“You smell like heaven.” Gabriel pressed himself softly against her spine and wrapped his arms around her to fondle her breasts.
“She is a sexual dream,” Caine murmured into her hair. “I nearly came when she gave me a love bite.”
The pressure in her clitoris had built to painful levels and Gabriel’s fingers teasing her nipples were making it worse. “No,” she said, the sound of her voice unrecognizable as her own. She had never felt this frustrated and needy before.
“Do you need to come, angel?” Gabriel whispered, pinching her nipples and biting at the column of her neck.
“I can’t.” She’d swear this writhing creature in Caine’s arms bore no resemblance to Jordanna Morland, the woman who’d never before experienced an orgasm. The woodsy smell in the air grew thick and intoxicating. She knew that all her men were close now.
Reaching out with her right hand, she found Drake and stroked up his torso until she could grasp his neck. With the slightest tug from her, he lowered his head and groaned as she plunged her tongue into his open mouth.
She felt a hand squeeze between her and Caine and slide into her sweatpants. It pressed against her slit, increasing the pleasure even more. “Come, Jordanna,” Rowan said, the words a command as he unerringly found her clit and gently pinched it.
Drake took command of their kiss and stroked his tongue into her mouth as her orgasm hit her. Gabriel kept the pressure on her nipples, making them burn, as Rowan softly circled her clitoris. It drew out her orgasm, her pussy clenching spasmodically for what seemed like hours.
When she came down from her high, there were male bodies all around her. They were caressing her with their hands and placing gentle kisses on her face and neck.
“That was better than anything I’ve ever experienced before. Should I be embarrassed?” The words came out between small pants as she tried to slow her breathing. “Because I’m still too high to feel anything but good right now.”
“You’re funny when you’re all happy and relaxed,” Rowan said, kissing her eyelids. She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes.
“You look even more stunning when you come, Jordanna,” Caine said reverently.
“I didn’t think I could.” She looked up toward Caine and felt for his face so she could be sure she was looking right at him. “You understand?”
“I do, honey. I’m glad we’ve dispelled that misconception for you.” He kissed her gently on the lips and walked her into the cold air outside. The cooler air felt wonderful on her damp, heated skin.
She was glad now that she’d told Caine about her sexual inexperience when they’d been alone. She’d have been too embarrassed to talk about it with them all there.
* * * *
Drake followed on Caine’s heels as he walked out to the porch. Judging by the exchange that had just taken place between Caine and Jordanna, he had information about their mate, and it pissed him off to be in the dark about what exactly it was.
Gabriel and Rowan were right behind him, the stony looks on their faces showing they weren’t any happier about being ignorant of something to do with Jordanna.
“Did it snow last night?” she asked. “It’s so cold and quiet.”
Caine sat Jordanna on the porch railing and wrapped the coat Gabriel handed him around Jordanna’s slight frame. He turned to look at them and shook his head. So he wasn’t going to tell them in front of Jordanna. Drake gritted his teeth and nodded his understanding to Caine.
“Yes,” Drake said, handing Caine his woolen scarf for Jordanna. “There’s about a foot of snow on the ground this morning.” Caine’s reluctance to speak about it was unsettling. They obviously weren’t going to like what he had to share with them, but he felt a little calmer knowing he’d find out soon.
His cat, however, grew more enraged. It knew it with certainty that it was not something that had made its mate happy.
“I wish I could see the view, it feels open and smells so clean.”
“We have only three paddocks close to the house,” Gabriel said. “They are fenced in for our horses.”
“You have horses? Are they cold in the snow?” Her eyes were glowing and bright as she turned her head in the direction of the forest. Caine lifted her from the railing and walked down the steps to the truck with Jordanna in his arms.
“I can walk, you know?”
“No shoes, baby,” Drake said, and squeezed her foot through the thick socks Caine had left out for her to wear. “The barn is about a hundred feet from the house. We pass it on the way up the drive. We put the horses in the barn last night.”
“So they’re nice and warm, sweetheart,” Rowan said. “The paddocks surround the house, but on the other side is all forest.”
“We like to run,” Gabriel said. “The forest is full of Colorado blue spruce trees.”
“You mean as mountain lions. You run in the forest as cats. That’s perfect. Do you climb the trees?”
“We’re cats,” Drake said, opening the truck door and climbing in the back, “of course we climb. The maple and birch trees are perfect for climbing.”
“It sounds like a beautiful place to live. You must be glad to be back here, Gabriel.”
“I think I was punishing myself by staying away. I’m very happy to be home again.” Drake could see the calm settle over Gabriel’s face as he gazed out at the forest.
Caine handed Jordanna up to him and Drake fastened her seat belt snuggly around her. “Are you warm enough? We could get you a blanket.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her as close to his body as the seat belt allowed.
“You’re keeping me warm, Drake.” She tilted her face up for a kiss. His heart soared at the simple but openly affectionate gesture. He kissed her soft lips and opened his heart to her. He loved his mate and would die before he let any more pain come her way.
They were late for their lunch, as Caine had to drive slowly on the icy roads. Drake carried Jordanna into the diner and easily spotted the group they were to meet. “Peata is here, with her mate Max,” he said, trying to put Jordanna at ease. She’d been quiet for the drive over and Drake had scented her anxiety.
“It smells wonderful in here. It sounds crowded.”
“There are twenty tables, and they’re all full today,” Gabriel said. “Mind you, our group takes up four tables.”
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Peata said, rising to grasp one of Jordanna’s hands. “Please sit with us. Bethany and Melanie are dying to meet you.”
Drake guided Jordanna into the bench seat at Peata’s table, and she slid over until she bumped into Melanie. “I’m sorry,” she muttered and lowered her head.
“I’m Melanie. You met my husband Finn yesterday. I’m so sorry I couldn’t come and meet you then.”
Bethany leaned across the table and took one of Jordanna’s hands. “I’m Bethany, Doc is one of my husbands, and today I’m here with Samson.”
Once the introductions were made and the food orders placed, Drake talked to Hunter and Samson, but kept a protective arm around Jordanna. She quickly fell under Melanie’s spell. The Alpha’s mate was a bubbly and kind woman, who had the whole pride wrapped around her tiny finger.
Jordanna only seemed sad once, when Melanie was showing them all the latest photos of her baby on her phone. But Melanie’s promise to bring baby Matthew with her next time so Jordanna could hold him had brought the joy back to Jordanna’s face.
Jordanna accepted Melanie’s invitation to go clothes shopping at the town’s department store with the other mates. Drake volunteered to stay in the store with Max, Hunter, and Samson, while Rowan and his brothers went to the store for supplies. They had another mouth to feed, and they could get snowed-in over the coming days.
“I’m buying shoes first,” Jordanna said teasingly, as Drake carried her into the department store.
“We’ll still be carrying you around every chance we get.” He kissed her on the nose and gave her hand to Bethany.
“Thank you for offering to buy me some clothes.” She brushed her free hand over his cheek, the caress made him burn to have her naked under him.
“You need to turn off those eyeballs, Drake,” Samson said, slapping him lightly on the back. “We’re in public.”
Drake shook his head and tried to calm his cat. He’d wait as long as took for her to be ready to mate them, but it was going to be torture. Trying to subtly adjust his painfully erect cock into a more comfortable position, he talked to his friends and watched over his sexy mate. To the human population of Eminence, they all appeared relaxed, but they were anything but, with their mates exposed as they currently were. They assessed each person who entered the store for potential threats to their mates. Their mates were everything to them, they would die, or kill if necessary, to keep them safe.
Chapter 12
Jordanna couldn’t remember ever having so much fun shopping for clothes. The other women were so funny and sweet that she felt like she’d known them for years, not hours.
“I know they meant well, but honestly, who wears pink and orange together?” Melanie said, pulling at Jordanna’s sweat pants.
“Oh my God, is that what color they are?” She should have felt embarrassed, yet she couldn’t help but see the humor in the situation. So she laughed right along with them.
“They may be hot, but they must be color blind,” Bethany said. Jordanna froze when she heard a loud rumbling growl. “They’re not as hot as my men of course. Okay, Samson?”
“He heard that?” Jordanna asked.
“They can see, hear, and smell as well as their cats,” Peata said. “I meant to warn you about their sense of smell. You need to try not to get turned-on in front of other shifters.”
“I found that out last night when their parents came over.”
“Awkward,” Melanie said, laughing along with Jordanna.
“It’s happened to all of us,” Bethany said. “Luckily shifters seem very polite about such things. They never mention it.”
“They wouldn’t want to either,” Melanie said, “or we’d never let them touch us. Fuck, wouldn’t that kill them?”
“Princess, I’m still keeping score for Finn.” Jordanna didn’t know why the other women started to laugh. Hunter had sounded angry with her.
“See what I have to put up with? They’re so bossy,” Melanie said, but she sounded happy.
“You look worried, Jordanna,” Bethany whispered. “Don’t be. Her husbands don’t like her swearing, so Finn spanks her when she does.”
“So she swears at least five times a day,” Peata said, “but only when they can hear her. Let’s go try on these clothes.”
Peata led her into the fitting rooms, with Jordanna laughing as hard as the other women.
“They’ve told me to ask you about being carried everywhere. Are they going to stop doing that now I have some shoes?”
“No,” the other women all answered at once. That was what Jordanna had thought.
Bethany patted her on the arm. “I think they like feeling us in their arms.”
“I like being there,” Peata said wistfully. “You get used to it very quickly.” Jordanna knew what she meant.
“It’s like I’m addicted to them,” Jordanna said. ‘The more I’m with them, the more I need them.”
“That’s because you’re their mate,” Melanie said. She hugged Jordanna around the waist and she could feel how tiny the woman was. “They feel the same way about you. They’d protect you with their lives, too.”
Jordanna felt a tingle go down her spine at the thought of them caring that much about her. No one but her parents had ever protected her.
“So my men are hot?”
“Gabriel is the tallest. He’s nearly as big as Cooper, about six foot five. He has light brown hair and pretty green eyes,” Melanie said.
Jordanna tried to picture that in her mind and added it to what she had felt of Gabriel. “Thank you. I know he feels big and hard, but that’s all I could glean from touching him.”
“Rowan is a little shorter,” Peata said, “about Axel’s height and build. Slim and lean. He’s got olive skin and really dark brown hair, but has the greenest eyes. They shine when he looks at you, Jordanna.”
“Drake is about the same height as Rowan, but really solid, like Samson,” Bethany said. “He has an olive complexion and dark hair like Rowan, but he has dark brown eyes.”
“This is so exciting. I’ve got a mental picture of them now. They sound gorgeous. What does Caine look like?”
“Poor Caine. He has a big nose and hair coming out his ears,” Melanie said teasingly. That made them all start laughing again. Jordanna hadn’t felt this happy and free in years.
It suddenly snapped into place in her mind. I’m home. She’d felt it when she’d been snuggled up in bed with her men, but had refused to accept the reality of what she’d been feeling.
Being here with the other mates in this wonderful town, she could no longer deny it. She’d found her place in the world. The sadness and loneliness she’d carried inside for years was gone, replaced completely with love and friendship.
“Caine’s tall like Gabriel, but slim, with pale skin and dark red hair,” Peata said, their laughter finally slowing enough for her to talk.
“He could have been adopted, except he looks too much like Gabriel, even the same green eyes,” Melanie said.
Jordanna laughed with them, enjoying the unfamiliar happiness. These women were just a joy to be with.
“Excuse me, ladies, but I need to interrupt your scintillating conversation.” The voice was unfamiliar to Jordanna and it was pitched so low it was nearly a whisper.
Jordanna was pushed against a wall and felt the women all move in front of her.
“I think you need to leave, mister,” Melanie said. She sounded furious.
“Then I’ll bid you farewell.” As he spoke the words, Jordanna felt cold hands grasp her arms and pull her from the fitting room. The other women called her name, but their voices trailed away in seconds. Cold air was rushing past, her hair flying around her face.
She could feel the man was running, running fast, but his breathing was slow and even, showing no sign of any exertion.
She moved her hands to his chest and pushed against him, attempting to free herself. His arms were banded tightly around her. No matter how hard she pushed she couldn’t loosen his hold. He isn’t human. She knew it with a certainty that made her blood chill.
Seconds ago she was feeling happy, but now she was terrified. The wolf had found her. She wanted her men. She hadn’t told them that she loved them and now she’d never get the chance.
Fight, Jordanna, you’re blind, but not helpless. She kicked at his legs and reached up to gouge at his face with her fingers. She would fight for the chance to be with her men again.
“Sleep now, pretty one.”
The fight drained instantly from her as her body went limp and she followed his command.
* * * *
Drake and the other men all raced to the fitting room when they heard Melanie’s angry words. Drake’s cat was a snarling beast inside him. It took them only seconds to arrive. They found the women staring at the empty corner of the fitting room, their eyes wide with terror.
“He took Jordanna,” Melanie said, as Hunter wrapped her in his arms. “I’m fine, Hunter, he didn’t touch me. He just took her and ran.” Drake felt his knees start to buckle. He looked in every corner of the fitting room, even at the ceiling. She was gone.
“We pushed her behind us when he appeared at the doorway,” Bethany said, Samson crushing her to his chest. “But somehow he still took her.”
“He ran so fast, Max,” Peata said, her voice tremulous. She looked pale and sweat was beaded on her forehead.
“I’m sorry, Drake. She needs to see Doc.” Drake nodded his understanding as Max gently carried Peata from the dressing room. He knew the health of Max’s mate and cub had to come first for him.
“Which way?” Drake asked, his voice low and filled with the growl of his furious cat. Drake scented nothing but the women’s fear in the air. No unfamiliar scent of human or shifter. Nothing.
“We didn’t see him leave. He just seemed to disappear with Jordanna,” Bethany said. “He did smell funny though.”
“What do you mean by ‘funny’, kitten?” Samson asked, his voice also sounding of his enraged cat.
As a latent shifter, Bethany couldn’t shift, but Drake knew she still had some enhanced shifter senses, her sense of smell being her strongest ability.
“It was new to me, almost floral, but earthy too.”
Drake drew in a breath and caught the scent she described. He’d have thought it was simply part of the store’s ambient scents, like an air freshener, if she hadn’t drawn his attention to it. It was a scent he’d never come across before either.
“It’s no shifter I’ve ever encountered,” Samson said. “Go, I’ll get the others.”
Drake ran, following the distinctive scent of his mate’s fear and the strange scent of this unknown, but soon-to-be corpse. He couldn’t shift until he was out of town, but he ran so fast he’d be all but invisible to any humans he passed.
He was filled with rage. Rage for the creature that had taken his mate from him, and rage at himself for failing to keep her safe.
He knew that Hunter, as the town sheriff, and Samson as ex-special-ops, would mobilize all the necessary help he needed. So he followed his mate’s rapidly fading scent trail to the very edge of town before he surrendered to his beast’s need to hunt, and shifted.
* * * *
Caine, Rowan, and Gabriel drove to the outskirts of town and shifted. They’d been in Hunter’s office with Dane, getting updates on the search for Jordanna’s attacker when Hunter had called to say she’d been taken. Caine felt as though he would explode with the strength of his rage.
Jordanna [Eminence Shifters 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 9