Babies for Nikki (32 page)

Butler turned to face Alexander as they sat in Alex’s truck outside Nikki’s apartment house. “She looks tired,” he said quietly.

Alex nodded. “She looks upset.”

“This is not where she belongs,” Butler said angrily. “She belongs with us back on the ranch. By our sides and in our bed.”

“We’ll just have to convince her of that,” Alex said determinedly. “We’re not leaving here without her. Let’s go.”

They opened the truck doors and stepped out, slamming them closed with determination. They walked together toward the apartment house, their bodies tight with purpose. This was one mission the lieutenants were not going to fail. Their future happiness depended on it, and Nikki’s stubbornness was not going to deter them.

In seconds they were outside her apartment door. Alex took a deep breath, closing his eyes as the scent of their mate filled him. Nikki had no idea how close to losing control he and Butler were. They needed her tenderness, her humor, and especially her love.

Butler raised his hand and knocked twice on Nikki’s door. They waited. There was no answer. Butler looked at Alex with concern. He knocked again. Nothing. Could Nikki know they stood outside her door and was making a choice not to admit them into her apartment and her life?

The pain in Butler’s eyes mirrored Alex’s. Both men prided themselves on their ability to evaluate situations and act in the best interest of everyone involved to ensure success and safety for their pack. For the first time in their lives, they were unsure what to do.

The sound of Nikki’s crying reached them both at the same time. Without hesitation, both men slammed their bodies against the bolted door, shattering the woodwork around the lock as the door gave way. They barreled into the apartment, determined to find their woman. Following the muffled sounds of their mate’s distress, they made their way to the room at the end of the hallway located to the right of the living room, opening the door and stepping inside.

Looking around quickly, they followed the heart-wrenching sobs to the doorway on the left side of the room. Butler reached out, turned the knob of the door, and pulled it open slowly. The pain that went through their chests was immediate when they saw Nikki leaning against a stack of blankets, her arms wrapped around her middle, and tears streaming down her face. Kneeling before her, they reached out and touched her shoulders gently.

When she looked up at them, her eyes widened in surprise before absolute horror covered her face. She tried to scramble away from them but her feet slipped on the blankets she was leaning against and her body fell back against the closet wall.

“No!” she screamed, putting her hands over her face and turning away from them immediately.

Both men reached for her at the same time, pulling her out of the closet and into their arms. They stood carefully, pressing against her body, trapping her between them, and holding her tightly. Her struggles only lasted seconds before her body relaxed between them, allowing them to push against her more tightly.

Nikki only whimpered against Alex’s chest, breathing in his unique masculine scent, knowing only that she needed him and Butler. God help her.

“Let me go!” she demanded, pushing away from them as soon as they eased their hold on her. “You have to leave.” She did her best to compose herself, brushing aside her tears angrily as she faced them.

“We’re not leaving without you,” Alex told her stubbornly.

“What, you need to make sure you have enough money to build your house?” she asked him angrily.

Both men looked at her in confusion before turning to face each other. Turning back to look down at their mate, they were more determined than ever to get to the bottom of her anger.

“Explain yourself,” Butler told her finally, crossing his arms across his chest, holding himself back from reaching out to take her in his embrace.

“I heard you,” she told them softly, her voice betraying her exhaustion.

“You heard us what?” Alex demanded, stepping toward her. He stopped when she took a step backward.

“I heard you tell Jace that I would be contributing the most to the house you want to build.”

“That’s right, you will be,” Alex admitted, confused.

“So you admit it. You want me to give you money to build your house.”

Nikki’s voice was barely above a whisper. Never in her wildest thoughts did she think they would admit to it. She thought for sure they would try to double-talk her or sweet-talk her into accepting their need of her money. She never expected them to admit to their duplicity.

“What?” Butler demanded angrily. “Why would we want your money? We’re more than capable of taking care of you,” he insisted.

“You doubt our worth as your mates?” Alex’s voice was indignant.

Nikki’s brow furrowed in confusion. She heard the anger in their voices but she also heard their hurt. The pain reached out and speared its fingers through her heart.

“I don’t understand,” Nikki said finally. “What did you mean that I would contribute the most for the house?”

“Think about what I said, Nikki,” Butler told her softly. “I said that you would be the main contributor to our home. I said we would have no possibility of having a home in our future if it weren’t for you.” He stepped forward and slowly reached out to touch her cheek lightly, relieved when she didn’t pull away from him. “I meant that the love and happiness you give us will make our house a home. The cubs that will grow inside of you will give us a future that we’ve only dreamed about. Now that we’ve found you, we’re hanging onto you with all that we are. We can’t imagine going through the rest of our lives without you as the third in our triad. You’re the one who will bind our hearts together forever.”

“If you truly don’t want that future with us, Nikki, we’ll step aside,” Alex told her softly as he stood next to her, reaching out to touch her hair gently. “We only want you to be happy and safe.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead lightly before pulling away and stepping back.

Nikki looked from one man to the other, seeing the look of pure pain on their faces. She could feel their concern. She could feel their sadness. But most of all, she could feel their sincere honesty. Feeling their emotions rioting through her, combined with her own, her body began to tremble violently. Her heart was pounding, and she could feel a wave of weakness rolling through her body and crashing into her soul. She did the only thing she could do to protect herself from the confusion that encompassed her. She fainted.

Butler reached forward and caught her as her body fell forward. Alex was beside him immediately, touching Nikki’s face gently as Butler settled her within his arms so that she was cradled against his chest. He walked toward her queen size bed, pausing until Alex reached forward and pulled the bedding down. He gently placed their precious mate in the middle of the bed, pulling off her shoes before slowly climbing in to lie down beside her. He held her against his body as Alex climbed into the bed on her other side and carefully leaned his body against hers.

They remained silent, gently petting her face and arms as they waited for her to come back to them. She finally roused between them, leaning into their touch as her body relaxed visibly. When she finally opened her eyes, and they saw how dull the usually bright blue of them was, combined with the lines of fatigue that marred her forehead and eyes, they were struck by how tired she really was.

“You need to seriously think this relationship thing through,” Nikki told them softly. “I don’t think I’ll be able to make you happy. I’m too messed up. There are plenty of women who would be a better mate for you. And they’re probably a hell of a lot sexier, too.”

“Is there some reason you think we aren’t out of our minds crazy about you?” Butler demanded, frustration making him short with her. “Because I have to tell you, sweetness, any time you’re anywhere near me, or if I even think about you, I get a hard-on to rival all hard-ons. All I can think about is being inside your sweet body and loving you until we both lose consciousness.”

Nikki looked at Butler, unable to speak. What could she say to something like that?

“Let me tell you how this is going to go,” Alex told her firmly as he turned her and pulled her against his chest. “You’re coming home with us and you will belong to us from this moment on.” He crushed her to him, anger getting the better of him. “You’re the perfect mate for us. You’re beautiful and strong and caring. We couldn’t ask for a better person to complete our triad. Our family already loves you and has welcomed you with open arms.”

“Are you hearing us, Nikki?” Butler demanded, his voice furious, fueled by his fear of losing her. “You belong to us.”

Nikki turned in their arms so that she faced Butler once again. Looking up at him, she challenged his dominance. “How about if you two belong to me?” she asked defiantly.

The anger melted away from Butler’s face, and a slow smile appeared. Reaching up, he cupped her face in his hands and brushed away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. “Sweetness, it’s a deal. We belong to you, just as you belong to us.” Leaning forward he kissed her tenderly, tracing her lips with his tongue before leaning back and laughing. “Stubborn woman.”

“Get used to it, buddy,” she challenged, turning to look at Alex, daring him to say something.

“Do you really think I’m going to argue with you, Nikki?” Alex told her quietly, leaning down to kiss her softly before pulling back and looking at her with such intensity, her heart started to beat rapidly against her chest. “Now, get some rest. After you’ve slept for a while we’re taking you home where you belong. You can take whatever you need to get through the next couple of days until we can get your apartment packed up and get you moved in with us. You will not be living here.”

Nikki opened her mouth as if to protest but Alex’s flashing eyes stopped her.

“I have a much better use for that mouth, baby,” he warned her. “But if we do what I want to do, we’ll never get any sleep, and I need us to get some sleep because after your shift at the hospital tomorrow, Butler and I are going to bring you home to the ranch. We’re going to take you to our triad bed, and we’re going to claim you as our mate.” He looked down at Nikki with a seriousness that made her entire body shake. “Now is the time to refuse us if you choose to, Nikki, because if you agree, there is nothing in the world that will stop our mating. It’s about damn time we started our future as a chosen triad, blessed by the Fates.”

Nikki looked at Alex quietly. She saw his determination and wished she had the self-confidence to feel the same way.

Butler reached up and touched her chin to gently turn her attention toward him. “We will cherish and protect you for the rest of our lives, Nikki.” His voice was soft as he put his heart on the line. “We want you with us, building a life and a family, but we will not force you. You must choose this mating.”

She wanted to belong to them. She wanted to make them happy and give them a future that they deserved. And then she remembered the words that Laurie had said to her. She had said that Nikki deserved to be loved. For the first time in her life, she believed that to be true. She would be a fool to throw away a chance of knowing love with these two wonderful men.

“Don’t worry, Nikki,” Alex whispered against her cheek. “You don’t have to say anything right now. Rest, honey. We’ll be here with you when you wake up.”

Nikki nodded and slowly closed her eyes. “I’m tired,” she whispered finally. “You must be tired, too.”

Butler smiled as he looked across their mate to see Alex smiling back at him. Even in her exhaustion and her confusion, she still thought of their needs. It just made them more determined to show her just how much they would always love her and care for her.

“Sleep, Mate,” Butler whispered, kissing her forehead lightly. “We’re not going anywhere. We’ll be sleeping beside you for the rest of our lives.”

“I’m glad.” Her words came out on a sigh. She smiled as both men moved closer to her and surrounded her with their arms.

Their contented purring soothed her until she was a relaxed pile of goo. She couldn’t help but feel the peacefulness that settled deep inside of her and soothed her to her very soul. She moved silently against them, smiling as they held her tightly.

“We’re going to demand that you stay with us forever, Nikki,” Alex growled against her ear.

“Oh, here he goes getting all growly wolf again,” Nikki sighed. “That’s not gonna fly, honey. You need to tone it down or you’re going to scare the kids.” Her voice drifted off to a mere whisper.

Both men watched as her body relaxed, and sleep claimed her. Butler looked at Alex and couldn’t stop the smile that transformed his face from concern and worry to total joy. Alex looked back at him, unable to say a word. He reached up and gently stroked Nikki’s cheek, leaning forward to kiss her lips lightly as she turned toward him, seeking out his touch and melting into his warmth.

They settled themselves against her, finally feeling hopeful as they held her. For now, they would all get some much needed sleep. But they would have a serious conversation with their stubborn mate when she woke up. And they weren’t going to settle for anything less than total commitment.

* * * *

Nikki walked silently into the twins’ nursery, stopping at the doorway to survey the adorable scene before her.