Bernard, Lynnette - Laurie's Loves [Beckett's Wolf Pack, Triad Mates] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

Beckett’s Wolf Pack, Triad Mates

LYNNETTE BERNARD

Copyright © 2012

Chapter 1

This is not happening!

Jace Beckett halted his advance on the group of guests as they exited the shuttle van to stand before the entrance of the Circle Three Ranch. He could smell her, damn it! He looked over the group of tourists with a critical eye. The last thing he needed right now was another complication in his life.

The small group looked around with barely contained excitement. The new arrivals consisted of two newly married couples, a family of four, and four single bookings. He had looked over the list that morning. Once again, he had to push down his anger. He had finally allowed his beta to introduce this new addition to his ranch. Jackson had said that the vacation getaway would be an instant success. But Jace hadn’t wanted to open his pack to the dangers of what humans could do them. He should have known better. He
did
know better. And it pissed him off.

Jackson, get your tail to the main entrance. Now!
The anger in Jace’s voice was unmistakable. And he didn’t much care right then. Hell, he hoped his anger echoed in Jackson’s head and gave him a blinding headache. It would serve him right.

Jace? What’s wrong?
Jackson’s concerned voice entered Jace’s head, and he had a brief moment of sympathy for his beta. But only a brief moment.

He stalked toward the guests, staring down at them, unwilling to play the cordial host. It was not his nature to welcome outsiders to his ranch, putting his pack in jeopardy. What had he been thinking?

“If you would all come inside and sign in, we’ll get you assigned to your room accommodations,” he told them gruffly. Reaching up to settle his black cowboy hat more securely atop his head, he looked them over with cool, hard eyes, the sky blue shade flashing briefly with anger as he tried to figure out which of the five women before him was the one who was sending his senses into overdrive.

He scanned the group slowly, seeing the fear in their eyes as they looked up at him. Two of the women looked at him with definite interest, but he found no appeal in either their looks or their demeanor. They looked like every one of the women in town who had tried over the years to trap him with their lies and phoniness. He had long since realized that no woman could be trusted. They had only one thing in mind—using him to live a life of excess, with no thought of contribution to his life or his pack. Well, he wouldn’t let that happen. No woman was going to get him to take care of her for the rest of her life.

He indicated the main entrance to the ranch and stepped back, watching the group as they made their way around him, obviously giving him a wide berth. He knew he was an intimidating bastard, and that made him immensely glad. His height of six feet five inches and his heavily muscled frame served to deter many would-be challengers to his position of alpha of one of the largest and strongest packs in Colorado. If his size and fighting skills didn’t deter the challengers, his disposition did.

Outside packs were not willing to chance a physical challenge against him. He had proven himself an expert and strong fighter, a determined fighter, who would not back down. He
never
lost a challenge. He protected his pack members with a fierce loyalty and would do so until the day he took his last breath. But even
this
was not something he was willing to do.

The guests walked up the front porch steps quickly, none of them even drawing any interest from him. He took in a deep breath, scenting her once again. The scent wasn’t coming from the group that had just passed him. His brow furrowed in confusion. He knew he scented her. Where was she?

He turned and saw one woman standing to the left of the shuttle, struggling with luggage from a car that was obviously on its last leg, its make more than ten years old. She was reaching into the trunk and pulling her overnight bag out, letting it fall to the ground before she reached back in to pull a larger suitcase to the edge. It tipped precariously, and she used her body to hold it against the back of the car, awkwardly trying to keep it from falling. Her desperation was obvious.

Jace stepped forward, and in three long strides was by her side. Breathing in deeply, his heart raced. Her scent filled his lungs, and he barely contained the growl of possession that threatened to erupt from him. Damn, but her scent soothed him deep down to his very soul. Every bit of denial left him. There was no denying her.

He wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms and never let her go. And that pissed him off more than anything. Instead, he reached forward and took the bag from her. He looked down at her, unable to do more than stare at the voluptuous beauty before him. She was beautiful in a way that nearly hurt him. She had curves in all the right places, and he wanted to touch every bit of her. He wanted to lay her out before him and feast on her. And he wanted her naked. Now.

When she looked up at him and smiled openly, her large brown eyes bright with gratitude, his breath caught in his chest. How could that one small smile send him into such a tailspin? He struggled to fight down his wolf. Arguing with his wolf wasn’t an option right then. He pushed it down with every bit of strength that he had.

“Thanks,” she told him sincerely, reaching out to take the bag from him.

She stopped suddenly, and he saw her take in a deep breath. His heart raced, and he found himself holding his breath as he watched her close her eyes and take in his scent, and he had no doubt that she was doing just that. Damn it! There was no mistaking it. If she caught his scent and recognized that there was a difference, even though she didn’t understand it, he was doomed.

“It’s really nice out here,” she told him finally, opening her eyes to look at him and smile, the softness of her eyes capturing his attention.

He watched her silently as she took another deep breath and closed her eyes in satisfaction, but when she opened them again and looked up at him, he could sense her sadness. He had to take a step back from her and clutch his hands into fists at his sides to stop himself from reaching out and pulling her into the safety of his embrace and holding her until her sadness abated. His wolf paced restlessly and demanded that he take her in his arms immediately and claim her.

Before he even had a chance to decide how to handle his wolf or deny her as a man, she took a step away from him and tugged the large suitcase, along with her overnight bag, up the stairs. He watched her delectable ass as it swayed with each step she climbed, and fought back a growl as he envisioned grabbing onto the feminine flare of her hips as he plunged deep inside her warmth and lost himself in the feel of her wet and welcoming channel. The vision of his cock pumping in and out of her sweet pussy, spilling his seed deep inside her, flashed through his mind. The instant image of her filled with their child made his breath catch in his throat, bringing her delectable scent deep into his lungs once again.

He mentally shook the vision out of his head, knowing that Jackson saw exactly what he had just envisioned. He could feel his triad partner’s confusion but was at a loss to do anything but follow the retreating form of the unsuspecting female with his eyes. He watched in stunned silence as the woman dragged her suitcases across the front porch, disappearing from sight without an ounce of flirtation.

What the hell?
Jace had never been more confused in his life. That little slip of a woman, with her beautifully expressive brown eyes, shoulder-length, dark brown hair, and a curvaceous body that he had an all consuming desire to feel beneath him while he plunged into her sweet warmth, had dismissed him without a thought.

Jace! What’s going on?
Jackson’s voice resounded in his head. He could sense Jackson’s concern as well as his anger. But underlying it all, he could feel the spike of desire Jackson felt when he had shared the erotic vision Jace had unwittingly sent to him.

I found her.
Jace’s voice sounded defeated as he spoke to the man who had been his best friend and second-in-command more years than he cared to remember.

W
ho?
Jackson’s voice held only confusion.

Our mate.