Shifted Temptations (23 page)

I was a little nervous about the man
who was supposed to watch over me. The name Bear had all kinds of thoughts running through my head, but if Jordan and Alex both trusted him then so would I.

I sighed in contentment as we drove the long drive back. Alex had climbed into the backseat of the
Land Rover with me and I curled up against him. Wrapped in his love and warmth, I slept soundly the whole drive.

~ 24 ~

Sam

Of the two men who stood before me, the one on my right held the most of my attention. I had one word to describe him...Big.

The man
towered over everyone, even Jordan. He had to be almost seven feet tall. I could not believe he actually fit through the door with how wide his shoulders were, but he did, with a grace I would have never thought of in such a large man. He was pure muscle from head to toe.

He wore black cargo pants tucked into very big black boots and a grey long sleeve tee. The shirt strained against his well-developed biceps. I just knew he could have done curls with three of me.

I blinked up at him, stunned, as I looked over his face. His dark brown hair was long and pulled back into a neat ponytail at the back of his neck. He had a lot of facial hair, but it was trimmed neatly and looked clean.

Hazel eyes stared back at me and as intimidating as his body was
, his eyes were the opposite. Nothing but kindness shown through and I relaxed considerably. There was something sparkling in the depths of his gaze that made me like him instantaneously.

“Sam, this is Paul,” Alex said beside me as he gestured towards the other man that I had rudely ignored.

He had about the same build as Alex and wore something similar to the big man, black pants, black boots, grey tee. His hair was also black but had been completely buzzed off his head, making his black eyebrows stand out unusually. His nose was on the large side and his lips were plump. I wouldn’t say he was unattractive, but definitely unusual.

When I looked into his dark eyes, though, I immediately wanted to run. They bore
into me with an intensity I had not liked. It was calculating and almost cruel. I did not trust the man.

“Hello.”

My smile was weak as I held out my hand. I was standing by the couch with the aid of my crutches. Jordan stood on my left and Alex was on my right as we spoke to the two men in front of us.

I continued to hold out my hand politely, but it was getting difficult keeping my balanc
e as I was using only my casted arm on one crutch. We stood there a moment as he continued with his creepy stare and I began to wobble unsteadily. I eventually had to drop my hand and turned away from him, embarrassed.

I wasn’t sure why I was embarrassed. Paul was the one who was being rude, but I thou
ght that maybe I had broken some sort of military shifter rule or something. I shrugged and looked to the large man as Alex introduced him.

“And this is Bear.”
Alex had ignored Paul’s impolite actions so I would too, I decided.

I blushed
as I looked at Bear. I had been rudely ogling him only a moment ago. Not wanting to make the same mistake and cause awkwardness, I did not hold out my hand.

He walked towards me, his eyes twinkling mischievously. I
raised an eyebrow wondering what he was doing. I was shocked when he stopped right in front of me and picked up my good hand off my crutch. Placing his other hand on my opposite arm, he steadied me as he brought the hand he was holding to his mouth, laying a gentle kiss on the back.

My cheeks
heated causing his lips to pull up into a large grin. My lips parted at the sight. His smile was panty dropping gorgeous. That grin combined with his sparkling eyes, had my knees shaking. This man knew how to charm women.

“Nice to meet you,” I whispered, still stunned by his beautiful smile.

“To meet such a beautiful woman, believe me, the pleasure is all mine.”

His voice was the deepest I had ever heard, making a tingle shoot down my spine. His smile widen
ed as I shivered.

“Alright
,” Jordan growled stepping closer to me. “Enough flirting with our woman.”

I giggled and both Jordan and Alex looked down at me in amusement. Since when had I ever giggled? I shr
ugged. I couldn’t help that Bear knew how to treat a lady.

Jordan wrapped an arm around my waist as Alex moved closer,
both of them glaring at Bear as he winked at me playfully. I grinned and my men growled causing Bear to chuckle a deep baritone laugh as he backed away.

My smile only got b
righter. I loved that Jordan and Alex were getting a little jealous.

“I’m not so sure having you stay with Sam is such a good idea anymore,” Alex said, his voice rough.

“I think I agree,” Jordan said.

I elbowed them as best I could as Bear chuckled. Jordan and Alex grunted
, but only pulled me closer. I rolled my eyes and looked up at Alex.

“That was rude. Don’t you trust me?”

Alex looked down at me. “Of course I trust you. It’s him I don’t trust.” He glared back at Bear.

“Do you think he will hurt me?”

Bear’s smile disappeared and his eyes turned hard as Jordan and Alex looked down at me frowning.

“I would never hurt her. You both know that.” Bear informed them seriously.

Alex nodded. “No, you are safe with him, Sam.”

I turned to Jordan with a raised eyebrow. He leaned in and kissed my cheek in reassurance. I smiled at Bear bringing the twinkle back in his eyes.

“Well, I don’t see any problems then,” I said still smiling. Until my gaze fell on Paul, then my smile wilted.

He had not moved or spoken, only watched the scene play out with an eerie look on his face, as if he was memorizing every word. His gaze met mine and I saw something dark move through his eyes. I did not like Paul, not one bit. Something was wrong with that man.

“We will be right back,” Jordan said as he pulled me down the hallway.

Alex followed as we went into
his bedroom. After shutting the door they both wrapped themselves around me, Alex behind me and Jordan in front. We pressed tightly together, just holding each other in silence for a few minutes before Alex spoke.

“I’ll miss you.”

“I will miss you both,” I said, tears forming behind my closed eyelids.

“I love you, Sam,” Jordan murmured in my ear.

“I love you too.

“What about me? I love you too,” Alex whined as he kissed my neck.

“Ok, ok, I love you too,” Jordan grumbled to Alex, making me laugh.

Alex punched him in the shoulder. It looked like a hard punch, but Jordan’s eye
s were shining with laughter.

“I wasn’t talking to you, asshole.”

I laughed harder and lifted my head to place a kiss on Jordan’s cheek. Then I turned and did the same to Alex.

“I love you too, Alex,” I said smiling. “Two days?” I asked.

Alex nodded. “Three, at the most.”

“Okay, Paul’s not
staying here, is he?” I asked.

I really hoped the answer was no because if they said yes
, I was going to kick up a fuss. I refused to stay alone with that man.

“No, why?” Alex asked

“There is something about him, the look in his eyes, I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I just have a bad feeling about him.”

I turned to Jordan. “Is he going on the mission with you?”

“Yes.”

“What about Bear? Why isn’t he going?”

“He just wasn’t pulled for this one.” Jordan shrugged.

“Be careful. Please?” I begged.

“We promise.”

Jordan pulled me into his arms and I
laid my head against his chest with a sigh. I loved him so much. I only hoped he was true to his word and was as careful as promised. I didn’t know what I would do without them.

Jordan leaned down and whispered in my ear, causing
shivers to race down my spine.

“I will do anythi
ng to get back to you, Sam, but I will not be with anyone, but you.”

I pulled back and looked into his deep blue eyes. I knew what he was saying, but I had mixed feeling
s about it. As much as I didn’t want him to sleep with anyone else, I also wanted him home safe, no matter what he had to do to get there.

I swallowed hard. “Are you sure? I want you safe, no matter what.”

Jordan nodded and kissed my lips softly. “I will be safe, I promise, but no one else, Sam. I want only you.”

I laid my head a
gainst his chest again and listened to the steady beat of his heart as I soaked in his warmth. Alex stepped up behind me and I turned into his arms.

“You too, Alex. Please be safe.” I pleaded against his chest.

“I promise.

He leaned down to capture my lips in a heated kiss.
It was a goodbye kiss mixed with a promise of what was to come when he got back home. His tongue darted inside my mouth and I groaned at how good he tasted. We clung passionately to each other as our mouths melded into one.

Then movement between us had us parting on a laugh. Ava had
taken that moment to flip. Alex got down to his knees and placed his hands on either side of my swollen belly.

“Bye baby, I love you,” he whispered then place a soft
kiss on my stomach.

Tears of pure happiness were threatening and almost did fall as Jordan came down to
the floor next to Alex. He kissed my stomach and laid his cheek gently against the swell.

“I love you, baby Ava.” Jordan voice cracked and my tears overflowed.

I had never imagined we would end up like this. The love the three of us shared was so special and I was thankful that our secrets and lies had not kept us apart.

The
men finally stood and after one more embrace, they pulled away.

“We have to go,” Jordan said.

They both kissed me quickly and left the room. I did not follow. I could not watch them walk out of the apartment. We had said our goodbyes and I just wanted some time to myself. They would be home before I knew it, I told myself. I closed my eyes and the tears began to stream down my face as I heard the apartment door shut.

“Are you alright?” A deep voice said from the doorway.

I looked up to see Bear watching me. His expression was supportive and I was glad he was there. I wanted some space in that moment, but I could not imagine being alone for the next two or three days.

I nodded
my head, but I wasn’t all right. I would be though, as soon as my men returned.

“I’ll let you rest, but let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” I croaked.

After Bear left the room, I crawled into bed. Jordan and Alex’s scents surrounded me and I breathed deep. I wanted to immerse myself in their aroma. I already missed them terribly and worse, I was so worried. It was going to be a long three days.

~ 25 ~

Jordan

The
Alpha Division
consisted of ten shifters from around the country. Our division was only one of many the U.S. government had under their thumb. Each group was stationed in a different sub-area. Our division was responsible for four states, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. We had been called to help neighboring sectors in the past, but it had not happened often.

Before going in
to the mission, we met up at command central, as we liked to call it, but it was really just a warehouse on the coast of North Carolina. For the most part, all ten members of the
Alpha Division
were put on a rotation. Not every member went on all missions. The six of us that were chosen for the mission
Wild Hunt,
stood around a large table with Teij.

Blue prints were spr
ead out as he went over our course of action. As our commander, he would be seeing over our strategy, but he would not be joining us for the mission. When Teij was not present, I was the active second.

I stood beside Teij
with Leo on my right. Leo’s blonde hair was shoulder length and pulled back with a rubber band. There was a boyish quality about his face. He was in his early thirties, but could have easily passed as a seventeen year old. His other form was a lion and though he gave off an easygoing attitude, the man was fierce.

Alex stood across from us
, on the other side of the table next to Paul. Paul was a cherry, new to the
Alpha Division
. This was his first mission. I had not figured him out yet. The man was dark in all aspects. Many things went on behind those black eyes and I liked to keep an eye on him. His form was a jaguar like Alex and I, but he had not come from our community. He said he was from farther north, but I did not know where yet.