to be so full and not burst.
“I hope you're ready.”
He lay down over her, pressing her into the lounger, his mouth fusing over hers. He withdrew and thrust back in, Mick moving in tandem with him. They were shallow, quick thrusts. Jonas broke the kiss, his lips moving over her mouth, down her neck, finally stopping at her breast. He flicked his tongue over her nipple before his mouth closed over it. He sucked her hard in long, even pulls that matched his thrusts in her ass. She couldn't take any more, couldn't hold back the pleasure any longer.
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