Babies for Nikki (29 page)

Boyd snorted and stepped back. “It won’t matter,” he stated arrogantly. “Our alpha will be sure to keep her away from Carter and Drew. And he’ll make sure we get Mitchell back, too.”

Jace remained still as the men glared at him, watching the intruders warily as they seemed to come to a consensus. It was only when he saw Boyd look at Nikki as she waited silently in the water that a warning growl left him. He saw the flash of anger that crossed Boyd’s face and knew that the wolf shifter held contempt for Alex and Butler’s mate. Jace had to force himself to keep the smile from his face as he remembered the way Nikki had easily defended her men with the tree limb and looked forward to telling Laurie how her best friend had stepped forward to fight for her mates.

The way Boyd was looking at Nikki with vicious anger and murderous intent made Jace growl, blinding fury filling him. The thought of Nikki being the recipient of Boyd’s violence made his gut tighten. His hands fisted at his sides. He would not allow any harm to come to Nikki. He was her alpha now, whether she realized it or not. As part of his pack, she was now his to protect and defend.

“Be careful, Boyd,” Jace warned him. “I have no reservations about sending you back to your alpha dead.”

Boyd’s attention snapped back to him. “I will give my alpha your message,” he told him in clipped tones. Despite his words of submission, anger flashed in his eyes, and his lips curled back as he growled.

The five intruders shifted back to wolf form and turned to run back toward the cove of trees. Jace watched them go, his thoughts racing with the possibilities that could present themselves because of this confrontation. There was much planning to do with his beta and their lieutenants. He reached out and placed a comforting hand on Carter’s shoulder.

“Go and tell Doc we’ll be getting your mate back, Carter,” he told him quietly. “It will only be a short time before she’ll be here with you both where she belongs.”

Carter turned toward his alpha and experienced the first rush of hope he had felt in a very long time. “Thank you, Alpha.” He was barely able to get out the words, his voice hoarse with emotion. He bowed his head in reverence, thankful for Jace’s unconditional support. Shifting quickly, his wolf turned and raced away from them.

Nikki’s wolf whistle of appreciation brought their attention to the woman who waited in the water. Turning, Jace smiled at the sight of Alex and Butler grumbling beside him.

“Turn around, Nikki,” Alex growled.

“Hell no!” Nikki yelled back.

Jackson’s burst of laughter made Jace smile despite his lieutenants’ anger. He turned to Jackson and tipped his head toward the two men. Jackson nodded knowingly before shifting to his wolf form and racing off into the trees.

“We’ll see you back at the lodge,” Jace told them both.

Neither man looked at him, so intent on the woman who waited in the water.

“Yes, Alpha,” Butler said curtly, walking toward the water and wading in quickly toward Nikki.

Jace smiled as he watched the two men make their way toward their intended mate. He couldn’t be happier that his men had finally found the woman who would complete their triad. It made him even more pleased that it was Laurie’s best friend who was fated for them. This triad mating would make all of them happy.

Shifting quickly, he bounded toward the trees, intent on making his way back to his sweet mate as quickly as he could. He was suddenly in the mood to give Laurie some serious loving.

* * * *

Nikki squealed in delight as Alex and Butler dove under the water, swimming powerfully toward her and surfacing in front of her to pull her into their arms. She expected to see their happiness and desire and was taken aback by the anger that covered their faces as they looked down at her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, confused.

“You will never,
never
, put yourself in danger again,” Butler told her sternly, grabbing her face so that she looked directly into his eyes.

“I couldn’t stand by while you were being hurt,” she protested, pulling out of his grasp. “Alex was already injured. Alex, let me see your shoulder.” She reached out to touch Alex, but he grasped her hand and pulled her to his chest forcefully.

“I’m fine,” he insisted angrily. “You were told to stay in this water and stay safe.”

“Butler, were you hurt?” she asked, ignoring Alex as she reached out to touch Butler and looked over his upper torso, checking for any injury.

Butler stayed her hands with his own. Nikki’s eyes went to his face immediately, confusion mirrored in the light blue of her eyes.

“Butler?”

“I. Am. Fine.” He was obviously exerting every bit of control over himself as he looked down at her. His voice was deep with anger. “But
you
could have been fatally injured.”

“You are
not
telling me that you’re mad at me because I helped you!” Nikki’s voice rose in volume at the ludicrous thought. “You were outnumbered. I just evened the odds until Jace, Jackson, and Carter came to help. And I did a damn good job, too!”

“We have been in worse situations,” Alex interrupted her. “And we have been able to defeat all challengers. Do you not trust that we are competent in our jobs?” His voice was angry yet betrayed his hurt at her lack of confidence in them.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nikki spat out. “How does one thing have anything to do with the other?” She slapped at the water in frustration. “Of course I believe that you’re competent in your job. I just couldn’t stand by and do nothing while you were being attacked. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“No. You. Won’t.” Butler gnashed each word out slowly.

Alex reached out and grabbed for her hands, turning them over quickly to look at them. He had suddenly scented her blood and realized that she had to have sustained some kind of injury. He damned his anger for distracting him from what was most important—Nikki’s well-being.

“You
are
injured,” he said angrily, looking down at the scrapes across both of her palms.

Nikki snatched her hands away immediately. “Oh, my goodness! They’re minor abrasions from the tree limb. I did far more damage to that idiot Boyd to get him off of you. These cuts are well worth it and well earned.”

“No.” Alex stopped her, reaching out to take her roughly in his arms. “No injury to you is ever acceptable.”

Butler was at her back immediately, pressing against her tightly as his arms encircled her. “From this moment on, you will listen to what we say and do exactly what we tell you to do,” he told her gruffly.

Nikki pushed at both men with all her strength, gliding out from between them quickly. The water that had soothed her before now impeded her movement, and she angrily waded away from both men.

“Don’t you go anywhere,” Alex called to her as he followed her out of the water.

“Bite me!” Nikki called to them angrily, never stopping or looking back at them.

“Nikki!” Butler called to her, feeling an impending sense of doom as she walked away from them.

She ignored both men as she reached the shore and bent down to pick up her clothes. With short, jerky movements, she pulled on her underwear and sundress and picked up her sneakers, walking away with the intention of getting as far away from both men as fast as she could.

She didn’t get far before she was lifted off her feet by strong arms. “Put me down!” she demanded, kicking out at Butler as he held her tightly against his chest.

To her relief, he did as she asked and put her down. She turned to face him and couldn’t prevent her anger from lashing out at him. She closed her hand into a fist and punched at his chest, swinging out to catch Alex in the arm as he tried to clutch her to him.

“Stop,” Alex growled.

Nikki struggled within their hold until she lost all strength and fell to her knees before them, her breath coming in painful gulps as she fought the fear that filled her.

“Do you have any idea how scared I was when I saw those wolves biting you both?” she told them angrily. “I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. I had to help you. I couldn’t lose you. I just found you.”

Both men knelt down beside her, their anger dissolving immediately. They reached out and took her hands in theirs, lacing their fingers through hers and touching her face with utmost care.

“Nikki,” Alex whispered. “You have to understand that nothing is more important to us than your safety, darlin’.”

Nikki looked up at him, her light blue eyes wide with emotion. The blue of her eyes held such anguish their hearts broke at the display of her pain.

“I will not be told what to do,” she insisted angrily as her back straightened in defiance. “I will always protect the people I care about.”

“You care about us?” Butler asked quietly.

“Of course I care about you both, you idiot!” Nikki snapped. “Although I might change my mind if you continue to act as if you have the right to tell me what to do.”

“We care about you, too,” Butler whispered, leaning forward to kiss her lips gently.

Alex reached for her right hand and turned it palm side up so he could lave it gently with his tongue. Nikki felt the sting of the cuts ease immediately. When Butler took her left hand and did the same, all pain she had been feeling totally disappeared, and she felt a definite tingling in the healed skin. She looked down at her hands intently, the scientific part of her nature needing to understand the miracle these men seemed to take for granted.

“We’ll always do what we can to take away your pain, sweetness,” Butler told her, smiling through his worry.

“The healing properties in your saliva are amazing,” Nikki told them in awe as she looked down at her already healed palms. Only the light pink scars that covered each palm gave testament to the fact that there had been any injury at all. “Has Drew researched why this happens?”

Alex laughed softly, reaching out to touch Nikki’s cheek lightly before carding his fingers into the wet strands of her hair. “There isn’t much that Doc hasn’t researched. Our saliva can heal others, but it seems to be strongest in healing properties among mates. You’ll see how much once we’ve mated. After we’ve taken you together, we’ll lick your sweet pussy not only to heal your soreness, but also to enjoy hearing you scream our names in ecstasy.”

The vision of the men doing just that slammed through Nikki’s mind, and she inhaled sharply at the jolt of desire that coursed through her. Looking at both men’s smug smiles made her know that they had seen the three of them, naked and satisfied in their big bed.

Pushing out of their arms, she stood and took a step back on shaky legs. “I need some space,” she barely whispered.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Alex told her firmly.

“You will not run away from the visions,” Butler added, just as firmly. “You will stay with us, woman!”

Are they freaking kidding me?

Nikki stood stiffly, her spine straight, her shoulders drawn back as she pulled all of her dignity to the forefront. If she could wish for super powers right then, she would wish for lasers to shoot out her eyes and incinerate these idiots. Well, not incinerate, but burn their asses just enough to get her point across.

“Back the hell off and stay away from me.” She nearly growled the words as she took a step back, her blue eyes flashing with anger. She knew if she didn’t walk away right then she was going to pick up the nearest tree limb and prove to them just how much she was capable of taking care of herself.

Turning, she walked as quickly as she dared without her sneakers on. Only when she had reached the far side of the lake did she stop and sit on the ground to put them on. She took a moment to look toward the men and saw that they were mirroring her movements but were keeping a good distance away.

“Good. Stay away from me right now,” she muttered angrily, standing up and brushing off the backside of her dress before turning and stalking away.

She pushed away the feelings that reached out toward her. She did not want to experience one bit of their emotions. She was madder than she had been in a long time. She wasn’t going to cave. They were not going to treat her like some weakling or someone not worthy of respect. They had to know right now that they couldn’t treat her that way.

It didn’t matter that she loved them beyond reason. It didn’t matter that she wanted to be with them more than she had ever thought possible. Yes, she wanted to be with them and take a chance that she could find the love and the life that she had always secretly wanted. These men might be the men who finally were the ones to give her a future filled with caring, happiness, and babies. But they wouldn’t be if they disrespected her or continued to suffocate her basic need to protect and care for those she loved.

As she stomped angrily through the dense grove of trees to head back toward the ranch, she tried very hard to control her anger and calm down. It didn’t matter that she wanted them both more than she had ever wanted any man in her life. She was going to kick some serious ass if they thought they could rule over her and control her.

As she got closer and closer to the ranch home, she felt herself calming. She pushed away the gentle feelings that kept pushing at her, knowing both men were trying to soothe her through their tremulous bond, but she couldn’t let go of her determination to prove to them that she would be an equal member in this triad—if it was ever going to happen. They were going to have to accept her as she was, damn it!