"Go ahead," he told the other shifter. "Make her crazy. I"ll hold her." The wind was wrestling with the trees, making the tops whip about. Studying the rhythm behind seemingly random movement separated him from the task that had brought him out here. Embracing what was forming in his mind, he built one image upon another.
Rane was naked. On the bed. Arms over her head and wrists tethered to the bedposts with white rope.
A shifter standing on either side of her. Apprehension warred with antic.i.p.ation as she looked from Ber to him. Bending her knees, she twisted her lower body about. Her nipples were so tight he knew they hurt.
Wondering if it was possible to tap into what she was feeling, he bent over his captive-his and the other shifter"s-and closed his lips around a hard nub.
"Oh s.h.i.t. s.h.i.t!" Rane gasped.
"Quiet!" Ber planted his hand over her mouth. Bringing his face to within inches of hers, the bear shifter swiped a wet tongue along the side of her nose. She tried to turn her head aside, but Ber clamped onto her hair and stopped her. In contrast to her immobile upper body, her hips thrashed.
Taking his time, Songan released her nipple and straightened. Only then did he realize he was as naked as his prisoner. Ber also wore nothing.
Smelling Rane"s arousal, he tested the limits of her self-restraint by lightly trailing his forefinger over both areolas. Eyes widening, she mumbled something into Ber"s silencing hand.
Still circling her quivering flesh, he flicked a glance at Ber. The bear shifter met his hot gaze with a like one.
"She"s ours," Ber muttered. "Ours to do what we want with her."
"Finally. I"ve waited so long for this." He"d had no idea he"d been going to say that.
But why not? s.e.x with Rane had always skated the edges of sanity. Somehow he"d kept himself in check. Denied the rutting beast. The effort had taken its toll, weakened him and left him vulnerable to the animal beneath the human surface.
Not caring what Ber did, he positioned himself at the end of the bed and captured Rane"s ankles. Even before he started to draw her legs apart, her scent seeped into his veins. She didn"t fight him. Neither did she try to speak around Ber"s hand. Much as he needed to understand what lay behind her silence, that would have to wait.
Wait until he"d slid his hands under her b.u.t.tocks and lifted her off the bed. Wait until after-long after-he"d leaned over her.
98.
Her legs opened, knees bending out, s.e.x exposed.
Crazed, he lapped at her there. Lapped again. Drunk on her offering, he slid his tongue into the heated cave. One hand pressed against her mons. He clutched his c.o.c.k with the other. Couldn"t see, couldn"t hear.
His curled tongue touched the top of her s.e.x, causing her to buck against him. Ber"s growl was more vibration than sound. Yet even as own his body shuddered, he forced himself to lift his head and study the other man.
Ber"s hand was no longer clamped over Rane"s mouth. Instead, it now sheltered and hid a pale, full breast. Ber had claimed the nipple of her other breast and was drawing it away from her, stretching out the glorious flesh.
"Oh, oh, oh!" Rane moaned. Her lashes fluttered. She seemed to be staring at the ceiling but maybe not.
He could turn her moan into a scream simply by slamming his c.o.c.k into her. Teach Ber how to truly pleasure their woman.
Instead of crawling onto the bed and turning two bodies into one, however, he lowered his head again. This time, instead of running his tongue deep and strong into her channel, he lightly closed his teeth around her s.e.x lips.
Thrashing about like a wild thing, Rane screamed. Came.
99.
Chapter Fifteen.
"That"s good," Rane told the two men.
It didn"t feel like it to her, but she must have let the cabin get too warm, because Songan had peeled off his coat the moment he stepped inside, and Ber had placed his palms against the window as if trying to cool himself.
"Isn"t it?" she asked when they didn"t respond to her comment. "I mean, if anyone can thoroughly check out an area, it"s you two. I"m glad you didn"t find anything suspicious." Songan didn"t so much as acknowledge her. In fact he seemed to be going out of his way to avoid her, not that that was easy given the small s.p.a.ce. Ber had turned his back to her almost as soon as he"d closed the door behind him. Studying his so-broad shoulders, she half expected him to become a bear right then and there.
Ber and Songan were tense, no doubt about it. d.a.m.n it, if they were keeping something from her- "Are you hungry?" she came up with.
"No."
Jolted by Ber"s short response, she got out of the musty-smelling chair she"d been perched in. She"d intended to walk over to him and shake him if that"s what it took to get his attention, but before she could take a step, he swung toward her.
Those eyes! Those huge, dark, expressive eyes. Speaking of arousal. Need. Determination. Strength.
Limp-muscled, she looked over at Songan. His expression mirrored the bear shifter"s.
"What"s this?" she managed. d.a.m.n her nerves! She could barely think. "What did the two of you talk about when you were out there?"
"Nothing."
"Not a word."
Maybe, but there was more than one way of communicating, especially between animals, which at their core they were. Had they sensed what the other was thinking? Maybe the same thought had struck each of them.
As for what was on their minds-she"d have to be dead and buried not to know the answer. The same thing that had dominated her thoughts while she was alone.
"Going to where Jacki"s body was found will have to until tomorrow," Ber firmly told her.
"It"s going to be dark soon," Songan added. "Not enough time for what you need to do." Maybe. Probably. She licked her lips. "What about the storm?" Sober-faced but with his eyes now flashing, Ber positioned himself in front of the door. "There"s more than one kind of storm, Rane. And something I"ve needed to do since I first saw you." Oh s.h.i.t! Her nerves sparked like exposed electrical wire, and her s.e.x muscles clenched. She felt dizzy and alive.
She swallowed. Swallowed again. "I don"t want to hear it."
"Yes, you do."
He was right, d.a.m.n him, so right. "I had a dream," she admitted. "About you. Us." She started to wrap her arms around her waist but cupped her hands over her s.e.x instead.
"In your dream," Ber said, "I took you. Claimed you."
"Yes."
"With rope," Songan added. "White against your flesh. Holding you down."
"How-"
"I saw it," Songan explained. "Saw myself sharing in the act. Made it what I needed."
"What is it you need?" Ber asked.
Songan nodded at the bed. "Her. On it. Naked. Wanting us. Us claiming her."
"Stop it!" she blurted. Ber was between her and the door. No way could she escape, even if she wanted to. But this was too much. Too everything. "I didn"t come up here to f.u.c.k you two. That"s not why-I don"t want-"
"Yes, you do."
She didn"t know which man had spoken-maybe both. Maybe the words had taken place in her mind, her body. The fire snapped and breathed. Outside the growing storm flexed its muscles.
Inside-h.e.l.l, inside her world was falling apart.
Maybe coming together.
"What do you want me to say?" She shouldn"t have put her hands where they were, but it was too late, and she was feeding off the heat radiating from her.
"Nothing," Songan told her. "Just do."
Do. Act. Take the first step. Neither man had so much as hinted at it, yet she knew they"d back off if she declared she didn"t want s.e.x. Despite talk of rope and restraints, they wouldn"t force her. Despite the crazy size difference, she was in control.
Of everything except her body.
Hands shaking so she could barely make her fingers work, she tackled the top b.u.t.ton on her flannel shirt. She"d always felt s.e.xless when she wore the thick garment, but not this afternoon. Not with two pairs of hungry male eyes watching her every move.
101.
Neither Songan or Ber were true predators. In bear form, Ber was capable of killing and undoubtedly had, but he wasn"t a cougar or wolf. If he needed to be one, a bull elk could be a formidable opponent, but he didn"t initiate attack, unless- "A question," she said when she found her voice. "You both-you"re both willing to-you"re talking about the three of us?"
Ber"s gaze settled on her exposed throat. "Same as you are." Oh G.o.d. G.o.d. "What about you?" she asked Songan.
"I"m as much elk as I am human. Maybe more. During rut, I sometimes cover a cow another bull got to first. Or take the same cow repeatedly."
That wasn"t exactly the answer she"d been looking for but probably was as honest and introspective as Songan could be. If there was such a thing as life after death or awareness after death, her mother might know what was about to happen.
You don"t want me to die with you, I know you don"t.
Every atom of her being aware, Rane waited for a response from the woman who"d given her life, but none came. Fighting tears, she again focused on the men. Just looking at them returned her to the here and now.
Feeling reborn, she went back to tackling her b.u.t.tons. She could ask the men to handle the monumental task, but that would mean choosing one over the other. It was easier, relatively, to complete her ch.o.r.e and toss the garment at the chair she"d been sitting in. Watching the flannel settle, she tried to recall what she"d been thinking just before the door opened.
She"d been listening to the forest sounds, of course, trying not to imagine anything bad happening to her companions, her thoughts split between Songan and Ber.
Two men. Two shifters. Hers for the taking.
Or was it she who was for the taking?
Overwhelmed by the complex question, she bent over and untied her boots. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s spilled over the top of her bra, and her nipples ached.
Straightening, she lifted one leg and then the other so she could take off her boots. She didn"t consider the task erotic-h.e.l.l, she barely thought about what she was doing-until she caught the men"s expressions. If seeing her socks turned them on so much, what would happen when she was no longer wearing anything?
Ber started toward her. "I want-"
"No." She held up her hand as if that could stop him. "I know what you want, but I need to do this." She didn"t add that undressing on her own was her way of reminding herself that she was up for this.
Up for this. No, that term described the men, specifically the erections straining against their jeans.
102.
d.a.m.n it! She"d turned them on! Okay, so she"d known how little it took to arouse Songan, but now the proof was in duplicate. Ber was the unknown, the wild card. When push came to shove, would he fight to keep her to himself? Stop Songan?
She unsnapped and unzipped her jeans before gathering the courage to face Ber. "I have to know what you"re thinking. How much of the bear is beneath the surface? If it"s about to break loose-"
"I"ll keep it caged."
Caged. Tied up. Was there any difference?
She nodded at Songan. "What about you?"
"This thing with the three of us is going to happen, Rane. Live in the moment." Songan, who was far from the most philosophical man, had just said what she needed to hear. In the moment. Now. All of them wanting s.e.x.
It was still light outside, but the small window didn"t let in much light, and she hadn"t bothered with lighting the oil lantern or looking for candles. As a result, everything seemed muted. All except for her emotions and antic.i.p.ation.
Still not quite believing what she was doing, she guided her jeans down over her hips and stepped out of them. The side seams had left impressions on the outsides of her thighs. Fascinated by the indentations, she slid her fingers down and then up.
The men watched in the single-minded way of hungry animals. Ber started ma.s.saging his erection, followed seconds later by Songan. They didn"t seem to be aware of each other. Did either know the rules and rituals of threesomes? Did she? They"d experiment, try one thing and then the other until something worked.
Imagining how body parts might mesh confused her, so she quit. Besides, she wasn"t naked yet.
Hadn"t done her part.
"What about you?" she asked with her hands behind her and reaching for the bra fastening. "I don"t want to be the only one doing this."
"You first," Ber said. "Us watching."
Of course. Why hadn"t she thought of it?