They torched the house. She ran from them, and the two royal pains-in-the-ass chiefs torched her house out of spite?
She growled, leaping as her body shifted into the form of a wolf. On all fours, she’d be able to dart through the forest in half the time. The orange light turned to heat. Smoke tickled her nose long before she could see it billowing over the earth from the flame box of the lodge home. She stopped short of a tree line, restlessly pawing the earth.
“Rachel!” Douglas yelled, running around the home as he looked to the second story. William stumbled out of the front door, holding his arm over his face. When he appeared, Douglas ran into the fiery home.
“Rachel! Can you make it to the window? We can catch you!” William coughed. His voice was hoarse. They were looking for her. But why, if they were the ones who set the fire? Unless…
They weren’t alone in the forest. Rachel lowered her head and scanned the trees. Yellow firelight glinted off a pair of eyes across the yard. She growled, charging. William saw her and yelled, “Douglas!”
Douglas burst from the house. “Did you find her?”
“There!” William cried.
From the corner of her eye, she saw both of them sniff the air. In unison, they yelled, “Rachel!” The men ran after her. She ignored them, concentrating on the intruder. Primal thoughts of tearing flesh and marking territory filled her. She neared the creature, a mountain lion, and leapt. The cat was more agile than she’d anticipated, and claws slashed viciously at her face, slicing the flesh. She caught a paw briefly between her teeth and tasted blood. Then the cat was gone, disappearing into the trees.
Rachel tried to move, but blood dripped over her eye and she couldn’t see. She whined, lying on the ground so she could cover her face with her paw. William sniffed at her, nudging her with his shifted nose. Douglas leapt into the woods in the form of a black panther, trying to chase down the mountain lion.
Rachel pushed to her feet, feeling dizzy. The heat from the burning house drew her attention. She looked in time to see the second story collapse into the first. Suddenly, the generator shed exploded, a loud boom that made her jolt.
She swayed, falling to the ground once more. Rachel closed her eyes, letting darkness take her. She didn’t want to see any more.
*
William glanced into the rearview mirror, watching Douglas as he cradled an unconscious Rachel in his arms. He sped through the forest, listening to his cellular phone ring.
“Hello?”
“Magda, it’s me. We’re switching locations. We were at that forest sanctuary near where my flight landed. It’s on the old maps. Someone set the lodge on fire while we were inside. We need—”
“I’ll handle the fire,” she assured him, her voice calm. He heard the clicking of computer keys as she spoke. William didn’t even bother asking how she would take care of it from the other side of the ocean. She just would. “I’ll send you coordinates to a safe house and let our friends know you’re on the way.”
“I have two with me,” he said, meeting William’s eyes.
“Two?” she asked. He wasn’t sure if she sounded disappointed or simply preoccupied.
William said, “It was the sanctuary woman’s home that burned and my,” he glanced at Douglas, “counterpart.”
“Very well. For the sake of appearances, I’ll order the lodge rebuilt. Make sure she knows that we expect no grievances from her on the matter. For all we know, it was because of her that the accident happened in the first place.”
“You assume a lot from an ocean away,” he grumbled.
“I will text you the safe house location.” Magda didn’t deign to answer his comment. “Who set the fire, boy?”
“Mountain lion. Female,” he answered. “I didn’t recognize who it was and she got away.”
“Ah yes, that must be St. Joan. She’s an American claw for hire with connections to a couple families here in the UK. Has a flare for setting things on fire. I’ll check into it.” More computer keys clicked in the background.
“An assassination attempt?”
“What?” Douglas said from the back seat.
“Claw for hire. UK family connections,” William told him quickly before turning back to his conversation.
“I warned you when you left that you would have to be careful with your location. Until you are married, properly, and in possession of an heir, you are in a dangerous position. There are those who would be glad to challenge you for your throne. And if they can see to it that you have an accident before that time…” She sighed heavily. “I’ll have bodyguards on the next flight.”
“What’s happening?”
“Do we want bodyguards?” William asked.
“No,” Douglas said.
“No guards, Magda,” William said into the phone.
“But—” she began to protest.
“Tell whoever you’re talking to that we’re coming home,” Douglas said. “I’ll have my people arrange the private jet. It’s stashed nearby.”
“Magda, get a place ready. We’re coming home.”
“All three of you?” she asked.
“Yes, all three of us.” William met Douglas’s gaze. The man nodded once and a silent understanding passed between them. “Travel arrangements are taken care of.”
*
Rachel’s mind drifted through a fog. She vaguely registered being carried, being in a car, being in pain and then not in pain until finally she was oddly numb. It was almost like she’d been dosed with painkillers. By the time she could open her eyes long enough to concentrate, she had no idea where she was. The room was small, with rounded, white walls and a narrow bed. Small windows lined the walls on each side. She frowned. If she wasn’t mistaken, it looked like the inside of an airplane.
She reached for her face. The flesh was healed. Crawling out of the bed, she limped to a window and pushed up the shade. Clouds stretched before her. The plane was airborne.
The stiffness of her muscles made her steps a little zombie-like as she crossed to the door. Someone had dressed her in what equated to blue doctor scrubs. She heard William and Douglas whispering as she pressed on the latch. The sound instantly stopped when she entered the lounge area. They each sat in thick, camel-colored chairs with drinks in hand. The room looked like the pimped-out private jet of a rock star—flat screen TV, stocked bar, leather chairs. All that was missing was a bunch of drunk, scantily clad chicks running around, and a smarmy manager trying to get some action off a drunken groupie.
“What have you done?” she demanded. Their answering expressions were a cross between relief and guilt.
“You should not be up,” William said. He wore blue jeans and a white button-down shirt. She could see the outline of his undershirt beneath it.
“The cuts were deep. You need rest.” Douglas stood, offering his chair though there were others in the cabin. His dark slacks and a gray designer shirt were in stark contrast to the other man’s relaxed style.
One elegant and one primal. They were different, yet both powerful, both beautiful, both sexy as sin. Her body tingled. She wanted both of them, and by the look in their eyes, they wanted her. Why was she resisting? The shifter world did not judge as the human world did. The human world did not have the passion the shifter world did.
Rachel glanced towards a small window, seeing the clouds. “What happened? Where are we going?”
“Someplace safe,” Douglas assured her.
“The lodge was lost. People were sent to tend the fire, but there was nothing left.” William’s manner a little more blunt than the other man’s. “We have men looking into it, but we’re pretty sure the attempt was on our lives, not yours. I’ve already dispatched builders to the area. They will clean up and rebuild the sanctuary.”
“So you thought it best to bring me with you while I’m waiting on the repairs?” Rachel questioned. Douglas and William both nodded. “You thought it best to bring me with you, the targets of an assassination attempt?�
�
Smart thinking, fellas.
Their expressions fell.
“Nothing will happen to you,” Douglas said.
“Nothing,” William asserted.
Everything, Rachel thought, as she looked at them.
“We know that rebuilding the cabin won’t be the same as your childhood home,” Douglas said.
“If there is anything we can do to make up that loss to you, simply name it,” William added.
“Name it and it’s yours,” Douglas agreed. “Anything.”
She didn’t want to think about the fire or her childhood memories that were lost to it. Not right now. Her muscles ached and her head was a little dizzy. “I can’t think about this right now. I need a beer.”
William was on his feet, instantly going to the stocked bar to fulfill her request. He seemed eager to do it.
“Is there anything to eat?” she asked. “I would have healed faster if you’d just let me eat and run.”
Douglas crossed to a small cabinet.
“Speaking of shifting,” William began.
“Trout?” Douglas finished the thought with an arch of his brow. “Diluted blood?”
Rachel didn’t speak for a long moment. She hadn’t meant for them to see her in shifted form. Her secret was out. Both men looked expectantly at her, one holding a beer, the other holding a big sandwich wrapped in cellophane. To her great surprise, she realized she wasn’t upset about them knowing. They were the shifter chiefs and they looked ready to do her every bidding. She felt protected and strangely powerful.
“Why would I tell you what I am? You were a stranger following me in a bookstore,” she answered.
“I would follow you anywhere, lass,” Douglas stated smoothly.
She felt a small thrill at his words. Being alone with them in the cabin had been tough. Alone in a plane? She couldn’t very well jump out of a window. Feeling hot, she glanced at the window. Could she make it? If she fell in human form until she was a few feet from the ground, then shifted, then possibly…
“I would do whatever you commanded,” William said, holding out the beer.
With shaking hands, she took it. His finger reached out to caress hers. Feeling a little lightheaded, she asked, “Whatever I commanded?”
William nodded.
“I would as well,” Douglas said, unwrapping the sandwich to give it to her.
Rachel took it. Her skin began to tingle. She moved back towards the small room. Right before she turned to enter the onboard bedroom, she stated, “I am a little sore.”
She heard shuffling behind her and tried not to laugh. One man pushed the other aside and she heard a loud thump. Rachel crawled onto the bed, lying on her stomach. She took a quick drink and set the beer bottle on the floor. Then, propping up on her elbows, she took a bite of the sandwich. The bed shifted by her left leg and then her right. She took another bite. “Mm, so good. I feel like I haven’t been fed in days.”
“We fed you,” Douglas assured her. “Broth.”
A hand touched her right ankle, massaging up her leg beneath the loose pants. Seconds later, another hand touched her left ankle, sliding upward to the back of her knee. The rougher texture of their palms made her think of their royal brands. Her blood stirred, pumping fiercely through her veins. Their hands moved in agonizingly slow caresses, mimicking each other as they slid up and down her leg.
Rachel tried to keep eating, but her breathing became too ragged. She dropped the sandwich on the floor next to the beer. She heard a thud and the sound of liquor sloshing out of the bottle, but didn’t care. Hands fisted the material behind her knees and pulled. They bared her ass easily, forcing the unresisting material down off her hips.
Her eyes stared forward, but her attention was focused behind her. Soft breath fanned her flesh, tickling the back of her calf. Warm lips followed, near her ankle first, trailing up her leg to the sensitive flesh at the back of her knee. Hands massaged into the other leg, pressing deeply. Her chest heaved with ragged breaths. Her heart beat faster. She twisted her fingers into the bedding, which was still messed up from her earlier rest.
She squirmed on the bed, lifting her hips slightly as a mouth kissed the bottom curve of her ass. The way teeth grazed flesh, she knew the mouth to be William’s. He bit lightly. The hands left her and the unmistakable whisper of clothing followed. Soon, cooler lips replaced the warm, only they too heated quickly against her flesh. Douglas’s kisses were smooth, and he traced gentle lines with his tongue. She heard William undress before joining them on the bed once more.
Rachel still didn’t turn to look. The sight of two gorgeous, naked men might be her undoing. She became mindless under the euphoria of their caresses. Hands and lips moved over her ass, down her legs, up her back. They pulled at her loose shirt until she tugged it over her head and threw it aside. Her naked breasts rubbed into the bed. One massaged her back, the other her legs. Moisture gathered between her thighs, pooling along her sex.
Douglas stretched out next to her on the bed. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He lifted her hair, pushing it aside so he could kiss her neck. Shivers racked her from where his lips touched, so light and warm. Lips trailed to his jaw, and she found herself turning towards him. He grinned before drawing her mouth to his. His tongue traced the seam of her mouth, urging her lips to part. The thick, naked length of his cock brushed against her stomach and he moaned.
Behind her, William’s hands moved up her thighs. She parted them automatically, allowing him access. Fingers grazed along her sex. She moaned softly into Douglas’s mouth. William stroked her clit as his body sandwiched her against Douglas’s. The pleasure overwhelmed her senses until she could no longer tell whose hands were where. They were on her breasts, her pussy, her back, and ass. She reached behind her, taking William by the hip and pulling him closer. Her legs tangled with his.
“Mm.” Douglas pulled his mouth away. “Turn around.”
Their hands turned her and she faced William. His kiss was harder, rougher. He pulled her leg over his hip and his cock brushed against her sex. She hesitated, unsure how this should work—with two men and only one of her. Douglas, as if answering her unasked questions, moved his hand down the back of her thigh, as if encouraging her to take William first.
William grabbed her breast, pinching the nipple. She arched back into him and reached for his cock as William brought himself along her entrance. He kissed her hard as he thrust inside her. The position didn’t allow for him to go deep.
She was forced to let go of Douglas’s arousal as he moved to press his cock along the cleft of her ass. He pressed into her, controlling her thrusts onto William’s cock with the pressure of his hips. William’s moved his hard kisses along her neck, biting lightly. She wanted more, wanted him deeper and harder. The slow pace was agonizing torture.
With a groan, she pushed her body up from between them so she could straddle William. He made a loud noise of approval, his silver tinted eyes penetrating her with their hot desire.
Douglas, now abandoned from her heat, stretched out on his side next to them breathing hard. Seeing his long, lean body, so sleek with sweat and muscles, ready to be taken, she reached for him. She raked her nails down his chest and he moved to lie on his back. He didn’t touch William, but lay close to him.
Rachel fisted his cock, hoping to give him a little pleasure. She stroked Douglas as William fucked her, hard and wild, his hips bucking her up and down. Tension built and she threw her head back. Douglas’s hand covered hers, keeping her stroking him when her rhythm faltered.
William grabbed her hips. His words came in short bursts, “Ah, fuck, fuck, fuck…”
Rachel’s body jerked as she came. It felt so good she nearly cried with the pleasure. Douglas continued to move her hand, and she felt a tremor wash over him. She watched their faces, seeing their pleasure, their desire. Suddenly, Douglas released her. He hadn’t finished and she felt bad for it. William found release, coming inside her. She
was so wet, almost sticky now that he’d found his climax.
Breathing hard, she felt weak and powerful at the same time. Douglas had pushed up on his elbows, as if to get up, but seeing his hard erection, she moved to straddle him. Her pussy was already wet. She’d come hard, but the idea of making Douglas join their climax excited her. She instantly reached for him, taking him in her slick hot pussy. He slid easily and she rode him, giving as much effort as she’d given the man before him.
William watched, licking his lips as he eyed her breasts. He knelt beside her, leaning forward to suck a peaked nipple. A shockwave passed from her chest down to her pussy and back up again.
“That’s it, lass,” Douglas urged. “Let me have you.”
She tried to hold off, waiting for him to come, but his accented words were too much. She came, shaking violently. Seconds later, he let loose, coming inside her. She was too far gone to care where they spilled their seed. Shifters did not impregnate easily, and they didn’t have the same sexual concerns as humans.
She fell forward against his chest. His heart beat hard against her. William fell to the bed, lazily smiling as if he’d managed to recuperate as she took Douglas. He reached for his cock, stroking the flaccid length, encouraging its interest. When she looked down his body and saw what he was doing, she moaned weakly. “My turn again,” he said, his words gruff. “We’re not done with you.”
Douglas stroked her back gently. He was still embedded inside her.
“Come,” William urged. “Give me that mouth. I want to feel your lips.” His eyes flashed, drawing her forward like a magnet. He was inviting the animal in her out to play and the animal accepted. She licked her lips and pushed off Douglas’s body. She surged forward, every thought gone but the primal, violent urges inside her.
She took his cock in her mouth, sucking it deep. There was something animalistic to the way his body moved and tensed—potent, raw, male. He groaned, pressing his hand into her head. Moaning, she adjusted onto her hands and knees. Douglas came up behind her, and she felt his mouth on her ass cheek. William hardened to full capacity in her mouth. She sucked harder. He tasted good, salty and sweet.
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