Javier chomped on the inside of his cheek to not laugh, and Ethan took a rapid sip of wine that he then choked on. Javier used that as an excuse to pound on his back.
Arms, crossed, Naomi watched them with one arched eyebrow. “Are you done yet?”
Composed again, Javier nodded his head.
“One day, when I looked in the container, Squirmy was gone and there was this chrysalis in his place. Oh, how I watched it.” Naomi’s lips curved into a sweet smile of remembrance, and her eyes took on a faraway cast. Javier’s heart melted. “I waited what seemed like forever to see if he’d ever come out again. I didn’t want to miss it.” Her face fell and Javier knew they’d reached the crux of the story. “My brothers found my container first and played keep away with it. The lid popped off and scattered its contents. I screamed and cried.”
“How many bruises did you give them?” Ethan asked.
A feral grin lit her face. “Enough that they learned not to mess with me, but it didn’t bring back Squirmy. I was so upset. I still remember lying on my belly on the grass, days later, sniffling like a cry baby, when something with the most beautiful colors landed on my hand.” She raised shining eyes to look at them. “My caterpillar, well, butterfly at that point, came back and it was so beautiful. My brothers hadn’t killed Squirmy, even though he was so fragile. The only thing of mine I ever remembered not getting destroyed in one of their brawls. Of course, I couldn’t keep it. It needed to fly and be free, but after that, I started collecting anything with butterflies. I drove my family quite nuts with it. In my teens I focused on the glass ones with the colored wings. Unfortunately, unlike my real one, they didn’t all survive. But it didn’t stop me from collecting.”
“And believing that even amidst chaos, beauty can survive,” Javier murmured.
“Kind of like you,” Ethan said drawing the correlation. “A delicate flower amidst bumbling beasts.”
Again, color heightened her cheeks. “I guess. I’d never thought of it that way. I just like them.”
Ethan stood and left the room, returning with a box. He placed it in front of Naomi. She stared at it, not moving to open it.
“I don’t need presents.” She said, but Javier could almost touch the longing in her voice.
“Open it,” Ethan urged. “Please.”
“I’m still not letting you mark me,” she warned as her nimble fingers untied the bow adorning the present and lifted the lid. “Oh.”
She lifted out of the box, a butterfly with stained glass wings of amber shot through with gold hanging on a fine silver chain. Holding it up by the chain, she let it spin in the light, her eyes suspiciously damp.
“It’s supposed to hang on the pulls for your ceiling fan. I thought you could put it on the one in your bedroom,” Ethan explained. “And I promise you right now, no matter what you might think of us, what fears you might harbor, we will never, ever do anything that will break it.”
“We won’t let your treasures be broken, not by us or anyone else.”
“I can’t—You can’t—” The words got caught in her throat and tears made her eyes shine. She fled the kitchen, the butterfly still clutched gently in her hand.
Ethan stood, but Javier put a hand on his arm. A fine tremble went through Ethan’s body. “How can she be so feisty, yet so soft and girly at the same time?” he complained.
Javier smiled faintly. “Because she is perfect.”
* * *
Curled on her bed, Naomi cradled the glass butterfly in the palm of her hand. It was absolutely gorgeous, and even worse, thoughtful. The idea that Ethan had actually gone into a novelty store selling such girly items as glass butterflies warmed her. It seemed so incongruous given his size and athletic profession. And yet, both he and Javier kept showing her other sides to themselves, gentler sides imbued with intelligence and respect. A respect for her and her wishes she’d never imagined with her own kind.
Instead of acting like cavemen and slinging her over their shoulder to have their wicked way with her—which admittedly would probably be lots of fun—they listened to her and followed her—sometimes irrational—dictates. They were turning out to be better than human options, the jerks.
Her resolve to never settle down with another shifter was melting rapidly beneath their determined assault. And after this evening’s wicked orgasms, she found herself more tempted than ever.
But still, could she do it? Tie herself to not one, but two, dominant shifter males. Her inner conscience sassed, Why not? They are, after all, the first two men I’ve met who, despite my occasional rude outbursts, still are determined to treat me like a fragile flower. Of course, if she did decide to take them, she’d have to make them understand that sometimes a little man handling was allowed. Make that expected.
However, with her body still glowing from orgasm, her mind still whirling from the thoughtfulness of their aid this evening and the gift, it wasn’t the time to make momentous decisions. Besides, she was kind of curious to see how much teasing they could take before one of them gave her what she wanted—a good hard fuck—without the benefit of a mark.
As she hung the butterfly on the hanging chain of her overhead light and fan, she pondered just what she could do to get them to melt at her feet. Or even better, melt inside her. Tired, a little lonely for someone to cuddle, she laid down and let herself drift off, anxious to set her plan in the motion the following day.
Chapter Eleven
She liked it! The knowledge he’d chosen well warmed Ethan as he stared down at Naomi while she slept. The present he’d agonized over in the tiny shop—which he’d feared tripping in and creating a catastrophe—hung on a chain and swirled with the air currents. When Javier had told him to pick something up that would cheer her, he’d immediately thought about her collection. After hearing her story, he congratulated himself silently on making the right choice and fell in love even deeper.
Some people scoffed at the notion of love at first sight. In the case of shifters, some argued that the mating instinct should not be confused with the emotion. However, while the mating instinct initially drove him to seek her out, everything he’d discovered since enchanted him about her. Now, several days since their first disastrous meeting, he was truly and completely in love with the feisty hellion who hid an inner softness, which made the fact she’d faced danger all the harder to bear.
His rage when he’d heard of her mishap had died down, but his beast still simmered below the surface, waiting for its chance to wreak vengeance at the one, or someones, who’d made Naomi sad. Ethan loved her courageous spirit, her seductive teasing side, her take-no-shit attitude, but he’d hated and felt helpless before her despondency. Someone will pay.
Brushing his lips feather light over her temple, he fought an urge to lie beside her when her lips curved into a sweet smile as she slept. Business first, though, cuddling later.
Ethan left the room and closed the bedroom door carefully before he went back downstairs. “She’s sleeping,” he announced quietly. “Did you find anything out?” His best friend, a lady’s man and agile lacrosse player in public, turned techno geek behind closed doors.
Javier peered up from his laptop. “One possibility so far in her recent emails. Seems she might have stumbled onto a client misappropriating funds.”
Flexing his fingers into fist, Ethan grinned. Finally, someone he could vent on. “Give me his address.”
Javier snorted. “Why do you get to have all the fun?”
“Because one of us needs to stay here and guard her, or do you really think we should just wander off on a possible goose chase leaving her alone?” Ethan replied sarcastically.
“Good point. I’m surprised I didn’t think of it first.” Javier delivered the pompous claim with a grin.
“You probably didn’t think of it because your balls aren’t used to getting so little use. All that stemmed up jizz is affecting your brain power,” Ethan retorted. Javier took aim with a sofa pillow, but Ethan held up a fi
nger and wagged it. “Bad kitty. Naomi will kill us if she thinks we did anything to mess up her place.”
“Since when are you the calm and collected one?” Javier growled.
“Since I got to taste the sweetest honey a bear could ever ask for.”
Javier groaned. “Lucky bastard. Next time, I get the honey and you get to suck her succulent berries. I swear she almost came when I bit down on them.”
Mmm, berries.
They both stopped talking and looked up at the ceiling, thinking of the woman asleep upstairs.
“You should go and question the guy. You’re better at gleaning information. I’ll stay and do guard duty.” Ethan sighed in mock resignation.
Javier’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t let you sacrifice yourself like that, my friend. I’ll stay, you go.”
Ethan glared at his friend. “No. I insist.”
“We’ll flip for it.”
“Fine. Heads, I stay and keep Naomi company while you go question suspect number one.”
Javier lost, which totally pissed him off, Ethan judged by the scowl he tossed his way. Of course, it probably hadn’t helped matters when Ethan had ribbed him saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep her warm until you get back.”
Ethan deserved the shot to the gut Javier laid on him, but being the bigger man—especially between the legs—he grinned and mimed holding a pair of hips for fucking. Javier left with a disgusted snort and Ethan, with a chuckle, went back upstairs to check on Naomi. He discovered her tossing in her sleep, the scent of her arousal strong.
Dreaming of us, I hope. Actually, on second thought, she’d better be.
Carefully, he eased into her bed, the springs creaking ominously at his weight. He rolled her into his arms, enjoying the soft feel of her against him. His cock throbbed something fierce, but he ignored the ache. He knew the moment when he’d finally sink himself into her silken depths fast approached. Besides, in his mind—and even his bear’s—all that mattered was making Naomi happy. Seeing her smile. Touching her. Tasting her. Feeling her come apart as she climaxed was well worth the agony of waiting for her to come to the conclusion she wanted them as mates.
And once she does finally get on board, I am going to plow her sweet body, again and again. Hell, I might just take up permanent residence between her legs. I can’t wait until she’s mine to love forever.
* * *
Naomi stretched in her bed—alone. Strange, because she could have sworn, she’d ended up pillowed between a pair of male bodies at one point during the night. Even more miraculous, they hadn’t attempted to molest her. The jerks.
Surprisingly enough, she didn’t find herself annoyed the guys had stayed the night in some sense of misplaced chivalry. It was kind of hard to remain irritated after the extreme pleasure they’d given her after dinner. It still blew her mind they’d expected nothing for themselves in return even though she saw the evidence of their turgid desire.
Worse, she almost wished she’d begged them harder to take her last night and mark her just so she could feel their cocks inside of her. Actually, in the light of day, she still had that urge. The mating call or lust, whatever she wanted to call it, rode her, making it difficult for her to keep recalling the reasons against binding herself to them.
A prism of light caught her eye and she looked up to see the morning sunlight making her butterfly shine brilliantly. She sighed. How could she keep fighting when they kept rendering themselves so utterly perfect and thoughtful? If only they’d do something to piss me off. Then again, given her current mood, she’d probably find any bad trait endearing at this point.
Springing out of bed, she headed into the bathroom for a hot shower. The simple act of washing herself proved titillating as each cleansing stroke of the soap woke her sensitized nerve endings. Ripe for sex, her body had never felt so alive.
When she emerged—hornier than hell—a warm fluffy towel awaited her along with Ethan’s scorching gaze. Somehow, after the way they’d stripped and pleasured her, modesty seemed ridiculous. She stepped into the towel and let him wrap her in it. He rubbed her briskly, his eyes downcast as he patted every inch of her dry, well, except for the wettest spot. That area he avoided, to her chagrin.
Done, he stood and smiled down at her while giving her a bear hug that made her gasp.
“Good morning,” she squeaked.
“Hey, baby,” he rumbled, his soft brown eyes gazing down into hers. It seemed only natural to stand on tiptoe and tilt her head for a kiss. How far she’d come in one night and what a glorious way to start her day. Fire kindled low in her belly, and she moaned against his mouth.
Ethan pulled away and chuckled. “Come on, my hungry wolf. I’ve brought you breakfast.”
Hunger of a different sort made her bold. “Who says I’m hungry for food?” Her sassy retort made him stumble on the way out of the bathroom and she slid up against his back, wrapping her arms around him to splay her hands flat on his rock hard stomach. “Actually, I can think of something I’d like to nibble on, but it doesn’t rhyme with Danish.”
A shudder went through his body. His large hands, almost paws given their size, came to rest atop hers. “You know mine and Javier’s stance when it comes to sausage. Is this your way of saying you’re ready to take the next step?”
No reply slipped from her lips even though her wolf howled “Yes!” in her mind. Wet, and her body afire for his touch, she didn’t give up quite yet. Naomi slid around his body and sauntered to the bed, dropping the towel on her way. She heard him swallow hard and smiled. “Spoilsport. Why can’t we just have a little fun?” An evil impulse overtook her and she bent over to open the bottom drawer of her dresser.
She never got a chance to straighten up.
“I can only take so much,” Ethan muttered, his hands stroking over the skin of her ass. A finger dipped into the crevice and stroked her, and Naomi’s knees trembled. She moved to bend up, but his hand pushed her back down before spanning her hips. Anchored, he thrust his jean covered groin against her exposed cleft.
Naomi moaned and pushed back against him. “That’s it. Give it to me.”
A sharp slap on her buttock made her yelp.
“Naughty wolf,” Ethan growled moving away.
Rubbing her posterior, she turned to scowl at him. “Hey, what happened to treating me like a delicate freakn’ flower?”
Ethan, his thumbs hooked in his jean pockets, gave her a smoldering look that made her cleft tingle. “That didn’t hurt, and it was well deserved. You’re teasing me. Trying to get me to do what you want.”
“And the problem with that is?” she asked stepping into her panties slowly, knowing he watched her every move avidly.
“Fuck this.”
In seconds, Naomi found herself flat on her bed, panties discarded. Ethan’s body pressed between her thighs as his mouth latched onto hers. She clung to him eagerly, letting her lips part so that their tongues could duel. He rubbed his jean clad cock against her mound, the rigidity of his shaft evident and fueling her desire. She mewled against his mouth, and he pumped against her.
“Ethan,” she gasped.
He lifted himself to his knees, but kept his upper body bent over so as to not break their kiss. Her hands reached for him, but he remained out of reach. He, however, had perfect access. His rough fingers found her clit and stroked. She almost bit him as she arched up in pleasure. Faster and faster, he circled her nub while her panting cries grew louder.
“Oh, Ethan. Please,” she begged as her body hung on the edge of bliss.
“I’ve got to get to practice,” he whispered against her lips. “Get dressed.” And then he moved off of her, taking his fingers and delicious mouth with him.
“What?” Her eyes wouldn’t focus and her body burned.
“We both need to get to work. Come on, baby. We wouldn’t want to be late.”
“But…” She trailed off and looked at him, almost pleading for him to finish what he started.
“Nex
t time you decide to tease me, make sure you’re ready to take the punishment,” he smirked, but his smoldering eyes betrayed his own lust. Not that the evidence of his own desire assuaged her.
Her mouth rounded into an “O” as anger suffused her. She bounced up on her bed. “You jerk. You made me horny on purpose. That wasn’t nice.” She snatched up a pillow.
He tsked her, wagging a finger. “Watch the butterfly, baby. I’m surprised at you. Really, violence because I made you hot and bothered? I thought better of you. Besides, you know what you’ve got to do if you want me to give you what you need. Just say the word, and I will be inside your body so quick, making you scream.”
“That’s blackmail,” she yelled.
“I prefer to call it reality. You want it, then you’ve got to give me something in return.”
Her cheeks burned because, in truth, she wanted them both. Wanted the excitement both mental and physical they brought into her life. Wanted them in her bed and inside her body. And her wolf wanted to mark them, bite them and show the world—especially all the skanky females—that they belonged exclusively to her.
However, she must have gotten dropped on the head one too many times as a child, because being given an ultimatum made her determined to do the opposite.
Taking careful aim, she fired the pillow at him. Then, she tackled him while he was distracted. Of course, her behemoth didn’t budge, but she did enjoy how hands ended up cupping her buttocks and holding her against him while her legs wrapped around his waist.
“You don’t play fair,” she griped, glaring at him nose to nose.
“Neither do you,” he replied. “It’s one of the things I love about you.”
His words threw her off balance—warming and yet panicking her. She decided she needed some distance as she cleared her mind. “You’re a great big jerk for making me horny and not following through,” she announced before jumping down. She stood with one hip cocked, still naked, and with nipples sharp enough to drill holes. “I’ll get dressed, you evil bear, but just so you know, I always get even.” She leaned up on tiptoe and kissed his chin, all she could reach, and copped a feel of his crotch, which made him grunt; however, not as much as she wanted to grunt when she felt the size of him. Holy shit. That’s one big bear.
Fated Mates: The Alpha Shifter Boxed Set (12 Book Bundle) (Insatiable Reads) Page 69