SizzlingInsanity (6 page)

“I don’t think it is,” Connor said. “We need to warm her up,
fast.”

Cade nodded. “We’ll take her up to your room. If she doesn’t
start to get better we’ll call a doctor in the morning.”

Connor carried Shelby upstairs, his concern growing. She
felt so slight in his arms, as though she could just fade away. When she was
talking, she seemed so much bigger, tougher. In reality, she was tiny. Fragile.

She didn’t stir once. Cade swiped his access card, opening
Connor’s bedroom door for them, and Connor stepped in. Cade closed the door and
it locked automatically behind them.

“I’ll lock my bedroom door too, just in case,” Cade said.

Connor placed her in his bed, tucking her in. Was she sick?

“Here.” Cade came in carrying a first-aid kit. “Take her
temperature.”

“You say that like I should know how,” Connor said to him
impatiently. “I’ve never taken anyone’s temperature.”

“How hard can it be?” Cade dumped the contents of the
first-aid kit on the bed.

Connor searched through the kit and pulled out a
thermometer, ripping off the packaging.

“Here, you pull her mouth open and I’ll stick it in.”

Cade pried her mouth open. She murmured and tried to turn
her head just as Connor attempted to place the thermometer in her mouth.

“Damn it, Cade, hold her head still.”

“I’m trying, this is trickier than it looks.”

Cade turned her head back then pulled her mouth open again.
“Quick, do it now.”

“All right, all right.”

Connor placed the thermometer in her mouth and Cade let her
mouth go, letting it close around the thermometer.

It beeped and he drew it out. “96.6.”

“What’s it supposed to be?” Cade asked.

“I don’t know. Wait a minute, I’ll look it up.” He grabbed
his tablet and brought up the search engine. “Between 97.3 and 99.1 Fahrenheit
for humans. But she’s part werewolf and our body temp should be higher. We need
to warm her up.”

Cade nodded. “How?”

Connor grinned. “With us.”

She awoke surrounded by so much heat she felt sluggish. She
rubbed at her eyes, yawning. The guys must have the fireplace cranking. As she
raised her hands to stretch she brushed against something warm and hard on
either side of her.

She froze as the object to her right rolled over.

“Good morning, trouble,” a husky voice murmured.

“Has she warmed up?” another voice asked.

Oh God. Oh God. Don’t open your eyes. If you don’t open
your eyes it’s not true.
Unfortunately, it was too late to hide. Her memory
flooded back. Being captured. Held in that freezing room. Interrogated by two
of the hottest men she’d ever met.

How the hell had she ended up in bed with them?

A large hand covered her forehead. Shelby attempted to roll
away but she was sandwiched firmly between their strong bodies.

The palm moved away.

“She feels warm enough, but we should take her temperature
again.”

“I’ll get some food sent up and grab the thermometer,” the
other one replied.

The body to the left moved and she dove for the side of the
bed. A heavy arm slung itself around her waist, hauling her back against a
firm, hard body.

“Oh no you don’t. You’re staying right here, trouble.”

Opening her eyes, she looked over her shoulder to see Connor
staring down at her. His short hair was almost standing up on end and his eyes
were heavy-lidded with sleep. Shit. Her body instantly went hot, her pussy
clenching with need. The arm around her waist shifted lower and she realized it
was touching skin. Her T-shirt had ridden up some time in the night.

“Let me go,” she ordered, placing her hands on his arm and
trying to shove him away from her.

“I don’t think so. I like you just where you are,” he
murmured in her ear.

Cade moved back to the bed, holding a thermometer. She
pressed her lips together, looking up at him mutinously.

He studied her for a long moment.

“I could pry your jaw open, but that would just hurt you.
Maybe I should look up how to take a temperature rectally.”

He wouldn’t, would he?

“Cade never bluffs, trouble. I would open wide,” Connor
whispered, amusement in his voice.

Giving in reluctantly, she opened her mouth and let him slip
the thermometer inside.

“97.8. Do you know what your temperature usually is?” Cade
asked.

She glared at him. “What do you care?”

There was a knock on the door and Cade turned away. She
kicked back at Connor, trying to wriggle her way out of his hold. He merely
trapped her legs between his. The scent of toast drifted toward her nose and
her stomach growled. She told herself if she wasn’t so weak with hunger that he
wouldn’t have been able to overpower her so easily.

“Hungry, trouble? Be a good girl and let us take care of you
and we’ll get some breakfast in you quick.”

Patronizing ass! Be a good girl? Well, if he thought holding
back food would make her do what they wanted, he was sadly mistaken.

She slammed her head back against his face, heard a crunch
that made her wince.

Shelby scooted out of his arms and stood, looking around her
frantically. Cade stood on the other side of the bed, holding a tray of food.
This was it! Her chance!

She dove for the door, rattling at the handle. Locked!

“No!” she cried.

“Going somewhere?” Cade drawled. She turned to face him, her
breath sawing in and out of her lungs. He’d left the tray of food on the
bedside table.

Connor groaned on the bed. “Fuck, I think she broke my
nose.” He glared over at her.

Shelby swallowed at his look of fury. What would they do to
her now?

Think, damn it!

She turned her gaze back to Cade, he was her only hope.
Connor looked as if he’d rather strangle her than help her.

“I’m so sorry. I was just so scared.” She spotted another
door in the adjacent wall. Maybe it led to another room? She just needed to get
around Cade to get to it.

She lowered her gaze, deliberately making herself appear
submissive and afraid. It actually wasn’t that hard, she was freakin’
terrified. After all, she’d just broken Connor’s nose. No doubt he couldn’t
wait to get his hands on her.

Then there was her reaction to them. For a moment there
she’d wanted nothing more than to snuggle against them, to touch them, to lick
their slick skin, to feel their hands, their mouths on her skin.

She really had to get out of here. They were having some
weird effect on her and she didn’t like it one bit.

“I didn’t mean to,” she added in a pathetic voice. Her heart
beat wildly, her palms sweating.

“I know you’re scared, but like I said yesterday, we don’t
harm females.”

“Really?” She made her voice whisper soft and added a
terrified tremble for good measure. “Right now, Connor looks like he wants to
hurt me.”

“You broke my fucking nose!” Connor nearly howled.

What a baby. It couldn’t possibly hurt that much.

She made sure that thought didn’t cross her face, keeping
her gaze on the floor for good measure.

“I woke up lying in your bed. How was I supposed to know you
weren’t going to…going to…” This time she didn’t have to fake the tremble in
her voice.

Cade moved close enough that she could actually feel the
heat rising from his body. Shelby had to stop herself from leaning into him.
His scent teased her.

“We brought you up here because you were sick and we needed
to keep a close eye on you,” Cade explained. “You were freezing cold so we put
you between us to keep you warm.”

So they didn’t want her?

Shit, what’s wrong with me? I should be grateful they’re
not interested in me sexually. They’re the enemy.

So why does my stomach quiver when I’m around them? Why
do I get the urge to sink against their bodies and feel their arms around me,
their mouths against mine?

Shake yourself out of it!

Cade reached out and brushed a strand of hair off her face.
“But now you’re obviously feeling better. Why don’t we sit down and have some
breakfast and you can answer our questions?”

It was now or never.

Swallowing heavily, Shelby leaned in.

“You’ll protect me?”

“You have my word.”

“Cade, wait, she—”

Shelby acted before Connor could finish his sentence.
Swiftly, she brought her knee up into Cade’s groin. As he bent over with a
groan of pain, she ran around him for the other door, opening it easily. She
raced into an identical bedroom and headed toward the door.

Fuck! Locked! Glancing around frantically, she raced to the
windows, trying each one without success. She cried out in frustration, kicking
at the wall.

“All you’re going to achieve is a broken toe and then we’ll
all have injuries.”

She spun and saw Connor leaning in the doorway of the
connecting door, his arms crossed over his wide chest.

His nose was swelling already.

“There’s no way out, Shelby. Why don’t you do us all a favor
and settle down.”

“Fuck you!” She turned back to the window, pushing at it.

“They’re all locked. You’ll never get out that way.”

That just pushed her to try harder. Shelby took a few steps
back. If she couldn’t open it, then she was going to smash her way through it.
She ran toward the window, turning side-on at the last moment to smash her
shoulder through the glass. Just as she was inches from impact, her body was
snatched up and she was spun in the air.

She found herself over a wide shoulder, looking down at one
fine ass.

Smack!

A heavy hand landed on her butt, making her very aware of
how little clothing she had on. Her T-shirt provided very little protection as
Connor laid into her ass with his hand, making her skin sting and burn.

“Hey, let me down! Stop hitting me, asshole.”

“I’ll stop spanking you when I stop being fucking mad!” he
yelled back, turning around and storming into the other bedroom. As he walked,
he continued to place heavy smacks on her ass. “What the hell were you
thinking?”

“What happened?” Cade asked in a pained voice as he sat on
an armchair, his hand covering his groin protectively.

Shelby felt a flutter of guilt but squashed it quickly.
They’d brought this on themselves. They were the ones who’d captured her. What
did they expect? That she’d give them what they wanted?

“She tried to smash her way through the window. If it had
broken she’d be cut to ribbons, not to mention it’s a fucking long drop to the
ground.”

Okay, so it hadn’t been her best thought-out plan.

Connor slammed his hand down on each butt cheek. Shit, that
was beginning to burn. But even worse, each smack of his hand seemed to vibrate
her clit, make her pussy clench.

“She what?” Cade said incredulously. “Thank God they’re
shatterproof.”

“Let me go!” She attempted to wriggle her way out of
Connor’s firm hold. But he wasn’t letting go.

“Stay still. You don’t want me to let you down. The way
Cade’s glaring at you, you wouldn’t be able to sit for a week if I let you near
him right now.”

You have to be freakin’ kidding me!
What kind of
kinky bastards were these guys?

Shelby shook her head, clenching her hands into fists to
pummel them against Connor’s back. She didn’t care what he threatened, there
was no way was she going to let him do what he liked.

“Let. Me. Down.”

Suddenly the world tilted again and she landed on the bed
with a whoosh.

Connor followed her onto the bed, pressing his body over
hers as he grabbed her wrists, holding them over her head. He surrounded her,
making her feel lightheaded. His heavy erection pressed against her.

Seriously? He was turned on? She’d just pushed his brother’s
balls up into his stomach and he had an erection.

Leaning in, he whispered in her ear. “Calm down, I can hear
your heart racing. I’m not going to harm you. You have a choice. You can stop
fighting us and I’ll let you up. Or you can keep fighting and I’ll put you over
my knee and make those smacks I just gave you seem like love taps.”

How could that possibly turn her on? He was being a
dominant, bossy Neanderthal and she wanted to jump into his arms and beg him to
fuck her.

“I can smell how turned on you are, sweetheart. There’s no
point in denying it. You like having me dominate you, don’t you? You might feel
obligated to fight, but your body knows what it wants and your wolf knows who
is in charge, doesn’t she?”

“You’re out of your mind,” she told him. “It’s just been
awhile since I’ve been fucked.”

His grip on her tightened. “I’m warning you not to push me.
People make the mistake of thinking I’m the easygoing one, but push me and
you’ll learn just how much of a bastard I can be.”

How could anyone ever think him easygoing?

She heard a low groan then Cade joined them on the bed,
lying on his back next to her.

“Fucking hell, I can’t decide whether to vomit or cry like a
baby.”

“They’ll come back,” Connor said with some amusement. “Our
guest packs quite a punch, doesn’t she?”

“Your guest?” she said, incredulously. “Is this how you
treat all your guests, by locking them up in dingy little rooms, invading their
privacy, and ordering them around?”

“I think we’ve been more than polite to you considering what
you just did to us,” Connor growled.

“And what was wrong with your room?” Cade asked. “It’s
clean. I had the whole place disinfected for germs.”

Was he serious?

“It was freezing cold and there was no privacy. I had to pee
behind a blanket. For all I know, you’re going to load those videos online for
everyone to see.”

Cade’s eyes widened. “We would never do that.”

“She knows that, Cade,” Connor said, looking at her sternly.
“She’s exaggerating in the hope she’ll gain some sympathy. Sarcasm or jokes
mean little to him. He takes most things literally.”

“So if I told him to kiss my ass?” She glanced over at Cade.

“He’d most likely kiss your ass.”

“And enjoy every minute of it,” Cade said with a grin.

“Are you going to get off me? I can barely breathe. You
weigh a ton.”

Connor grinned but rolled to the side, still holding her
wrists in his hand. He placed a heavy leg over hers.

She glanced up at him in exasperation. “You can let go of
me, it’s not like I can go anywhere.”

“No, but I don’t trust you not to try to decapitate one of
us. I’ve experienced more injuries in the last twenty-four hours than I did all
last year.”

“I doubt that’s true. With how annoying you two are, I bet
people take swings at you all the time.”

“Maybe, but we always come out on top,” Connor whispered.
“You can’t win, Shelby. Just give in. Tell us who you’re working for.”

“No.”

She strained against his hold.

“Lie still,” he growled.

Cade rolled toward them, taking hold of one of her wrists.

“I am not going to just lie here and let you do what you
want to me.”

Connor brushed his free hand down her side, leaving shivers
in his wake.

“Aren’t you? We can smell your arousal, Shelby. Wouldn’t you
like one of us to bury his head in your pussy while the other one sucks on your
nipples? Have you ever dreamed of having two men touch you? Take you? Make you
theirs?”

Heat engulfed her, making her feel dizzy.

She shook her head, trying to clear it. “I don’t want you
touching me.”

“Now that’s a lie,” Cade said. “You want us touching you,
you just wish you didn’t.”

“Are you lying about wanting us, Shelby?” Connor asked.

“Whether I want you or not doesn’t matter. I’m still not
going to tell you anything,” she replied defiantly.

“But you do want us,” Cade reiterated.