by Zoey Marcel
She offered him a small smile before slowly approaching his bed. “I meant I wanted to cuddle and fall asleep next to you, but we can have sex if that’s what you need right now.”
He rolled his eyes. Ah yes, there it was again. More sympathy for the dying man. “Have sex with me if you want to. Don’t do it out of pity. I don’t need it.”
“I want you.” She pulled back the covers and climbed into bed with him. “I’m kind of tired, but I definitely want you.”
He grabbed her hand when it snaked over to his crotch under the covers. “Don’t pretend with me, Jade.”
She seemed disappointed. “I’m not. I want you, damn it.”
“I don’t feel well. Besides, how do I know you really want me? You know I’m dying and you feel sorry for me.”
“But I don’t.”
“Don’t you?”
Her head dropped and she sighed. “Fine, I feel sorry for you, but I really do want you. Even if you weren’t sick I’d still be attracted to you.”
“Maybe, but I highly doubt you’d have fallen into bed with me so quickly if I wasn’t dying. You have this sense of urgency about you because of it.”
“So do you,” she retorted. “Isn’t that why you act so tender and caring toward me when we spend time together? You try to hide what you feel for me, but you don’t have to, because I know it’s not real.”
That irked him. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, come on, Doc, I know how it is. You’re dying and you’ve never been in love or gotten to do some things, so you’ve convinced yourself that you care about me, so you can die a happy man.” She seemed hurt and annoyed. “I’m not offended. I get it.”
“That is a hell of a thing for you to say to me,” he rebuked her. “If I’ve shown any feeling for you it’s only because I’m a damned awful liar. If I didn’t feel anything, I certainly wouldn’t fake it. If that wasn’t the case, then my engagement wouldn’t have ended the way it did. In fact I’d be married right now and you and I wouldn’t even be in bed together having this conversation.”
Jade looked jealous from what he could see of her face in the dark, and this pleased him greatly. She liked him a hell of a lot more than she let on.
“You were engaged before?”
“I was. I moved away from the ranch and lived with my fiancée in Phoenix for a while.”
“Oh.” The pause was most telling. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out between you guys.”
“I’m not.” He smiled and brushed her cheek. “We weren’t right for each other anyway. It never would have worked out between us. She’s happily married now.”
“To someone else?” Jade asked, seeming hopeful.
He chuckled. “No, Jade. I have her stuffed in my closet and I pull her out whenever I need her. Of course to someone else.”
“Well, I was just checking.” She giggled before becoming serious again. “Why didn’t it work out?”
Ah, the million-dollar question. Could he trust her with his other secret? “It didn’t work out because I had feelings for someone else.”
“Oh. Then why aren’t you with her?”
He sighed. There were times he asked himself that, but Stetson was straight and Doc was dying. It would be foolish and a damned shame to lose what little time he had left with Stetson over the man’s inevitable freak-out when he learned how Doc felt about him.
“Because things are complicated. A lot like they are with you, Bane, and Kellan.”
Her eyes widened at his knowledge. “You know?”
“That you’re in love with Kellan in addition to your fiancé? Yes, I do.”
“Please don’t tell him.”
She seemed so vulnerable right now. He was torn between wanting to hold her and needing to fuck her. He opted for neither to keep from betraying the depth of his feelings for her. “Why would I tell Bane? Your feelings for Kellan are your own business. He’s your mate, too, isn’t he?”
She nodded glumly. “Yeah, but Bane doesn’t want to share me with anyone permanently. It’s really sweet of him to share me with my mates for a little while, though.”
Doc was all ears now, even more so than before. “Mates? You mean it isn’t just Bane and Kellan who are your mates?”
She acted panicked. “Oh, crap. Pretend you didn’t hear that. I didn’t want you guys to know that. Don’t tell the Brookses.”
He smiled. “So we’re all your mates?”
She face-palmed herself. “Oh, God! I’ve said too much. Good night.”
He grinned and caught her by the arm to stop her from getting up. “I don’t think so, darlin’. You’re not going anywhere. Now sit down and explain yourself.”
“But I don’t want to.”
He chortled and pulled her closer to him, reminding himself to question her further rather than become distracted by fucking her. “Well, too bad, my dear. Now, let’s talk, shall we? Are we all your predestined mates?”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “How do you know about mates?”
“I’ve heard the legends and things, but I figured they were all just myths. Evidently I was mistaken.” He dared to ask the question he prayed was real. “Is Stetson your mate, too?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t want him.”
Doc grinned. “Oh, I think you do. I’ve seen the way you sneak glances over at him when you think no one is looking. You may not like his cold, tough exterior, but you’re deeply attracted to him, aren’t you?”
It was too dark to make out the color on her pretty face, but he supposed by her body language that she was blushing. “Okay, I admit he’s hot and very handsome, but that’s as far as it goes. He’s an asshole.”
“He may come across that way at first I suppose, but once you really get to know him, you’ll come to realize he’s—”
“An ass?” she quipped.
Doc smirked. “No, Jade. He’s a wonderful man. He’s charming and generous. He has a great sense of humor and a way of dropping everything just to sit and listen to you rant or ask him for advice. Some people can make you feel completely alone in a crowded room, but with Stetson it’s different. All he has to do is enter a room and he makes you feel like you’re the only one the way he pays attention to you.”
Jade just stared at him. “You’re half in love with him, aren’t you?”
Doc’s heart skipped a beat. His lips parted, but no words came out. Now he was the one in a vulnerable position.
She giggled. “I’m kidding. Geez, calm down.”
He forced a laugh. “You had me there for a minute.”
“Yeah, you had me, too, the way you paused like that. You didn’t think I was serious, did you?”
He faked a hacking fit to distract her, and it worked rather well.
“Are you okay? Do you need a tissue?”
“No, thanks. There wasn’t any blood this time.”
Her volume dropped to a mere hush. “That time I sucked your cock, why didn’t you want me to swallow? As far as I know cancer can’t be transmitted through sex.”
He took her hand in his and ran his thumb over her skin. “I just hated the idea of something so deadly going into someone so innocent and beautiful, even if there wasn’t a risk.”
“That’s really sweet.” She seemed touched and brought his hand to her lips before her head bowed. “When are you going to tell them you have cancer?”
He heaved a sigh. “I don’t know.”
“Doc, you have to. They’re your closest friends. They have a right to know.”
“I know. I’ll do it. I just can’t yet. When I tell them it’s gonna change everything and mess up what we have. I don’t want to lose that.”
“Maybe you won’t.”
He rolled his eyes. “I will. People generally treat a dying man different than they do a living one.”
“To my knowledge the dying man gets treated better.”
“Because he’s pitied. I don’t want anyone’s pity.”
“What do you wa
nt, Doc?” she asked with a sudden urgency in her quiet tone.
Her warm hands cupping the sides of his face were so small and feminine. The extent of her caring seemed to be channeled through her skin and to seep through his flesh all the way down to his soul.
“I want to live,” he said quietly.
“I want that, too,” she whispered. Her head lifted suddenly like her little brainstorm had reached an “aha” moment. “What if I bite you?”
He smiled. “You bite me, woman, and I’m gonna fuck you.”
She sounded like she smiled at this. “No, I meant what if I claim you? After that nameless psycho beat the shit out of me in the desert, Bane said he claimed me to keep me from dying. If the shifter thing could heal me of my wounds, then maybe it can take away your cancer.”
Doc sighed and shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, darlin’, but I don’t think so.”
“Why not? It could save your life.”
“It won’t.”
She took his hand in both of hers. “How do you know?”
Her touch felt right, and it made his heart sting to imagine having to say good-bye to her. Maybe Bane would come back for her before Doc passed on. Of course the pain of seeing her leave with someone else probably wasn’t going to be a picnic either.
“Because you had a few scratches. I have a terminal disease.”
“A few scratches?” she snorted, sounding annoyed. “I had a black eye, a split lip, and who knows what else. Bane saved my life.”
“Jade, he’s in love with you. Seeing you battered was bound to make him think you were dying, and I don’t blame his mind for the distortion.” He held her hand tighter when she tried to pull it away. “What happened to you was terrible, but I don’t believe you were dying. Bane saw you hurt, and he panicked.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, if the lycan stuff didn’t save me then how do you explain the fact that my face was completely healed by the time I came here? You never even saw how bad it looked before.”
He heaved a sigh, trying to keep his face from betraying the pain of breathing. “I don’t doubt you suffered a good deal, but it couldn’t have been as bad as you’re thinking if you healed in a day. Granted the shifter genes might have aided in your swift recovery, but there’s a major difference between being in a fight and having cancer. I appreciate the thought, though.”
“You big stupid,” she snapped. “It could work. Won’t you at least let me try?”
“No.”
“Too bad. I’m doing it.”
He pinned her to the mattress on her back, trying not to chuckle at her petite, little self flailing in vain to try to hit him. It was adorable to watch. Even in his state of illness he was so much stronger than the little woman, and the knowledge seemed to piss her off. He on the other hand was becoming aroused by the charming little spitfire.
“Let me go! If you keep making me mad, I’ll bite you on the ass!” she threatened.
He grinned and pressed his groin against hers, making her breath hitch.
“That won’t work, dummy.” She moaned when he began to slowly rub his crotch against hers. “I’m still mad at you.”
“So mad,” he taunted her with a sassy smile as he smashed his erection against her pussy with a hard pressure. Bolts of sensation charged through his body at the feel of her soft flesh dividing to accept his fleshy meat. Now to do something about his boxers and her pajama shorts. It was time to be off with them already.
“Kiss me,” Jade whispered.
Doc was happy to oblige, but when he leaned down to do so, she grabbed him and tried to sink what looked like fangs into his neck. He forced her arms down against the mattress. “You little trickster, just knock it off!”
Her canines went back to whatever place they came from and she whined in frustration beneath him when his strength prevented her from getting up. “Let me claim you, damn it! It could save your life.”
“And suppose it does make me immortal,” he suggested. “What then, Jade? Will it really eradicate my disease, or would it simply turn me into a wolf with cancer? Do you think I want to live for hundreds or thousands of years with this disease? Or worse, indefinitely?”
“But what if you’re wrong?” She wriggled beneath him but couldn’t get up.
“And what if I’m not? It’s hardly worth the risk of suffering for eternity.”
“But—”
“No buts, Jade. Every day is misery. I can’t breathe without my chest hurting and at times it hurts to swallow. I get thinner and weaker the more time goes on.” He forced a weak smile. “I was quite a sight in my day, though. If you could have seen me I would have given Bane a run for his money.”
Her voice was sweet. “I’m sure you were hot, but you still are, Doc. You know what would make me hotter for you, though?”
His cock stirred and bulged with anticipation. “What’s that?”
“You as a werewolf. Now hold still and let me bite you.”
His lips curved into a smile. “Nice try, darlin’.”
She screeched her aggravation. “You’re my mate, and I’m not going to let a fucking disease take you from me.”
Something deep and profound moved through his heart upon seeing her face looking up into his and feeling her soft, warm body beneath him. He knew in that moment that he loved her, though he’d never admit it to her. She’d just up and throw the whole “pity for the dying man” thing into overdrive. Her words touched him on a deep, personal level.
“You’re a good woman, Jade, but I hardly think Bane would appreciate you claiming another man as your mate.”
The way her head bowed and she sighed in defeat confirmed his suspicion. “He told me not to.”
“And you want to do it anyway?” Doc wasn’t sure if this pleased him that she wanted him enough to go against her fiancé’s wishes or if he wanted to spank her ass for defying her man’s orders.
“Only to save your life. If you weren’t dying, I would go along with what Bane wants out of respect.”
Doc’s heart ached at this. He’d been right the whole time. Whether she realized it or not, she just admitted to feeling sorry for him and confessed that the only reason she wanted to bite him was because he was dying. She didn’t really want to make him hers forever. She didn’t love him.
Doc couldn’t restrain the confounded sigh in time, but they sure as hell weren’t getting freaky now. He got off her, feeling his cock slowly going down as if it, too, felt the pain of her rejection.
“Get out,” he said quietly. He tried to keep the hurt out of his voice and said the words as politely as he could so she didn’t think he was angry with her. He wasn’t mad, merely depressed.
Jade seemed genuinely shocked. “What did I say?”
“Just go.”
“Doc, please. I want to—”
“Woman, you’re engaged, and you should start acting like it.” He sharpened his tone to get her to leave, though it hurt him beyond reason to see her slowly slink out his room, seeming almost as crushed as he was.
“You didn’t seem to have a problem with helping me act unattached earlier,” she bit out. “If you’re done with me or I’m not a good enough lay for you, then just say so. There’s no need to act like a dick.”
She closed the door a bit loud for his preference and it jarred his heart. He shouldn’t have said that to her and sounded so cross with her.
The door opened again. “Oh, and by the way, you can get somebody else to help you cross off your list. I’m leaving in the morning.”
The door shut harder this time, and he wanted to kick himself for driving her away.
* * * *
Stetson awoke in the middle of the night when he heard his bedroom door open. He reached for his gun but relaxed when he heard Doc’s voice.
“It’s just me, Stetson.”
“What is it?”
Doc sat on the edge of his bed. “Jade and I had a minor spat.”
Stetson rolled onto his stomach and hugged hi
s pillow. Nice and squishy. “Well, I’m not surprised. The woman’s a bitch.”
“She said she’s leaving in the morning.”
Frankly Stetson could care less what the little punk did, though leaving a ranch full of protective men when she had a psychopath after her wouldn’t exactly earn her an award for smartest woman of the year.
“If she wants to be a fucktard and get herself killed after her intelligent fiancé told her to stay here with us, then let her. I sure as hell wouldn’t lose any sleep over—”
“I’m in love with her, Stetson,” Doc told him quietly.
Stetson rolled over onto his side, trying not to gape at his best friend in shock. Wise, level-headed Doc loved the slut who kept seducing his brothers? “You what?”
“I love her,” Doc repeated.
“Doc, she’s loose. A woman like that will take your heart, stomp all over it in those spiky high heels, and then strut off with the next penis she sees.”
“You’re wrong about her. Jade’s different.”
“She’s not different, Doc.” Stetson felt hyper all of a sudden. He really thought Doc was smarter than to lose his head over a freaky-looking sleazebag.
“She is to me,” Doc murmured.
Stetson let out a long sigh as he rubbed his face with his hand. It wasn’t enough that the bitch had to entice his dumbass brother and his scumbag half brother. Now she wanted to take Doc away from him?
“She’s not different, Doc. She’s just got you poisoned in your enamored state. You deserve a hell of a lot better than her.”
“She’s all I ever wanted.” Doc’s head bowed slightly and his tone sounded uneven, like he was getting choked up.
The words stung for whatever reason. The stupid tart was really starting to piss him off. Jade was engaged and she was running around collecting her jar of hearts, as he’d once heard it put in a song.
“Well, she’s just got you all trapped under her spell, doesn’t she?”
“Don’t let her go, Stetson,” Doc pleaded. “I need her.”
Stetson freaked inside when he saw and felt Doc’s hand on his bare thigh where it stuck out from under the covers. Something warm and subtle seemed to emanate from the seemingly harmless touch. His cock lifted its head with sudden interest. “Well, well, what have we here?” it seemed to ask.