by Bec Adams
“That would be our alpha,” Donovan said, “but I wouldn’t suggest blaming him, either. Apart from the fact that he’s going to be pissed that we got you involved in this, his rules are made to protect the pack and other shifters from exposure. There’s no telling what humans might do if they learned shifters were real.”
“I suppose you have a point,” she said with a shrug. “It’s just annoying to be angry and have no one to blame.”
“You could blame Polly,” Donovan said with a laugh.
“How so?”
“He’s the one who insisted on moving off pack land. He flew onto your grandmother’s shoulder forty-four years ago and made certain she looked after him. We had no choice but to protect him from afar.”
“But without him I never would have met you,” she said, this time leaning up to kiss him. Hell, if she didn’t stop being such delicious company, his self-control was going to suffer. “Hey, wait a minute.” She moved back, and for a moment he worried that he’d upset her. “How long have you been protecting Polly?”
“Forty-four years.”
“But…but you don’t look a day over thirty.”
“Wolf-shifters age differently. I’m eighty-four.”
“You’re old enough to be my grandfather,” she said with a mischievous smile.
“If I were still human that would be true,” he said, trying to stay serious. “But year for year, you and I are about the same age.”
“Oh, so you’re not too old to…you know…” It took a moment to realize she was teasing him.
“Nope, sweetheart, I don’t know. Haven’t got a clue. How about you explain it to me in intimate detail?”
She laughed but shook her head quickly.
“How about you just show me, then?” he said, trailing his hand higher up her stomach to glide over her breasts. She pushed the blanket down herself, letting his hand roam over her sweatshirt as her nipples beaded underneath. Wendy moaned softly as he pinched the hard peak, her eyes darkening with arousal as he leaned over and kissed her again and again.
“It’s been a long time,” Donovan said, not really sure if he was referring to her sexual encounters or his own. He knew for a fact she’d been celibate for at least the past year, not counting the infrequent times they’d overheard the soft hum of her vibrator.
He and Sogarn got very little time away from protection detail and in the last decade or so hadn’t even bothered to head back to the pack. Lately, staying close to Wendy seemed more important than pretending to chase females back home. They had each other. For a long time it had seemed enough.
But that thought made him realize this was a very bad idea. Wendy couldn’t possibly feel the same for them as they felt for her. She’d spent the past three months having one-sided conversations with a couple of wolves, not men. Donovan’s wolf half growled its annoyance in his mind as he pulled away, but he knew it was the right thing to do.
Fucking her now would be just that—fucking.
“Sorry, Wendy,” he mumbled as he pulled away. “The timing is all wrong.”
“Oh,” she said, looking worried. “I forgot you’re supposed to be protecting Polly.”
“Actually, I’m off duty and supposed to be getting some sleep, but it’s not why I’m pulling away.”
“Why then?”
“Because it’s been a long and weird day for you, and I want to be certain you won’t regret things in the morning.”
“I won’t regret anything,” she said quickly. But then she took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and gave him a soft smile. “But I suppose there is no harm in being sure.”
“That’s my girl,” Donovan said, lifting the blanket back up over her chest and arranging her against him once more. “Get some rest, sweetheart. We’ll talk more later.”
Chapter Six
Dinner was unusual to say the least. She wasn’t really certain what she’d been expecting, but vegetable lasagna wasn’t it.
“You don’t eat meat?” She blurted out the question before she truly thought the concept through. Vegetarian wolves? Probably not. Donovan laughed softly and reached for her hand, but it was Sogarn who explained.
“In our wolf forms we tend to eat a lot of protein, so in human form we try to catch up on other nutrients. I’m happy to add some meat to your plate if you like.”
“No, no, I’m fine. Just surprised. This is delicious.”
“Better than those microwave meals you seem to favor.” It was obvious that Donovan was teasing her, but she blushed nevertheless. Cooking for just one was annoying, and microwave meals were so simple, but if she’d known her wolves actually came in man form, too, she would have cooked up a storm every single night in the hopes that they’d join her.
Hell, she probably would have invited them into her home to stay. Not only were they great company, but she could just imagine curling up to at least one of them each night. One? Considering how yummy they both were, it would have been a difficult decision. Both in her bed each night sounded like a far more appealing idea. In fact, all of her girlie parts started to tingle just imagining what two delicious, purple-hued men could do to her—especially when they seemed comfortable walking around naked.
But her thoughts were derailed when Donovan and Sogarn both took deep breaths and groaned softly.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, wondering if there was some problem with the food.
“Who are you thinking about?” Sogarn asked in a neutral tone. The strange, out-of-the-blue question caught her off guard.
“Who?” she asked.
“Yes,” Sogarn said in that same unbiased tone. “Who are you thinking about to be that turned on?”
“Turned on?” she asked anxiously. “I don’t understand.”
Donovan gave Sogarn an annoyed look and pulled Wendy out of her seat and onto his lap. “What my jealous lover wants to know is which one of us you’re thinking about. We can smell your arousal.”
“You can?” she asked again. Good grief, for someone who used words to make a living, her vocabulary was definitely suffering at the moment.
Donovan leaned in and pressed a playful kiss to her nose. “It’s okay, sweetheart, just tell Sogarn what you told me earlier.”
“Earlier?” Sogarn asked, sounding annoyed. Hell, maybe they’d all spent too much time around the cockatoo. It seemed Wendy wasn’t the only one “parroting” words now.
“Go on, sweetheart, tell him.” Donovan lifted a hand to caress softly over her breast. “He needs to hear you say it out loud.”
Wendy dragged in a deep breath, uncertain how this conversation had gotten out of control so quickly. She’d always been a fairly truthful person, so despite her wild imagination she was unable to formulate a lie fast enough to explain away her arousal. In the end the truth fell from her mouth without her really being ready to share it. “Both of you. I was just imagining. I mean”—she gasped as Donovan found her peaked nipple with his fingers and squeezed gently—“it was just…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
Sogarn smiled and seemed to relax. “No offense taken,” he said with a wink, “but you might be more comfortable without the clothes.”
“I…don’t think so,” Wendy said slowly. The idea was very appealing in a strange sort of way, but she wasn’t quite ready to wander around naked in front of other people. Hell, she hadn’t even done it when she’d thought they were wolves. Obviously they were comfortable with a naturist attitude to clothing, but she’d always associated naked with aroused. Getting naked now just seemed like a recipe for embarrassing herself. If they really could smell her arousal, how much stronger would it be without clothes?
She squeaked a sound that might have been a protest when Donovan slid his hands under her shirt and undid the fastening to her bra, but the relief from the restrictive garment was far too much for her to complain very loudly. Her nipples pulled even tighter when Donovan’s warm hand slid over one breast and then the other, playing with her nipples, cares
sing her intimately. She could feel her panties growing wetter with each breath.
“Donovan,” Sogarn said in a tone of voice that confused her. It sounded like a reprimand, but Donovan reacted with a soft laugh before lifting the sweatshirt over her head. Her first instinct was to cover her breasts, but Donovan quickly pulled her arms behind her. His hold wasn’t painful, but there was no way she would be able to move off his lap without a fight.
Her breasts shook with each ragged breath, her nipples so tight they ached, her arousal driving to unimagined heights as Sogarn’s gaze roamed over her naked skin. How could she be this turned on when technically no one was really touching her?
“That’s beautiful, sweetheart,” Donovan said next to her ear. “Do you know how much just the sight of you is turning us both on?” Wendy could feel Donovan’s hard cock pressing against her where she sat on his lap, but it wasn’t until Sogarn stood up and came around the table that she could see his thick, hard cock. It bobbed against his belly as he moved to stand in front of her. She almost stopped breathing when he knelt down so that they were eye to eye.
“Tell us to stop,” he ordered in a rough voice.
Confused, Wendy tried to look over her shoulder at Donovan, but he dropped his mouth to her neck, kissing and nipping at the sensitive skin as he waited for her to respond to Sogarn’s order.
“No,” she said defiantly, surprising herself just a little in the process. It wasn’t often that she stood up to anyone. In fact she’d spent most of her life trying to avoid conflict.
She shook her head, reiterating her answer. She had no idea where this was going, but she’d trusted these men with her life even when she thought them wild wolves. Why wouldn’t she trust them with her body? And besides, she’d been alone for a long time. Why couldn’t the three of them have a little fun while they were here?
“Tell us to stop,” Sogarn said again as Donovan’s hands dropped to the fastening of her jeans.
“No,” she repeated, her arousal climbing sky high when Sogarn dragged her shoes from her feet and her jeans down her legs. Her panties quickly followed. Shaking violently, Wendy watched as Sogarn leaned in and took one of her nipples into his mouth. His warm tongue grazed over the stiff peak again and again, everything inside her quivering as Donovan moved her to a more comfortable position and then tilted her backward over his arm. His lips found hers as Sogarn switched breasts, his mouth suctioning over one nipple as he rolled the other between his fingers.
She swallowed hard. She’d never been this turned on before. She felt like she was gasping for air even as she felt light headed from too much oxygen, but it was the callused fingers pulling her knees apart that had her squirming for their possession. It took a while to realize that the hands on her thighs belonged to both of them. Somehow in perfect tandem, the men used one hand each to ease her legs apart, her pussy weeping juices as cooler air touched her wet flesh.
“Tell us to stop,” Sogarn whispered one last time. She shook her head, too aroused to want any chance to walk away.
Her world tilted sideways as Donovan lifted off the chair, pushed her into Sogarn’s embrace, and then settled his face between her thighs. At the first touch of his tongue to her pussy, she nearly melted in pleasure. Holy heavens, she’d never felt like this before. He stroked his tongue over her sensitive flesh, licking over her clit again and again before moving lower to suck the puffy lips of her labia into his mouth. Sogarn adjusted her against him, his mouth latching onto her breast at the same moment that Donovan sucked hard against her clit.
Her entire body stiffened, the sensations overwhelming, her breath catching, her emotions spiraling out of control as orgasm whipped through her. Over and over, wave after wave of heat blasted her from the inside, the hot flow of blood through her veins making her whimper as the rest of her shook in ecstatic reaction. Both men continued licking her as she slowly came down from that incredible high.
“Goddess, that is a beautiful sight,” Donovan said as they gentled her with soft touches, helping her to relax even as they stroked her arousal once more.
“For fuck’s sake,” Polly said in his irritating cockatoo tone, “you’re supposed to be protecting me, not diddling the help.”
Wendy gasped, her gaze seeking Donovan’s as both men’s hands and mouths slowly continued to roam her body. She sighed in relief when she noticed they’d both moved to block the cockatoo’s sight. That damn bird might have seen her naked before, but now that she knew it wasn’t an actual parrot she wasn’t nearly as relaxed.
Hey…Diddling the help?
She didn’t even realize she was shaking with anger until Sogarn lifted her up and wrapped his arms tightly around her. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” he whispered soothingly.
“It’s not okay,” she said, no longer caring that she was naked. She climbed off Sogarn’s lap, pressed a hand to Donovan’s incredibly muscled chest when it seemed he might follow her, and then stalked over to where the parrot that wasn’t a parrot stood on the bench and preened its feathers. “Polly, that was rude, and I demand an apology.”
Polly made a noise that was as close to a snort as a bird could get.
“I could have taken you to a pet store when my grandmother died. I didn’t because it was obvious she cared for you. For the past year I’ve put up with your sarcastic remarks and spoiled bird behavior, but in all that time I never realized you might hate me.”
Polly shook his feathers but dropped his head, refusing to make eye contact. “I don’t hate you,” the bird finally said in a sulky-sounding voice.
“Then why would you refer to me as ‘the help’?”
Polly lifted his wings and then dropped them again in what seemed to be a cockatoo version of a human shrug. “I miss Agnes.”
“I do, too, Polly, but that’s no excuse to treat me like I don’t count. You’ve been my most constant companion since my grandmother died. Even when I thought you were just a bird I at least felt that you liked me.”
“I do like you.” The bird ruffled its feathers again. “I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have said what I said. Are we done here?”
“I suppose,” Wendy said, trying to hide how much the loss of the friend she’d thought the bird to be affected her. Cockatoos were known for their loyalty. Perhaps that wasn’t a quality the bird-shifters shared.
* * * *
“No, we’re not done here,” Donovan said as he moved to confront the spoiled, self-centered, self-indulgent, lousy excuse for a shifter. “You’ve been a pain in the ass for over forty years. It’s about damn time we knew what you did to piss so many people off.”
“They’re just jealous,” the cockatoo said in a voice just an octave below a full-on screech.
“Not good enough,” Donovan said, shaking his head as he moved to stand in front of the feathered shifter and block his view of Wendy at the same time. “Jealousy is not enough of a motive for someone to hire snake-shifters to find you, or for them to still be searching for you more than forty years later. What did you do, Polly?”
“My name is Gop-tru-alcarn. I am royalty. You will address me with the proper respect.”
“No problems, Polly,” Sogarn said, lifting the bird off the bench it had landed on and placing it on the floor at their feet. “Just as soon as you change back into your humanoid form, we’ll start bowing and scraping.”
“Nonsense,” Polly said in his most arrogant tone of voice. “You will bow and scrape right now.”
“Nope,” Donovan said. It appeared that Sogarn was on to something. Had Polly stayed in his bird shape so long that he could no longer shift into his humanoid form? The thought was practically hilarious. As punishments went, it was almost perfect. “What’s the matter, Polly? Do you need a cracker to get yourself started?”
The avian-shifter flared the feathers on top of his head in annoyance but made no move to shift into humanoid form.
“Polly?” Wendy asked in a compassionate tone. “I know you’re scared, but surely you
realize these men are very capable protectors. You saw what they did back at the house against three snakes.” Donovan didn’t miss the delicate shudder that shook her frame as she said the word “snakes.” She’d done well to keep her composure while they fought them off. He knew how much she hated using a rifle, but her timely intervention had likely saved Sogarn a painful injury and extended recovery time. Donovan had no doubt that his lover would have bested the snakes in the end, but he was grateful to Wendy for stepping in to help. Fainting afterward had at least been good timing.
Wendy glanced at them before turning back to Polly. “Hell, you even saw them protect me from my ex, and they didn’t even reveal then that they weren’t actually wolves.”
“I can’t shift,” Polly said in a very sad tone. “It’s been too long. I don’t remember how.”
“Sure you do,” Wendy said as she reached for her clothes and quickly dragged them on. “You just need to relax.” She held her hand out to the bird. Polly jumped onto her finger and quickly walked up her arm to her shoulder. Donovan had seen him do that countless times, but it was the encouragement in Wendy’s soft tone of voice and the gentle way she stroked the cockatoo that had jealousy burning in his gut.
He shoved the emotion away. It was obvious that Wendy was reacting to Gop-tru-alcarn the way an owner would to a beloved pet’s distress. Polly tucked himself closer to her neck, almost hiding in her hair the way he’d done when the snakes had attacked. Whatever was going on inside the avian-shifter’s mind, it was obvious that the attack had frightened him badly.
“Polly, it might help Donovan and Sogarn protect you if they knew the full story. Why would they still be looking for you after this many years?” Wendy asked, watching Donovan as she petted the bird the same way she’d done since they’d first known her.
Before her mother’s death, Wendy had been a regular visitor to her grandmother’s home. Donovan could still see the painfully shy child she’d been back then. She and Polly had spent most of the visits together and had seemed quite happy. Despite what she’d said earlier about dumping him at the pet store, Donovan knew that Wendy cared deeply for the parrot and would never have done it. Learning that Polly was a shifter hadn’t really changed her loyalty to the bird. The shifter simply moved closer to her neck, none of the arrogance he’d shown moments ago apparent in his demeanor.