Abbey's Protectors [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates 4] (Siren Publishing Menage & More) (16 page)

She unlocked the hotel room door, pushed it open, and stepped inside, glad when both men followed her in. She closed the door behind them and locked it firmly, flipping the security lock and fastening the chain. She stepped away from the men and dragged the padded chair that was at the small table near the front window so that it was pushed snug beneath the doorknob. She stood back and surveyed her makeshift barrier. She knew the security was flimsy at best, but it made her feel a little better.

Both men grabbed for her and backed her against the wall immediately. As one, they crowded her and breathed in her scent, pushing their noses against her neck, opening their mouths, their canines already dropped, and nipping at her lightly. Abbey felt a rush of excitement as they bit down onto the sensitive area between her neck and shoulder. Their hands morphed into claws, ripping at the T-shirt she wore to separate the material at her neckline and bare her chest to them. Only her black lace bra kept her from being completely naked to their gaze.

“Mate,” Hunter growled.

“Abbey,” she corrected him, smiling.

“Mate,” Clay insisted, his voice deep and his eyes flashing angrily.

“You’re scaring me,” she whispered, somehow knowing that they wouldn’t hurt her but feeling a spike of fear nonetheless.

They melted at her words. The mating rage seemed to lessen as the scent of their woman’s fear permeated their senses. She was theirs to protect and love. It was not acceptable that they were the cause of her fear.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Hunter began, leaning forward and nuzzling his cheek against hers as he asked for forgiveness without words.

Clay rubbed his face against her shoulder, kissing it lightly and resting his mouth against her ear. “Please don’t be afraid of us, baby,” he begged, his voice hoarse. “We can’t help it.”

Looking up at both men, she saw them watching her intently. She reached out and took Hunter’s left hand and Clay’s right hand within her own and took a shaky breath to steady herself.

“I need you both to listen to me very carefully.”

She waited, glad when both men nodded and squeezed her hands lightly. Their eyes were still completely golden but their growls had subsided to contented purrs. It was cute, actually. She couldn’t help but smile at the sound and was rewarded by the responding smiles of the two men.

“I was sleeping and the beautiful woman who had appeared to me once before came to me again in my dream. She warned me that the two of you were in danger. There’s a rival pack waiting to ambush you in the alley beside the diner. She told me and showed me that you both would be killed. I couldn’t let that happen.”

She leaned forward and touched both men’s chests when their growling increased, and she saw the definite tips of their canines peaking from between their lips. There was no denying that these men were wolf shifters just as the beautiful lady had revealed to her. She suddenly realized that her memory of them shifting while she was in the hospital room had been a reality—not a dream as she had thought.

Despite the fact that she knew what they were, she felt no fear with that realization. They were still the men who had found her in the woods, had taken her to the hospital, and who had held her so gently as she fought to get her strength back. She could never forget that kindness. And she could never deny the rightness of what she felt when they were with her.

Easing forward, she did the only thing she could think of to calm them. She laid her head against their chests and kissed the underside of their jaws, nuzzling into their necks and hugging them. Their arms immediately surrounded her and squeezed her tightly.

“Too tight. I can’t breathe,” she told them, laughing softly. Their hold on her loosened immediately.

“Sorry,” Hunter again apologized. “It’s the mating rage. Being without you in our lives this past week has pushed us past the normal need to be with you.”

“What do you mean?” Abbey asked him, touching his face and gently stroking his cheek, loving the masculine strength of his jawline and the sexy stubble of hair that covered it.

“The mating urge turns into mating rage when the woman is removed from the presence of her mates before the bonding can be completed,” Clay explained with effort.

Abbey reached up and ran the pad of her thumb across his high cheekbone, amazed by the sheer gorgeousness of this man. Both men were beyond beautiful.

“You guys seem to be pretty sure that I’m your mate,” she told them both, smiling at the immediate growls that erupted from both of them.

“Yes.” That single word was firm and instant as Hunter answered for both of them. He looked at her, baring his teeth, daring her to deny what he and Clay both knew to be true.

She leaned back and smiled up at them, winking boldly. “As it happens, it seems my father and the beautiful lady think you both are meant to be mine.”

“We are,” Hunter growled.

“Forever,” Clay added.

Abbey nodded and took a step away from them, smiling as they both advanced on her. She held her hands up and they stopped, waiting for her to continue.

“I don’t really know how this is going to work,” she told them calmly. “I know I’m drawn to you. I feel safe with you.” She walked away from them and stood beside the table. Turning back to look at them, she rubbed the center of her chest, her brow furrowing in pain. “When I’m away from you I ache. Why do I ache?”

“It’s because of the incomplete mating bond,” Hunter told her, remaining where he was so that he wouldn’t frighten her. “Once our mates are found, the need to be with them is all-consuming. Being away from our mate causes actual physical pain and makes us feel unsettled until the mating is completed and our woman is claimed.” The growls that continually resounded from his chest were testament to how much he was fighting to keep in control of himself. The need to go to her was nearly overwhelming.

“What exactly happens during a claiming?” Abbey asked, stepping toward them but not touching them.

“Abbey,” Clay spoke up, stepping toward her just one step before stopping and taking a deep breath to try and calm himself. It didn’t work. It only served to make him want her more when he breathed in the incredible sweet scent of her.

“What, Clay?”

“I need to hold you. Please.”

Abbey looked at him silently, taking in the way his entire body was tight and his hands were clenched at his sides. Looking at Hunter, she saw that he was in the same condition.

So many thoughts raced through her mind. Every argument she had with herself that this relationship was odd, wrong, happening too fast, and unbelievable, was met with an equally strong argument that it was right, comfortable, and fated. She could feel the warmth of soft ribbons surrounding her and the men, drawing them closer together.

Trust in the joining.
The beautiful woman’s voice called to her in her mind once again.

Abbey’s attention snapped back to the men, knowing immediately that they had heard the voice, too. The smile on their faces proved it.

“The Fates have blessed us, sweetheart,” Hunter told her, his voice gruff.

Abbey raised her arms and slapped at her thighs, laughing softly despite her frustration. “I really don’t get this,” she told them. “I just can’t fight anymore. I’m so tired.”

Both men stepped forward until they stood directly in front of the woman that was fated to be theirs. Hunter reached up and took hold of a length of her dark brown hair, fisting it tightly and pulling on it to tip her head back to bare her throat to him. With his free hand he surrounded her throat and squeezed it just slightly, exerting his dominance so she would not be confused in any way with what he was going to say to her.

“It was dangerous for you to leave the hospital, Abbey,” he told her softly. “Running away from us will never be tolerated again. We are a triad. If you have fears or concerns, you are to talk to us about them. Do you understand and agree to this?”

“But I couldn’t wait around and let my husband find me. And I couldn’t put either one of you in danger if he did come for me.”

“Why is that, Mate?” Clay asked her, leaning forward and biting down on her shoulder with enough strength to cause her to shiver.

“What do you mean?” she whispered.

“Why would it bother you if something happened to us?” Clay asked her, leaning back and looking down at her, his golden eyes flashing intently.

“Because.”

“Because, why?” Clay demanded.

“Because I care about you both, damn it!” Abbey snapped, pushing at them in frustration. Neither man would allow her to pull away from them that time, something that both angered and aroused her. What the hell was happening to her?

“And that makes you angry?” Hunter asked her, growling with frustration that their mate didn’t want to care about them.

“What? No!” Abbey stuttered. “You confuse me, Hunter.”

“Do I?”

The sexy smile he gave her pulled at her heart and made her channel gush with a rush of liquid. He was too damn sexy for her.

“Yes, you arrogant man! Just because you’re so damn handsome and are used to getting your way with women, don’t think you’ll be getting your way with me.”

“She’s got you there, Hunter,” Clay spoke up, the golden color of his eyes slowly changing to his usual blue as the mating rage lessened now that he held Abbey in his arms.

“Oh, like you’re not just as guilty of being a player,” Abbey snapped at him. “How do you expect me to accept you both as my mates when I don’t believe you really want me? I can’t believe you would ever be faithful to me. Besides, I’m already married.”

The calm that was coming over both men evaporated immediately at the mention of her husband and the doubts that she had about their faithfulness. Their hold on her tightened and the growls that had all but disappeared came back in full force as the mating rage took hold once again.

“Do you want to stay with him, Abbey?” Hunter asked her, his voice deceptively calm. “We will not take you away from your husband if your heart belongs to him.”

Abbey’s snort of disdain made both men smile, and the mating rage lessened somewhat. The anger that flashed in her beautiful, blue eyes gave them all the proof they needed to know that their mate held no feelings for her husband. She was truly theirs. The Fates knew exactly who was destined to be their woman.

“I was fooled by his words,” Abbey told them. “I will
not
waste my life with him. He’s not what I want.”

“Do you think you might be willing to stay with us, Abbey?” Hunter asked her softly. “We would really like it if you gave us a chance, sweetheart. We understand that this is something you have to come to grips with, honey, but our mating is all that we’ve ever wanted. You hold our hearts in your hands. You’re all that we will ever want or need.”

Clay’s hand reached up and grabbed for her hair, sinking his fingers in its softness and massaging her scalp lightly. “Honey, we’re your mates. We’re meant to love you and protect you.” He leaned in and bit down on her neck lightly. “And we want you with us always.”

“We’re going to have a long discussion about your husband and why you’re running from him,” Hunter told her firmly. “Just know that you won’t have to worry about him or think about him ever again.” He leaned against her temple and kissed it gently. “Just think about how both of us are going to love you for the rest of our lives. And we will
always
be faithful to you, sweetheart. Never doubt that.”

Abbey couldn’t prevent the whimper of need that escaped her. She wanted to believe that these men would be able to keep her safe and give her the life she had only dreamed about. She wanted to believe the words of her father and the beautiful lady. Maybe it was time to listen to Synthia and Shelly’s advice and give these kind men a chance.

She turned and walked toward the bed, climbing onto it and settling herself against the headboard. She opened her arms to the men and smiled as they immediately came to her and took their places on either side of her. Despite the fact that this boldness was completely foreign to her, it felt right to have them settled comfortably against her sides. She smiled as they rested their heads against her shoulders, and she reached up to repeatedly run her fingers through their hair.

Time passed quietly as she petted them and soothed them. If she were to be honest with herself, it calmed her just as much as it calmed them. Holding them, massaging their scalps with just the right amount of pressure, and breathing in the unique scent of each man made her feel completely relaxed and happy.

Both men had wrapped their arms around her waist and were nuzzling against her shoulders. She couldn’t prevent the giggle from escaping her as they inhaled deeply and opened their mouths to bite down gently on her neck.

“Feel better now?” she asked, humor evident in her voice.

“Yes,” both men answered immediately.

“I’m glad,” Abbey told them softly. “I feel better, too.” She continued to run her fingers through their hair, needing the connection. She wanted to touch them and soothe them. “My chest doesn’t ache anymore.”

Hunter leaned forward and kissed her chest, rubbing his cheek against the soft swell of her breast as it peeked over the top of her bra. He smiled against her warm skin, loving the closeness they were sharing. His wolf still was demanding a claiming, but he was more able to control the urge. He was determined that the mating act would give their mate nothing but good feelings and pleasure.