Babies for Nikki (36 page)

The woman was quiet for a while, allowing Nikki to soothe her as she thought. Nikki could see she was thinking pretty intently about something, but she remained silent, content to allow the young woman all the time that she needed.

“Did I dream it, or did two men find me and take me here?” she asked carefully.

Nikki nodded. “Hunter and Clay brought you in last night,” she told her calmly.

“Where are they?”

“Out in the waiting room. When the doctor came in to examine you just a minute ago, she made them leave.”

“I remember them.” Abbey smiled hesitantly. “They seemed pretty nice. I didn’t feel afraid of them.”

“You shouldn’t,” Nikki agreed, encouraging the frightened woman. “You’re safe with them, Abbey. They would never hurt you. In fact, they’ve set themselves up as your protectors. All of us have had to pass their inspection before any of us could get near you.” Nikki laughed, knowing exactly why the two men were so protective of the woman.

“When can I leave?”

“I don’t know, honey,” Nikki told her honestly. “If you want, I can get the doctor so she can talk to you.”

“Okay.”

“Do you want anything else?”

“No, nothing else. I just need to leave.”

“Where would you go?” a deep voice spoke from the doorway, startling them both.

They turned to see Hunter and Clay walking toward them with concern and determination. Nikki patted Abbey’s hand reassuringly before standing and heading toward the door.

“I’ll go get Dr. Harrison,” she offered. “Hunter and Clay will stay with you. Don’t worry, Abbey. They’ll make sure you’re safe. I promise.”

As she made her way out of the room she saw the two men flank the woman, reaching out to take her hands and hold them carefully within theirs as they remained silent beside her.

Walking toward the emergency room, she thought about the way the members of Jace’s pack were all meeting the third person in their triad. It was amazing. She would never make fun of any person who believed in fated mates or the power of destiny again.

“Hey, Nikki,” Doreen, the head nurse, called to her as Nikki passed by.

“Hi, Doreen,” Nikki answered. “Would you mind paging Dr. Harrison? The Jane Doe is awake and wants to talk to her.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Doreen answered, nodding.

“Is it okay if I take a break now?”

“Sure, it’s been pretty quiet,” Doreen told her without looking away from the waiting room. “We have visitors tonight. I wish I knew who they were. They certainly are good looking. No. Make that hot.”

Doreen’s comment and accompanying whistle of appreciation made Nikki look toward the waiting room to see who she was talking about. She smiled when she saw Alex and Butler sitting patiently in chairs that looked like children’s furniture in comparison to their massive heights and builds.

“Yes, they are,” Nikki agreed softly as she made her way over to them and sat in the empty seat between them. They took her hands immediately and brought them to their mouths, kissing them gently before lowering them to rest on their thighs and smiling at her.

“Almost finished with your shift?” Butler asked quietly.

“Almost. Only another two hours,” Nikki told him tiredly.

Alex reached up and touched her face gently. “Tired, darlin’?”

“A little bit,” she admitted. “It seems I didn’t get much sleep. For some reason I feel like I’ve run a marathon.”

She looked up at them, smiling, only to sober immediately at their serious expressions. She tugged at their hands with a strength that surprised both men before bringing them to her chest and pressing them tightly against her heart.

“Don’t you dare start treating me like I’m a weakling,” she warned them. “And don’t you dare stop making love with me.”

Their immediate growls of need filled the empty waiting room. Standing quickly, they pulled her between them for a quick hug before ushering her outside.

“Where are we going?” she asked, breathless as she ran to keep up with their powerful strides.

Before she could think or even act, they had her inside the back seat of Alex’s black truck and crushed between them, kissing her fiercely. She couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she melted between them, allowing them to caress her from face to thigh as they showed her just how much they wanted her.

“I didn’t mean right now, guys!” she told them breathlessly between kisses.

Their urgency seemed to settle a little as she held them lovingly against her body, petting their hair gently as they settled against her shoulders, taking in her scent as they kissed her neck lightly.

“The urge to claim you is riding us, Nikki,” Butler explained gruffly. “The need is greater since we made love to you at the same time.”

“So, we’ve basically got a powder keg waiting to explode?”

She smiled at the shamed looks that both men gave her. Reaching up, she touched their cheeks gently, slowly threading her fingers through their silky hair. She was rewarded by their purrs of contentment but refrained from using the term. They could call it growling if they wanted to, but she knew a contented purr when she heard one. And she was hearing her men doing just that now.

“I see you’ve already rented the moving truck,” she told them softly, looking briefly at the truck that was parked beside them before returning her attention to them. “Do you think it will take us long to pack up before we head home?”

Both men smiled at the way she called the ranch home. They bet she didn’t even realize she had done so.

“We’ve already packed up your apartment, baby,” Alex told her softly. “You won’t have to come back here for anything except your job. If you want to,” he added, his voice hesitant.

Nikki looked at Alex briefly before focusing her attention on Butler. “Would you be willing to accept that I would work here on a rotating basis, Butler?”

Butler hesitated, unsure how to answer. He looked to Alex for direction but his triad partner was at as much of a loss as he was.

“You need to tell me what you’re thinking,” Nikki told them both softly. “If we’re going to be mated, we should all have input in this decision.”

Her words lightened their worry. Just the fact that she was trying to understand what they were feeling so they would be a successful mated triad gave them hope that she would understand what they had to tell her.

“Nikki, we want you to be able to work whatever job you want,” Butler began hesitantly.

“But?” she prompted.

“Being mated to us brings about issues of safety not only for you, but for the rest of the pack,” Alex explained quietly.

“Explain.”

“Jace’s pack is one of the strongest, if not
the
strongest, in the area,” Butler explained. “When we claim you, you will be officially part of our pack.”

“Jace already considers you part of his pack. He did as soon as he realized that you were our mate,” Alex added.

“Having you work this far away from pack land is a security issue,” Butler continued. “We’ll defend your right to do so if you wish to continue working here, and I know Jace would also support your choice, but it would mean assigning security to be with you when you were on duty. We couldn’t risk someone from another pack hurting you, or taking you, in order to compromise our pack. Being mated to us puts you at a higher risk because we are the pack enforcers and taking you would jeopardize pack security. We would be unable to function if you’re taken from us, sweetness.”

Nikki remained silent. She looked from one man to the other, weighing her options. “How would it work, exactly?” she asked quietly. “Would one of you guard me while I worked here?”

“That would be our first choice,” Alex answered immediately. “But we might be involved with pack business elsewhere and would have to assign another wolf to watch over you.”

Nikki saw the way Alex’s jaw clenched at the prospect of another wolf, essentially another man, taking care of her. She didn’t like that idea either.

“And what happens if I get pregnant? Will I still be able to work?”

“When, baby,” Butler interrupted her.

“When what?” Nikki asked, confused.

“
When
you get pregnant, not
if
you get pregnant,” he explained seriously. “You saw the visions just as we did. You’ll be pregnant with our cubs very soon and will be sharing our new home. There is no question about it.”

“You don’t know how much I want that to be true,” she barely whispered.

“Know it, Nikki,” Alex told her softly, leaning forward and kissing her lips lightly. “We’re going to take you home as soon as you finish your shift, and we’re going to claim you. If the Fates smile down on us, we’ll create our children tonight. They’ll find a warm and loving home deep within you. Know it, baby. It’s going to happen.”

Nikki leaned away from their embrace and looked at both men, searching their faces with cautious yearning. “I hope so,” she said finally.

Their soft smiles and expressions of love melted her heart and erased any worries she had. Butler claimed her lips first, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her toward him tightly.

“Love you so much, sweetness,” he whispered against her neck, kissing it lightly before biting down on her shoulder firmly.

Nikki moaned against the softness of Butler’s hair. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Alex smiling at her. His eyes had turned a soft golden color, and she knew his wolf was pushing to be released.

“Alex,” she whispered, reaching out her arms to him.

He took her into his embrace effortlessly, Butler easing back to give their mate to Alex without hesitation. Nikki accepted Alex’s kiss immediately, leaning into his warmth and moaning as she felt his strength surround her. The way he held her tightly against his chest made her feel protected and wanted. Butler leaned forward against her back and pressed her tighter against Alex, making her sigh contentedly.

How do they know exactly what I like and exactly what I need?

All thought fled from her mind as Alex took her lips in an exquisitely tender kiss. His touch scrambled her brain. She could barely put two thoughts together. His gentleness touched her heart, and it pounded as emotions swamped her.

“Love you, Mate,” he whispered, kissing her temple before leaning down to bite down on her shoulder with enough force that he knew she would have a mark, although not the mark his wolf was demanding.

He growled, trying desperately to control his instincts. The need to claim, to mark, to mate, ripped through him. Only the steadying hand of Butler on his shoulder gave him the strength to pull back.

The scent of Nikki’s need filled the cab of the truck. They were all breathing deeply, and both men were struggling to control their wolves as their woman’s desire for them was filling her body with warmth. They could smell her need and fought to keep from pushing her back against the seat and tasting the sweet nectar that awaited them between her legs.

Nikki looked up at both men and knew she had to help them stay in control even though that was really the last thing she wanted them to do. But she had a shift to finish, and she couldn’t very well go back into the emergency room smelling of sex.

“I have to get back inside. My break is almost over.” Her voice was weak even to her own ears, and she was grateful when both men kissed her briefly before leaning away from her with great reluctance.

Alex opened the truck door and stepped out, reaching out to span Nikki’s waist with his massive hands, and lift her effortlessly from the truck. He set her before him and hugged her to him tightly, feeling Butler come up behind her and doing the same.

“Go ahead and finish your shift,” Butler whispered against the back of her neck. “You don’t have to make any decisions about your job right now. Just know that whatever you decide, we’ll figure out a way to make it work. We want you to be happy.”

Nikki nodded, completely overwhelmed by their support and kindness. Kissing each of them briefly, she turned and walked toward the emergency room doors, knowing they followed her to take their seats in the waiting room to watch over her. She realized that their protection of her was already in place.

* * * *

Nikki’s next two hours consisted of a whirlwind of patients. The waiting room had become a rotating influx of emergencies. She didn’t have much time to do anything except assist the doctors and take care of the injured. When her shift finally came to a close, she wearily made her way toward the two men who waited for her in the now empty waiting room.

As she turned the corner, buttoning her bulky black sweater and pulling her pocketbook up onto her shoulder, she realized that she was looking forward to seeing the men that she loved to the very depths of her soul. She froze in place when she saw Doreen sitting between them, her hand resting possessively on their thighs. Both men were paying attention to her as she spoke, and Nikki felt a stab of jealousy slice through her.

Old feelings of insecurity raced through her, and she couldn’t help but compare herself to the young, beautiful blonde who looked so relaxed between Alex and Butler. She was laughing coyly at some inane comment Nikki was sure she had just made.