by Lee, Jessica
“Help me then. Tell me what you want. Is it Landry?” Kaleb glanced over his shoulder. From the other end of the hall, Landry jerked his head around, panic written in his expression. The sound of a sob rippled through the door, the waves chewing away at his resolve. Shit. How was he supposed to just sit back and allow this to go on?
“Go away, Kaleb!” she begged. “Please… Just give me some peace so I can get through this with a little of my dignity left.”
Pushing away, Kaleb’s hands slid down the wood and dropped to his sides. What other choice did he have? She didn’t want him. And no matter how strong the pull of her heat, he wasn’t about to force himself on a female when her answer was no.
Kaleb turned toward Landry. “How long do you think she’ll be like this?”
Landry shrugged and pivoted, heading in the direction of the kitchen when his gait faltered. He stumbled, but managed to grab for a table near the doorway.
“Landry!” Damn. Kaleb rushed for his friend as the small oak side table pitched over, hitting the floor with a clatter that echoed in the hollow space. Catching him by the arm, Kaleb managed to steady him.
“I’m good,” he muttered. “I’m good.”
“Really?” Kaleb glanced down at the shifter’s side, taking in the dark stains that appeared wet. “You’re still bleeding.”
“It’ll stop. It’s not that bad,” Landry added.
Shaking his head, Kaleb swore under his breath. He’d never met a more frustrating male in his life. “You need to shift and start healing.”
“I’d rather keep my clothes on at the moment, if you don’t mind,” Landry gritted out.
Now that, Kaleb could understand and relate to. Freeing his own cock from behind his zipper would not make matters any better. He was too worked up. They both were. “Then you need to let me help.”
Landry yanked his arm free. “That won’t be necessary.”
“I think it is,” Kaleb stated, his voice rumbling. “And you have two choices: shift or let me care for your wound so the bleeding will stop and you start to heal.”
“Dalton…” Landry growled. “You come near me and—”
Shoving his chest against Landry’s, Kaleb flashed his canines. “You’ll what?” Fucking hell, this close the male’s sandalwood and musk scent temporarily overrode the heat in the air and had him salivating. Kaleb’s already rock hard cock punched the denim, straining for release. “Rosa needs you at full strength and able to protect her. You wobbling around like this because of your damn pride isn’t helping her or me.”
A slight twitch in his friend’s expression told Kaleb his words had hit home. Landry’s gaze narrowed.
“Fine,” he spat, then turned and faced the wall, his palms flattening on the surface. Air soughed from his lungs. “Help me,” he added in a whisper.
Kaleb’s eyelids lowered from the sound of submission in Landry’s voice. Admitting he needed someone had cost the fierce male. Needed him. A tremor raced over Kaleb’s body.
“Hold still,” Kaleb breathed. He grasped the damp material of Landry’s shirt. Gently he tugged it free from the waistband of his partner’s pants and pushed it up, exposing the angry punctures along his flank.
Dropping into a crouch, Kaleb moved in closer, doing his best to gather enough moisture in his mouth. He’d heard about the special enzyme generated in the male or female’s saliva when a person a shifter cared for was hurt or wounded, though Kaleb personally had never tested out the theory. Never had a reason to, until now. The chemical released was said to numb the affected area and speed the healing process. Damn, he hoped whatever gland was suppose to kick into action worked.
Leaning in, Kaleb brushed his flattened tongue over the damaged flesh. Landry hissed and shuddered. Again, Kaleb moved over his partner’s side, making sure he didn’t miss a single puncture. The salty taste of Landry’s flesh tinged with a hint of coopery flavor exploded over his taste buds. Kaleb’s pulse jackhammered inside his head. He closed his eyes, savoring the hot feel of his friend’s skin inside his mouth.
“Shit,” Landry groaned and squirmed under Kaleb’s ministrations. The sound of nails scratching wood came from above. Then the whisper of unfurling metal filled Kaleb’s ears—Landry was opening his zipper. “Fuck,” his partner gritted out, his tone hushed, pained. “Too much.”
Holy hell. Landry was about to blow, and Kaleb was the one stoking the flame—crumbling the powerful male’s control. What a fucking head rush. His own balls released a hard throb at the thought.
Kaleb squeezed his eyelids tight and dug his fingers into the material at Landry’s hips for a better hold. No way in hell was Kaleb going to stop. Not until Landry came undone. Like a man possessed, unable to get enough, Kaleb worked his tongue over and over each of Landry’s injuries.
“Kaleb…” Landry’s hips jerked. “Fuck. I have to—”
Opening his eyes, Kaleb caught sight of the first wave of cum as it erupted from the end of Landry’s cock, wringing a moan from his friend’s throat. In a fevered pitch, Landry pumped his shaft, milking his orgasm from his balls. The jets painted the logs in front of him in lines of white.
And it was the hottest damn thing Kaleb had ever witnessed.
Unable to drag his gaze away, Kaleb watched, enthralled by every stroke. His palm itched to be the one holding Landry’s thick erection, forcing Kaleb to tighten his grip on the other man’s denim.
Kaleb groaned. How would it feel to hold on while Landry’s blood pulsed through his rod, pounding inside Kaleb’s fist with the rapid beat of his heart? To feel the male’s cock swell within his hand right before Landry’s cum exploded out the slit?
His friend’s breath hitched. “Shit,” he mumbled.
Drawing back, Kaleb looked up, and their gazes locked.
“I-I didn’t mean…” Landry began, then closed his eyes, repositioning his still hard flesh behind his zipper.
“No worries.” Kaleb stood. “Lot of pheromones in the air, you know.”
Landry’s eyelids lifted, and the longing that remained in his hazel gaze held Kaleb captive. “Yeah.” Landry nodded. “That’s what it was. A lot of built up tension.” But the expression on the other male’s face said, there is a hell of a lot more going on here than Rosa’s heat, and you fucking know it.
A scream followed by a loud crash that sounded like glass shattering came from Rosa’s room.
“Rosa!” Kaleb scrambled toward her door with Landry on his heels. He twisted the knob, but the latch didn’t budge.
Pounding on the door with his fist, Landry called out. “Rosa? Answer me.”
Nothing.
“Fuck this,” Landry growled. “Stand back.”
Kaleb retreated a few steps as Landry reared back and then slammed his boot into the door. The wood splintered away from the jam, and the door swung inward, banging off the wall. Both males charged inside, scanning the interior for the female.
But Rosa was nowhere to be found.
“Dammit!” Kaleb swore. The window was smashed, and the busted remains of a chair lay sprawled across the front porch on the other side. There’d been no break in—just the opposite. Rosa had broken out.
“What the hell is she thinking?” Landry rushed over to the frame.
“I don’t know,” Kaleb mumbled and launched himself over the sill. “But we have to get her back before something happens to her.”
Landry’s boots hit the boards beside him. Breathing deep, Kaleb searched for a trail in the air. Within seconds, her molecules flooded his nostrils. Her scent rode heavy on the wind and should prove easy to track. Glancing over to Landry, the other male nodded, confirming he’d picked up her path as well. Both males leaped over the rail and onto the grass, racing in her direction.
“She’s heading for the river,” Landry called out, taking the lead.
Chapter Fifteen
Rosa had to get out of there.
There had been no other option. She darted through the tall grass, her feet
bare, hair wild and blowing in the cool morning breeze. And the run felt amazing.
She’d had to escape. Knowing—sensing the males her heart and body craved on the other side of the door was driving her insane. Their lust—their need—only amplified her own ache, and it had been more than she could bear. In a moment of sheer, blinding frustration, Rosa had lashed out, tossing a chair through the large bank of windows. And freedom had beckoned from the other side.
The sound of rushing water drew her attention. She was almost there. The thought of the icy ripples coursing over her overheated flesh drove her harder. Faster.
Moments later, she rounded a copse of fir trees and found the refuge she sought. The river lay ahead, clear, deep, and so inviting. Reflex had her yanking her blouse over her head and shoving her jeans as well as her panties to the ground. She had to cool down.
Unable to resist another second, Rosa padded over to the bank and strode into the steady flow. The mountain water raced over her thighs, whisking away the stress, the tension in her muscles. Rosa maneuvered through the rocky bed, taking herself deeper. The river crested the tips of her breasts, hardening her nipples into stiff peaks. She shivered, the icy tendrils of the water working its magic on her bloodstream, bringing her core temperature down.
A rustling sound in the grass jerked her around. Easing through the trees as if he were afraid he’d startle a skittish rabbit, Kaleb appeared. Despite the wintry bite of the river, heat flushed her cheeks and flooded her core. Rosa moaned and crossed her arms over her breasts.
“I can’t do this, Kaleb,” she cried out. “You have to leave me alone.”
Coming from another angle through the firs, Landry strode alongside the bank.
“Oh, my God… The both of you have to go home. My brother needs you more than me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Kaleb said, lowering onto his haunches at the water’s edge. “You need me. I know you do. You just won’t admit it yet.” His head bowed. “Christ, Rosa.” He sighed. “Please…stop running. I need you too.”
Her breath caught in her throat, strangled on a sob. God, yes, she needed him. Needed and wanted them both. Choosing one over the other wasn’t an option in her heart and doing so would have destructive effects on them all.
“Landry…” She glanced over at the hardened enforcer who watched her with more compassion in his eyes than she wondered if he even knew he possessed. “Kaleb…” She turned to the other male. “You don’t know how much I want to just give in.” A hard cramp seized her abdomen, and Rosa curled in on herself on a moan. “Oh, God… It hurts.”
A series of loud crashes in the water sent frigid waves breaking around her. Then strong arms scooped her up and cradled her against a solid, warm chest. Opening her eyes, she found Kaleb’s blues eyes boring into hers.
Emerging from the river, Kaleb dropped to his knees and clasped her face between his palms. Over his shoulder, Rosa spotted Landry, stress burrowing lines in his brow.
“Rosa…” Kaleb began. “Shit…” He shook his head. “Don’t you know how much I love you by now? Let me help you.” He stroked her cheek, brushing away the warm trail of a tear. “Let me be the one.”
She sniffed as a tremor rocked her, setting off another spasm in her core. Rosa squeezed his fingers, her gaze darting between the two males. “I can’t,” she whispered.
Kaleb blinked. “Not good enough,” he gritted out between his teeth, then stared down at her. “I need more than that.”
How did she explain she was in love with both of them—wanted both of them? She didn’t understand it herself. A mating was a process of joining one shifter to the other. Yet, no matter how hard she tried, Rosa couldn’t untwist the knot that had become her love for both of them.
Swallowing hard, searching for moisture to soothe the desert that was her throat, Rosa tried again. “I can’t have you because I can’t hurt Landry like that.” Her gaze flicked to the other male. He flinched as if he’d been punched.
“You don’t want to hurt me?” Landry closed in on them. “What do you mean?”
“I’m trying to say I can’t make the impossible choice of deciding between the two males whom I love.” Rosa reached up and grasped the side of Kaleb’s face, his coarse five o’clock shadow scratching her palm. “I’d rather endure this alone than have to mate with one of you and walk away from the other. My heart won’t survive.”
“Who says you have to?” Kaleb arched a brow.
Rosa’s heart galloped. “What are you saying?”
The redheaded shifter glanced up a Landry. The tall shifter stood frozen, his lips parted as if whatever he was about to say had stalled in his throat. Kaleb turned back to her. “Why do you have to choose one of us? We both want you—love you.” He leaned over her, his mouth a hair’s breadth from hers, and brushed the hair away from her eyes. “Let us show you how much.”
“Kaleb?” Landry’s deep voice sliced through the moment. Rosa gasped, and Kaleb swung his head toward the male. “Think very hard about what you’re saying…what you’re offering. A female mating with two males hasn’t been done before. We don’t even know if it’ll work. Not to mention how the rest of the pack—especially Evin—will react to this decision.”
Landry glanced off into the distance, his fist working at his side as if the process were helping him to find the right words. Then slowly, his gaze lowered to Kaleb. “For this to work for me—for us—I’m going to want you both. All of you. Are you prepared for that?” His eyes tapped Rosa. “Can you live with that, sweetness?”
It was as if Landry were trying to shock them. Scare them away from a relationship with him. But he’d picked the wrong tactic if he wanted an out. A challenge was the one thing Rosa never shied away from. “My brother will have to get over himself. This is my life,” she growled. “Nothing has ever been easy for me or Evin.” She turned to Kaleb, beads of sweat stinging her eyes. “Why should who I love be any different? I can handle it if you can.”
Before Kaleb could respond, Landry was on his knees beside her. “Rosa. Fuck…” He stroked the top of her head. “You know my past. I was practically a bastard child.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Is that the kind of man you want in your bed? For Christ sake, you’re our alpha’s twin!”
She narrowed her gaze on him, frowning. “Your past has never mattered to me. Have I ever treated you any different than I have Kaleb?” God, after all these years, how can Landry believe I’ve ever seen him as any less of a man?
“No,” he rumbled.
“The only thing that matters to me is who you are now.” Rosa snagged the front of his shirt, pulling him close until they were nose to nose. “And the man in front of me is extraordinary,” she breathed.
A growl vibrated off Landry’s chest, and his pupils expanded, leaving only a thin ring of hazel at the outer ring. “Mine,” he rumbled, canines flashing. Landry claimed her mouth, stealing her air. Her head swam on a dizzying rush as he licked at her lips, inviting them to open. And no way could she deny him access. He dove inside, tangling his tongue with hers and teasing her with more of what was to come. Rosa’s breasts ached, her core pulsed with inflamed desire.
Strong arms tensed around her, reminding her of the other male who held the ties to her heart. Before she could pull back, Landry broke away and glanced at Kaleb. He hadn’t answered his partner’s question or hers.
“Kaleb?” Landry stood, the obvious sign of his arousal pressed against his fly, making her mouth water. But where they would go from here was up to Kaleb now. Would he be okay with the type of ménage Landry was suggesting?
As far as she knew, Kaleb had always been a heterosexual male. Yet, the duo had grown up together. They’d seen each other through good times and bad and were tighter than any normal working partnership. And she’d seen the occasional looks Landry had given Kaleb and vice-versa. The ones that had lingered a little too long when they didn’t know she’d been watching. Something inside had told her then that their feeli
ngs went deeper than friendship, but she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge their existence. Maybe out of fear she’d ignored it, because if those emotions were brought to the surface, where did it leave her in their lives?
Helping Rosa to her feet, Kaleb straightened. Seconds passed in heavy silence as the two males stood face-to-face. Labored breaths rushed from Kaleb’s lungs as if his brain struggled with a great internal battle. His fists worked open and closed. And Rosa was sure her own diaphragm had forgotten how to function. Then without warning Kaleb lunged for the other male, slamming his mouth onto Landry’s.
“Holy shit.” Her lungs burst back into action at the sight, and she squirmed from the rush of arousal pooling between her legs.
Kaleb clamped his fingers around Landry’s ears, holding on as if the male were his parachute, and they were both in free fall. Then Kaleb jerked back, their harsh breaths competing with the rushing river. Rosa wrapped her fingers around the redheaded shifter’s biceps, and Kaleb covered her hand with his before tilting his head at Landry.
“How’s that for an answer?” Kaleb asked, his expression solemn, assessing.
Slowly, a smile eased across Landry’s mouth, and he stepped in, cupping her and Kaleb’s napes with his broad palms. “I say, let’s give the boundaries on mating a kick in the ass.”
A laugh bubbled up out of Rosa, catching her off guard. For so long tension and confusion had held her mind and body in its thorny vise, she was surprised by the happy sound. Landry reached down and swept her up in his arms before taking off at a swift pace toward the cabin.
They made it to the front porch in record time. Kaleb threw the door open and Landry carried her over the threshold, arrowing straight for the bedroom. Gently, he eased her down onto her feet beside the bed, his fingertips trailing a path down her arms. Gooseflesh lifted in the wake of his touch, inducing a shiver.
“We’ll have you warmed up very soon, sweetness,” Landry drawled.
His hands stilled, but the male’s hazel gaze raked over her naked flesh. Rosa bit into her lower lip, finding it difficult to stay in one place. But she didn’t want to move—didn’t want to miss a second of the powerful male’s attention.