by Becca Van
“How long is she planning on staying?” Tarik asked.
“I’m not sure.” Tammy frowned. “I don’t think she told me.”
“Let’s hope it’s for a few weeks,” Hodge said, secretly hoping that Celeste would never want to leave.
Nonetheless, he had a feeling the path ahead of them wasn’t going to be an easy one.
He and Tarik were big, dominant men. They were used to giving orders and having their commands carried out straight away. It was going to be hard to temper their authoritative and domineering urges, but he would do anything to keep Celeste around for as long as possible.
Hodge glanced at Serge as he entered the kitchen.
“Phelan and Hopper found Celeste’s luggage.” Serge held up the battered case. “She’ll be glad to have her own clothes to wear.”
Tammy slid to her feet. “How’s Jarvis?”
“He’s going to be fine, shorty,” Serge ruffled her hair. “He’s going to stay for a few days to heal up some and then he’ll hitch a ride back to the mainland with the next delivery plane.”
Hodge was glad the human pilot would heal. He was a good guy even though he wasn’t a shifter. He was always smiling and joking around and though he didn’t know that he and the others could shift into animals, he had a feeling it wouldn’t make a difference if he did. Jarvis was the type of person that was friendly with and to everyone, no matter what their race or beliefs were. He was just an all-round good guy.
Hodge bit his lip to hide his smile when Tammy slapped at Serge’s hand, stepped back from him, scowled, and then poked him in the chest. “I’m not a fucking kid. Stop treating me like one.”
Serge grabbed hold of Tammy’s finger and for a moment, Hodge thought he was going to snap the offending appendage off—but then he let Tammy’s finger go and he held his hand out, palm up, as if warding the little spitfire off. He met Hodge’s gaze. “Where’s my patient.”
Hodge took the opportunity to set eyes on Celeste again. “I’ll show you.”
“You don’t need to. I can sniff her out.”
Serge gave him a curious glance over his shoulder when Hodge’s sabear growled and stopped outside the partially closed bedroom door before turning to face him.
“What’s up with you and Tarik? Your animals are too close to the surface.” Serge’s nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. “Mating pheromones. Shit! She’s your mate?”
Hodge nodded, some of the tension in his muscles easing as the other dominant male took in his scent.
“Tarik, too?”
Hodge nodded again.
“You lucky bastards.” Serge nudged Hodge’s shoulder with his fist and grinned. “Just try and keep your sabear under control when I examine her. I’m not trying to horn in on your woman. I just need to make sure she’s okay.”
“I’ll try.”
Chapter Three
When Celeste opened her eyes, it was still light outside, but then she remembered she was on St. Lawrence Island off the coast of Mainland Alaska and it was summer. It could be months before the sun actually set and it got dark when she thought it should.
Her body was stiff and sore, and her head was still aching but not as badly as it had earlier, thank goodness. She still felt fuzzy headed and tired, but she was no longer feeling sick to her stomach.
She shifted on the bed and when she heard a rustle close by, she opened her eyes and blinked the haze from her vision. Tammy’s brother and his friend were both sitting in big armchairs set near the far wall and they were both staring at her. Heat crept up her cheeks and she cursed her fair skin, because she knew her skin would be as pink as a sunburn.
She went to sit up but groaned when her stiff aching muscles protested, specifically the ones in her lower back and surrounding her shoulder blades. She froze when the two huge men rushed to her sides.
“Don’t move, baby, we don’t want you hurting yourself.” Tarik shoved the covers down, lifted her into his arms and after Hodge had fluffed the pillows and put them against the headboard he set her back on the mattress.
It took a few minutes for her foggy brain to register the fact he’d called her baby. “My name is Celeste.”
“How are you feeling?” Hodge asked, drawing her gaze.
“A little better.”
“Do you still have the headache?” Tarik sat on the edge of the bed.
His shoulders were so broad and even though she was in the middle of the mattress, he was close enough for her to feel the heat emanating from him.
“Yes, but it’s not as bad as it was. Where’s Tammy?”
“She’s at home probably asleep,” Hodge answered, as he sat on the other side of her.
“What time is it?”
“Three in the morning.” Tarik bent his knee and rested his leg on the bed. His thigh brushed against hers.
Celeste eyed his muscular leg covered in black denim. It was so thick it reminded her of a small tree trunk. The man was ripped and full of bulging muscles. She cleared her throat and averted her gaze from his body and met his amazing jade green eyes. “Why aren’t I with Tammy? Why am I here? Where is here?”
“Don’t panic, love. We’d never hurt you.” Hodge stroked a finger over the back of her hand.
She snatched her hand away and glared at him. However, it wasn’t because she didn’t like him touching her. She’d pulled away because his touch had sent unsettling tingles racing through her body, which had centered in some very private places. She’d never had that happen before. In fact, she’d never reacted to the opposite sex with any interest whatsoever, and here she was reacting to two handsome, tall men.
Get your act together girl. This is Tammy’s brother and his friend. You have enough trouble with that creepy stalker after you without adding to your troubles.
Celeste decided the best defense was going on the offense. “Are either of you going to answer my questions?”
“We needed to watch you throughout the night since you had a head injury,” Hodge explained.
“Why couldn’t Tammy have done that?”
“She was exhausted after being so distraught with worry over you. We all saw the plane crash. She thought you’d died.”
“Oh!” Celeste gasped, and covered her mouth. Tears welled in sympathy for what Tammy must have been through. She met Tarik’s gaze when he smoothed his thumb across her cheek beneath her eye.
Suddenly she was back in that plane as it was dropping from the sky. Celeste began to tremble and pant as she once more heard the screeching of metal scraping along the ground and tearing apart. She was so lost in the terrifying horror of facing her own mortality, she hadn’t even noticed that Hodge had lifted her into his lap until his warm muscular arms surrounded her body, and pulled her against his chest.
She gasped and sobbed, soaking his shirt, her fingers twisted in the cotton material as she clung to him and bawled her eyes out. She hoped she never faced something so frightening again. After a while, the tears slowed and Celeste became aware of where she was. Aware of how hard and solid the thighs beneath her own ass and legs were—as well as the hand caressing up and down her back. She inhaled with a residual hiccup after her crying jag and had to swallow the moan building in her chest back down. Hodge was holding her and though his fresh, manly scent was different from Tarik’s, it was just as enticing.
“You okay, baby?” Tarik asked, running a hand over head and hair.
She sniffed and nodded, wiping the moisture from her face with the back of her hand. Her face felt tight and sticky now that her tears were drying on her skin, and her face began to itch. In fact, she felt decidedly grungy all over. She glanced about the room and when her gaze landed on her battered case she was shocked. The last thing she’d expected to see were the clothes and toiletries she’d packed before embarking on her journey. Gratitude swelled in her chest at the thought of someone being so…well, thoughtful. She wouldn’t have to borrow clothes or buy more.
St. Lawrence Island was small, and she
doubted that the place had a store for her to go on a shopping spree. From what she could remember Tammy telling her, the population of the small Alaskan Island had the grand total of fifteen hundred residences.
Celeste had looked at the meager photos of the place that she’d found online. Savoonga was the name of the isolated town she was staying in and though she knew there were a couple of other towns on the island, she was happy to stay put and spend her time with her best friend.
When she spied the ajar door on the other side of the room she hoped that it was a bathroom because she was hankering for a shower. There was nothing in the world better than feeling clean and she hoped the warm water would also ease some of the aches and pains in her body.
“What are you thinking about, love?”
She shivered in response to Hodge’s deep cadence and the vibrations that brushed over her arm and shoulder as he spoke. There was something weird going on with her. She’d never reacted to a man, nor had she’d ever been drawn to them the way she was to Tarik and Hodge. She loved having them touching her and hearing their deep rumbling voices each time they said something. She could have spent hours listening to them talk and never become bored. It was as if their voices somehow mesmerized her, as did the way they smelled.
“Is that a bathroom?” She pointed toward the door.
“It is,” Tarik answered, as he rose.
“Can I have a shower?”
Hodge stood lifting her with him and although he was tall and muscular she was still impressed by his easy strength. She wasn’t a lightweight even though she was slim. Celeste maintained a strict regimen of exercise and had small defined muscles in her arms and legs. She’d always been told that muscle weighed more than fat and she wasn’t short.
She gripped Hodge’s forearms as he lowered her feet to the floor when she went a little dizzy.
“Damn. I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Hodge said, as he locked gazes with her.
“Yes, it is.”
Tarik came up behind her, wrapping his arm around the waist as if to steady her, and then he leaned around to meet her gaze. “What’s wrong? Is your head hurting?”
Celeste blinked over the concerned frown and words and though she appreciated their care, she thought it was a little over the top. They didn’t know her at all, but she assumed they were worried because she was Tammy’s friend.
“I’m fine,” Celeste said automatically.
“You’re as pale as a ghost.” Hodge looked her face and body over.
“I just moved a bit fast and felt a little woozy. I’m okay now.”
Tarik released her waist and stepped back. She released Hodge’s arms and shifted away from him, trying to prove to the two men that she was okay. She wasn’t about to let on that she still had a bad headache even if the drumming inside of her skull had been worse earlier. Nor was she going to tell them how stiff and sore she was. She’d been taking care of herself for years and had learned to depend only on herself.
“I’ll start the shower,” Tarik stated, as he turned back to the bathroom.
“I’ll get your things,” Hodge said, as he walked to her luggage. His hand was so big he had trouble getting his hand around the handle, until with a growl, he bent down and gripped one of the wheels instead, lifting it with ease. He carried it over toward the bed and just as he was about to set it down, the wheel came off and the case dropped onto the bed.
Celeste rolled her lips together trying to hold the giggle bubbling up in her throat from escaping, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. Hodge’s gaze was going back and forth between the wheel resting on his large palm to the case now on the bed. It was the sheepish expression on his face and the hint of a blush creeping up his cheeks that set her off.
A giggle burst from between her lips and then she started laughing. He met her gaze and gave her an embarrassed grin. “Sorry.”
She waved her hand in the air as she got her mirth back under control. “Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your fault. The wheel’s been loose and wobbly for a while. I was thinking about buying a new one anyway.”
Celeste bent over her bag, opened it, and giggled again. It felt good to laugh. It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself the cathartic release of tears and humor, since she’d been scared for months—always looking over her shoulder searching for the sicko who seemed to turn up to any photo shoot she was working. It was the creepy emails and texts that sent the fine hairs on her body standing on end, though. The man talked to her as if they were intimate and that scared the crap out of her.
“I like hearing you laugh.”
Celeste squeaked and startled. She’d been so lost in thought she hadn’t realized that Tarik had come up behind her. She’d even forgotten that Hodge was still in the room. She knew she’d overreacted but whenever she thought of her stalker, she always ended up on edge.
“Sorry, Celeste. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Tarik said.
“You didn’t frighten me. I was just lost in thought and didn’t hear you behind me.” She turned side on so she could see both men. “How do you do that?”
“What, love?” Hodge asked.
She frowned over the familiarity of the endearment, but didn’t say anything this time, figuring that these men were the type to call women by pet names. “Move so quietly when you’re so tall and…well…big?”
Tarik smiled, winked at her and then shrugged. “Comes naturally.”
“Oh.” Celeste licked her lips and though she tried to stop her eyes from wandering over their muscular bodies, she just couldn’t seem to help it. They were so big, buff, and handsome. “Okay.” She felt like an idiotic school girl with a crush. When her cheeks began to heat with embarrassment she spun back toward her bag to pull out some clean clothes. Her breath hitched in her throat when the muscles between her shoulder blades and lower back spasmed. She had to bite her lip to keep in a moan of pain, but Hodge and Tarik were more observant than the average person.
“Once you’ve had a shower, we’ll give you a massage.” Hodge gave her an implacable stare as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Her eyes were drawn to his huge bulging biceps and flexing pectorals. She quickly averted her gaze when she noticed she was ogling him again. Her eyes zeroed in on Tarik’s delineated abs outlined beneath his tight T-shirt. She wondered if he always wore tight clothes with the purpose of trying to attract feminine attention. A twinge of jealousy shot into her chest and she hurriedly pushed her thoughts aside. She wasn’t here to flirt or hook up with anyone. She was here to visit with Tammy and hopefully hide from her stalker.
She shook her head at herself and Hodge’s words about a massage, grabbed some clean clothes and her bag of toiletries, and headed toward the bathroom. Celeste halted when Tarik didn’t budge from his position in the doorway to the bathroom. He was casually leaning against the doorjamb with his ankles and arms crossed but she had a feeling there was nothing nonchalant about his pose. In fact, she felt like a mouse being stalked by a cat. She cleared her throat and tried to ignore the way her nipples were hardening and aching, or the way her pussy had softened and moistened, or the way her clit was throbbing.
“Could you please move aside?” Celeste mentally cursed the breathlessness in her voice.
Tarik stared avidly at her for a few more moments and his nostrils flared as he breathed in. And then he inhaled again. She took a step back when Tarik made a low rumbling, growly noise. Celeste clutched her clothes to her chest and took another step back, wary after hearing such an animalistic sound coming from the big man. A frisson of fear skated up her spine and goose bumps raced over her flesh.
Tarik breathed in again and the predatory look faded from his eyes. He took a step closer and brushed a thumb over her chin. “You have no need to fear me, baby.”
“Tarik’s right, Celeste,” Hodge said. “You’re safe with us. None of the men in this town would ever hurt any woman or child.”
She nodded before skirting Tarik a
nd hurrying into the bathroom and closing the door after her. She was able to take a deep full breath for the first time since she’d woken. Tarik and Hodge were so big and handsome they seemed to suck all the air from the room. They were walking, talking, potent specimens of the opposite sex. And she couldn’t keep her damned eyes off of them.
Celeste, you’re in big trouble.
* * * *
“She’s attracted to us but she’s fighting it.” Tarik sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Yeah, I smelled her desire. She’s so fucking sweet my sabear is fighting to get out and mark her.” Hodge sipped at his beer.
“So is mine.” Tarik sat on the stool next to Hodge at the kitchen counter. “How the hell are we going to explain what she is to us and what we are?”
“We could just show her?” Hodge shook his head.
“I can see that going over well,” Tarik smirked. “Seeing two grown men change into white polar bears with light gray stripes and teeth like a saber-toothed tiger would have her screaming the house down.”
“She doesn’t like our dominant natures.” Hodge met Tarik’s gaze. There was fire in her eyes when I told her we’d give her a massage after her shower. If it wasn’t her first day here I would be waiting in her bedroom to do just that.”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t know us. She needs time.” Tarik frowned. “Did you see the fear in her eyes while she was lost in thought?”
“I’m surprised you did. She had her back to you.”
“I could see her in the mirror on top of the dresser.”
“Hm, forgot about that.” Hodge cocked his head. “She’s out of the shower. Should we go and see if she’s okay?”
“No. Let her come to us,” Tarik said. “She needs to settle in before we start pushing.”
“She probably won’t want to stay.” Hodge’s shoulders slumped. “She’s a freaking supermodel for fuck’s sake. No doubt she has more money than she knows what to do with, and she has to like the glamour and glitz since she’s been modeling for at least four years.”