by Becca Van
“Is she all right? I didn’t hurt her, did I?”
“No, you didn’t hurt her,” Cal answered in a deep gravelly voice. “She passed out from the second orgasm.”
Fin smiled as relief surged into his heart and brought his finger to his lips before sucking it clean. He closed his eyes as he savored her sweet-tasting cream on his tongue and hoped he got the chance to go down on their mate over and over again.
“She looked surprised.”
Fin frowned. “About what?”
“When she was coming.” Cal sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bed, and rubbed at the back of his neck. He stood and then walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Fin asked.
“I can’t stay in here with her, Fin. My sabear’s going crazy with the scent of her desire permeating the room. He’s trying to get out so he can claim her.”
“And you think mine isn’t?” Fin snarled, but when he heard his angry voice, he sucked in a deep breath and tried to push his angst away.
“At least you got to taste her sweet-smelling cunt.” Cal took another step closer to the door, but stopped and turned to glance back at Pepper over his shoulder. “I think she’s down for the count, for the night. She’s been up for hours. I don’t think she realized how late, or early it is. Cover her up so she doesn’t get cold, and join me in the kitchen.”
Fin nodded and then watched his best friend hurry away. He knew exactly how Cal felt because he was feeling the same, but he wasn’t about to let his beast free again. Not if he could help it anyway. He couldn’t believe he’d lost control of his sabear earlier. He hadn’t done that since he was going through puberty. He shoved up from the bed, pulled the covers up over Pepper, and after giving her a lingering glance, headed toward his own room.
He had every intention of meeting Cal in the kitchen, but first he needed to take care of his own cock, and after he’d come, he was going to try to wash the scent of Pepper’s cream away. Not because he didn’t like it, but for the opposite reason.
If he could, he would roll around in her juices to coat his whole body, which would no doubt appease his agitated animal, but since he couldn’t do that, and the tantalizing aroma of her cream seemed to be keeping his sabear on edge, he needed to wash up.
Maybe the body wash he used would be strong enough to give him some relief.
Fin entered his adjoining bathroom, turned the shower on, and stepped in under the water. He leaned against the tile wall his hands bracing his upper body weight and hung his head to let the water stream over his tense neck. It didn’t help. His cock was so hard and he was so horny, he felt as if he would snap by the slightest touch.
After straightening up, he dumped some shower gel into his palm and massaged it up and down his hard cock. He groaned and pictured Pepper in his mind as he began to pump up and down his shaft. Fin came three strokes later, spraying the tile wall with his cum, but it hadn’t been satisfying at all.
Fin knew the only relief he would get was if Pepper agreed to mate with them, but he wasn’t sure she ever would.
He and Cal were going to have to come up with a strategy to gain her trust, and hopefully in the end, they would gain her heart, too. He was already more than halfway in love with her, and she’d only been in Savoonga for just over twelve hours.
How the hell was he going to survive if she turned them down?
He shook his head, scowled at his still hard cock, and began to wash the rest of his body. He already knew the answer to his question.
If Pepper rejected him and Cal, they wouldn’t survive at all.
* * * *
Cal adjusted his hard cock in his jeans before sitting on a stool at the counter as he glanced at the clock. It was four in the morning, but he was so pumped he wasn’t the least bit tired. No wonder their mate had passed out. She had to be exhausted after such a long tumultuous day and after they’d given her some relief from the mating heat.
He tried to push his thoughts aside as he opened the beer he’d pulled from the fridge and slugged it down in one go. His sabear was pacing with frustrated agitation, and while Cal still held the leash on his beast tightly, he was concerned his inner animal would be able to break free all too soon.
Every time he inhaled, he could still taste Pepper delectable nipples on his tongue, and while he hadn’t tasted her pussy cream, the scent of her honey had been strong in the bedroom and he could still smell it, no matter what he did. Even the beer he’d just downed hadn’t helped get her musky aroma out of his nose and mouth.
“Do you want another one?” Fin asked as he entered the room and headed toward the fridge.
“Yeah.” Cal eyed Fin’s wet hair. “Did it help?”
“Not a damn bit,” Fin answered, not needing any clarification.
Cal and Fin knew each other as well as they knew themselves, since they’d grown up together.
“I’m still fucking hard and aching.”
“It’s the mating heat.” Cal took the beer Fin passed him.
“I’m aware.” Fin leaned against the edge of the counter. “I don’t think she’s had much experience with men.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Her pussy was so fucking tight, I could barely get one finger inside of her.”
“Fuck, Fin, did you have to say that? I was just starting to cool off.”
“Sorry. Just being honest.”
Cal scrubbed a hand down his face. “Yeah, I know. Sorry. I’m just frustrated.”
“Me, too.”
“I think you’re right though. She got this real shocked, surprised look on her face just before she climaxed.” Cal sipped on his beer, trying to ease the dryness in his throat and mouth. “Does she taste as good as she smells?”
“Even better.”
“Fuck, we’re screwed.”
“You have that right.” Fin moved around the counter and sat on the stool near the end. “The mating heat’s playing havoc with her, too.”
“I know.”
“I hate what we are sometimes. I wanted to be able to court a woman and get her to fall in love with us without all the pheromones.”
“I know what you mean, but I don’t think she’d be our mate if she wasn’t attracted to us.” Cal began picking at the label on his beer bottle.
“True, but attraction isn’t love,” Fin said.
“Attraction can turn to love,” Cal replied.
“But what if it doesn’t? What if it’s only ever physical attraction?” Fin asked. “I need more than that. She needs more than that, too.”
“For all we know, she could decide to fly out of here as soon as the blizzard’s passed.”
“I fucking hope not.”
“I do, too.” Cal sighed and met Fin’s gaze. “But we can’t keep her here against her will. If she wants to leave…then we let her.”
Fin shoved to his feet and began to pace. Cal wanted to do the same, but he knew walking back and forth wouldn’t help calm him down, so he remained where he was, drinking his beer.
Maybe once Pepper was rested up they would be able to talk to her more, but something told him that his mate was going to retreat. While he hated the thought of that, he and Fin were going to have to respect any decisions she made, even if it was keeping her distance.
Fin stopped near the glass sliding door and stared out into the darkness. Neither of them had trouble seeing since they had amazing eyesight.
“The storm’s slowing some.” Fin turned to face him. “Maybe now would be a good time to get her plane into the hangar so we can see why the landing gear failed.”
“Are you trying to help her leave us faster?” Cal snarled as he rose.
“Fuck no,” Fin snapped. “It will give us something to do so we don’t go crazy waiting for our mate to wake up.”
Cal rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension in his muscles but it didn’t help. He sighed and then said, “I’m sorry.”
Fin held his hand u
p palm out. “Stop apologizing. We’ve both been snarly. We just have to accept our emotions are riding a roller coaster right now. The only time you, or I, need to apologize is if we do something that is unforgivable.”
“Like what?” Cal asked.
“Like claiming our mate without permission. Or saying or doing something that makes her leave.”
Cal nodded.
“Shall we go check over the plane?” Fin asked.
“Yeah. Since there’s nothing better to do and we both know we won’t be getting any sleep anytime soon.”
Fin spun toward the sliding glass door, tugged it open, and stepped out into the knee-high snow. Cal followed him. The snow was cold but nothing they couldn’t handle. Their inner beasts loved the below freezing winter conditions, so it made it easier for their human side to endure it, as well. They’d lived on the island since they were born, the only exception when he and Fin had gone off to college. They were acclimatized to the artic temperatures, and Cal didn’t want to live anywhere else.
As he trudged after Fin toward the de Havilland, he wondered if Pepper liked the cold.
Please, let her like snow and ice?
With Fin’s help, they got rid of most of the snow covering the aircraft and then pushed it into the hangar. It wasn’t hard since they had phenomenal strength and stamina. It took the another few minutes to get to the landing gear since the plane had been buried in the weather elements. Once that was done, they pushed back the grates that allowed them to descend the steps into the maintenance pit and got to work.
“Fuck me,” Fin growled from the rear of the plane.
“Motherfucking son of a bitch.”
Fin hurried toward where Cal was working on the front of the aircraft. When Fin stared at the cut hydraulic line Cal was holding, rage crossed his face. Cal had no doubt that he looked just as furious as his friend.
“The lines were fucking cut. Who would do such a thing? And why?” Fin snarled.
“I don’t know, but we need to find out,” Cal stated in a hard voice. “There is no fucking way Pepper’s leaving the island or our protection until we know what’s going on.”
“Agreed.” Fin climbed out of the pit, and after rummaging around in the cupboards and the workbenches, he came back with tools, new lines, and bottles of fluid.
Cal and Fin got to work fixing the landing gear. After they’d done that and tested to make sure everything was working the way it should, Cal was going to make sure they went over the plane with a fine-tooth comb. They weren’t going to chance Pepper’s life if she decided to leave. However, Cal was determined she wouldn’t be going anywhere. Not since her life was obviously in danger.
* * * *
Pepper had no idea how long she’d slept, but from the way she was feeling, she guessed it was a long time. She hadn’t been aware of how long she’d been awake until she caught a glimpse of the digital readout on the bedside clock just before she passed out the previous night. By her estimation, she had to have been asleep for twelve hours or more, but since it was perpetually dark in this part of the world when it was winter, she couldn’t be certain.
She’d been up and about for an hour or so, not taking in account the time she’d taken to shower and dress in some of the guy’s clothes. She’d gone into both of their bedrooms and riffled through their drawers until she’d found some drawstring-waisted sweatpants, which she’d had to roll up in the legs since they were so freaking long.
She’d had two cups of coffee and even made herself some toast, hoping that Cal and Fin would be back soon, but she hadn’t seen any sign of them.
Thankfully, her ankle wasn’t hurting anywhere near as bad as it had the night before and the swelling had gone down some, too. Her ankle still hurt, was a little swollen and bruised but she could live with that. At least she could move around better than she had.
She was just about to go looking for Cal and Fin when she heard the front door open. Moments later Celeste, Tammy, and Kat walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, Pepper, how are you feeling?” Celeste asked as she filled the kettle with water and put it on.
“I feel fine,” she answered with a frown. All the women were staring at her as if she was a bug under a microscope. “What?”
Tammy forced a smile as she moved toward her and then sat on the stool next to her. “We’re just wondering if the mating heat has started yet.”
Pepper lowered her gaze to the counter and hoped the women couldn’t see the blush creeping up her cheeks.
“Oh, I know that look,” Tammy snickered.
“Tammy, leave Pepper alone.” Kat scowled.
Normally Pepper didn’t like or want to interact with other people, especially women, but she liked Celeste, Tammy, and Kat very much. She didn’t want to alienate herself from them since they were all so kind-hearted and friendly. Add in the fact that they’d all been where she was right now and knew what she was going through, it gave her an affinity with them. So, for once, she decided to open up with other human beings.
“Does someone want to explain that to me?”
Tammy drew a deep breath. “When our kind, sabears, meet their mates, the pheromones inside our bodies go haywire. The desire to be with the one woman made for them is so strong, it can get painful.”
“Usually it takes a few days to start,” Celeste explained. “But sometimes nature is faster with some people more than others, I guess.”
“Tammy’s always had enhanced senses, but since Celeste and I have mated with our guys, our senses are much stronger than they were.” Kat cleared her throat and, after meeting Tammy’s and Celeste’s gazes, looked back to her. “The pheromones in this house are so strong, we could probably cut through them with a knife.”
“Oh God.” Pepper’s cheeks heated even more, and she covered her face with her hands, her elbows resting on the edge of the counter.
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about.” Tammy patted her shoulder. “We’ve all been where you are.”
Celeste waddled around the counter and then sat on a stool with a sigh. “That’s a relief.”
“You know Tarik and Hodge are going to be pissed, don’t you?” Tammy smirked.
“Yeah. So what?” Celeste shrugged. “Pepper needs us to understand everything that’s going on.”
“I’ll bet you feel as if you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole and landed in the twilight zone,” Kat said.
“That’s an understatement.”
“Just remember that you can come to us and ask us anything. We won’t be offended in the least.” Kat smiled.
“I appreciate that.” Pepper sat up straighter on her stool. “How do they know I’m their mate?”
Tammy nudged her arm and then tapped her nose. “Smell. Their sabears are drawn to their woman’s aroma. You may not wear any perfume, but from what Hopper and Phelan have told me, their animals have a favorite aroma and their mates seem to smell exactly like their favorite fragrance.”
“That isn’t the only reason the men are drawn to their woman,” Celeste said before Pepper could speak. “The moment they set eyes on their mate, they’re irrevocably in love.”
“How the hell is that possible?” Pepper slid from the stool and began to limp-pace. “Cal and Fin can’t love me—they don’t even know me.”
“No on a surface level, they don’t,” Kat said. “However, they know you right down to your soul. They wouldn’t be your mates if they didn’t.”
Pepper shook her head, not sure she believed what Kat had just said.
“Think about this.” Tammy held up her finger. “Imagine the rest of your life without Fin and Cal in it, and tell me how you feel. Imagine how you’d feel if they died because you didn’t give them a chance to love you. Do you feel as if your heart’s being ripped out of your chest, or do you feel mild sadness?”
Pepper did as Tammy asked and imagined walking away from Fin and Cal, never looking back. The pain that pierced her heart had her knees shaking and sweat breakin
g out on her skin. She then imagined them dead, being lowered into the ground in caskets, and she cried out as agony permeated her to her soul. Her knees buckled and hit the floor as she doubled over and clutched at her chest and stomach. Nausea roiled in her belly, and she had to swallow back bile.
“I’m sorry,” Tammy said in a soft voice as she placed a hand on Pepper’s shoulder and squeezed. “I hate that I put you through that, but I needed to know that you are the right woman for Cal and Fin.”
Pepper sucked in ragged breath before exhaling and inhaling again. The pain in her heart and soul dissipated, and she embraced the anger surging through her blood. She shoved to her feet, shrugged Tammy’s hand from her shoulder, and turned to face her.
“How could you do that to me? Why would you do that to me?” she yelled.
“Because those two men are hurting right now,” Tammy replied angrily. “They are like brothers to me. They have hearts as pure as the snow outside, and I don’t want to see them hurt.”
“I would never intentionally hurt them.”
Kat nudged Tammy aside, but Pepper continued to glare at the other woman. “Did they tell you they’ll die?”
“What?” She frowned.
“I knew it.” Tammy threw her hands up in the air. “Why are men such fucking idiots?”
“Because they’re men,” Celeste answered.
“What do you mean they’ll die?” Pepper asked.
Kat sighed. “The men in the stealth are so fucking noble. Let’s make some drinks and we’ll explain.”
“Can I have coffee?” Celeste asked beseechingly.
“No,” Tammy answered. “If I have to drink that green shit, then so do you.”
“What green shit?” Pepper asked, confused.
“Since we’re all pregnant, we can’t drink coffee,” Kat explained.
“We’ve been relegated to drinking green tea.” Tammy grimaced.
Celeste smiled. “It’s not that bad.”
“I never said it was, but I’d prefer coffee.”