Bethany [Eminence Shifters 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Ashley Malkin

  “I’ve never had a lover,” she said, her voice even softer. “I was in the hospital…”

  Samson was struck dumb, his cock nearly exploding at the thought of her being totally untouched. She was theirs alone. No one had ever touched their mate, and no one but them ever would. It made him a hypocrite and a pig, but he shared in his cat’s possessive joy.

  “I can scent your arousal, kitten. Will you let us pleasure you?” Samson said, finding his voice at last.

  When she nodded her head, Michael opened her shirt and swiftly unhooked the front clasp of her bra. He growled low in his chest as he molded her small breasts in his hands. The nipples peaked hard, and Michael moaned before lowering his head to take one in his mouth.

  Samson swallowed Bethany’s gasp of surprise with his kiss. He let his hunger for her free, needing her to know how much he desired her.

  He released her lips to look at the rising arousal on her face. Her pupils were dilated, her cheeks pink and flushed.

  “You look so fucking sexy,” he said, his voice a deep rumble. Almost a purr.

  She arched her back, pressing her breast further against Michael’s lips.

  “That’s so good, it’s making me feel…God, what’s happening?” she gasped.

  Samson caressed down her smooth abdomen and slid his hand into her jeans, straight to her engorged clit. She pushed against his finger as he circled the moist, swollen flesh.

  The smell of her arousal filled the room, as did the sounds of her pleasure.

  “Oh god, please,” she begged.

  * * * *

  Bethany knew that something amazing was about to happen. Her nipple was aching and tight under Michael’s tongue. Her vagina was pulsing and leaking juices. Samson’s finger was circling her clitoris, winding her tighter and tighter. She knew when she snapped her mind would fracture, but she didn’t care. She’d never felt such pleasure before, and it was getting better. She sobbed at the near-pain of all the sensations.

  A movement at the doorway drew her attention, and she moaned as the sight came into focus through the haze of her pleasure.

  Jason was standing in the doorway. His massive six-foot-four-inch body completely naked. He was all muscle.

  He was standing motionless, except for his hand, which was stroking his straining cock. His hooded gaze was directed at her, his eyes glowing brightly.

  The sight of him pleasuring himself triggered her climax, and she screamed as wave after wave of ecstasy tore through her. Michael and Samson gentled their caressing and suckling and her orgasm dragged on, the pleasure exquisite.

  When she finally stopped coming, she snapped her eyes open in search of Jason. He was gone.

  She swept the entire room with her gaze, but he wasn’t there. Her heart broke. She wanted him to be touching her, too. She ached for him, and she’d thought he was going to ease her pain and finally touch her.

  Trying to drag her emotions under control, she smiled at the two men who had just gifted her with her first orgasm. Probably her last, too.

  “That was so amazing, thank you. I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

  “That was just the beginning, darlin’,” Michael said. “You are so fucking sexy when you come that I can see us making you feel like that about twenty-four times a day.” Michael’s smile was wicked, his eyes glowing.

  She didn’t want them to feel as though she didn’t appreciate them, but she was fighting her tears at Jason’s absence. Her head began to pound. She fought to hide the pain from Michael and Samson.

  It felt so good having these men touch her. Why wasn’t it enough? What is wrong with me?

  “Next time you come, it’s going to be with my mouth on you,” Samson said. “My tongue will be licking up all that sweet cream.” He kissed her deeply and her sensitized clitoris throbbed in response.

  Michael and Samson stripped off their T-shirts and fatigues and climbed into bed on either side of her. Having already divested her of her top and bra, they stripped off her jeans.

  Samson lay on his back and pulled her into his side, her head resting on his solid shoulder. Michael spooned against her back, wrapping his arm tightly around her waist.

  She felt warm and protected as they drew up the covers. She felt the two men relax and drift into sleep, but she was in too much pain to do the same.

  She now understood that it was her cat she was feeling. As she focused on it, she could sense it scratching at her. She could feel its distress. Her head was pounding and it felt as though her skull was too small.

  Her pain kept building until she could no longer stand it. It was Jason. She had to stop thinking about Jason. He wasn’t meant for her. But the attempt to halt all thoughts of him just increased the pain.

  She clasped her hands to her head, trying to stop her head from exploding. Her mind was tearing apart.

  She screamed. She had to get free of the pain.

  Chapter 14

  Jason ran back to Samson’s room as soon as he heard Bethany’s agonized scream, the high-pitched noise shredding his heart.

  What the fuck have they done to her? He’d kill them if they’d hurt her.

  Arriving at Samson’s room seconds later, he found his brothers anxiously stroking Bethany’s face. Her screaming had stopped and she lay motionless in their arms.

  Throwing Michael aside, he examined her for injuries.

  “What the fuck did you do to her?” He couldn’t stop the growl that ripped from his throat as his canines descended and he prepared to hurt them.

  “Nothing,” Michael said. “We had just…then we fell asleep. Her scream woke us.”

  Jason examined her open eyes. They were empty of any life. His cat bristled along his skin in fear. It could no longer sense her. It felt as though both Bethany and her cat were gone, despite the fact he was holding her in his arms.

  “Bethany, are you all right? Are you in pain?”

  He received no answer. She remained still and unmoving as they all talked to her and tried to illicit a response.

  Leaving her for a matter of seconds, he returned to her side with his medical bag.

  “What’s happening?” Samson said. He spoke softly as he caressed Bethany’s lifeless face. “Did we hurt her? She was so sad. We wanted to make her feel better. Feel loved.”

  “We did make her feel loved,” Michael said. “It can’t be because of anything we did. Do you have any idea what’s wrong with her, Jase?”

  “Nothing is physically wrong with her, as far as I can tell. I think we need help. We need Shana. Finn may also be able to help her.”

  The last time Jason had seen Bethany, she’d been in the throes of her orgasm. The scent of her arousal had drawn him to that room. His growing desire for her had kept him there. He’d come at the same time she had. He’d come so hard he’d nearly collapsed.

  The need to go to her, to touch her and taste her, had nearly gotten the better of him. But he’d managed to pull himself away somehow. He’d been worried that if he claimed her in a rush of pheromone-induced passion, he’d regret it and then grow to resent her. He’d been reconsidering his decision to leave Eminence when Bethany’s scream had split the silence of the house.

  Jason left his brothers to care for Bethany while he called for help. Shana was reputed to be over three hundred years old and had more knowledge of shifters than anyone in their pride.

  He waited anxiously for them for what seemed like hours. Having already explained Bethany’s condition, he ushered them directly to her when they finally arrived.

  “Thank you both for coming so quickly,” Michael said. “She’s still unresponsive.”

  “Leave us,” Shana said, her tone as cold as the expression on her face. She slammed the door behind them once they’d all filed from the room.

  Jason stared at the closed door, willing it to open, as Samson and Michael silently paced the hall.

  Shana and Finn were with Bethany for thirty-three minutes before they emerged from the roo
m. Jason shuddered at the scent of their anger, their expressions stony and cold.

  “What have you done to that girl?” Shana said, her eyes boring into each of them, in turn, with fiery rage.

  “Do you know what’s wrong with her?” Samson asked.

  “Which one of you was it?” Finn said, “or was it all of you?”

  Jason felt cold sweat trickle down his back. This was because of him. He’d been a fool not to listen to what Samson and Michael had been trying to tell him.

  “This is because I denied she was my mate, isn’t it?”

  “Her cat has been broken by its mate’s denial,” Shana said, “Her tortured mind has shut down and she is now trapped in there with her pain.”

  She strode to stand in front of him and looked him in the eye. “I never thought to see such cruelty from one of my pride.”

  Jason gave them a brief explanation of his actions and it sounded weak and cowardly, even to his own ears.

  “You may think you were protecting yourself from pain, Jason,” Finn said, “but you were, in fact, torturing the very soul of your mate. Choose to be her mate, or choose death, as your death is the only thing that will free this innocent woman from the agony of your continued denial.”

  His brothers didn’t step forward to defend him from their Alpha’s threat. That, more than Finn’s words, made him see how deeply he’d hurt Bethany.

  “I’ve been a fucking idiot, haven’t I?”

  “If it was just your intelligence that was in question, I may find a way to forgive you,” said Samson. “But you knew she was hurting, that she needed you, and yet you continued in your self-centered resolve. I don’t know if you will ever be a good enough mate for her. She deserves better than you.”

  He knew that Samson was right, she did deserve better. She was an innocent in this, the unfortunate woman who fate had chosen to be his mate.

  “I will fix this. I didn’t want to hurt her. How can I get her, and her cat, to forgive me?”

  “I don’t know if it can be done now,” Shana said. “She has retreated too far. Even Finn was unable to summon her cat, and he is the strongest Alpha I have ever known to exist.”

  “We tried to help you, Jason,” Michael said, pushing an accusatory finger hard into his chest. “Your arrogance has done this to her.” Finn restrained Michael as he reached for Jason’s throat.

  “I have tried to soothe her cat’s pain. As an Alpha it should have responded to me, but her latency as a shifter has made her cat vulnerable, and now it is dying from your rejection. They are both dying,” Finn said sadly.

  Shana looked to Samson and then Michael, her expression softening to one of deep sorrow. “I fear that even though the mating was not formally completed, your bond to her is strong enough that you will all follow her into death when she dies.”

  Looking back at Jason, she bared her fangs. “This act of cruelty, Jason Reed, makes me feel that I have lived too long. I would rather have gone to my grave having never seen such a thing as this.”

  Jason went to Bethany.

  He heard Michael and Samson voice their thanks to Shana and Finn for their help, but he had to be with her.

  He had denied himself, and his cat, in the hope of sparing himself pain. But the pain he now felt was worse than anything he’d previously experienced.

  Jason knew that people in catatonic states were still conscious on some level. He had to reach her, the alternative being that not only would he have killed his mate, but his brothers as well. They would all lose their lives because of his fear. Four lives, and the lives of their future young, thrown away because of his stubborn refusal to open his heart again.

  Michael and Samson came into the room and stood by Bethany’s side, each taking one of her hands in theirs. Their eyes were shining with unshed tears.

  “I have advised the other men to hold their mates when they’ve been injured. This may be a psychological injury, but the principal is the same,” Jason asserted.

  “They had already mated,” Samson said. He bared his fangs and a snarl rumbled from him.

  “I’m sorry, Samson, for everything, and I’ll gladly let you kill me later. We have to help Bethany now. The other mates weren’t shifters, they were human. Bethany needs our touch, our scents. Her cat will respond.”

  Jason hoped his assertion was not just wishful thinking. “We need to give her skin-to-skin contact,” he said, with a confidence he really didn’t feel, and stripped off his clothes. “We need to keep talking to her.”

  He watched Michael and Samson undress and surround Bethany with their bodies. They talked to her. Told her of their love for her, of their hopes for the future. Their dreams of a family together.

  Now that he’d opened his heart again, he could see that Judith would never have wanted him to be alone forever. She had been a kind and loving person who would’ve been horrified by his actions. He’d been using her memory as an excuse to escape any further heartache.

  Even though he knew she deserved better, he opened his heart fully to Bethany.

  * * * *

  Michael watched Jason climb between Bethany’s legs. He didn’t think Jason deserved to be in the same room with her, and his cat bristled with his close proximity. Michael fought the urge to throw him out.

  Michael’s anger diminished, slightly, when he saw the rapture on Jason’s face when he finally touched his mate.

  “It’s better than I dreamed it would be, sweet Bethany,” Jason said softly. “Touching you feels so good that it’s taking my breath away.”

  Leaning down, he licked across her stomach in a long, slow stroke.

  A growl ripped from Jason’s throat. “My cat is furious with me for waiting so long to taste you, my mate. God, you are delicious. My mouth is watering to taste your blood as I mark you as mine.”

  “If she dies, Jason…” Samson growled, kissing the top of Bethany’s head.

  Jason ignored Samson and concentrated on Bethany. He moved up her body and licked the side of her neck.

  “Here, Bethany. Here is the spot you will carry my mark. All shifters will know who you belong to.”

  Michael felt a fine tremor run through Bethany’s body. Looking closely at the pale skin that covered her arms, he saw the fine dimpling emerge. “Fuck me,” Michael said, “she’s covered in goose bumps. I think it’s working?”

  “This is where I will mark you, kitten,” Samson growled, nibbling on the other side of her neck.

  Michael did the same, and he felt her body release a small shudder. “Perhaps we won’t have to kill you,” he murmured, glaring at Jason. Jason ignored him and continued to pet and caress Bethany.

  Michael felt a small stirring of hope that perhaps it wasn’t too late for them.

  “You’re perfect, Bethany. Please forgive me for being such a fool. I want you very badly. I have from the moment Samson carried you into our home.” Jason settled back on his knees. “I’m going to shift now. Your cat will feel my total commitment to you. Please listen to her, Bethany. Please come back to us. I will never let you down again.”

  Jason looked directly at him, and then at Samson. “I will never let any of you down again.”

  He shifted in a storm of light and curled between Bethany’s thighs, resting his head lightly on her abdomen.

  “I still want to kill you, Jason,” Samson said, “for causing her so much pain. Hasn’t she been through enough in her short life?”

  Michael didn’t disagree with Samson, so he kept silent. Jason merely chuffed, and nuzzled Bethany.

  Chapter 15

  As the night sky lightened into day, Michael decided he’d waited long enough. He wasn’t a sniper like Samson. Patience was not his forte.

  They had each talked to her at various points in the night and were now simply observing her for any signs of a response. Jason had shifted back periodically to talk to her, but had remained in his cat form the majority of the night.

  “I’m sure I can sense her cat again,” Sams
on said, licking the shell of Bethany’s ear.

  “I think that it’s time to wake up now, Bethany. It’s a new day and we’re all waiting to start our life together.” Michael turned her face toward him and kissed her, pouring all the desperation he felt into his kiss.

  He swallowed her small sigh when it whispered into his mouth. He stilled, uncertain whether to continue the kiss or break it. He decided on continuing, his cock hardening as his beautiful mate stroked her hand down his back.

  The need for air finally had him pulling away from her lips. He found her eyes open, the pupils massively dilated.

  “How are you feeling, darlin’?” he asked softly.

  Before she could answer, her face was cupped by one of Samson’s hands as he turned her toward him and kissed her passionately.

  “We were so worried, kitten,” Samson said, finally lifting his mouth from hers.

  “What happened? My head, it hurts so badly.” A tear trickled down her cheek as her eyes overflowed with tears.

  “Don’t cry, darlin’, it’s going to be perfect. We’ll make it perfect for you, forever,” Michael said, kissing her tear-streaked cheeks.

  “I can’t stay. I don’t want to leave you, but I …Jason needs me to leave.” She lowered her eyes and gasped. “I have no clothes on,” she said softly.

  “That’s all right, darlin’, none of us do,” Michael said. He kissed her again, because she looked so adorable when she was flustered.

  “We can’t have our mate leaving,” Samson growled. “You need to know something. We’ll die if you leave. Our hearts will not beat without you, not now we’ve found you. Plus, I love you, Bethany. Very much.”

  Michael would have bet big money that Samson would be the last of them to say “I love you” to their mate. Apparently he’d have lost the bet. But no one could doubt the sincerity shining in his eyes.

  “It’s too soon, Samson,” she said, stroking a hand down his face.