Davies, Corrine - Embraced by Fur [3xtasy Lake 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Corinne Davies

  “Doesn’t that bother you?”

  “To be truthful, sometimes, but not in a bad way. There are times that I’m very conscious that I only have a set amount of time with them, but you know that being a True Mate doesn’t make you invincible. Shape-shifters might heal quicker and be a bit stronger than humans, but you’re still mortal as well. Human or shifter, you need to show each other how much you care every day because no one knows when their meter is up.”

  A mental picture of Sloan lying in bed with a halo screwed into his temples flashed though his thoughts. He didn’t like to think about how close he came to losing his brother on a ski hill.

  She patted his hand where it lay on the table. “And the thought of leaving them behind one day breaks my heart, but I’m thankful that they will have each other to turn to when I’m no longer here to comfort them. But, that isn’t what you want to ask, is it?”

  “Odds are Sloan won’t have the same mate as us. Hell, I’m not completely certain that Kaden and I will have the same mate. I wanted to know how to make it work with an unmated member in a relationship.”

  “Firstly, why do you think that Sloan will have a different mate than you two?” Helen paused in chopping vegetables and came around the counter. She patted his shoulder and sat down on a stool next to him.

  “Because he’s a cat, and we aren’t.”

  “Mai is human. Gaspar and Vencel Solfalvi are wolves, and they’re True Mates.”

  “I don’t see the similarity. They’re twins. It would be strange if they didn’t have the same mate.”

  “You know, I remember when Sloan came into our lives. Such a strange set of circumstances, a one-in-a-million chance that everyone would be in the right place at the right time to find that boy and have him end up in your family. Now, if Fate played such a big part in making certain that he became your and Kaden’s brother, do you really believe that you wouldn’t share a mate? I suspected the three of you plan to share one woman. The three of you insisted on sharing everything when you were growing up.”

  Jaxon could feel his ears start to burn, a telltale sign that his face was beet red. It was one thing to discuss this with his brothers. It was something completely different to talk so openly about it to a woman who reminded him of his mother.

  “And didn’t all three of you take the same girl to your prom?”

  Brittany Laurens, the first girl the three of them shared. She was a wild girl who made certain they knew she wanted them all. That night, a bond formed between the three of them that nothing could ever break. A sly grin curled the corner of Helen’s mouth, making him realize that he too was smiling as he recalled that night.

  “I didn’t realize that was public knowledge.” The burning feeling on his ears spread to his cheeks. “Well, okay, I see your point, and we decided that if one of us found our mate, then the other two would stop looking for theirs.”

  “Jaxon, how about this?” She stood up and kissed him on the forehead before gently patting his cheek. “Why don’t you wait until Kaden and Sloan meet this girl? If she isn’t their True Mate, come back and talk to me again.”

  He nodded at her common-sense approach, because he needed to have a plan in place for all circumstances. He needed to keep everything neat, organized, and in order. The compulsion to be prepared to whichever outcome occurred is what kept him calm and under control.

  “All right. Thank you for your time, Helen.”

  “Jaxon?”

  Pausing, his hand on the doorknob, he looked back over his shoulder. “Yes?”

  Helen’s eyes sparkled with mischievous humour. “If she is your Mate, I hope she throws as much disarray into your life as Ann did for mine. You’ll be happier for it.”

  Chapter Six

  Carol and Brenna wandered out onto the deck off the living room, and Brenna introduced her to a couple already there. Jessica Cooke was a beautiful woman and had a body that looked like it belonged on the cover of a magazine. Only Jessica didn’t act like a fashion model. She didn’t wear a bit of makeup, and her hair was pulled back in an incredibly tight braid along the back of her head. Her gaze rarely lifted from her feet. Jessica stood there quietly next to her boyfriend, who acted as if she didn’t exist.

  Brenna had told her that Jessica had changed a lot since taking up with Geoff Reimer. Jessica didn’t do anything before checking with her boyfriend first. Carol knew that some people craved a relationship like that, but from her understanding, this was not a healthy example.

  Brenna held up the bottle of wine she used to top up their glasses. “Jessica, would you like a refill?”

  Jessica’s boyfriend wrapped his hand around the back of her neck in a blatant show of possession. “That might not be a good idea, Jess. You have worked so hard in the gym this week. You don’t want all of that to go to waste, do you?”

  “You know you’re right. Thanks, Geoff.” She covered the top of her glass. “I’m okay, Brenna. Another glass and I’ll have to do extra crunches, and I really hate those.”

  “I hate crunches, too,” Carol whispered to Jessica.

  Geoff’s gaze flicked over Carol quickly. His mouth curled in obvious dislike at what he saw. “Yeah, obviously.”

  Carol’s voice froze in her throat as Jessica gasped at Geoff’s rude comment. What an asshole. Carol debated on throwing her glass of wine in his face but figured he wasn’t worth the waste of wine.

  “Geoff, that’s not nice.” Jessica’s face turned red, and she looked as if she wanted to burst into tears.

  He glanced down and gave Jessica an icy look before looking back up. “Sorry, that came out wrong.”

  “I’m used to his habit of telling the blunt truth.” Jessica patted his arm and smiled up at him. “He is the best at motivating everyone at the gym.”

  “The sun is starting to set. We should go inside before the mosquitoes come out in full force.” Geoff winked at Carol as he jerked his arm away from Jessica and walked back into the house.

  Jessica followed him. “Good idea, Geoff.”

  Carol watched as the young woman tried to catch up to her boyfriend. Judging by her body language, this wasn’t the first time she’d faced a dramatic male temper tantrum.

  Jessica seemed like such a nice girl. Why would she hook up with such a jerk? “Were you coming in, too, Carol?”

  “I’ll be there in a moment.” Carol battled with the urge to go in there and tear a strip off of Geoff for being such a prick. But she didn’t want to make her hosts uncomfortable by making a scene, no matter how badly she wanted to.

  The entire scene reminded her of the way she placated her ex, David. His backhanded compliments and touchy attitude when it came to certain subjects. If only she’d stood up to him long ago. Perhaps, she wouldn’t have turned a blind eye to her suspicions about the shelter’s finances.

  She heard the patio door open behind her. Brenna asked, “Carol, you okay?”

  “Fine, simply fighting the urge to go in there and tell someone what I really think of them.”

  “Geoff’s an asshole, and I’ve almost punched him in the mouth a couple times.”

  Carol spun around at the male voice that obviously wasn’t her friend’s. Standing behind Brenna was another incredibly gorgeous man. What the hell do they put in the water up here?

  “Carol, this is Jaxon. You met his brother, Kaden, earlier tonight and Sloan earlier today.” Brenna looked as though she was about to dissolve into hysterical laughter. One eyebrow shot up, and she grinned wildly watching Carol’s attempt to maintain some dignity.

  Jaxon stepped around Brenna and directly up in front of her. A shiver of awareness ran down her spine. This brother wasn’t as muscular as Geoff, but she had no doubt that he could wipe the floor with him. He carried an air of authority around him, similar to Gordon’s but not as intense. Not that it mattered, because her body responded almost identically the same as it did with both of his brothers. A warm flush ran up her spine, wrapping around her shoulders, making her bre
asts tingle. Her fingers itched to pull the dark T-shirt he was wearing out of the waistband of his jeans.

  “It’s…ah, nice to meet you?”

  Jaxon stepped closer to her. His gaze slowly slipped over her as he approached. She could almost feel him caressing her curves. Geoff might have been disgusted by her, but Jaxon made her feel like a goddess. She felt flush, and her breasts strained against her bra. She could almost imagine feeling his hands on her bare skin.

  “I hope my brother didn’t make you nervous earlier.”

  “Honestly, maybe a bit. He’s rather an intense guy.” Carol could have bit her tongue off as soon as the words came out of her mouth, but Jaxon seemed to take it in stride and not in offense. Perhaps she shouldn’t have had another glass of wine.

  “Strange. He’s not normally like that, but he makes up in his cooking skills.”

  “Are you heading home, Jaxon?” Brenna nudged him in the side.

  “No, Helen invited me to dinner, and I never pass up on her cooking.” He followed them into the house, but as soon as they got inside, Brenna pulled at Carol’s arm and led her away from him. “Come on and have a refill.”

  “What is going on around here?” Carol whispered the words against her friend’s ear in hopes that no one else heard. “You aren’t trying to set me up, are you?”

  “Hell no. I’m trying to keep them away from you.” Brenna tugged her into the back hallway toward the kitchen. “With Mom getting everything ready, it should cover up our voices if we talk quietly.”

  “Is your hearing that sensitive?”

  “Yes, but we learn to block out certain sounds and smells.”

  Carol could feel her neck start to heat up at the implications of what her friend admitted. “I’m going to need more wine, and you need to explain what I am missing here.” Her heart pounded like a drum against her chest, her breasts ached, and her panties were soaked for the third time today. At this rate, she was going to have to start carrying spare underwear in her purse.

  “You have no idea.” Brenna topped off her glass again. “Let me ask you something. Are you attracted to all three of them?”

  Carol could feel the familiar tickle and itching sensation spread across her chest and neck. No doubt her cheeks would resemble Rudolf’s nose at the moment. “Why do you ask?”

  “Because they are interested in you. All three of them.”

  “Holy crap.” Carol could barely wrap her mind around the idea of one of those gorgeous men thinking of her in that way but all three of them? “There has to be a mistake.”

  “Nope, but I told them to back off. We’ve hardly had any time to visit, and I don’t want them to steal you from me already.”

  This coming from a woman who routinely had men following her around campus in an attempt to garner her attention for a moment. Brenna didn’t realize her own looks, and while it was one of her best quirks, it could be incredibly annoying at times.

  While the thought of having the attention of three men on her at once sounded exotic, she wasn’t that kind of person. “I couldn’t handle one, let alone three, so I wouldn’t worry about their stealing too much of my attention. I’m here to visit you and help out at the clinic for a few weeks, and then I’m going home to start over.”

  Brenna clinked her wine glass with Carol’s. “To new beginnings.”

  “Dinner’s ready, you two.” Helen leaned into the hallway from the kitchen. “Can you help me take it all out?”

  “Absolutely.” Carol placed her wine glass on the counter before picking up a serving dish to carry out into the dining room. She hadn’t made it three steps out of the kitchen before she came up against Jaxon.

  “Here, let me take that out for you.” Jaxon reached for the steaming dish in her hands.

  “All right. You take this, and I’ll go and get another one. The sides are hot, so be careful.” She passed the dish to him without incident and fled back to the kitchen. Her heart pounded wildly against her chest, and she could feel her fingers tingle where his hand had brushed them.

  “Deep breaths, sweetheart.” Helen grinned at her and patted her on the back.

  “Oh, I’m fine. I find it a bit warm in here. It must be from the ovens.”

  “If you say so.” Helen sounded doubtful as she passed Carol the goblet she left on the counter. “I remember saying almost the same thing when I met Gordon and Ann.”

  “Oh, I don’t think this is anything like that.” Carol took a sip of her wine and then put the glass back down.

  Helen wrapped her arms around her and gave her a hug. “Sweetheart, take it from someone who knows. Don’t fight it.”

  Carol had a dozen questions to ask, but at that moment Ann walked into the kitchen holding their newest daughter, distracting her completely from Helen’s comment. “There’s the newest princess. Can I hold her?”

  “Please, then I can give Helen a hand.” Ann passed her infant daughter into Carol’s arms.

  “I’d hoped she would nap for a bit longer. I imagine it was all the new scents in the house that woke her up.” Helen pressed a kiss against her wife’s temple. “I don’t need any help in here. Why don’t you go sit down for a bit and relax? You look tired.”

  Ann replied, “You get up at night as often as I do, and you made dinner tonight for everyone.” Helen might be protesting, but even Carol could see the exhaustion in her face.

  “You know now much I love cooking. It’s been very therapeutic for me today.” She turned Ann and gave her a bit of a push. “Go get a hug from Gordon and let everyone fuss over you for a bit.”

  Brenna walked in with Jaxon on her heels. “See?” Helen lifted a hand toward the two. “I have lots of help to finish up in here.”

  “Hey, Mom. You all right?” Brenna wrapped an arm around Ann and hugged her before lifting a big bowl of salad from the counter.

  “I’m fine. Where’s your father?”

  “Out in the living room glaring at Jess’s obnoxious boyfriend. Geoff made a comment to Daddy about how frustrated he must be to have only girls and not a boy.”

  Ann grimaced and replied, “Oh, Jesus, I’d better get out there before he bites him in the ass.”

  The moment Jaxon spotted Carol standing off to the side, he moved toward her. Carol’s heart pounded harder, and Willow wriggled in her arms excitedly.

  “Hello, Baby Willow.” Jaxon offered his finger for her to grab on to. She wriggled and made gurgling noises in response, kicking her chubby little legs. “My brothers and I helped build the dock out back a couple weeks ago, and she got used to seeing us here.”

  “Do you like kids?” As if the way he smiled at the baby wasn’t an obvious answer.

  “Love them. Kaden and I were a bit older when my youngest brother, Sloan, came into our lives, and it was the best thing that could have happened to us.”

  “Why’s that?” A part of her brain yelled at her for asking such personal questions, but she couldn’t help herself. After what Brenna told her, she was curious about him and his brothers.

  “Both Kaden and I were getting a little wild in those days. Then suddenly there was this little guy in our lives that wanted to imitate everything we did. Made us stop and think about what kind of influence we wanted to be.”

  If only more kids thought that way.

  “Jaxon, can you take the corn in?” Helen’s voice snapped the isolated bubble that Carol felt, and she remembered that she said dinner was ready.

  “Sorry, Helen. I said I would help. Here, Jaxon, would you like to hold her?”

  “No, that’s all right. I’ll help Helen, and you can get to know our newest town member.”

  He smiled at her, and Carol felt a flush creep up her neck. No, no, no. She couldn’t get involved with anyone when she knew she wasn’t going to stick around. That wouldn’t be fair to either of them. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t have some harmless fun if the opportunity arose.

  Carol relinquished Gordon’s daughter to him when she came into the dinin
g room. He sat at the head of the table, eating with one hand as he held his daughter in the crook of his other arm. Willow reclined happily, watching everything that was going on. The ease with which he ate one-handed while holding the baby proved Gordon was an active dad. Not that she didn’t know that already. His daughters were the apple of his eye, regardless of their age. Carol took a sip of her water, having decided to stay away from the wine for now. She needed her wits about her if she wasn’t going to make a fool of herself around Jaxon every time he asked her a question.

  * * * *

  Jaxon tried to keep up to the conversation that floated around the table, but his attention was completely on the woman next to him. Jess’s boyfriend made some asinine comment, and Gordon gripped his fork to the point of bending it. Gordon shot the other man a dirty look every time he opened his mouth. Then either Ann or Helen would pat his arm or rub his shoulder, and he could see the tension drain from his Alpha.

  It would be so much simpler if Geoff were a shifter. They would take him outside and beat some manners into him. However, since he was human, everyone had to be on their best behavior.

  As they’d sat down to the table, Geoff had pulled out the chair as if to sit next to Carol. After what he’d said to her earlier, Jaxon wasn’t about to allow him to criticize one hair on her head. So he’d moved slightly faster than he should have in front of a human and slid into the chair. “Thanks, Geoff. That was thoughtful, but I can pull my own chair out.” He had tucked himself in to the table and proceeded to ignore the man. Carol had given him an odd look, which was understandable since his actions were on the rude side, but he couldn’t explain it to her now. How do I explain to someone who knows nothing about my heritage that the beast I’m hiding inside demands I protect her from even the simplest of insults?

  Carol leaned slightly closer to him, to say something to Brenna across the table, and her scent floated around his head, teasing his senses. As she sat back, he got a beautiful view right down the front of her top. He shifted in his seat and tried to relieve some of the pressure from his jeans digging into him. Thank god he’d laid his napkin over his lap. It helped to hide any evidence from her.