by Black, Jaid
His friend stood and fetched the coffeepot to pour her another cup and Livvy looked up and smiled a bit. “Thanks, Nathan.”
“Call me Nate.”
She nodded then glanced Daniel’s way. “And should I call you Dan?”
“Not if you want me to answer.” He smiled at her, hoping he didn’t look scary as hell since he really didn’t smile all that often. A sudden wide grin split her lips and he stilled. Damn, if she didn’t look like a blast of sunshine.
When she’d finished her meal, they walked through wide double doors onto the back patio that overlooked a massive pool. “You have such a beautiful house,” she said as she sat primly in a chair behind a glass-topped table. “I didn’t see much of it last night.”
“How about a tour later?” Nathan leaned against one of two big pillars holding up the roof of the patio.
“I’d love that.”
Daniel sat next to her and took her hand, absently stroking her skin. “Right now, we have to collect your things, honey. We’ll have to make a trip into the police station and I know time is a premium for you right now. Nate and I feel we should get you back here as quickly as possible. We need this business done.”
“Collecting my stuff shouldn’t be a problem,” Livvy said.
Daniel noticed a fine bead of sweat dotting her brow. The morning was cool so he knew it wasn’t from external heat, but internal. She was close. So close. He felt the fine trembling of her fingers and he tightened his hold, hoping to give her comfort. The scent of female jaguar heat hung heavy around her.
She glanced between him and Nate. “I’ve only been in town for about a month. Been staying at a hotel until I could find a place. Before that, I lived in Guadalajara with my mom. My dads were killed by hunters when I was little, so it was just she and I. She died recently, and…and with the change coming over me, I knew I had to come this way. Long ago, Mom told me there were jag communities in south and central Texas, even said she’d known a few from San Antonio. This seemed a good place to start my search. I’d planned to head to Arizona or New Mexico if I didn’t have any luck here. I knew it was important that I find mates and my people.”
Nate moved to her other side. When he sat, he rubbed a hand soothingly down her back as if he too sensed things were heating up fast. “And find us you did, darlin’. Thank the gods.”
Must have been scary as hell for her to head out into the unknown, Daniel thought as he leaned close to drag the scent of her into his lungs. Female jags led very sheltered lives. “We’ll head into town and get your things then get this interview with the police done. How does that sound?”
Without warning, she gasped and her eyes washed over with tears. “We have to hurry. Gods! I’m running out of time.” She bolted to her feet and the chair she’d been sitting in crashed to the patio floor. Her hands fluttered aimlessly in the vicinity of her chest as panic filled her eyes.
“Oh no,” she whispered, her voice raw with fear, her eyes dilated as she glanced between Daniel and Nate. “Not again!”
A blast of heat swept the air, covering Daniel like a heavy blanket, and he knew damn good and well what was happening as she spun on her heel and ran back into the house.
He and Nate exchanged a hard look and wasted no time following behind her.
Fire whipped through Olivia’s blood as she raced through the house, up the stairs and into the bathroom. Earlier she’d noted the size and opulence, but now nothing entered her mind except finding relief from the overwhelming heat that swept her body.
Her nipples tightened painfully, pressing against the cotton of her tee shirt, and cream flooded from her pussy to dampen her thighs. Livvy’s beast, hungering for birth, rolled and stretched inside her as she yanked open the glass door of the shower and turned on the cold water full blast. Clothes and all, she stepped beneath the frigid spray, a scream hovering at the edge of her lips.
She closed her eyes as the water washed the tears from her cheeks. Her mother had warned her of the animalistic heat, the overwhelming urge to mate, but had never once clued her in about the loss of self that came along with it.
She hated it! It shamed her to feel so helpless, to suffer this loss of control.
When in the throes of these violent sexual urges, nearly every vestige of human disappeared, leaving a clawing, hissing animal in her place. She was no longer Livvy, a generally sweet and tenderhearted woman who loved to laugh. She became something else entirely.
It terrified her, and she knew this was merely the beginning.
Suddenly the door of the shower burst open.
Jerking open her eyes, Livvy backed against the wall and stared at the naked men who’d crowded into the space. As of last night she was truly mated to them, but, despite their kindness, their consideration, the utter sexiness of them, they were still strangers.
They were also her knights in shining armor, and for them to see her on edge this way was horrifying to a woman who’d lived so privately.
Hot tears sprang to her eyes again as lust tore through her core. It felt as if a million tiny fingers stroked the most sensitive places on her body. Her nipples. Her clit. Reaching out, she grabbed both Nate and Daniel, squeezing the rock-hard flesh of their shoulders. “I have no control! Gods!” The words choked from her lips and, even in her despair, she noted compassion edged with hunger in the eyes of her mates.
Simultaneously the men reached for the hem of her sodden tee shirt and peeled it from her body. Daniel wrapped her in his arms, whispering against her temple. “We’ve got you.”
Nate joined them, his eyes beautiful, catlike and feral yet tinged with tenderness. His hair was wet, clinging to his very broad shoulders and to his strong neck. “Shh, baby. Shh. Let us make it better. Trust us. Don’t be afraid.”
Livvy opened her mouth to speak but only a soundless cry emerged as the heat of their bodies further enflamed her own. Mouths, lips, tongues and teeth brushed her throat. Big, warm hands stroked her torso, fanning the sensations raging through her to a fever pitch. Daniel latched on to a diamond-hard nipple, sucking it strongly into the heat of his mouth.
Crying out, she fisted her hands in his drenched hair to hold him closer. Busy fingers, Nate’s, parted her labia then slid through the creamy flesh of her pussy. He circled her throbbing clit, pressing lightly, but Livvy knew it wasn’t enough, would never be enough.
A frustrated sound swept her throat to echo through the small enclosure and then Nate’s fingers speared deep and fast into her cunt, the thrusts working in tandem with the sucking motions of Daniel’s mouth.
A desperate whimper broke free as the first hard climax hit her. Shaking in the arms of her mates, she felt another orgasm wind through her belly. Livvy sucked in a breath.
Daniel released her nipple then stared into her eyes. He cupped the breast he’d abandoned and stroked the still-pulsing bud with his thumb. “She’s coming up again, Nate.”
“Don’t talk over me,” she gasped. “I’m in heat, not stupid.”
A ghost of a smile flickered over Daniel’s lips. “Sassy woman. I like that.”
“Don’t mind Daniel.” Nate settled his chin in the bend of her neck and shoulder then grinned at her. “He’s a mite slow on the uptake.”
His eyes sparkled with mischief and through the haze of sexual awakening, her heart tightened with affection. But then suddenly she couldn’t think as that insidious coil of lust grew tighter and tighter in her belly.
Both men, perhaps feeling the escalating beat of her heart, moved into action. Daniel turned her around and he and Nate lifted her between them until her hot pussy was poised over the head of Nate’s thick cock. Clinging like a monkey, she wound her arms and legs around his water-slick body.
Daniel gripped her thighs to hold her tightly in place against Nate as he slid his heavy erection between the globes of her butt. For the flash of an instant, she wondered how she would feel when he finally breached her there. She knew he would. It was only a matter of time.
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br /> As if sensing her thoughts, he leaned in to whisper, “Take Nate’s cock, sweetheart. He’s dying for you to slide down over him.”
Affection slid through her mind, soothing her, calming her. She felt the vibrations of it roll through her thoughts and realized that, already, her mates were establishing an emotional connection. Eventually she would hear their thoughts as nature connected them with steely strings. This was only the beginning of what they would share. Together.
Nate’s face seemed carved of granite. Drops of water clung to his heavy lashes and strong jaw. His eye narrowed with a feral intensity that was impossible to ignore. Gorgeous didn’t begin to describe him. Lust zipped through her veins like molten gold, prodding her clit and the inner walls of her pussy.
“Take it. Now.” Nate groaned the words and then his head went back. Livvy saw a flash of fang, heard the low coughing sound that burst from between his clenched teeth and felt her own gums begin to tingle.
Sandwiched between her men, Olivia hesitated until Nate gripped his cock, dragging it over sensitized flesh that wept for more. A sigh of longing, another indrawn breath filled her lungs and, finally sliding home, she whimpered as he filled her and then began to thrust deep, deeper, harder, faster.
Her head fell back against Daniel’s broad chest. His hands cupped her breasts, kneading them, flicking the nipples with his thumbs until they ached. As Nate fucked her, Daniel thrust his erection between her ass cheeks. She heard his low growl of pleasure, the way his lungs bellowed as he worked to draw each breath.
Together they fucked her, marking her as their own with each rapid stroke. Pleasure spiraled tighter and tighter inside her. Livvy’s arms and legs tingled with each touch and her beast, her impatient beast, stretched somewhere deep inside, begging for attention. A low sound, distinctly jaguar, burst from her throat as she lost all remnants of control.
But she no longer cared. She yearned for release. She needed to be fucked, taken, controlled, and giving up her prideful notions had never been so ridiculously easy as it was now, with thrilling pleasure washing dizzily over her.
Livvy cried out and her body seized as Nate and Daniel drove her over the edge of desire into a heaven so profound as to be unexplainable. As they spoke unintelligible words into her skin, holding her tightly between them, home spoke to her from somewhere deep in her heart and she suddenly knew she’d found that place, here, with them. She knew all at once that she never wanted to leave.
Peace, love and acceptance were hers if she were brave enough to take it for herself.
Chapter Three
Nate held her trembling body tightly, still connected intimately as frigid water sluiced over their skin. He glanced at Daniel, who immediately turned the shower off and stepped from the glass enclosure. Tightening his arms, Nate slid his cheek over her wet hair and watched Daniel quickly dry off then grab a couple of towels.
“You okay, sweetheart?”
“I-I think so,” she answered on a shaky breath.
“Good. Then hang on and we’ll get you all fixed up.” Gently, Nate untangled her arms and legs until she stood in front of him. That she was here with them after all their years of searching was still unbelievable to him, and he sure as hell didn’t want to fuck anything up. The last thing he and Daniel needed was to get off on the wrong foot with their newfound mate. Just looking at her naked body had him ready to go off like a rocket all over again but more than anything right now, he just wanted to kiss her. She looked so uncertain, his heart squeezed.
Cupping her cheek, Nate tipped up her face. “Don’t be embarrassed, Olivia. You’re breakin’ my heart.”
She shook her head a little. “I can’t help it. This loss of control makes me feel so needy.”
“You do need us now, Livvy. It’s just a fact and nothing at all to be ashamed of. Embrace what’s coming. I know you can do that. You’re strong. Daniel and I have seen it. We are so damn proud of you. You have to believe that.”
He stroked the edge of his thumb over her pretty cheek and gave in to what he’d wanted since the first moment he’d touched her. Bending low, he tilted his head and kissed her, gently at first and then harder. Her taste was the sweetest aphrodisiac. He dipped his tongue deep, tasting hunger, acceptance and passion. All three wrapped around him as her breath swept his mouth. Nate drank it down then returned it, hoping they could build on these moments. The three of them.
Daniel made a sound and Nate reluctantly broke the connection, noting the quizzical expression on Olivia’s face as she stared at him. Her lips were swollen from his kiss but before he could do what he wanted and take her lips again, Daniel wrapped her in a soft, dry towel and led her from the shower.
Nate dried himself and watched Daniel’s tender care as he wiped the white cotton over her body then tucked the cloth around her. By the time they entered the bedroom, Nate had regained some control of his emotions.
The woman made his hands shake, and that was a fact. She made him want to lay her on the nearest horizontal surface and fuck her as if she were the last woman on earth. And, of course, for Daniel and him, she was. She belonged to them.
For Nate and Daniel, Olivia Russell was forever.
Fighting the lump in his throat, he watched as she primly sat on the edge of the bed. He’d noticed that about Livvy. Everything about her was feminine and graceful, and Nate realized again how fortunate they were.
Daniel cleared his throat. “We washed your clothes, honey. Just hang on and I’ll fetch them from the dryer.”
Red flags of color dotted her high cheekbones. “Thank you. I could have done that.”
He grinned and shook his head. “You’d better get used to Nate and me taking care of you. Give me a minute to pull on some jeans and I’ll run and grab your stuff. We probably need to get a move on since we need to meet with Lieutenant Lopez in a few hours.”
After Daniel had gone, Nate shrugged into his own jeans as Livvy looked around the room. “Do you like it?”
“The room? Yes, it’s beautiful, but somehow I can’t imagine you guys liking the whole girly motif.” She smiled shyly as she took in the hand-carved four-poster bed with its pale-yellow spread. A matching vanity dresser sat in one corner and an old-fashioned wardrobe rested along one wall. Along with the antiques were modern touches that included a large flat-screen television hanging on one wall.
Nathan laughed. “It’s not our room, honey, it’s yours. In case you haven’t noticed, Daniel and I aren’t a couple. We’re like brothers. Best friends. Comrades and partners in the search for our mate. Looks to me like we finally got lucky.”
Livvy reddened again and shook her head, laughing a little. “I have so much to learn about you guys.”
“We aren’t going anywhere. We have plenty of time.”
“Well, if this is my room, where do you sleep?”
Nate lifted a brow and grinned. “Hopefully with you but we both have our own rooms right across the hall. We’ll give you a tour of everything whenever you want. Mainly we just want you to be happy here.”
Livvy stood and tugged the towel tighter over her breasts as she walked around the room, finally stopping at the vanity dresser with its adjustable mirrors. Smiling, she picked up a delicate crystal perfume bottle. “It’s beautiful. Is this for me?”
Nate sprawled on the unmade bed and crossed his feet at the ankles, wallowing in the sight of her admiring the things they’d bought over the years. “Yep. Still remember the day Daniel and I bought that. It was at the turn of the century, nineteen of two, I think, and we were traveling in San Francisco.”
He shrugged. “We weren’t having any luck finding a mate in Texas so in an act of frustration, we headed to the West Coast. Just to explore, really. One day we walked into a store and thought…I don’t know, maybe our future mate would fill it with something that smelled pretty. We figured maybe she’d like something like that. Matter of fact, we furnished almost this entire room with things we found in our travels.”
; She turned, a look of wonder on her face. “Even then you were picking out things?”
Nate nodded, remembering the exuberance of their youth and how they’d longed to find the one woman who would belong to them.
Women of their species were lucky. Once they went into heat, around the age of thirty, they mated. They didn’t suffer the years of loneliness—sometimes hundreds— experienced by many males.
Realizing again how very lucky he and Daniel were, Nate smiled. “How could we not, honey? We were just a couple of young cubs. Impatient. We’ve been waiting for a very long time. Looking. Scenting the air. One day we’ll tell you all about our travels and how damn hard we searched for you.”
Livvy looked again at the crystal bottle, tracing it with the tip of her finger, and when she glanced back at him, Nate’s breath hitched. Her gaze had gone all soft. Tears filled her eyes, making them shine in the sunlight.
“I love the bottle, Nathan. I love it very much.”
* * * * *
A little over a week later, as the hot afternoon sun beat down upon her and her guest, Olivia reached into an ice bucket in the center of the patio table and grabbed a chilled bottle of white wine. Topping off Violet’s glass and then her own, she replaced the bottle in its bed of ice, marveling at how relaxing the past few hours had been.
“Good thing jag shifters can’t get drunk, huh?” Livvy smiled at Violet Littlehawk–O’Malley, who aside from Livvy’s mom was the only other shifter female she’d ever met. “Don’t know what the guys would think if they came home from work and I was sloshed. Not the best way to start things off with them, huh?”
Violet, a beautiful brunette, grinned and lifted her glass. “Oh honey, I doubt they’d mind all that much, but tipsy is good and I’m definitely that.” Noah Littlehawk and Aaron O’Malley’s mate had arrived earlier, bearing gifts of home-baked goodies and several nice bottles of wine. “I can’t tell you how great it is to finally have another woman in the area. With all these alpha-type jags around, we’re definitely outnumbered.”