Stalking the Pharmacist (11 page)

Ash’s eyes lit up and she straightened in
her chair.

“Really?
That is awesome! Tell me more.”

Scott stared at her for a moment, taking in
her excited features, and shrugged. He couldn’t tell her too much because of
his sector being funded by the government, but he could tell her some things.

He began talking about his work, giving her
more details than he’d ever given anyone, because she was the only one who’d
ever pushed for a real answer. She asked intelligent questions and knew a lot
more cellular anatomy than he’d thought a pharmacist would.

The waiter came and cleared away their
plates, and Jack drew Ash back into the circle of his arms.

She smiled a little stiffly, flicking her
gaze back and forth for a moment before settling in against Jack’s side.

A heavy weight settled into his belly as he
watched Jack’s fingers slide up and down Ash’s bare arm.

The waiter came back with a smile. “Would
you like to order some coffees?”

Scott shook his head and glanced back at
the beautiful woman staring at him with massive blue eyes and the fullest lips
he’d ever seen.

Jack grinned at him. “You
wanna
come back to my place for another drink?”

Air whistled through Scott’s teeth as he
inhaled sharply. He nodded before he could talk himself out of this very stupid
decision and stood up, not quite sure what he’d do when it was just the three
of them.

The draw toward Ash was so intense it was
going to be almost impossible to stay away from her if he had the opportunity
to touch her. What would she taste like?

His mountain lion purred within him and he
forced his shaking legs forward to the front of the restaurant to pay.

If she was his destiny, shouldn’t he put
himself to the ultimate test? Then he would make the decision, once he had all
the information.

Chapter Eight

Jack drove Ash back to his place, while his
lion practically danced inside him with excitement. His skin tingled and his
muscles bulged with the effort to keep the strong animal contained. He’d made
the decision not to join with his mate. Without his perfect pair brother there
it hadn’t felt right. She was made for both of them, and he knew none of them
would feel complete unless all three mated together.

He inhaled sharply, his breath skimming
over his teeth. He had faith that the fates would pull it all together for them
when, in a few minutes, he’d have them both in his bedroom.

A grin spread across his face as happiness
flooded inside him like sunshine blessing the ground with its kisses as it
rises each morning.

“Do you really think Scott wants me, Jack?
It doesn’t seem like it at all to me.”

Jack laughed as he heard Scott pull up
behind them, his belly rippling with a real
humor
he
hadn’t felt in a decade. This beautiful woman could not be so insecure, surely?
His brother’s need for her was as clear as fresh spring water.

“Oh, he wants you, sweetheart, so bad he’s
sweating bullets about how to get away from us tonight before he jumps on you.”

She gave a high-pitched, nervous laugh and
he got out of the car, pulling her into his arms when they reached the front
door. Scott’s door slammed as he got out of his own car, and Jack dropped his
head and claimed Ash’s mouth with his. Her honeyed sweetness filled his mouth
as he licked along the seam of her lips before delving between them.

Scott cleared his throat loudly behind
them, and Ash stiffened in his arms.

Jack tightened his hold on her to reassure
her that she shouldn’t be worried about his brother’s
behavior
,
then slowly pulled back and dropped a kiss on her nose before finally turning
away to open the door.

Chill, bro.

Like most of his family, he owned a home
close to the base of the Rockies, with a substantial parcel of land around it.
The location made it safe, not to mention convenient, when they needed to shift
and run. Their animals didn’t belong in a cage, no matter how comfortable.

“Come on in.”

He walked down the narrow hallway and into
the small kitchen. He smiled to himself as he heard the front door close and he
pulled open the fridge.

“You
wanna
beer,
Scott? I’ve got some white wine if you’d like some, Ash?”

“Yeah, thanks, Jack. That’d be great.”

He turned to watch his brother and their
woman eyeing each other from the doorway. Scott was nodding slowly.

He grinned and grabbed two beers and the
wine. When was Scott going to admit that he really did want the love they’d
both been denied all their lives?

He tilted his head and they all moved into
his lounge room, full of old but comfortable furniture. He was proud of his
home. It was small but it was paid for, despite the fact that he still
continued to financially support his ex and kids.

“Have a seat.”

He placed the beers and the bottle of wine
down onto the wooden coffee table.

He snapped his fingers. “Shit!” he swore,
turning back to grab a glass for Ash.

When he returned it was to a very strained
atmosphere. Ash was sitting on the couch by herself, and Scott was in the
armchair opposite her.

Crap.
You could cut the tension with a knife.

Time to grab the bull by
the horns, so to speak.

“Hey, bro.
Can you move onto the couch with Ash?
You’re in my
favorite
chair.”

His twin glared at him for a moment, then
stiffly got up and sat down on the couch with Ash, staying as far away from
their mate as possible.

Jack swallowed a groan of frustration and
took a sip of his beer as he collapsed into his comfortable recliner.

Ash turned toward Scott, her hands folded
elegantly in her lap.

“So…Jack tells me your ex-wife is a real
piece of work.”

Pain shot through his throat as Jack choked
on his beer. He coughed and spluttered but managed to get the alcohol down.

Scott glared at him for a moment before
smiling grimly. Then he relaxed his posture and turned toward their outrageous
woman.

“She is.”

Ash moved closer, but didn’t touch Jack’s
twin.

“Is that why you’ve been reluctant to spend
time with me and see if we really are a perfect fit?”

Fuck, their woman had balls. She wasn’t
just
outrageous,
she was downright aggressive when she
wanted something. He needed to make sure he remembered that for future
reference.

Jack thumped himself on the chest to remove
the remaining fluid while Scott squirmed and cleared his throat.

“Ah, yeah, I suppose. I hadn’t really
thought about it.”

Ash narrowed her eyes at Scott and didn’t
even spare Jack a glance.

Good
girl.

She was on a mission and obviously as
impatient as Jack was.

“You’re kidding? We have the electricity
thing, you know I could be your perfect match, you’re single, and you’re not
even curious to see if it’s true?”

“If what’s true?” Scott swallowed, his
throat working hard.

“If the legends about perfect pairs are
right and that you and Jack are designed to love one woman.”

Scott turned to him and gave him a look
that said exactly what Jack was thinking. He nodded slowly.

Yeah,
she’s
gonna
keep us on our toes.

He grinned at his twin and decided to try
to help the situation, if he could.

“Sweetheart, could you give Scott a break
for a minute? You know we’ve both spent our whole lives believing the legends
were false. You’ve changed everything and we’re trying to catch up.”

Ash scowled at him. “Yeah, well two days
ago I was sure I’d never find a man I could trust and that I was totally
unlovable. But you changed all that, and I need to know if Scott is willing to
give us a chance. I don’t think I can survive being rejected again when I feel
like I’m wide open.”

Her voice went wobbly and Jack grabbed his
beer and tossed it back. He hadn’t really thought about the risk to Ash
herself, and he couldn’t answer for Scott. Ash was playing a dangerous game. If
she pushed too hard, Scott could bolt.

He sat back and waited for his twin, who
was shifting and rubbing his hands over his pants like he wanted to eradicate
the sweat accumulating.

“I can’t guarantee anything, Ash, that’s
impossible.”

Jack took another swig of his drink, his
heart picking up pace and pounding against his ribcage. Could Scott be willing
to try already?

Ash took a deep breath and let it out in a
sigh.

“I know that, Scott, I really do, and if I
thought for a moment that Jack and I could be happy as a couple, I’d leave you
alone, I promise.”

Woah
, she is really walking a
tight line now.

Jack gripped his beer and rolled it between
his palms, clenching hard down onto his teeth to stop himself from blurting
something out. His whole life hung in the balance and these two were talking it
out in front of him like it wasn’t the most important thing in the world! He
was between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

Scott cleared his throat again and asked
the question that hung in the air.

“You don’t think you can be happy with just
Jack?”

Ash shook her head. “No, I don’t. And even
if I was, Jack wouldn’t be. Jack’s awesome but when I saw my cousin at her
wedding, I saw the balance her men gave her, and know that you will have all
the things I need that Jack doesn’t have. Just as he has things you don’t. A
perfect pair
sounds,
well…perfect for a woman like me,
and I believe Jack when he says that we need to be a family to be happy, but
you need to want it too.”

Scott glanced at him, then back to Ash, his
eyes wide and his brows high on his forehead.

“You mean what Laura, Tyler, and Brandon
have. Yes?”

Ash nodded and jiggled her knees, obviously
unable to keep still.

“Yes! And I’m not asking for a commitment.
Hell, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but can you…maybe…”

She’d run out of words, and Jack couldn’t
sit there anymore and just watch.

He stood up and held out his hand, lifting
Ash up out of her seat and dragging her around the coffee table and to his
side.

“Scott, I know you’re worried about shit we
can’t control, but I promise you, come and kiss her, touch her. It’ll turn you
into a believer.”

He wrapped his arms around Ash and stared
at his twin, begging with his eyes for him to understand and to give this a
chance.

Scott stood up and scrubbed his face with
his hands, then rested both hands on his hips in a strange and uncomfortable
way.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

Jack grinned at his brother, excited
butterflies dancing in his belly.

“We may as well go into my bedroom. It’s
the biggest room and we can be comfortable.”

It also had a king-size bed, which Jack had
got out of sheer extravagance, but he was now extremely glad he had indulged.

Jack pulled Ash down the long hallway and
into his large bedroom. They’d have to work out which house they wanted to live
in, and whether they renovated one or bought something bigger for their new
family. But that was something to sort out later.

He stepped into his room and turned toward
his mate. His new life was finally beginning.

****

Scott stepped through Jack’s
bedroom door, ran his hand through his hair, and grabbed the back of his neck.
He wasn’t sure about this. There were still so many variables in this
relationship and far too many risk factors they hadn’t considered yet.

He looked across the room and
watched as Jack lifted Ash’s dress up over her head between kisses, the light
material pooling onto the floor as her gorgeous body became visible to Scott
for the first time.

Wow. She’s gorgeous.
All luscious curves and
feminine beauty.

Scott’s breath hitched as
Jack drew their mate into his arms, unclipping her bra at the back and kissing
her while the pale pink lace fell to the ground between them.

Lust slammed into Scott,
knocking all caution and rational thought from his brain.

He pulled at the buttons on
his shirt, discarding the clinging material and letting his breathing rate
increase to match the thundering of his heart. Jack and Ash looked toward him,
a tangle of arms and golden skin.

Jack turned Ash toward him
and he got a fleeting view of her full, soft breasts and large pink nipples
before Jack cupped them both and began kissing her neck.