by Marla Monroe
“Let her up, Joseph.”
“If we do, she’ll never allow us this close again.”
She heard the disappointed sigh in Joseph’s voice. It wasn’t something she would have expected. He was so stoic and confident.
“Would you rather she pee all over you?” Jessup asked with a chuckle.
The other man didn’t answer right away, but finally, he eased off the tight hold he had on her, allowing her to slip out of the bed.
“Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the damn bed.” His almost whispered words had heat rushing to her face.
Nessa hurried off the bed as she all but ran for the bathroom. After finishing up by washing her hands and brushing her teeth, she eased out and grabbed her bag that held what she needed to take a shower and dress. After locking the door behind her, she turned on the shower and adjusted the water. Seconds later, she stepped into the giant shower and allowed the water to soothe some of the tenseness from her muscles.
She quickly soaped up and rinsed off before pouring a small amount of shampoo into her hair and lathering it up. As she massaged the liquid into her hair, a set of hands held her by the waist as another set took over washing her hair. She gasped but couldn’t open her eyes for fear of the shampoo getting in them.
“What are you doing in here? I locked the door!”
“We were picking locks on doors almost as soon as we learned to walk,” Joseph’s rough voice sounded much like a growl.
“She’s so damn beautiful, brother. I could look at her all day.” Jessup’s voice held a hint of wistfulness in it.
Both men had deep voices, but she’d already figured out that when Jessup became aroused, his grew softer and less growly, though no less intense. Joseph’s voice got deeper and thicker with a growl to it. It sounded a lot like when he was angry, she realized and wondered at the connection there. Again she wondered if she should fear the darker twin but dismissed it almost as quickly. She believed him when he said he would never hurt her.
“This isn’t right, guys. I can’t get involved with both of you. Besides, my stepbrother is going to kill me if I don’t go home soon.”
She immediately felt Joseph stiffen behind her, his hands still in the sudsy mess of her hair.
“You’re not going anywhere, mate. You’re especially not going back to that bastard who abused you. Why would you even want to?” he asked.
“He’s my stepbrother. I don’t have anyone but him.” She knew it sounded lame, but they would never understand.
They had a handful of brothers and parents to rely on. She only had Derrick, poor excuse of a sibling as he was. What would happen to her when they grew tired of the fact that she couldn’t do anything right? She was a terrible cook and was tired all the time. She could never keep the trailer they had clean despite working on it anytime she wasn’t at the diner. It seemed like she could never get enough rest.
“How did you end up with him?” Jessup asked.
Joseph rinsed the shampoo from her hair, squeezing the excess water from it before letting her rinse her eyes. She looked up at Jessup as soon as she could open her eyes again.
“My father died when I was about eight. My mom remarried Derrick’s father a year later and things weren’t too bad. Derrick never really liked me, but he left me alone for the most part. He didn’t like it that his father liked me.” Nessa sighed and thought about how her stepfather had given her gifts all the time, even when it hadn’t been a special occasion.
She realized now that Derrick hadn’t missed any of that and had built up a serious resentment of her over the years. At the time, she hadn’t realized it though. Like any young girl, she looked up to her big stepbrother despite him not being a blood relative and wanted to tag along with him all the time.
“The older I got, the more he disliked me. Then our parents were killed in a boating accident and he had custody over me, being nineteen to my sixteen. He did and said all the right things to assure that everyone supported him being my guardian. I was too upset over losing my parents and still a little naive as to how Derrick actually felt about me to protest.”
“When did he begin hitting you, precious?” Jessup asked as he and Joseph toweled her dry.
She grimaced. “The day the will was read. They didn’t have much. The insurance policy assured that all the bills were paid, but it didn’t leave much for us to live off of for long without working to supplement it. Derrick’s father left me half of everything that was left over and that pissed him off to no end.” Nessa grimaced at the memory.
“When we got home from the lawyer’s office, he just exploded. He slapped me so hard I fell. Then he tore out of the house and I didn’t see him until the next day. I was so scared that I hid in my room until time to go to school on Monday, then I did everything I could to avoid him. Since he was my guardian, he had control of my part of the money, so he didn’t hit me much until it ran out. Then he took everything out on me.”
She could still remember when he’d had to actually find a job to make ends meet. She’d been working after school all along to have spending money for food at lunch and to buy school supplies. Derrick wasn’t going to give her one cent he didn’t have to. Strangely enough, it was her part of the inheritance that went toward paying their bills.
“Why did you stay with him once you were old enough to leave, Nessa?” Jessup asked.
She sighed. They couldn’t understand being totally alone. How could they? There were eight of them plus their parents. She’d had no one. Not even friends. Derrick had been sure she didn’t have friends by scaring them off.
“I didn’t have anywhere to go and no money to move out. He made sure I never had more than a few dollars at any given time. I tried to hide money from him, but he always found it.”
“He kept you isolated from people so you didn’t have friends, didn’t he?” Joseph said in a soft voice.
“Without friends, I was totally dependent on him for everything. I was supposed to feel grateful that he took care of me and didn’t put me out to starve on the streets.”
“Why are you living in that trailer if your parent’s house was paid for?” Jessup guided her over to the bed where she sat down, the towel still wrapped around her.
“Derrick has a gambling habit. We couldn’t pay the taxes on it the second year, and then he borrowed against it to pay back someone he owed, and we lost the house when we couldn’t make the loan payments.”
“All of that is behind you now, baby. You’re family, and you’re pack.” Joseph sat next to her on the bed.
She looked over at him and somehow knew that he had separated himself from his family and his pack until now. She would be the reason he returned. Knowing that her presence in their lives had such a major impact on them scared her. Nessa had never been important to anyone before. For a short while, she was the reason Derrick had access to more money, and now she was a meal ticket because she worked to put food on their table, but she’d never actually had worth outside of money before. It was for that reason that she didn’t tell them that her stepbrother used her for another reason as well. She didn’t want to think about that.
“He won’t give up. I’m scared someone will get hurt, Joseph. I don’t want to be the reason one of you is hurt, or worse.” She shook her head and pushed to her feet.
Jessup clasped her wrist when she walked over to retrieve clothes from her bag. He let his hand slide down to clasp hers. When she looked up, he smiled at her.
“Don’t worry about us, sweetness. We are very hard to hurt and even harder to kill.”
“Look at me, baby. I’m living proof that we don’t die easily. You have nothing to worry about.” Joseph stood up and stalked over to the dresser where he pulled out something to wear.
Jessup squeezed her hand once more before letting it go to reach for clothes as well. She couldn’t look away as they dressed in front of her. She should have turned away from their nakedness, but couldn’t make herself give up t
he sight of their amazing masculine bodies. Their muscles were defined, their bodies sculpted to perfection. She learned something else about them that she would have been better off not to have known. They didn’t just occasionally not wear underwear beneath their skintight jeans, they didn’t even own underwear in the first place.
Chapter Seven
“With both of us to protect her, she’ll be fine, Joseph.” Jessup wanted to laugh at how protective his twin had already gotten of their mate.
When he’d suggested that she unpack her things and put them away in the dresser where they’d cleared space for her, he’d cringed at not only how little she owned but also the shape they were in. She needed new clothes. He wanted to provide for his mate and make sure she was dressed in only the best and most comfortable apparel they could find. Wolf’s Pass only had the truck stop and a general store. They would have to drive to Cascade to find anything outside of blue jeans and T-shirts. Maybe they should schedule a trip to Helena. He doubted even Cascade had the sort of things he wanted to see her wearing. Maybe they should go to Marquand, Montana instead. It at least had a school.
“Are you fucking listening to me?” Joseph asked in an exasperated voice.
“No. Sorry. We should take her to Marquand instead. Cascade won’t have anything nice to wear.”
“I’ve got to go to the diner and let them know I can’t work for a few days. My boss will fire me if I just don’t show up.” Nessa interrupted them when she spoke up.
Lee and Evan were still in the kitchen cleaning up after breakfast. They looked over at Joseph like he did to see his reaction to her planning to go back to work in the future. They weren’t disappointed. He growled as his facial muscles tensed. Jessup winced when Nessa continued talking as if there wasn’t a big bad wolf hovering above her ready to strike.
“And I don’t need any new clothes. Mine are fine. I don’t need much. All I do is work at the diner.” She stopped talking when she noticed that no one was moving around her. “What?”
Joseph placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her to face him. Jessup watched in case he needed to intervene, but his twin didn’t raise his voice or threaten her in any way. He just told her how things were going to be.
“We will take you to talk to your boss on the way, Nessa. You need to give your notice since you won’t be returning to work at all.” When she would have interrupted, he placed a finger over her mouth and shook his head. “Let me finish.”
She glared at him but nodded when he waited with raised eyebrows. Jessup knew there would be an explosion once Joseph had finished lecturing her.
“You are our mate, and our mate doesn’t need to work. As for clothes, I wouldn’t call what you are wearing suitable for anything other than cleaning a sewer. They are threadbare and ugly. We’ll buy you things that will be soft against your skin and complement your beauty. You didn’t even have a decent winter coat in that pile of scraps you brought with you.”
Jessup watched her face redden with both embarrassment and anger. His brother was digging a massive grave that just might be large enough for his arrogance as well as his soon-to-be dead body. He had no doubt that Nessa would tear him apart given half a chance.
He wasn’t disappointed when she went up on her toes to get in Joseph’s face and hissed through clenched teeth at him. Jessup thought she would have made a cute kitten. Right now she looked pissed enough to be a wild cat.
“First of all, you don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. If I want to work at the diner, I darn well will. Second of all, my clothes are my business. I’m sorry they don’t meet with your lofty approval, but not all of us are able to pick and choose our wardrobes.” She stuck her finger in his chest as she made each point. “Thirdly of all, I haven’t agreed to be your mate!”
Jessup winced at that last statement as Lee and Evan snickered behind them. Joseph wouldn’t accept that from her, Jessup was sure. As he watched, his twin took the finger poking his chest and brought it to his lips where he kissed it before lightly grasping her upper arms and backing her against the wall. Her eyes grew wide, but she didn’t look scared, only surprised.
“Because you’re my mate, I’ll let you get away with poking your finger at me—this time, but make a habit of it and I’ll redden that sexy ass of yours. I won’t allow you to deny being our mate though.”
Jessup smiled when his brother took her mouth in a demanding kiss. Even from where he stood a few feet away, it was obvious that she quickly lost the battle to resist Joseph. She responded almost instantly by wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing closer to him. Jessup wanted to be at her back, drawing on her scent and feeling her ass nestle his cock, but he wasn’t interfering this time. He’d let Joseph exert his dominance over their mate for now.
While they didn’t want to smother her individuality, they did want to curb some of her independence to the point that she would look to them to protect her and give her what she needed. He frowned. She would no doubt resist the idea of being a kept woman. They would have to work on that.
His brother slowly pulled away from Nessa’s mouth, obviously fully aroused by how dark his eyes had gone and the way he was pressing his body against their mate. Jessup waited for him to regain control over his libido before saying anything.
“So, are we ready to head to town?” he asked, tongue in cheek.
Evan chuckled while Lee punched his brother for laughing. Nessa glared at them even as she slid out of Joseph’s embrace. The two dumb asses had the grace to blush at her obvious disapproval before they excused themselves and disappeared from the kitchen.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.” Joseph turned and headed for the back door.
Jessup smiled at the way Nessa followed his brother with her eyes. She might say she wasn’t their mate, but she looked at Joseph like she could eat him alive. Evidently being attracted to them was settling in with her because she didn’t try to hide it when she noticed that he had seen her ogling his twin’s ass.
“Don’t say one damn word, Jess. I’m still debating whether to believe the two of you or not.” She swept from the room, following Joseph with purposeful strides.
Jessup couldn’t wait to see what the next few hours would bring. Shopping with her would be an exercise in resistance and patience he was sure. She was going to fight them all the way before they managed to win her surrender. It would make it that much sweeter though.
When he climbed in the truck on the passenger side, they were already engaged in another argument. She hadn’t accepted their decision that she would quit work instead of calling off for a few days to heal. On this, he wouldn’t stand back and watch. He wasn’t letting her work another day or night at that place. She was their mate for fuck’s sake.
“You might as well sit still and plan your resignation speech, Nessa. You aren’t working there another shift. End of discussion,” he said when his brother didn’t say anything.
Her head swiveled toward him. The fire in her eyes was enough to make a grown man shake in his boots. It was a good thing they were more than men. His wolf saw it as a challenge instead of a threat. It didn’t back down on challenges for any reason. No doubt Joseph was busy fighting his instincts while he drove. Jessup had to give it to him. He was managing better than he thought he would have.
“You can’t tell me what to do, Jess. Neither can your brother. I don’t have an endless source of income available to me. I have to work to make a living.”
“You don’t have to work at all, baby.” Joseph turned an almost evil grin her way.
Jessup wanted to tell him not to say it, but he was too late.
“We will provide you with anything you need. We will pay for your clothes and your meals as well as any toys you want to play with.”
Her gasp sounded loud in the truck’s cab. Jessup couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face at the thought of her using a toy on herself that they had bought for her. She would put on a show for them before they made l
ove to her. He could see in his head how she’d look spread out on the bed, her hand between her legs with a vibrator aimed for her clit. Would she tease herself like they would or would she get down to business?
“I’ve never used toys,” she said in a breathy voice.
“Now that’s a shame, baby. One we’ll have to take care of because you and toys just work for me.” Joseph turned to him. “What do you think, Jess?”
“I think we need to do a little online shopping when we get back from town,” he said.
Glancing at their mate, Jessup could tell the idea of playing with sex toys was turning their little mate on. He couldn’t wait to watch her run a little vibe around her clit. His already swollen cock pressed painfully against his zipper. Shopping with a boner wasn’t going to be easy. But then spending any amount of time with their Nessa without some type of relief was a lesson in madness. One he would gladly suffer as long as the promise of her surrender was the prize.
* * * *
Nessa couldn’t get the image of them torturing her with a vibrator as she begged them to let her come out of her head. The idea of a dazzling pink dildo, too large for her to possibly take inside her body sent thrills through her bloodstream. What was wrong with her that she would even think those decadent thoughts with so much of her life up in the air? She could even now feel the heat travel up her neck into her face. They would know what she was thinking about if her face was as red as it felt.
Even more distressing was the fact that her panties were wet with her juices. She was actually aroused to the point that her pussy nearly vibrated with need. It was all their fault for stimulating her with all that talk about toys.
When they pulled into the parking lot of the truck stop, Nessa stiffened. Was she really going to follow their directions and quit? She didn’t know them. How could she jump out of one mess she was at least familiar with into one she knew nothing about? She would tell her boss she just needed some time to recover.