Stanley, Gale - Spitfire [Southwest Shifter 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (7 page)

Oh my God
. She’d never been so hot before. An intense current sizzled between the three of them and desire slammed into her hard.

Cade’s eyes bored into her.
“You can’t deny we have something good between us.”

Her breath caught in her throat at the flare of lust in his eyes. He was right, she couldn’t deny it. Being sandwiched between them was heaven, but it wasn’t enough for a happily ever after. There was more to a relationship than being compatible in the sack and they would never understand that.

Cade sighed. “Are you ready for us, baby? Because once we start there’s no going back.”

She nodded, more than ready, and his hand slid over her hip and around the back of her thigh to pull her leg up. His cockhead nudged her slick mound then slipped inside her vagina. She gasped, and her hips bucked at the delicious sensation. Her eyes opened wide when Brady’s fingers spread the cheeks of her ass and slathered something cold between them. His callused finger pressed against her hole, and she let out a throaty moan as it slid past resistant muscle. Brady added a second finger to stretch her, then withdrew them and guided his cock to her ass. “Are you ready for me, sweetheart?” he whispered in her ear.

“So ready. Please…”

Groaning, he pushed inside slowly, and Ayala let out a long breath at the burn of his intrusion. Brady stilled, letting her get used to his girth. Reaching around, he fondled her breast, rolling a tight nipple between his fingers. “So tight, so hot, so fucking good…”

“More, Brady.” She loved the feeling of being so completely filled by them.

Behind her, he growled and started moving. Cade picked up his rhythm, and their tandem thrusting
woke some wild passion she never knew she had and set her on fire. Cade’s kisses and Brady’s hands on her breasts worked her body into a frenzy, and the scent of their male musk intoxicated her.

Her climax was tantalizingly close. “Please, please, please.” She moaned, and Brady skimmed a hand over her belly and lower to rub her swollen clit above Cade’s thick, plunging cock. The men increased their tempo, and she came hard, with rippling waves and shimmering spasms that milked orgasms first from Cade, then Brady. Ayala trembled between them as they filled her with their releases.

Sated and spent, it seemed no one wanted to move. Ayala was struck by how good they were together. The three of them complimented each other so perfectly, and for a moment, she wished things could be different. Knowing they couldn’t, she
kept her eyes closed so Cade couldn’t read anything into her expression. This was only about the sex, and she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.

“Sweetheart?”

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and forced her features into a blank mask. Cade’s eyes were troubled. “Ayala,” he whispered. “I don’t want this to be our good-bye.”

He put her off balance. They both did. They made her second-guess her choices. It would be so easy, so safe, to stay, but she’d end up resenting them and making them as unhappy as she would be.

Brady pulled her closer and nuzzled her hair. “Don’t leave, sweetheart. We’ll give you whatever you need.”

Their words were enticing, and her sex-clouded mind left her vulnerable. Erecting her barriers was a real struggle. She set her features in a mask of indifference, hoping they wouldn’t see through her pretense.

“You’re ours,” Brady said, and he pulled her a little tighter against his hard chest.

“Brady’s right,” Cade added. “You belong to us now.”

They were absolutely the right words to bring her back to reality. “What makes you think I want to belong to anyone?”

“Isn’t that what all Lycan women want?”

“Not this one.” She struggled to get out of their grasp, and reluctantly the men relinquished their hold.

Brady sat up, then Cade, confusion written all over their faces. “You’ll want for nothing.” They spoke practically in unison.

“And all I have to do in return is obey, submit, and serve.” She spat. “No thanks. Nothing’s changed. I’m leaving for Philadelphia tomorrow. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish packing.”

Chapter Seven

The glass doors slid shut behind Ayala, cutting off the warm outside air. She cringed, clutching her carry-on bag and ticket to her chest. Everyone in the crowded airport seemed to know exactly where to go—except her.
Thank God the Alpha…I mean Alex insisted on coming with me.
He helped her decipher the ticket and check her baggage.
So much for independence.

Finally the line started forming to board, and it was time to say good-bye to Alex. “Thank you for coming with me. I’d still be wandering around if not for you.”

He studied her with a grave expression on his face. “You don’t have to go, you know. You can still change your mind.”

The Alpha had a knack for reading people, but he must have misinterpreted her fear of flying for something else. “I want this. I’m not changing my mind.”

“Okay then, have a safe trip. Call me.”

“I’ll be fine, really.”

“I know, and I just want to hear how you’re doing.” His eyes were so serious. “Humor me.”

“Promise.” She gave him an impulsive hug and got in line. When she looked back, he was gone. Then she was actually boarding an airplane and everything else paled in comparison. It was all so surreal, as if it were happening to someone else.

Claustrophobia hit as she walked down the narrow aisle inside the plane. People putting bags in the overhead compartments blocked her way, and she had to force herself not to shove them aside and rush past. At last she found her seat and buckled in. She listened to the emergency instructions as if her life depended on them and prayed it wouldn’t. Then she closed the shutter on the small porthole window and tried to relax. A man slid into the seat next to her and smiled wanly. He looked even more nervous than she felt. Beads of sweat gathered on his pale face, and he gripped the armrests hard enough to turn his knuckles white. His fear rubbed off on her, and she leaned back in the seat, closed her eyes, and didn’t open them until the plane landed.

The airport in Philadelphia was bigger and busier than the one she departed from. Constantly craning her neck to read the signs, she shuffled along with the crowds, claiming her luggage and searching for the exit area where Roy Granger would be meeting her.
She recognized the Lycan doctor immediately, a dark-haired man with golden eyes, who stood head and shoulders above everyone else and smelled like wolf.

Ayala stared at him from across the room. Their eyes locked—and held. He smiled and walked toward her. She was glad she’d worn nice slacks and a blouse instead of jeans because he looked so handsome in his khakis, dress shirt, and tie. When he took her hand, she felt a tingle down to her toes.

“Ayala, how are you? You look beautiful.”

“I’m fine, Dr. Granger—”

“Please call me Roy.” He grabbed her bags and led her to his car outside. “You must be exhausted and starved. I thought we’d stop and decompress before heading into town. There’s a small, quiet restaurant nearby, and they have great food.

* * * *

Roy waited until Ayala slid into the booth before he took a seat opposite her. She admired the crystal chandeliers, white linen, and shining silver. Flickering candles on the table cast shadows on Roy’s chiseled features, making him look mysterious and sexy.

“Is this okay?” he asked her.

“It’s beautiful,” she said in a breathy voice. “I’ve never been in such an elegant restaurant.”
Brady had taken her to a diner in Silver City once, and she’d had such a good time he promised to take her out more often, but of course he never did.

A waiter approached on noiseless shoes, and Roy ordered a bottle of wine. “So tell me, Ayala, why isn’t a beautiful woman like you dining at fancy restaurants more often?”

“Uh…I, uh. Well, the Alpha doesn’t like us to mingle too much with the humans.”

“And yet he allowed Janis to move in with the pack.”

“Yes, he’s changed in some ways. He’s not as, ah—”

“The word is overbearing. Alex acts more like an overprotective father than an Alpha.” He reached over the table and took Ayala’s hand. “It’s a crime. You should be going out every night of the week. We’ll have to do something about that.”

Their server arrived with the wine, and Roy released her hand. He looked at the label and nodded his okay. The waiter pulled the cork and poured a small taste into Roy’s glass. Ayala watched, fascinated, as he swirled it, sniffed it, nodded, and smiled. The waiter filled Ayala’s glass, then Roy’s.

Roy held up his glass. “I’d like to make a toast.” He stared into her eyes. “To the start of your new life.”

“I’ll drink to that.” She touched her glass to his and took a sip. Ayala relaxed. It felt good to hear her thoughts echoed by someone as smart and sophisticated as Roy. The doctor said all the right things. If only Brady and Cade understood her the way he did…She sighed, determined to put the old life behind and enjoy herself.

The food was excellent, perfectly done
filet
mignon with glazed mushrooms, baked potatoes, and crusty bread. Roy put her at ease with stories about the city and the historical sites he planned on showing her. He was incredibly charming and attentive, and she ate it up. The time flew. They finished the wine, and she let out a yawn.

“You’re exhausted, and here I am going on about the Liberty Bell.” Roy asked for the check. “We should get going.”

“I am tired, and I really want to see my apartment and unpack.”

Roy stood and waited for her. “Actually you’ll be staying with me.”

Ayala looked at him in surprise. “The Alpha said you would find me an apartment.”

“And I did. Or I thought I did, but it won’t be available until the end of the month.”

“Oh. What about a hotel? I don’t want to put you out.”

“You’re not. I have a very large condo near the FIRM. It has two bedrooms, and you’re welcome to use one of them as long as you like. I’ll give you a key, and you can come and go as you please.”

This was not part of the plan. She wanted to be on her own. Still, Roy was so understanding, nothing like the Alpha or Brady and Cade. And she would have her own key. How bad could it be?

* * * *

A public square separated Roy’s condo from the FIRM. The small park provided an oasis in the midst of the urban jungle. Evidently, the homeless thought so, too. A few ragged figures were sleeping on the stone benches. Ayala walked through the greenery and felt grounded among the trees, manicured flowerbeds, and well-tended grass. The big city would take some getting used to.

An empty bench by a water fountain offered a temporary reprieve, and she took it. Not because she was nervous, she just wanted to take everything in. It was, after all, the first day of the rest of her life. Smartly dressed business people, joggers, and dog-walkers fired her imagination. As much as she hated the humans for destroying her family, she also envied them their freedom and exciting lives. Soon she would have what they did, a career and a purpose to her life.

Although Roy had told her to take a few days for herself, she was anxious to start living her new life. When she had insisted on coming to the FIRM, Roy told her he liked to be in his office early and he’d offered to send his assistant to accompany Ayala, but she declined. She could certainly make it through a park on her own. She had a wolf’s instincts after all. She hoped Roy wasn’t going to turn out to be as overprotective as Alex.

Ayala came out of the park and waited by the traffic light. Outside the park was a whole, new world, not all of it pleasant. The sound of car horns assaulted her ears, and h
er sensitive nose balked at the toxic fumes of car exhaust. Suddenly homesickness hit with the force of a punch in the gut. From desert to rugged mountains to deep canyons, New Mexico offered her people solitude and escape.