Stalking the Pharmacist (17 page)

Ash stared at him for a moment,
then
shook her head. “You don’t understand me at all, do
you?”

Scott cleared his throat and shifted in his
chair. He needed to be very careful here.

“We only met on Friday,
Ash.
I’m not going to
lie and claim to know everything about you, that’s impossible in the short time
we’ve had together. But what I do know about you, I like.
A
lot.
I also know you are the one for me, and for Jack. That is enough to
build on, to create an incredible relationship in the future between the three
of us, but we need time to do that.”

Wow.
What the fuck just came out of my mouth?

Scott blinked. When had he decided she was
the one for him?

The
first time you touched her, you idiot!

He grimaced and focused back on his woman.
It was true, he had a long way to go to understand her, but the fact that she
was designed for them was obvious.

“I know that, but you don’t understand. I
want to love you, all of you, with all my heart. That means being a part of all
your lives. I don’t want to ignore the fact that you have three children. I
want to be a part of their lives too! And with an ex-wife like yours, how the
hell are we going to make it all work?”

Scott laughed. He didn’t mean to, but it
just burst out of him.

She glared at him and crossed her arms over
her beautiful breasts.

“Come here.” He grabbed her elbow and
pulled hard, arranging her so she was across his lap, all stiff and indignant.

“Don’t make fun of me!”

He wrapped his arms around her wriggling
body and chuckled.

“My gorgeous woman, I adore you. Please
stop, I’m only laughing because you have more heart than any woman I’ve ever
met.”

She slapped his shoulder once more before
settling to stare at him.

“What the hell are you talking about now?”

Scott moved his hands up to her face and
cupped her cheeks, loving the feel of her warm skin.

“You want to love me that much?
Bloody hell, woman, where have you been all my life?”

The soppy words kept spilling out and he
knew he should feel like a fool, but he was too happy. She really was the
intelligent, loving, sensual woman he’d always hoped for. She was their mate,
their perfect woman. Now he just had to win back her trust.

Ash slipped her hands around his neck and
cocked her head to one side.

“Aren’t you the least bit concerned about
how the hell we’re going to get this to work?”

He pressed his lips to hers and moaned as
she responded with a sweet little groan of her own.

He pulled back and stared at her.

“No, I’m not. Jack and I tried to make our
own lives and failed miserably, and I finally know why.”

Ash grinned at him, a playful light
entering her sparkling blue eyes.

“And why’s that?”

He growled, letting his lion come out to
strut a little.

“Because we were both
meant to love you!”

She giggled and wrapped herself tighter
around him, kissing him until they both were panting.

“Shall we go home?” he asked her, rubbing
his nose against hers and hoping to hell he’d done enough to convince her to
give them another chance.

She slid off his lap and stood up on
slightly wobbly legs. “Yes, but don’t think you’re totally off the hook yet. I
want to see you guys in your lion form, and you have to prove that I’m safe
around them.”

From what Laura had said earlier, it also
sounded like he had a lot to learn about her past. But he’d get there.

Scott took her hand and proceeded to lead
her inside to get her things.

“It will be our pleasure, sweetheart.”

Chapter Twelve

Jack paced up and down Scott’s kitchen,
sweat on his brow and adrenaline pumping through his system. He’d gone to the
gym, but it hadn’t helped to quell his building panic. He was slowly losing
control, and his bloody brother was nowhere to be found.

His phone rang and, seeing it was Scott, he
picked it up within the first vibration.

“Where the
fuck are
you?”

Scott’s soft chuckle made its way down the
phone, and Jack slid onto one of the kitchen stools out of shock and relief.
Something good had happened.

“I’m in my car on my way home. Where are
you, my brother?”

Jack cleared his throat. He hadn’t heard a
happy tone like this one in Scott’s voice for a long time.

“Ah, I’m at your place. I let myself in.”

“Good, we’ll be there soon,
then
we can sort all this stuff out tonight.”

Thump,
thump, thump
. Jack’s heart
hammered against his chest, and the vibrations pulsed in his ears.

“We?”

Could it be possible? Had his brother done
the right thing and fixed things up with their mate?

“Yeah, I’m bringing Ash home with me.”

Oh,
thank you!

“Awesome, see you guys soon.”

He hung up the phone and put both hands on
his knees, unsurprised when he felt tears, his first since he was a child, leak
from his eyes.

“Thank you, thank you.”

Jack wiped away the moisture and laughed at
himself. It was time to start living their lives.

****

Scott opened the car door for Ash, took her
hand in his, and led her up the path to his house. She was still trembling and
wasn’t sure she wanted to stop the feeling. It made her feel alive and reminded
her that she really was awake. She’d spent the whole day planning her return to
her old life.
Her house, her business, her old friends.

Now that she was back in his arms, her
morning’s plans were just ridiculous. How stupid had she been? All she’d ever
wanted was a man who would love her for who she was and make her feel loved,
and thanks to this impromptu wedding trip, she was closer than she’d ever been
before to that dream.

She’d had more moments of pure love with
Jack and Scott than she had in the years she’d spent with her ex-husband.
Surely, there was the possibility of so much more in the years to come, if
that’s what they’d accomplished in mere days.

The front door swung open as they
approached, and Jack bounced out in jeans and a grey singlet, looking sexier
than any man had a right to.

“You’re back.” He grabbed her and swung her
up into his arms.

She squealed like a schoolgirl as her feet
left the ground and Jack planted kisses on her face at a frantic pace.

“Oh, sweetheart, you’re here. You’re really
here.”

He thrust his tongue into her mouth and
grabbed her ass, his movements unsophisticated and desperate. She pushed at his
chest, feeling squashed and overwhelmed.

“Please, Jack. Can we go inside?”

“Oh, yeah.
Sure.”

He threaded his fingers into hers and placed
a hand around her waist, lifting her and swinging her up into his arms.

She shrieked and giggled, shaking her head
as he propelled her down the hallway. Her big footballer was in such a rush!

She wanted one specific thing from them
both before they got intimate again, which she knew was probably going to
happen soon. Jack’s hormones were creating an incredibly masculine smell and
she knew that the best way for them all to feel more secure was to get as close
as possible. But whether that was best done through sex, she wasn’t one hundred
percent sure. Their physicality had been so overwhelming so far, it may be
smarter to take it back a notch.

She moved into the modern lounge room and
put some distance between her and Jack, dislodging his hands from her and
walking across the room.

“What’s wrong? I don’t know what Scott told
you, so I’m not sure what you need.”

Her poor sweetheart sounded pained, and he
probably was. He’d done nothing to hurt her except omit to tell her about their
shifting ability. He’d given her so much already, and he didn’t deserve any
more grief.

“It’s all good, Jack. Scott explained
everything.”

She made a mental note to ask Jack about
his kids and ex-wife at a later date. His initial explanations seemed to
indicate that there wouldn’t be a problem, but she really should check that
out.

“Well, why’d you pull away, then?”

Jack’s shoulder and arm muscles were
flexing and bulging as he shifted from foot to foot. He looked as uncomfortable
as a cat on a hot tin roof.

She burst into a round of giggles at the
thought.
A little too
close to reality
.

He cocked his head to the side, a large
grin stretching across his face. “What’s funny, beautiful?”

She shook her to dismiss the question.
“Doesn’t matter.
I want to see you guys in lion form again,
but this time I want you to let me touch you.”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Jack growled deep and
sexily, causing a shiver to course up Ash’s spine. Then he began ripping at his
clothes.

Scott finally entered the room and watched
his brother with a look of shock.

“What’s happening?”

Ash smiled at him, putting both hands on
her hips and striking a pose.

“I want to see you guys in lion form, and
you have to do what I say since you scared the shit out of me yesterday.”

Scott chuckled,
then
began to strip. “Anything you want, my love.”

Scott’s eyes burned with lust as he
undressed. Ash shifted her gaze to where Jack should have been, only to find
him gone.

“Jack?”

Very timidly, a Rocky Mountain lion stepped
around the couch and lowered its body down until he finally rested his head
onto his front paws.

“Oh wow.” She was frozen in place,
adrenaline pumping through her system as she watched a second cinnamon-
colored
cat stalk up to the first and lay down in the same
position.

God,
they’re beautiful.

Ash swallowed the lump that got stuck in
her throat, hairs on her arms prickling in instinctive fear. These animals
could tear her apart in a heartbeat if they chose to.

“Jack?” The lion on the right raised its
head for a moment before returning to rest it on his paws.

“Scott?” The lion on the left stood up and
purred before lying back down.

“Wow. You guys
…
are stunning.
Can I touch you?”

Both cats rolled over and exposed their
bellies like the tamest of house pets.

Ash giggled, unable to believe they could
really understand her so easily in this form. She slowly crept forward, her
knees shaking beneath her as she moved. The powerful lions in front of her lay
perfectly still as she reached out with trembling hands and ran her fingers
through the soft fur over their ribcages.

She began to laugh. What an incredible
moment in time. Not only could she touch these men, she could enjoy their lions
whenever she wanted. It was still completely surreal though, and she needed
more time to adjust.

“Okay, please change back. I want my men.”

Gorgeous cinnamon-and-white fur melted away
as her perfect pair reappeared as naked and gorgeous men.

Jack stroked his hands along her thighs,
his touch electric and hot over her leg.

“Will you mate with us, Ashleigh? Give
yourself to us and commit to being ours?”

She looked between her men, her heart
aching with the pleasure and compliment such a question gave her. But it was
too soon. She knew it was.

“You know I adore you, both of you. But I
need more time to decide. Is that all right?”

The men looked at each other. Jack looked
disappointed but there was something in Scott’s expression that made her feel
as though she had made the right choice.

Scott took a small step forward. “Is this
about the kids, Ash? I know Meaghan would have upset you with all that talk
about her mum.”

Ash glanced away, not really wanting to
open up that wound at the moment.

“I know how teenagers can be, and I know
she would have a warped view of how your marriage was.”

Scott nodded. “She does. My marriage was
torture. I only stayed as long as I did for my kids.”

Ash swallowed hard and glanced at Jack.

He laughed and put his hands up. “Don’t
look at me. I got out ASAP and my ex and I are pretty amicable. I’ll talk to my
kids before they come anywhere near you, but they’re pretty chilled out boys.”

Ash smiled at her hunky man, imagining how
beautiful his sons would be.