Stray Cats [High-Country Shifters 2] (19 page)

“Sure.”

Instead of eating downstairs, they headed diagonally across the street to the Harmony Café. Gage said this place wouldn’t remind them of Sella.

Once they were seated and had placed their order, Gage stared out the window. “You think she’ll be okay?”

He really didn’t want to think about the pain she must be going through. “Can we talk about something else?”

His brother faced him and shrugged. “I got a text that said the Wilson contract went through.”

They’d been waiting to land this job before they left on vacation. “That’s great.” Then why didn’t he give a shit?

“She wouldn’t have been happy in Miami, and you know it.”

“She loved adventure. We could have made it work.”

The waitress came over with their coffees. “Your dinner will be up shortly.”

Will didn’t even bother responding. He looked over at Gage. “No, bro, we couldn’t have. As much as I wished it could, Sella was right. She’s a family-oriented person. While she loves adventure, the farthest she’ll ever travel is right here in Spirit.”

“You’re probably right.”

* * * *

Even after a month, Gage’s zest for his work hadn’t returned. They were making more money than ever, the weather was beautiful, and they had more party invites than they could attend, but his enthusiasm for building his career seemed to have vanished. To make matters worse, Will was slowly withdrawing. Before their trip to Spirit, they’d go out on their WaveRunners at least three times a week. Since their return, they’d been out maybe once.

Will had been the one who always was on top of the newest surveillance technology. When a trade show came to Miami last week, he hadn’t even gone. Something needed to change and fast.

Each night, he’d dream of Sella, of their time in Spirit as well as in Anterra. Sure, the sex was great, but that wasn’t what drew him to her. She made him examine his belief system, and she forced him to reach his full potential. The idea of being a shifter had grown on him. He’d hoped he’d forget about running in the forest and fighting the wolves, but he’d never felt more alive than when he’d been protecting Sella.

Mentally, he’d been weighing the pros and cons. It was only last night that he’d come up with a possible solution. As soon as Will returned from checking out the Parson’s building, he wanted to discuss his plan.

For the first time since his return, he felt like going out for a run. He tossed on his running shoes and jetted outside. While it was hot, he didn’t care. In fact, he decided to run on the sand to make the workout more intense. He started out at a sustainable pace, but as he got the wind in his lungs, he picked up his pace. While he knew it was futile, he pictured himself in his lion form. As crazy as it sounded, his lungs seemed to expand, and his muscles responded. They seemed to fire faster. He prided himself on his ability to run long distances, but suddenly he wanted to sprint—needed to sprint.

He zoomed past the sunbathers as if they didn’t exist. The deep sand encouraged him to push faster. He wasn’t sure how long he ran, but when the skyscrapers began to dwindle, he slowed. His breath hitched, but he’d never felt better.

Gage turned around and smiled. He’d made a decision. Today would be the start of a new beginning.

By the time he got back to the condo, Will was there. He was sitting on the terrace with a beer in his hand. Gage wiped off the sweat from his brow, grabbed another bottle from the fridge, and joined Will.

Will glanced over at him. “What have you been doing?”

He couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Making a life-changing decision.”

“What’s that?”

* * * *

Sella was packing up for the night when Taryn and Kellum appeared at her store. “What are you two doing here?” They rarely left Lara alone anymore.

Both were grinning. Lara wasn’t due to deliver for another few months.

“We have a surprise for you.”

She dragged the stand into the store. “What kind of surprise?” They’d pulled numerous pranks on her in the past. During this last month she admitted she’d done little more than work in the store and stay at home. “Did Mom and Dad put you up to this?”

“Nope.” Taryn pulled in the other stand. “We’ll help you lock up.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “Okay, give.”

Taryn shook his head. “Nope. It’s a surprise.”

She grunted. “Fine.” Knowing them, they wouldn’t let it go until she did what they wanted. It wasn’t her birthday or anyone else’s in the family. Maybe it was some other special day she’d forgotten about.

They took the tram and exited. At least when she was with her brothers, she knew she’d be safe. “Where are you going?”

“To our house.”

She hoped they hadn’t planned a surprise party to cheer her up. She wasn’t in the mood, though she did appreciate them trying to boost her spirits. Ever since the men had left, she’d been in a funk, which was getting worse every day. She thought the pain would recede with time, but it was like Will and Gage had taken a piece of her heart and soul and left her a shell of a woman.

When Taryn opened the door and motioned she go first, she stepped in and stopped. Her legs weakened, and her heart nearly burst. She had to blink a few times to make sure what she was seeing wasn’t a mirage.

“Will? Gage?” The rest of the words in her brain wouldn’t come out.

The opened their arms, and she somehow managed to run toward them. Will stepped in front of Gage at the last minute and picked her off her feet.

“Sugar, it is so good to see you. I can’t tell you how miserable we’ve been.”

“Hey, let me get a hug from my woman.”

Normally, she might have taken offense at Gage calling her his woman, but right now it was the most wonderful name ever. He pulled her away from Will and placed at least a hundred kisses all over her face.

As much as she wanted to shout at the top of her lungs, she needed to find out if this was a brief visit, or had they decided to come for good? “Tell me why you’re here.”

Lara, who had been grinning from the living room, stood. “If you’ll excuse us, Taryn, Kellum, and I need to go pick some vegetables from the garden. We promised your mom we’d bring some over.”

Sella laughed at the ruse. She would love Lara forever for giving them some space. Kellum grumbled, but her sister-in-law managed to corral those two out the door. As soon as the elevator disappeared from view, she shrieked.

“I can’t believe you’re here. Tell me everything.”

Gage led her over to the sofa. “We’ve been so miserable without you. We realize that family means everything to you and that you’d never be happy being so far away from them.”

“That’s true.”

“So we came back to you.”

Her excitement waned a bit. “But you’re humans, used to a different life. Will you really be happy here?”

Gage picked up her hand. “That’s the beauty of the plan. Will and I have discussed this in length. Taryn and Kellum have agreed to help us.”

“I’m dying here. What?”

“You remember those wolf shifters in Spirit?”

“How could I not?” They’d almost killed four wonderful men. If it hadn’t been for Kranor and Jude, those bastards might have succeeded.

“Will and I want to be the border patrol.”

She understood all of the words, but not the concept. “I don’t understand.”

“Once we get trained, we’d like to live in Spirit and work at keeping out the wolf shifters. If they know we are around, they are less likely to terrorize the Spirit citizens.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

Will drew an arm around her waist. “You don’t sound excited.”

“I’m happy that you will be able to do your security work and be close by.”

The men exchanged glances. Neither said anything for a moment, and she bet they were talking silently.

“Sugar, we want you with us.”

This was too good to be true. “Can you be more specific?” She didn’t want to jump to a conclusion, only to be disappointed later on.

Gage twisted on the sofa to face her. “We love you, Sella, daughter of Jacor and Elena, and don’t want to spend another day of our lives without you.”

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. All of her dreams were coming true, and now she was speechless.

“Sella?”

“Yes?”

“What Gage is really saying is, will you marry us?”

She understood from Lara all that was involved in that ceremony. It wasn’t performed in Anterra, but she bet in Spirit it would be something she’d never forget. “Yes!”

Both men jumped up and pulled her to her feet. “We already spoke with your brothers about the training and the marriage proposal.”

Once more, her mouth opened. “And those rats didn’t tell me?”

“We made them keep it a secret.”

She guessed it was up to Will and Gage to propose for themselves. “I can’t believe this.”

“The best part is that your brothers and Lara have offered their spare bedroom for us to stay while we get trained.”

Her thoughts blanked for a moment. All of her wishes were coming true. She didn’t know what she wanted to do first, but one thing was for sure, it involved all of them getting naked.

Will swooped her up into his arms. “I say this calls for a celebration. As much as I would like to re-create our wonderful time by the waterfall, the bed right down the hallway is a hell of a lot closer, and sugar, I can’t wait any longer to taste your sweetness.”

Even before he kissed her to seal the deal, her pussy gushed. “I get to suck on both of your cocks first.”

They didn’t even need to glance at each other to communicate. Their eyes moved right then left, and she could tell they were debating whether to grant her wish.

Will picked her up and headed toward the bedroom. “We don’t think that’s a good idea.” He pushed open the bedroom door and deposited her on the bed.

She gave them her best pout. “You’re asking me to move to a place where it’s cold half the year. Shouldn’t I get some concession?”

Will grinned. “Damn, but you’re a good negotiator.” He unzipped his pants.

“No. Let me.”

These poor men had no idea what was in store for them.

Sella’s fingers were trembling when she finished unzipping Gage’s pants. “Hmm. Who do I want to play with first?”

Gage stepped forward. “Which one of us would give you the greatest pleasure?”

She tossed them an exaggerated frown. “Rule number one. There will never be any fighting or jealousy while I am around. Neither of you will take it personally if I attend to one first then the other.” She held up a finger. “I will try to be fair. Does that work?” Because if it didn’t, their relationship was doomed from the start.

Both grinned. “Sugar, as long we both get to touch you and love you, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want.”

“That perfect answer grants you the right to go first.”

This was going to be so much fun. She slipped Will’s jeans over his hips. Too bad they hadn’t borrowed a couple of loincloths and changed already. It didn’t matter. This was going to be so much more fun.

When she spotted how his cock was tenting his briefs, sparks spread over her entire body, pebbling her tits. For some reason, she’d worn a light top to work today even though Rein had made fun of her. Now she wished she hadn’t.

Gage shucked off his boots, climbed on the bed behind her, and lifted that top right off her. “While you’re taking care of my brother, I’m going to help myself to you.”

She couldn’t be more delighted. The first touch nearly lifted her off the bed. There was no way she could do justice to either man’s cock with Gage playing with any part of her body.

“I need to concentrate. Gage, you’ll have to wait your turn. Please stand in front.”

“Spoilsport.” He pressed on her nipples, and she squealed in delight.

These two were going to be a handful. Once Gage moved in front, she tugged down his jeans, too. “You can both step out of your cold-weather attire.” Quicker than they could shift, they were in their briefs and shirts.

Standing on the bed, she lifted off their shirts. They rippled their muscles, and it had the desired effect by sending streaks of pleasure straight to her pussy. She’d missed her men. Now that they were right in front of her, she didn’t know what to nibble on first.

“Help me down.”

Gage was the first to reach her. After he clamped his hands on her waist, he lifted her off the bed and set her in front of him, and made sure to rub his chest against her nipples and his cock over her skirt.

She had said she was going to suck on Will first, but with Gage in her arms, she couldn’t resist leaning over and licking his gloriously flat nipples. He jerked.

“Sugar, I thought I got to go first.”

“You’ll get your turn.” She looked up at Gage, pulled down his head and licked his cheek.

Before had a chance to respond, she stepped out of his grasp and slipped Will’s underwear down to his ankles and told him to take them off.