Learning to cook kept her busy. Stuffing a chicken, she didn't turn when she sensed Jude behind her.
"Hmmm, I can't wait for dinner." He put his arms around her and kissed her neck. "Everything okay?"
"I just wish the house were done."
"Me, too. I'm gonna drop by the site to make sure those guys bust ass. I'd like to be moved in by the holidays. Do you want to come?"
"No. I thought I might call Karin and see if she's free. I haven't seen her since her mother went back home."
"I guess that's my fault," Jude suggested irritably. He let her go.
"No, not really. I don't like to intrude. They're always so busy with the baby. I'm just glad I got to see Mrs. Stone once before she left. She asked for you."
"Yeah. Well, I'll see her next time." He hesitated and wet his lips. "Want me to hang around and drive you over there."
She smiled. He did try. "No, baby. If it's convenient, one of them will get me. I'll wait out on the road so they don't get lost." So he doesn't worry about them coming in his house.
He looked relieved. She kissed him good-bye and finished up in the kitchen.
* * * *
Disappointed, Sable ended her conversation with Karin. They put off the visit. Malcolm had gone in town, and their only vehicle went with him.
She went into the den to look for something to read. Jude had several shelves of books about horses, both fiction and non-fiction. He promised to teach her to ride.
Jonas's scent taunted her while she looked through the books. She always felt his presence. It wouldn't end until they had their own home. She should have gone with Jude.
A thrill ran through her body when she sensed him nearby. She slid the book back on the shelf. Every nerve ending reached out for him. Her body, so in tune with his, felt the soft displacement of air as he moved closer. She shuddered when he finally touched her. His fingers glided over the exposed flesh of her throat. He pulled her hair back and traced her ear with his tongue before sucking the lobe into his mouth. The heat between them reached a dangerous level.
"Jonas. No." But she wanted him. Wanted him so bad, she was already wet and swollen, her body preparing itself for his penetration.
He slipped his hands under her top and cupped her tender breasts, teasing the sensitive tips with his thumbs. One hand snaked under the waistband of her slacks and over her swollen belly.
"Please. Don't do this." She moaned. He had to stop because she could no more push him away than stop breathing.
“I miss you, Sable. It drives me crazy knowing you’re in Jude’s bed every night.”
“We’re married now. Things are different.”
"An arrangement, not a real marriage.”
The words were a stab in her heart. She knew Jude didn’t love her, not really. What had he told Jonas? "You're wrong.”
"Am I? You know you want this, Sable." He leaned in and rubbed his cheek against hers. "I'm not blind. I see the way you look at me when you think no one's watching."
He cupped her mound with his palm and rubbed gently. When he teased her clit with his thumb, her knees went weak and she leaned back against him, afraid she'd melt to the floor.
He anchored her to his body while he stroked her. Pants and moans filled the room, and she realized they were hers. His fingers, probing and insistent, spread her open. Two long fingers slipped inside, and her inner walls contracted around them, wanting more.
"Fuck, you are so wet, baby.” His breath was ragged against her jaw.
Gasping, she bucked back against him. He was so hard, his erection pressed like a steel rod against her back. Gods, she needed him inside her.
"What do you want, Sable?" he whispered in her ear.
"You know what I want." She groaned.
"No. I want you to tell me."
"I want you inside me," she begged, shamelessly. He'd lit a fire in her, and only he could put it out.
"I want to hear my name," he insisted. "I want there to be no doubt who you want fucking you."
He was her mate. She had a right to him. "Jonas. I want you, Jonas," she cried. Tears rolled down her cheeks. How could she do this to Jude? It would break him.
"Beg me," he ordered. He rolled her clit between his fingers and pinched.
She fought to keep her sanity. It was too much. And it was much too late to stop. She'd already passed the point of no return.
"Please, Jonas, fuck me."
"Take your slacks off. And don't turn around," he warned harshly.
She heard him unzipping his jeans behind her and then his hands were on her arms guiding her backwards until they stood in front of the leather chair.
"Spread for me," he said sharply.
She bit her lip but did as he asked. The smell of their arousal perfumed the air. He cupped her butt in his hands, squeezing her cheeks and sliding his erection along her sex. It felt so damn good. Her wolf howled for release. She arched back and growled encouragement.
"Now, Jonas. I need you now," she demanded. Her heart quickened, her vulva grew hot and swollen.
“Jesus, Sable. I want you so fucking bad. I’m going to fill your hot, little pussy until it overflows and you scream my name.” He pulled her down on the chair with him. She straddled him, and he spread her open with his knees, holding her hips up so she could grasp his penis and guide it to her pussy. The swollen head slipped past her labia. She whimpered and lowered herself on him, taking his rigid length inside her.
He stifled a groan against her back, and she stilled, enjoying the feel of him after being apart for so long. She wanted to tell him to remove his shirt so she could feel his skin against her back, but she couldn't speak.
He pulled her hair aside and nuzzled her neck before sinking his teeth in her soft flesh. Incredible warmth spread from her pussy down the long length of her legs to her toes.
She screamed and climaxed as he sucked on the mark.
"You scarred me," he murmured in her ear. "Now we're even.”
He had no idea what he did. He'd sealed their bond with his bite. She'd wear it forever. Mindless with pleasure, she started to move on him. He grunted with each counter thrust. Cries of pleasure mixed with the sound of flesh slapping against flesh.
He increased the pace, and she matched him. There was no stopping. His cock throbbed inside her, and she ground against him frantically. And then as he burst inside her, he reached around and rubbed the bundle of nerves that set off another orgasm. She saw stars explode behind her eyelids she cried out with the little breath left in her.
She leaned back against him, closed her eyes, and let the spasms subside. He held her with one hand on her belly, one on her breast, but he didn't speak.
They stayed like that, for what seemed an eternity, until a hand twisted in her hair and yanked her upright.
"Am I interrupting something?" Jude snarled, nostrils flaring.
The blood drained from her face. "Jude, please—"
"Get out of my sight." He let go of her and turned away as if he couldn't stand to look at her. The hatred in his voice pierced her heart like a dagger.
Shaking, she bent to retrieve her clothes and backed away.
Jude lunged at his brother, grabbed him by his shirt, and pulled him off the chair.
"You son of a bitch! You couldn't wait to get your hands on her again." Jude exploded.
"I’m sorry, Jude, but what did you expect?” Jonas said harshly. “She’s not like us.”
She saw Jude draw his fist back, and, crying, she ran out of the house.
* * * *
Jude had felt killing rage once before in his life, when his parents were slaughtered by wolves. Right now, he had that same blood in his eyes, and he focused it on Jonas.
He hit him with a jab that snapped his head back and exposed his chin. Before Jonas could block, he nailed him again with a right to his jaw that sent him to the floor.
Jonas turned over on his hands and knees, but Jude didn't give him a chance to get up. He planted one booted foot on
his bare ass with enough strength to force Jonas flat on his face.
"Get up," Jude bellowed. He tucked his chin to his chest, moved to the side, and balanced on the balls of his feet, ready to spring again.
"I don't want to fight you." A shaky Jonas sat up and rubbed his jaw.
"Come on, motherfucker. Defend yourself." Jude glared at him.
"No. Just hear me out." Jonas stood on rubbery legs and snatched up his jeans. He sat on the chair and struggled into them. His face was swelling up nicely.
Jude went at him again, but this time Jonas deflected the punch with his arm.
"Did she look like she was fighting me off?" Jonas protested. "She's not worth it. She's not even human. You forgot the real reason we brought her here, and you fell for a killer body and knockout sex, but there's more to a relationship than fucking. You need to find a real woman, one who will be a partner, like Nicole is to me."
Jude saw red. "Yeah, some partnership. You keep her waiting while you're screwing your brother's wife." Jude grimaced and rubbed his temples. His blood surged through his veins like water in a high-pressure hose, and a thick, painful fog swirled inside his head. He wanted a couple aspirin and a tumbler of whiskey to wash them down.
"She played you, put on a really good act, too. It even fooled Janis."
"You're wrong." Jude snarled. "You don't know her."
"Neither do you," Jonas stated flatly. "She's different than us."
"No." She’d put that wolf stuff behind her when she married him. She didn't shift anymore.
"Believe me, she can't help herself. No matter how hard she tries to behave like us, her true nature will always come out. You've seen her in heat. Animals are compelled to fulfill a primal need. They don't need an emotional attachment. When she needs sex, she sends out a signal to attract a male, any male. Well, her signal broadcast loud and clear. I'm sorry, but think about it, and you'll see I'm right."
Jude's rage faded, replaced by a gut-wrenching sadness. The knife in his heart twisted a little more, and he bled inside.
"I just want you to be happy."
Jesus! He thought he was happy. Was it all based on a lie? He'd been a fool.
"...not too late." Jonas's voice droned on and on. "...hassle-free divorce ...of course the baby complicates things, but she'll want to avoid exposure. Let me help you. I'll take care of everything."
Jonas was the expert in all this. He was just a hunter who fell for a pretty face. Bitterness filled the empty place in his heart.
* * * *
Sable's eyes burned with tears. She'd never forget the way Jude looked at her. The hate on his face was forever etched onto her brain, and Jonas's look of contempt cut her to the core. Why had she given into that mating frenzy? She'd ruined everything.
She cared for both men, but neither of them would believe her or understand. Jude had enjoyed being part of a threesome before they married, but he had no idea what it really meant to her. The scars they bore were marks of a bond as surely as the marriage license hanging on their bedroom wall.
Jude wanted a traditional human marriage, one man and one woman. She tried. She really did. But her fierce attraction to Jonas proved they were already bound in a Lycan triad. The men wouldn't accept it any more than they accepted her wolf or anything else about her heritage. No amount of explaining would ever make this right in their eyes.
How ironic that the only place she felt accepted was with the two people she once tried to destroy, Malcolm and Karin. She headed there now, wanting their comfort and acceptance.
She stopped short at the porch, nervous when she saw them. They sat flanking the baby asleep in his carriage. She looked from one to the other. Malcolm's stormy expression forecast trouble. Karin, always the peacemaker, jumped up.
"Malcolm, why don't you keep an eye on the baby while I take Sable inside and find her something to wear?"
He nodded curtly, and Sable stepped up on the porch and followed Karin into the house. They went into the spare room, and Karin shut the door.
"I know something is wrong." She took some of her old maternity clothes from the closet and laid them on the bed. "Why don't you shift so we can talk?"
Sable wanted to hide in her fur, but she did as Karin asked. In a few minutes, she was sitting on the bed crying. She poured out her story while she dressed. It seemed so much worse in the telling.
"I know it sounds horrible," Sable sobbed, before Karin could say a word. Afraid she would think her some sex-crazed beast, she couldn't even look the human woman in the eye. "But at the time it felt right. I missed Jonas so much, and I couldn't think straight. Gods, I was so stupid to hurt Jude like that."
"I understand," Karin said gently. "Your side and his. You need to make Jude understand both sides as well."
"I don't know, Karin. You didn't see his face. He hates me."
"How do you feel about him?"
"I don't know. At first I thought I never wanted to see either one of them again, but I still feel our bond."
"Everyone needs some time to cool off. By tomorrow morning Jude will be breaking down the door wanting to talk to you."
"Do you really think so?"
"I know so." She shook her head adamantly. "Malcolm and I went through some really bad times. I thought I lost him forever, but in the end, it all worked out. It will for you, too. In the meantime, you'll stay here with us."
Chapter Nineteen
A week went by without a word from Jude. Sable slept in the spare bedroom in Malcolm's house and cried herself to sleep every night. So many times, she stopped herself from calling him. He needed time to think and calm down. She gave it to him. When he was ready, they would talk, and she would beg him to forgive her.
She got into a routine. The remote area and extreme privacy allowed Malcolm to run with Ralf everyday. Sable got in the habit of joining them. Karin fussed over her and worried like a mother hen, but Malcolm knew her limitations, and he adjusted his speed to accommodate her, Ralf too.
Karin still worried, and she took Sable to her own doctor in Macon who pronounced Sable in excellent health but suggested she stop running. Twins sometimes came early, and hers were so big already, it seemed likely.
Sable helped Karin with the baby and learned all she could. Keeping busy helped pass the days, but it didn't fill the void in her life and her heart.
They were getting ready for dinner one night when the doorbell rang. Sable froze. Her heart lurched. No one ever came to the house. It had to be Jude. She started fixing her hair.
"I'll get it," Malcolm said firmly.
She had a view of the door from the open kitchen, and she saw Malcolm open it to a stranger. He returned quickly and set an official-looking envelope on the table.
"It's for you, Sable. Do you want me to open it?"
Her chest felt tight as if she couldn't take a breath. She nodded, knowing that somehow this paper would change her life.
Malcolm sat and tore open the envelope. Karin stood behind him reading over his shoulder. She gasped as he rifled through the pages then threw them down in disgust.
"Oh, honey." Karin came and put an arm around her.
Scared to death, she looked at Malcolm.
"They're divorce papers," he snarled.
Too deeply shocked to react, Sable sat speechless. Her new life was over before it started. Jude didn't want her anymore. He hated her.
"And that's not all. The son of a bitch wants to take custody of the babies."
"No!" All the blood drained from her face, and she started crying.
"He claims he's the innocent and injured spouse."
"Oh, my Gods," she moaned. She had injured him, but surely he wouldn't take her babies away.
"Committed adultery and offered such indignities to the innocent and injured spouse as to render that spouse's condition intolerable and life burdensome." Malcolm's expression turned hard. "This is bullshit."
"What can we do?" Karin took a deep breath, trying to steady the shakiness in
her voice.
"Let me make a call. I know a lawyer in Macon. He helped me set up my business."
After what seemed an interminable time on the phone Malcolm came back to the table. "Pennsylvania still has fault-based grounds, and the divorce is awarded to the innocent and injured spouse."
"But I don't want a divorce," Sable sobbed. “What if I just say no?"
"Contesting a divorce is expensive and emotionally draining. The attorney said most divorces proceed under the no-fault method."
"How does that work?" Karin asked.
"Both spouses have to sign an Affidavit of Consent."
"And if one doesn't sign?"
"Then a no-fault decree can be entered if they've been separated for at least two years. The lawyer doesn't think he really wants the babies. Jude's just trying to scare you so you won't go after his property. He gave me the name of a good divorce attorney."
"The lawyer is wrong. They want the babies. I'll never give them up." This had to be Jonas's doing. She didn't want to believe Jude could do this to her.
Malcolm crouched down by her chair. "Listen to me, Sable. I don't care what kind of BS the Outlaws are trying to pull, it will never happen. No judge in the world is going to take these babies from their mother. First thing tomorrow I'll call this guy."
"I can't afford a lawyer," Sable cried.
"That's exactly what the Outlaws are counting on, but don't you worry. I have money in the bank. I'll mortgage the house if I have to." He looked up at Karin.
"Of course. I have some money, too. Before I moved to Black Wolf I saved every penny to start my own veterinary office."
"We don't need to use your money, Karin. I've done okay in the past years."
"What's the difference, my money is your money."
"Thank you both, but I won't take your money." She'd done enough to Malcolm and Karin. They were finally together and happy, and here she was messing up their lives again. The more she involved them, the closer Jonas would get to finding out Malcolm's secret. "I can't let you get involved. You have your own family to worry about."
"Don't talk crazy. We're not letting one of our own be raised by some ignorant bastard who knows nothing about us and isn't willing to learn." Malcolm slammed a palm on the table. "I'll kill him first."
Stanley, Gale - Mating Call [Black Wolf Gorge 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 16