Stalking the Pharmacist (13 page)

He glanced at his clothes that lay on the
floor. Perhaps he should just head home and sleep in his own bed.

“Get in the bed, you idiot.” Jack’s voice
changed his mind as he moved around to what was now his side of the bed and
slipped in, turning his back on the other two. He’d never slept with three
people in his bed, but just for tonight, he’d try.

Ash’s warm hand slipped around his middle
and pulled hard. He resisted the pull and closed his eyes.

“Scott, honey?
Can you lie on your back for a minute?”

He let a sigh escape and rolled onto his
back, pulling the blankets up to his chin.

Here
we go.

He forced his eyes open and turned his head
toward her.

She was smiling at him and moved closer to
lay her hand across his chest and press her lips against his shoulder. The heat
of her was so tempting, but he dare not cuddle into her.

“Thank you so much, that felt incredible.”

He stared down at her, shocked.

“What are you talking about? I came after
only one thrust.”

Ashleigh giggled and kissed his shoulder
again. “You mean after I’d already sucked you for ages, you licked me until I
was right on the edge, and then I had such a massive orgasm I dragged you with
me? How awesome is that? Never be sorry for being so in sync with me. That’s a
huge compliment!”

You’ve
got to be kidding me?

“Come here, beautiful.” Jack pulled her
back against him and spooned her, but Ash kept her hand on him. His gut churned
but he stayed there, her fingertips trailing down his stomach in a way that
made him relax and settle.

“Can you turn onto your side so I can touch
you?”

You
want to still?

Scott lay there for a moment, hot tears
stinging his eyes. His thoughts were conflicting so much that his head ached.
Why would she want to cuddle? Was she serious about actually being happy with
their lovemaking?

When she continued to smile at him and
touch him, he had to assume she was at least telling some of the truth. Slowly
he rolled onto his side and shuffled back so that she could slip her arm around
his waist and he could feel the heat of her body against him.

Her palm rested over his hip, and her soft
sigh sounded happy.

“Goodnight.”

Her whispered word made him smile, and the
black cloud over him began to lift.

Scott was an insomniac, had been since his
marriage had started to fail, so he didn’t have much hope of getting any real
rest. But the night was magical to be a part of and he didn’t mind at all that
he would be awake to enjoy it more. Through the dark hours, she stayed close
and often nestled into him in her sleep. He finally fell asleep around three.
When he awoke in the morning, she was kissing his back in gentle, soft touches
and he knew his life had changed forever.

****

“I really don’t want to leave, Ash. I’m so
sorry.”

The regret she heard in Scott’s voice was
heartwarming
, his words obviously sincere. She smiled up at
him and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Scott’s neck to stare up into
his handsome face. His beautiful green eyes were wary at first,
then
the look melted away as he let his hands settle on her
hips and tugged her close. His whole body relaxed as though he’d pulled the pin
on the tension surrounding him, and he leaned into her embrace.

Thank
goodness for that.

“I know, but I respect the fact that you
have to.”

And she did. Not that she’d ever thought
she’d date anyone who had kids, but she loved the fact that Scott took his
responsibilities seriously, and hadn’t allowed her presence to derail plans
he’d already made with his kids. Integrity was very important to her.

“How many kids have you got again?”

He smiled softly. “Three. Meaghan’s
eighteen, Tommy’s sixteen, and Ryan is fifteen.”

She whistled softly. “That’s close
together.”

Scott shrugged. “Suppose so.” He hummed
gently as he moved closer and rubbed his nose against hers slowly, the gesture
speaking volumes about his need for touch.

She moved her hands around to his face and
felt him jerk back.

Oh,
sweetheart.

“I’d never hurt you, Scott.”

His green eyes went wide and she couldn’t
resist leaning forward and pressing her lips to his, the sweetest moan reaching
her ears as she pressed close. Why would someone, especially a woman who
professed to love him, hurt a man like this? Why would anyone deliberately hurt
anyone
?

“You two starting without
me?”
The joking tone
broke through their intense moment, but Ash didn’t mind. Jack would hopefully
balance them out and stop them from getting too serious.

She turned away so she could look at Jack,
but stayed close, pressing her body against Scott and feeling the soft touch of
his lips against her hair. She sighed and snuggled closer. She’d never get sick
of this type of affection. Hopefully if there were two of them to give her
affection, it wouldn’t disappear like it had from her marriage.

“No, just saying goodbye.”

Jack nodded and reached out for her, a look
of hunger in his blue eyes.

Really?
You want to cuddle too?

More than a little amused at their need to
be holding her all the time, she put her hand in his and was pulled away from
Scott by his brother. She let a laugh fill the space around them. When was the
last time she felt this happy?

Easy
answer: Never!

Jack twirled her around so her back was
against his chest where he held her tight, the pressure making her relax
instantly. There was something comforting about having such a big, strong male
holding her. She felt so safe.

“You got kid shit to do?” Jack asked his
brother, and Ash smiled to herself.

Lovely language, Mr. Football.

Scott nodded, scraping his keys noisily
along the bench before palming them.

“Yeah,
gotta
see
Meaghan for lunch. But I’ll be back later. You guys going to be here?”

Ash glanced up as Jack looked down at her,
his eyebrows raised in question.

She shrugged. “I haven’t got any plans
other than being here with you.” Although she did need to work out what on
earth she was going to do at the end of the week when she was meant to be going
home and resuming her life.

Both men purred like sated cats and she
glanced up in alarm. That wasn’t the first time she’d heard them make that
particular sound.

“What the hell is that noise you guys
make?”

The happy sound stopped like a switch had
been thrown.

Jack squeezed her tight and kissed the top
of her head.

“We’ll explain it to you later. One shock
at a time, I think.”

“I agree, and I better run. See you guys
later.”

Ash frowned, waving at Scott as he headed
out the door. She didn’t like them avoiding a question she was pretty sure was
going to lead to something important. But she would let the men distract her
for the moment, because if they didn’t tell her soon, she’d just ask her
cousin. Laura would make sure Ash knew everything she needed to anyway.

“So, what are we doing, beautiful girl?”

Ash leaned into Jack’s strength and wiggled
her ass against the rising hardness pressing against her. Her body ached from
the night before, but there was a hunger that was rising once again within her
that she was beginning to recognize.

“Bed, maybe?” She wiggled again and
released a squeal as her feet left the ground and she was unceremoniously
carried back to their room of pleasure.

****

Ash let her mood sway her whole body, music
in her head making her hips swing from side to side. She hummed a little and
smiled to herself. Maybe she could make them some dinner? What did Jack eat
other than steak?

“You look happy, beautiful girl.”

Jack’s deep voice slid into her ear as his
arms embraced her in their strength and warmth. Fresh, spicy scents filled her
nostrils. He smelled great after his shower.

“Hmmm, I am.”

How could she not be happy? Her body was
still singing from the orgasms Jack had caused within her, and it looked like
her beautiful, damaged Scott wanted to love her too. It seemed ridiculous that
her life had taken such a massive shift, but she was going with it and wasn’t
going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She wiped down the clean bench for the
second time, feeling the need to nest already. She could do so much with this
house.

“Hey, Jack—” She opened her mouth to ask
him about the boundaries of his property, when sounds of a loud commotion
outside the house reached her ears and she turned toward the sound.

What
the hell is that?

The back door burst open and
a rather red-faced teenager huffed her way into the room, followed closely by
Scott, looking just as disgruntled.

“Her? You cannot be serious, Dad!”

Ash blinked at the younger, female version
of Scott. This was obviously his oldest daughter. She had his gorgeous green
eyes, square jaw, and flowing brown hair.

“Meaghan, stop being so
rude!”

“She’s not even a shifter! How can you guys
be so stupid?”

A shifter?
What the hell was a shifter?

Meaghan growled and stamped her foot like a
toddler.

Okay, so maybe she looked like her dad,
but, from what Ash had heard about the girl’s mother, she obviously had a
temperament like her mum.

Jack growled back and stepped closer, the
tension in the room painfully high as the three family members postured and
snarled at each other.

That was just plain weird.

Meaghan turned back toward Scott.

“You’re supposed to be with mum! You never
even worked on it. You’re not supposed to just give up on your marriage.”

Scott groaned and threw his hands up in the
air.

“Meaghan, I worked on it for twenty years!
I did everything I knew how to do to keep us all together. There was nothing
left for me to do.”

Meaghan growled again, louder and deeper
this time, and when she spoke, her words were garbled.

“No. It’s
her
fault. She broke up our family. You would have come back to mum
if it wasn’t for her.”

Scott shook his head and crossed his arms
over his chest.

“Meaghan, the marriage ended five years ago
and you know it never really should have begun. Your mum and I never suited
each other.”

The teenage daughter growled in an inhuman
way. “That’s not true!”

Ash’s heart jumped in her chest as Meaghan
began to change. Her body grew more hair and her face transformed into an ugly,
grotesque mask. Then she was gone, and a mountain lion stood in her place.

“Oh my God!”
Ash screamed and jumped back as the animal
surged toward her.

Her men disappeared and suddenly there were
three very large, cinnamon-
colored
cats circling each
other, growling and hissing.

No
fucking way!

Ash inched back and hopped up onto the
kitchen bench top, lifting her legs and curling up into a ball. A thin film of
sweat coated her body, making her slip against the stone bench top as she
trembled in fear. Her heart was racing, yet she couldn’t move.

“Impossible. This is n-n-not
po
-possible.” She could barely get the words out as every
muscle in body began to lock down in fright.

The smaller cat that was obviously Meaghan
was being herded toward the door, then all of a sudden the two larger lions
pushed her out and they all took off.

Ash forced her legs to uncurl and allowed
her feet to touch the ground. She needed to get out of here.
ASAP.

Ash grabbed the keys to her rental car and
staggered out to the little red hatchback. She hauled the door open and fell in
to the seat.

Ash tried to breathe, but her chest ached
too much. In the distance she could hear catlike noises, and her already fast
heart rate began to thunder.

“I’ve
gotta
get
out of here…”

Ash threw the car into gear and drove
blindly from the house, her mind in utter chaos.

“What the fuck…what the fuck…” She
continued to chant, scanning the deserted roads as she drove for untold
minutes, stopping at a cross section when she finally felt like she was far
enough away from the crazy scene she’d just witnessed.

What the hell was she going to do? Her body
was ice cold, her frazzled brain stopping and focusing on a single line of
thought.