Chapter Four
The two men glanced at each other, sharing a secret look Zora found hard to decipher. Whatever they communicated to each other, she didn’t like being kept in the dark. “Well? Are you guys going to tell me? I think I have the right to know what’s going on.” She looked from one to the other waiting for an answer. Zora had a strong feeling she wouldn’t like what they told her, but she needed to know what she was up against.
The newcomer looked at Gavin with a raised brow. “You haven’t told her yet?”
“Told me what?” Zora threw her hands up in frustration.
Again the two men communicated silently.
“Fine, keep your damn secrets to yourself. I’m out of here.” She had every intention of finding her clothes and leaving this loony bin even if she had to walk. She swung her legs toward the edge of the bed and scooted away from Gavin.
Instead of trying to stop her, the two men grinned with identical amusement. “Mind telling us where you plan on going?” the newcomer asked.
“Away from here,” she muttered, storming toward the closet to put on something suitable to wear. Her suitcase was still there under a stack of boxes she’d packed but for the first time, she noticed the closet was full of women’s clothing, none of them hers. She didn’t see the outfit she’d been wearing when she had started her journey which consisted of her favorite pair of jeans and her an oversized t-shirt. “Where are my clothes I had on before?”
“Threw them out. When I was examining you I had to cut them off,” Gavin explained with the tone one would use with a petulant child. “It was just more convenient to put you in this shirt rather than digging through your things and figuring out what you wanted to wear. Heath also bought some things for you when he went into town, in case you wanted something new. The rest of your clothing is still in your suitcase.”
Heath, she assumed, was the russet-haired God. Zora no longer cared for an explanation, she just wanted out to keep her sanity. Mainly, she needed to go before she did something stupid like giving in to the inappropriate thoughts revolving around the men she just met.
“Thanks,” she muttered, grabbing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt off the rack. Although they probably already went through her things, she didn’t want to do it in front of them. It just seemed too personal. Zora turned back around to find both men still eyeing her with a hint of amusement and something else that made her gulp: blatant lust. As much as they intrigued her, they were still strangers. She’d be crazy to want to stick around. Right?
“Er, ah…” She was at a loss for words as they continued to stare at her with unabashed desired. No one had ever looked at her like that before, not even Dale.
“Yes, sweetheart?” Heath smirked.
His smug endearment brought her back to her senses. “If either one of you were gentlemen, you’d at least give me some privacy to get dressed,” she snapped with a little more edge to her voice than she’d intended. Lord, these two made her nervous. She didn’t know what she’d do if that big blond hulk joined them.
“Perhaps you’d like to take a shower first and then get dressed. We’ve got some of that fruity-smelling body wash women seem to like. Bet it would smell great on your skin…not that you don’t smell good enough to eat out right now,” Heath spoke in a low timbre that sent an involuntary shiver through her body.
She moistened now dry lips with the tip of her tongue, trembling from head to toe. Zora yanked the first couple of items off the clothes hangers which happened to be a pair of leggings and a long-sleeved t-shirt. She pulled the clothing against her body, using them as a shield. Her pussy tingled as she imagined Heath burying his face between her thighs as she locked her fingers through that glorious mane of hair. “Y-you meant just eat, right?” she stammered.
That cocky smirk returned before he smacked his lips together leaving no doubt in her mind that he’d meant what he said. “No, I had it right the first time, sweetheart.”
A gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it.
“That’s enough, Heath,” Gavin scolded. He shot Zora an apologetic glance. “My cousin sometimes lacks tact. But he’s right, you might want a shower. You’ll have a chance to clear your head. Then you can get dressed and join us downstairs so we can talk.”
The idea of a shower did sound tempting. She licked her lips again, this time out of nervousness. “Okay, but once I’m showered and dressed, I’m out of here. I don’t care if I have to walk to town. I’m not staying here a second longer than I have to.”
Neither man spoke right away. Gavin was the first to clear his throat. “Bathroom is down the hall, first door on the left. Hopefully, you’ll come join us for a chat when you’re finished.”
She wasn’t convinced by how readily they gave in to her demands. But at least she’d have a chance to think without any of them around.
Once the two men left the bedroom, gently closing the door behind them, Zora felt as if she could breathe again. It made no sense how three men could get under her skin in such a short period of time, but the sooner she got away from them, the faster she could get her life back on track.
Zora waited for several moments before poking her head out the door to verify the coast was clear. With clothing in hand, she went down to the bathroom. Just as Heath said, there were all kinds of soaps, body washes and bath salts laid out on the counter along with pink terry cloth robe. None of the men struck her as the type to use the fragrant bath aids. They’d gotten all this for her, as if they were expecting her to stick around for a while. For just the briefest of seconds, she wondered what it would be like to stay here away from civilization with three sexy hunks who all made her pulse race.
She immediately shook the image from her head, silently admonishing herself to stay focused. Clearing her mind, she undressed and selected a body wash and shampoo. She didn’t allow herself to think as she bathed and washed her hair. She concentrated on the sting of hot water pouring over her body. Zora fought hard not to allow her hands to dwell on her breasts a little too long or over her pussy as she washed. She refused to touch herself so intimately with them in the house. That was way too dangerous.
Once she was fully dressed with her purse in hand, she gathered the nerve to go downstairs. She figured she could come back from the rest of her belongings later. The most important thing was to get in contact with her cousin and figure a way out of this backwoods area.
Gavin and Heath were in the living room. Gavin was sitting in the corner, casually reading what looked like a medical journal of some sort. Heath sipped from a coffee mug, looking off into space in deep thought. They both looked up when she walked into the room. Logan was nowhere in sight.
“Um, hi,” she said.
Gavin’s lips curved into an almost wolfish grin. “Hi, yourself.” Her heart skipped several beats. Did he have to be so damn good-looking?
She twirled a lock around her finger nervously before asking, “I don’t suppose either of you are willing to give me a ride into town?”
“Didn’t plan on it,” Heath said before taking another sip of his coffee.
“I don’t see why not. After we’ve talked, of course.” Gavin offered that sexy smile again, but this time Zora wouldn’t be distracted by it.
Refusing to be deterred, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’d much rather go now if it wouldn’t be too much of an inconvenience.”
Gavin shook his head with an apologetic smile. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
Zora bit her tongue to hold back an angry retort. “Thanks for letting me stay here while I…recovered.” She gripped her purse tightly and strode outside. Pissed. Gavin had already said the closest town was a half an hour away which she assumed meant by car. She’d be walking for at least a few hours. Bastards. Well, so be it. What was a little hike through nowhereville? She was thankful to have a pair of comfortable walking shoes.
When all either one of them did was give her a smug grin, Zora shifted from side to side uncomfortably. Both men remained silent as she gave them an awkward wave and headed out the door.
Once outside, she realized the cabin was surrounded by forest with no clear-cut path. How the hell was she supposed to get out of here? She had a sneaking suspicion they knew she’d have trouble finding her way off the property, which was why they hadn’t tried to stop her. Well, she’d show them. She’d find her way out of here, even if it took her all day.
Zora refused to panic. There had to be a way out. It stood to reason that the guys made it to the cabin by some sort of vehicle. How else would they transport their supplies? She walked around the house in hopes of seeing a garage or some way out, and was rewarded with the sight of two large SUVs and a pickup truck. Scoping the site out once more, she noticed a worn trail. This had to be the way out.
She whispered a silent prayer of fortitude and began to follow the path. She’d made it several yards when she thought she heard a low growl behind her. She shook her head, convinced she was hearing things. Zora continued on, determined to make it to civilization by nightfall. As she took several more steps, she heard the low rumbling sound of an animal, the same one, but closer. Zora never considered herself a skittish person, but maybe she should head back to the cabin. The thought of seeing the smug looks on Gavin and Heath’s faces convinced her to go on. Whatever made the sound was probably a harmless creature, more interested in its own activities than her.
Squaring her shoulders, Zora started walking again, but this time she halted in her tracks when a voice growled in her head, “You’re not going anywhere.”
What the entire fuck? Did she bump her head so hard when she crashed her car that she now heard voices? Zora didn’t have time to dwell on her next course of action before she heard a rustling in the bushes, quickly followed by the appearance of the largest animal she’d ever seen. A bear. It was roughly the same size of the creature she’d hit with Christine. Was it the same bear? Had it tracked her down to seek revenge?
It stood on its hind legs and let out a loud roar.
Zora, paralyzed with fear, released a scream from the depths of her belly. The animal stilled, cocking its head to the side as if responding to her fear. “I won’t hurt you. But you’re not going anywhere.”
Those words filtered in her mind as if the bear had spoken them. Zora clutched her head to shake away such a ridiculous thought. Of course the bear hadn’t communicated with her. Perhaps she really was losing it. When the bear dropped down on all fours and slowly stalked toward her, she was galvanized into action. Her legs finally cooperated with her brain. She spun around and took off as fast as she could.
Zora didn’t get far before she crashed into the hard wall of a very muscular chest. Strong hands shot out to grip her forearms, holding her in place. “Going somewhere?” It was Heath, with the same cocky smirk he’d sported earlier.
Zora didn’t have time to analyze why he was so damn calm in the face of a possible animal attack. All she knew was she needed to put some distance between herself and that monstrosity of a bear. She pulled against him, trying to break free of his effortless hold on her.
“Let go!”
“Not a chance, honey.”
The nonchalance in his voice served to further irritate her. “Don’t you see that big ass bear behind us?”
“You mean Logan?”
“No. A bear. Look!”
“All I see is Logan.”
Zora risked a glance over her shoulder to see a very naked Logan standing where the bear had been. The animal was nowhere to be seen. She locked gazes with Logan and the look in his eyes was eerily similar to the…no. Common sense told her it wasn’t possible. Things like this didn’t happen outside of books.
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “How… What happened to the bear?”
Logan shot a narrow-eyed stare in Gavin and Heath’s direction. “You two haven’t told her yet?” he practically growled the words. It occurred to Zora that Logan’s voice was nearly identical to the one she’d heard in her head only moments earlier. Again she dismissed it, not willing to accept what the little voice in her head was trying to tell her.
Gavin cleared his throat. “Well, we were actually going to get to that, but Zora wanted to take a walk first.”
A dark blond brow shot up. “Looks to me like she was trying to leave,” Logan pointed out.
Zora realized Heath had relaxed his grip, enabling her to pull away from him. “Tell me what? And don’t you own any clothes? Or are you guys into some kind of freaky nudist ritual?” Logan began to advance and Zora held up her hands to ward him off. “Don’t come any closer.” She turned her head away to prevent her eyes from straying below the waist. She remembered what happened the last time she’d been caught staring.
Logan snorted. “Since my cousins haven’t told you, guess it’s up to me. I—”
Gavin shook his head. “Wait, Logan, not this way, we have to break it to her gently. This would be a lot for anyone to take in, let alone someone who’s already suffered through major trauma.”
“You’ve pussyfooted around this enough. The sooner she knows, the sooner we mate her,” the blond countered.
Heath rubbed his chin in contemplation before nodding. “I agree. Let’s just get it over with.”
Mate her? She couldn’t have heard them right. Zora remembered likening this to Deliverance. Maybe she wasn’t that far off. Or maybe it was much worse. Either way, she wasn’t going to squeal like a pig for anyone.
She backed away from the three men, putting as much distance between them and herself as possible. “Whoa. Hold up. I don’t know what you guys think I’m here for, but it’s not to be your personal sex slave.” She understood these men were huge and could overpower her with little effort, but if that was their plan, she didn’t intend to make it easy for them regardless of the inexplicable pull she felt toward all of them.
Logan slanted his lips in a knowing grin. “I think you already know. That bear you saw was me.”
“Logan!” Gavin scolded.
“Stop trying to coddle her, Gavin. What makes you think she’d take it any differently if you eased her into it? Besides, you can see it on her face. She knows what we are. I bet she’s sensed we were different from the moment she opened those big brown eyes. Didn’t you, sweetheart?” Logan’s tone turned gentle as his hungry gaze fell on her once more.
Zora took another step backward, shaking her head in denial. “No. It’s not possible. You can’t be.”
“Should I prove it to you?” For a brief moment his face contorted just enough for her to see the animal he was capable of becoming. Zora had to bite her tongue in order to keep from screaming.
“Don’t!”
Logan shook his head and his face once again held the chiseled bone structure of an Adonis.
“Logan, that’s enough!” Gavin strode over to his cousin, his eyebrows knitted together and nostrils flaring, stopping short when he was nearly nose to nose with the other giant.
Logan didn’t back down. “I did it your way. You don’t get to call the shots here. Especially when it comes to her.” He jerked his thumb in Zora’s direction.
She’d had enough. “Stop!” she screamed. “Both of you just shut up. Logan, go inside and put some damn clothes on. Gavin or Heath, one of you better start explaining right now.”
Gavin and Logan backed away from each other, but not fast enough for Zora’s taste.
“Now!” She clapped her hands together for emphasis.
“Let’s go inside, we’ll talk there.” Gavin walked over and reached out to Zora, but she flinched away.
“No. I don’t want to go back inside. I want you guys to tell me what’s going on. Right here. Tell me how I’ve been out for five days and didn’t know it. Tell me how I was in major car accident but don’t feel any worse for wear. Tell me how the hell Logan turned into a bear. And…” She broke off not wanting to say the last statement aloud.
“You were going to say, why do you feel the way you do about us?” Heath spoke as he moved toward her. He didn’t stop until he was mere inches from her. She could feel the heat emitting from his body, making her quiver in reaction. A gasp tumbled past her lips before she could catch it. And her nipples tightened as a tingling sensation began to spread through her entire body.
She shook her head to deny him, but words wouldn’t come as her tongue remained cleaved to the roof of her mouth.
“Liar,” he said gently. “Even now you’re body is responding to me, responding to all of us.”