by S Cinders
“You aren’t going to kill me, are you?” Her whisper cut across the brief space between them. Suddenly a great flash of light caused Scarlett to cover her eyes. When she reopened them, a tall dark-haired man stood naked as the day he was born in the same place that the black wolf had been.
Scarlett couldn’t help but let her gaze wander. There was just so much of him that it seemed a shame to ignore such perfection. His chest and rock-hard abs had several scars marring his deeply tanned skin. He had thighs like tree trunks and between his thighs was the longest flaccid cock that she had ever seen.
The more she stared, the more it began to grow.
“Fuck,” she whispered, “Are you for real?”
His dark voice sent shivers down her spine, “I damn well hope so because in about three minutes I’m going to be balls deep inside of you.”
“What the hell?” Scarlett felt something slice through her. She took a step back.
His dangerous panty-melting smile did nothing to assuage her fears.
“Little girls shouldn’t go out into the woods at night.” He licked his lower lip and Scarlett saw his sharp white teeth.
She felt her stomach clench as well as a rush of heat to her core. “I was delivering a package for Trevor Kingsley. D-do you know him?”
Scarlett hated that she had stumbled over some of the words. But the man was huge, everything about him screamed danger.
The man’s smirk ought to be outlawed. “I’m Trevor Kingsley, but Baby Cakes, no one would be sending me a package unless the package was you.”
Scarlett tugged on the edge of her sweater, feeling practically naked, which was ridiculous in a hooded sweater and jeans.
“I can see who it is from.” Scarlett moved back to the car and pulled out the carefully crafted basket that smelled like vanilla and cinnamon. “It says here it’s from Mara Kingsley.”
Scarlett was hoping that the name would settle the wolf/man, but it only seemed to cause the tension to tighten between them.
“Look,” Scarlett swallowed awkwardly, “I will just leave. You are right. This was a mistake.”
The man had her pressed against the car in seconds. The box smashed between them.
“You are ruining the gift!” Scarlett wailed, right before it dawned on her that all of his naked flesh was pressed tightly against her.
“Baby Cakes,” his low chuckle was ruining her panties, “You are the gift—thank you, Grandma Mara.”
CHAPTER 2
“Well, Trevor, what did you find?”
Trevor looked up at his best friend, Evan. Scarlett had been slung over his shoulder and was pounding on his back—screaming.
“Evan,” Trevor greeted his friend, “Looks like Grandma Mara sent us a mate.”
“Noisy, isn’t she?” Evan looked at the flailing woman, but in truth, all he could see was her shapely legs and fantastic backside.
Trevor nodded at Evan in agreement. Evan was a few inches shorter and a bit leaner than Trevor.
Trevor looked around and then walked over to the couch and unceremoniously dropped Scarlett on the soft leather. Immediately she tried to run, but Trevor moved with superhuman speed and had her tossed back on the couch before she could blink.
Scarlett’s eyes were frantic. “This man is trying to kidnap me! You have to help me!”
Evan’s brow had raised appreciatively when he saw the delicate cheekbones and long red hair. But he didn’t address her. The men ignored Scarlett like she hadn’t spoken.
“Does she have a name?” Evan asked, eyes narrowing in on his prey.
Trevor shrugged, “I’m sure she does, but I’ve been calling her Baby Cakes, and she seems to respond to it.”
Evan smirked, “Shit, you think every woman should be called Baby Cakes. Did you ask her?”
Trevor looked a little embarrassed, “Well, no.”
“My name is Scarlett Grimm. I work with my mom at Grimm’s Goodies. It is a bakery in town. You can’t take me prisoner, listen. I can get money if that is what you are after!”
That was a bald face lie. The bakery did alright as far as the local town business went, but there wasn’t much money loitering around their bank account. The truth was that they were barely out of the red.
“Scarlett,” Trevor rumbled out her name, and she felt chills crawl up her spine. “I like it.”
Her heart was pounding, and she was having a hard time focusing on the things that were around her. The cabin that Trevor had taken her to was well furnished. These men didn’t need money. Scarlett was starting to notice the fantastic smell wafting over to them from the kitchen. Whatever Evan had cooking on the stove smelled wonderful and Scarlett’s belly rumbled loudly.
“Eat with us, Scarlett, spend a little time with Trevor and me. If you still want to go back to town, I will take you.”
Trevor growled at his friend, “She is our mate! We are not going to let her go.”
Evan sighed, “This isn’t the old days, Trevor. You can’t just take a woman against her will.”
Scarlett could tell that Evan was the more sensible of the two men. “Do you promise?”
Evan walked over to where she was sitting. Scarlett couldn’t believe that Trevor was still naked and didn’t seem to care. She hadn’t forgotten, not for one fucking second.
At least Evan had jeans on! But his chest was bare and terribly distracting. These men were gorgeous and not at all what she had been anticipating when she came out here.
Her eyes couldn’t help grazing over their bodies appreciatively. They didn’t make men like this anymore. Her hormones had to be in overdrive because she was moments away from licking one of them.
Evan reached out and took her hand in his. It was just her hand, but it felt oddly intimate. Scarlett felt a surge of heat rush up her arm.
“I promise you, Scarlett Grimm, that if you still want to return to the village after you have gotten to know us, I will take you.”
Scarlett had noticed that Evan didn’t say after dinner. But this deal was a far sight better than Trevor’s, and she was fairly confident that she could convince Evan to return her sooner or later. Weighing her options, Scarlett finally made her choice.
She shook his hand firmly, “It’s a deal.”
There was a flash of light, and her hand felt hot for the briefest of moments. She yanked it out of Evan’s grasp.
“What in the hell was that?” she cradled her palm against her chest.
Trevor’s eyes were lit with something powerful, “You passed the first test of a shifters
mate.”
Scarlett’s brows rose, “How in the hell can shaking hands be a test?”
Trevor shook his head ruefully. “You mortals really have no idea what you are doing.”
Scarlett frowned at the larger man. Her traitorous eyes slipped down to those rock-hard abs and her mouth watered.
“The first test is honesty. When you made that pact with Evan, you agreed to a fair trial. The Moon Goddess blessed our courtship, that was the flash of light.”
Scarlett paled. “That was a trick!” She rounded on Evan, poking him with a long finger into his hard chest. “You were supposed to be the nice one!”
Evan scooped her up, flattening her large breasts against him, “I can be very nice,” and then he kissed her.
His lips were firm and demanding against her softer ones. He kissed her with purpose and with the knowledge that he was claiming what was rightfully his. Scarlett knew in the back of her mind that she should be pushing him away. But the moment his lips touched hers she felt liquid desire shooting through her veins.
It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been kissed before, but Scarlett had never been kissed like this. Her legs felt unsteady as she tried to cling to him. There had to be magic in the way her body was responding to his as if they had known each other for years. It was almost like they were made for each other.
His tongue brushed her lips, trying to coax hers into opening. Scarlett couldn’t think
clearly; her thought process had been scattered to the wind by this big bad wolf who seemed intent on devouring her. She gasped when his hands grabbed her ass and squeezed it firmly. Evan took advantage of her gasp to deepen the kiss.
His tongue tangled with hers and she felt the heat between her legs develop into a powerful ache. She wanted him to fuck her, needed him to sink inside of her pussy and make this all go away. The thoughts were so raw and uncharacteristic of her that she pushed him away, both of her hands shaking as they landed their shove.
Evan allowed her to escape his grasp. His eyes grazed her appearance, and he noted the way that her heart was racing, the wild desire that still beckoned him in her eyes. Scarlett’s lips were red and swollen, and her breasts were rising and falling rapidly as she tried to catch her breath.
Trevor growled at Evan, “Why did you get to kiss her first?”
Evan shrugged, “There was an opportunity, and I took it. We had better go in and eat before the food burns.”
Trevor stalked off somewhere down the hallway and returned with a pair of exercise shorts covering his impressive cock. He was still shirtless, but Scarlett felt like she could handle that as long as she didn’t have to deal with his massive dick.
Dinner consisted of hearty steaks, potatoes, and peas. The vegetables were grown in the garden, Evan had explained to her, and the steaks were Elk that had been caught last week.
It seemed so normal that Scarlett could hardly fathom that she was eating dinner with these two wolves that thought she was their mate.
“I need to call my mother,” Scarlett stated after the supper dishes were washed, “She will worry if I’m not back tomorrow.”
Trevor raised a brow, “Nobody is stopping you, Little Red.”
Scarlett frowned, “Only my mother calls me Red. How could you know that?”
Trevor fingered the red cashmere sweater. He gently pulled the hood up so that it covered her long red hair.
“Look, you are Little Red Riding Hood.” His wolfish grin caused Scarlett’s stomach to do a flip.
“And I suppose that you are the big bad wolf?” she taunted back.
Evan barked out a laugh from across the room, “Not quite, Red. We are the big bad wolves and you, Little Red, well, you are our mate.”
Scarlett felt her jaw drop. “How can I be mated to two wolves?”
Trevor caught her against him, and she felt his length against her lower back. His breath tickled her ear as he whispered, “That is how it is with our kind, Red. Each pack has one Luna, and you are ours.”
“I’ve never heard of a pack with only two wolves,” Scarlett blurted out.
“Be grateful, Little Red,” Evan said with a heated gaze, “We will keep you busy enough with the two of us. If there were four or five, you might find it a bit overwhelming.”
That was the understatement of the year, Scarlett thought as she dialed her mom’s number.
CHAPTER 3
Scarlett huffed as she hung up the phone with her mother. Not only had Janet known full-well what she was sending her daughter into, but she begged Scarlett to give it a chance.
“But there are two of them!” Scarlett had whispered into the phone. “You honestly can’t expect me to be with two men.”
Janet had explained her call to Grandma Mara and asked that she look at the men with an open mind. It was beyond all reason, and Scarlett wondered if she had truly lost her marbles. Janet had gone on to tell Scarlett to stop worrying about what society thinks is right and to listen to her heart.
Scarlett didn’t trust her heart. The stupid thing tried to flutter out of her chest the moment those sexy wolves came anywhere near her. There was something so naughty about the situation that had Scarlett wet and aching. She didn’t like that either.
“Everything okay, Little Red?” Evan asked, peeking his head into the room.
Even the sound of his voice made her knees weak. “Yeah, everything is fine. My mother was in on it with your Grandma Mara.”
Evan’s brow quirked up. “Sounds like a smart woman.”
Scarlett felt her lips curve into a small smile before she could stop them.
“This doesn’t mean that I accept you and Trevor as my mates,” she was quick to add. “I only promised to give it a try.”
Trevor walked in behind his friend, and the room felt that much smaller to Scarlett. The men were so tall and muscular that she felt tiny beside them.
“What now?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” Evan suggested.
It was so normal that Scarlett felt herself relaxing a little. “Yeah, that would be really nice.”
“We can download something online. There is that new comedy out or an action adventure?” Evan suggested.
Scarlett tried to see if she could press her luck, “What about Wrapped up in Love?”
It was a chick-flick of the highest degree with plenty of sappy love scenes and sticky dialog to scare most heterosexual men into running for the hills.
The men didn’t even blink.
“Sounds good,” Trevor said and walked over to the couch, patting the cushion beside him for Scarlett to have a seat.
It was moments later that Evan returned and sat on her other side. The movie was starting on their flat screen TV, but Scarlett couldn’t have told you what was happening. The heat from these two men overwhelmed her.
Scarlett shifted restlessly, trying to get away, but if she moved right she ran into Trevor, and if she slipped left she brushed up to Evan. To make matters worse, Trevor wrapped an arm around the back of the couch. Suddenly she felt hot everywhere and wished that he had put on a shirt so that she didn’t have the extreme temptation to touch him.
Evan took her hand in his and stroked her palm with his thumb. The sensation reminded her of other places that he could be stroking. Trevor ran his fingers lightly across the skin on her neck, and Scarlett couldn’t help the small moan that escaped her lips.
Trevor’s fingers stopped and lingered as if he were weighing his options. Whatever battle he had been waging within himself, he must have solved it because he began to lightly stroke her skin again.
By the time the movie ended, Scarlett was a mess of want and need. The men had continued to touch her lightly here and there until she was certain that she couldn’t take it any longer. Her sex was aching with need, her panties wet, and her temper was starting to flare.
Evan got up to turn off the television and Trevor traced the shell of her ear with his fingertip. Something inside of her snapped, and she grabbed Trevor’s face with both hands.
“Stop teasing me!” her voice was low and needy.
He quirked a brow, “Or what?”
Scarlett slammed her lips against Trevor’s. This wasn’t like the soft kiss that she had shared with Evan. This was angry and passionate, all lips, tongues, and teeth clashing together. There was another flash of light that startled Scarlett into abruptly pulling away.
“What was that?” she panted.
Trevor’s eyes remained glued to her swollen lips, “The second test. Our mate has to initiate physical contact of her own free will. The Moon Goddess has shown her approval. You have two tasks left, Little Red.”
“I don’t like being tested,” Scarlett growled.
Evan returned to the couch, “It isn’t something that we can control, Scarlett. But even if we could, I don’t believe that either of us would stop it.”
Trevor nodded, “There is something about you that feels right.”
“How can that be?” Scarlett cried out, “You don’t even know me.”
“Then tell us,” Evan’s comforting tone helped to bring Scarlett back from the edge of reason. “We want to know everything about you.”
Scarlett shook her head. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“Tell us why you have sadness in your eyes,” Trevor prompted.
Scarlett blinked. “What are you talking about?”
Evan cupped he
r chin. “Trevor is right, you have known loss.”
To Scarlett’s horror, she felt emotion clogging her throat. Her eyes became glassy as she struggled to find the words.
“My father, he passed away a few years ago. We were very close. I had always wanted to leave my family’s bakery, but when Dad died, I knew I couldn’t leave my mom on her own.”
Trevor leaned over and brushed a tear from her cheek. “You are a good daughter, Little Red. You have a big heart that you share easily.”
Scarlett found herself telling the men more things about herself. How she had swum on the swim team in high school and that her favorite color was red. She also told them about how she and her father had loved these woods. She told them about the foods she liked and the vegetables that she wouldn’t eat. Scarlett laughed with them when Evan told her that Trevor hadn’t found anything that he couldn’t eat including mud.
Trevor pretended to be insulted and said that he hadn’t eaten a mud pie since he was a child. Scarlett loved seeing the boys tease each other. They were comfortable in their own skin but very different from each other.
Trevor was big and brooding, where Evan was more apt to be open and have a softer approach. They argued as all friends do, but they didn’t seem to mind that they both wanted the same thing—her.
Scarlett was somewhat disappointed when it came time for bed, and they helped to make up a place for her on the couch. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t this.
Evan noticed her dismay. “We will never force ourselves upon you, Scarlett. That isn’t our way. We want you in our bed, make no mistake. But it will be your decision, not ours.”
Trevor looked like he wanted to argue with Evan but held his tongue. Evan showed her where Scarlett could shower and brush her teeth and then left her to go to bed.
Scarlett lay there in her make-shift bed on the couch for approximately twenty-six minutes before she concluded that she wanted those men. Scarlett wanted to see if this really could work. So, she stood up and marched down the hallway towards the two bedrooms in the back.