Babies for Nikki (44 page)

“I was thinking about our daughter and our son and wanted to make the bracelet in those colors for them.”

An instant vision of Nikki kissing both babies gently as their fathers held them flashed through all of their minds. Nikki looked at Alex and smiled then turned to Butler and sighed contentedly.

“It looks like you two are going to be hands-on fathers,” she told them, laughing. “I like seeing you holding them. They look so small in your arms.” Her voice suddenly became very soft. “I hope that’s really going to be our future.”

“It will be,” Alex assured her.

“Don’t question it, sweetness,” Butler told her softly.

Nikki smiled and nodded, groaning suddenly when a pain sliced through her stomach. She nearly passed out from the intensity of it. Grabbing at both men’s hands, she couldn’t prevent the whimper that escaped her.

Both men were on their feet immediately. Butler reached forward and scooped Nikki up in his arms.

“That’s it! We’re taking you to see Doc,” he told her fiercely.

“No,” she stopped him. “I’m fine. Just take me back to our room.”

“Nikki, you’re not fine,” Alex insisted. “Something is wrong.”

“No, really,” she insisted. “When you’re both touching me, I feel better.”

Butler looked over at Alex, his eyebrows raised in question. He sent his concerns to Alex privately, not wanting to worry Nikki. He thought he had a good idea of what was wrong with their mate. He saw Alex nod slightly and knew his friend was thinking the same thing he was. They were silent as they headed toward the ranch house, wondering how Nikki would react when they told her what they suspected.

Nikki cuddled against Butler as he made his way up the stairs. She reached out and searched for Alex, grabbing onto him immediately as his large hand surrounded hers and squeezed it reassuringly. When Butler placed her on their bed, leaving her briefly to go into the bathroom, she felt as if her body was on fire. Alex closed their bedroom door and went to her immediately. He knelt beside the bed, reaching up to touch her face tenderly.

“How bad is it, Nikki?” His voice was soft, as if he knew that any sudden noise or movement would cause her stress level to rise.

“Help me, Alex,” she moaned, reaching out to touch his hand and draw him toward her.

“Always,” he whispered, getting up and sitting on the bed so that he faced her.

Nikki pulled at her clothes, unable to stand the feel of them against her skin. She was burning up, and she felt as if there were a million ants walking across her body. Alex reached forward and helped to lift her soft blue gauze shirt over her head, throwing it aside without care. She unsnapped and unzipped her jeans, grateful when Alex removed her sneakers before he took hold of her jeans and carefully pulled them from her body.

Butler returned to the bedroom, a cool wet cloth in his hand. He saw how Nikki pulled at her clothes and knew that she had to be experiencing intense pain. He placed the cloth on the bedside table then reached out to help Alex remove Nikki’s underclothes.

When she was finally naked, they both climbed into bed on either side of her and held her tightly between them. Butler picked up the wet cloth and passed it over Nikki’s face, trying his best to soothe her.

“I ache,” Nikki whispered, unable to keep the whimper of pain from escaping.

“Where?” Alex held her tightly, stroking her body, trailing his hand across her side to settle on her belly.

Nikki took his hand and slowly lowered it until it was settled against her mound. When he slowly slid his fingers through her curls and tugged at them lightly, she moaned in relief.

“Does this help?” he asked, his voice husky with arousal.

“Yes,” she whispered.

Very carefully, he eased his middle finger through her swollen folds and sank deep inside her already drenched channel. Nikki sighed as his finger slowly pumped in and out of her. When he pulled his hand back and the pad of his finger slid over her clit just once, she screamed as her orgasm tore through her.

Butler sat up and knelt between her legs, carefully pushing at her thighs until she was spread out before him. Her lips were pink and swollen, and he couldn’t stop himself from touching her, sliding his finger through her wetness and reaching deep inside of her to rub against her G-spot. Nikki’s body bucked beneath his hand and she groaned as another orgasm rocked through her body.

“What’s wrong with me?” she whispered, looking up at Butler with pleading eyes.

Butler looked at Alex, his eyes filled with worry. Alex nodded his encouragement.

“Nikki, when a triad mating occurs, a woman’s body readies itself for the conception of their cubs,” Butler explained carefully. “Your body has come into this cycle.”

“Are you trying to tell me I’m in heat?” Nikki stammered, unable to keep the anger from her voice.

“No,” Butler said calmly. “Your fertility cycle is human. You have a choice in this, sweetness.”

“It’s because we’ve claimed you,” Alex explained. “Your body is going through its natural ovulation. The mating with us puts your body in tune with ours. Your cycle is affected by your need to be close to us. Your body needs ours.” He hesitated, looking at Butler once again. At Butler’s nod of encouragement, he sighed and leaned against Nikki’s forehead, kissing it lightly. “If we make love to you together right now, it’s a good probability that you’ll conceive,” he told her as he leaned back to look into the crystal blueness of her eyes.

“Nikki, the pain will lessen,” Butler spoke up. “We’ll hold you and make sure your need is held in check. You don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for.”

Both men remained quiet, aware that she was processing the information they had given her. She reached out and held their hands in hers, squeezing them tightly before pulling both men down beside her so that they held her tightly between their bodies.

A vision of her men holding her as they lay in their triad bed, petting her pregnant belly flashed through her mind. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the vision, wishing with all of her heart that it would someday be their reality. She tried really hard to pull back from the vision, but she was suddenly gifted with another. This one was of the three of them lying in bed with their babies sleeping contentedly between them. It was the sweetest thing she had ever seen.

She didn’t know if the men shared the visions. For once she hoped that they didn’t. She didn’t want them to be influenced by them. She didn’t want them to make this life-changing choice because they could sense what she wanted. They had to want it themselves.

“I don’t want you to be forced into this because I’m in pain,” she finally told them seriously. “I can take the pain. I want you both to want to make love to me without anything else pushing you to do it. I want you to make love to me only if it’s what you truly want.”

Both men’s instant laughter caused her anger to spike.

“What the hell is so funny?”

“Sweetness, do you actually think we’re making love to you under duress?”

Nikki looked at Butler and narrowed her eyes at him. She was so going to kick his ass if he continued to laugh at her.

“There is not a moment in the day when we aren’t thinking about you,” Alex explained softly. “Even when we’re working, your presence is like an echo in our minds.”

“We wanted you before we claimed you,” Butler continued. “But since the mating, we feel a connection to you that bridges the gap between us. Having you as our mate makes us happy. We want to be with you every moment we can. If it were up to me, you would have one of us inside of you every minute of every day.”

Nikki’s eyes widened in surprise at his words. To be so desired was something very new to her. She didn’t doubt his words though. Everything that he said was not just talk. She could feel their desire. She could feel their need. She could feel their love.

“Knowing your cycle is calling to all three of us doesn’t diminish the fact that we want to be with you regardless of the state of your fertility,” Alex explained seriously. “Knowing that you would probably get pregnant if we made love right now only increases our need to be with you, Nikki. Having children with you is an added bonus we both want very much. Just the thought of being able to caress your body and feel our cubs moving inside of you makes us very happy.”

Nikki looked at Alex and saw his silver-gray eyes flash golden as desire filled him. When she turned to look at Butler, his crystal-blue eyes were equally alight with desire. She could sense their wolves pacing restlessly within her men. She rested her hands on their chests and began to caress them soothingly.

“I love you,” she whispered, her eyes mirroring her feelings as she looked at both of them. Their immediate smiles made her laugh.

“We know,” they both responded at the same time, smiling at the way she snickered.

“Arrogant much?” she teased.

“No,” Butler stopped her, leaning forward and kissing her lips lightly

Nikki’s breathing slowed at the immediate need that rushed through her.

“Just very thankful that you feel for us exactly what we feel for you.”

He kissed her then with such tenderness, her heart ached. Wrapping her arms around him, she held him tightly against her body, stroking his back softly as she gave herself up to his kiss. Scoring her nails down his back as the kiss intensified, she could feel her own need ramping up as he growled with desire.

Feeling Alex kissing her shoulder lightly, she turned and opened her arms to him, accepting him in her embrace as he lay beside her and took her mouth tenderly. Feeling both men against her as she embraced them, she couldn’t prevent the sense of happiness and love she was feeling from spilling out and surrounding both of them. Their growls of happiness made her smile. When Alex pulled away and looked down at her tenderly, she felt something settle within herself. There had never been a time in her life when she had ever felt so content, so desired, and so loved.

“You’re feeling better now,” Alex told her, sensing her calm.

Nikki nodded and smiled. “Yes.”

Both men smiled down at her before looking at each other, their relief evident in their expressions. As one, they lay down beside her and gathered her against them, kissing her shoulders lightly, and laving their tongues over their mating marks before lying back against the pillows. The intensity of Nikki’s need had all but disappeared, which calmed their wolves considerably.

“No more pain?” Alex whispered against her cheek.

“No, I’m good,” Nikki answered, relief filling her as her body calmed. “Thank you both for helping me.”

“Any time,” Butler told her sincerely, his voice gruff with emotion. “I’m glad you’re doing better.”

Nikki nodded and took both men’s hands in hers, bringing them up to her mouth to kiss their knuckles lightly before lowering them and holding them tightly against her chest.

“So what do you think?” she said finally after they lay quietly for a moment.

“About what?” Alex whispered, smiling as she looked over at him.

She turned and looked at Butler, seeing him waiting patiently for the clarification of her question. She leaned forward and kissed his chin lightly before biting down on it. Turning, she did the same to Alex, laughing lightly as both men growled their appreciation of her show of desire.

“Do you want to take a chance and make love to me right now, knowing that we might create a baby?”

She waited quietly, trying her best to remain neutral in her thoughts and emotions. She didn’t want to influence either man. This choice was an important one, and she needed them to be honest in their response.

“No, sweetness,” Butler said finally.

Nikki closed her eyes at his words. The disappointment and sadness that his words caused her was almost heartbreaking.

“When we make love we’ll be creating two babies,” he corrected her. “Two babies that we will love and cherish just as we love and cherish you.”

Nikki’s eyes flew open, and she saw both men looking down at her with such tenderness and love she couldn’t stop the immediate joy that rushed through her. She knew she had sent her feelings to both men through their bond when she saw the way they looked at her with such total happiness.

Nikki looked at both men very seriously. She had always dreamed about sharing her love with someone who wanted to be with her just as much. And she dreamed of having a family. She knew now that these two men shared the same desire. She knew they would be wonderful fathers and would be loving husbands. She wanted that life with them. Only with them.

“Let’s make our babies,” she whispered finally, shrieking with delight as both men lunged at her.

Alex took the steps three at a time. He could not prevent the growl of need from escaping him as he made his way to their suite. Nikki had been sending him erotic images through their mating bond all morning. He could still hear her giggles as his arousal rose to near epic proportions. She was going to pay for her torture. Right after he pounded into her and made her scream in ecstasy.

He pushed open the suite door, making it slam against the wall with a resounding crash. His chest was heaving with barely controlled desire. He needed her.