Chapter Six
She remained silent until he’d locked the door and she’d hung up her things. “Galen, do you think I was doing something wrong with Jack? That I was hiding something from you?”
She looked so sad, it pulled at his heart. He hugged her first and then kissed her temple. “No. I didn’t come to the shop because I thought Phoenix was telling the truth. But I admit it, I got jealous that anyone would be there trying to take you from me. Stupid and immature, I know. But it wasn’t about you.” He tipped her chin up. “I love you. I trust you.”
“I would never, ever betray you. I need you to understand that.” She took both his hands in hers. “I’m yours.”
He closed his eyes a moment before speaking. “I do understand that. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be standing here right now. Babe, you wear my mark on your skin, you smell of me, you’re my mate and as far as I’m concerned, my wife. This thing with the wolf, it’s big, I can feel it too. But I know you didn’t try to hide anything, that’s not who you are.”
She nodded. “Good. I’m so glad. When I saw you come in I was worried that you believed her.” She took a deep breath, pressing her lips to his neck, over his pulse. The scrape of her teeth across the skin there brought gooseflesh and a ragged moan.
“I believe you. I believe in you.” His breath caught as she bit, just hard enough to make her point. He tipped his head back a bit, submitting. Her hands, sliding up his sides, trembled.
“You’re the only person in the world who understands me. That’s... I can’t tell you how much that means to me. It’s precious.” She stepped back and began to peel off her clothing. Rooted to the spot, he watched the unveiling as need pounded through his veins.
“You’re a gift, Renee. Do you understand that? Before you, there were just a whole bunch of days and experiences, some really good ones, but none of them half as special as what you do for me.”
Naked, the pale sunlight washing over her skin, she stepped close again, reaching to ease his tie off and unbutton his shirt. “I love that you’re like this behind closed doors when out there you’re snarly and hard.” Her smile held secrets only he knew. “Do you need to go back to work?” She kissed his chest, tiptoeing up to reach his collarbone and the sensitive skin at the hollow of his throat.
He had a shit-ton of work to do, but none more important than this. Than her. His own need echoed from hers. His possessive urge calmed by her touch, by the way she’d deferred to him with the Jack situation.
The Jack situation. What a fucking ball of complications that was. But she was here. With him and she wanted him to know that. Not just standing there, but there, in their hallway, with her hands on him, taking care of him. She made clear with everything she was that he was her choice. No matter what Jack meant to them, the relationship between Renee and Galen was safe and solid and nothing would change that.
That reassurance was exactly what he needed. She hadn’t done it to be calculating, he knew. She simply understood what he needed and provided it. That she seemed to have no idea of how important that was, when she did it for him every day, sent him reeling. His beautiful witch.
“No. I’m where I need to be right now. I love you so much.” He groaned when she got to her knees, undoing his belt and trousers, easing them off after he’d gotten rid of his shoes and socks.
Like a cat, she rubbed her cheek along his thighs and over his cock, licking his belly, the seam where thigh met body and finally his cock. Just a quick kiss and she was gone again.
She gave herself to him so openly, so freely and with so much joy, he always found himself utterly destroyed and remade every time they were together.
“Wait,” he managed to gasp. “The floor is hard here, come back to the bedroom where you can lie down or at least use a pillow under your knees.”
Her eyes rolled up, her gaze meeting his as she took his cock into her mouth, as far back as she could.
“Christ.”
She let go, licking across the head and crown before saying, “Sometimes a girl likes it hard.”
Well, he was a goner now.
Renee loved this, loved being on her knees, loved pleasing him. He tasted just right. She dragged her nails up the backs of his legs, up hardened calves and powerful thighs, up to gentle and then cup the spectacular ass, pulling him closer and deeper.
The floor beneath her knees was hard, yes, but on some level she sort of liked it, liked that she needed his cock inside her in some way so badly that she couldn’t wait, didn’t want to wait to get to somewhere softer. And like she said, sometimes a girl liked it hard.
As if he read her thoughts, he tangled a hand through her hair, holding tight enough to sting a bit, but not hurt. Shivers ran through her, tapping into a place a little bit dark. And that was okay because with him, the darkness was safe.
She knew it was when they were so connected, when she let go this way, that her magic would seep through her pores, filling the air. It had never happened with anyone else. The warmth of it washed over her, swirling around them both.
Dimly, she heard his intake of breath, felt the change in the grip in her hair. His control slipped, delighting her. He was close.
The hands in her hair began to guide her more as he thrust, at first haltingly, and then, he gave up the reins and let himself go. He’d never hurt her, not as a man, not as a cat, they both knew it and so he let go, rolling his hips, his breathing coming faster.
“So good. This is, fuck, fuck, fuck.” He pressed deep as she breathed through her nose and reveled in the sensuality of that moment, of the raw heat of the way he filled her, filled her senses in every way.
He let go and went to his knees in front of her, embracing, skin to skin, his hands sliding into her hair again. His mouth found hers and locked on. Sure, aggressive, his tongue swept over her lips, and she let him in, opened her mouth and he groaned, the rumble sliding down her throat.
A quick yank of her hair and her head tipped back, exposing her throat. She went still, limp, submitting, and the sound he made was more cat than man, a growling grumble that echoed through her bones straight to her clit.
His tongue swept down her neck. She nearly came when he stopped where neck met body. He was going to bite her, mark her again. A whimper, not of fear, but of need, slipped through her lips and he braced one arm around her waist, holding her there.
Electric pleasure, brilliant shards of it, burst through her as he bit down. An orgasm, cell deep, rolled from pussy to her scalp as she cried out, holding him to her, her nails digging into his biceps.
The grumble he gave as he released her from the bite was nearly a purr, utterly satisfied predator.
She was still panting from the bite when he laid her back on the entryway floor and loomed over her, parting her thighs with his body. He licked over each nipple until she panted, not even bothering to stop the entreaties for him to continue downward.
“Please, if you don’t put your mouth on my pussy I’m going to die.”
He chuckled against her nipple for a moment but after a hard nip of sharp, white teeth, he obliged, kissing and licking downward. Thank God he didn’t tease, instead he gave her a long lick, swirling his tongue around her clit before sucking it into his mouth. His hands held her thighs open as he set about eating her pussy until she shook from head to toe.
Her muscles, just moments before, had been fluid, relaxed after the bite, but now they tightened, reaching for peak, readying for climax and when it hit, the breath whooshed from her, her spine arching, leaving the floor beneath her back. On and on it went until she went limp.
He laughed, kissing her belly. “You taste so good. Come on, lazy witch, let’s cuddle on the couch for a bit.” He picked her up easily and she snuggled into his body, the heat from his skin comforting. The grumbling purr returned as they settled in, her still in his lap, his arms around her body, cradling.
She’d been alone for a very long time and he’d come, just when she was sure she’d be that way forever. He took one look and there wasn’t any way he wouldn’t have her. The rush of that, of the attentions of a man like Galen, had made her giddy, even as they’d started a flirtation of sorts.
He hadn’t touched her for months. Instead, he called her, wrote her letters and cards as he traveled with his favorite brother, Armando. They’d left two weeks after she met him, on a trip to Spain to visit family. He’d sent her postcards with colorful stamps, the precise handwriting bringing a thrill to her every time she opened her mailbox.
By the time he came back, something had taken root, something so deep neither of them had ever questioned it. The first time they made love, hell, the first time they fucked, it had left them both with scratches, bruises and her a bite on her inner thigh. They’d lain in his big bed panting for breath as the sun rose. She’d never left and he made sure she knew he never wanted her to.
“You’re thinking.” He said it with his lips against her temple, she felt the curve of his smile on her skin.
“I was thinking about the postcards you sent me from Seville, of the pink and orange stamps bearing the faces of long-dead kings.” She still had them. Every single letter and card he’d ever sent her lived in her top drawer.
“It was hard for me to leave once I’d met you. I knew what you were to me that first night we met. But when I returned and you stood there waiting on the other side of the customs area, I knew you felt it too.”
“You think I’d have just let some hot Spaniard slash Jamaican get away? I hadn’t even kissed you yet, hadn’t seen you naked, though I sure as hell thought about it every five minutes. I had to snap you up before some ho got to you first.”
He laughed, holding her tighter.
“Thank God for that. You protected my virtue, babe.”
“It needed protecting apparently. That is, if the looks I’ve been getting for years are any indication of how friendly you were with the ladies before I came along. Men too.” Some women would have been put off by that, by the fact that Galen had been with both men and women before he met her. She just found it hot.
He never gave her any reason to feel like he wasn’t satisfied with her so why should she be threatened? Shifters had a totally different attitude about sexuality; many of them considered themselves bisexual and they loved where they found that connection. She’d met many of his former lovers but they all knew the difference between what they’d had with Galen and what she had with him. As long as none of them ever messed with that, whoever he was naked with before she came along had nothing to do with her.
“I sampled a few flowers until I found the right one,” he teased.
They snuggled for a while longer, until the sun disappeared and long shadows painted the walls.
With a sigh she got up and stretched. “Want some tea?” She padded toward the kitchen to light the burner under the kettle.
“Yes please.”
She touched the mark on her neck, pressing just a bit, enjoying the soreness.
“Got carried away,” he said, putting his shirt over her shoulders. His expression was one of utter satisfaction and she had to laugh.
“I’m not complaining.” She paused, watching him move around the room, totally comfortable in his nakedness. “You want to talk? About the Jack situation?”
“What is he to you, Renee?”
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully as she scooped loose tea into the cache within the ceramic pot before pouring the boiling water in. “I think he’s not someone to me, but to us. There’s this pull between us. More than attraction. I see gorgeous men every day, Boston’s full of them. No, it’s something else. But when you came in, when the three of us touched? Something happened and I don’t know what it was. I just know that I’ve been on edge, waiting for something and I think he’s it. What, I just can’t say.”
She put two mugs out and turned back to him. “But I need to say again that I’m not going anywhere. You and I are solid. I’m with you forever, no escaping for you, mister.”
He leaned against the counter and she couldn’t help but notice his cock showing some signs of life as she bent to grab the sugar. “Why would I want to escape this? A sexy witch who makes me tea and fills out my shirts in a way I’m certain to remember when I’m in court and I have to hold my briefcase in front of my lap? Sounds pretty fucking perfect to me.”
She put sugar in his tea, one heaping spoonful because he was a sugar-whore. “Cookie? I made gingersnaps.”
“Mmmm, makes me want to fuck you right here and now.”
“Clearly I underestimated how much you like ginger.” She winked and put some cookies on a plate and poured his tea.
“Back to the Jack thing. I agree we need to hear him out, to see what he’s got to say. I’m intrigued enough to follow this up some. If we don’t like whatever he proposes, we kick his ass out.” He shrugged. “No harm done in either case.”
She hoped so.
Jack walked up the block. Without really looking at the address, he knew the way. Her scent hung on the air, calling to him. He only lived about five blocks over from their street, had passed this way hundreds of times while jogging or heading to the library.
His experience with her, and with Galen earlier that day, had shaken him deeply. He’d left and walked aimlessly for an hour before ending up at home, looking at the phone, looking at his computer, walking through the space he’d never thought felt empty before and today it did.
He raged about that as he’d paced. He didn’t want this, whatever it was. Had never imagined he’d have to share his mate. And it was clear that was the choice with her. It wouldn’t be some situation where the cat came around to see her from time to time. This male was intertwined with her. Whatever else he may feel, he could see the connection between Renee and Galen from the moment Galen had walked into the shop.
Cats didn’t have the same sort of mate bond as wolves, yes, but he’d seen the mark on Renee’s neck, knew that wasn’t casual, knew she had imprinted on the cocky jaguar as he so clearly had with her. Jack also understood, though he hadn’t known her long, his mate was not a woman who made shallow allegiances.
He hated that connection. And yet, it made him crave her even more. Loyalty was an important quality as far as Jack was concerned. To have a woman like that at his side, a woman who placed value on people and her relationships with them, was powerfully alluring.
He wanted to talk to Grace about it, but there was enough complicated emotional stuff between them and he didn’t need what she would offer. She was his friend and, yes, she wanted what was best for him, but there was jealousy when he’d spoken of Renee earlier that day, enough to put his guard up. Jack needed to talk to someone who would know what he felt, what he was up against.
So he’d picked up the phone and called Gabe Murphy, an old friend who now had a tri-mate bond with another man and woman. Instead of being an anchor bond to a mated couple, Gabe had ended up mated with both Tracy Warden and the male she’d already bonded with, Nick Lawrence. If anyone could give him advice, it would be Gabe.
He listened to Jack explain the situation so far.
“I can only answer for me, Jack. I didn’t go into the negotiations where I met Nick and Tracy thinking I’d end up in a permanent ménage. But the magic is the magic, right? There’s nothing to say when you’re up against that.” He paused for a long moment. Knowing Gabe was a man of few words, Jack waited until he found the right ones and finally continued.
“What is it you want? You know she’s your mate. You know she’s imprinted with a cat, which means she’s married to him. You can find another woman, you know that too. You haven’t claimed her so there’s nothing more than attraction holding you to her right now.”
Jack shook his head and groaned, knowing he couldn’t be heard doing that. “No. It’s more than that. More than attraction. It’s like...it’s more like all the potential is there, welling up between us. All the what-can-be draws me to her like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I don’t want that with anyone else. I’m... I can’t explain it, but I know I’d never have this with anyone but her.”
Gabe laughed. “The first time I saw Tracy I couldn’t quite understand why I’d be looking twice. She was so beyond not my type. But once I touched her, once I touched Nick, it just changed. I know what you’re saying, Jack, because I’ve felt it. I know it. Yes, you can, and you would have a happy life with another female next year or in five years when you found her. But she’s not Renee and Renee is what you want and who you’re meant to be with. And if you’re meant for her, it means you’re meant for Galen too. It’s not like you haven’t been with men and from how you’re talking, they both sound pretty easy to look at.” Even though Jack couldn’t see Gabe, he knew his friend shrugged.
“It’s not a date. Yeah he’s hot and yes, I’m attracted to him too. It’s a lot to take on, a man and a woman? Another shifter with their own rules. It’s going to be hard to work out.”
Gabe snorted. “Don’t lecture me on what it is or isn’t, asshole. I live it. It won’t be easy all the time. But Tracy and Nick are worth it to me. Our children are worth it. Fate brought you this gift in these two people. Of course, as you well know, fate’s a tricky thing. But if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”
“You know, I’m about done with all this complicated life lesson shit. You know? I’ve done my time.” Jack pushed out of the chair he’d dropped into just moments before to begin the walk to the front windows and back, over and over.
“I’ve never known you to be a quitter, Jack. Or a whiner. Life’s handed you some challenges, yeah? So what? You think that makes you special? You got out. No matter how you got there, no matter what you endured, you live in an expensive condo with a view of the river. You have people who love you, people who care and now you’ve found your mate. So it’s not easy and that sucks and all. But you have this thing we are bred to crave. She’s right there within your reach. So grab, or don’t, but don’t you fucking why me over it.” Of all the people walking the earth, only three would have ever spoken to him that way and walked away without some damage. Gabe was one.
He was right too.
So Jack found himself standing there, hand resting on the ironwork decorating the top of the short brick wall framing the front of the brownstone. He heard laughter, scented garlic and the sharp bite of greens.
Their door gleamed, beckoning his hand as he rapped, using the old-fashioned knocker fastened to the shiny red wood.
He heard the laughter as she approached, knew her footfalls as she descended an inner staircase. And then she was before him, her smile tentative but genuine and he knew, trouble or not, that he’d cleave himself to this woman until he drew his last breath.
“I’m glad you found us without any trouble. Come in.” She stood back and waved him in, the bracelets on her wrist catching the yellow glow from the streetlamp just feet away.
The front hall was invitingly warm. Hardwood floors with richly colored rugs led into the heart of the house. “It was a duplex. Galen and I bought it and rented out the other half for a year. And then we thought it would be nice to expand, use the whole space so we started a remodel that following spring.”
She held her hand out for his coat, which he gave to her keeping. A slice of her belly flashed as she stretched to hang it. When she turned, her mouth had crept up on one side into a saucy smile.
“It’s beautiful. You two must have worked pretty hard to get it this nice.”
“We learned an awful lot about sanding and stains and how to lay tile. I figure if the law ever turns into a bust, I can lay floors.” Galen strolled out. Renee looked to him and there it was, the warmth of their connection as it flowed between them.
He stood on the edge, just outside the glow they made.
Renee reached out, touching his hand with a fingertip. The jolt he felt wasn’t static electricity. It was connection of the metaphysical and magical kind. “Would you like to come through for a drink? I’ve just made a batch of margaritas. Galen made some snacks you shouldn’t miss. He’s a really great cook.”
Galen put an arm around Renee, kissing her quickly before turning his attention to Jack again. “Come on in, let’s talk.”
If the hall and the rooms he skirted past had been lovely, the kitchen was a monument to people who loved to cook. He knew he must have looked like a total hick, but he couldn’t seem to stop the openmouthed wonder propelling him through the large room. The center island had a large indoor grill and double sinks. Another range, with a huge oven and a built-in microwave, dominated another wall. The fridge, a gleaming Sub-Zero, made him weak in the knees.
“This is, Christ, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kitchen this fabulous. Not in person anyway. This is magazine-spread stuff.” Jack turned in a circle, stopping when Renee pressed a chilled margarita glass into his hand.
“Galen loves to cook these big fancy meals. I love to eat them. It’s a good thing.”
Galen waved a hand at the nearby table. “Sit down, Jack. If you’re hungry, please do have something.”
Well this was awkward.
But hot damn did he look good there sitting at their kitchen table. Gah, why! Why did he look good and why was she noticing this way?
She busied herself, filling a plate with the delicious little appetizers Galen made like they were toast instead of mini gourmet miracles. Maybe if she kept her mouth full of food, she could avoid saying something bad.
Great googly moogly this was good. She grabbed another few little turnover dealies and tried not to shove them all in her mouth at once.
Galen watched, amused and proud she liked what he’d prepared so much.
“Okay, okay, so I never claimed to have any self-control when it comes to anything deep fried or in pastry.”
He laughed. “One of the many reasons I love you. When you like things, you really like them.” Cheeky.
She put some bits and pieces on a plate and put it in front of Jack. She’d already done that for Galen.
Jack nodded his thanks. “I don’t even know where to start. My resume? I’m healthy, Enforcer in the National Pack. In my Pack, two wolves share the second in command position—Enforcer and Mediator. I don’t know if you know about how Packs work. Single. Forty. Boston born and bred. I feel like I’m babbling, I guess I am. I don’t normally babble. I’ve been told I’m scary and smooth and all that jazz.” Jack stopped speaking to take a bite.
“How about you just forge ahead? You’re not being graded or anything.” Galen spoke to Jack, but held a hand out for Renee to take, bringing her to sit next to him, placing her between him and Jack.
She leaned into Galen a moment, needing the contact, knowing he did too. When she turned her head, Jack was closer than she’d remembered. It...she wanted to say alarmed her, but it wasn’t that. It wasn’t fear, it was unexpected, different than she’d ever thought she could feel about any person other than Galen. But there it was, that anticipation, the depth of need, a sort of fascination. It all bound together, hanging just out of reach but never out of her thoughts.
He met her gaze, a smile hinting at his lips. “I’m just going to cut through the bullshit, okay?”
“Please do.” Her heart sped, her skin warming. She licked her lips and his breath caught, his pupils swallowing the iris of his eyes for a moment.
He gulped down the margarita. The alcohol wouldn’t last long for him so she put the bottle and a shot glass within his reach. Galen surprised her by taking a shot first and then pushing a full shot toward Jack.
Their fingers brushed, just briefly, but wow, the chemistry there wasn’t something she imagined. Though, so okay she wasn’t above imagining it—hello, the idea of the two of them naked and sweaty, hands all over each other—wow. Where had that come from?
She gulped the shot herself and refilled it. “Sorry. Do go on.” They wouldn’t get tipsy for long, but she wasn’t a shifter so she could. Of course, Galen could eat eleventy million calories in one day and not get fat either. There were definitely plusses to this whole shifter metabolism thing.
Jack looked at her, and laughed. “Nervous?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Of course I’m nervous. I don’t know who you are or what you mean to me or my life. I don’t know why I can’t stop thinking about you or why the way you smell makes me sort of forget what I was saying.” Whoops, tequila setting in.
Jack leaned in and took her hand. “Sweetheart, there’s no easy way to bring this up as we sit here at the table you share with your husband and all.” He looked to Galen for a moment and then back to her. “I’m your mate. That’s why you can’t stop and neither can I. That’s who I am and what I mean to your life. I don’t know how else to say this.” He looked to Galen and she turned her head to see. Challenge hung in the air, but it sharpened into expectation.
“I’m her mate.” Galen didn’t raise his voice, didn’t get up. He sat there, very preternaturally still for so long she began to wonder if she could see him breathing. His gaze locked with Jack’s as they stared each other down. Galen put his hand on top of hers in a gesture, an underline to say she was already taken.
“You are. I don’t dispute that. But there’s more.” Jack leaned closer, his scent drawing her to lean in, taking Galen with her.
The tension between them rose, tautened so much she felt pulled by a pretty leash. At the same time, her connection to Galen glittered between them. Laced her to both these men in a way that had she been standing, would have driven her to her knees.
It was as if she couldn’t breathe once she was close enough, his scent was the only thing she was aware of. It ran riot through her system, jangling nerves, scrambling thoughts.
“You call to me, Renee.” Jack slid his thumb over each of her knuckles, sending shivers through her.
In her ear, Galen purred, tugging on her consciousness. Goddess knew there was no way to hide how aroused she was right then. Her nipples pressed against her shirt, her pussy slicked, her clit was swollen to the point that each move she made sent ripples of sensation outward. “Babe, you’re throwing off some serious magic just now and your pussy smells so fucking good it’s taking all my control not to toss you on this table and eat you right this moment.”
Renee closed her eyes a moment, trying to keep control.
And then Jack reached out to touch her face.
Galen’s hand shot out, catching Jack’s before he could touch Renee. The circuit they made, the three of them in that moment, brought a moan from her lips and a half growl from both men. She couldn’t stop it. Something within welled up and began to flow out. Magic. Shit. So much magic her skin pricked where it brushed against her.
She turned, letting go of the sight of Galen’s hand holding Jack’s. Of the way the grasp had turned into something else. She turned and Galen’s eyes moved to her face, roving over each of her features before settling back to her gaze. His lips parted, breathing sped. His cat lurked right there, a shadow just below the dark skin.
Slowly, knowing what he was, she moved closer until making contact, rubbing her cheek along his arm, chest and to the hand caressing Jack’s hand. His growl turned into a smooth purr again, his cat realizing her bond was safe.
“Babe,” Galen murmured, gasping as her tongue darted around the fleshy tenderness below his thumb. “This is going somewhere you need to be sure you understand.”
The moon was high overhead, heavy with its own magic. That magic called to both men. She sat back but didn’t break contact with either man.
“What does this mean?”
“I don’t know what it means on top of whatever we have right now.” Galen didn’t look at her though, he stared at Jack.
“My bond with her won’t erase yours. She’ll still be imprinted with you. I can’t say I love the idea of sharing, but—” he turned to face Renee, “—but I want you so much I can’t think straight. I want to know you. I want to be with you. We can work the details out. I’m not here to try to break anyone up. When I come inside you, our DNA will change, forging a bond only death can break. It’s forever.”
“Come inside me?” Renee struggled to get her head clear. She moved back, trying to break contact, but both men hung on. “I don’t even know you.”
“Don’t you?” He stood, bringing her to his body. Full contact from head to toe and she drowned in him. All she wanted was to touch him, to taste his skin, to be naked beneath him.
“Holy crapdoodle,” she mumbled, pushing back, moving away before she did something stupid.
He moved with her, Galen right behind. They hunted her, she felt that very clearly. Even knowing that, she found herself responding, even as uncertainty and confusion overwhelmed her. Sexual male scent hung in the air, thick and alluring. The chemistry they had thrummed between her thighs, coursed through her bloodstream. She wanted to lie back and let it take her wherever it wanted to go.
She pulled at her arms to free herself, but both males truly thought they were protecting her and held on to prevent her from falling. “Stop! Stop. Both of you, just back off. I can’t think. I need to think.”
Galen bent, looking at her carefully. She saw the strain of his control, his muscles tensed, his breathing quick. He warred with his cat, with the beast inside. “Babe, take a deep breath.”
She stumbled back and this time, they both let her. “What is going on?” It all felt so right that she didn’t trust it. This was not how she was. Things were happening so fast. She wasn’t fast. She was slow and measured. She made choices she’d given a great deal of thought to. The edge of the thrill, the idea of something utterly meant to be, but so outside the realm of what she could believe, was laced with concern. At the same time, she did believe in meant to be. Was this such a thing? Was this moment meant to be and if so, which direction was she supposed to take?
The two of them there so close to her intoxicated her, muddled her senses with exquisite ferocity and sensuality. Before it was only Galen who did that. Now Jack did, as well. Her heart sped as she struggled to not just jump on them.
Galen licked his lips. She knew he wanted them on her and she wanted that too. Instead, he held back, his voice taut. “Renee, it’s the mate bond. I’m afraid Jack is right. I can see it when I look at him, I can feel it inside you now. Your connection to him is forming.”
Jack allowed himself a small bit of relief. Galen supported it and that meant he had a chance, a real chance. He knew Renee felt the same attraction, but she was loyal and constant. She would not allow herself to entertain the mere idea of this threesome unless Galen was supportive of it. Even better, the attraction wasn’t just between two of them, all three of them had amazing chemistry.
For the moment, he had to help her get past her fear, he had to get her to trust him.
Renee shook her head as she looked back and forth between them. “Connection is doing what? Well I don’t want it to! Who said that’s what I wanted? Who said I’d be fucking anyone else?” Hysteria crept around the edges of her voice. He sent a look to Galen as her need crawled into his gut.
He felt sorry for her as she struggled. He only wanted to love her and he said so.
“I’m already in love with someone. I’m already mated! I’m a married woman and I don’t cheat!”
Jack never took his eyes from hers as he fleetingly brushed his fingertips over the soft skin of her temple. Her shoulders let go of a bit of tension. His wolf was so very close, the moon called that magic, mixed with hers until his hands shook from the need to touch her, to comfort her. He hated the panic on her face, but was relieved to see no fear there.
“Renee, you know me. You’ve always known me. It’s hard when one of the mates is human, it’ll be even harder that you have imprinted with Galen. I know this is a lot to take in. I know you love Galen. I respect that. If you tell me to go away, I will. I’ll walk out the door right now and never come back.”
He paused, taking a deep breath, only to be swamped with her as his hormones surged even higher. “I want you more than I can explain.” He held his hands out. “I’m shaking, I want you so much. But I want you to want that too.”
Galen raised his hand, slowly, giving her a chance to move away, but she didn’t. He tucked a curl, those gloriously riotous curls of hers, behind her ear. His voice was soft, gentle. “What is it you want? Tell me and I’ll make it happen.”
She shook her head, dislodging the curl Galen had just put back in place, before plopping back onto the couch. Galen followed, sitting so that his side pressed to hers. Jack watched as the calm slid through her, as she let Galen’s presence soothe. She looked up to him. “Jack, why don’t you sit, too?”
Galen handed her a glass of water and Jack sat on the coffee table, his knees nearly touching hers.
Renee turned to face Galen more fully. “What is it you want, Galen? I love you and I’m having a hard time here. I... I want someone else in a way I’d be devastated over if the situations were reversed. What do you think of all this?”
Galen sighed and Jack hoped like hell this would go in the right direction. He would leave if that’s what she wanted. But he didn’t want to. He wanted to stay. With her.
“I’m not human. I know what it means to live as other. I know what it means to have more than one nature and I know what it means to find that person who fits into the empty spaces inside. You’re that to me. You make me whole, Renee.”
She nodded, tears gleaming in her eyes. Jack realized that up until Renee, he’d found himself attracted to or romantically involved with women who weren’t overly emotional. Well, amend that. Certainly Nina and Grace Warden were emotional women, but more on the fierce side. Renee wore her feelings on her skin. It fascinated him, touched him to see the emotions play over her face the way they did. It only made her more beautiful.
Galen looked to Jack and then back to her. “But you could make him whole too. You aren’t a shifter, but you know there’s more out there—” Galen indicated the world around them with the sweep of his hand, “—than most people imagine. I know my cat responds to you on a level only an other would get. Your magic calls to me, your heart holds me. I’m yours. Period.” He shrugged. “But his wolf is the same. I see how he looks at you. This isn’t some game he’s playing. I can scent the truth. I can see how you respond to him. I can see your magic envelop him like it does me. I’m not noble. I’m not good. I want you all to myself, but the truth is, you’re his too. Fate, the goddess, God, whatever you want to call it, has brought the three of us here to this moment right now. What I want is for you to be happy and to fulfill your fate. I think that fate includes Jack. Whether I like it or not, that’s the truth.” He paused.
“And? I can tell there’s more,” she said.
Galen looked Jack up and down before the left corner of his mouth lifted and Jack felt a shiver of desire up his spine as he wondered what that mouth would taste like.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find him sexually attractive. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit thinking he makes you safer, this makes my nest safer, my mate safer. This makes some part of me I can’t even define very satisfied.”
She blushed, but didn’t hide her smile. Jack couldn’t find himself bothered by Galen’s attraction, probably because he felt it too. The possibility of what this could be stunned him.
“What do you want?” she asked Jack.
It was a dangerous question. He wanted everything. Instead he said, “I’d really like to be touching you right now. Would that be all right?”
She looked up with a small smile, but one he needed. She patted the couch next to her and he moved. Barely, he held back his need to fully rub against her, instead content to sit with part of his leg along hers.
“I know you don’t come from this background. You’re not a shifter, but you’re something more than human too. What I want is to be with you. I don’t want to date you. I don’t want to only see you on weekends. I want you to be my family. And with you, Galen, too. We can make a family.”
She took his hand. “Before this goes any further, you have to understand something. Family is incredibly important to me. It’s not a joke or a way to get around my trepidation over this.”
“My parents abandoned me. My birth parents. My mother was a wolf, my father apparently human. He couldn’t handle what I was so they dumped me at the hospital and I spent the early part of my life in and out of foster care and group homes. When I was eight, a man showed up at the foster home I lived in. At the time I had no idea who he was, but he was a wolf too. He’d seen me on the playground, knew enough to know there weren’t any pack families in that neighborhood so his wife asked after me. We don’t achieve our first change into wolf until right around puberty. They knew I’d be doing that alone and afraid and they stepped in. He and his wife became my family. They brought me into their home and into their Pack. Family means everything to me, Renee. When I say I want that with you, it’s anything but a ruse.”
Sorrow washed over her face, followed by contrition. “I’m sorry. About your parents and also about misjudging you.”
Galen interrupted. “I ran a background check this afternoon. No criminal record. Owns his own condo. Has a car, motorcycle and a boat. No outstanding debt. Pays his bills, lives within his means. Has a lot of ex-girlfriends.”
Jack meant to be pissed, but he’d done the same thing with them just that morning. And the smile on Renee’s face wiped it all away.
He gave in to his desire to brush his thumb over her bottom lip. “What are you smiling about?” Again she shone with her emotions, teasing his senses.
“Galen checking up on the man who wants to share me with him. You having lots of ex-girlfriends.” She looked him up and down. “Like that’s a surprise. Galen’s got scads of them too, both genders and they’re all ridiculously gorgeous.” She frowned for a moment and then laughed again. “The total absurdity of this moment makes me feel like I’m watching a Tim Burton movie.”
“It’s certainly not what I imagined my mate bond would be like. I figured it would be easy. Of course when it came to my friends finding their mates, none of them got easy women. Even Grace, who’s small and quiet like you, takes all Cade’s energy to keep from being steamrolled.” Jack nearly cringed at the mention of Grace, especially when Renee’s eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. He’d meant to bring it up in a more finessed way.
The Grace discussion would be a whole new conversation, one he imagined would go slightly better than the tales of when Grace and Nina Warden met for the first time. Grace meant something to him. He loved her, and up until the moment he’d met Renee, she’d been the one woman he’d never been able to stop loving when he put his mind to it.
“Christ. Pour me another.” Renee waved a hand toward the bottle of tequila and Galen got up to retrieve it for her.
“You sure about this?” Galen asked as he handed the shot glass over. “You’re the definition of lightweight.” One corner of his mouth quirked up and she rolled her eyes in response. She knocked it back and poured one more. Jack looked to Galen briefly, reassured by the other man’s expression. He looked far more amused than worried.
“Think I can manage it.” With a snort, she got up, moving past both of them, heading to the stereo. Galen watched her move with the same look on his face Jack imagined he had. He liked the way she walked, so very intent on her path. Jack also liked the curve of Galen’s neck, wanted to see that body naked of clothes, glistening with sweat.
He sat back and pondered that for a little bit. He’d been with men before though nothing lasting. None of them had ever captured his attention enough to come back for more after a month or two. But Jack had a feeling this man would.
“Just wait,” Galen murmured in a voice so low only another shifter would have heard. The sound brushed over Jack’s skin like a caress.
“Don’t think I don’t know you’re frowning,” Renee called over her shoulder.
Galen snorted and shook his head. “Never say so, darlin’. I never frown when confronted with your ass. I’m always smiling and thinking about you naked.”
“Is this...is this the Bee Gees?” Jack asked, though now he was thinking about her naked too.
“Renee loves disco music. And you thought she was all sparkly sexy magic and hot tits, huh?” Galen lifted a shoulder as he grinned. “Wait until we all take a road trip. Thousands of miles in the car and she gets to choose every third time. You can’t even drink enough alcohol to make it okay.”
Jack laughed. “I’m already invited on road trips?”
“We both know how this is going to go.” As he spoke, Galen swiveled to keep Renee in his sights. It was clear to Jack she was thinking, turning things over in her head as she fiddled near the stereo.
Galen sighed, clearly contented, before speaking again. “Look at her and tell me, after you’ve felt that magic wash over you, after you’ve held her against your body, that you’re going to walk away.”
It had been the most important feeling he’d ever had when he held her to him. “If she told me right now to go, I would. I’m not interested if she doesn’t want me too. I don’t want to force her into anything. And man, I can’t believe you’re not more territorial. I mean, it works out nicely for me and all, but you’re clearly an alpha.”
“I understand what it means to find home in another person.” Galen faced him now. “I know if fate brought you to Renee and me, you’re meant to be here. I also know if you harm her in any way, I will bring pain like you’ve never even imagined.”
Before Jack could respond, Renee turned and his attention was captured again. God damn she was beautiful.
“You guys done talking about my boobs?”
Jack grinned. “I’m not even going to answer that.”
“Pffft, you don’t have to. They are pretty awesome.” Her smile was lopsided, but genuine. The tequila had hit, her voice lost its edge, smoothing into not quite a slur, but she was definitely more relaxed than she’d been a few minutes before.
“He can duck out of answering, but I’ll tell you straight, I’m never going to be done talking about them. I happen to enjoy your boobs very much.” Galen smirked and she rolled her eyes. “Why you keeping all the way over there? That last shot leave you a little uneasy on your feet? Not that I’ll be complaining about it, you’re easy when you’ve been drinking tequila.”
“Aren’t you the comedian tonight? Hmpf. You know—” she paused, looking both men over, “—it just occurred to me that Jack isn’t just my type, but your type too.”
“What?” Galen asked, laughing, but not denying.
“Look at him. He’s all blond and surfer-boy good looks. Great body. He looks a lot like, what was his name? The one you were with before the woman before me. Not that I keep track.” She burst into giggles and Jack shook his head.
“Come on over here and sit down, Renee.” Jack patted the sofa and she eyed them both again, clearly sober enough to know they both had plans to get her naked. With a raised brow, she made her way over.
“Victor! That’s it. Victor. The one who propositioned you when he thought I wasn’t looking. As if I wouldn’t be looking. Hello.” She fell to the couch with a sigh, leaning her head against Galen’s shoulder.
Galen had the same painful look on his face that Jack probably had when he’d brought up Grace some minutes before. “It was an invitation for three.”
“Puhleeeeze. Galen, do you think I fell off the gullible truck? He is not interested in vagina. I bet he’s never even touched one before. He likes cock. Yours, to be specific.”
Galen struggled not to laugh. Jack liked their interplay. It was totally obvious they had love and respect between them. “Well, he was great fun to be with and that was one of his finest qualities. Still, I said no and that would be my answer if I saw Jack on the street without any context.”
Renee frowned, fighting her own laughter. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Only on the inside.” Galen winked at her.
She socked his arm and he caught her hand, gently, carefully, bringing her fist to his lips to kiss.
“Do you like boys?” she asked Jack, bold as you please.
“How often do you drink tequila?” he shot back.
She rolled her eyes. “Like this? Only the times a ridiculously handsome werewolf tells me I’m his mate and he wants to come inside me to make me his mate and my husband seems to be okay with it. So up until now, only like twice a month or so.”
Jack decided to move past talk and into action. He leaned in, his body just above hers, getting to his knees to get at that mouth. Galen’s eyes went half-mast; he made no move to stop Jack and neither did Renee.
In fact, her lips parted on a soft sigh as he loomed over her. When he slid his lips across hers, his body hardened, everything within him tugged, pulled to her, pulled to this woman he wanted so very badly.
Her taste was...right. So right he groaned, deepening the kiss until she opened to him, taking his tongue into her mouth, her own dancing along his. Her hands slid up, beneath the hem of his shirt, caressing his sides and then his back.
Need hit like a fever, like a balled-up fist, and it sent him tipping into her, falling so deep he’d never be the same.
And he did it willingly, fell, let himself be consumed by her taste, by the scent of her skin, of her pussy and the honey between her thighs. Christ, he never wanted to stop touching her.
Everything within him wanted to howl. He’d found her. His whole life he’d known this moment would come, and now that it had, it was the best thing he’d ever experienced. Now that she’d submitted to him, his wolf wanted more, wanted all of her.
He hissed as her nails dug into his back, urging him closer. Her body molded to his, fit his just right. Each time she writhed, his cock ached a bit more.
“Are you okay with this? With all of this?” he managed to gasp as he broke his lips away. Jack couldn’t believe he possessed the presence of mind to actually speak.
Her eyes opened. He’d never seen eyes like hers—honey gold. Her lashes were thick as she blinked up at him.
“Galen?”
“Yes, babe?” Galen leaned down to kiss her forehead, his face very close to Jack’s. Without thinking, Jack turned, stretching until his mouth met Galen’s. The contact went straight to his knees, to his cock, up his spine as it seemed to twine around where Renee had taken up residence inside him.
Galen nipped Jack’s bottom lip as he pulled away.
“I was going to ask if we were okay with this, but I think I just got my answer.” Renee’s voice was thick and for all of Galen’s sexual allure, he didn’t begin to shadow what she was to him.
“Are you okay with that?” Jack indicated Galen, meaning the kiss and more.
“It feels good.” She arched her back, bringing her body against his again and he groaned. “It feels right that this would be about the three of us. If it was me and you, and then me and you—” she indicated each man with the tip of her chin, “—it would bound to end up with people feeling left out.”
“Yes,” Galen whispered.
“This couch is too small. Come on through into the bedroom. I think our bed should do just fine.” Renee scrambled up and held two hands out. Galen took one and Jack the other.