Laurie's Wolves (6 page)

“Corbin, this is Laurie.” Zach squeezed her around the shoulders. “Laurie Hamilton. She’s…”

“Melinda’s sister. I know.” He turned toward the door, breaking eye contact, and set his forehead against the wood a bit harder than necessary. “Did you know?”

“About you? No. But we suspected when Trace said you were bringing us supplies.”

Corbin turned back around and leaned against the door. “Trace failed to mention this detail.”

“I’m sure he did.”

He met her gaze again. He still hadn’t spoken to her or fully acknowledged the situation directly. “I was supposed to go on a date tonight,” he said to the room at large. “Veronica. I’ve been seeing her for about a month.”

She didn’t get the feeling he was speaking to her at all
,
even though his gaze roamed up and down her frame. He was simply talking in order to work out this new crazy in his head.

“Sorry,” Zach mumbled. “I think you’re stuck on this mountain with us. And I think you might need to break things off with Veronica. ASAP. Is she a shifter?”

“No.”

Zach groaned. “Always difficult. Bummer.”

Corbin closed his eyes again and dipped his head to the floor. He breathed deeply.

Laurie knew it was a shock. She couldn’t blame him. At least when she got up this morning, she’d known this was a possibility. Hell, Zach had too. Corbin was blindsided. Still… If he didn’t show some sign of humanity to her soon, she would stray from reasonable to hurt. It was fast approaching.

She watched as his chest rose and fell. He unzipped his jacket and dropped it to the floor on his gloves. He leaned down and unhooked his boots slowly, as though stalling for more time.

She wished she were inside his head, watching him process the inevitable.

As he tugged off first one boot and then the other, she marveled at the size of his muscular arms. He wore only a white thermal now, and his arms bulged as if the shirt were too small. Probably they didn’t make shirts large enough to accommodate his bulk. At least not sexy ones for skiing.

Continuing the silence, he unzipped his ski pants and shrugged them off too, leaving him in similar attire to both Zach and herself. His cock bulged behind the material of his tight thermal pants.

At least he was affected by her. Or was it just the mating?

Finally, he righted himself and met her gaze again. In the standoff of a lifetime, she waited. Considering the few words he’d shared so far, she figured the ball was totally in his court.

The clock ticked. As if shaking himself from a trance, Corbin literally shook his head to clear the cobwebs, smiled broadly, and glanced back and forth between the two of them. “I’m one lucky fucking bastard.” He lunged forward, grabbed Laurie’s hand, and pulled her from Zach’s arm into his embrace.

The first thing he did was inhale deeply with his face in her hair. “God, you smell fantastic. Like a drug.” He held her at arm’s length next, cupping her face with both hands. His eyes jumped back and forth between hers. “And you’re gorgeous. If it weren’t for having to share you with this asshole next to us,” he teased, “I’d say I just won the lottery.”

She finally exhaled. “You had me worried.”

“Never.” He angled his face and kissed her, not hesitating in his urgency. His tongue traced her lips for only an instant before she parted for him and let him inside.

The brief kisses she’d shared with Zach had not been as deep. Corbin consumed her. He tasted amazing—of the outdoors, the forest…home.

He slid one hand around to the base of her head and then down to splay on her back, holding her closer. His cock pressed into her belly. His fingers wove into her hair. “Gorgeous hair,” he muttered against her lips before kissing her more.

Two other hands landed on her hips from behind, reminding her they were not alone. She broke the kiss to lean her head back on the hard chest of Zach at her back, tipping her face to meet his gaze. “Shit.”

“Yeah.” Zach lifted his gaze to Corbin’s. “We waited for you, asshole,” he teased with a smirk. “And you freaking swoop in here and practically claim her right out of my embrace.”

Corbin chuckled, a deep penetrating sound that made her skin tingle all over her body. He licked his lips and kissed her again. “She tastes like heaven.”

“Guys.”

They both glanced down at her.

“Could we maybe exchange a few pleasantries first? I mean, I’m clear on the pheromones in the room and all, but you could at least try to woo me before you fuck me unconscious.”

Corbin laughed again. God, she loved that sound. He tipped his head back and let his deep voice fill the room. Finally, he partially released her and let his hand slide down to take hers. He pulled her from Zach’s embrace and tugged her toward the bed. “Let’s sit before my knees give out.”

She agreed. And there were only so many places to get comfortable in the small cabin. The queen-size bed would have to do for tonight, though she hoped in the future they wouldn’t have to spend too many nights in such cramped quarters. Then again… Maybe she would enjoy the closeness.

Corbin and Zach each took a seat leaning against the headboard, and Laurie climbed onto the bed and settled cross-legged between them facing her men. “Next time you upgrade the cabins, maybe consider switching to king-size beds.”

Zach chuckled. “Pain in the ass to get them up the mountain.”

“Ah. True.”

“In all honesty, I know a lot about you, Laurie. I never imagined meeting you and finding myself mated, but I’ve been friends with Melinda and Miles for years,” Corbin began, staring at her intently.

“Then tell me about you. I’m at a disadvantage.” She glanced at Zach. “I hardly know much about Zach either, but I’ve heard stories about the Masters family in general for months now. There are a lot of you.” She grinned.

Corbin sat up straighter and leaned forward to take a lock of her messy strawberry curls in between his fingers. “I was born and raised on the rez. My parents still live on the eastern side, about ten miles from Sojourn. I joined the sheriff’s office six years ago. I worked the case over the summer when the casino site was under investigation, and Keegan was the inspector. He had just mated with Melinda and Trace at the time.

“In fact, he’s going to give me all sorts of shit for this.” Corbin moaned. “I basically harassed those two men for mating the same woman. I thought we might come to blows when they informed me they didn’t do each other, but rather shared Melinda.

“Honestly, I’d be a little freaked out right now if I hadn’t learned that detail.” He turned toward Zach. “No offense, man. I love you and all, but I’m not about to have sex with you.”

“None taken. And please don’t even think about it.” Zach shuddered.

Laurie fought a grin. It was going to be fun watching these two men emerge in this new dynamic. Zach at least saw it coming from a mile away. Corbin had been blindsided.

“How are you so calm about this?” Corbin asked her.

“I wouldn’t call myself ‘calm.’ But I wasn’t shocked. Two of my older siblings are mated to a Masters. I can’t deny realizing before I left the house this morning my chances led in that direction. You were the only missing link. But not the concept of your existence. We’ve been biding our time all day looking around, wondering, stressing over what man might cross our paths and be our third.

“When Trace said you were coming to bring us supplies, we were convinced.”

“How unfair. You held all the cards.” Corbin gave her hair a slight tug, encouraging her closer.

“Would you have come if he’d said something?” she asked.

“Hell no. I would have run from the mountain and avoided you two like the plague for as long as I could put it off. I would be at the base of the slopes now changing for my date for this evening.” He cringed.

“It’s not your fault, you know.” She needed to be closer, and she crawled onto her hands and knees and inched forward between them. “I know her feelings will be hurt, but you didn’t plan this.”

“Yeah, somebody explain that to the human. Gah.” He leaned his head back a second and stared at the ceiling. “I’m not looking forward to that confrontation. I can’t even call to cancel from here. No cell service in this storm.”

“I’m sorry.” She kneeled between them and reached a hand to stroke his cheek. “I know this is shocking.”

He faced her again, a smile taking the place of his serious straight mouth. He set his hand on top of hers and held it against his face. “Every second I’m with you, I feel calmer. Why is that?”

Zach spoke. “The same thing happened to me this morning. In fact, it got me through the day. She has that effect on people, I guess. Plus, she’s a weather genius. Never doubt that. If the woman tells you to bring an umbrella, listen to her.”

“Ha ha.” She swatted playfully at Zach’s chest with her free hand. His bare chest. The one he hadn’t bothered to pull a shirt over. He wore nothing but his thermal pants.

“Do you have Melinda’s abilities? I know her grandmother does. Mimi, right?”

“Yep. That’s her. And it remains to be seen if I have any of her talent. If I do, it has lain dormant all of my twenty-five years. However, in the three days since I arrived here—on tribal land at first and then this resort today—I have experienced several paranormal instances.”

“Please tell me you haven’t seen any of Melinda’s black auras.”

She drew back, pulling her hand from his face. “Please tell me you aren’t a non-believer. You’re part of the tribe, the half of me that can hone in on that side.”

Corbin shook his head. “Not at all. I went through enough with your two families last year to know better than to poke fun. Clearly Melinda has some precognitive skills. I only mean to imply that it can sometimes be a burden to her, and I wouldn’t wish that on my mate.”

“And you’ve never seen the spirits she speaks of?”

Corbin shook his head. “No, but I’ve heard all about them.”

“Well, then you know the sightings aren’t strictly witnessed by members of my family. Many others from the tribe, and even from this side of the lake, have seen similar paranormal activity. Some have come forward and told my grandmother. But how many have kept the knowledge to themselves? Embarrassed to admit they’d had such a vision or perhaps unbelieving?”

“Good point. And I, for one, am a believer. Don’t worry about that. Have you seen one of these black cloudy things yourself?”

“Yes. It’s what drove me to go flailing into the tree line and got us stranded.”

Zach grabbed her hand. “Did you talk to Melinda about that?”

She turned to face him and set her hand on his rock-hard chest. “Yes. And I should point out that we were never really in any danger. Shifting and traipsing down the mountain was always an option.”

“I know that. But leaving our gear and clothes behind and taking a risk that someone might see us in lupine form in the middle of the day is always a last resort.”

“Of course it is.” She giggled, picturing someone coming along later to find all their clothes and no bodies. “I wonder how many humans have found themselves considering the possibility of an apocalypse when they’ve encountered piles of clothing.”

“Plenty over the years, I’m sure. I don’t want to contribute to that insanity if I can avoid it.” Zach wrapped a hand around her neck and drew her closer, his gaze on her lips. “Enough talking for now. My turn.” He closed the distance, taking her mouth at an angle, swooping between her lips with his tongue.

She moaned into his mouth, her body on fire so fast she couldn’t slow the process.

Not that she wanted to.

While she fell further under Zach’s spell by the second, she was vaguely aware of Corbin behind her. He smoothed his hands up and down her sides and then wiggled them under her shirt and pushed it up her body.

The kiss was forced apart when her shirt whipped past her face. Instantly, she was a goner. Her breasts felt heavy swinging in front of her. Her nipples puckered in the cool air of the room.

Zach set his hands on her shoulders and held her at arm’s length, letting his gaze roam down her front. “God. You’re amazing.”

She shivered under his scrutiny.

“How the hell are you so white?” He held his arm next to hers, silently pointing out the contrast between his dark skin and her pale complexion.

She shrugged. “Goes with the red hair.”

“Gorgeous red hair, I might add,” Corbin stated from behind, taking a pile of it in his hand and lifting it in the air.

She sensed him leaning into her and heard him inhale long and slow.

“It smells like flowers.” His fingers traced down her spine and then around to circle her waist. “Your skin is so smooth. It’s addicting.”

Zach let his hands slide from her shoulders to her breasts. When he cupped them, she pulled herself up fully onto her knees and arched into his touch. Every cell of her body was more alive than ever. Every touch from either man was heightened.

She would never get enough.

And that was part of the claiming. If not for the way Nature handled things—arranging for her species to meet and unite with the exact right partner or partners at the exact right time—nothing about the shifter community would be as it was.

Wolves mated for life. And it was rarely an accident who they mated with. Even when two shifters met and didn’t have that initial spark that indicated they were destined for each other, they often forged a bond that caused the mating to occur anyway. If they had been meant for someone else, they would never know. And that in and of itself may have been part of Nature’s plan.

Zach leaned forward and took a nipple into his mouth, suckling it gently at first and then with more force.

She grabbed his shoulders and held on, swaying slightly at the onslaught of sensations.

Corbin’s hands wrapped around her hips and smoothed down her thighs.

She parted her legs, silently pleading with him to reach between them. Her clit throbbed against the tight material of her thermal pants. Her pussy was so wet she could feel the moisture leaking into the cotton.

Without warning, Corbin switched from his gentle caressing up and down her outer thighs to thrust one hand between her legs and cup her pussy firmly.