by Hazel Gower
“If it was up to me, Dean, I’d give you the land.”
Duncan agreed with Karen. He should have listened to this, and he and Brad should have figured this out. Duncan watched as Brad glanced over at Davis, and he nodded.
“I, Brad White, decree the land in dispute is now the Blue Blood Pack’s territory.”
Dean howled in excitement. Duncan was happy that he wouldn’t have to deal with the shifter council. But as everyone was leaving or celebrating, Garth stared daggers at Karen and stormed out of the room, barging into Karen and knocking her back against him. Duncan wrapped his arms around Karen, stabilizing her, and growled at Garth. He debated whether he should go after Garth, but Karen gripped his arm.
“Don’t, I can feel the tension radiating off you. You’re eager to go after him, but leave it. He has just proven what I said about him acting like a child, right?”
Leaning down, he nuzzled her neck and breathed in their combined scent, calming his bear. She relaxed into him. “You smell good.” He trailed his hands down her body, forgetting for a moment where they were.
“Mmm, you have to stop. Everyone is looking.”
Duncan looked up from her neck to see Brad staring at Karen with pure raw hunger. His gaze skimmed over everyone else to see they held similar looks.
Davis cleared his throat, but it still sounded gravelly as he muttered, “Duncan, you can’t have her smelling like that in a room of single shifters. It is cruel. I can handle the rest from here. Abraham and Jaylen can help. You and Brad should be with your mate. Raylock and Ashten took off with Jacky already.”
Duncan took a deep breath of Karen’s scent and groaned. She was turned on; he could smell her arousal, and it had his polar bear—and the man—preening that all he had to do was hold his mate and nuzzle her, and she got turned on. Winking at Davis, Duncan grinned at Brad. Davis didn’t have to tell him twice. Duncan picked up Karen and tossed her over his shoulder.
Karen let out a little squeal. “Put me down, Duncan. I can walk.”
He grunted and palmed her ass as it wiggled in the air. Duncan was eager to get her naked again. “This way is quicker.” He picked up his pace to get them to the cabin quicker.
“Brad, tell him to put me down.”
Brad chuckled and Duncan laughed, “Honey, he isn’t going to help you. Brad is following, and we intend to devour you until you can’t move.”
Karen shivered against him. “Oh, wow. You don’t have to do anything, and I’m willing to succumb. I’m in trouble.”
Duncan smiled at his brother. Yes. Yes, Karen was in trouble, because they weren’t letting her go.
Chapter Four
Oh, God, Karen couldn’t believe there was such a thing as too much sex. Over a week of two sex-crazed men bringing her to orgasm after orgasm, and she had to get away for a rest. To recuperate before they found her and touched her. Karen couldn’t fight her body’s reaction to them. She was now officially a nymphomaniac.
Duncan and Brad had left her to do some business at the lodge. She’d convinced them she was going to have a rest. After much convincing, she got rid of both of them, telling them she wouldn’t leave. Karen wasn’t really lying to them. She wasn’t leaving them, she was going for a drive to find civilization, maybe a shopping center or a mall as they called them in America. She’d found her car keys and was currently tip-toeing her way down the pathway to the car, hoping that no creature around saw her and told Duncan and Brad. Karen had no idea if creatures could talk to them, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
Opening the car door, Karen debated for a moment. Should she have found a way to get in contact with Jacky without having the men find out what she was planning? Ah, hell no, she couldn’t risk it. Right now, as she started the car and put it into gear, she was all for the “Save yourself” mentality.
Karen felt her eyes widen as she reversed to get out, and Brad stormed out of the lodge. Shit! Even sitting in a moving car, she was terrified, he looked so pissed. Putting the car in drive, she drove down the winding lane out to the highway. She accelerated, glancing behind her to see a massive polar bear chasing her. Karen prayed she could beat the bear and get away. She would worry when she got back about them being angry that she had left without one of them. Maybe the extra exercise from the chase Brad was giving might cool him off, and when she got back he’d be calm. Karen snorted at that thought. She may have been with the men for only a week, but she was starting to get to know them and she knew they’d be furious when she got back. They’d probably even follow her.
To be on the safe side, she didn’t stop, but instead drove to the first big town that had a mall. When she parked and got out, she knew she was grinning like a loon as she walked into the mall.
Karen needed shoe therapy, and she wandered for half an hour before she found a shoe store with boots to die for. Karen had a shoe addiction. She loved shoes, which were the one thing she was willing to spend a fortune on. Drawn to a pair of knee-high leather shoes with an elaborate pattern, Karen went into the store gathering all the shoes she wanted. The saleswoman’s eyes lit up as she saw Karen with her bundle and rushed over to help her. Karen was in heaven.
She had tried on her last pair of shoes and was debating if she could buy all of them or if that would be way too much. The saleswoman had left her to decide, and she was gathering all the shoes when she felt them. She didn’t even need to see them to know Brad and Duncan stood behind her. Groaning because she knew her alone time was over, she decided she was getting them all. It would hurt her credit card, but she deserved all of them for whatever cruel thing fate had decided she’d done to deserve not one, but two men.
“Are you going to turn or do you want us to come over to you and make a scene?” Duncan’s growling voice had her sighing and turning to face them. Duncan was the one who did things first, and asked questions later. Brad was the thinker, the planner. Brad stood narrow-eyed, clenching his fists, and it looked like fumes of anger radiated off him as he stared at her. Well, the workout he got chasing after her car mustn’t have cooled him down as much as she’d hoped.
Wow, Brad looked hot, his green eyes flaring to bear and back. Her body instantly responded to their closeness, and the looks in their eyes had her quaking. Not in fear like she probably should have, but another type. Taking a deep, calming breath, she smiled at them. “Hi, guys. I see you found me. Thanks for giving me time to myself so I could shop. I was having withdrawals of civilization.”
Keeping the boxes of shoes, she walked by them without touching them, and went to the counter. “I’ll take all of these.”
The sale woman smiled and nodded, then her eyes snapped up just behind Karen’s shoulder and widened before a sexy little grin came over her face. “May I help you, sirs?”
Karen shook her head. She bet this happened a lot whenever her men went out. Whoa, her men. When had that happened? She turned and looked at her men. Brad and Duncan were gorgeous, GQ-model hot. She wondered if she could handle the attention they would bring when and if they let her out. Getting out her wallet, she handed over her credit card, only for Brad to wrap his hands around hers and hand his card to the woman.
“We are all right. We came to get our mate.”
“That’s nice that you’re paying for your friend’s shoes.”
Karen narrowed her eyes on the woman, and for a second debated if she shouldn’t get the shoes. How could the girl not get what they were to her? You didn’t spend a fortune on someone if you weren’t banging their brains out. But what could Karen say? They weren’t friends, they were her…well…lovers? That didn’t sound right to say. They were her…boyfriends? They were her men? Wow, Karen realized she sounded greedy. She didn’t have one boyfriend, she had two yummy, hot, hunky men. She felt a grin spread on her face as she realized what she had.
Brad kissed her and nuzzled her neck, hugging her to him. “She is a lot more than just a friend.”
The woman put Brad’s card through then it dawned on her
what Brad had said. Her eyes widened, and she gaped at Karen, then at Brad and Duncan. Her mouth opened and closed several times. Then she studied Karen like she was trying to figure out what Karen had that she didn’t. Pure envy took over her face.
Brad signed the slip and the woman didn’t even look as she okayed it. Karen was starting to get annoyed. Was this the response she would always get? If so, it would get tiresome and frustrating. The woman bagged the shoe boxes, her eyes barely leaving Brad and Duncan.
As she handed the bags over, the woman whispered, “You’re a lucky woman. I hate you right now. You’re living the dream. If you ever need a break, I’ll gladly fill in.” She sighed as she looked at Duncan and Brad, who chuckled. Karen snatched the bags and stormed out of the store.
The nerve of that woman! Brad and Duncan were hers, and she wasn’t going to share them, like, ever. Holy hell, how on earth had they made her see them as hers? Well, she guessed she knew how—they had turned her into a sex maniac who craved their touch. She paused in her steps and glared at the grinning blond men, staring down at her with smug faces. “Stop that. You don’t get to be happy that I am possessive of you two. I barely know you.” She glared at both of them. “All you want to do is have sex. I never get to talk or spend time with you doing other stuff.”
Brad raised one eyebrow. “Like what else? Hiking, walking the forest?”
“God, no. I only agreed to go to your lodge and do the tour thingie Jacky had booked, because she promised I could fake being sick and stay in a warm cabin and read while she went out in the cold. No, I’m more the shopping, movies, and going out to dinner kind of girl. I mean no offense when I say this, but if I didn’t get away today I would have gone insane and probably killed one of you.”
“We can do those things with you. All you had to do was ask,” Brad said.
Karen rolled her eyes. Of course, all she should have done was ask. She noticed Duncan didn’t look so sure though. “Are you both sure?”
“Brad can go shopping with you. I like the movies as long as it not a girlie one. Restaurants are good as long if they do steak rare. I’m happy for you to lay on me and read. I like any part of you touching me.” Karen moved all her bags to one hand and reached for Duncan’s hand. Duncan was growing on her with his gruff ways.
Brad took her bags and held her other hand. Brad was the sweet one. She could get used to being treated the way they treated her.
He and Duncan had gone to the mall where Jacky had said Karen would go, both fuming and ready to chew their mate out. She’d put herself in danger by going out without one of them to protect her. She had humiliated Garth, the leader of one of the most powerful packs, and made him angry. They were now worried that he might try something stupid—like taking her—to try to get his way.
Brad had awoken to a phone call from the local pack, saying Garth was complaining and causing problems. Garth had even said that he and Duncan were playing favorites. Brad had laughed it off, saying Peacekeepers didn’t play favorites. The problem had worsened when the council had had a meeting to address concerns about Garth. The only reason neither he nor Duncan was with Karen, was because they both needed to be present for the meeting. They’d left the meeting when Karen had driven off by herself.
With everything they were hearing about Garth, Brad knew he, Duncan, and his brothers would have to go to the red and blue wolves’ borders and help bring peace.
They let her shop for a while longer and picked up some things from the supermarket before Duncan drove her hired car home, and Karen sat in Brad’s passenger seat. “You know we’re going to have to talk about you going off without protection,” Brad said.
“I know. I’m surprised you waited so long.”
“I thought I’d let you enjoy your outing.” He winked at her, then sighed. “Look, it’s not that we don’t want you going out and doing fun things, it’s just you can’t go out without at least one of our brothers or us to protect you. Can you imagine what Garth could do to you? The leeway he would have if he got you. I know this is all still new to you, and you think we’ll let you leave us, but we need you. You, Karen, are special. We have waited many years for you. You are the most important thing in our lives, and we couldn’t bear if anything happened to you.”
“I had to get away, Brad. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I couldn’t have sex again. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love making out with you and Duncan, but there is only so much I can take. I need talk, I need more than that cabin, and I need civilization.”
Brad sighed. He knew she was right, but he and Duncan were still worried she would choose to leave, and they had hoped that she would stay if they showered her with attention, and fantastic sex. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Everything. What do you and Duncan do when you’re not Peacekeeping?”
“We run the lodge.”
“Yeah, but what do you do for yourselves?”
Brad was unsure what Karen meant. He and Duncan didn’t really have much time to dedicate to anything else. They had Peacekeeping, the lodge—and now her. “We roam in our bear form.”
“What about sitting and watching TV, or going out to play football or another sport? You know a fun or relaxing thing you can enjoy.”
Brad shrugged, “When we were younger there was no such thing as TV. We did play sports, but as we grew older we slowly took over from our parents and we focused on what needed to be done.”
Karen reached over and patted him. “I’m so sorry.” She grinned over at him and in the sweetest voice said, “I forget how ancient you two are. I’m going to show you fun and how to relax, even if I have to provide helping canes.”
He chuckled. “Honey, we have more stamina in our pinky finger than you do in your whole body. You need to watch out if you keep calling us old, because we’ll have to show that we’re not.”
Karen raised her hands in the universal sign of surrender. “Fine. You’re not that old. This week, promise me, no more sex crazed romps every chance we touch. Let’s go out, and I’ll show you things and we will all do fun things together.”
He turned down the winding road to the lodge and glanced at Karen’s face. Her eyes were bright and eager, and her face was lit up with a smile. He couldn’t say no to her, and he knew Duncan wouldn’t. Brad would like to enjoy some social things with his mate. “Yeah, you can choose and organize our next couple of days.”
“Yay!” she clapped her hands together and the smile she bestowed on him made it worth trying anything Karen wanted.
Chapter Five
Duncan decided that Brad was never making decisions without him again. He was a man who liked his feet firmly on the ground. He closed his eyes and thought out of all the things Karen had chosen for them to do, this was by far the worst. Going to a theme park and going on every ride. Duncan could hear the nuts and bolts protest as the cart they sat in approached the top of a hill, before a huge drop.
The cart fell forward, and Karen squealed beside him. Duncan opened his eyes and wished he hadn’t, as his stomach flew up and then down.
“This is awesome. I love this ride!” Karen yelled.
He groaned and wished for this day to be over. Duncan even wished a Peacekeeper job would come up, that he would have to go and deal with. He was regretting feeling grateful to his younger brothers, Abraham and Jaylen, for saying they would handle any problems that arose during their absence.
When the ride finally finished Duncan had to bend the metal around him back into shape, as his grip had bent it. Karen was giggling as she eyed his face. He must look a fright.
“That was fun. What ride should we do next?” Karen bounced up and down, seemingly eager for more torture.
Duncan had had enough. Brad had agreed to this ‘having fun’ but Duncan hadn’t, so Brad could endure the next couple of hours of rides and theme park fun, because Duncan was going to a bar to get a much needed scotch.
Brad stood waiting for them at the exit of the roller c
oaster. He’d been lucky to get out of the last ride. He had a huge grin on his face. “You looked like you enjoyed that one, Duncan.”
Duncan could hear the laughter in Brad’s voice; he was enjoying the hell they were now in. Well, enjoying the effect it had on Duncan, anyway. “That’s it. You two can endure this torture together. I’m going to find a bar where I can get a strong drink.”
Karen pouted up at him, but it didn’t work because she couldn’t keep the smile off her face nor the laughter out of her eyes. “Oh, come on. A couple more rides and I’m done. I promise.”
He rolled his eyes heavenwards as she dramatically batted her eyelashes at him. Shaking his head, he sighed. He couldn’t leave. He was spending time with his mate. “Fine, but I won’t be going on the rides.”
“Great.” The smile Karen bestowed on him made everything he’d been through and more worth it. She was gorgeous and such a bright light in a life he hadn’t realized had become so dull. “I need to go to the bathroom before the next ride, so can we find the restrooms?”
Brad was looking at a map, when a commotion to Duncan’s side caught his attention. He took a deep breath in and scented wolves. Glancing at Karen, he put his hand up. “Stay with Brad. I’m going to find out what’s going on.”
The closer Duncan got, the more werewolves he smelled. Fists were being thrown by all shifters and Duncan soon got stuck in the middle, unable to handle all the wolves on his own.
Brad joined him when he was weighed down with four wolves on him.
“Where is Karen?” Duncan hoped Brad hadn’t left her someplace where she would be vulnerable.
“She is just out of the way with some female shifters and mates,” Brad yelled at him as he battled his way through the throng of wolves.
They needed to get this sorted. The wolves were causing a lot of problems and drawing way too much human attention.