by Maia Dylan
“Lucy, does the fact we came from a ménage family make you uncomfortable?”
Brendan’s voice was a little harsh. Lucy quickly realized that they had misinterpreted her withdrawal. Her eyes flew up, and she looked between the two.
“No! Not at all. I didn’t look away because I was uncomfortable. I’ve never had a positive role model in my life for what it was to be loved. I have never been loved.” Her voice cracked a little, and she felt tears welling. “And it is so incredibly beautiful that you had so much of it in yours.”
“Lucy, that may have been true of your past, but your future is another matter entirely that we will talk in depth about soon I promise. But for now, you missed an important part of what I was talking about then pet.” Cody reached out and swept his thumb across her cheekbone, removing a tear as he went. “The part where I talked about the fact that we have a fated one, our mate, the one woman who is meant to be ours and complete, Brendan and I.”
Lucy felt the bottom suddenly drop out of her stomach. Were they warning her that eventually they would find their fated one?
“Kitten,” Brendan said, drawing her to look his way, “when wolf shifters meet their fated one for the first time, they are hit with something called the Quickening. Ty told me that when he experienced it with Faith, his body hummed, a feeling unlike anything he had felt before, that it was like going from a standstill to having run a marathon. Your heart beats so damn fast in your chest. He made it sound so magical and I mocked him, telling him that basically I thought he was talking shit. I now have to admit to him that he was right, and kitten that is going to be more painful than the beating he just dealt out.”
Cody laughed aloud, which made her jump a little. “Yeah, B, you are going to never hear the end of it.”
Brendan nodded with a sheepish grin. “Don’t I know it. Lucy, I know—shit we know exactly what the quickening feels like, because Cody and I were hit by it the day we met you.”
He looked at her apprehensively, like he wasn’t sure how she was going to react. So they had felt the quickening when they met her, which meant she was their fated one? Nah, really?
“You mean, you and Cody…and me…fated? Wait. What?” Lucy felt her heart starting to pound and hope leapt through her.
“That’s exactly what we mean, pet. You are our fated mate. There will never be anyone else for us but you. You belong to us as we do to you. So, yeah we had one more thing we needed to tell you and that was it. We are shifters, and you are our mate. Well, that is if you want to be?” Again with the hope.
Lucy sat there for a moment staring at him not really knowing how to process what he had been talking about. She had felt something when she had come to in the hospital and the first time that she had looked them in the eye. There had been an almost audible snap, as if something important had finally snapped into place. But fated? She knew nothing of what that meant or what she was supposed to do. Heck on a stick, did that mean that she was a wolf or was going to become one? Her head swam with questions and her confusion must have become evident on her face.
“Lucy, you don’t need to think of that part of it right now. Hellfire, pet, you have accepted something tonight that must have seemed impossible when you first saw it, but you were willing to accept it. Brendan and I are happy to wait until you are able to come to terms with the whole fated-mate thing as well. As long as it takes.”
“Just know this, kitten,” Brendan implored, “as far as we are concerned, you are ours. There will never be another for us. All we really ask is that you give us the chance to convince you that we can be that for you, too.”
Wow. Lucy had thought it was Cody with the gift of words that made her melt and want and long for more and that Brendan was more a man of action than words. But he had her at “you are ours.” If she belonged to someone, if she could be loved by someone, then perhaps there was more to her than what she thought. More to her than what she had been told and that the actions of the people in her life to date had told her.
“I think I can do that,” she whispered with a smile, a smile that turned into a laugh as the two brothers suddenly whooped with joy, complete with fist pumps and a high five. She guessed they were pleased with her answer.
“Kitten, you’ve made us both so very happy!” Brendan said. “You won’t regret it.”
The searing look Brendan gave her left her speechless, and she had a second to wonder why his eyes flashed blue, but when he suddenly swooped in and took her mouth in a kiss so passionate she wasn’t sure she would survive it, he took her very breath away.
Chapter 5
Holy hot tin roof, did this man know how to kiss! Granted, Lucy only had a few experiences to draw on, but the man had her toes curling into the carpet, her hands gripping his T-shirt for dear life, and her arousal soaring. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, and when she opened her mouth to him, he swept his tongue inside and she lost herself to his kiss.
He pulled away way too soon, and she whimpered when his lips left hers. His smile was pure masculine satisfaction.
“Oh hell yeah, Lucy, I want to keep kissing you, too.” A groan erupted into the room. “But I have a feeling someone else here is feeling a little needy for you, too. I’m gonna have the world’s fastest shower and catch up with you in your bedroom.”
He pressed another quick hard kiss to her lips. She never actually got to see him leave the room. The moment he was no longer in front of her, she was plucked from the couch, spun, and placed in Cody’s lap. Both groaned at the feeling of her girl bits pressing against his boy bits. Oh mama, she felt like she was going to simply burst into flames. Cody ran his hands up over her hips, up her back to her shoulders, burying one hand into her hair.
“Cody, what does it mean when your eyes flash blue.” Lucy frowned, trying to work it out for herself. “Brendan’s were blue when he shifted, and then again just now before he kissed me, so I know it’s not a signal that he’s about to change, but I am guessing it has something to do with his wolf?”
Cody smiled as he nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Yeah it does, it means our wolves are close by. When we start to feel strong emotions like anger or arousal, our eyes will flash the arctic blue of our kind, and Lucy with you in our lives you will be seeing that blue a lot!
“Now, you might want to take a deep breath, pet,” Cody murmured, his eyes flashing blue, and Lucy shivered now she knew what it meant . “I have a feeling once my lips meet yours, I’m gonna want to stay a while.”
Lucy placed her hands on the back of the couch as Cody drew her into him, and then he used his hands to tilt her head at the angle he was after and dove in for a kiss. This kiss was just as potent as Brendan’s, but this one was more a heated seduction. His tongue tangled with hers, and he sucked on her bottom lip, causing hot liquid to gush from her pussy and make her grind on him. He groaned into her mouth at the move, giving Lucy the confidence to explore his mouth.
She loved the feeling of her breasts pressed up against his chest, the feeling of his hand rubbing up and down her back, and when she swirled her tongue against his or sucked on his bottom lip, she adored the feeling of him twisting his hand in her hair, pulling her closer. When she experimented a little by rolling her hips into him as she licked into his mouth, he suddenly drew back.
“Fuck! Jesus Christ, pet, you pack one hell of a punch.”
Lucy took great pride in the fact that his breathing was just as fast, his chest heaving just as much as hers. Talking great gulps of air, Lucy stared into his eyes, noting that his green eyes were no longer flashing blue but had darkened to the color of the sea after a storm.
He suddenly leaned forward and stood, as if she weighed nothing at all. With a startled yelp, she wrapped her legs around his waist and threw her arms around his shoulders. Cody laughed, the rumble in his chest vibrating against her.
“Easy, pet, I’m not going to drop you. We’re just heading through to the bedroom. Brendan’s just out of the shower
, and it’s time we showed you how fucking hot you are and what we can be together.” Cody walked as he spoke, and before she knew it they were standing at the foot of the bed in the room, they had placed her in that afternoon.
Cody pressed soft kisses against her lips, her cheeks, her closed eyes. Lucy had never known romance or the feeling of being cherished. It was extremely addicting to be the sole focus of someone. He turned slightly and pressed against her legs to encourage her to stand. Lucy wasn’t really sure she could but unhooked her ankles and let her legs slide down the outside of his.
Her feet had just touched the soft carpet when another hot body pressed against her from behind. She breathed in the smells of a sandalwood soap and mint toothpaste and Brendan, fresh from his shower—oh good gravy, did he smell delicious. The feeling of his warm chest pressing against her back had her shivering. The feel of his hands grabbing her hips and tugging her back into him and his mouth nibbling on the sensitive skin behind her ear had her eyes closing, her head dropping back, and her pussy releasing more hot liquid, drenching her panties.
“Hot damn, kitten”—she felt his voice rumble through her body—“You taste amazing. Your skin is so fucking soft, it feels like silk.”
She felt him slide his hands under her shirt, her stomach quivering.
“And don’t forget the way she smells.”
Cody stepped up to her, surrounding her completely, her senses overloading. He reached up, grasped her face, and placed his forehead against hers.
“As shifters, our senses are heightened. We can smell your arousal pet and you smell delicious.”
He leaned in to press a soft kiss to her forehead he placed a small gap between them so he could stare into her eyes. His hands slide up the outside of her arms, until he his fingers softly grazed against her collar bones, coming to rest at the top button of her shirt.
Never taking his eyes from hers he began to unbutton her blouse, slowly, ratcheting the sexual tension in the room as well as her arousal. Brendan moved back slightly when her shirt was finally undone, and Cody drew it from her shoulders leaving her standing there in her bra, her jeans, and her boots. Cody still hadn’t looked away from her gaze. Lucy felt like she was about to simply melt into the carpet! Cody took a breath then his gaze slid down the front of her body, and she could almost feel it as it slid down over her skin.
His eyes suddenly flashed an artic blue, and his breathing rate increased. Lucy sent a silent thank-you to Faith and her insistence on getting clothes for her, and in particular a pair of French-cut panties in a dark purple lace with a matching demi bra. At the time she had flushed, thinking Faith had thought to get her something so…well, sexy! When you felt like you were about as sexy as a leaf of lettuce that had been left out in the sun for most of your life, having someone as beautiful and confident as Faith say they thought the set was “made for her” and she would look “off-the-scale hot in it” was unbelievable! But from the way Cody’s eyes were burning across her body and the rumbling growl coming from him, she was slowly becoming a believer!
Brendan released the back clasp of her bra, and she quickly lifted her arms to keep the cups held against her breasts before it fell. The two brothers’ froze. Cody’s eyes became their usually startling green and filled with apprehension. From the feel of the tension behind her she knew that Brendan had reacted in a similar way.
“Lucy,” he said, his voice low, and lifted a hand to cup her cheek, “did we do something wrong?”
Lucy was already shaking her head. “No! My heavens no, neither of you have. I’ve just never really been any good at this…well, this sort of…you know, thing.”
The tension dropped from Cody’s face and Brendan moved to stand beside him in front of her. Both had amusement and no small amount of heat in their gaze.
“Thing?” Brendan said.
Lucy could hear the amusement in his voice.
“And what ‘thing’ would you be referring to, Miss Lucy?”
Lucy narrowed her eyes at him. There was very little humor for her in this, especially as she stood there holding her bra against her breasts, half naked in front of two men she knew had to have been with women in the past she couldn’t possibly measure up to.
Hmmm, and just how many women had they been with in the past? They had probably shared more than a few, too. Oh good Lord! Were they expecting someone who knew what she was doing? Someone who knew how to actually have sex and make it pleasurable? Did they think she had the ability to fold her legs up behind her neck for some kind of tantric sex pose guaranteed to have her in traction for a month? What in the name of all things chocolate centered was she doing!
She was Lucy Blake, for goodness sakes. Unwanted by everyone including her mother. Well, not unwanted by everyone. There was a certain Hispanic drug-dealing, gun-wielding human trafficker who was a fan. But that was so her luck—only the crazy psychopathic need apply.
“Lucy!”
Brendan’s voice seemed to echo in stereo around her. Closing her eyes for a moment, she shook her head, and when she opened her eyes, she was sitting on the bed, still clasping the frilly purple lace to her chest, Cody and Brendan on their knees before her. She startled a little to see the concern on their faces.
“What?”
“Kitten, you left us for a few minutes there.”
Brendan rubbed a hand on her thigh. Oh cheese and rice crackers! She had done it again.
“Yeah, pet.” Cody gave a wry grin. “It’s not a great ego boast for man or wolf to have the woman you are trying to seduce climb on inside her head and forget where she is. Now, before we come back to this ‘thing’ you think you are no good at, I would like to know what you were thinking about during your little alone time there. We saw a look on your face that looked a lot like panic.”
Lucy winced and looked down at her lap. How to tell someone she aren’t any good at sex, had been told she couldn’t please one drugged up man let alone these two perfect men who stood before her, and had pretty much no self-esteem, without coming across as a total loser. She felt her face flood with color as she realized there was no way to not sound like a loser. Brendan reached out and drew her chin up so that her gaze met theirs again.
“Come on, Lucy. I wasn’t making fun of you before, or if you thought I was, kitten, then I am so, so very sorry. Please tell us what is going on in that pretty little head of yours.”
Pleading green eyes bore into hers, and Lucy took a deep breath. “I started to think about how many women you had been with in the past.”
Both men flinched back and passed what could only be described as an oh-shiit-ake-mushrooms look between them.
“I don’t want to know! Honest, it’s not really about that. I mean, I know that you’ve probably been with loads of women, right? No! Don’t answer that I really don’t want to know. But I started to think about them, and what they must look like and thought why in the world are you with me? What on Earth was I doing here with my shirt off about to show you my ta-tas knowing that you have probably seen some grade A ta-tas in your life and mine are”—Lucy looked down—“well…maybe a C, if I’m honest.”
“What!” Cody’s eyebrows rose so high they were practically buried beneath his hair. “Lucy, for God’s sake woman! Have you never looked into a damn mirror? You are stunning, so beautiful my dick has been harder than diamonds since the day we found you.”
“And ah, as for your ‘ta-tas’”—Brendan actually used air quotes—“kitten, we haven’t even seen them in all their glory, but I can assure you, they are off the charts as far as I can tell.”
Brendan winked and gave her a knowing male grin. It was then that she noticed he was kneeling in front of her wearing nothing but a towel. Lucy felt her mouth dry up and her tongue literally stick to the roof of her mouth. He was chiseled and perfect. Where there had been signs of scratched lacerations from that stupid tussle with Ty, there was now flawless skin and a slight splattering of chest hair that travelled down his seriously defi
ned abs to disappear behind the towel.
Swallowing hard, she tore her eyes of his chest. “It’s more than that. I’m no good at sex. I have had sex a total of four times in my entire life.” Lucy waited to see the pity form in their eyes but saw only patience and longing. “And each time was an absolute disaster and it hurt! I know it’s supposed to hurt the first time, but then it was supposed to feel great! All those books I’ve read have lied to me. It was so disappointing! I know I’m not much to look at, but you two are. I mean, look at you. Have you ever really looked at yourselves in the mirror? It’s like you stepped out of a magazine for goodness sakes! And a fitness one with photos of men with muscles and everything! I mean, seriously, what in the name of all things good in this world are you doing wanting to be mated with me?”
* * * *
Brendan’s heart actually ached as Lucy spoke. He pressed the palm of his hand against the ache. How can she not see herself the way others did? The woman was stunning! An hourglass figure to die for, with curves in all the right places. Beautiful high breasts he was looking forward to seeing once she actually dropped her bra. Full lips, violet eyes that sparkled with mischief and darkened with desire, and skin so soft it was like warm silk.
“If you live your life with everyone in it telling you you’re nothing,” Cody said across their link, filled with pain for their mate. “Then I guess you start to believe it. Holy fuck, B, she’s so beautiful she makes me ache. How do we make her see it?”
“The only thing I know, Cody”—steel filled his voice as he spoke back down their link—“is that our mate is hurting. Has been hurt be people her whole fucking life that should have cherished and loved her until we found her. Because we damn well would have. Now, we show her what she means to us, and worship her the way she deserves.”
Brendan gently tugged her jean-clad knees apart so that he could kneel between them. He could smell the sweet musk of her arousal, heard her breath catch, and figured he was on the right track. “Lucy, when we look at you, we see absolutely everything we have ever wanted in our mate. You are beautiful, your body, your face, and everything you are represents the other half of our souls.”