Reluctantly releasing her lips, he said, “Will you pet my cat like that, angel?” Her pupils were now dilated, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. “So beautiful, Jordanna.”
He let his cat take over. Its need to feel her touch was wild and raw inside him. Just like the man’s.
Chapter 9
Jordanna felt the hairs on her arms rise and her skin tingle moments before a warm softness bumped against her hand. Stretching out her fingers, she felt fur.
“So soft,” she murmured, and found unending fur everywhere she moved her fingers. Reaching out with her other hand she attempted to make sense of what she was feeling. She found whiskers, coarse and long with one hand and a firm silky ear with the other. She was touching the head of a huge cat.
“Gabriel,” she whispered and warm breath brushed over her arm as he chuffed a very feline sounding response.
“That’s Gabe,” Drake said. A heavy weight landed unexpectedly on her lap, making she jump. “And that’s Rowan.”
She kept one hand stroking Gabriel’s head and the other she dropped to Rowan’s. Her heart was pounding and she felt short of breath. Not from fear. From excited wonder.
The rumble of a purr vibrated up her legs as she rubbed behind Rowan’s ear like she would a pet cat. “He likes that.”
“He likes your hands on him, I know I would,” Drake said.
She slid off Drake’s lap and knelt on the floor. She was suddenly surrounded by warm fur. The blanket slid from her, but she didn’t feel cold. They rubbed against her while she reached out to stroke whatever part of them she could. Their purring was resonating at a pitch that made her nipples peak and her clitoris throb.
“I want to feel you, too, Drake. Please,” she said, her voice sounding breathy in her excitement. “This is magical. It’s a sensation I’ll never forget.”
“You won’t have to remember it, Jordanna,” Drake said, grasping her face firmly between his hands. “You’re ours.” He breathed the words into her mouth as he kissed her.
He didn’t coax her into a response, he thrust his tongue deep and glided it over her own before breaking the kiss. She gasped at his sudden withdrawal.
“Are you sure you want me to shift as well. You won’t be scared?”
“You said you can smell emotions. Am I scared?”
His laugh was husky. “You smell so good I want to eat you.”
She heard his clothes rustle as they hit the floor seconds later. The prickle of electricity in the air was followed by a hot, wet, rough tongue licking up her cheek.
She laughed out her joy. She hadn’t felt this happy in years and years. “You don’t frighten me, pussy cat.” She reached for Drake and stroked the softness of his furry body.
She had always loved cats. She’d had a Siamese cat growing up that she’d loved to pieces. It had died when she was sixteen and she’d been brokenhearted at the loss. Being an only child, it had been more like a sister to her than a pet.
As the men all rubbed against her she was reminded of how her cat, Paisley, had done the same thing when it had wanted her attention. These cats were much bigger.
Even kneeling she had to reach up to stroke over their backs. Gabriel was the biggest, and his shoulders must have been five feet off the ground.
Drake licked down her back. The hospital gown had gaped open as she knelt to touch her cats. She laughed out loud that Drake had managed to find a piece of skin not covered by dressings.
“You’re so soft,” she crooned to no one in particular, “and you smell amazing. All pine and woodsy smelling.” She buried her nose in the side of Caine’s coat and took a deep breath. “Beautiful, Caine. You smell beautiful.”
As one, they all stopped moving. She stroked Caine’s coat and leant against Gabriel. “Did I do something wrong?” She couldn’t think of what she may have done, but she hoped she hadn’t ruined the magical moment by upsetting them.
A furry head caressed against her cheek and a hot rough tongue licked her neck. “Rowan, your tongue could strip skin from the bone.” She rubbed at the spot he’d licked—it felt as though it was grazed. She absently checked her fingers to see if there was blood on them. “Oh, damn it.”
Darkness, nothing but darkness. She felt her cheeks grow wet as tears spilled from her sightless eyes. She’d been completely lost to sensory pleasure. So immersed in her other senses, that in that perfect moment, she hadn’t needed her sight.
She felt electricity spark against her skin, and then warm hands wrapped around her arms and lifted her against a hard, muscled, and naked chest. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Did I hurt you?” Rowan said.
“No, why would you even think that?” The words came out thick and hiccupped as she sobbed. Furry heads were rubbing against her legs as growls filled the room.
“You’re crying.”
“I warned you it would happen.” She sniffed back tears. “It just happened a little sooner than I thought.” She reached down and stroked Drake’s head. “I can’t see.” The words were garbled as she continued to sob.
“Jordanna, I don’t think you realize what you did.” Rowan lowered her until she knelt on the floor once more. She felt his naked thighs form a cage around her as he squatted at her back.
“I’m sorry. What did I do?” She felt her tears continue to drip off her chin. She was so caught up in her self-pity that she was having trouble focusing on what he was saying.
“You saw me. You saw each of us. You knew me when I was shifted.”
His words pulled her back to him. How the hell did I know who they were? Leaning back against his surprisingly hairless thighs, she reached out for his brothers. She found them mere inches away.
She stroked over Gabriel’s head. “Gabriel,” she whispered.
Moving her hand she sunk her fingers into the thick fur of Drake’s scruff. “Drake.” Reaching out with her other hand she stroked the side of Caine’s massive head. “Caine.”
“That’s right, Jordanna.”
She felt a shiver run down her spine. She didn’t know how she knew who they were, she just did.
“We haven’t told you anything about the mating,” Rowan said. He stroked his hand down her hair and against the bare skin at her back. “But right now, it doesn’t matter that we haven’t finalized the bond. I can feel mine is already there.” She gasped as he continued to stroke her back. The tingling sensation now a searing fire in her veins.
“You’re already in my heart, Jordanna. I’d die without you now.” Electricity sparked the air. The others had changed back.
“I love you, Jordanna.” Rowan breathed the words into her ear.
“I know that you must feel terrified that your eyesight might never return,” Gabriel said, “but regardless, I’ll follow you anywhere. We’ll all go anywhere you want. We just want to be there with you.” She felt his hands clasp her face and his gentle fingers wipe her tears away.
She felt overwhelmed. It had been a very long day. She was feeling things she shouldn’t be feeling for these men. For any man.
“Why would you want me? Especially now.”
“That’s not the Jordanna we’ve been with all day, darling one,” Drake said. He took her hand and she felt him raise it to his soft lips and kiss her palm. “That’s you mourning for the loss of your vision.”
“I’m so angry that he’s done this to you,” Caine said. “But if you hadn’t been hurt, we may never have found you. You’re the greatest gift we’ll ever be given.” She felt his breath against her cheek before he took her lips in a hard kiss that only left her wanting him more. Wanting all of them.
She sighed deeply when Caine broke their kiss. She was confused and tired. So tired.
“You’re exhausted,” Gabriel said. “We can see you’re about ready to drop. How about a bath and a sleep before tea?”
“A bath sounds wonderful.” She thought of the fact that she was still in a hospital gown. “Do you have something I could wear?”
“We’ll fight
to see whose shirt you wear,” Rowan said, his voice low and husky. “We each want you wrapped in our scent.”
“Do you realize that you say the strangest things?” She decided shifters were hilarious as they all laughed at her question.
“Are you feeling up to meeting our parents for tea tonight?” Drake said quietly. “It must be killing our dad to have stayed away this long.” The silence weighed heavily in the air, all four of them very still. She could feel the weight of their gaze on her.
“I’d be honored to meet your parents. Will they mind that I’m not a cat like you?” Her hand shook as she reached for Drake. He held her hand in both of his. It gave her the courage to speak the rest of her fears. “Will they mind that you might be stuck with a blind mate?”
“You see us, Jordanna,” Drake said. “In the most important way possible for a shifter. You see our cats.”
* * * *
Caine ran the bath for his mate. The bathroom off the master bedroom was huge. They had recently renovated it in the hope that they would share a mate as others of their pride had. Having Rowan share in their mating was a surprise, but felt right to Caine.
He should be sporting a huge erection right now. He should be thinking of ways to keep his hands off Jordanna. He was, however, about to bear witness to the evidence of her abuse, so instead of feeling horny he felt a deep simmering anger.
Gabriel walked into the room, and raised an eyebrow at him in question.
“Is it as bad as I think it is?” Caine said, his voice pitched so low that only Gabriel’s shifter hearing would allow his question to be heard.
“Worse probably. But she’s ours now. Nothing will ever hurt her again. Focus on that.”
“Are you all still naked?” Jordanna said softly, carried into the room by Drake.
“It seemed redundant to dress when we were about to take a bath,” Caine said, forcing a lightness into his voice that he in no way felt.
Her cheeks colored beautifully and Drake whispered something in her ear that made her gasp. Drake placed her on her feet and looked to Gabriel, his eyes heating to amber. Caine scented anger, not lust, in the air. He was not alone in his anger at what Jordanna had suffered. He never would be, and that thought helped to calm his cat.
“Is it okay if we all bathe with you?” Caine asked. “We designed this room hoping we’d share a mate, so the bath is big enough for all of us.”
Her cheeks colored further, her creamy pale complexion now bright red. “We don’t have to,” Rowan said, stepping into the bath. “We can show you where everything is, and leave you to have a soak.”
Caine glared at Rowan, horrified at all the ways she could hurt herself in the huge room.
“I don’t mind, if you don’t. I actually don’t want to be alone right now, and Gabriel’s already seen me naked.”
“You just saved Rowan’s life,” Caine said, shaking his head. “I was going to kill him for even suggesting that we leave.”
“You’re safe with us, Jordanna,” Drake said. “We can see how tired you are. We just want you relaxed and clean so you can get some sleep.”
“Thank you. I’m sure I look as grubby as I feel.” She tried running her fingers through her hair, but Caine saw them catch on the knots and dried blood.
“I’m sorry we haven’t had a chance to do this sooner,” Caine said.
Gabriel reached for her hands and brought them to his lips. “We’ll wash your hair, angel. But you couldn’t look any more beautiful to me.”
Gabriel looked at each of them before reaching for the blanket still wrapped around her slight frame. “I’ll just get rid of the blanket and gown. Then I’ll hand you to Rowan. He’s in the bath already and it’s filled to the brim with lots of bubbles.”
She nodded and helped Gabriel unwind the blanket until it dropped at her feet. He spun her around to face Drake and Caine saw the dressings on her back reached from the nape of her neck to the curve of her behind.
He and Rowan both growled. “I’m sorry he hurt you like that, Jordanna,” Caine said. His voice rumbling with the growl of his cat.
Their mating mark would heal those wounds and probably leave very little scarring. Caine had seen its miraculous healing properties on the other mates. He felt a stirring of unease as he thought about the fact they’d withheld that information from her. He felt as though he was lying to her.
She’d been nothing but open and honest with them, and she deserved the same from them. Even if it didn’t restore her eyesight, he felt she deserved to know it was a possibility. As soon as Jordanna was asleep, he’d talk to his brothers.
Gabriel undid the knots at the back of her gown and slipped it from her shoulders. She bowed her head, her long hair hiding her face.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Jordanna,” Drake said, lifting her chin with his finger. Caine saw his gaze sweep the front of her body. Amber flared instantly, hot and bright in his eyes. His fangs descended, but he kept silent.
“In you go,” Gabriel said. He picked her up and swung her around before handing her to Rowan. Caine saw her from the front for only a few seconds before Rowan sunk under the warm water with her, nestling Jordanna on his lap.
That few seconds had been enough for him to catalogue each and every scar she held. Being a paramedic he had easily attributed each scar to an injury. She’d suffered a collapsed right lung—the scar from a chest tube unmistakable between her protruding ribs. She bore long scars on her thighs caused by compound fractures to both femurs. The scar on her abdomen spoke of a ruptured spleen, the ones on her breasts looked to be knife wounds.
He looked at Drake, certain he must look equally as enraged as his sibling. He couldn’t imagine there would ever come a time he wasn’t incensed by the suffering inflicted on his woman.
The aching in his lungs drew his attention to the fact he’d stopped breathing. Taking shallow breaths, he searched for a way to calm his cat. He is already dead. But the monster who did this had not suffered enough for Caine’s liking.
Chapter 10
Rowan had felt enraged when he’d seen the extent of Jordanna’s injuries, but he’d kept it buried deep for her sake. She didn’t need to know how badly it pained him. She’d already suffered enough.
After their bath, he’d lain in their bed with her until she’d fallen asleep. Having her in his arms had served to calm both man and beast. Dressed in one of his T-shirts and a pair of his boxer briefs, she looked like an angel. He rose carefully and tucked the sheet and comforter around her.
He left the master bedroom without making a sound and went to his room to dress. They’d never used the room before today, but they’d move their clothes in there now that they’d found their mate. He wouldn’t sleep without her now, he craved her too deeply.
He found his cousins in the kitchen, preparing for the dinner with their parents. “Is she still asleep?” Caine said, handing Rowan a mug of coffee.
He nodded and slumped onto a chair at the kitchen table. “This has been some day,” he said softly. The emotional highs and lows had left him feeling drained.
“That’s the worst of it,” Gabriel said, sitting down next to him.
“We need to tell her about the healing properties of our mating marks,” Caine said. He looked angry, as if he expected a fight. He’d get none from him, he agreed wholeheartedly.
“I fucking hate not telling her,” Rowan said. “Even if doesn’t restore her eyesight, she needs to know it’s a possibility.”
“I’m with Rowan,” Drake said, “I hate this secrecy.”
“It feels like we’re lying to her,” Caine said, slamming his knife down onto the kitchen counter.
“I know,” Gabriel said. “But we agreed not to tell her.”
“She deserves better from us,” Rowan said. He felt the hairs at the back of his neck rise in warning.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
They turned as one to see Jordanna in the kitchen doorway. Her ey
es held anger and she scented heavily of pain.
“Jesus, how did you get down here, Jordanna?” Gabriel asked, striding toward her. “You could have killed yourself on all those stairs.”
She thrust her hand up in a stopping gesture and it froze Gabriel in his tracks. “Don’t change the subject. I obviously didn’t break my neck.”
She took a deep breath in. “Have I given you any reason to doubt my sincerity in anything I’ve told you about myself?”
Rowan and his cousins rushed to their mate. She moved back down the hallway, her hand skimming the wall. “We would have scented a lie, sweetheart,” Rowan said. He ached to touch her. To hold her and ease some of her pain. “We don’t doubt anything you’ve shared with us.”
“I see.” She stopped moving and rubbed at the cut on her head. Rowan scented the sweet honeysuckle and lavender fragrance of her blood.
“It’s a shame I can’t do the same then isn’t it? I actually thought I’d judged better this time. What a joke.”
Rowan growled low in his throat and reached for the hand that was rubbing at her head. She took another step back, shaking with anger and distress.
“Don’t you touch me, Rowan. Don’t any of you dare touch me.”
Rowan’s growl strangled to an abrupt stop in his throat. He gaped at Jordanna, and then gaped at his cousins. He hadn’t spoken to her. “How did you know that was me?”
He was tempted to wave his hand in front of her eyes to check if she’d regained her sight. But her unfocused gaze and the way she was smearing blood on the wall as she felt her way farther down the hallway convinced him she that she hadn’t.
“I want to leave. I want to go home now. I won’t tell anyone about you or the wolf.” Tears started to run down her cheeks.
Rowan looked helplessly at his cousins. He had never been in any sort of a relationship before. He knew what he wanted to say, but was afraid of making things worse.
Jordanna [Eminence Shifters 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 7