“At least we weren’t stupid enough to throw ourselves from burning buildings and speeding cars for the last forty years.”
Troy’s smile was teasing and Jade found her heart leaping into her throat as Troy got impossibly better looking when he smiled.
“We were here yesterday cleaning the house and stocking it with food,” Wes said. He leaned down to kiss her as Troy walked her up the timber stairs to the porch. “Remember, if you don’t like something we’ll change it.”
Troy carried her over the threshold of their new home and through a large sitting room that contained two beautiful sofas and four armchairs covered in a matching floral fabric that were arranged in front of a log fireplace. The fire was burning brightly, the logs a deep red as they warmed the room against the cold outside.
Troy went straight through to the kitchen and stopped beside a huge wooden table that would easily seat a dozen people. The man seated at the table rose to his feet, a wide smile on his face.
“There you all are,” said a female voice. Jade found it hard to tear her gaze from the gray-haired man smiling at her. He was tall and solid, his blue eyes shining from a face that told her exactly what Barrett would look like as he grew older.
“I thought you’d all be hungry. And we couldn’t let you bring your mate home to a freezing cold house. I’m Marguerite, but just call me Margie. Or Mom.”
Jade smiled at the small woman who had moved to stand beside her husband, wrapping her arm around his waist as she leaned into him in an act of affection that looked so natural she wondered how long they’d been together. Been mated.
“Hello,” Jade said, squirming to get down. She was embarrassed to be in Troy’s arms in front of his parents.
“You stay right there,” Margie said. “You poor thing. My sons will take good care of you.”
“I’m Brett,” the man said. “I’m sorry for all the pain you’ve gone through, Jade. The boys will keep you safe now.”
Troy sat at the table and somehow had her sitting comfortably against his warm, solid chest in the next second. Sometimes they moved so fast she didn’t even see them.
Asher, Barrett, and Wes kissed their mom’s cheek and helped her in the kitchen with practiced ease. Jade’s ribs were aching from laughing so hard at Brett’s stories of her men’s childhood antics by the time the dinner was ready.
“Growing up out here with all the wide open spaces sounds so wonderful,” Jade said. “Very different from my childhood in New York City.”
“Asher is the only one who’s ever lived permanently in a big city,” Barrett said. “It would have killed me. My cat likes the room to run.”
Jade easily imagined Barrett’s huge cat running through the forest that surrounded the farmhouse.
“Will you find it hard to live on a farm after growing up in the city?” Margie asked.
Jade paused to consider it before she answered. She had been moving around the country painting for a couple of years now and all of the locations she’d chosen to capture on canvas had been open and unpopulated.
“I think Jade’s been preparing for her move to the country for a while,” Asher said. He smiled at her and she remembered their very first conversation, and how he’d seen her soul in her art.
“I think you’re right, Asher. I can’t imagine ever growing bored of painting the beautiful places around Eminence.”
Asher piled her plate high with food despite her protests, but Jade could only eat a little of the fluffy pancake and creamy scrambled eggs. She’d lived on limited funds for the two years she’d been traveling around the country, and was not used to large meals. Plus, in the time Beau had held her captive she’d eaten nothing but the few slices of bread Beau had thrown at her.
“Does the fact that you’re now just moving the food around the plate mean you’ve had enough?” Troy whispered in her ear. She shivered from the delicious tingle she felt as his lips brushed her ear.
“You haven’t eaten anything,” Wes said. He was sitting in the chair next to her, holding her hand as he used the other to devour his breakfast.
“I’m sorry. It was delicious.” Jade relaxed fully against Troy, the wounds on her back stinging a little at first. She closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted again. The warm room and a full stomach seemed to sap her strength completely.
“We should go, Brett,” Margie said. “Jade needs to rest after everything she’s been through.”
“Thank you for the lovely breakfast,” Jade said, the effort of opening her eyes greater than it should have been. She felt a warm affection already for her men’s parents. They were honest and open in their acceptance of her into their family.
As she consciously registered that acceptance her sluggish mind finally connected the dots. She had a family, too. She tried to imagine their reaction to her living with four men she’d just met and moving permanently to Colorado.
“Shit. What am I going to tell my family?”
“Tell them in person when they come to visit,” Margie said, giving Jade a gentle hug. “No parent could feel anything but joy when they see the way my boys look at you.”
Jade could see Barrett’s and Asher’s faces over their mother’s shoulder. She stopped breathing.
“Or the way you look at them,” Margie said.
Jade found she could breathe again and Asher and Barrett released her from their gaze to say farewell to their parents. Perhaps it was that simple. Her mother, stepfather, and sister would see how in love they all were and not even question her sudden decision to live in a ménage relationship.
And there go a flock of pigs flying across the sky.
* * * *
Elan walked around the shallow grave, his coyote growling and pacing restlessly inside him.
“Was this the only one you found?”
Mason rose from where he was squatting next to the exposed body. “There are definitely no more bodies buried around the house, but the property is large. I have men out searching. We’ll know in a day or two if he’s buried any other women out here.
“We’ll need to get the local police involved. She’s not a shifter and her injuries are not going to be mistaken as an animal attack,” Elan said, his eyes burning in rage. He knew his coyote would be showing and was glad they were alone.
“They’re risking the exposure of our race. They’ve signed their own death warrants,” Mason said, the slightest flinch betraying his contained rage. Mason hated women to be abused.
Any rogue shifter who put their hard fought anonymity in jeopardy was subject to shifter law, not human. Shifter justice was absolute.
“I don’t recognize her scent, Elan. She’s not a local. I’m no coroner, but I’d guess she’s only been dead a couple of days.
“The wolf killed her while he still held Jade captive,” Elan said. “Probably why he risked keeping Jade at her apartment instead of bringing her out here.”
“No one would have heard her in that shitty place she lived. I think she’s the only occupant on that side of the complex.”
Elan nodded as he swallowed his rising bile. The body was ripe, but that wasn’t what was making him sick. The wolf, Beau Rennie, was twisted.
“Do you scent all three of the wolves on her?”
Mason nodded.
Elan suspected the sick fuck was not going to stop looking for Jade, but he respected his enforcer’s instincts and needed to know what Mason thought. He’d been correct too often over their century together for him to ever dismiss anything Mason said.
“What do you think his next move will be?”
Mason looked around at the ramshackle house, the unkempt barn, and the overgrown pastures before answering.
“He kept this lady captive a while, moved here with her. That was risky. That sort of behavior makes me think he’s not going to let a town full of cougars keep him from his latest obsession.”
“He’s going to keep looking for Jade,” Elan said. Some shifters liked a hunt. It made catching the prey m
ore satisfying. “You need to go to Eminence. No one there will recognize these fuckers by their scents.”
Mason nodded again, his bright red gaze fixed on the victim. His enforcer would ensure there was ample evidence to prove Beau and his friends had killed this poor woman when he returned to Duckwater with their corpses. Elan knew for a fact they would not be hurting any more women as long as Mason still drew breath.
Chapter 9
Jade had been asleep against him by the time his brothers returned to the kitchen after saying good-bye to their parents. Troy carried Jade to bed as his brothers cleaned up the breakfast dishes. Troy placed Jade on the bed in the renovated master bedroom. The room they would now all share.
Troy hesitated as he went to pull the covers over Jade. She was wearing the jeans and jumper that Bethany had given her and he doubted she’d sleep comfortably in them. Troy hesitated, unsure what to do. He was no virgin, but he’d always had Wes with him when he’d been intimate with a woman.
“Just take her jeans and jumper off, idiot,” Wes said. “She’s sore and bruised. Put her in your T-shirt.”
Easy for Wes to say when he wouldn’t be the one touching her. He stripped off his collared shirt and then his T-shirt, his cat insanely happy that his mate would be wearing his scent and wrapped in his warmth.
He steeled himself and tried to be clinical as he removed Jade’s clothes. She was so exhausted she barely even stirred. The only hiccup had been the fact that she wore no bra. Her breasts were magnificent. The perfect size for his hands. Her nipples were rosy red peaks that made his mouth water.
“You’re killing me,” Wes said.
“Just put your damned shirt on her,” Asher said with an accompanying snarl.
After tucking the blankets snugly around her he lingered to examine each of the healing cuts and bruises marring the perfection of her face. Troy’s cat rose easily to the surface and Troy relished its fierce and primal anger. He felt bonded to his cat on a soul-deep level. He no longer felt as though it was another part of who he was. Now he and his cat combined, were Troy Pollock.
When Asher padded into the room as his cougar, Troy was surprised to find himself at eye level with his oldest brother. He’d shifted. He hadn’t felt the change. There had been no conscious effort or pain involved. He had simply changed form.
“This is what I’ve been trying to explain to you,” Asher said.
Troy now felt a strong connection to Asher’s cat. To Asher as a whole. Asher was a creature of possessive rage and predatory hunger as he gazed at their mate.
“He’s making a mistake coming after Jade,” Asher said.
“If he comes here it will be his last mistake,” Troy said.
Troy felt no remorse as he hungered for the fight with the wolves who’d caused his mate so much pain. He felt no shame as he contemplated ending the life of anyone who came to take Jade from him and his brothers.
Remorse and shame were human emotions and they had no place in the mind of the shifter Troy now was.
“Cooper called with the patrol schedule. You’re to stay here with Jade. Wes is running the outer perimeter from here to the Alpha’s. Barrett is patrolling our property and I’ll be patrolling from here to the Wilder’s.”
Troy leaped over Asher to land lightly on the end of the bed. He found the best location to observe both the French doors to the balcony and the door to the room before he lowered himself flat.
“We’ll be back at dusk when the Willis boys take over.”
Asher padded from the room knowing Troy wouldn’t hesitate to fight to the death to keep Jade safeguarded.
Jade slept peacefully as Troy stood watch throughout the day. The air in the room grew cold as the afternoon sky grew dark with heavy clouds. Tonight would see more snow falling. Troy was contemplating shifting to light a fire in the bedroom fireplace when Jade stroked a hand over his rump. Pleasure thrummed through him, his cat thrilled at its mate’s acceptance.
* * * *
“Your fur is so soft.” Jade spoke softly, afraid to break the spell. “I’m terrified this is all a dream and I’ll wake to find myself locked in that room.”
Jade felt a tremor run across the cat’s body before it rose and turned. It then walked slowly, so slowly, toward her. It watched her intently and Jade shuddered. Its yellow eyes scanned over her face.
“You’re so beautiful.” Jade blurted out the words, her heart a heavy weight in her chest. If this were truly a dream, then she’d let Beau kill her the next time he beat her. She wouldn’t want to live without this new reality. It was too wonderful. Too perfect. Her old life, her old existence, was an empty semblance of living now that she’d experienced the joy of true love. She loved these men, these magical shifters, and they loved her.
Jade knew that no one before had loved her that deeply, that truly. And no one else ever would. She reached out her hand to touch the magnificent cougar that stared at her with such devotion. She had to make certain it was real. That it hadn’t all been a wonderful dream.
It rubbed its head against her hand as it moved closer. The velvet soft fur made her fingers tingle. She gasped and half closed her eyes as a shower of bright lights rained over the cat.
“Troy.”
Troy was standing at the side of the bed, naked and wondrous. He pulled the covers down before climbing in beside her. He held out his arms and she moved into his embrace without hesitation, resting her head on his shoulder as their legs tangled and she molded herself against him.
“Do I feel like a dream, Jade?”
“No. I’m so glad you’re not. I would have mourned the loss of you all, even had you been a dream.”
“Once we’re mated you’ll never be without us, Jade. When you pass away we’ll all gladly follow. Even in death you’ll never be alone.”
They all said such strange things sometimes, but even without understanding all of what they said, she never doubted their sincerity. She could never doubt that. She felt the truth of every word in her heart.
“You know I don’t know what a mating is?” Jade turned her face to inhale the male and pine smell that was present on all the brothers. It filled her body with such peace when she breathed it in. It also made her body ache. It felt like their smell alone aroused all her erogenous zones at once. It was incredible.
“Fuck, Jade. Do you know how fantastic your arousal smells to me?”
“My…” Jade swallowed. Unable to continue talking. She couldn’t deny his warm, hard body and his wonderful smell alone were arousing her.
“No lies between mates, honey,” Troy said. He gently pulled her onto his chest as he rolled to his back. “Remember?”
She stared down at his handsome face, his blue eyes now filled with amber lights. He licked his lips as her gaze drifted to them. They were pink and moist now, the perfect bow stretching into a smile.
“Do you feel better after your sleep? You’ve slept for nearly the entire day.”
Jade nodded, realizing she did feel better. It didn’t hurt as much to breathe and the bone-deep exhaustion was gone. She felt strangely invigorated.
“I feel better. But I’m not sure if that’s the sleep or the way your body is making me feel.”
Troy’s fascinating lips drew into a tight line and she felt the blush heat her neck and face.
“Oh shit. What am I saying?” She didn’t have the chance to apologize as Troy lifted his head and kissed her with his beautiful mouth.
She sighed at how good he felt. His lips were as soft as she’d imagined and when his tongue gently stroked into her mouth she actually groaned at how wonderful he tasted. She licked over his tongue and delighted in his answering groan.
“Jade.” He breathed her name into her mouth as he rolled to lie above her. His arms trembled as he held his weight off her damaged torso, but his rock-hard cock was nestled perfectly in the juncture of her thighs.
She opened her legs and wrapped them around his thighs as though they’d been lovers for years
. His cock slid over the wet crotch of her panties and rubbed over her clitoris. His kiss deepened and she pushed her hips up, rocking against him, her pleasure soaring out of control.
Her mind was at war with the body. She didn’t do this. She didn’t sleep with men she’d just met. But her body responded to Troy in a way she’d never experienced before. Her hands moved to his arms. He was hard everywhere.
“God, you taste so fucking good,” Troy murmured. He rained a trail of kisses down her neck, slowly rubbing his cock back and forth over her clit. Feather-light kisses brushed her bruised neck. “I’ll kill that bastard for hurting you.”
Jade wanted to say “Don’t,” but Troy slid up her T-shirt, his hot mouth sucking across her breast. It felt so good she couldn’t speak. When his mouth reached her throbbing nipple Jade cried out. He teased it with his tongue before sucking the aching bud into his warm mouth. She arched her back in her unrestrained pursuit for more pleasure.
“Troy.” Jade moaned his name as he continued the dual assault on her breast and clitoris. Her hands moved restlessly over his body. Everywhere she touched was perfection. She wanted him.
Troy released her breast and pulled back to gaze at her. “You feel so good, Jade. Nothing has ever felt like this.” He continued to rock his hips, sweat beaded on her forehead.
“Troy, please.” Jade would beg if necessary. She needed more.
Troy’s smile made her heart leap. God, he’s sexy.
“Jade, you’re the sexy one. I’m just a damned geek.”
“No.” She shook her head as her body grew hotter. She’d never ached for anyone before. But she ached for Troy. Burned for him. She was too needy to be embarrassed that she was apparently speaking her every thought out loud.
Jade let her hands explore his back, delighting in the feel of each defined muscle. The heat in her body climbed higher, the sweat running down her face.
“So hot, Troy.” Jade gasped as each breath scalded her throat. She was breathing fire.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
Jade [Eminence Shifters 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 8