Chapter Five
Zora wasn’t interested in going back into the cabin with Heath and Gavin until she got some answers. However, after some cajoling on their part she gave in, feeling mentally and physically exhausted. When she was guided inside, she was both relieved and disappointed to discover Logan nowhere in sight. She assumed he was upstairs taking a shower. Whatever the reason, it was probably best he wasn’t around. It was bad enough dealing with her unexplained attraction to Heath and Gavin, she didn’t trust herself to be around all three of them at once. There was no telling how she’d react.
“Have a seat.” Heath directed her to the couch.
With a heavy sigh, Zora plopped down. “Okay, I’m here. So spill it. And I’d rather you two didn’t beat around the bush. My patience is about as thin as it can get.”
“Of course, but first,” Gavin began, but Zora held up her hand again.
“No! There is no first, just tell me what it is you’re hiding from me. Since you guys are practically keeping me hostage, I believe I deserve the truth.”
“She’s right,” Heath agreed. “My cousin means well. It’s the bedside manner thing. He’s trained to be compassionate. Not saying it’s not an admirable trait, but sometimes it takes him a little longer to get things out. So here it is, straight with no chaser. You are our mate.”
She barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. “Mate? Seriously? That’s what you wanted to tell me? That I’m your mate? Do you guys realize how nutty you sound? That’s something a caveman would say. Do you think—” Zora stopped in the middle of her rant when she saw the stone-like expressions on their faces. “Wait a minute you said, our mate. As in the two of you?” she asked incredulously.
“No, as in the three of us. You belong to me, Gavin and Logan. But the flip side of the coin is that we belong to you as much as you do to us.”
“Gee, that’s reassuring.” She snorted.
Heath’s lips tightened. “You asked for the courtesy of hearing it straight, well, you’ve got it. So if you want to hear the rest, I’d suggest you sit back and listen without interruption.”
The underlying command in his voice should have raised her hackles, instead she sat back in her seat. On some level her mind screamed, obey, though she didn’t understand why.
“Okay, go ahead,” she replied more meekly than she was comfortable with.
After Dale, she’d promised herself to never become a doormat for any man, yet here she was with a practical stranger, taking orders as if he had the right to give them. It was bad enough she felt this heat within her body when she was near these men—a heat she couldn’t explain. The tingling in her pussy made Zora clamp her knees tightly together to temper the fire starting to rage. She crossed her arms over her chest to hide the hardening of her nipples as Heath continued the explanation.
What he told her was a story so fantastical she had only two options: believe him or run screaming because these men were obviously off their rockers. Kelowna? Bear shifters? Onida? She was descended from a race of people whose DNA was spliced with a race of sentient bears? None of it should have made any sense, but strangely it did.
“I bet all your life you’ve felt restrained, different in a way that has nothing to do with your circumstances. You may have felt like an outsider. Even when you sought out relationships with other men, you may have felt something on the surface, but no man has ever touched your heart that deeply. Perhaps you even thought you were in love at one point, but it wasn’t real, and deep down you know you’ve never met anyone who’s touched you in a way where you couldn’t live without them. No one has made you feel like you couldn’t breathe when they weren’t around.”
No one had ever made her heart skip a beat the way it did when she was in the presence of these men. What she thought she had with Dale had never come close to the warring emotions inside of her now. And it scared the hell out of her.
This couldn’t be. They had to be using some Jedi mind trick on her. There’s no way what Heath said was true, even when her head and heart told her it was.
Zora stood up abruptly and turned her back to Gavin and Heath, not wanting either man to see the turmoil she felt. She was scared and confused, yet the need to be close to them was overwhelming. Zora closed her eyes tightly to hold back tears threatening to fall.
Heath moved until he was behind her, his warm breath on her neck. Without even turning around, she knew it was him and not Gavin. Another odd thing that didn’t make sense.
She stiffened when he gently placed his hands on her shoulder. “Please don’t,” she begged, knowing the longer he touched her, the more likely she was to succumb to the pull she felt for him.
“Zora, honey, tell us what you’re thinking.” Heath gently massaged her tense muscles.
She opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out. She didn’t know what to say.
His grip tightened on her arms. “Zora, answer me.”
The tears she’d fought to keep at bay seeped through her half-cast lids. Her body began to shake from emotion. Heath exerted enough strength to turn her until she faced him. Zora kept her head lowered, embarrassed to be seen like this. She wasn’t one prone to outbursts of tears. She could only shake her head, silently pleading for space.
He brushed a tear off her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Sweetheart, please tell us what’s the matter.”
“Everything,” she finally whispered.
Gavin rushed across the room with determined strides to stand next to them. “Sweetheart, I know this is all overwhelming, but I think you realize we’re telling the truth.”
“This is all just so unbelievable,” she whispered.
“How do you think you were able to heal so fast? When I found you, I had to pry the side of the door off the car to get you out. You had several broken bones. There’s no way you would have been able to walk away from that without something beyond your realm of belief,” Gavin pointed out.
She’d been that banged up? It didn’t feel like it but now that she thought about it, before she passed out she had been in the worst pain of her life. Zora had thought for sure that she would die. The very fact that she didn’t and he was able to heal her without taking her to a hospital said something. “It’s just…so much to take in.”
Heath sighed. “I know it is sweetheart but you don’t have to overthink this. Listen to your heart.”
She was about to protest again, but Zora recognized the determination burning within their heated gazed. Her mind raced a thousand miles an hour, yet she couldn’t think of a suitable reply.
Gavin reached out and grazed the side of her face with the back of his hand. “Your feelings right now aren’t wrong. You are our mate and we care very deeply for you. And nothing you could say will make us angry. Please, tell us what’s on your mind so we can help you through this.”
She opened her mouth and closed it again. Finally, after a few more attempts she said, “I don’t know what to say, really. I mean, any sane person would think you guys were escapees from a mental asylum. But there’s a little voice telling me that everything you told me was true. I don’t know, maybe I’m crazy too.”
Heath wiped away another tear from her face. “No, that’s your conscience telling you what you already know. Trust it. Believe it. Believe us.”
“Easier said than done. I’ve been trying to ignore this feeling since I came into contact with you guys this morning. The way I acted with Logan, that’s just not me. Granted I’ve had my days, but I’ve never made out with a guy I’ve known for only seconds. Still, it felt—”
“Right?” Gavin finished for her. “And I bet you feel the same way about Heath and me, don’t you?”
There was no point in denying it when he seemed to know more about her than she knew about herself. “Yes,” she admitted.
Heath continued to caress the side of her face with his thumb. “I’m glad you at least realize that you belong to us. It’s understandable that the concept will take some getting used to. After all, this isn’t the most conventional of relationships. But there’s something else, isn’t there? You’re not crying because of what we’re saying. What are you holding back? Tell us,” he commanded softly.
She lowered her lids, unable to hold his dark gaze. The only person she’d ever been able to express herself so openly to had been her Nana. It was difficult enough to accept what they were telling her as truth, but sharing her innermost thoughts on such a short acquaintance was almost impossible for her.
Heath captured her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Tell me,” he repeated. “Just know that I don’t make a habit of repeating myself so you might as well spill it. Otherwise, I may be forced to get it out of you some other way.”
A mixture of fear and excitement shot through her body, making her tremble. “Oh? And how do you propose to do that?” she said in a whisper.
He smirked. “By turning you over my knee and spanking your luscious ass.”
She gasped. “You wouldn’t.”
A smirk twisted his lips. “Wanna try me?”
“Heath, give her a break,” Gavin broke in. “This is a lot to lay on one person all at once. There’s no need to threaten her with violence.”
“There’ll be nothing violent about it, cousin. As a matter of fact, by the time I’m finished, I think Zora might beg for more.”
Heat infused her core. Her pussy grew wet at the suggestion. The thought of his hands warming her bottom, using seductive discipline had her pulse racing.
A smile tugged the corners of Heath’s lips as he slid his knuckles down the column of her throat. “Feel how hot her skin is.” He lifted his head ever so slightly and took a sniff of the air. “I can smell her arousal. I bet she’s really wet.”
His words brought her back to reality. What was she thinking? This was too much, too soon—way too soon. She pulled away from his grip. “No. Please. I can’t do this.” She turned her back on the men and walked across the room to put some distance between them, not trusting herself to remain so close.
The scent of her arousal was driving Heath insane with lust. His dick was so fucking hard it could split wood. She wanted them as much as they wanted her but she was still fighting it. He didn’t mind the chase, however, because he knew the prize was so sweet.
“You can’t do this or are you just too scared to let go? What you feel right now is the most natural thing. We are your mates and your body is responding to us. It knows the truth even though you try to deny it. Come here, Zora.”
She shook her head, keeping her back turned to them. “No.”
He closed the gap between them, placed his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around. Fresh tears stained her cheeks. “There’s no need to be scared, I feel it too. So does Gavin, and I know Logan felt it earlier. You’re trying to talk yourself out of something that’s inevitable.”
Her bottom lip quivered, drawing his gaze toward the poutiness of her mouth. Since he’d laid eyes on her, Heath had wanted to sample them. Bare of gloss or lipstick, they were the color of a ripened plum, making him wonder if they tasted as sweet. Heath took another whiff of the air, reveling in her scent. He’d never get enough of it. His already hard dick strained painfully against the rough material of his jeans, making him wish he hadn’t bypassed his underwear. He used every bit of self-control he possessed to stay calm, knowing any sudden move would frighten her.
Unable to go another second without tasting her, he slowly lowered his head, giving her the chance to pull away. He ghosted his lips against hers and pulled back just enough to speak. “I’m going to give you a proper kiss and if you don’t want it, speak now or forever hold your peace.”
Zora’s eyes widened and her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Taking this as her acquiescence, Heath lowered his head and gently sampled what he’d been fantasizing about for days. He started out slow, pressing his mouth softly against hers, giving her a chance to get used to the feel of him. He’d kissed many women in his thirty-six years, but none were so addicting. Zora made his cock so hard he felt like he’d come from just the touch of her. Once he saw she wouldn’t pull away, he tilted her head back to deepen the kiss. He captured her bottom lip, sucking it in his mouth.
Zora let out a soft moan, wiggling against him. The heat emanating from her was driving him insane. Though Heath wanted to rip her clothes off, toss her on the floor and bury his dick inside of her hot cunt, he forced himself to go slow. There would be time for that later. He released her lip and used his tongue to explore the contours of her mouth before slipping it inside. The taste was heaven. He lowered one arm and hooked it around her waist to grind his cock against the juncture of her thighs.
He felt the tips of her nipples harden against his chest. He was so caught up in the feel of her in his arms and the taste of her, he barely registered the low groan from his cousin.
Zora let out a little squeak when Gavin moved behind her, pushed her blonde locks aside and began to gently lay kisses on the back of her neck. “So beautiful,” he murmured.
She shivered in reaction, seeming unsure what to do next. Heath raised his head to study the expression on her lovely face. Her lips were swollen and her eyes were glazed with lust. “This feels right, doesn’t it? Go ahead and admit it.” Heath cupped a breast in his hand and gave it a light squeeze.
“Th-this is so depraved. It’s not right,” Zora whispered.
“Who are you trying to convince?” Gavin asked as he continued to graze her skin with his lips. “Us or yourself?”
Heath cupped her other breast, squeezing it and rubbing the hardened tip through her top. “You’re still fighting this when nothing has probably ever felt more right in your life. See how perfectly you fit in our arms? You’re made for us,” he said before lowering his mouth again.
Her only response was a slight whimper when their lips met again. Heath controlled the kiss, demanding and taking, tasting and conquering. This time however, Zora pushed her tongue forward to meet his, tentatively tasting him as well. He broke the kiss to bump his nose with hers. “That’s it, baby, give in to what your body and heart are telling you. They never lie.”
She threw her arms around Heath’s neck while Gavin pressed into her backside, giving her kisses on any exposed skin he could get his lips on. Zora’s tongue circled Heath’s until they were dueling and enjoying the taste of each other.
A roar rent the room. “What the hell is going on here?”
Heath reluctantly lifted his head to see an angry Logan had entered the room.