Growl

by Eve Langlais

  Strong hands pinned her ankles, and she arched her back in frustrated response.

  The tempo of the drums beat faster, the thrumming deeper, invading her bones. Her heartbeat leapt, racing to catch the drums, her body slowly twisting and arching in response to the seduction of touch. Strong fingers pinched her nipples harder; other disembodied fingers traced her labia, barely connecting with her greedy body as they circled her clit, driving her insane with featherlight touches that led her close to but not over that precipice of orgasm.

  She sucked in a breath as a mouth covered hers. Brad’s lips. She recognized their fullness, the smooth upper lip where Cain’s was prickly from his moustache, the taste that was all Brad. His tongue thrust against hers as fingers drove deep between her legs and her inner muscles clamped down, clinging in spasmodic response to such an intimate invasion.

  She was still on the edge, her body straining to reach the precipice, but they held her there—Brad with his deep kisses and his fingers working the nipple on her left breast while Cain’s fingers filled her sheath, his thumb circled her clit, and his other hand tugged at her sensitive nipple.

  She tried to picture them, two powerful, sensual men pleasuring her while her body bucked and writhed beneath their expert touch, but the drums in the background hammered harder, faster, and her body followed, so close, so damned close, wiping everything else from her mind.

  She sensed a shift in the air and the hands disappeared. Sensation fell away and she wanted to scream at the lack. The drums beat just as hard, pounded every bit as fast, and she lay there, alone and panting.

  Lips pulled at one nipple; fingers plucked the other. She groaned and clutched the sides of the table to keep from arching right off the thing. Strong hands parted her thighs, holding her down, opening her wide. A tongue stroked from her perineum to her clit, circled that sensitive bud, and then drove deep.

  Was it Brad? She couldn’t tell. Honestly? She didn’t care. All that really mattered was that he didn’t stop!

  Mouth at her breast, mouth between her legs, and they worked together, sucking and licking, pinching and stroking as the tempo increased and the drums grew louder, as her heart raced and tiny lights flashed behind her blindfolded eyes.

  Her body raced the drums and there was a thundering in her heart, in her blood, until the tongues stroking and hands touching coalesced into a single firestorm of need, of desire and sensation, and then it was too much, too perfect.

  Too amazing to be possible, and yet she was flying, screaming out as wolves howled and drums thundered, her body tensed, her back arched, and she lost herself amid a climax unlike anything she’d ever known, a celebration of her body that shredded her soul and repaired it, better, stronger, more complete, than she’d ever been before.

  Soft touches brought her down. Sweet kisses led her into a quiet pool of sensation where she needed only to relax, to let her mind and body melt away, suffused in pleasure, enervated, entirely complete.

  * * *

  Cain pulled the blankets back on Cherry’s bed while Brad carefully wiped away the oil they’d rubbed over her body. She slept soundly, the culmination of a long day hiking, a good meal, spectacular wine, and the best sensual massage Cain knew he and Brad had ever given anyone. She was exactly the woman they wanted, and if she didn’t want them it was going to be tough to get over her.

  He hardly knew her, and already she fit into his life—their lives—more comfortably than he could ever have imagined. Was one week going to be enough to convince her?

  Brad carefully scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her on the clean sheet and Cain pulled the covers down so they could tuck her feet inside. The nights here could be cold. He moved toward the head of the bed and lightly worked the knot out of her hair.

  The long, dark tresses felt like silk between his fingers. His eyes burned with the thought of not keeping her forever and he wiped away a tear he refused to let fall. Raising his head, he caught Brad watching him.

  “Well?”

  Brad whispered, but Cain clearly heard him. He shook his head. “I never imagined … Damn, Brad. She’s beautiful and smart and funny, and she loves wolves. It really couldn’t get any better. She’s almost too good. Scary good.”

  “Don’t do that to yourself, Cain. You’re starting to sound like Trak. He’s all about doom and gloom, though it’s nice not to have you teasing me about falling so hard and fast for her.”

  Cain laughed softly. “Yeah. I take it all back. C’mon. Help me clean this stuff up so we can get out of here and get some sleep.”

  They had the table folded up, the candles extinguished and stashed in their container, and all of Cain’s equipment ready to go. Brad stood by the bed for a moment, watching Cherry sleep. “I don’t want to leave her,” he said.

  “Help me carry this stuff back to the lodge.” Cain walked over to stand beside Brad. “I don’t think she’d mind a bit if the wolves spent the night.”

  “Do you think it’s safe? What if she makes the connection? How will we explain how they got inside?”

  Cain could tell Brad really wanted to believe it was okay. “We’ll just tell her we weren’t comfortable leaving her alone sleeping so soundly, the wolves were waiting for us outside, and we asked them to stay. I think it sounds believable.”

  Brad’s soft laughter had Cain grinning in response. “Good,” he said. “Then if Trak gets pissed, I can blame you.” Brad picked up the massage table and waited by the open door.

  “He blames me for anything bad that happens anyway.” Cain grabbed the tote bags. He took a quick look around the dark cabin, but his gaze lingered on Cheraza, sleeping so soundly.

  They had a lot of mountains to climb with this one. Then he followed Brad out the door.

  CHAPTER 9

  Tuesday

  She came awake in the early dawn darkness, blinking slowly, remembering. Cain’s powerful hands stroking so gently, Brad’s sweet kisses, his touch gentle when needed yet more than capable of so much strength. Both men treating her like spun glass one moment, like a powerful woman the next.

  She’d never, not even in her wildest dreams or the sexiest romance she’d ever read, experienced anything remotely like last night. A massage like that had to be illegal, but it had definitely done the trick. Her muscles had been screaming after the hike yesterday. She didn’t feel sore anywhere this morning. Of course, she hadn’t tried to move anything, either.

  She hadn’t slept as soundly in way too long. She felt totally rested, and since she didn’t remember coming to bed, her men had to have tucked her in.

  The giveaway was the fact that she was naked.

  She never slept naked, but how could it matter when they’d both spent hours touching her, kissing her, doing things she’d never imagined? She’d been naked, and she’d been fine with it. She was actually sorry the guys had been dressed. Next time she’d ask for a naked massage.

  If there ever was a next time.

  Naked or not, she was so toasty warm that she just closed her eyes again, lay there a moment, and tried to recall the details of last night. There’d been dinner with everyone at the lodge, and then Brad had walked her back to the cabin, Cain had arrived, and—

  Her stomach clenched with remembered desire and she shivered. Aroused, chilled, she tried to hug herself, but her arms were trapped. In fact, the blankets were pulled over her so tightly that she couldn’t move at all. That’s when she heard soft snoring to her left … and her right. Had Cain and Brad stayed in her …

  Rolling her head to one side and then the other, she stared at the dark shadows on either side and bit back a laugh. That explained the snoring—and the warmth. It was hard to be cold with furry wolves pressed against each side of her, trapping her beneath the covers.

  She recognized the two she thought of as “her” wolves. She tried to sit up, but they had her trapped so completely she couldn’t even scoot out from under the blankets.

  It appeared she’d
awakened her bedmates.

  “Good morning, gentlemen.” The green-eyed beast raised his head and yawned, and his look was so disgruntled she almost apologized for waking him. The brown-eyed wolf merely raised his eyelids and stared at her, almost as if he was waiting to see what her reaction to waking up with two wolves in her bed would be.

  She watched him, enjoying the moment. This was its own kind of magic, to wake up with two beautiful feral creatures lying on her bed, almost as if they protected her. She scratched behind the silver wolf’s ears and he groaned. Then she did the same for the brown-eyed guy, who rolled over on his back, obviously hoping for a tummy rub.

  She managed to scoot up and out from under the blankets, which left her breasts exposed, but she figured that if she could show them to Brad and Cain, wolves weren’t a problem.

  Rubbing one wolf’s head and now the other one’s belly, she watched the two of them for a moment, studying their reactions to her touch, the way they subtly interacted with each other. Finally, she asked, “How did you guys get in here last night? Did Brad and Cain let you in?”

  The green-eyed wolf made a little huffing noise, rolled his head to one side, and stared at the door.

  “That’s either a ‘yes’ or an ‘I want out.’ Either way, I think you boys need to go outside.” She tried to shove the blankets back, which wasn’t easy with wolves pinning them down. The wolves showed no inclination of moving. “Off the bed. Both of you.”

  They both gazed at her as if they didn’t believe she meant it. “Now, gentlemen.”

  This time they both jumped down, though the brown-eyed wolf looked so sad she almost gave in and let him stay. He certainly didn’t act like he wanted to leave. She walked across the room to the door, and even though the sun wasn’t up and there probably wasn’t anyone out there, she stood out of sight behind the door when she opened it. She’d never been comfortable under any circumstances parading around naked.

  Though being naked certainly hadn’t been an issue last night. The two huge wolves slowly walked outside and then trotted down the steps. The brown-eyed wolf paused at the bottom and turned to look over his shoulder, and she felt as if her entire body flushed dark red from his intent look, which was just weird. She didn’t remember blushing all that much last night, but maybe that was because what she remembered was so far beyond embarrassment it made her shiver just thinking about it.

  She quickly closed the door. She hadn’t expected that all those little muscles between her legs would clench in sympathy, and it was just so awkward with both wolves staring at her. She’d noticed the green-eyed wolf’s nose was twitching.

  She’d been so turned on, remembering Brad and Cain last night, and the wolf was staring at her making sniffing noises?

  “Cherry, girl, you’ve read one too many paranormal romances.” In those stories, the shapeshifter could scent his mate’s arousal. Pure fantasy, and an active imagination could get a girl into trouble, except there was no denying the fact that the wolf had been watching her, his head raised with his nose in the air. Sniffing.

  Could he smell her arousal? He was an animal, damn it, with a good nose, so even if he could smell her, it didn’t matter. She looked out the window. Both wolves had disappeared into the forest. She turned around and leaned against the door and tried to make sense of last night and this morning. Except the more she thought about it, the less sense anything made.

  Brad and Cain were both highly intelligent, strikingly handsome men, and yet, for whatever reason, they’d focused on her. But why?

  Please, she begged. Not like that other time, another guy who’d treated her like a goddess. And then he’d done something so cruel, so horrible to her, that she’d never been able to move past it. He’d seemed sincere, too, but it was ten years ago and guys grew up.

  She couldn’t picture Cain and Brad being cruel.

  The problem, though, was that she couldn’t understand why they were so damned nice, either. She wasn’t anything special—there were five other women here, any one of them prettier than her. Maybe caffeine would help. A healthy dose of caffeine pumping through her system always cleared her head. It was almost six. With any luck, Brad should have coffee ready by now. She thought about taking a shower first, but she’d showered before dinner last night and that oil that Cain used for her massage had left her skin feeling so soft—she loved the subtle scent of vanilla.

  She wasn’t quite ready to wash that off.

  Nor did she want to wash away the memory of Cain’s mouth on her, or Brad’s, either.

  Or the best orgasm she’d ever experienced in all her twenty-eight years. Even better than the one Brad had given her before dinner.

  Laughing, she went into the bathroom to wash up. Of course it was better—two incredible guys trumped one incredible guy every time.

  * * *

  Cain was still in his wolf form well after Brad had shifted, but he was planning to go check on the new pups. The wolf was a first-time mother and the male was young—Brad was glad Cain was keeping an eye on them. He took a quick shower and dressed, but the two of them hadn’t really talked much about last night. He wondered if part of Cain’s reason for not shifting was to avoid a conversation.

  They really needed to talk about Cherry. Cain was convinced she was on to them or at least suspicious, but Brad wasn’t all that sure. But if she was and she still liked them, wasn’t that a good thing? He glanced out the window at the trail that led to Cherry’s cabin and wondered if she’d gone back to sleep after booting them out. She hadn’t seemed at all concerned about waking up with two wolves on her bed. That had to be a good thing, too. At least he hoped it was.

  But what about two men in her bed? He glanced at Cain. The big silver wolf sprawled on the bed, watching Brad, and his heart actually hurt, thinking how much he loved the man. He knew Cain loved him every bit as much. They’d been together a long time, but they’d both agreed there was something missing in their relationship—a woman.

  Was he just dreaming of moonbeams, imagining Cherry accepting both of them, loving them equally? She was so beautiful, not to mention the way she clicked so easily with the two of them, filling that empty spot that was so much more noticeable when she wasn’t with them. Cain was the worrier—he wasn’t sure she’d be happy, stuck up here in the woods with a couple of werewolves. She was used to the city, used to having her sister close by.

  Not used to loving or trusting one man, much less two. Brad had argued that they had to show Cherry that their feelings for her were real, that they weren’t leading her on or playing with her affections. He was certain they could make her love them, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

  They’d always known that any woman they found to love was going to have to love both of them. Now, though, they didn’t want just any woman. He and Cain agreed on that point—they wanted to keep Cherry. Not as one of a couple, but as part of a triad.

  They weren’t talking two guys taking turns, either. Both of them wanted her in their lives, in their bed, the two of them and Cherry. Brad had no idea how to approach the subject.

  He sat down on the bed and ran his fingers through Cain’s thick fur. “I’m going downstairs to get the coffee going,” he said. “Trak will be here before long, even if the women come in later.”

  Cain yipped and, while they couldn’t actually communicate all that clearly telepathically, they’d been together long enough for Brad to know what his guy was thinking. “Good point,” Brad said. “I forgot Trak left with Suni and Fred … we may not see him until noon.”

  Cain leapt off the bed and waited by the door. They shared a suite of rooms on the second floor of the lodge, just above the kitchen area. The other men had cabins, some of them shared, others lived alone, but Brad and Cain had been together for years, a young man’s friendship that had grown into so much more. Brad liked to think they each made the other stronger, better men, but for whatever reason, when they’d gone into Feral Passions as investors it had been with the idea that if
they found a mate it would have to be a woman willing to love both of them.

  If they’d had a checklist of their ideal woman, Cherry would fill every slot. Brad already felt a powerful connection to her, and while he couldn’t yet call it love, it was damned close. Everything about her was appealing—the sound of her laughter, the joy in her smile. Her vulnerability. He wanted to be the man to protect her from the bastards who hurt her, because he knew she’d somehow been badly hurt along the way. He wanted to make love to that sexy body, lose himself in her soft breasts, bury himself between her perfect thighs, and he wanted to share all that was Cherry with the man he loved.

  He wondered if Cain’s hesitancy was because he’d fallen for Cherry. Cain had always been the one who pondered every nuance of every event, every person. Brad was one of the few who realized how deep Cain’s emotions went, how powerfully he loved.

  Was he afraid of loving Cherry and having to watch her leave?

  Brad knelt beside the big wolf. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll make this work, Cain. I promise.” Cain whined, a low, sad sound. “I know. It’s a risk, but we have to believe.”

  Brad opened the door and let Cain out, but he followed Cain down the stairs, his mind on Cherry, on what the three of them had done last night. Brad hadn’t been certain how well she’d handle the two of them, but she’d seemed to love every minute. She’d been amazing so far. It was already Tuesday. They had less than five days to convince her she really wanted to spend her life mated to a couple of werewolves.

  At the rate they were going, it shouldn’t be all that hard, should it?

  * * *

  It was growing brighter, but the sun still wasn’t showing above the mountains when Cherry reached the lodge. The wolves were gone, probably back to their dens or wherever wild wolves went during the day. Or, if her growing suspicions were true, back to their human selves.

  She stopped in the middle of the trail. “I don’t believe I just thought that.” Her imagination was definitely running away with her logic. They were just hidden away for the day, that was all. Brad had told her they weren’t as active during daylight, but she’d still managed to see quite a few of them.