Madra jumped up, worried that Larek hadn’t come out. What if they’d started bleeding and were too weak to call her? Her stomach tumbled and her pulse raced. She rushed down the hallway and knocked on the last door. When no one answered, she pushed it open.
It was clearly a bedroom, but the men weren’t there. Pillows were tossed haphazardly on the bed and the sheets were rumpled, looking like one of them tossed and turned a lot during the night. The modern and expensive-looking metal-canopied bed fit the style of the rest of the house, as did the sleek dresser and chair.
A desk sat in the corner with papers cluttering the entire surface, and loincloths were tossed carelessly on the dresser.
Stop judging, and see if the men need help.
Getting distracted all the time wasn’t like her. The door to what she assumed was the bathroom sat closed. She softly padded over and placed an ear to the door. No sounds came from within. She knocked. “Are you two okay?” They had to be in there or surely she would have heard them come out.
If they’d changed into lions, they wouldn’t have been able to answer. She waited for what seemed forever but still got no response. Now she was really worried. Inhaling, she twisted open the door. The second she saw both men in the healing tub, with their eyes closed, she should have backed away, but a hidden part of her made her take in their glory.
* * * *
Larek opened his eyes and nudged Brin. Skelak. She’s finally here. He couldn’t keep his excitement from coloring his tone. To be honest, it was the fact she was bare chested that had him tongue-tied. Brin’s back was to her, so he couldn’t see the divine beauty. Wait ’til you see her tits. Brin started to turn. Don’t look now. She doesn’t need us to gawk.
You can’t have all the fun. Brin twisted around, and from the way his pupils dilated, he liked what he saw.
Larek couldn’t help but notice his friend’s erection. He inwardly smiled, congratulating himself on his plan.
She raced over to them, almost with a look of horror and dismay. It took control not to comfort her. They’d already soaked in the healing powder for over an hour, had shifted and licked their wounds, and, after refilling the tub, had gotten back in as soon as they’d heard her come in. His damned skin had already puckered.
Most of Larek’s wounds had healed, and the only obvious evidence of the fight was Brin’s neck, which still needed time for the scab to disappear. The rest of his friend’s body was in perfect order, or so it seemed. However, they had no intention of telling that to Madra. Getting her hands on them would be wonderful.
“I was worried about you two.” She looked straight at him, and his cock hardened. “What can I do to help?”
Suck my cock and let me eat your pussy. “Can you check my back? I can’t reach to clean it.” He’d hidden the scrubbers he’d used so she wouldn’t detect his lie. He was already squeaky clean.
“Sure.” She picked up the soap he’d conveniently left on the rim and dipped the bar into the water.
Since he wanted her hands on him, he’d put away all evidence of any washing cloths. The first touch nearly burned his skin. Her delicate fingers made his imagination go wild.
Brin placed his hands over his cock. Larek wasn’t ashamed of his hard-on. He bet a woman would be pleased that she had that kind of effect on a man. Wanting to show Madra what he had to offer, he widened his legs and lifted his butt off the bottom. His hard cock nearly broke the water’s surface.
He swallowed his smile when she nearly spit out what she probably thought was a silent gasp.
“Your back has some scratches, but you look remarkably good.”
Darn. “Can you scrub them? It won’t hurt me.” He knew she was trying to be gentle.
Using light strokes, she rubbed his back. As she leaned over the tub, one of her breasts brushed against his arm. His balls tightened so much that an ache raced to the end of his cock. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.
“That’s good.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. His balls were now painfully tight. “Could you hand me one of those towels?” He nodded to the rack on the wall.
“Sure.” Her tone seemed to be a mixture of disappointment and relief.
She got up and brought one back. He could have used the hand blower to dry off, but she might feel more comfortable if he were covered. He stood, and she quickly averted her gaze.
For her sake, he swallowed his chuckle. “You can look if you want to.”
Her face colored. Maybe his comment had been too forward. He slipped a towel around his middle and stepped out.
She finally looked back at him. “How are you feeling?”
“A little weak, but I think if I rest, I’ll be fine.”
She blew out a breath, acting as if it was all her fault the skirmish occurred. He stepped over to her and clasped her shoulders. The urge to pull her to his chest and kiss her overwhelmed him, but he steeled his body against her allure. “This isn’t your fault, so get that out of your mind.”
Brin leaned forward and pushed himself up to get out but immediately dropped back into the tub. Water splashed over the side, and Madra was by his side instantly.
The open mouth and pinched brows were a bit dramatic, but then again Brin was a lawyer, which by extension meant he was a good actor.
“Larek, we need to help him. He might have internal injuries.”
Brin shook his head. “Give me a second.”
She leaned over and touched his neck. “This doesn’t look good.” She glanced back at Larek. “What can we do to help?”
“He probably should get out and shift. He’ll heal faster that way.”
“Okay.”
Larek didn’t like how her breasts were pressed against Brin’s shoulders. Just imagining what he could do to her body made his mouth water.
Brin pushed up again, and this time he stood on steady legs. “Want to hand me a towel, too?”
Her gaze zeroed in on Brin’s cock, and he knew that soon all three would be in heaven.
* * * *
Not only was Brin well endowed, but the water glistening off his near-hairless chest had dripped right down to the patch of hair caressing his balls. Madra had to tear her gaze away from the magnificent man before she did or said something stupid.
Fortunately, Larek handed her a towel, which she gave to Brin. He stepped out of the tub and sat on the rim.
“Can you dry my back?” He waved the drying cloth.
She didn’t think he was that weak, but maybe lifting his arms would be painful, considering the neck wound.
“Sure. Can you twist around?”
He offered her his back. As she dragged the towel over his shoulders, she couldn’t help but admire the way his muscles flexed. He was more broad shouldered than Larek, but each had powerful legs and remarkably flat abs. Her body heated just patting him dry. Okay. Her body heated in part because she kept peeking over his shoulder at his ginormous cock. She wasn’t convinced it was because she was bare chested. They saw naked women all day long.
“Go a little lower,” Brin urged.
That would mean she’d be rubbing his ass. When she dragged the towel closer to his rear, her damned pussy dampened. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea for her to have come here.
She handed him the towel. “You’re all set.”
Brin patted dry his chest, tossed down the towel, and stood. He was still wet from the cock down, but she didn’t think he’d appreciate it if she offered to help him out. He’d taken two steps when he faltered and clasped a hand on his neck.
Larek grabbed hold of his friend’s arm and looked up at her. “Help me get him to the bedroom.”
She took hold of his other arm, and he leaned heavily on her. The fact he was still weak worried her. Most of his physical injuries appeared to have healed, so what was the underlying problem?
Once in the bedroom, he dropped onto the bed, and she stepped back. Once more, her gaze shot straight between his legs. He should have wrapped the towel around his
waist like Larek had.
A flash of light startled her, and Brin shifted.
“He can heal better that way.”
“I know.”
“How about we see if we can scrounge up some grub? We never did get to eat.”
She’d almost forgotten about that. The fight had prevented them from even ordering. “Sure. I want to help.”
They walked to the kitchen in silence, indicating Larek might be worried about his friend. He pulled some vegetables out of the refrigerator. “How are you at peeling?”
Delighted he’d given her an easy chore, she grinned. “The best.”
They worked in companionable silence. As soon as she finished with the first vegetable, he placed it in the pan and expertly tossed it around, coating it with wanla oil.
“You a chicken or fish gal?”
“I can go either way, but I prefer chicken.”
“Then chicken it is.”
While she chopped the peppers, he expertly deboned the fowl and diced it quickly. “You’re quite handy in the kitchen.” Her talents did not include food preparation.
“My mom loved to cook. Still does in fact. I have four sisters and no brothers. I’m not totally sure she realizes that sons don’t need the same skills as the girls.”
“That so? I think it’s great if a guy can cook. It’s actually rather macho.”
He grinned, and her heart skipped a beat. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
In no time the meal was prepared, and he placed the casserole in the oven to heat. He picked up two bottles of wine, one in each hand. “White or red?”
She couldn’t figure out why he was treating this as a date instead of worrying about Brin. “White. Do you think Brin’s up for eating?”
“I’m guessing. I’ll go check. Be right back.”
* * * *
Larek thought the evening couldn’t be going any better. It was clear that Madra found both of them attractive and certainly cared about their well-being.
Though why Brin had decided not to join them was an issue. His friend better not be having second thoughts about sharing.
He pushed open the door and found his friend on his bed, thumbing through some papers. “What’s going on? Dinner’s almost ready.”
“I like her.”
That was a good thing. “So why are you here instead of with us?” He knew Brin, though. Larek bet he was concocting some kind of plan and needed time to think. “What do you need me to do?”
His grin told him everything. “Nothing much. Tell her I’m still too weak to eat. After you finish chowing, bring Madra in here and I’ll be on the floor. Knowing her, she’ll want to spend the night and keep watch over me. You and she can take turns. Maybe you can say I have a fever or some internal injury that needs time to heal.”
“Not going to work.”
“Why?”
“I won’t be involved in deception.”
Brin placed the papers off to the side. “So what do you propose?”
“How about coming out to dinner and being nonthreatening for a change? After we eat, we let her know how much we want her. If we can’t charm her into bed, then it’s not meant to be.”
Brin got off the bed and tossed the heap of papers back on his desk. “You sound so fucking serious when you’re noble.”
His friend had been watching too much Earth television. “I am serious, because there’s something about her that makes me vibrate inside. I think she may be the one.” Please say you agree. It won’t work without you.
When Brin lasered him with a stare, he could tell his friend was weighing all the options. The grin was slow to develop, but when it did, his eyes shone. “I say let’s go capture us a mate.”
Chapter Four
When both of the men came out of the room, Madra’s relief was palpable. She rushed up to Brin. “Are you okay?”
He picked her up, spun her around, and then set her back down. Her laughter escaped.
“Yes, thanks to your healing touch.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
When he leaned over and kissed her, both her body and mind exploded. Surprise at the overture came first. Here she thought he’d either be angry that he’d had to defend her or still be disappointed that she hadn’t stood up for what he thought was right. Regardless, the kiss melted her body, and when she molded her chest against his, her pussy went into overdrive. He moved his hands down her back, causing his muscles to flex. The pressure on her nipples sent spears of delight straight between her legs. Oh, my.
Wanting more, she opened her mouth to invite him in. From the hungry way his tongue darted in and explored her, it was as if he hadn’t kissed a woman in months. From the fresh taste, he’d brushed his teeth, and she licked the flavor off his tongue. They teased each other until Larek’s throat clearing finally reached her brain.
She pulled back and faced him. “I’m sorry, Larek. It’s just that—”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m thrilled you find my friend attractive. I just wanted to say dinner’s on the table.”
Heat raced up her face. She debated telling Larek that she found him equally attractive, but what would be the point? Men as powerful and successful as Brin and Larek wouldn’t want anything to do with her. She was sure Brin’s kiss was meant simply as a thank-you.
Larek tapped the seat next to him, and she sat while Brin went over to the wine rack and pulled out a bottle of red. Half of her glass was full, but Larek topped it off with the white. After Larek passed around the food, the silence unnerved her a little. Possibly because her mother always initiated the conversations at the table, she wasn’t great at keeping a man’s interest, despite spending her days talking to her students.
Since Brin was a lawyer, she figured he must have a lot of cases on his plate and probably loved to talk about what he did. “Tell me about your job.”
He finished chewing before he spoke. “I’m a public defender.”
“I know that much.” When Larek had introduced them, he’d told her. “Are you working on any interesting cases?”
“I think all of my cases are interesting, mostly because all my clients swear they are innocent even when the evidence against them is often quite weighty.”
She was glad she didn’t have to deal with issues like that in her job. “What do you do when you’re sure the person has committed the crime?”
“Investigate. I check every one of their sources and then find some of my own.”
She was impressed he cared so much. “I bet it’s rewarding when your client is acquitted.”
“It is indeed.”
By not embellishing his answers, he wasn’t making this easy for her. From the way his warm eyes twinkled, he was almost enjoying seeing her struggle. She wasn’t going to let him get the best of her though. “Can you tell me about your current case?”
He glanced over at Larek. “Maybe you should hire her. She’d make a good reporter.”
She laughed. “I’d have nothing to report, since you didn’t tell me anything.” Then she realized that talking about his current case might not be legal. “Okay, how’s this? Of all the cases you’ve already tried, what was your most challenging one?”
“Hmm. That’s hard to narrow down.” He tapped his wineglass.
Larek picked up his drink. “How about the case against Druven?”
“That sounds interesting. Do tell.” She had no idea who Druven was, but if Larek thought it had merit, she wanted to hear about it.
“Maybe we ought to move into the living room. This could take a while.”
She picked up her plate to place in the sink when Larek stayed her hand. “You listen, and I’ll clean up. Trust me when I say I’ve heard it all before.”
How wonderful that these men were so comfortable with each other. For a second her mind traveled back to the tub where both of them were naked. Her fertile mind pictured herself in that tub with them and having their bodies rub against hers.
�
�Madra?”
Skelak. Maybe she needed to see a doctor. These temporary lapses were embarrassing. “Coming.”
Brin pointed to a comfortable-looking chair across from the one where he sat. Their knees almost touched, and the intimate scene wasn’t lost on her. She could almost picture herself being with these men every night, discussing Brin’s cases, the antics of her students, and the late-breaking news Larek had uncovered. He’d have dinner on the table when she came home, and then Brin would drag in an hour later, tired but satisfied. He’d reheat the food while he told her about his day. All three would then sit around the table trying to brainstorm how to get his client off.
“The Druven case happened maybe six years ago. He was accused of murdering his wife.”
There wasn’t much violence in Anterra, but it did happen. “Go on.”
“When Druven found his wife clawed to death, he notified the proper authorities, but he couldn’t prove he hadn’t harmed her. He said when he arrived home, his wife was still breathing but then died in his arms.”
She could almost picture the gruesome scene. “He probably had blood all over him if he held his wife.”
“Yes. The problem was that Druven didn’t seem all that upset about her death. He told the authorities that he’d filed for a divorce just days before.”
If he didn’t love his wife, he might have harmed her. “How did you know he was innocent?” She waved a hand. “Besides him telling you he was?”
“You catch on quick. I did a lot of background research and learned that his wife had a lot of overnight outings. Long story short, the woman was having an affair with a wolf shifter.”
She sucked in a breath. While she believed the lions had taken advantage of the wolves a few thousand years ago, during her lifetime, they’d been nothing but a problem. “Wouldn’t the jury have called her death justified then?” Though if a man found his wife in bed with a wolf, she would have thought he’d have killed the wolf and not his wife.
He shook his head. “That’s not how it works. Turns out, the woman was also sleeping with Druven’s brother.”
Hard and Easy [High-Country Shifters 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 4