Sharon's Wolves (Wolf Masters Book 10) (11 page)

“It won’t seem strange once you get to know them. I promise.”

“I find that hard to believe,” he muttered. He took another fortifying sip of coffee and tried to picture the scenario.

Nope. No matter how he processed it, he ended up cringing. Sure, he knew guys who shared. Hell, he knew several members of the Masters family at least peripherally. But he’d never had his cock out in front of another man except to piss. And he’d never fucked a woman with another man present, let alone rubbing against him.

“Fuck.” He took a longer drink of the now-cooler coffee, though Lord knew he didn’t need the caffeine.

“Did you sleep at all? You look like shit.”

“No.”

“I need to get back. I left Mary sleeping in my warm bed to come talk some sense into my stubborn brother.”

He smiled. “For the record, I’m glad you found someone you love.”

“Thank you. You did too, you know. Now stop dorking around feeling sorry for yourself and go claim your woman.”

“I’ll think about it.”

She rolled her eyes as she stood. “It won’t get better, you know. You can’t ignore them forever. The cost is high. The physical pain will be excruciating. And the mental anguish just as bad. Nothing will get them out of your head.”

“Yeah. I’m beginning to see that.” He stood next to her and followed her to the door.

She hugged him and then jogged toward her car without looking back.

Sharon lay on her bed trying to get comfortable. And failing.

She curled onto her side, drew her knees up to her chest, and still she shivered. She wasn’t cold. She was agitated. Every muscle in her body flexed and released at will as though she had the flu.

A knot in the pit of her stomach grew with every passing hour. She had stripped off her stifling jeans and sweater when they returned to the condo and put on a pair of loose pink boxers and a white tank top. She hadn’t bothered with a bra. This was her usual sleep attire anyway. And Cooper could go to hell if he didn’t like it.

She needed rest.

He hadn’t met her gaze when she padded into the kitchen after changing to get a glass of orange juice. Instead, he’d kept his face angled toward his computer where he sat at her glass table already surrounded by piles of documents.

That had been an hour ago. Since then she’d climbed under the covers and closed her eyes. But sleep wouldn’t come. Cooper’s scent was everywhere. Even though he was in the other room down the hall, she could smell him. And Jackson too. His scent lingered strong in the condo nearly twelve hours after he left.

Twelve hours.

Twelve long hours.

How long could they do this?

They had no choice but to wait. He needed to come to them on his terms. If he felt pressured or rushed or forced, it wouldn’t bode well.

Seconds ticked by in slow motion.

The only thing Sharon could think about was her men. No other thoughts were allowed to squeeze past them haunting her visions. When she closed her eyes, she could see them both, hovering over her. Her imagination repeatedly got carried away to thoughts of the future.

Both men sprawled out at her sides…

Cooper pressing his impressive cock into her warmth…

Jackson licking a path from her pussy to her clit…

The claiming itself…

Her nipples puckered. They’d been stiff for so long she didn’t remember what it was like not to have them rubbing against her shirt, sensitive to the point of pain.

She clenched her legs tighter to stave off the need to touch her clit.

Cooper was in the other room. He would lose his mind if she masturbated down the hall. She could lock the door and give herself some relief without fear of being seen, but she knew she wasn’t quiet when she came. And the torture to Cooper would be too much.

She moaned into the pillow and gripped it tighter with her fists to keep her hands from roaming down between her legs.

“Baby…” Cooper’s voice was gentle and close. She’d been so distracted in her own world she hadn’t notice him approach, and that was saying something because his scent filled her nostrils.

She didn’t open her eyes. “Can’t.”

He sat on the edge of her bed and laid a hand on her thigh, his warmth penetrating her through the blanket. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” She could barely hear herself. “Me too.”

“This is largely my fault. I should have handled things better, maybe not barged in last night. If I’d given you time to talk to him first… My cocky attitude didn’t help.”

She spoke again, her face still tipped toward the pillow. “You can’t blame yourself. This isn’t your doing. I can’t expect you to have ignored what you knew last night and gone home. Besides, don’t forget, you were the only one of us who knew the truth. Without you coming over, I would have spent the evening trying to get into Jackson’s pants and not understanding why we got thwarted at every turn.”

He chuckled. “True. Though that might have been comical to see.”

She tipped her head back to glare at him. “You
did
see it. Remember? Here. In my room. First a spirit, then a phone, then a fucking earthquake to stop us from having sex.”

“True.”

“Stop touching me. I’m dying.”

He released her thigh, though he really hadn’t had any direct contact with her skin. “Should I go to him?”

“No. At least not yet.”

Cooper nodded. He adjusted his cock for the millionth time and stared at her. “You’re so sexy. Even curled up in a ball on your bed as if you were sick, you take my breath away.”

“You say that to all the girls.”

He chuckled again. “Sure. There are so many of them.”

They stopped speaking for long moments, staring at each other.

The doorbell made her nearly jump out of her skin.

“I’ll get it.” Cooper stood and strode from the room.

Sharon closed her eyes, grateful for the way Cooper was treating her.

Any number of people could be at the door, but she willed it to be Jackson. In fact, she inhaled long and deep, over and over, as she heard the door open and close. And then she blew out a breath.

Thank God.

She pulled herself to sitting and propped against the pile of pillows at the headboard as both her men wandered into the room.

Jackson looked nervous. His hands were in his pockets, and he shuffled his feet, only meeting her gaze fleetingly.

Sharon was afraid to speak, afraid she would say the wrong thing and scare him away.

Apparently Cooper was too.

“Did you…” Jackson waved a hand between them, not meeting either of their gazes.

“No,” Cooper said. “We can’t. I mean, we really can’t. Nature won’t let us.”

Jackson breathed out in relief. “I see.” He paused. “My sister came over this morning. Laurie called her.”

Sharon nodded, pursing her lips to keep from speaking.

“She says I can’t avoid this. I’m beginning to think she’s right.”

“She’s smart,” Cooper said.

“She’s convincing.” He paced the room now, running his hand over his head. “It’s hard to argue destiny with a woman who has spent two years sneaking around hiding her relationship out of fear of public ridicule.”

“Yeah.” Cooper stepped closer to Sharon, but stopped before reaching her.

She willed him to stay where he was.

“People talk about your families behind your backs.”

“They do.” Cooper nodded.

“That must be hard.”

“It is. But we deal with it. We don’t have a choice. We try to be as unobtrusive as possible in public. But it’s tough, like your sister said.”

Sharon made a mental note to hug the life out of Jazmine the next time she saw her.

Silence.

Sharon’s heart beat wildly, threatening to explode out of her chest. Every breath forced her to concentrate on not whimpering. She needed these two men worse than she needed to breathe. If someone didn’t break the ice in a second, she considered stripping off what little clothing she wore and parading in front of them naked until they couldn’t deny her.

Jackson whipped his gaze toward Cooper and pointed. “Not ever fucking you, man.”

Cooper smiled. “Good. I would have to break your arm.”

Jackson looked relieved to hear that. He tucked his face back toward the floor, avoiding Sharon. “She’s like a drug,” he said as though she weren’t in the room.

“She is. Intoxicating, isn’t it?”

“How does this work?” Finally, Jackson met her gaze. “It feels so clinical.”

She parted her lips to smile and reached out a hand. “Trust me, it won’t. Just relax.”

Thank God he approached her. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if he had denied her. In fact, he kicked off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and crawled toward her. “I’ve never had sex with a woman this early in a relationship. Seems disrespectful.”

“Good. I’m glad you’ve always been such a gentleman. And I appreciate the sentiment. I don’t want you to misunderstand. The list of men I’ve slept with is short, and I’ve also never had sex with anyone I didn’t know far longer than I’ve known you.”

Cooper sat on the edge of the bed on her other side. “I don’t even remember the last time I had sex.” He tapped his fingers on his lips as though pondering it. “But I can assure you it wasn’t in haste for me, either.”

“So why are we doing this?” Jackson closed his eyes and leaned in to stroke his nose along her neck.

Her entire body came alive at the contact.

Cooper reached for her hand and brought it to his face. “When we meet our mates, a frenzy takes over. It’s consuming. And it won’t stop until we accept our situation and claim Sharon as our own.”

Sharon tipped her head back to give Jackson more access to her neck.

He brushed her hair away from her neck with his hand, his fingers bringing goose bumps to the surface. “And then what happens? Prepare me,” he mumbled. “Some sort of woohoo hokey pokey thing and presto, we’re bound together like—”

“Wolves,” Cooper finished for him. “Wolves mate for life. And two things will happen you should know about.”

“Of course they will. Why am I not surprised?” Jackson sat back and met Cooper’s gaze. He kept his hand on Sharon’s neck though, stroking the thin skin there until she had to hold her breath to keep from leaping on top of him and ripping his clothes off.

Slow down, Sharon. Let him catch up.

“One, we’ll be able to communicate with each other all the time, even when we aren’t together, through our minds.”

Jackson’s mouth fell open. “Telepathically?”

“Yes. Only mates can do it. And shifted wolves.”

“I’ll believe that when I…hear it,” he joked. “And the other thing?”

“This driving need to fuck?”

“I’m clear on that. What about it?”

“It won’t get better. It will get worse.”

“I’ll also believe that when I…feel it.” He laughed. “Not possible.”

“Trust me,” Cooper added, “it’s possible. Don’t plan on leaving this condo often. We’ll only be able to accomplish the absolute necessities in the next few days.”

“I have to work.”

Cooper smiled. “And in forty-eight hours on Monday morning you let me know if you still think that’s possible. Otherwise, I hope you have some vacation time coming.”

“Jesus. Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”

Cooper’s expression narrowed. “Dude, it’s not really optional. You feel like you can walk away right now?”

“No.”

“That’s because you can’t. Accept it. Take off your clothes. Let go of your doubts. And let’s rock Sharon’s world until she has no idea what either of our names are.”

Jackson paused for only a second, and then he jumped off the bed and stripped out of his clothes so fast Sharon couldn’t keep up with the show.

She knew Cooper did the same on her other side when the mattress sprang up, but she ignored him to watch Jackson. She’d seen Cooper naked. She wanted to see Jackson.

Damn he was tall. And his chest was amazing. For an accountant, he looked like he must spend the rest of his waking hours at the gym. He was going to have to find another way to work out, because she needed him to free up his life a bit to fit her in.

When his jeans eased over his cock, she inhaled sharply. His scent filled the room more than it had before. Precome dripped from the head of his engorged length, and he boldly wrapped his hand around the base and stroked his palm up to the tip.

She couldn’t breathe.

“You have lube, baby?” Cooper’s voice made her turn her head toward him.

She nodded. “Bedside table.”

“Condoms?” Jackson asked.

“Don’t need them,” Cooper responded as he lowered himself once again at her side.

Jackson chuckled. “Dare I ask why that would be?”

Sharon reached out and set her hand on his chest as he climbed up next to her. “We can’t catch or transmit any human diseases. And Cooper will be able to scent if I’m ovulating.”

“Jesus. That’s crazy. I can’t keep up with all the rules.”

“They aren’t rules. Just facts. You’ll get there.” She pressed her palm against his heart and felt the rhythm of it beating against her touch. She needed to taste him. She squirmed out from under the covers and crawled on her knees to get closer until she met him face to face, both of them on their knees.

She cupped his cheeks with both hands and boldly brought her lips to his. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered into his mouth. “I promise.”

In a flash, he went from stiff and hesitant to decisive and determined. He wrapped one hand around her waist, hauled her chest against his, and took her mouth in a searing kiss that made her knees week.

He moaned into her, lighting a fire with his tongue and lips. His hands roamed up and down her backside until he settled them on her ass and squeezed.

She vaguely sensed Cooper behind her, impressed with his ability to give her this. He’d had more than this much of her while Jackson had been at home alone, but she knew it was difficult for him.

Finally, while Jackson continued to devour her mouth, seemingly unwilling or unable to separate from her, Cooper set his hands on her waist and stroked his palms up to cup her breasts.

She arched her chest forward into Jackson’s, whimpering into his mouth. The need was intense. And it grew by the second.