A Sinful Trap

by R. G. Alexander

  He should never underestimate his lover’s ability to snoop. “We have homes everywhere, and the others love it here. Why wouldn’t I buy it?”

  Davide’s nails dug lightly into his flesh, sending all the blood to his cock. “And Bailey?”

  Cam couldn’t imagine leaving her in that tiny, crowded room she’d lived in for the last decade because her old boss was an ass. She deserved room to breathe. A bed big enough to stretch out in. She deserved to enjoy her life.

  He wanted to take care of her, as much as she’d let him. He wanted to give her everything, even if he couldn’t have her for himself. “Would you leave her with nothing when we have this house that will be empty for years at a time?”

  “I wouldn’t leave her at all.” Davide ran his thumbs over Cam’s nipples, making him shiver. “I’m not naïve. I heard what they said about how bad it would get if this went on unresolved. Before my mother died, she used to tell me stories about my great-grandfather. She said he’d chased a mate who wouldn’t accept him or release him. No one believed her, but she swore that was what made him feral. Why he killed the woman, then so many of us that we were sent away.”

  “You never told me that.”

  He shrugged his bare shoulders, his expression troubled. “I was young, it was a story and she’d never been in her right mind. It was after those pompous assholes said only one of us could mark Bailey that I remembered it and wondered if it was true. If I’d end up like him and you’d have to put me down.”

  “Never.” Cameron bent his head to reach Davide’s downturned mouth, kissing him with all the passion he felt. “If I followed shifter tradition or believed every half-forgotten story they shoved down our throats, I wouldn’t be here now. I’d have starved after my pack shattered. Lived alone in shame as I was supposed to, instead of meeting a wild, beautiful man and deciding to create something new.

  “When other shifters look at me, they see a greedy wolf. I take more than I need, and I use what I have to keep what’s mine. You are mine.”

  Davide moved to stand between Cam’s legs to look into his eyes, triumph in his golden-brown gaze. “There you are. The Cameron Locke I love wouldn’t throw away all we could have without a fight.”

  He had to make him understand. “If it were up to me, it wouldn’t be a question. But she has the power in this, Davide. She chooses. Releasing us would be painful, but survivable for everyone. She would have to be willing to risk our sanity and all of our lives to pick door number two. Willing to make a lifetime commitment to strangers she met days ago.”

  Understanding transformed Davide’s expression. “You don’t trust her to choose us. I get it. You hate not being in control. Alphas usually do, but—”

  “Careful.” Cam squeezed him in warning. Only packs had alphas.

  “I think we’re a catch,” Davide continued. “And you can’t deny she wants us.”

  Cam tried to smile, but it wasn’t easy. Davide wasn’t wrong about his control issues. They served him well with other shifters and in business, but Bailey was different. She was independent. Stubbornly so. And she had no idea what they were or what they would ask from her.

  What if she didn’t want them?

  What if she did?

  “Sometimes letting go of control can be a good thing.” Davide brushed Cam’s nipples again, his voice full of sensual promise. “Do you need a reminder?”

  “Maybe I do. Are you going to give it to me?” Cam asked, instantly grasping his meaning. He was aching to soothe his disappointment, and so aroused he couldn’t see straight. Bailey. Davide. He wanted them both.

  The kiss was more animal than human. More instinct than seduction. Davide moaned into Cam’s mouth, sucking and biting and tasting him as if he’d never get enough. Tongues tangled and Cam forced himself to keep his hands on his thighs, letting Davide grip his neck and force his back against the counter, setting them both on fire.

  Yes. Yours.

  “I need to fuck you,” Davide muttered, releasing him to get rid of his shorts and gesturing impatiently at Cam’s. “Bend over that stool for me. Now.”

  “I’ll break it.” Cam said, half-joking as he stripped and moved into position.

  “You won’t. You’ll hold on to it and brace yourself for what I’m going to do to you.”

  A shudder rolled through his large frame and he obeyed, unable to resist Davide’s command.

  “Wider,” he growled when Cam didn’t move fast enough to suit him. “I told Bailey watching your ass was no hardship. She thought you were too big to need any help in that area, but we both know better, don’t we? We both know how much you love it when I make you scream. The bigger they are…”

  Cam smiled over his shoulder. “The harder they fall when they turn this damn stool into kindling?”

  Davide’s lips twitched. “You getting too old for this, Locke? Afraid you’ll break a hip?”

  Cam’s eyes narrowed. “I can break something else if you’d like.”

  “Maybe later. I’m busy.” Davide dropped to his knees and Cam bit his lip when Davide’s hands began caressing the back of his thighs. His hips. He gasped when a rough tongue swiped his tight sac. His taint.

  Damn, that felt good.

  The cheeks of his ass were spread and he shivered at the warmth of Davide’s breath on his sensitive skin. He knew what was coming next. Craved it. He moaned when Davide’s tongue began to trace the tight ring of his ass, nibbling and sucking at the bundle of nerves until Cam’s erection started leaking precum and he was ready to beg. “Davide.”

  His vision flickered when Davide’s tongue pressed inside for a deeper kiss and he saw a flash of pink with black polka dots. A truck near a mountain road with Bailey inside. Her head was thrown back, her hand between her legs as she touched herself. She was thinking of this. Of them.

  She was watching them.

  Davide made a pained noise and got to his feet. “Did you see…?”

  “Bailey.” Cam tried to concentrate through the thick haze of his arousal. “How is that possible?”

  He’d been told true mate connections happened after the mark, not before. And even then, with a human it wasn’t clear how much would be truly shared. He’d felt her over the last few days, emotions and random images. But nothing like this.

  Did you forget that first night?

  Had she been with him even then? In the office with Davide?

  “She’s with us.” Davide spit on his hand and pressed two fingers into Cam’s ass. “She can see this. Feel it with us.”

  “Fuck.” He needed to think, but Davide had other ideas.

  “Let’s show her how much you love this.”

  Cam had one hand braced on the counter while the other gripped the thick wooden seat of the stool, his knuckles turning white. He bent his knees to take more of what Davide was giving him. To demand it. “Fuck, that’s good. I thought I was imagining it. Her in my mind.”

  “So did I. Look at you, still bossing me from the bottom.”

  He loved the stretch. Davide’s thick fingers inside him. But he wanted more.

  She wants more.

  Cam groaned when Davide stopped and moved away again, this time coming back rubbing oil on his cock. “Is that Aaron’s grapeseed? He really is going to kill you.”

  His laugh scraped like razors. This was too much. He could feel her everywhere now. Smell her and Davide around him. All of them together.

  Mine. They’re mine.

  “I’ll get him another bottle. I can’t wait, Cam. She can’t wait. We need to be inside you.”

  We? This was madness. “Yes.”

  Davide’s fingers on his hip were bruising, the slick head of his erection rubbing against him, coating him with oil and easing the way. Cam breathed out roughly as he rocked forward, sinking inside him. Filling him until it was hard to breathe.

  Could she feel what he was feeling? The pain and pleasure and love and sex. The vulnerability and… Harder. There she was. Yes. She could feel it
.

  “Bailey.”

  “I know,”

  Davide held the back of Cam’s neck tight, the other still on his hip as he gave him what they all needed. Hard and deep. So deep and yes, right there. Every thrust pounding against that spot that drove him wild.

  “Love,” Cam gasped. Love this. Love you.

  Davide grunted as he slung his hips forward with more force than a human man could take. “You love giving up control. Letting us fuck you.”

  Us.

  Yes.

  He was drunk on them. Davide claiming his body. Bailey sharing his mind. He could hear her now. The whimpers and moans. He saw thighs shift and shake on the seat of her truck as she fucked herself in time with Davide’s thrusts. Faster now. So deep. “Don’t stop.”

  “I can’t.” Davide curved his body over Cam’s back, his heart racing, the speed of his thrusts unforgiving. “You feel too good. Oh fuck, she loves it, Cam.”

  “Bailey,” he moaned, closing his eyes and reaching out to her.

  Can you feel this? He wants to do this to you. Fuck your ass while I’m inside that wet pussy you can’t stop touching. I want to taste you first. Plant my face between your thighs and feast for hours before I give you my cock. But once you take it, we’ll never be able to let you go.

  Cam tried to close his mind after his last thought, knowing he was wandering into dangerous territory. He needed to see her for that. Talk to her face to face. He couldn’t trust himself now. Not when he was this close to the edge. He was reaching for his cock when her orgasm brought him along for the ride.

  It burned like a wildfire up his spine and he came shouting Davide’s name. Bailey’s name. They were coming together. One explosion setting off another, each of them feeding into the other. His back arched and he shook with the power of it. Blood filled his mouth and the wolf howled with the need to bite his mate. Mark his mate. Have them both.

  Mine. Don’t make me choose. I can’t lose him.

  Cam wasn’t sure how long it took for the world to come back into focus, but the first thing he felt was a warm, wet cloth against his skin and gentle kisses on his spine. It made him smile. My love.

  “You didn’t break it.”

  Cam lifted himself up to see the small crack in the wooden seat. Davide was right, but it was a near miss. “That’s good craftsmanship.”

  Davide snorted, nuzzling his neck one more time before he pulled away to step into his running shorts. Then he disappeared around the corner.

  Cam stretched, cracking his back and reaching for his own shorts, which had been tossed across the room. “Are we going to talk about what just happened?” he called as he pulled them on, thinking about the now-broken link they’d both shared with Bailey during sex.

  It changed everything. It could also explain why his emotions and desires were harder to control. They were resonating with hers. And if she was sharing emotions with Davide as well?

  He’d been a fool to believe her humanity would protect her from their bond. And he’d left her alone with no idea what she was experiencing or why. It was unforgivable. Without preparation, this kind of intensity could scare her. That was the last thing he wanted.

  Too late.

  Who said that?

  Chapter Ten

  Someone was in his house.

  David snarled from the living room at the same time Cam sensed the new arrival. A shifter, but not one of his. And not invited.

  He moved fast, heading Davide off right before he lunged for the handsome, long-haired man who was standing in their living room. Not even standing. He was leaning comfortably against the wall without concern or fear, wearing jeans and holding a decorative walking stick. He seemed young, until Cam noticed his eyes.

  “Are you lost?”

  “Would you believe I was looking for the bathroom?” The man smiled and Cam felt a wave of physical warmth steal through him, soothing him and telling him this man meant no harm. It was difficult to believe, since most shifters had rules about entering someone else’s domain without request or warning. But the feeling persisted.

  “No, I wouldn’t.”

  “Good. Then you aren’t too far gone yet. Shifters mid mate frenzy occasionally lose their common sense. It’s a dangerous time. I should have known you’d still have your head on straight.”

  The soft warning rumble in Davide’s chest ceased and his head tilted toward the stranger. “Coyote,” he informed Cam calmly. Interesting. There weren’t too many of those in the world. Hadn’t Bailey mentioned knowing a coyote? Part of her long, crazy spider story. Was this the one?

  The shifter tapped the side of his nose. “Sharp smeller. I didn’t mean to interrupt your private time—frankly, I would hurt someone who did that to me—but we needed to meet, Alpha Locke. I would have called, but I hate cell phones. And this is a conversation that needs to happen in person.”

  “We’re not a pack,” Cam corrected carefully at the title, aware that this could be a test by a shifter enforcer. He sensed no threat or judgment, but he wasn’t convinced he was thinking clearly. After all, this stranger was on his property and he’d just accepted it as if it were no big deal. “I run a company of shifters, but we aren’t in town long enough to break any settlement laws. I’m Cameron Locke and this is—”

  “I know who you are.” He laughed again. “You two are about as subtle as a shockwave. The wolf and the lynx are owed favors by more packs than I can count. I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground about you for a while now.”

  “We do business,” Cam said stiffly. Who the hell was this man?

  “We help our people,” Davide added defensively.

  “That’s what I’m counting on.” He sent a sideways smile their way. “Not a pack, though? Then that wasn’t the beginnings of boundary lines I felt when I came in?”

  Shit. “I can’t explain that, but it wasn’t intentional.”

  The coyote shrugged it off. “Don’t worry, I know all about your intentions. But did you know the whole town’s been buzzing about you? Wondering how our delightful young Bailey is dealing with her new landlord and his beau.” He snapped his fingers. “I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry about that. Ego is something I’m still working on. I can’t expect everyone to know me on sight. You can call me Stax.”

  Cam ignored his theatrics and honed in on his words. “How do you know Bailey?”

  Stax started wandering around the living room, his fingers hovering over some books on a small shelf, the entertainment center, touching everything lightly as Cam and Davide watched. Cam was stunned. Shifters of all stripes were always respectful of scents and possessions. Who did this Stax think he was? It should have angered him more, but it didn’t feel malicious. It felt…he wasn’t sure what he’d call it exactly. Protective?

  “Everyone who steps foot in Sedona knows Bailey Wagner,” Stax said, his voice warm. “She prides herself on it. It’s her way of marking her territory, I imagine, which is something I understand. We also have a few close friends in common, so I’ve taken a personal interest in looking out for her. She’s unmarked at the moment, but you could still say she’s one of mine.”

  “No, we can’t, and neither can you.” Davide was standing in front of Stax before Cam could stop him. “She already has a mate.”

  A warning glint flashed in the coyote’s old eyes. “She has two, which I’m sure you’ve been told is impossible. I know all there is to know on the subject of mates and marking, kitty. I wrote the actual book on it. But go on and tell me what I can and can’t do.”

  He wrote the book on it? Who was he? “Why are you here?”

  Stax grinned at Cam, anger apparently forgotten. “To meet you, as I said before. Now we can be friends, and I always help my friends. For example, you’re right about mating. It’s a hell of a thing. We shifters already struggle with the duality of our existence. Then some interfering, jealous god decides to sprinkle a little extra torment into the mix and wham!” He clapped his hands together, making Cam fl
inch. “You run into someone you can’t live without. The call of a mate doesn’t care if you have other plans or whether or not you’re interested in settling down. It’s one of the few things in our world that can’t be denied.”

  Did he say jealous god?

  “That’s love, too, though, isn’t it?” Davide asked. “Fate? You’re not saying the elders were right and it’s all about biology?”

  Stax’s smile softened for him. “There was very little they were right about. And yes, it’s love. The kind that originates in the soul and takes your heart by surprise.” He glanced at Cam from beneath his lashes. “Luckily, love is an infinite resource. No matter how it comes about, it doesn’t need to be confined to only one vessel. Or two.”

  Cam stilled. You can have them both.

  “You’ve heard of this? Two shifters drawn to mate the same human?” Cam knew that was the question Stax was expecting next.

  The man’s smile of approval was blinding. “I have. Less than a handful of times, but it isn’t unprecedented. Most end in tragedy, of course, because people hate happy endings. There’s one story about two female shifters and a human man who ruled an empire. It was twisted into some morality tale about greed, which was, I suppose, appropriate given the circumstances.”

  “Why was it a tragedy?”

  Stax studied him. “Some people are cursed by their own intellect. They make decisions that go against their instincts. Think instead of feel. A businessman like you can relate. Though to be fair, your particular brand of self-mastery is rare and admirable. It’s one of the things I appreciate most about you.”

  Cam frowned and Stax continued. “For this ruler, however, it wasn’t self-control but politics that had him turning from his heart. He chose an alliance over the sisters and, enraged and broken hearted, they lost their minds and destroyed everything in their path until they had to be taken down.”