by Becca Van
What? Three husbands? “Nice to meet you all,” Talia replied, hoping her shock didn’t show on her face.
“On behalf of everyone here, welcome, Talia,” Jonah said.
“Come on, I’ll show you to your room. You can meet everyone else later,” Blayk said.
Talia followed Blayk and couldn’t help looking back into the room as she left. She saw a few of the men sniffing the air and wondered if she needed a shower. What’s up with that? She felt the hair on her nape stand on end. Something about their behavior struck her as familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on why that was.
Blayk led her up a wide staircase then up another set of steps. He led her to the left of the long hall on the third story of the house. She followed along, but she felt as if she were moving on automatic. Something wasn’t right here, but she couldn’t put her finger on the pulse, so to speak. She was too exhausted to ask or even wonder further. Blayk stopped at the end of the hall and opened the door. He pulled her into a normal-size sitting room, and she sighed with relief. At least something in the house seemed normal. He led her farther into the room and across to a doorway on the other side. He showed her the bathroom and then to a small guest bedroom with a queen-size bed.
“This is the spare room in the suite I share with my two brothers, Chris and James. We each have our own room. I hope you will be comfortable here, Talia,” Blayk said as he turned to look at her.
“Thank you. I know I will. Thanks for all your help, Blayk. I’ll be out of your hair tomorrow morning, as soon as I can arrange for a new tire and of course a spare,” Talia said as she nervously gripped her purse.
“There’s no rush, baby. Stay as long as you need to. Okay?”
“Thanks.”
Talia heard a door slam and jumped at the loud noise. She turned toward the door and froze, and her breath stalled in her throat as she saw two men looking in at her. She backed up a step and flinched as she bumped into Blayk’s hard, warm body. She sidestepped the large man until she was against the far wall, her amazement at the sight of the two handsome men making it difficult for her to breathe.
“Talia, I’d like you to meet my brothers, Chris and James. Guys, this is Talia Black,” Blayk stated.
“Hey, sugar, pleased to meet you,” James said and stepped forward, offering her a hand.
“You, too,” Talia replied as she took his hand. She felt her eyes widen as she shook hands with James. The same tingling warmth and sexual arousal traveled through her as it had done when her skin had brushed Blayk’s. When he released her, Chris offered his hand, and she had the same reaction. What the fuck?
“Nice to meet you, Talia,” Chris said in a voice so deep she shivered.
“You, too,” Talia replied, words nearly beyond her comprehension. She was so entranced by the three men that she was having difficulty getting her mind and body to cooperate. Talia had thought Blayk was tall, and he was, but Chris was even taller.
Chris had to be in the vicinity of six feet six inches. He had light, sandy-brown hair and brown eyes with gold flecks. He had sharp cheekbones, and his square jaw was classically handsome. He was the most muscular of the three brothers, but his physique was not quite the bodybuilder type. He was solid and big.
She slid her eyes over to James. He was the shortest of the three at around six foot two, with light-blue eyes and blond hair. He was pure, solid muscle, with wide, broad shoulders and bulging biceps, and handsome in a harsh, rugged way. He had light-blond stubble on his jaw and an indent in his square chin. She moved her gaze over to Blayk again. He had a dark-olive complexion with his black hair and blue eyes. He wasn’t as muscular as James or Chris, but he was still well toned.
“Are you all right, baby?” Blayk asked.
“Yes,” Talia replied and cringed mentally at the sound of her high-pitched voice.
“Are you hungry, sugar?” James asked.
“No, thank you.”
“Why don’t we leave you to it? Make yourself at home, darlin’, use anything you like,” Chris stated. “We’ll be in the living room.”
Talia watched warily as the three men left her to get settled. She relaxed for the first time since Blayk had found her sitting in her car on the lonely, quiet, dark road. She grabbed some clean clothes from her bag, opened the door to the bedroom, and peeked out. She sighed with relief when she saw no one and headed to the bathroom. At least she’d be able to shower tonight. Who knew when she would be able to get clean again? She intended to be out of here as soon as she could arrange it.
* * * *
“What’s she so scared of, bro?” Chris asked.
Blayk looked up at Chris as he sat down across from him. “I have no idea. She’s hardly spoken a word to me beyond introducing herself.”
“Where did you meet her?” James asked.
“I was on a run and I smelled her. I found her on the road no more than five minutes north of here. She was sitting in her car. She had a flat and I offered to change her tire for her but she had no spare.”
“Shit, that’s not good. Where is she from?” Chris asked.
“I don’t know. As I said we haven’t gotten beyond the introductions. I’ll need your help to get her to open up. She had a couple of boxes in her car and a suitcase. She’s either moving or she’s on the run,” Blayk stated.
“What do you think?” Chris asked. “What’s your gut telling you?”
“She’s in trouble and she’s on the run,” Blayk replied.
“I agree. She’s so skittish. When we walked into the room I could smell her fear. She was nearly panicking. Her heartbeat was fast and so was her breathing,” James stated.
“How the fuck are we going to get her to trust us and stay here? We can’t let her leave. She’s our mate,” Chris said.
“She obviously trusts you, Blayk, otherwise she wouldn’t be here. How did you get her to come home with you?” James asked.
“I offered her the spare room and I showed her my ID. I think the fact that I’m a doctor helped to sway her decision. Plus I don’t think she has anywhere else to go, and by the looks of the heap of junk she’s driving, she has no money either.”
“She’s such a tiny little thing. She can’t be much over five foot. Man, the top of her head doesn’t even reach up to my chest. She is so petite, I’d be scared of hurting her when I touch her,” Chris said with a sigh.
“Boy, does she have curves in all the right places. And her hair. God I’ve never seen such white, fine hair before. Her eyes are gorgeous, they remind me of the deep blue sea,” Chris said with a groan.
“My wolf’s pushing against me already to claim her. What the hell are we going to do? She says she’ll be out of our hair first thing in the morning. How the hell do we keep our mate here and then break the news to her that we are werewolves? She is going to freak out. She’s already scared shitless. I don’t want to frighten her any more than she already is,” Blayk said with a sigh.
“I think we just have to take one step at a time. If she leaves we have to follow. We can’t keep her here against her will. So we follow her and woo her. Blayk, you set it up with Jonah to get someone ready to take over our duties if need be. Did you get her license plate number?” Chris asked.
“Yeah,” Blayk replied and told his older brother the number. “Are you going to run it?”
“What do you think?”
Chris walked over to the dining table where his laptop was on and open and Blayk followed. He watched as his brother ran Talia’s car plate. Talia was from Twin Falls, Idaho. He watched as Chris pulled up a search for “Talia Black from Idaho” on the Idaho statewide repository. Blayk was glad they had access to this information since he managed security for the Friess Pack along with his brothers. What came up on the screen blew him away.
Talia had been married for a year but was now divorced. Her ex-husband, Paul Rogan, had used Talia as a punching bag. He felt his fury rise and his blood boil as Chris clicked on picture after picture. His wolf pus
hed against him, wanting to change and go find the bastard who had hurt his mate. The sight of their small woman so bruised and battered made him sick to his stomach. Her eyes had been swollen shut, her jaw and face bruised beyond recognition. The fact that the motherfucker who had hit her had gotten off on good behavior nearly made his wolf howl. He wanted to hunt down that bastard and rip him apart. His brother looked up at him, and he saw the same fury on Chris’s face. James moved toward him and looked over Chris’s shoulder at the laptop monitor.
“Motherfucker,” James roared.
Blayk could see James was having as much trouble controlling his beast as he had. His brother’s eyes were a glowing gold color. A sound and the clean scent of his mate drifted to him on the air. He looked up to see Talia standing uncertainly in the doorway to the living room. She looked like a scared rabbit.
He longed to go to her and take her into his arms. He wanted to mark her and know she would be under his and his brothers’ protection. He wanted to know everything about her, but most of all he wanted to be able to love her. But not just in the physical sense. Of course he wanted to claim her and make love to her, but he wanted to show her he loved her already. That love was part of her being his mate. He wanted to shower her with love, respect, and affection, but he knew he would scare her off if he did. So he took a deep breath, trying to get his rage back under control, and walked over to her. He stopped in front of her and slowly reached for her hand.
“Are you okay, baby?” Blayk asked.
“Yes, thanks. But my name is not sugar, baby, or darlin’,” Talia stated as she looked up at him. “My name is Talia, use it.”
“Sure thing, baby,” Blayk replied and was pleased to see her eyes shooting daggers at him. That meant that ex-bastard of hers had not beaten the spirit out of her. He led her to the sofa and sat down beside her. James rushed over and sat on her other side. She looked from him to James, and he could see the cogs in her mind turning as she frowned at him and his brother.
“Did you say your cousins shared a wife?” Talia asked.
“Yes, they are all brothers and they fell in love with the same woman. They were lucky enough that she fell in love with them, and she accepted them all as her husbands,” Blayk explained.
“But that isn’t even legal. How the hell could she marry three men at once? How she can even deal with that many men is a mystery. Dealing with one, let alone three, is a complete nightmare,” Talia stated.
Blayk didn’t think Talia had meant to say those words out loud. He watched her cheeks turn red, and she lowered her eyes. She looked so afraid sitting there between him and James, but so damn right. He leaned toward her, intoxicated by her scent, and sniffed the fragrant skin of her neck. He looked down into her eyes when she turned toward him. He could see her fear and uncertainty, but he could also see and smell her desire. He held her eyes with his and lowered his head slowly. He heard her heart rate speed up as well as her breathing. Her eyes widened with surprise, her pupils dilated, and her eyes changed from a deep blue to almost violet. He kept his eyes connected with hers, as he slowly brushed his lips against her soft, moist flesh.
He didn’t force or demand, and he didn’t open his mouth. He just tantalized her, sliding his lips back and forth in a light caress. He felt her sweet breath sigh against his mouth as she exhaled. He kept his hands to himself and only touched her with his lips. He was about to pull back and give her room, but his little mate surprised the hell out of him.
Talia reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth under his. She became the aggressor in the mating of their mouths. She slid her tongue over his lips, and he was lost. He opened his mouth and took back control of the kiss. He wrapped his tongue around hers, pulling it into his mouth, and he sucked on her. He groaned as he clasped her around the waist, pulling her onto his lap. She was so small and light he barely felt her weight. But, man, did she have curves. He felt her breasts crush against him as she opened herself up to him and he devoured her. She tasted so sweet. He was nearly drunk on her flavor.
He felt his wolf pushing at him to claim her and knew he had to pull back so he could get a hold of his control. He slowed the kiss until he was sipping at her lips and then eased back away from her.
He could smell the musk of her dripping cunt and felt his wolf butt up and push him, demanding to be let loose. He saw Talia’s eyes widen, and then she was trying to get free. He let her go instantly, aware she needed space and time to get herself back under control. What he didn’t expect to see was suspicion in her eyes.
“What are you?” Talia asked in a whisper and rose to her feet.
“Talia, don’t be scared of us. We would never hurt you. In fact we would give our lives to keep you safe,” Blayk stated.
Blayk watched as she continued to back away and was glad when Chris moved up behind her to stop her falling over the coffee table and hurting herself. She bumped into Chris, and she tilted her head up and back. She surprised him again when she didn’t pull away from his brother this time. She just stood there staring up at Chris, and he could smell the feminine scent of her creaming cunt. He watched and waited to see what she would do.
“She needs to know. Since she’s asked I am going to tell her what we are and where she fits in. The sooner she knows everything the sooner we can start courting her,” Chris said to him and James using their telepathic link.
“Talia, just remember we would never hurt you, okay?” Blayk pleaded.
“Okay,” Talia replied.
Blayk watched her carefully and smiled when he realized she was leaning against Chris. She probably wasn’t even aware of how telling her trust was in that moment, but he was, and he knew his brothers were, too. Chris reached down and picked Talia up into his arms. He had an arm beneath her knees and another around her shoulders. Blayk’s brother carried their mate to a large armchair across from him and James. Talia didn’t seem to be worried to find herself on a strange man’s lap, which he was thankful for. His brother still had one of his arms wrapped around Talia’s waist, holding her still while she looked at him expectantly.
“We are werewolves, Talia. And you are our mate,” Blayk explained and watched her intently. She surprised him yet again. She snuggled up against Chris, resting her head against Chris’s torso, smiled, and closed her eyes.
“Oh shit. Out of the frying pan into the fire,” Talia whispered shakily, and her body went rigid with tension.
“I don’t want you getting mad with us, darlin’, but we ran your license plates to find out about you and then we checked your name through the police database. We know about your ex, Talia. We know what he did to you. Are you on the run from him? Does he know where you are?” Chris asked.
Talia had sat up when Chris had begun to speak. At first she looked outraged and then resigned. She glared at him, James, and Chris. She pushed away from Chris and rose to her feet. She paced the away and then back again.
“You could have just asked me. Why did you do that? Why did you go behind my back like that? He’s going to come for me. You see, my ex is also a werewolf. He is the Beta of a small pack in Idaho. I met him just as I was finishing college. It was a whirlwind romance. We were married within a month. His Alpha is his brother. He didn’t even bat an eye when Paul beat me for some infraction in front of the whole pack. In fact his brother encouraged it. Paul knew I wasn’t his mate, but he married me anyway. He took great delight in telling me that the last time he beat me. He told me I was just a piece of ass to keep himself occupied with until his real mate came along. I organized a restraining order against him while I was recovering in hospital and filed for divorce.
“My divorce came through four weeks ago, just as I was being released from the hospital, and I left. I have been on the road ever since. I know all about werewolves and how they treat their mates. I know you think I am your mate. Maybe I am and maybe I’m not, but there is no way in hell I am letting you claim me or tell me what to do,” Talia
stated.
Blayk was in shock. No wonder she hadn’t batted an eye when he had told her what they were. But the situation she had been in had just made their lives a hell of a lot harder. He had no idea how they were going to get Talia to accept him and his brothers as her mates, much less how to heal the pain he heard behind her words.
Chapter Three
“Talia, what you have been through, I can only imagine. But please believe me when I say we would never ever hurt you. We won’t claim you without your consent and we will protect you from any danger. I don’t know what the pack you lived with taught you, but we don’t work that way. We cherish our mates. If you don’t believe me just go and ask our Alphas’ mate, Michelle, or our cousins’ mate, Keira,” Chris stated.
“Look, I know you believe that, and maybe it’s even true. But to date, my experience has proved to me that men can’t be trusted. Actions always speak louder than words. I’m not going to lie to you. I am attracted to all of you, but I am not willing to act on that chemistry. I’ve been there, done that before. Do you really think I am going to jump from one fire to another without questioning?” Talia asked.
“Baby, I…we understand you have reservations, but we promise we won’t ever hurt you. Please, stay here with us where we can keep you safe. We won’t pressure you at all. You have never lived with your true mates before. Please give us a chance to show you we are nothing like your ex,” Blayk pleaded.
Chris watched Talia as she nibbled on her lower lip. His cock had been hard since the moment he had smelled her scent in the house. His balls were aching, and he wanted to pick her up, strip her naked, and bury himself balls-deep in her hot, wet cunt. But he knew that wasn’t an option.
He was the eldest out of the three of them at the age of thirty-four. He and his brothers had been hoping to meet their mate for over ten years, but since their Alphas and their other cousins had found their own women, that yearning had tripled. It had been wonderful to watch all his cousins interact with their mates and woo them into their lives and their beds. But it had also been hard. He hadn’t felt envious of any of his family members until recently. Now that he and his brothers had their mate in their den, the knot of jealousy had diminished. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy to convince Talia they were worth the risk to love and mate with, but there was no way in hell he was giving up.