He came closer, his steps quiet and sure. Their gazes met and held. There was no stopping the warm lust heating her blood.
“How are you feeling? Warm enough?” he asked, his voice low and incredibly seductive.
She nodded, her eyes betraying her and sliding to glance at his lips. “Yes. I’m good.”
He stopped a few inches away from her, closed his eyes and inhaled. A low groan sounded in the back of his throat. “Your scent is driving me crazy.”
She inhaled but got nothing. She’d showered and put on the basics but she’d been warned against heavy perfumes, so she had no idea what scent he was talking about. “It is?”
He took another step and her back plastered against the glass. His eyes changed from the soft blue to a bright gold that sent shivers down her spine.
“Yes.” He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, caressing the side of her face with so much care, one would think he was worried she’d break.
Her breath stilled in her chest. She licked her lips, swallowing at the knot in her throat. Shit, but he was gay. She didn’t turn gay guys straight. She certainly had a hard enough time with men who liked women. She tried to figure out if he liked her for her, or because he was thinking of a penis. What were the rules with gay men? Maybe she should say she had no penis.
The way his chest rose and fell caught her attention. She saw how hard his breathing had become. She wanted to kiss him so badly. Just one taste. Nobody needed to know. As if he’d read her mind, he brought his head down and brushed his lips softly over hers.
Explosions rocketed in her chest. She sighed into the kiss and he deepened it, swiping his tongue into her mouth to caress over hers. She raised her hands to his chest, gripping his shirt in her fists. She’d been kissed many times in her thirty-five years, but never had she ever been kissed with so much tenderness. He slid his fingers into her hair, pulling her face closer and holding her at an angle to go even deeper.
Tension coiled in her belly and desire sent moisture straight to her panties. She let him take, giving freely into the kiss. He glided a hand down to her breast, cupping one of her tits and fondling her over her sweater. Her clit throbbed with the need to come.
She pressed closer, feeling the hard bar of his erection on her belly. Lord, that felt good. So good. She wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and watch him slide balls deep into her.
THIRTEEN
He pulled back, taking ragged breaths and eating her with his gaze. “I knew you’d be perfect from the moment I saw you. Your taste is addictive.” He pressed his lips over hers in a light caress. “I want more, Charlotte.” He squeezed her breast, finding her nipple with the precision of a GPS and pinching it.
The painful nip soaked her panties. She’d willingly strip to nothing and offer herself for his taking at that moment.
“But,” she gulped, leaning closer and loving his lips licking her neck and ear, “what about Brecc?”
“He wants you, too.” Another lick around her earlobe and she felt her knees weaken and the question surrounding his relationship with Brecc dove out the window. “I want to fuck you, beautiful.”
That sounded like a good plan. Fucking. Naked. Very promising and could be achieved if he’d move his hands. “Yes.”
He thrust his hips, pressing his rock-hard erection into her belly. “I know you’ll be so soft.” He licked again, his other hand gliding down to slide around her waist and stopping at her ass. “So wet. So hot.”
The sound of a crying baby tore her from his arms. She stumbled away, almost drunk on her feet from her need to be with him. Her pussy ached and tightened with desire. She sucked in a breath, watching him curl his hands into fists.
“Don’t run from me. I would never harm you,” he said with that rough voice that did things she’d never imagined to her body.
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The door opened. Alessandra walked in with a little girl in her arms. Like Alessandra, the baby had fine white hair and bright blue eyes.
“Charlotte, I thought you might want to meet Tatiana. She’s my baby.”
Charlotte glanced at Alessandra, pasted on a smile she wasn’t feeling and ignored Eros. She rushed forward to see the baby. Babies liked her. They tended to fall asleep on her chest. Apparently big boobs were all the rage for infants.
She smiled at the baby. “Hi. You are absolutely gorgeous!”
The little girl gurgled, showing four little teeth and said something she couldn’t make out. She leaned towards Charlotte and lifted her arms for her to take her.
“Whoa! Tatiana never does that. She dislikes anyone but me, Eros, or Brecc holding her.”
Charlotte knew Eros was staring at her. The heat from his gaze glided over her like a warm caress.
She took the baby and sighed. Her ovaries decided to remind her she had no kids at that moment. Good God! It hit her hard. The little girl smiling and nuzzling her face into Charlotte’s neck stole her heart. Brecc chose that moment to walk in, his gaze zeroed in on her and Tatiana.
She’d been ignoring her biological clock for a while now. But being this close to a baby and two hot as heck shifters was messing with her mind and hormones. If things kept up this way, she might end up getting into Eros’s bed really soon. She chose to ignore the voice in her head telling her she wanted to know just how wild Brecc could be.
FOURTEEN
Eros got a taste of Charlotte. That wasn’t nearly enough for what he knew they’d develop with time. His entire life had been ensuring the emotional health of the pack. It was draining work, but massively rewarding. He loved every member of their pack.
“What do you think?” Brecc asked, his gaze focused on the road where they trudged closer to the river.
“She’s got a kind heart. Lots of loneliness and pain in there, but she’s perfect.”
Brecc glanced at him with a closed off look. Sometimes, when his best friend did that, Eros wondered if Brecc was trying to shut him out. It was unheard of. They were a team. Their bond was deeper than any. With Charlotte as their mate, they’d open a link between the three of them like their ancestors. It was the way of the Triad.
“I get the impression she doesn’t like me much.”
Eros chuckled, his gaze roaming the snow-coated forest. There had been talk of someone being in trouble in the frozen part of the river. They went ahead to check to ensure the safety of their people.
“Oh, she likes you, all right. She just doesn’t understand you.” He tapped Brecc on the shoulder. “You have to make an effort to connect with her.”
Brecc took a deep breath and frowned. The Alpha wolf’s animal sat just below the skin, vibrating hard enough to allow Eros to feel it. “I will spend time with her. I can’t be something I’m not.”
Dammit. That’s not what he was saying at all. “I’m not asking you to. I know she’ll be more open to anything we propose if she feels you’re not so hostile towards her.”
“Hostile?” Brecc growled. “She’s the one who offered to spend time with Vikter. Vikter!”
Eros winced. “I know that bothered you, but she doesn’t know any better. Besides, Vikter isn’t all that bad. He’s just bitter.”
Like Brecc was bitter. That friendship needed mending.
There was an opening of broken ice in the frozen side of the river. Eros shut his eyes, sending his wolf spirit to search for someone in the water. He snapped his eyes open and gasped hard, having sensed the cold the person in the water felt and the slow death approaching.
“We have to hurry!” He rushed forward, tugging out rope they’d left the cabin with. Brecc tied it around a sturdy, two thousand year old trunk. Eros moved to the edge of the river, closer to the broken ice.
Brecc took off his boots and clothes, staying in his underwear. Once naked, he tied the other end of the rope around his waist, where the rope attached to itself to keep from coming undone.
Eros sucked in a breath. It was cold. Even though they were natives to th
e Ice Mountains and could withstand serious negative temperatures, they still wore warm clothing. However, Brecc would need his clothes dry or they would take too long to heat when he got out.
“Be careful. She’s losing time,” Eros shouted.
Brecc dove straight into the broken ice. A shocking, cold sensation went through Eros from his bond with Brecc. He was lucky. His clothing heated to warm him from the cold Brecc was transmitting.
He was gone for about thirty seconds before he surfaced with a wet figure. Eros grabbed the body and set the woman on a tree trunk. He pulled out a Farezi blanket. Known for being able to warm in the coldest of temperatures, they both traveled with one in their pockets at all times. The blanket was made of fine artificial intelligence that heated and thickened to help the wearer drive off the freezing temperatures.
He covered the girl in the blanket while Brecc put his clothes on. The blanket voiced her vitals.
“Let’s take her back to the cabin,” Eros said, picking her up and rushing back to the house.
They walked into the cabin and found Charlotte and Alessandra drinking tea. He put the girl on one of the sofas and moved the blanket enough to see her face. Her hair had gone from soaked to damp with the heat from the blanket. He pushed the strands away and stared at her face in shock.
“She’s…fuck!” Eros mumbled. “It’s Razzy.”
Alessandra gasped. “Vikter’s sister?”
“Shouldn’t she be hibernating?” Charlotte asked with a frown. “I thought someone mentioned dragons were in hibernation?”
“Most are. Younger ones tend to wake up earlier than the rest.” Alessandra replied. “Vikter couldn’t hibernate anyways. His dragon is probably giving him endless sleepless nights.”
“She looks really young,” Charlotte said. “What happened?”
“We aren’t sure,” Brecc said.
“Should we put her on a bed? Maybe get her out of the wet clothes?” Charlotte asked. The sound of concern in her voice for a girl she didn’t know warmed Eros’s heart.
“Take her into one of the guest rooms, Brecc,” Alessandra ordered. “Charlotte and I will take care of Razzy.”
Brecc picked up the girl, carried her into one of the guest rooms and put her on the bed before moving to leave. He stopped by Charlotte’s side and grabbed her arm. “Be careful.”
Charlotte frowned and nodded. Eros sensed she wasn’t sure why Brecc said that. It would take time to fill Charlotte in on the issues between the dragons and wolves. There was too much blood and pain in their history.
He felt the rejection Brecc felt from Charlotte as if it had been him. They couldn’t have it. She needed to bond with Brecc much more urgently than she did with Eros.
The life of the pack and the survival of Brecc and Eros’s bond depended on it. If she didn’t bond with Brecc and Eros, the elders would set a mate for them. If that didn’t work, they’d lose their link as a triad and a new one would be chosen by the elders, leaving Brecc and Eros to live a life of loneliness.
FIFTEEN
Charlotte helped strip Razzy of her wet clothes. The girl was unconscious and didn’t move or respond to anything they said. Her long fire red hair dried in waves around a young pale face.
“She looks like a little kid,” Charlotte said as Alessandra rummaged through a closet, retrieving a kimono-style, long robe.
“She is. She’s just turned twenty.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Twenty? She looks twelve!”
Alessandra helped her get Razzy in the robe and the material heated until the girl was once again covered by warmth. “Here, a person can live well into the hundreds. So twenty is a baby in our years.”
Crying sounded from another room in the house. Alessandra frowned at the door, but Tatiana didn’t stop.
“Go to her. I’ll stay here,” Charlotte said.
Moments later, it was only her and the girl. She sat, watching the rise and fall of the girl’s chest when her eyes fluttered open.
Bright purple irises stared at Charlotte. “Who are you? Am I dead?”
Charlotte smiled at how shocked the girl sounded. “No. You’re not dead. I’m Charlotte.”
The girl’s eyes popped wide with surprise. “You’re from earth!”
She laughed and shook her head. “Is it, like, stamped on my forehead?”
The girl sat up, ignoring Charlotte’s hands trying to keep her still and sighed. “No. You’re so beautiful. Your skin is so dark and lovely. We have many skin tones here, but nothing like yours. That’s how I know.” She smiled. “Plus, I heard my brother telling one of his guard that he met a lovely earth woman at the wedding.”
Charlotte helped Razzy stand. “How are you feeling? I’m not sure what happened, but you were soaking wet when they brought you in.”
Razzy turned on her heel to face Charlotte. “Who is they and where am I?”
“They are Brecc and Eros and you’re in Alessandra’s cabin.”
Razzy slapped a hand on her forehead. “Shit. Vikter is going to kill me.”
“Why? What happened?” Charlotte asked. Concern for the girl put her on alert. Razzy paced the room, mumbling to herself about Vikter and a stupid feud.
Razzy stopped and gave her a look that broke Charlotte’s heart. “I argued with my brother over the wolves.” She bit her lip and let her shoulders drop. “I told him I was tired of whatever the hell was going on with him and them and I wanted them to be friends like when I was little.”
“Do you know what happened?” Charlotte liked Eros. Maybe she didn’t understand Brecc and his cold disposition, but she knew he wasn’t a bad guy.
Razzy shook her head. “All I know is things changed when my father died. Vikter stopped smiling. And Brecc didn’t visit anymore.” She sat at the edge of the bed, her head hanging forward.
Charlotte couldn’t take it. She sat next to her and patted her arm. “I know it’s rough, but don’t let it get to you. Adult problems are sometimes not easy to resolve.” She pushed Razzy’s hair back and cupped her chin to get her to look at Charlotte. “How did you end up wet?”
“I fell.” She pouted her lips and rolled her eyes. “Vikter got me so angry, I left the castle and decided to make my way to the wolves to tell them they needed to talk to him. I chose the river shortcut, which has been the biggest argument they have lately. It should have been simple to cross it, but I guess I stepped in a soft spot and fell in.”
Charlotte gasped. “You fell in a frozen river? With as cold as it is out there?”
She couldn’t believe the girl didn’t die.
Razzy nodded. “I should have been paying more attention, but I was distracted by my anger. My dragon tried to warn me, but I ignored her.”
Her what? Charlotte blinked at the girl and hopped to her feet. “You’re a Dragos.” How did she not realize this child was a dragon-shifter?
Razzy laughed. “Don’t look so shocked. Everyone in Dragos land is a dragon.”
“I’m sorry. I’m a little slow on the uptake. Happens when I go too long without coffee.” Charlotte yawned. “Plus I’m really tired from the weird hours in this place.” She sat next to the girl and met her gaze. “Ah, honey. I know this sounds like total bullshit, but I bet things will work out.”
Razzy shook her head. “Not without help.” She stared at Charlotte, a new light brightening her purple eyes. “Will you help me? This place is so miserable with everyone angry at each other. Help me fix it so they’re all friends again.” Her eyes filled with tears that dropped onto her cheeks, ripping Charlotte’s heart into pieces. “I want my brother to smile again.”
Oh boy. So far, she loved everything she’d seen in Aurora, but she knew nothing of the local gossip. Still, she felt so bad seeing Razzy crying over her brother, how could she say no? Maybe the issue wasn’t as big as they made it out to be.
She’d attempt talking to Brecc and see if maybe he’d be more forthcoming with information. She needed to figure him out anyway. It was driv
ing her crazy. The attraction she felt for him was just as powerful as the one she felt for Eros, but his aloof attitude pushed her away.
If the damn wolf didn’t turn her on so much, she’d just ignore his existence, but it was hard. The fact these guys were supposed to be gay was another thing she needed to figure out. Eros had not kissed her like he didn’t like girls. Her conclusion was they were bisexual. They had to be because no way in hell she could be confused for a guy. Not with her curves, her ass, and her tits.
“Don’t worry, Razzy,” she said with hopeful smile. “I will see what I can find out for you. Maybe things can be easily fixed.”
Razzy threw her arms around Charlotte’s neck and sniffled. “Thank you. I knew the moment I opened my eyes that you’d be a wonderful friend. My dragon is never wrong about people.”
If only Charlotte had a dragon inside to help her figure out her feelings for the two wolves. Shit would be a lot less complicated.
SIXTEEN
Charlotte woke with a headache. She’d been awake half the night even though her room had tried hard to help her relax. The events of the previous night were still clear in her mind. Eros took Razzy home, back to the Dragos land. It took everything in Charlotte not to break down and cry with the girl. She remembered being that age. Feeling alone and having no one. Even her sister had her own things going on.
Poor Razzy. Her sole family member was distancing himself from her. Charlotte had to help her.
She put on her warmest thermal underwear, with a scrunched nose. Good thing she wasn’t getting it on or she’d look like an old lady wearing these.
After dressing, she rushed to the living room and saw Eros headed to the kitchen, leaving Brecc behind in the living room. She licked her lips, wishing he didn’t look so damn good from where she stood and cleared her throat.
There's Snow Escape: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 7) Page 5