by R. E. Butler
“I hope so,” Angel said, giving her a hug. “You deserve all the happiness.”
“You do, too.”
Angel looked at Brin and his brothers with a sweet smile. “I’ve already got it.”
They parted ways, Brierley going to her bedroom and shutting the door, and Angel taking them to her bedroom. She kicked off her shoes with a yawn. “I’d really like some sexy times, but I’m dang exhausted.”
Quill pulled back the covers with a chuckle. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ve got the rest of our lives for sexy times.”
They undressed and climbed into bed together. The full bed wasn’t nearly big enough for them, but Brin and his brothers were used to tight quarters because the camper wasn’t big. When Angel was snuggled between Brin and Ian, Quill turned off the light and yawned.
“Tomorrow we’ll go see the cabins, and then we’ll talk,” he said.
“I’d love for you to work with me, but it’s up to you,” Angel said.
Brin kissed her forehead and inhaled her sweet scent. “I’m pretty sure we’ll say yes. The chance to live here, in a place you love, and to get to work alongside you, sounds like heaven.”
“To me, too,” she murmured.
In minutes, she was asleep, her chest rising and falling evenly.
“How is it possible to care about her so much already?” Brin whispered.
“Because we’re truemates, and it’s supposed to be this way,” Quill answered.
“She’s everything now,” Brin said.
“She is for all of us,” Ian said. “She’s the center of our world. I can’t imagine I ever thought I was living before.”
Brin was very sure he hadn’t been living before, either. His heart hadn’t really been beating, and his arms had never really hugged anyone. Not until Angel came walking into their lives. He was never, ever letting her go.
* * *
Ian woke up to his cell going off. He ignored it at first, pretty sure he was dreaming, but as it continued to ring, he realized it was reality and he needed to grab it before the noise woke Angel.
He’d left his phone in his jeans, and he slid from the bed and picked them up, hustling from the room as he dug it from the back pocket.
“Yeah?” he asked, not even looking at the screen as he answered. He stumbled into the family room, knocking his knee against an end table, which drew a muffled curse from his lips.
“I trust that you’re actually injured and near death, and not simply ignoring me.”
He rubbed his knee and shook his head to clear the fog of sleep. He recognized the voice. Wallace.
“I apologize for not calling you earlier, but I’ve found my truemate and my clan and I are busy with her. I won’t be back to the fights.”
He opted to go with blunt honesty rather than to beat around the bush.
There was a beat of silence, and then Wallace said, “I think you should change your mind.”
“I won’t. My loyalty is to my mate and my clan.”
“I have stakes in your fights. You’re costing me money.”
His beast didn’t much care for the male. He’d never considered him a friend or ally, simply a means to an end. He’d needed an outlet for his aggression and the money had been nice, too. At the moment, he disliked Wallace even more. What sort of male tried to put his own welfare over that of another’s mate? As if Ian would care about Wallace and the fights any longer. The only thoughts on his mind were entirely about Angel. His glorious mate. Soft as silk, sweet as honey, and oh-so-tempting. A goddess, if ever there was one.
“I won’t apologize for making the right choice. My priorities have changed. There are other males to take my place in the ring. And I’ll point out that I never promised you anything about my fighting.”
“Reconsider,” he ordered.
“No.” Ian would have gladly throttled the male if he’d been in front of him, but as they were on the phone, he could only punctuate the word with a growl.
“Fine.” The call ended and Ian stared at the blank screen, his beast wary. He doubted that Wallace was the sort of male who would simply disappear quietly, which meant he needed to be alert.
“What’s going on?” Angel’s voice cut through the noise in his head, and he turned to face her and his brothers.
He held out his hand. “Come here, love.”
She didn’t hesitate, crossing the room to him and settling into his embrace. “Are you okay?” she whispered. “I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation, but you sounded mad.”
He tucked the phone into his jeans and tossed them over the back of the couch. Then he wrapped his arms around his mate and inhaled her scent, which calmed him and his beast. “I am mad. Mostly because I’ve potentially put you in danger.”
Quill and Brin moved to them, both looking concerned. “I thought something was going on with you for a while, but I didn’t want to push you to talk when you seemed intent on working through our father’s deception on your own. Now, though, we need to talk. Who is Wallace and what are the fights he’s talking about?”
Thanks to their enhanced hearing, his brothers had no trouble eavesdropping on the conversation. He didn’t mind, though. He needed their wisdom. They moved to the couch, and he pulled Angel onto his lap. She rested her legs across his brothers’ and settled against Ian.
He told them everything, from the first fight he’d watched to the first one he’d fought in.
“When I started, I just wanted an outlet. I was so frustrated and angry with myself for not seeing through dad’s lies that I couldn’t handle it. I was a walking raw nerve. Everything made me furious. I haven’t lost a fight in weeks, and I’ve just been banking the money. Wallace lost money when I didn’t show up on Saturday night. I don’t blame him for being pissed, but I’m concerned that now I’ve put us in his crosshairs.”
His beast snarled in worry.
“What if you fight one more time for him?” Angel asked.
“Why would I do that?”
She sat up. “What if you agreed to fight once more, and give him all your winnings. Like a severance package. That way, he gets a chance to collect on you one more time, plus I’ll get to see you in action.”
“Oh hell no, you’re not going anywhere near that place,” Ian said.
“Well, you can’t go alone,” Brin said. “I’ll go with you.”
Ian couldn’t deny that it was probably a better idea than just pissing off Wallace.
Exhaling, he said, “Okay. I’ll take Brin with me. But Quill stays with you, and that’s final.”
She stuck out her lower lip in an exaggerated pout, and he grinned. “How are you sexy even when you’re pouting?” he asked.
“I’m just that irresistible.” She smiled, but sobered quickly. “You’ll be safe, right?”
He nodded. “I’m the best fighter there, aside from the one guy he uses as a bodyguard. I’ll be safe. And this is maybe the best way to ensure your safety and our clan’s. I don’t want you to be on his radar.”
“I trust you,” she said.
Quill said, “I wish you’d told us what you were doing. I don’t blame you, though. We all had to deal with Dad’s stuff in our own way.”
“How much money are we talking about, anyway?” Brin asked.
“Twenty grand,” he answered. “Give or take a few hundred.”
“Holy shit!” Brin said. “You fought so much that you saved twenty thousand dollars?”
Ian shrugged. “Depending on the night, I could pull in a couple thousand. I mostly just saved the money. Now I can use it to furnish our new place. We need a bigger bed.”
“Huge,” Angel said, her brows wiggling.
“I’ll call Wallace,” Ian said. “The next fight would be Friday night. Then we can mate Angel properly on Saturday night.”
She shivered. “I can’t wait for Saturday.”
Quill stood and lifted Angel from Ian’s lap. “Are you tired, sweetness?” he asked.
“Not really,” Angel said. “You’ll hurry, right Ian?”
“Give me a few minutes,” he answered as Brin followed Quill and Angel to the bedroom.
“You’ll forgive us if we start without you,” Brin said.
Ian shook his head with a laugh. He pulled his cell from his jeans pocket, found Wallace’s number in the recent calls list, and pressed it. Wallace answered on the first ring.
“I’m betting you changed your mind.”
“Yes and no,” Ian said. “I want to stop fighting, but I’m willing to fight one more night for you. This Friday. I’ll give you all my winnings, but you have to agree that I’m done fighting.”
“You’d just hand your winnings over?”
“To be done, yes.”
“She must be special.”
“She’s my mate, and that makes her my priority.”
“Ah, fine. But you best win every fight.”
“I will.”
Ian ended the call and exhaled, feeling some of the tension leaving his body. It wasn’t an ideal situation, and he had regrets about getting involved with Wallace in the first place, but at least it would be over. He’d fight, he’d win, and he’d walk.
Then Angel would be theirs, and they could start their lives together.
He couldn’t wait.
Chapter 7
Monday morning, Angel woke up and tried to roll over, but found herself tightly wedged between Quill and Ian. Not that she minded. She loved sleeping with her mates, and waking up with them. As she tried to wiggle free she woke all three up, and Brin sat up and stretched, giving her a sweet smile.
“Hey beautiful. Are you stuck?” he asked.
“She’s not stuck,” Quill said. “It’s romantic.”
“I have to pee, though,” she said.
“Well, that’s definitely not romantic,” Ian said. He scooted over and gave her room to get up.
She hurried off the bed and to the bathroom, where she used the toilet and then brushed her teeth. She leaned out of the bathroom and said, “Anyone want to join me in the shower before breakfast?”
All three males rushed from the bed and she laughed as they jockeyed for position, pushing and bantering with each other. Brin turned on the shower and said, “We may need to do some remodeling in the cabin, unless we find one with a really big shower.”
“Or we could just take turns with our sweetheart. You know, go in age order,” Quill suggested.
“You’re only saying that because you’re oldest,” Ian said.
They brushed their teeth while she got into the shower, and she couldn’t help but laugh at how fast they were brushing. They were racing each other, and she was the prize. They always made her feel special. She hadn’t expected how fast her feelings for them would grow. She didn’t just like them; she was crazy about them. They’d utterly changed her world, and she’d never been so happy.
Brin finished first, practically jumping into the shower with her. She squeaked in surprise as he caught her around the waist and pushed her gently toward the shower wall. “I want to make breakfast so we can go cabin-hunting, which means I get to make you scream first.”
He dropped to his knees, kissing down the center of her body as he moved. Ian slipped in behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, anchoring her against his erection.
She tipped her head to the side as Brin grasped her knee and lifted it until her foot rested on the edge of the tub. Quill stood at the side of the tub and slid his palm up and down her thigh, setting her body on fire as Brin settled between her thighs and kissed her navel.
“Are you wet, sweetness?” Ian whispered in her ear. He cupped one of her breasts, massaging the globe and tugging her nipple gently.
“I’m always wet for my mates,” she said, leaning back more fully against Ian. Brin probed her pussy with two fingers, sliding easily through her heat. Angel had gone to bed last night fully sated, but when she woke in the morning her thoughts had immediately turned to pleasure again. She couldn’t get enough of them, and she loved every second.
Brin flicked his tongue over her clit, his fingers pulsing into her with a slow rhythm. Quill leaned over to kiss her as Ian nibbled on her throat and Brin fingered her to perfection. She loved having their hands on her at the same time. They knew just how to touch her, putting her pleasure first. Quill ate her moans as Brin fucked her with his fingers faster, sealing his lips around her clit and sucking, his tongue moving rapidly over the sensitive bud. She broke from the kiss with a shriek of pleasure, her breath gusting from her as heat poured through her. Her knees weakened, and Ian chuckled as he held her closer to keep her from slipping.
“Love doing that to you,” Brin said. He sucked his fingers into his mouth and she bit her bottom lip at the sight.
“Turn around, sweetness,” Ian said.
She turned to face him and Quill, drinking in the sight of their naked bodies, their erections straining, their eyes glowing with happiness.
Brin wrapped his hands around her waist and tugged gently. Angel held onto Ian as she lowered herself down onto Brin’s lap. He grasped his cock and she wiggled down onto him, her pussy still clenching with little aftershocks of pleasure.
“Give me your beautiful mouth,” Ian said, wrapping his hand around his cock.
She hummed in happiness, trusting Brin to help her move with him as she tended to his brothers. She leaned forward, resting one hand on Ian’s hip and grasping Quill’s erection with the other. As she took Ian into her mouth and moved her hand on Quill, Brin lifted and lowered her, strumming her clit with his fingers until she couldn’t hold back from voicing her bliss.
“Fuck yes,” Ian said, his voice a low snarl. She dove back on him as her body contracted around Brin’s cock, and swallowed Ian’s come. Brin filled her pussy, his cock spasming inside her while as she fisted Quill’s cock. Quill finished inside her mouth, his body tightening as he held back until she wrapped her lips around him. She loved the taste of her mates, and she loved hearing how they sounded when they came.
She relaxed against Brin, the water splashing around them.
“We also need a bigger water heater,” Brin said. “The water’s gone cold.”
“Worth it,” she said. Ian helped her up and he kissed her gently, his eyes simmering with passion.
“You’re definitely worth it, Angel. I’m so glad you’re ours.”
“Me too.”
They hurriedly cleaned up in the frigid water, laughing as their skin goosebumped and their teeth chattered. Brin was finished first, grasping a towel and holding it out for her as she rinsed off the suds and stepped out of the tub. He wrapped the towel around her and then he grabbed one for himself, handing the others to his brothers.
He was out and making breakfast a few minutes later, as she, Ian, and Quill took their time drying off and getting dressed.
She dressed in shorts and a tee and ran a brush through her hair, tying it back in a braid. When they were finished getting ready, they walked out to the kitchen and found Brin pulling a bagel from the toaster.
She kissed his cheek and took the plate from him. “You’ll let me cook for you sometime, right?”
“If you really want to, of course, but it makes me happy to do this for us.”
“Okay. I just don’t want to take advantage of your good nature.”
“That’s not possible,” Brin said. “It’s ingrained in us. Three males share one female – one is the leader, one is the protector, and one is the caretaker. It would be weird not to have a place in the family.”
“Is it always the youngest who’s the caretaker?” she asked as she set the plate of toasted bagels on the table and put the carton of orange juice next to it. She made four cups of coffee, setting each one in front of a plate.
“For the most part,” Quill said. “We did meet a clan at a gathering in Virginia once, and the youngest was the leader. The oldest was the protector, and the middle one was a real whiz in the kitchen. Sometimes personalities c
hange things in a clan, but we’re drawn to be everything for our mate, together.”
She sat next to the empty chair and Brin sat next to her, putting a tub of cream cheese, several jellies, and a jar of peanut butter on the table.
“I’m really okay with eating cereal sometimes,” she said.
Brin said, “Only if you want it. I don’t mind cooking, sweetheart. I swear.”
She nudged him with her elbow and smiled. “No swearing at the table.”
He pecked her cheek with a chuckle. “Sorry, Angel.”
She took one half of a toasted bagel and smeared peanut butter over it, and then she took half of a banana and laid the slices of it on top. She took a bite, savoring the taste, and then fixed her coffee.
“We haven’t talked about the job offer yet,” she said.
Quill finished his bite of cream-cheese and grape-jelly-topped bagel before asking, “What do you think about it?”
“Well, when you first met with Ally and her husbands, I thought it would be awesome if they’d offer you all jobs at the campground so we could work and live here. But I don’t want you to take the jobs just because you think it’s what I want. I want you to do it because you want to.”
Quill looked at his brothers, and then said, “We were hoping for that, too. We didn’t think it would happen, though, because of the sheer number of family members they have working here.”
“But now two of the clans are leaving soon,” Ian said, “which leaves them in the lurch with the upcoming gathering.”
“You love working and living here, don’t you?” Brin asked.
“Absolutely. It’s so much fun. I miss my mom and step-dad, and my friends in New Jersey, but this place calls to me. It felt like home the moment I set foot in this cabin. I was missing something, though, and I know now that I was missing you three.” She rubbed the space over her heart. “Now I know I’m home, and that I was meant to be here because it’s where I’d meet my destiny.”
All three males growled in agreement.
Quill said, “It’s settled, then. We’ll accept their job offers and choose a cabin for our new home.”