by Gale Stanley
“Don’t,” Slade gasped. Don’t make this harder for me.
“Love you.”
Slade reeled with shock. What did Jax want from him? He wasn’t sure he had anything to give. All the emotion had been beaten out of him long ago. He’d sensed that Jaxon and Mike’s emotions ran as deep as his own. He’d seen it in their eyes and felt it in their touches. But he hadn’t expected them to give voice to their feelings. The words terrified him. They made everything harder. And yet he hadn’t realized until now how much he wanted to hear them. But he held back.
Finally Jax pulled out and Mike rolled over on his back. They lay in a tangle of legs, sweat, and cum drying on their skin, Mike on Slade’s right, Jax on his left.
“Did you hear me?” Jax asked.
“Yeah,” Mike answered him. “But you weren’t talking to me.”
“Don’t get pissed. You know I love you.”
“I still like to hear it once in a while.”
Jax leaned over Slade to kiss Mike. “Love you, baby.”
“Hmpf.”
“I mean it.”
“I know. Love you too.”
Jax settled back and threw a leg over Slade’s. “I meant it, Slade. It wasn’t just something I said in the heat of the moment.”
Slade let out a long audible breath. “I appreciate it, but you have a good thing going with Mike. You don’t need me coming between you.”
Mike propped his head on an elbow and looked down at Slade. “I don’t know about that. I kind of like you between us.”
Jax propped himself up on Slade’s left and looked over at Mike. “What are you trying to say?”
“He picks up the slack when you run out of steam.”
“Fuck you.”
“Sorry, he beat you to it.”
“I upheld my end over—”
“Hey, guys. This was great, you’re great, but it can’t last. Your reporter friend will be calling us any day to say we can come out of hiding, but we’ll never be completely safe. I know Richard Graham, and he’s not a man who will forgive and forget. As we speak, he’s probably trying to figure out how he can get rid of us. I plan to go feral and hide out and you—”
“Is that what you really want? To give up and hide? I thought you wanted to help our people.”
“I thought I could do some good working with the Feds, but I made a mistake. It’s over.”
“You’re wrong. We’re just getting started. I was never an activist before, but the Feds’ plan backfired. Instead of getting rid of an alleged rebel they created one. I’m not running. Mike’s coming to live with me in Dogtown.”
Mike shot up like a cannon. “He is?”
“It’s the safest place for you. Alone on the outside you’re a sitting duck.”
“So all this time you’ve been telling me it’s too dangerous for me in Dogtown, you were lying?”
“No. It’s still dangerous, but better than the alternative. If anyone gives you any trouble, they’ll answer to me—or Slade.”
“So you’re gonna be my big, strong protector.” Mike batted his eyes at Slade then looked up at Jax. “Didn’t I just save his ass yesterday?”
Hell, Slade didn’t think he could do this. He’d been alone for most of his life and gotten along just fine. Maybe not fine, but he’d survived. He’d been on his own too long. He had no idea how to live with someone, especially a human someone. “Are you done?” Slade popped up between them. “Because I don’t remember saying I was moving into Dogtown.”
“I need you at my side, Slade. I can’t do it alone.”
Mike went tense and made a move to get up, but Slade grabbed his arm. “He doesn’t mean it like that.”
“No, I didn’t. I’m sorry, baby. I meant it in the sense of having another wolf working with me. Someone who’s been through the same shit I have.”
“And this is exactly why I can’t do it,” Slade said. “I don’t want you fighting over me.”
Mike pinned him with a look. “But think of the fun we’ll have making up. Seriously, everybody fights. We’re only human after all.” He smiled ironically. “Well, some of us are.”
“I think what Mike is trying to say is that communication is key.”
“Jax is right. That’s exactly what I’m saying. We don’t need to walk on eggshells around each other, not after what we’ve been through. Even an argument is preferable to secrets.” Mike spoke with almost a touch of pleading in his voice. “We both want you with us, Slade.”
“Why me, Mike?”
“Because I’m crazy for you. Besides, you’re a part of Jaxon, and that makes you my mate too.”
“You believe that mumbo jumbo and you’re not even Were?”
“I trust my gut. I think it’s pretty obvious we’re meant to be together.”
“Mike’s pretty smart for a human. Sometimes I think he must be part wolf.” Jax said softly. “What do you really want, Slade?”
Slade shook his head. “I wasn’t looking for anything permanent.”
“I didn’t ask you what you were looking for. I asked you what you wanted.”
What do I want? Slade’s chest tightened. To not be alone anymore, to make a home with these two men who I’ve come to care for more and more every day…
“It’s okay to accept love, Slade.” Jax took his hand. “We both grew up being told we were worthless animals. When that kind of crap is pounded into your head every day, you end up believing it. Mike changed my life. He gave me the love and support I needed so I could believe in myself. Let us give you that. Don’t let your past ruin your future—with us.”
Swept away by waves of protectiveness, possessiveness, and passion, Slade’s heart felt as if it would burst through his chest. For the first time in his life, he believed he might be capable of love. His men watched and waited with uneasy expressions. “I can’t do it.”
Mike’s face fell. And Jax, well Jax looked like Slade had put a knife in him.
“I can’t in good conscious leave you two alone to fend for yourselves. You need me—”
“You son of a bitch!” Jaxon tackled him and Mike followed suit.
“Hey.” Slade gasped under their combined weight. “I’m not good at pretty speeches… But, well, this thing started out with butterflies and sweaty palms but it goes deeper. A hell of a lot deeper. When I look at you both, I feel happy. When I’m not with you, I think about you and all the things I want to do to make you happy. You make me feel like a better person and I know I can trust you both in every way. I can’t imagine a future without you. If that cocktail of mixed emotions is love, then I guess I’m in love.”
For a few seconds no one said anything and Slade was afraid he’d said too much.
“That’s the prettiest damn speech I ever heard,” Jax murmured. “What do you think, Mike?”
“I think I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
Slade lay back and enjoyed the embraces of the two men he loved above all others. When he’d arrived in New York he never thought he would end up staying, but Mike and Jaxon had changed him forever—and for the better. As long as they were together, they could overcome any obstacles fate threw in their path.
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in the City of Brotherly Love, Gale cut her teeth on True Story magazines swiped from her mother’s collection and read undercover by flashlight. Her choice of reading material inspired a lifelong love of romance and the desire to write her own stories. Now she has the best job in the world. She can be anything she wants, but she doesn’t mind living vicariously through the smokin’ hot alphas and strong heroines she loves to write about. Her books sizzle, but at the heart of each story is a romance and each one is written with love.
Also by Gale Stanley
Ménage Amour: Southwest Shifters 1: Hellfire
Ménage Amour: Southwest Shifters 2: Spitfire
Siren Classic ManLove: Southwest Shifters 3: Back
fire
Siren Classic ManLove: Southwest Shifters 4: Crossfire
Siren Classic: Black Wolf Gorge 1: Call of the Wilds
Ménage Amour: Black Wolf Gorge 2: Mating Call
Ménage Amour: Black Wolf Gorge 3: Mating Call
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