“What’s so funny?” Harris murmured, his lips moving over her neck, down to her collarbone and then turned to nip at the sensitive skin on the inside of her arm. Ethan moved her to her side so she faced him and lifted her top leg over his hips.
“Nothing,” she gasped, as Ethan’s erection nudged her entrance. “Nothing at all.”
He rolled to his back, pulling her so she straddled him, and with his hands gripping her hips, he lifted and lowered her on his cock. The first few strokes were so slow and careful. She grew slicker around him, her pussy clenching each time he tried to withdraw. Finally, his control seemed to snap as if he’d teased himself beyond endurance. She’d never seen Ethan lose control. He growled low in his chest, and instead of scaring her, it excited her. He made her crazy. Why not return the favor?
She put her hand on the center of her chest and casually drew it down her body. His eyes, bright and feverish, followed the motion, mesmerizing her. Hell yeah. She could make him burn as much as she did. She paused at her pelvis and stretched one finger to flick her clit, watching as his eyes changed to neon yellow. She’d woken the wolf.
“Do it again,” he ordered. “Open yourself so I can watch.”
It should have pissed her off. She’d never let him or Harris have control in bed. That was the first step of a long, slow slide. It should have angered her, but it didn’t. It electrified her, ratcheted up her arousal to a point she’d never experienced before. The heat. It has to be the heat. She knew that was a lie, but she didn’t have the power to delude herself again. She didn’t even want to.
She used one hand to spread the lips of her sex. With the other, she rolled a finger over her clitoris. Harris groaned, and she looked over at the other man. She’d forgotten he was there, but he was impossible to miss now. He crouched next to them on his knees. His gaze was on her hands. His hand wrapped around his cock, stroking up and down almost languidly.
She rubbed her finger over her clit again. And again. Ethan growled and fucked her harder, and Harris, eyes hot with passion, moved into position behind her. He squeezed her ass, then spread the cheeks and pressed a finger against her rear entrance. Her heart, already racing, felt like it would explode from her chest. Could she take both of them at once? The fantasy took root in her mind, and she rubbed her clit harder, rougher, until she felt her body tighten with another orgasm. She froze as the pleasure swept over her. Ethan’s cry of release only increased her satisfaction, but she didn’t have time to bask in it.
Harris picked her up and arranged her on her hands and knees next to Ethan, who leaned up and kissed her, deep and long. It was a thorough and intense kiss. She felt marked and for a moment panic intruded. She wasn’t ready to be claimed. As if he sensed her misgivings, Harris thrust into her pussy from behind and whatever direction her thoughts might have gone vanished into a cloud of renewed lust.
Her hands curled into fists in the blankets as he moved inside her. His strokes were deep and forceful, his hands holding her still were strong and branding. She’d never been with him like this before. He’d never lost control, never got rough. Never gone all dominating and alpha male on her. It scared her a little because she liked it. Liked it a lot.
Is this what Harris meant when he said their arrangement wasn’t working for him anymore? Was it as simple as he wanted to change the nature of their sexual encounters? Possibly.
But that wasn’t what Ethan wanted. He watched them with avaricious eyes, but he didn’t join in. His hand wrapped around his cock, already hard again, giving it easy languid strokes. A pearl of cum was on the head, and she was tempted to lean forward and lick it off. He gave his patented sexy wicked smile.
“You want a taste, baby?”
Harris’s strokes slowed, gentled. She moistened her lips. Suddenly, she wanted that taste as much as she wanted Harris pounding into her. She nodded, and he rose to his knees moving into place in front of her. She breathed deeply, taking his scent into her lungs, then leaned forward to lick up the drop. Salty and tangy. Pure male. She sucked the head of his cock into her mouth, ran her tongue over the slit, and was rewarded with another drop.
His hand twisted in her hair and tugged her forward. An unspoken demand, but a demand nonetheless. She wasn’t giving in. No way. But she decided she could indulge his need, and maybe retaliate a bit for his overstepping her boundaries while she was at it. She gripped the base in one hand and starting at the slit licked her way down his shaft. She took her time, explored every vein and bump and ridge. Then she scraped her teeth, lightly, over the underside of the head.
With a low snarl, his hips jerked forward, the hand in her hair gripping hard now. If she wasn’t so consumed by the same lust, she’d laugh at his impatience and her ability to instill it. But teasing him turned out to be just as tortuous for her. She decided to give in a little. She took the head into her mouth, sucked it lightly while running her tongue over the slit back and forth, gathering the precum weeping there. Then she took him farther into her mouth. Her tongue stroked down the underside of his cock, coating him in his own fluids. He tried to hurry her so when she bobbed her head back she used her teeth. Not a lot. Just enough to warn him to stay still. It had the opposite effect.
Ethan growled. “Stop teasing, Gabby.”
That was definitely an order, but instead of anger and resistance, it inflamed her. It didn’t make any sense, but she didn’t have enough active brain cells to think it over right now. Harris began thrusting inside her again, and his fingers squeezed her clit. She gasped and when she did, Ethan thrust into her mouth. Even with a hand still around the base of his cock, he nudged the back of her throat. She fought down the urge to gag. Then he started moving, and the reflex disappeared. Hard, fast strokes that Harris matched while keeping rough fingers rubbing over her clit.
There was no way she could last, no way to delay the orgasm rising in her. Her hand tightened on Ethan. Part of her knew it was probably hard enough to hurt the tender organ, but he didn’t seem to care. With a cry he came in her mouth, but he pulled out before she could swallow more than a few drops of his cum. He reached under her, found her breasts and her nipples. Caressed. It was an exquisite combination of pain and pleasure. Coupled with Harris pounding into her and his attention to her clit, it unleashed the orgasm building in her body. She cried out, and her muscles seized. Harris, groaning, fucked her through it until he too spent himself, quieter than her and Ethan, but his groan no less satisfying for knowing she had a part in it.
All three of them collapsed onto the bed. Harris murmured something about a shower, and a few seconds later she heard water come on. She kept her face pressed to the pillow and refused to move when one of them slapped her ass. Like she could move? They were both smoking crack. Hell no. She was staying put and enjoying the after effects of good — okay, incredible mind-blowing — sex. It wouldn’t be long before her energy returned, and the heat once again took over. Though she’d never experienced it like this. She groaned. They better not get it into their heads this was a regular arrangement. She didn’t think she’d survive.
The water turned off and a few minutes later, Harris bullied her until she slid under the blankets. Then the light went off, and they left her alone. But probably not for long, she hoped, as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Three
Ethan paced in the kitchen. Back and forth and back again. He glanced at the rear wall for the umpteenth time, wishing he could see through it, wondering if she still slept. He should feel calmer. He should be back in control. But he was wound tight. Her scent permeated everything. It was usually sweet and intoxicating, but with the heat it was more. Rich, piquant, irresistible. It was turning him into a madman. He felt his wolf side clawing for freedom, demanding he claim her. Mark her. No wonder she’d stayed far away from him when it took her over.
“You’re going to wear a hole through that floor,” Harris said drily.
He spun around, hands fisted at his sides. Harris leaned back in a chair, c
asual, one eyebrow arched in question while Ethan struggled to control his wolf. He wasn’t jealous exactly. He’d known for a couple years that if Gabby ever gave in, they’d share her. But knowing that didn’t stop possessiveness from ruling him. She was in heat, and she was his mate, but she remained unclaimed. He’d damned near bitten his tongue off not marking her. Maybe this intensity would recede after he did.
“This is pretty out of character,” Harris pointed out.
Fuck yeah it was. He didn’t get bent out of shape over women, not even Gabby. It had been hard, but even as a teenager, she was fierce and independent, determined she’d never take a mate. He’d trained himself not to get too consumed with her because he’d known it was unlikely she’d accept him in her life like they were meant to be. Now, however, all those hard years of training, of denying himself, seemed to have vanished.
“I’ve known for years she’s mine. I think I’ve always known.”
He’d never felt torn between Harris and Gabby before and he didn’t now. It was common in the lupine world to have two mates. It was something their wolf sides craved, like being part of a private pack inside the larger one. He’d repressed his desire for that for years, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able lock it away again.
“I get that,” Harris said. “So why are you struggling so hard with it now?”
“I also always knew it was unlikely she’d ever accept a mate. I learned to live with it.”
“And?”
“And she hasn’t accepted. She still might not, and it’s gonna be damned hard to go back to being indifferent about the status quo.”
That finally got a reaction from the wizard. His eyes narrowed. “I will not go back from tonight.”
Ethan figured his smile was just as bitter and frustrated as Harris’s voice. They wanted the same thing, but no matter how much he wanted Gabby he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. He wouldn’t allow her to be hurt even if it meant going against Harris. “You can’t force her to accept you. If you try, you’ll be fighting both of us.”
Harris didn’t take offense. Instead, he smiled. “I had something else in mind.”
His words seemed to break the spell Ethan was under, and he paused to examine that startling thought. It made sense in a way. Werewolves were created by magic, so mating and the heat would be a kind of magic, right? He shook the idea away, it wasn’t important now, and sat down.
“What?”
“Persuasion. Seduction.”
He cocked an eyebrow. Was Harris serious? “I’ve seduced her before. Look where it got me.”
“You’ve talked your way into her bed. I’m talking about getting into her head and her heart, Ethan.”
He snorted. “She won’t let me that close. You either. How do you propose to change that?”
With a grin Ethan could only describe as diabolical, Harris stood and walked to one of the cabinets. Ethan joined him when he started pulling out supplies. He knew what was kept in there. Seeing the bottles made him uneasy. It was one thing to know your lover was a wizard. Another to have it shoved in his face.
“What are you up to? Don’t tell me love potions are real.”
One side of Harris’s mouth kicked up in a sexy smile. “They are, but that’s not what I’m doing. This is more like an opening yourself to new possibilities potion.”
“It won’t hurt her? It won’t be against her will?” he asked sharply. It rankled, using magic against his mate. He was a wolf, a natural enemy of magic users, but despite his relationship with Harris and the witches in Redhawke, he rarely saw it in use. He wasn’t quite suspicious of it, but it made him nervous. It felt almost like cheating.
“I would never hurt her. You know that,” Harris snapped. “Look, I’m not proposing that we give it just to her. That wouldn’t be fair, would it?”
Ethan laughed. “She won’t take it if she knows about.”
“Nope. She won’t. So we all take it.”
“And not tell her about it.”
“But we’ll all take it. You have a better idea?”
Gods. He shouldn’t even consider it. This was bound to come back and bite him in the ass. Harris mixed liquids while Ethan thought it over. It was a bad, bad idea, and he knew it.
“We aren’t messing with her emotions,” Harris said softly. “It’s not a love potion or animosity spell. Hell, it may not even work on werewolves.”
But it might be their only chance. Harris didn’t have to say the words. Ethan knew. Gabby had resisted any relationship outside of sex with them for so long they would need an edge to breach her defenses. Sharing her while she was in heat was a good start, the opportunity to show how good they could be together physically, but wouldn’t be enough to get her to open her heart. She was too stubborn. Too determined to keep them at arm’s length. Harris finished mixing it and put the vials back.
“Now what? How do you get her to drink it?”
Harris grinned. “We take her to dinner.” He poured the liquid into an empty bottle, capped it, and stuck it in his pocket.
“What’s going on?” a sleepy voice asked from the doorway.
Harris took the small bowl he’d used to the sink, turned on the water, and rinsed it out. He moved with an easy, casual grace. Not at all like a man who would have been busted if she’d come in five seconds earlier. “Nothing.”
Ethan held his breath and faced her, hoping like hell he didn’t look as guilty as he felt. She was so pretty. And so damned stubborn. She looked tousled and well-fucked. She practically glowed with satisfaction. His cock took immediate notice, aching and steel hard the moment her hooded, languid eyes met his.
“We were just talking about dinner. How about the pub?” he forced out, fighting the lust screaming through his body.
They could go to the one bar and grill in town, locally called the pub, or drive to the next big town. Ethan would prefer to just go back to bed, but he’d have to talk her there first. She’d put her dress and stockings back on, and her shoes dangled from her hand. At the mention of food her eyes lit up.
“We could throw something together here,” she said. Right. Because going somewhere to eat might be too much like a date. It violated her “don’t get too close” rule. No way, baby, not this time. He wasn’t getting brushed off that easily. He’d had a taste of the way things could be, and that nibble was not enough. It left him starving for more. Harris might be on to something with his potion. If it made her open up to the possibility of a real relationship with them then hopefully the next step would be to accept mating with them. It might be a foolish hope but he’d take what he could get.
“We’d have to run to the grocery store. The pub is close,” Harris pointed out. “And the steaks are great. Might as well go there and save ourselves a sink full of dirty dishes.”
She didn’t look happy about it, but finally she nodded, her reluctance easy to read. Bending at the waist, she reached down to slip on her shoes, and her hair fell loose around her. The memory of holding her hair, of thrusting into her mouth blazed in his mind. Dinner could wait. He took a step forward, but she was already straightening and moving into the hall, toward the front door. Harris gave him an amused, knowing grin and followed her.
Ethan heard the front door open, a murmur of voices. “Let’s go,” Harris called out, and with a growl, Ethan followed.
As soon as he stepped outside, he knew he had a bigger issue than getting back in Gabby’s pants. She and Harris stood on the sidewalk talking to a neighbor. A male, werewolf neighbor. It didn’t matter that Ethan knew the wolf was happily mated and old enough to be Gabby’s father. The man was speaking to his mate, smiling and joking with his mate. Years of pent-up frustration and denial broke loose, and he snarled, low and vicious. Gabby took a wary step toward him, putting herself between Ethan and his quarry. That pissed him off more. What was she doing trying to protect the male?
She stopped a few inches from him and reached out to place her palm flat over his heart. It beat wildly,
fast, threatening to burst from his chest, and her eyes widened, her nostrils flared to take in his scent, his emotions. “If I didn’t hurt so bad, I’d go home right now,” she said.
Her words stopped the snarl like he’d been doused in icy cold water. He rested his hands on her shoulders and searched her face. “We hurt you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Different kind of hurt.”
His confusion must have shown. She went on grudgingly. “It hurts. The heat. The need. It twists you up, and there’s only one way to relieve the pressure,” she ended on a bitter note.
He breathed her scent in deeply and knew she was telling him the truth. He lifted his hand and stroked her cheek with the knuckles. “We can go back inside,” he said softly enough the others couldn’t hear. It was a promise of the relief she sought, but she shook her head.
“I’m starving. I didn’t eat today.”
His hackles rose, threatening to let his feral protective instincts free again. She was his. He didn’t like her not taking care of herself, and if she wasn’t going to do it, he’d do it for her. “Why?”
Over the top of her head, he saw the neighbor leave and took her hand to tug her with him. She shrugged but didn’t try to free herself, and he hid a grin. Progress at last.
“Too antsy, I guess. Nothing looked appealing.”
“Is that normal?” Ethan asked while Harris fell in on her other side. “She doesn’t eat when she comes to you?”
He ignored her blush of embarrassment at the question, and Harris shook his head. “Not in the first twenty-four hours. Sometimes after that.”
Interesting. Ethan had never heard that heat killed an appetite for food, but why would he? The only woman he’d touch during that time always put him off, so he’d never questioned what was normal or not.
“Is it almost over then? Since you want to eat?” The idea disturbed him. He wanted a couple days of mind-blowing sex. It might help mellow her outside of bed. Might convince her to give them a chance.
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