Melinda's Wolves
Page 30
“So you’re okay with the new plans for the site?”
“The lodge? Hell yes. You?”
She smiled. “I love it. It’s a roaming ranch that doesn’t block the view. The log-style is the perfect backdrop. And it will lure guests to swim, fish, hike, and explore the reservation without making a mockery out of my homeland.” She glanced from one man to the other, absorbing their love.
Both men set a hand on her thighs, immediately obliterating all other thoughts except those centered around getting home fast and removing their clothes.
Keegan chuckled. “You must be feeling off because your emotions and thoughts just burst out of your head as if a dam broke.”
“I’ll drive faster,” Trace teased, squeezing her leg.
“Do you two know how much you mean to me?”
Keegan frowned. “We love you so much it hurts. So, yes.”
Melinda nodded and leaned her face on Keegan’s shoulder. “Just making sure, because my feelings grow stronger every single day. I wouldn’t want to be alone in that.”
“You’re far from alone,” Trace concurred. “We’re right next to you. Forever and always.”
Contentment washed over her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply of their scent, settling like a fluffy cloud around her body. It was not foreboding. It was a promise of calmness.
She needed that.
They all needed that.
Coming in November 2015–Laurie’s Wolves! Here is a sneak peek:
Chapter One
“I can’t believe how comfortable we all are together. It’s like we’ve always known each other.” Laurie turned from the sink where she was washing dishes and handed a large platter to her half sister, Melinda. Their fingers grazed as they passed off the dish. An electricity sparked that connected them in a way most sisters never felt in a lifetime.
Melinda smiled, her eyes twinkling—a calmness in them Laurie thought was probably rare, especially these days. “You’re right. And I was worried. After twenty-eight years of just me and Miles with no knowledge that we had three half siblings, the five of us meld together amazingly.”
“It’s Fate, I suppose. And Mom looks so happy.” Laurie twisted around farther and leaned against the counter next to Melinda in the great room. She watched her mother, Joyce, laughing over something Miles said. The woman hadn’t seen her first two children at all in twenty-seven years in hiding.
They were staying in Miles’s house for this reunion. He’d only finished construction six months ago so he and his other two mates, Griffen Masters and Rebecca Larson, could get moved in before the birth of their first child. Now Rebecca sat on the floor between her mates, round again with their second child. She looked radiant and comfortable—even though she was the only person in the house who wasn’t a wolf shifter.
The home was enormous, easily accommodating everyone. If Rebecca’s condition was any indication, Miles and Griffen must have been planning a large brood when they built the home on this land at the border of the reservation. The acreage had belonged to their grandfather, who passed away many years before. Their grandmother, Mimi, sat cross-legged on the floor next to Rebecca, stroking her small hand over Rebecca’s belly and smiling.
Mimi knew things. She was a shaman—an ability that had been passed down to her daughter, Joyce, and her first daughter, Melinda. Hell, if the electricity in the house was any indication, it was likely Joyce’s abilities would resurface with enough time spent on tribal land. And Laurie shivered when she admitted to herself that she might also manifest some precognition. Her father was a white man, a shifter from another pack. No one knew how advanced her abilities might be after the dilution, but time would tell.
Laurie was young still, twenty-five. Anything was possible, especially if she remained in the area. She hadn’t told the others yet, but she intended to do just that. When the week was over, she would not return with her family to their hometown two hours west. With a degree in early childhood education, she would have no trouble finding work. She could easily get a job either on the rez in Sojourn or in the town where the Masters family lived, Cambridge, on the northern end of the lake. She hoped for a position teaching pre-K at a local school. That was her true passion.
She was drawn to Melinda in a way she could not explain. She leaned toward her now, setting her head on her sister’s shoulder and wrapping a hand around her biceps. “I feel a peace I’ve never known here.”
Melinda set her hand on top of Laurie’s. “I know,” she muttered.
Laurie and her brothers, Sawyer and Cooper, had arrived three days ago with their parents, Joyce and Gene Hamilton, for a week-long visit. They’d never been to the tribal land, and although Joyce was also Miles and Melinda’s mother, the twins had a different biological father. The twins had not been born of love or through a mating, but they were full Native American shifters and direct descendants of Mimi.
“My mates are giving me the evil eye.” Melinda giggled. Her face lit up when she watched them from across the room. Laurie felt that intense connection they shared easily.
Trace Masters met his mate’s eye and wandered toward the two women. When he reached them, he leaned forward to kiss Melinda tenderly on the lips before turning toward Laurie. “Melinda tells me you’d like to go skiing?”
Laurie grinned. “Absolutely. I’ve never been, but I’ve always wanted to. I hear your family actually owns the local resort.”
Trace nodded. “We do. My parents own and operate the resort with the help of my brothers—Griffen, Zachary, and Logan. My sister works there too. Her name is Sharon. You’ll eventually meet them all considering I’m mated to your sister and Griffen is mated with your brother Miles.”
“Geez. I don’t think I can keep all of you straight.”
“Well, you’ve met me and Griffen today. And I spoke with Zachary earlier. He said he’d be willing to take you skiing tomorrow if you’re interested.” He smiled warmly.
Laurie’s eyes shot open. “Really? Isn’t he busy? I wouldn’t want to inconvenience your family.”
“Hey, we’re like family. Don’t turn down an offer for free lessons from the Masters family in the middle of ski season.” Trace chuckled. “Trust me. He offered. He wouldn’t have if he thought he couldn’t fit you in tomorrow.”
Melinda tipped her head up to look her mate in the eye. “Please tell me he doesn’t have an ulterior motive with my sister. You didn’t lead him to believe she looked just like me or something, did you?”
Trace wrapped an arm around his mate and hugged her into his side, chuckling. “Believe me, that’s the furthest thing from Zachary’s mind these days. He’s far more worried about figuring out what man will share his mate than finding the woman.”
“Pardon?” Laurie lifted a brow in confusion.
Melinda swatted at Trace’s belly, making him feign to buckle forward as though she’d knocked the wind out of him. She stood about five feet and weighed less than a bug. She turned her attention back to Laurie after giving him a stern look. “The Masters seem to mate only in ménages.” She nudged Trace with a finger and then nodded at Griffen across the room.
“Oh. Huh. I hadn’t really thought about that. But there are five siblings. Who’s to say they will all end in ménages?”
“History,” Trace added. “We have first cousins in Oregon. All four of the boys mated in threes—two men and a woman. By now, we have realized we’re all Fated to the same thing.”
“Wow. That’s insane. It’s so rare. Wonder why.”
“We’ve all been scratching our heads over that one. Who knows?”
Laurie smiled. “So I’m safe with Zachary then.”
Melinda narrowed her gaze. “Don’t know if I’d go that far. Sometimes two of the partners meet before the third.”
Laurie shrugged. “It’s so unlikely.”
She glanced around the room and stiffened at her words. Both of her siblings mated with a Masters. It gave her the chills. What if she did meet Zacha
ry and find him to be her mate? Was she ready for that sort of commitment? And if that wasn’t bad enough, she’d never considered mating with two men in her life. The idea was overwhelming.
As the activity around her continued, she smiled at the crowd of new family members and tried to block out the possibilities.
Slightly off-kilter was how she would have described herself as she settled into bed later that night.
Whatever happened, happened. Fate had her reasons. If she was indeed destined to mate with one of the Masters brothers, hiding out and avoiding them would solve nothing. And she had always been the sort of woman to face a challenge head on.
She was only twenty-five, but she had a strong head on her shoulders. She could handle whatever fell in her lap.
Besides, what were the chances?
She fell asleep thinking of skiing, blocking out visions of what she assumed Zachary Masters must look like, judging from his two older brothers.
About the Author
Becca Jameson lives in Atlanta, GA, with her husband and two kids. After years of editing, she is now a full-time author. With over twenty-five best-selling books written, she has dabbled in a variety of genres, ranging from paranormal to contemporary to BDSM. She loves chatting with fans, so feel free to contact her through email, Facebook, or her website.
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