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  My vision flickered in and out of focus as my wolf made a strong effort to break loose. Ellie had challenged us; whether she meant to or not remained to be seen.

  I forced my wolf down. Tearing each other apart would solve nothing. It wouldn’t endear Kate to either of us. “That wouldn’t solve anything and you know it.”

  We fell into silence, each of us pacing in turn. Knowing Kate was just beyond the doors had our wolves on edge, hyper alert, aware of everything. Their would be no sleeping tonight.

  —

  Chapter Five

  ELLIE

  Motherfucker. I wanted to scream and curse and throw a royal tantrum to match the centuries, but Jerry was right; it wouldn’t solve anything. I hated how levelheaded he was. Sure he saved my ass a time or two, but his steady calm only made me resent my free spirit.

  We caught each other’s gaze. Jerry and I had always been in sync since we were young. Dammit, looking back now, I should have known nature was up to something with that shit.

  It was hard to swallow my pride. I sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t know if my wolf will share.”

  He studied me long enough to rouse my wolf. “She doesn’t have a choice.” His muscles flexed unnaturally, alerting me to his wolf. “We only have to watch once.”

  A smile split my face. “I’m nosy as hell. There’s no way I’m not gonna watch her fall apart every damn time.”

  He smirked, his eyes lighting with humor. “I think your work schedule is going to be changing soon.”

  I gave him my best evil stare. “Don’t even think about it. I have no problem neutering you.”

  His lips retreated as his brows drew down. It looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

  How many times had he come to my rescue, talked me off the ledge, kept me out of jail for the night? Deep down, I knew, before he ever spoke these words.

  “Listen, El, I don’t want to lose her, but I also don’t want to lose you. For years we were bitter and jealous that we didn’t have a mate or a permanent other. Now we do. If I’ve got to share with someone, I’m glad it’s you, but that’s within reason. Watching her come in your arms in the kitchen was hot as hell, but watching her cry her eyes out because you hurt her wasn’t. If you’re willing to try, I’m willin’ to try, but if you hurt her again, all bets are off, Ellie May.” His eyes glowed unnaturally; proof the threat came from both of them.

  Always so damn levelheaded. He sounded perfectly at ease throughout his delivery.

  I straightened my stance, meeting him head on in the center of the sitting area. “Right back at ya, bub.” I felt the heat of my wolf as she made her presence known to Jerry.

  My lips pursed their way into a grin; the competitive girl in me, the one who was surrounded by rough and tough male wolves growing up, rushed up. “What do you wanna bet I get her off more than your prickly dickly?” I wagged my brows.

  Jerry assessed me, giving my whole body a once over. “Plastic is cold, and I’m pure warmth on a cold night, Barbie.”

  “Put your money where your mouth should be. She leaves in a week. Fifty bucks says I’m better than you.”

  He seemed to toss the idea around in his head, his lips turning down further with each passing second. “She won’t even look at us right now.”

  “Tomorrow’s a new day. She’ll have to come out at some point.” I quirked a brow, continuing to challenge him. It would be over my dead body that he considered me the weakling of our clique.

  He inhaled deep. “She ever finds out-“

  “She won’t.”

  He nibbled his lips. He gave nothing away. Suddenly, he shook his head negatively. “This isn’t a game for me, Ellie.”

  “Yeah, well, treating me like an underling who needs a leg up was a nice little blow to my ego.” I blew out a heavy breath. “She’s not a game to me either, Jer, but damn if I don’t feel like you want to show me up.”

  He moved into my space. His eyes blazed; a snarl curled his upper lip. “I want you to get your head out of your ass and your ears out of the swamp so you can hear. I gave you a fuckin’ head start, Ellie. I want us both to have our mate and live long, happy lives, but you’re being so damn stubborn.” His nostrils flared, his eyes fully glowing gold. “You can either put her first, which means we both sacrifice a little to make it work, or you can be a hard headed bitch and send her running; and she’ll either run into my arms or back to Miami, but you still lose her regardless.”

  My veins burned with bitterness. Angry tears pierced my eyes. “Some fucking choice that is.” Either I gave up a little or I gave up a lot; I still lost something either way.

  This wasn’t what I wanted. It was unfair. Nature was being an unjust bitch.

  How was he taking this so well?

  “She’s more than what I have now, and clearly nature thinks she can be all we need; who am I to question that?” His composure only seemed to agitate me more.

  I averted my gaze; I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and angrily gnashed down on it.

  Slowly, gingerly, he gathered my hands in his. “Maybe she wants kids, El. You couldn’t give her those.”

  A fresh blast of fury erupted within me. I speared him with my eyes. “Not naturally, but we could get a donor or adopt. I’d figure something out.”

  He shook his head negatively. “That’s a compromise you don’t have to make now, that she doesn’t have to make now.”

  “Dammit, Jer!” My heart split, unfamiliar emotions swelling inside to the point of pain. My chest hurt; my throat tightened. It wasn’t fair. I felt my features twist as I fought more tears. My wolf whimpered, her rage dissipating quickly under the siege of sadness. “That isn’t what I want; what we want,” I said, speaking on behalf of my wolf and I.

  “You’re preachin’ to the choir, sweetie. Apparently it’s what we need though.”

  I looked up at him. “Don’t you hate being good all the time?”

  He chuckled, his lips lifting at the edges. “You of all people should know what kinda sinner I am.”

  I snickered. Damn did I know Jerry’s sins. He was the classic panty charmer. “About that.” I released his hands and patted his chest. “If I’m going to have to look at you on a permanent basis, I’m gonna need you to trim the hedges.”

  He rolled his eyes. “She’s seen my hedges, and, trust me, she didn’t mind ‘em.”

  I shrugged. “Okay.”

  He smiled, shaking his head negatively. “You can’t shake my confidence, El.”

  I laughed. “And they call me vein.”

  Our gazes locked and we both quieted, sobering to reality.

  “We’ll do this together?” he asked.

  My wolf sneered in disapproval. She didn’t a choice, any input, though. I wasn’t willing to risk my half-claimed mate.

  Nerves crawled through me, but I knew I had no choice, same as my wolf. “Together.” I nodded my head once in agreement.

  Our attention jumped to the bedroom door as the lock clicked open. My heart picked up its pace; my wolf leapt upwards at the sight of her.

  —

  Chapter Six

  KATE

  I didn’t know what time it was. It felt like I’d spent hours tossing and turning in the big bed. I heard Ellie and Jerry talking sporadically outside the door, but couldn’t quite make out their words. Instinct told me it involved me.

  Unable to quiet my restless spirit with them right outside, I followed my gut. Climbing out of bed, I went and opened the door. The sconces on either side of the fireplace filled the bedroom with soft lighting.

  They stood together in the center of the seating area, between the parallel sofas. Their eyes were trained on me. Flickers of honey filtered through their normal iris colors.

  Looking at them, I was awe-stricken as novel feelings swarmed me, filling me with warmth, with desire for them. All I could do was stare dumbly at them, taken aback yet again by my reaction to them. I didn’t know what to say.

  I was overly aware of my need for them, a need I still didn’t understand. I wanted to hug them, to touch them, both of them. How on earth did I go from wanting a woman for the first time to coveting the experience of a man and a woman at the same time? Slowly I was morphing into someone even I didn’t recognize.

  They were strangers I felt a strong, unexplainable connection with. Just seeing them both standing together, my heart beat a little quicker. I could easily imagine throwing myself into their arms at the end of a long day.

  Electricity, energy, seemed to sizzle along the path between us. There was no anger, no upset, lingering in their gazes.

  I took a deep breath, shaking myself mentally. I forced myself back to bed, leaving the door wide open for them, literally and figuratively. A few seconds after I got situated in the center of the mattress, they strolled in.

  Jerry moved in on my left; Ellie on my right. I rolled over to face Jerry.

  Ellie immediately hooked her arms around my waist, dropping a kiss on my shoulder. “Sweet dreams, sweet cheeks.”

  I couldn’t stay mad at her. “You too.”

  Jerry stared down at me as he settled in. He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.

  “Tomorrow, please.” I was too raw. I didn’t comprehend what it was about these two; I was confused by my actions, by my own reactions. I would never invite two outsiders into bed with me. My only guess was that they didn’t feel like strangers to me. There was a subtle familiarity, as if I’d known them much longer that was skewing my conscience.

  Still, I would never sleep with a guy the day I met them, let alone a girl. I continued to confound myself.

  All that time I’d lied in bed, frustrated by the entire situation. It’s like the answer to the riddle was right there
, on the tip of my tongue, and I just couldn’t, it just wouldn’t clear up; it refused to unveil itself.

  Jerry placed a hand on my cheek, drawing my attention back to him. “Tomorrow, please.”

  Heat brushed my cheeks. I gave him a small smile. He’d thrown my own words back at me. He’d known. That was the unnerving part. For not knowing me, they somehow knew me well.

  “Sleep well, sweetie.” Jerry’s lips cascaded down on mine. Desire immediately furled within me; longing flared as he swept his tongue across my inner lips, drawing a tiny gasp from me as he gently tasted me.

  I found myself leaning into him, pressing into his kiss. He started out lightly, gently, as a little tease, but slowly progressed. He owned my mouth; he commanded it with silky brushes of his lips and tongue against my own. It was unexpected. Even at his most demanding, Ellie was far more aggressive and dominant.

  I reached for him, my body rising, shaking off Ellie’s arms to meet his silent plea. I grabbed at his shirt, clinging tighter to him. My temperature rose with every increase of tempe in my heartbeat. Breathing became secondary to exploring Jerry.

  He trailed his lips down along my jaw, across my neck. His lips sent chills racing down me. My flesh tingled where his mouth caressed me.

  “Let me bite you, Kate. Please.” His voice was a tender growl, thick and sexy.

  I shuddered. Inhaling swiftly, I angled my neck, giving him better access. He began to nibble on my collarbone before working his way back up. “Please, Kate.”

  I felt drugged, dazed. I’d already been bitten once. I guess it didn’t make much of a difference if he did it too. It only seemed to mean something in their world. It didn’t bind me to anything.

  I moved to gaze into him. I recalled the soreness from earlier after Ellie bit me. “Please be gentle.”

  His expression was fierce. His stare penetrated me, the strong set of his jaw assured me; the flare of his nostrils, the abrupt stiffness of his muscles, the twist of his lips said he was in control of this, not his wolf. It told me that I could trust him. “I’ll be as gentle as I can be.”

  I blindly grabbed for Ellie’s hand. She slipped her palm against mine. I squeezed it, my stomach knotting as unease flowed through me. It was akin to getting your ears pierced. You knew after the first what it would feel like, but the nerves, the last minute uncertainty still rose. I found myself holding my breath as I further angled my head. I crushed Ellie’s hand.

  She froze behind me; her tension heightened my disquiet.

  Jerry looked over my shoulder at Ellie. They silently communicated. When his focus fell to me, his eyes glowed a familiar honey gold hue.

  Ellie relaxed a bit. “Stay still, babe,” she whispered.

  I halted, allowing Jerry to move me the way he needed me. I watched out of my peripheral, bracing myself as he lowered towards my shoulder.

  I was so consumed by Jerry’s next move that I didn’t feel Ellie slip her hand inside my pants. I gasped as Ellie’s fingers brushed my clit. Pleasure and pain wrestled, neither cancelling nor overwhelming the other.

  “Keep going, El. I want to watch her.” Jerry pulled back, revealing his wolf was once again tucked away. He watched me unabashedly.

  I felt helpless, and pleasantly enthralled. His mouth crashed into mine, capturing my cry as Ellie sped into action, circling my pearl with a vengeance.

  Jerry’s hands grabbed at me, gripping along my curves roughly. He traveled the full length of my body, caressing every lump, bump and swerve before sliding a hand in beside Ellie’s.

  Anticipation drove my pleasure higher. My pulse sounded in my head, thumping in rhythm with Ellie’s fingers.

  I cried out, breaking away from Jerry’s lips as he drove a single digit inside my sensitive channel. Wonderful sensations burst from my core. He drew novel elation, fresh reactions from his rapid plunges into me.

  He chuckled lightly; it was a sultry snicker of approval. He nuzzled my neck. “Oh, you’re fun to watch, darlin’.”

  “Fucking delectable,” Ellie added.

  “You were holding out on me in the kitchen, El.”

  Had I not been swept up on an erotic cloud, I probably would have had a few choice words for them on that new information, but my insides felt as if they were twisting around themselves. Pressure began to suppress the pleasure. My body tingled deliciously as their free hands perused my full figure, adding to the feeling of being thoroughly owned.

  I grabbed hold of them, arching into their talented fingers.

  “Let go, Kate. I want to watch you,” Jerry commanded. Finally I caught a glimpse of his true alpha dom side.

  Ellie caught me off guard, tracing her tongue over the pulsing vein in my neck. “Now, Jer.”

  I flew apart as Jerry added a second finger, pummeling me hard and fast. I was forced to do as they said, as they demanded me to with their navigation of me. Pleasure catapulted through me. My thoughts, concerns, vanished. Heat cocooned me as tiny trembles rocked me with erotic bliss.

  They pressed against me. They were speaking, but their soothing murmurs were indiscernible. The way they held me and talked me down into their arms was comforting. It was as if they pushed me over the edge but had a pillow-stuffed safety net waiting below. They gave me the freedom, the security, to fly.

  If I was honest with myself, I could already see how wonderful they were for me. They pushed me out of my comfort zone, they had me doing things I never otherwise would have; they had me facing fears and facing progression I couldn’t make alone in years. They did it gently though. They were bold, yet soft.

  I blinked several times, processing this revelation: together, they were perfect for me. Jerry kept rambunctious, free-spirited Ellie in line, kept her from absently hurting me, and she livened him up, made him approachable and endearing rather than stiff and intimidating.

  And, somehow, I knew, together, they could, they would, protect me better than any other. Together, they could open me up, draw the spunky girl hidden in my depths to the surface. Together, they could make me happy, because in this moment, I was carefree and happy, something I’d never been.

  —

  Chapter Six

  JEREMIAH

  Kate was bemused, lost in thought. I’d yet to gauge whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

  My wolf was satisfied, content in the moment merely observing her.