Their Unexpected Mate [Paranormal Protection Unit] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (8 page)

“Sugah, you have all the time in the world,” Sully promised her and reached out to brush his thumb over her cheek. “Take all of it that you need, darlin’.”

Mac nodded. “Just keep an open mind, sweetheart, when we have our chat with you a little later, sweets.” Because that was going to be the true test. It wasn’t so much if she were able to accept all three of them, but rather if she could accept all three of them
and
their animals as well.

“Trust me, with the father that I had, an open mind was a necessity.” That statement was the honest-to-goodness truth, no hesitation, no questions, but pure, untarnished truth. Katherine thought of her father, a man who believed that even the things that went bump in the night were real and instilled that same sense of wonder in his daughter. Wilder was a man who firmly believed that the sky was the limit, and then after you hit that keep on going into the stars.

That had all three men smiling and nodding. “That’s good, baby, because you’re going to need that with us, sweetheart,” Trey said as he leaned in and brushed his lips to her cheek. “Just know that no matter what, we are here for you, baby, always.”

That simple statement relaxed her far more than he could possibly understand. That easily, these men had her comfortable again. That easily, these men made her realize just how lucky she was to have them, well, to have them as hers.

Their meal went wonderfully. Katherine had been hand-fed by more than one of them. It was cute because they seemed to want to make a game of who could feed her most, of whose food she would like the best. She learned that they were in a military unit together. Which one, they wouldn’t say, and that told her all she wanted to know.

As they were laughing she couldn’t help but smile, joy filling her completely at the feeling that she had with these men. She found herself looking forward to the next day with them and the next time she saw them. Shaking her head, she paused to take a sip of her drink and winked at Mac across the table, who had made some kind of joke that simply had her grinning like a loon.

When their waitress appeared again, it was with a shy and regretful look. “I’m so sorry, gentlemen, ma’am, but the kitchen is closing in fifteen minutes and they would like to know if there was anything further that you might like?”

Trey smiled. “Sure thing, ma’am. We were just havin’ us such a good time here we couldn’t even think to pay attention to the time.” He tried to pull off the dumb hick routine but Katherine saw through it. Crazy thing, that she could so easily see through these men.

She passed him the receipt in a black leather booklet and smiled. “Take your time,” she murmured. “Just as long as it’s within the next fifteen minutes,” she added with a teasing grin.

Trey held up his hand to her. “Hold on a minute, ma’am. We will take care of this right now,” he said and pulled out his wallet. Passing her his black AmEx card, the card that never failed to cause a twitter among the staff of places like this, he smiled and added, “Will you toss in a bottle of your finest for the chefs? Our meal was outstanding and I would like for them to know just how much we appreciated and enjoyed it.”

The woman’s eyes went round as she took the card and nodded. “Yes, Mr. Campbell, I will make sure they know that this is from you,” she said after giving the card only a glance. Taking off quickly before he could change his mind, she left them in silence.

Shaking her head, Katherine grinned. “You try to pull off the dumb-ole-hick number but then you pull out a card that only one percent of our population has and expect for that to fly. Seriously? Silly goose.”

“Goose?” Trey said with a grin and leaned in. “Are you calling me a goose?” he asked as he leaned in and put his lips against the side of her neck. Nipping at her ear with his teeth, he whispered to her, “I’m not a goose, darlin’.” He was a wolf, but she would learn that about him very, very soon.

Grinning, Katherine shook her head. “Oh, but you are a goose. I rather adore geese. There is something about them is so graceful, beautiful,” she murmured. “It’s truly amazing to watch a goose move. They are annoying as heck, yes, but they are also unique.”

All three men shared a look and shook their collective heads mentally. Mac was the one who spoke. “Geese are nature’s crap machines. They poop on everything.” He was actually very proud of himself for not using the word “shit.”

That had her laughing and shaking her head. “You are too funny. All of you,” she said happily and squeezed first Trey’s hand and then Sullivan’s. Looking across the table at Mac, she gave him a piece of her happiness and joy.

When the waitress came back with the check for Trey to sign, Kat leaned back in her chair, watching all three men with a smile on her lips. She couldn’t recall being as happy as she was in this moment for a very, very long time, if ever. She was attracted to all three men and that was a very odd sensation to her, to be sure. She didn’t know how this was going to work. She didn’t know how to choose between the three men, sure that they would ask her to make a choice.

Standing after taking Sullivan’s hand in hers, she smiled. “Thank you,” she murmured and ducked her head, blushing as she did so. Her body flared to life. She felt the need that she had for him flood her and was very happy that she was standing rather than sitting, because it would be embarrassing to have to explain why her seat was wet.

All three men inhaled deeply and Sullivan literally growled, turning from her as he did so. Katherine had no idea why Sullivan suddenly looked away and stepped from him. She felt more than a little horrible at the moment, but it was what it was. Looking to Trey, she asked, “Will you take me home please?”

Trey saw the hurt in her face. He looked to Sullivan, wanting to tear into him as much as Mac looked like he wanted to. “Sure, baby,” he said and rubbed her arms with his hands, hugging her as he did so. “Don’t worry about it, baby,” he whispered in her ear. “I will explain everything, I promise.”

“I’m sorry, Katherine,” Sullivan murmured very quietly.

Katherine couldn’t look at Sullivan but nodded. She was afraid if she looked at him she would lose track of why she was upset. She would forget the pain that sliced through her at the way that he turned from her and that simply wouldn’t do. She needed, wanted to be sure to keep that close to her because it was the first, and hopefully last, time that he ever hurt her as he did. “Promise me you will never do it again,” she whispered, her face turned down and only slightly toward him. “Promise me, Sullivan.”

Grabbing her, Sullivan turned her to face him and wrapped her up into his arms. Holding her close, he said, “Never, baby. I’m so sorry that I did that, but there is a reason, sweetheart. I swear to you that I will tell you the reason, very soon, but know that I would never intentionally hurt you, baby.”

Fighting against the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes, Katherine simply nodded and rubbed her cheek to his chest. “All right,” she murmured. “I look forward to hearing what you have to say about what happened.”

“Tonight, baby.” he promised and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Tonight we will discuss everything, I promise you.”

Katherine had no choice but to accept his words and nodded. “All right,” she murmured. “All right,” she repeated. Swallowing hard, she breathed in, back out again, and nodded. “So you are coming home with me as well?”

“Yes, baby, all three of us are coming home with you. We need to have a small chat,” Sullivan told her. “The four of us. We told you that it was time for us to be able to get this out in the open. It’s time for you to know everything there is to know about us, honey,” he said as he caressed her hair between his first finger and thumb. “I know that you have only just met us, but trust what your gut is telling you.” The men would never, ever hurt her and they needed her to know it.

“All right,” she whispered. “I trust you.” She admitted the truth that she felt. She believed them, and may God help her, she wanted them all to come home with her. She felt as if she were becoming a broken record with as many times as she spoke the words “all right,” but at the moment she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Ride with me, baby,” Sullivan all but begged. “I know you came into town with Trey, but I truly need to feel your arms around me as we head back to your place. Ride with me?” He whispered those last two words with passion, with the depth of his need.

Listening to him, she realized just how hard it had been for him to ask her to be with him. She heard the anticipation from him that she would turn him down and knew in that moment that she wouldn’t be able to say no. “All r…” She started to say “all right” again but stopped herself. Grinning, she nodded. “I would love to ride with you, Sullivan, as long as Trey doesn’t mind.”

Smiling, Trey shook his head. “I truly don’t mind at all. You can ride with him, darlin’. I won’t be at all upset.”

Turning back to Sullivan, she winked. “There is your answer. Looks like I’m going to be riding along with you then,” she said with a smile.

Sullivan grinned and to his brothers, using their private mental pathway, said,
Thank you for giving me this time with her.
He realized in that moment that they knew just how close to the edge he was. A shifter on the edge was not a good thing at all, but one who’s gone over, yeah, that was the stuff of nightmares. As he watched both of his brothers nodding, Sullivan wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in closer. Kissing the top of her head, he whispered, “Trust me, baby.” He all but begged her.

“Already do,” she admitted to him. “Already do,” she added quietly and hugged him close, her arm around his waist letting him hold onto her. The way that she held onto him spoke volumes. She clung to him as if she had the feeling that he needed her more than anything else. It was surreal to her that she might be needed this much, but it was a feeling she actually truly loved.

That thought surprised her more than she could imagine. She had never believed in one of those love-at-first-sight type of experiences but right now, in his arms, she was feeling it. If it were at all possible, she knew that she had fallen in love with this man. No, correction, she had fallen in love with
these
men.

“You okay, baby?” Sullivan asked as he looked down at her. “Talk to me, sweet, you all right?” he asked as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm gently.

She just nodded. “I’m fine. Ready to go,” she murmured. “Take me home?” she asked softly.

“Of course, baby,” he said and stroked a finger down her cheek. “Come on, love, let’s get on the bike.” Over his shoulder he called, “We are taking the scenic route home.” Sullivan knew that his brothers would be out there watching their backs, but he also knew that they would hang back to give him and Katherine some alone time, time that they both needed.

Mac and Trey shared a look but both the bear and wolf nodded. “All right,” Mac spoke softly. “We will be waiting at her place for you,” he added in there.

Without another word Sullivan led Katherine outside to the massive Harley that was settled on the side of the street waiting for them. Wrapping his arm around Katherine’s waist, he pulled her close, brushing her hair back from her face and smiling down at her. “All right, let’s get you all nice and geared up so that we can ensure your safety.” He took off the leather jacket that was stored in the seat of his bike and wrapped it around her. “Leave it on,” he said when she looked to argue.

Katherine watched the big man with wide eyes. She noted everything about him, the way that he moved, the way that he touched her, and the way that he took care of her. The touch of this man sent her heart speeding, her pulse beating faster and visible at her neck, but what was worse was how her body clenched. Katherine felt her pussy weep for this man, just from a touch. When she made a token protest he shushed her words before she was even able to speak them.

“All right,” he said and put the helmet on her head. Ensuring that it was strapped tightly, he smiled. “Now then, let’s get you on the back of this bike so that we can head off toward your house,” he said with a grin. “The boys are likely already there.” They would go there in order to ensure that her home was fully secure. They would also add a couple of little toys to the place until they were able to get in and fully equip the place with a top-to-bottom security system that would make the Secret Service drool and look like chumps in their protection of the White House.

Sullivan helped her on his bike. When she looked at the tank she said, “You have a bear on your gas tank. How odd. Trey has a wolf and you have a bear. I like it,” she admitted happily. Reaching out, she touched the bear before he was able to climb onto the front of the bike and knew that there was something she was missing. Never before had she felt so stupid as she did in this moment in time.

“Yep, I have a bear and so does Mac,” he told her as he slung his long, leather-clad leg over the bike and settled in. Looking over his shoulder, he grinned. “You might wanna hold on, darlin’.” With that he started the bike. The roar of the engine covered her gasp.

One thing Katherine had never experienced before these men was the feel of a well-tuned, highly muscled bike between her thighs, and man, did she like it. Scooting forward just as bit as he began to get them out of the parking spot and onto the road, she wrapped her arms around his middle and held on, a thrill of excitement filling her as he let the engine roar and tore up the road with her hanging on the back.

Sullivan knew that this was what he had been missing all of his life, having this beautiful, sexy woman wrapped around him like she was. When he felt her little hands snaking around his waist and then slipping inside of his own leather jacket to press against his skin, he kicked the gas just a bit more and pushed the bike a bit closer to the speed limit. He wouldn’t go his normal speed because he had her on the back of his bike, and she was a hell of a lot more vulnerable than he was.