Enemies in Love [High-Country Shifters 4] (16 page)

Her attention jerked back to what Jude was doing. He rubbed the scented goo on her tight bud, and his slow circles helped relax her. When he leaned over and kissed her neck, Kranor retrieved his hand and joined it with the other on her breasts. As Jude delicately ran his tongue along her back to relax her, Kranor rubbed her already engorged nipples. The slightest touch made her breath hitch.

As soon as he increased the pressure, the pain turned to pure bliss. Just as her pussy was heating up from his touch, Jude wedged a finger into her back hole. The slight pinch turned pleasant a moment later. He took his time to swirl the digit around and around, stretching her rippled muscles. When he reached under her pussy and pressed on her clit, an overwhelming urge to come nearly claimed her. She never thought she could get this excited so fast.

Kranor rubbed her tits faster and Jude added another finger. When he scissored his fingers open and closed, her back channel widened. He dipped two fingers into her pussy at the same time and her moan came out loud.

Suddenly all sets of hands disappeared. Jude kissed her cheeks and held onto her hips. Kranor leaned forward and offered her his cock.

“I believe you requested a chance to suck on him.”

She smiled. “I believe my exact words were that I wished I could lick your cock so hard that I sucked your cum right from your balls.”

He held her shoulders steady. “I’d like to see you try.”

Just as she leaned over to take him into her mouth, Jude pressed the head of his cock to her ass. For a second, she tensed but immediately tried to relax. Any tightness on her part would prevent his big cock from getting inside her.

Jude nudged the opening. “Just relax. I want to love you my way.”

His dreamy tone had the effect he wanted. She moved her knees a little closer together to widen her asshole. Using a slow, back-and-forth motion, he moved in, but stopped after an inch to make sure she was okay.

Kranor cleared his throat. She’d been so enthralled with what Jude was doing that she’d forgotten about sucking on his cock. She really needed two brains so that she could give her undivided attention to each man.

She dove onto Kranor’s cock just as Jude slid down her back channel. The tightness only added to the pleasure. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but on the next thrust he must have hit something good because a wild flurry of electric pulses marched up her spine. When he rubbed her swollen clit and Kranor pinched her nipples, her body went crazy. Everything went to high speed. Her pussy dripped and she sucked hard and faster. Kranor grabbed on to her hair and helped guide her. His groans got louder and louder and were matched by Jude, who by now had reached the end of her ass.

Since he could see her head bob up and down, he must have decided to match her sucking rhythm. By now, she loved the sparks being emitted from each thrust. As he drove in and out of her, more nerves came alive. He played with her pussy and her clit like he was a musician on a fine instrument. Her body heated, and her excitement grew until she was ready to burst.

Jude’s fingers tightened on her ass, and Kranor pulled her hair taut on her scalp. She lifted her head at the exact moment Kranor sent a geyser into her mouth. She swallowed his creamy seed and let out a feral yell of her own as her climax rained down on her. Her pussy wouldn’t stop pulsing and her ass was exalting at the new experience.

“Sugar, you are so damned tight.” Each word came out as individual sentences as if he couldn’t speak them in a row.

He pounded into her one more time and jettisoned his hot cum into her ass. She felt so thoroughly loved, but she wasn’t able to comprehend what had really happened. How had she never known about this before?

Jude withdrew, and she dropped down onto the blanket. She was positive she’d never be able to move again. She thought it was Kranor who disappeared from the lean-to, but she didn’t have the strength to open her eyes. Minutes later one of them wiped her clean. Then they placed a clean sheet on top of her and she fell asleep right away.

When she awoke it was dark, but the glow of fire must have roused her. Her two men kept their voices low, but if they really didn’t want to disturb her, they could have communicated silently. Taryn said it took more effort to talk telepathically when they were in human form.

She pulled on her skirt and crawled out of from behind the lean-to. “Hi.”

“Sleep well?” Jude asked.

She glanced to the black sky that was dotted with bright twinkling stars and inhaled, enjoying the fresh scent of the pine mixed with the burnt smell of smoke and wood. “Yes, but I’m hungry.”

Jude handed her a paper bag. “Have a seat. There’s one sandwich left for you.”

The air on top of the mountain had gotten chilly. She sat close to the edge of the pit, loving how the fire nicely heated her except for her back. “I think I need to put on my shirt.”

Jude scooted over and pulled her between his legs. His chest made for the best blanket. “That good?”

“Fabulous.”

They said nothing while she ate. The peace surrounding them made her so relaxed. Thoughts of the future rattled in her head. “I had a fabulous time today. I wish I didn’t have to work so we could play every day like this.”

Jude tightened his hold. “Wouldn’t we all, but Kranor and I do need to work sometimes, too. Money comes in handy.”

She ran her hands over Jude’s strong fingers remembering how they’d excited her body a short while ago. She didn’t understand much about what they did, but their job had sounded important.

She wanted to ask where he saw the three of them in the coming months, but she didn’t want to spoil the mood. How long would they want to come to visit her when they had jobs to do? Asking Rein to work an extra shift and carry a heavier load so that she could be with her men wasn’t fair to her good friend either.

She leaned back her head and closed her eyes, breathing in Jude’s animal scent. She was falling in love and knew she’d never be able to stop.

For the last twenty days, she hadn’t seen her men, and her mind was beginning to imagine all sorts of horrible things. She was sure she’d have been able to sense if one of them had been injured, so why hadn’t they shown up? Had some patrolling lions prevented them from seeing her?

She almost dreaded working in the community garden because when they didn’t come, her depression worsened. Henla dragged herself back down the tunnel into her underground home after finishing her work outside. She knew they couldn’t come the first time she had garden duty because Kranor and Jude had some kind of meeting to go to, but why not the other times?

The fact they even went to meetings with other wolves surprised her given their last reception at the bar, but they said not all wolves were focused on destroying the lions and bears.

At least that restored some faith in the shifter world, but what about last week and this week? Something wasn’t right.
Damn
.

As she passed the store, Rein was stacking shoes on the shelves. Guilt assaulted her. She owed it to her friend to work more hours.

“Hey.”

Rein spun around and her quick smile disappeared. “No men?”

Another wave of angst struck her and she sat in one of the seats where people tried on shoes. “No.”

Rein slipped next to her. “Are you okay?”

No.
“I’ll be fine. They can’t come every time. They have jobs and I have a job.”

Rein leaned back and smiled. “Why don’t you go over there and surprise them?”

“You been chewing
ocana
again?” By mistake Rein had once ingested the hallucinogen and had lost her mind for hours.

She laughed. “I can tell you love them. Do they know you want to be with them?”

“They read my mind. They have to know. Besides, I probably wouldn’t make it there alive if I did go.”

“Then ask your brothers to escort you.”

She rolled her eyes. “While they like both men a lot, I don’t think they want to lose yet another sister to a foreign place.”

Rein blew out a breath. “I see your point. You haven’t seen Sella, I take it?”

“We met right after her honeymoon, but that’s all. I know she’s having a great time with her men in Spirit.”

“And she has her two best friends with her, too.”

“I’d almost forgotten about Cavon and Malik.
Damn
. Hell, maybe the men and I should move over there.” Earth didn’t have the same kind of minerals as Anterra, which would make finding jobs hard.

Rein laughed. “No, sweetie. You’re an Anterran through and through. I doubt your mom would even let you go.”

That was the crux of the problem. She loved her parents and wanted to be near them. “I know.”

Her eyes brightened. “Why don’t they move closer to you?”

She’d thought of that, too. They could live on the edge of lion and wolf territory, but that would put them near the bears. “They have jobs.”

“Oh.”

Yeah, oh
. Henla slapped her legs. “Why don’t I stay here and you take the evening off?”

She waved a hand. “I couldn’t do that.”

Henla could tell from the second of hesitation that she wanted to go. “I’m the boss and I say you need to go.”

Rein shot up and grinned. “Well, if you insist.” She gave Henla a hug. “It’ll all work out.”

Rein was the perennial optimist. “I hope so.”

As soon as her employee and friend disappeared into the crowd, she set about straightening the shoes on the rack. A few people stopped in, but in the following two hours, she only sold one pair of sandals. Maybe she needed to sell ones that weren’t made so well so they wouldn’t last.

Her back was to the entrance when she sensed him. She whipped around. “Elan.”

His grin looked predatory. “It’s so nice to finally find you working your own store.”

She swallowed her retort. The last thing she needed was for him to heap more guilt on her. “Come to buy some shoes?”

He advanced.

She retreated. He might have a fine profile, but his eyes were set too close together and his ugly personality made him, well, ugly. What had she ever seen in him? After the night at the party, she’d told him she never wanted to see him again. Some men just didn’t take the hint.

“No. I came to see you. I heard you
were
seeing some wolf shifters?” His lip curled and her stomach churned.

She straightened her shoulders and pulled the box in her hand closer to her chest. “It’s none of your business.” Maybe it hadn’t been smart for Kranor and Jude to have visited her parents. Everyone in Anterra would figure out what happened.

He inched forward and she looked behind him, hoping someone would come into the store so she could get away from him. He’d never hit her, but his glare made her skin feel dirty.

“It is if they’re still in the picture, though rumor has it they haven’t been coming around.”

Her heart dropped to her stomach. Who would have mentioned anything? There weren’t many people who knew they’d gone to the swimming hole or gone camping. Realization hit. “Did you do something to them?”

He dropped his head back and barked out a laugh. “I’d never do anything to hurt you. Don’t you know I love you?”

His definition of love was rutting with her every chance he got. “You’re delusional. We’re finished. I thought I made myself clear.”

She must have been sending out a major distress signal because Rickter strode into the store. Her little brother loved trolling the mall.

“He giving you trouble?” The two of them had never gotten along.

Elan’s spine stiffened. “I was just going.” He leaned his head forward. “This isn’t finished.” He spun on his heels and walked out, not even glancing at Rickter.

Her brother rushed toward her. “Are you okay?”

“I am now. Thank you.”

“That guy gives me the creeps.”

“You and me both.” She wondered if her brother liked Kranor. He was only two when Kranor had been around.

“I’d keep an eye out for him.” Rickter looked back over his shoulder as if he expected to see Elan peering in.

He didn’t need to give her the warning. “I plan to, too, little brother.” A weapon wouldn’t do any good against the man, but maybe if she had a club handy it would make her feel better.

* * * *

As the days went by and she still didn’t see her men, Henla was beginning to wonder if they weren’t coming by because they realized that a long-term relationship just wasn’t feasible. It wasn’t like they could call her from wolf territory. Their systems didn’t mesh.

Maybe it was for the best. Every time she was with them, her love grew, and being separated from them was getting harder and harder.

Deep inside, she’d known it wasn’t going to work. Kranor lived alone far from town for a reason. In a way, she was surprised he even wanted Jude with him. Yet, when they were together, his caring and carefree nature emerged.

A smile lit her face remembering how charming he was with old man Almic. There had been a deep affection between those two that went back years. Sure, as kids they were troublemakers, but she always thought the old man was lonely. Perhaps their recent adventure had lightened his days.