Xander

by Dana Archer

  Tonight was about passion. Nothing else.

  Dante’s advice had been repeating in her mind all day. If she wanted to move on, she had to put aside her hurt feelings and focus on what mattered in this moment. As the day had dragged on and her thoughts kept drifting to sex, she’d decided satisfying her curiosity was a good place to start.

  Gwen spread a couple of blankets, then set the others aside to use later…if they spent the night under the stars. The idea of greeting the morning here, in the arms of her true mates, excited her. She wanted to wake up tomorrow and embrace her role as alpha female, even if her pack balked at the idea of a human alpha female. She’d prove to everyone she could handle the animosity and the challenges.

  Besides, she wasn’t the only human embracing a traditionally shifter role. The contact information for Riley Kagan, the other human alpha female, was already programmed into Gwen’s phone. All she had to do was call her for advice. Hannah had promised her sister-in-law would drop everything to help Gwen, just as Hannah would.

  The three of them might be in different packs, facing different challenges, but they all wanted the same thing—peace for their pack mates, their little section of West Virginia, and their mates.

  They’d succeed in their goals. Gwen didn’t doubt it for a second. They might be the weaker sex physically, but their power came from within. It was all about resilience and endurance. Gwen would embrace both and lead the Winchester pack at Xander’s and Vlad’s sides.

  First, though, she needed her lovers to come to her. It’d be tough seducing them if they didn’t. She knew they were close. Xander’s SUV had been parked in the garage when she and Dante had returned from shopping.

  A cracking of a tree branch yanked her focus to the woods. Wearing only a black kilt, Xander stood at the edge of the forested area. A look of stark hunger burned in his expression, but he made no move to close the distance between them. The reason why became apparent a few moments later.

  Vlad broke the tree line several feet from where Xander stood. Wearing jeans and a simple T-shirt, he looked exactly as he always did when she’d caught glimpses of him around her childhood home.

  As others had pointed out, Lena hadn’t always been around, nor did he go to her when she had been close. Vlad had watched Gwen’s bedroom window until he’d caught Gwen’s gaze. After she’d slunk away, confused and embarrassed by her attraction to him, he’d left. Going to Lena had almost been an afterthought. Honestly, all his talk about wanting to mate Lena had been just that, talk.

  Vlad had never stopped Lena from dating other men or sleeping with them. He’d teased her, saying he’d reclaim her someday. He’d also used Lena as an excuse to avoid any type of commitment, even regular go-to lovers. He’d used women for sex. Only. Heck, even when he’d been with Lena, he’d used her for sex. When it came down to working out their troubled relationship, he’d walked and hadn’t looked back.

  Her thoughts zeroed in on one fact all shifter males, especially dominants, faced. Without a true mate tied to their soul, sex, violence, and booze were the best ways to soothe their animals. Vlad had embraced those outlets, fighting and drinking heavily when not on duty and sleeping with any woman he could get his hands on.

  The sex hadn’t meant anything to him.

  Gwen stepped forward, her gaze locked on Vlad’s eyes. “How do shifters deal with their aggression and their animals constantly bickering?”

  The desire stamped on Vlad’s face faded, replaced by caution. “You’ve been around shifters long enough to know this already. Why ask again?”

  “Because. Please answer me.”

  Vlad rolled his neck. “We drink.”

  “And?” Gwen took another few steps forward. “What else?”

  “Depends on the person. Some embrace violence, others look for nonviolent methods. Music soothes some shifters amazingly well.” Vlad’s careful answer didn’t give her the lead-in she needed.

  “What did you do before you realized I was your true mate?” She hadn’t meant to bring this up. Her goal had been to explore their physical relationship, not mend their emotional issues, but her revelation made too much sense. She needed the confirmation that his sexual encounters since meeting her hadn’t meant anything.

  Vlad ran a hand over his head. Shorter than it had been when she’d first met him, Vlad’s hair still offered enough to grip or slip her fingers through the strands. She would do both tonight if he’d only let go of his stubbornness and tell her the truth.

  “Please answer me.” She didn’t want to lose this opportunity. Doubt would grow. It’d be harder to put it behind her.

  “Sex.” Vlad spat the word. “I took every female I could. Sometimes taking multiple lovers a night when my wolves wouldn’t leave me alone. Is that what you want to hear?”

  Her throat burned. So did her eyes. This was what she’d wanted to hear, but it still hurt. Her first instinct was to get away from Vlad so she could deal with the pain in private. That was the easy way out, and she wouldn’t take it any longer.

  She tucked her hair behind her ears and smoothed the oversized T-shirt she’d worn as a nightgown. “What did your wolves bug you about that left you so agitated?”

  Vlad studied her for a long moment, then moved toward her. His slow gait gave her plenty of time to run.

  She relaxed her stance and used the time to memorize the way his shirt stretched over his chest. He’d tucked the cotton tee into his pants. It drew her attention to his narrow hips and how his thighs filled out his jeans. She wanted to pull the shirt free and trace the deep grooves and dips of his abs, then unzip his pants, pulling them slowly down his legs.

  Her mouth watered with the desire to make her desires a reality. Not until she got her answers, though.

  She dragged her gaze from his groin to his face. Vlad’s lips curved into an amused smile. Something about it quickened her pulse. He looked like a predator who’d succeeded in cornering his prey.

  The urge to flee built the longer he watched her with that wicked, pleased grin. If she did, he’d chase her. Then claim her. There’d be no more talking. No answers. He would take what belonged to him, any way he wanted her.

  She stepped backward and collided with a hard body. Xander settled his hands on her hips, and she gasped.

  “It’s too late to run. You’ve lured us here. Now we finish this.” Xander brushed his lips over her neck. He lowered his voice. “Are you ready for us both, my mate? Because that’s the only way we’ll take you the first time. Together.”

  Her inner muscles quivered at the graphic description of what her lovers planned for her, but she refused to give in to the lust until she got what she needed. Gaze locked on Vlad, she let him see her conviction. “No. I’m not.”

  “No?” Xander turned her to face him. She splayed her hands against his chest, keeping the slight distance between them. “Then why bring us here?”

  “No. I’m not ready for both of you. Not until Vlad answers my question.”

  Stepping behind her, Vlad gathered her hair in his hand and used his hold to tip her head back. He stared into her eyes until the anticipation of his kiss quickened her pulse before dipping his head and taking her mouth.

  He rolled his tongue with hers, slowly at first, then deepened the kiss, demanding she meet his passion. She had no choice but to match him. Held between Xander’s and Vlad’s bodies, she was at their mercy.

  While Vlad obliterated her senses with his sensual kiss, Xander caressed her, building her desire into a wanton lust that burned within her. He slid his hands under her shirt, over the softness of her belly to the waistband of her panties.

  In a painstakingly slow move, Xander drew her underwear down. Gravity took over, and the silky hipster panties she’d chosen for tonight fell to the ground. She stepped out of them as Xander mapped a path up her inner thighs with his fingertips. The moment he reached the edge of her groin, Vlad broke the kiss.

  “You.” Vlad spoke the word against her lips just as
Xander dragged his knuckles higher.

  Her air rushed out on a shaky sigh. It’d be so easy to allow Xander to distract her, but the single word Vlad had spoken confused her. She blinked, bringing Vlad’s hazel eyes into focus. The passion in them left her as unbalanced as the look of ownership he wore for her. Neither scared her. They shattered the emotional wall she’d erected around her heart.

  “Me?” she asked, needing to be sure they were talking about the same thing.

  “Yes, you. That’s the answer to your question.” Releasing his hold on her hair, Vlad gripped the hem of her shirt and tugged it over her head, leaving her naked but not cold. The heat both men gave off, along with the crackling fire a few feet away, warmed her skin. “My wolves urged me to go to you. Constantly.”

  “Why? Did they think I was in danger?”

  “No.” Vlad mapped a path down her body with his heated gaze. “They wanted me to take your virginity.”

  “You didn’t want that?”

  Vlad skimmed his open mouth over her neck to the mate mark on her shoulder. His exhaled breath on the raised points loosened her muscles and awakened her needs.

  “I wanted it.” Vlad whispered the words as if confessing a sin. “I wanted to ravish you. Steal your innocence. Expose you to my darkest hungers, but you kept dismissing me. Every time you turned away, it killed me. Confused me. Still, I kept coming back. Nothing dissuaded me. Not fighting. Not other women. Not even your sister. Nothing. I just kept torturing myself by wanting things I couldn’t have. Fantasizing about spreading your sweet thighs and riding you hard.”

  She turned her head. Her eyelids felt heavy. The desire Xander built within his touch left her sensitive and achy. This moment was too important to pass, though. “Never again. Do you hear me? You touch another woman, and you won’t ever touch me again. True mate or not. I won’t forgive you.”

  “Never again.” Vlad leaned in and brushed his lips over hers, stealing her air and her sanity. “I am yours from now until the world ends.”

  His promise left her with a warm feeling, but she needed to secure one more vow. Gwen glanced at Xander. One corner of his mouth rose in a small grin only a man could pull off. It made him appear wickedly hot. And satisfied. She couldn’t shake the feeling her demanding Vlad’s fidelity had pleased Xander. “The same applies to you, Xander. I won’t share you.”

  “Understood, my mate.” Xander gripped her hip. “But I will share you with Vlad.”

  Vlad moved his hand to her other hip. “And I will share you with Xander.”

  Xander held her gaze for a long moment and the seriousness in his intent study stopped her heart. “Whether we’re together or apart, if either of us needs you, we’ll take you. Anytime. Anywhere.”

  That’d be fine on their property, but elsewhere? Not so great. They’d be arrested for public lewdness or nudity. “What if we’re somewhere—”

  Vlad kissed her neck. “Trust your mates, Gwen. We’ll get you somewhere private, if need be, but we will have you. We’ve waited too long for you. Our souls are dark. Damaged. Fighting no longer helps much, and we’d rather die than betray you. Only you can soothe us. Your voice, your touch, your love.”

  Vlad’s words brought a smile to her face and made her feel special. Here she was, a human everyone dismissed as too soft, and she had this incredible hold over these two powerful men. No other woman, even her past incarnations, had been able to accomplish what she had done.

  “I want you to love me. Please. I want to belong to both of you tonight. Loved the way I was meant to be.” In the way of an alpha’s mate. The thought dragged her gaze to the woods. She didn’t see any of the pack gathered to watch her lose her virginity, but it was dark and she was only human.

  Vlad turned her head toward him. “Tonight is ours alone. No one will watch us.”

  Relief tore a sigh from her throat. While she’d been prepared to have silent witnesses, the knowledge that she wouldn’t have to share this moment calmed her.

  “I want your entire focus on what we’re going to do to you, my mate.” Xander caught her gaze. “And if you need an out, you will remember my words to you.”

  The conversation they’d shared on the plane came back to her. If she felt overwhelmed at any point, she should tell them to stop. They would, no matter how much they might need to get off.

  “I remember.”

  Xander nodded, then dipped his head and kissed her. Vlad brushed his open mouth over her spine before moving lower.

  Eyes closed, she opened herself to every new sensation. It was impossible not to. Xander and Vlad commanded her. She could only feel. And experience. There was no room for anything else. Their hands roaming over her skin and their lips exploring her overwhelmed her senses.

  Vlad’s gentle caress and Xander’s commanding strokes took her to heights she hadn’t known were possible. She swayed, lost to the exquisite feelings spreading through her. She could get used to this attention. Both men’s focus was on her and only her.

  In the back of her mind, she recognized what they were doing as taboo. A tiny seed of doubt surfaced the longer they touched her. Maybe she was wrong to be enjoying this. Good girls didn’t do such things.

  Xander cupped her cheek in a gentle caress. “You were made for us, Gwen. Remember that. Out of all the souls who have passed through the heavens since time began, our goddess chose you to be our perfect match and for us to be yours. Together. We’re meant to be together.”

  Although Gwen didn’t worship the shifter goddesses, she acknowledged their influence and their importance. Gwen also trusted in the greater powers of life. If shifters and their goddesses didn’t have a place in this world, they wouldn’t exist. Simple as that.

  “Xander’s right. Trust in us, Gwen.” Vlad’s words drew her gaze to him. Devotion shone in his eyes. Devotion for her. “This is how we’re meant to love each other.”

  How could she not trust in them when Vlad looked at her that way? “I do believe in us. In what we’re building right now.”

  “Do you?” Xander asked as if he didn’t quite believe her.

  “Yes.” As long as Vlad kept looking at her that way, there’d be no room for the doubt to grow.

  Xander grasped her wrist and placed her palm on his chest, right over his heart. “Do you feel our connection? To each other. To the ground below us. To the heavens above. Because I do. I feel the power in our bond. And the acceptance.” He cupped her face between his hands. “Our pack spirit will bless us, tying our bodies together. Mine to yours, and yours to Vlad’s. It’s a gift usually only bestowed upon an alpha wolf and his mate, but the spirit will grant the three of us this.”

  If Xander had asked if she’d felt his emotions because of the piece of his soul she held, she’d have to say no. But the acceptance he spoke of? Did she feel it? She closed her eyes and opened herself to the world around her, absorbing the sensations and sounds of the night.

  The fire crackled and snapped as it ate away at the wood used to build the bonfire. An owl hooted in the distance. A warm breeze flowed around her, bringing the scent of burning wood. All those things were expected. They were normal. The low humming in her ears wasn’t natural, however.

  She focused on the pulsating vibration. It traveled from where her palm connected with Xander’s chest to the balls of her feet. She glanced into his face. “It’s coming from you.”

  “It’s coming from the sacred circle Vlad and I cast. I’m just the outlet for it, just as I am the voice of our pack spirit.” Xander took Gwen’s hand and directed her to touch him too. “But in this moment, I am yours.”

  “And I am yours. Take me, Xander. I want to feel you inside me, to come apart around you, to accept your seed.”

  Vlad eased his hands from where he stroked her and settled his palms on her hips, reminding her Xander wasn’t the only one she’d be loving. She turned her head, meeting Vlad’s eyes. “I also want you, Vlad. I’ve fantasized about having you love me for years. I’m ready for you to
make my dreams a reality.”

  Vlad skimmed his fingertips over her cheek. “We are yours. No fantasy. This is our reality. The three of us, together.”

  “Yes.” She glanced between them. “Please. Love me. Both of you.”

  “Always,” Xander whispered into her ear.

  “And forever,” Vlad added in a low breath of sound into her other ear.

  The romanticism of their words rocked her. She whimpered, overwhelmed by the beauty of this moment. She hadn’t expected it. After waiting so long to claim her, she’d anticipated a raw and primal encounter that didn’t allow for emotions. This intense moment brought so many feelings to the surface. She never wanted to forget any of them.

  Both men kissed the corners of her mouth, her jaw, her neck, her shoulders. Tears slipped from her eyes. Happiness fueled them, but the soft emotion didn’t last. Her lovers moved. In sync, as if they could anticipate each other’s actions, they loved her.

  Trusting in them, she gave herself over to the moment. Her body was swept away on a wave of sensation where she floated on a sea of nothingness. Only her lovers’ hold on her stopped her from drifting away.

  What they shared went beyond words. It was magical. Sacred. Special. All those words fit, but none encompassed the reality.

  These men were hers. She wasn’t losing them. Ever.

  Chapter 32

  The sudden alertness of Vlad’s wolves jerked him awake. He hopped into a crouch and scanned the woods surrounding the ceremonial circle. Xander matched him on the other side of Gwen. He pointed toward where Dante was sprinting across the backyard.

  “What’s wrong?” Gwen’s sleepy voice held no fear. She trusted them explicitly. She’d proven that last night.

  “Dante’s coming.” Vlad laid a hand on Gwen’s thigh. The softness of her skin soothed him, keeping his anxiety at bay. Whatever news brought Dante to them wouldn’t be good. He’d never disturb them otherwise.