“He’s a dead man. It’s not just about me, Renee. He’s disrespected my jamboree by attacking one of us. He’s come into my home, touched my things, nearly killed my fucking wife. This cannot stand.”
“Can you live with this on your conscience?”
“We can.” Jack shrugged.
“I don’t want to be the reason you murder someone. Don’t you see? I should be bringing you up, not dragging you down.”
Her breath strained with each word and aside from the rainbow sherbet bruise on her face, she’d grown whiter than the hospital sheet from the strain.
“First things first.” Jack leaned over and pointed at a button. “This is pain medication. You need it. Push the button or I will.”
Galen wanted to cheer and simultaneously cry at the way she did it without argument. That she had simply obeyed meant she had to be in pretty awful pain.
Jack’s gaze met his for long moments before moving back to her face. “Better. Now, you do bring me up. I didn’t realize how empty I’d been until I met you. You fill me up. You make me a better person and I do love you. So damned much that seeing you like this makes me crazy. So damned much that when I came into that room and saw you covered in blood, a madman trying to kill you, my entire world went inside out. I’ve been that way for hours. You are the reason, Renee.”
“The reason you’re inside out?”
Jack snorted. “The reason for everything. You are everything.”
She sighed and her eyelids slid down a bit. “Let the cops deal with it.”
“He’s not human, you’re not human and we’re not human. This is not for them. It’s for us.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m not?” She tried to glare at him but gave up when all she could manage was a blink of sorts.
“You’re more than that. You’re magic. This asshole who attacked you is more than that only in a twisted way. The point is, he didn’t steal your car at gunpoint, he tried to kill you by stealing your magic, your life force. This isn’t a crime the cops are prepared to deal with. He’s dangerous, Renee, he has to be removed.”
Chapter Fourteen
Renee woke up, relaxing when she realized it was her own bed and she was home. The hospital overnight when they wake you up once an hour wasn’t her idea of comfort. Still, the sight of a dozen wolves and cats, all there to protect her, did make her feel a heck of a lot better. She’d also had a lot of nurses and other female staff just stopping in to check on her because few men were as smoking hot as shifter men. It almost made up for the fact that her father had never called to see how she was even though he knew she’d been assaulted.
Jack and Galen had treated her as if she’d been made of glass since they’d returned. Waited on her hand and foot and not let her out of their sight. They’d hovered and coddled and made her feel utterly loved. The bedroom door currently stood open and she could see Galen walk by, shirtless and in low-slung jeans.
Well then, thank goodness the attack hadn’t killed her sex drive because hellllllo there, sailor!
He turned, interrupting her perusal of the strong line of his back and the utterly stellar ass so lovingly hugged by the pale blue denim.
“You’re awake.”
“You’re handsome.”
He grinned, moving to her.
“What are you doing?” she asked when he began to sit in a nearby chair.
“Sitting. Are you still tired? I can go back out.”
“Here, in bed with me. I need to rub up on you unless I smell horrible or something.” She remembered some hours before she’d lain down for the nap, that Jack had washed her hair and cleaned her up. Sponge baths were a lot more appealing when administered by Jack Meyer.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I’m just sore, but you know how to deal with that.” She waggled her brows at him.
Carefully, he slid between the sheets and she attached herself to him like a limpet. Immediately his warmth, the scent of his skin, the way he felt against her, it all combined to calm her, to comfort.
“Mmmm. I’ve missed this.” And she had. She’d taken for granted just how much she gained from touch too. She knew shifters did, but humans, or more than humans or whatever, did as well.
“Babe, if the next year of my life looked like me in bed with you holding me like I was the best thing on earth, I’d be the happiest man alive.”
“You are the best thing on earth. You and Jack.”
He smoothed a hand up and down her spine. “Not good enough to get here on time. I’m sorry. You don’t know how much.”
“I was scared. Terrified. He—” she shuddered, remembering the darkness he tasted of, the desolation, “—he was wrong inside and it got all over me. I was dying, but I knew one of you would get here, I knew I wouldn’t die alone. And Jack, when he came in, everything was all right because I wouldn’t die without one of you with me. My only regret was not having you here too.”
“I saw it.” Emotion choked his voice. “You wrote my initials.” In her blood. But it wasn’t like she had a pen and pad nearby.
She had wanted him to know her mind had been with him too. “I wanted you to know. You know, um, after I was dead.”
His muscles tensed and he shivered. “I can’t.” He pressed his face into her neck. “I can’t think about it, it’s too much.”
Need bloomed from low in her belly, her nipples beaded. “It’s been days since you’ve been in me.”
He took a shuddering breath. “It’s too soon.”
“I need you.”
“You need to heal.”
“But you have ten working fingers and that mouth. I could just, you know, lie back and enjoy it.”
He shook with laughter, bringing her own.
“Goddamn, what the fuck would I have done without you?” he asked, pulling back to look down into her face.
“You don’t need to know now.” She’d faced it, believed she was gone, but at the same time, she could let go knowing Jack and Galen had each other. The fear that her men would be alone if she passed was gone. It took a weight from her.
“I think about it all the time. Leaves a cold sweat in its wake.”
“I have something else for you to think about.”
He laughed. “I love it that you’re trying to flutter your lashes with a black eye.”
“Am I hideous now?”
He gave her the lawyer face. One raised brow, no expression otherwise. And still, holy crapdoodle, he was hotter than the sun. She’d blame her concussion but she already found him irresistible long before the attack.
“Hideous my ass. You’re beautiful, even with a black eye. But you just got out of the hospital two days ago. You need the rest. Jack and I are here to service you when you’re ready.”
“If you’re not going to fuck me or make me come, how about some food?” She tried to pout but it pulled at the stitches on her jaw.
“Are you leaving our lady high and dry?” Jack strolled in, tossing his shirt to the side and leaving her breathless in the process.
“I was trying to explain she was still too hurt to get involved in any sexytimes.” Galen’s voice cracked when she leaned up enough to brush her nipples over his chest.
“Stuff and nonsense! I didn’t volunteer for anything acrobatic, but I sure as hell can lay back and enjoy myself.”
“You do have a point.” Galen sat up and peeled the blankets back. He traced around her nipples and then down her belly, over her mound through her panties. “You do know how much I love this particular pair of panties.”
“Wasn’t my idea, though I do approve of the results. Jack chose them.”
Jack got in bed on the other side, leaning over to look. “Yes, I thought so too. Opening her panty drawer was a treat.”
He bent, leaving an openmouthed kiss on her hip. She couldn’t really care less about fancy underpants but Galen loved her in them and she left the purchase of said frilly panties to him. If it had been up to her, she’d wear plain white cotton granny panties and do so quite happily.
“Close your eyes, babe. Let us take care of you.”
“Finally!” Laughing, she closed her eyes and lay back. But she sure as hell wasn’t thinking of England.
Hands caressed over the non-stitched, non-casted parts of her. Thank goodness those were the best parts. She couldn’t keep her eyes closed though, what was better to imagine than her reality?
Galen situated himself between her thighs and slid her panties down her legs. “You’re so beautiful. Even bruised and battered, you’re so gorgeous it steals my breath.”
“You say the most awesome things.” She gave her best imitation of a grin, trying not to wince when the movement tugged at her stitches.
Jack’s teeth caught her nipple through the thin material of her sleep shirt. A satisfied moan slid from her lips.
With his head bent over her body, Galen looked nearly reverent. How she ended up so loved, so taken care of and worshipped, she didn’t know. But she loved it.
She wanted to grab the sheets or a handful of hair, but her splints wouldn’t allow for it so she settled for writhing instead.
“Oh God, yes, right like that,” she panted out when Galen’s tongue fluttered over her clit.
“God, I want to be in you,” Jack murmured as he kissed up her chest to her neck.
“Be in me then. I won’t break.”
“You’re already broken,” he said, agitation clear in his tone.
“Don’t.” She turned and then arched on a gasp as Galen’s tongue slid through her pussy and pressed up, into her gate. Magic, warm and familiar, rushed through her, pushing aside aches. Wow, that was awesome. Her aunt had told her it was within her power to heal, but it was one of those lessons they hadn’t gotten to yet. Perhaps she knew without really knowing, perhaps she could just let her body do it. Of course thinking about it would probably jinx it and, gah! She turned her mind away from that, back to this moment with her mates.
When she let go, the energy pulsed through her again like a warm caress.
Galen pulled back, kissing the inside of her thigh. “You taste like power,” he said, his eyes lit with the yellow-green of his cat.
She was in a place beyond words. Instead she pushed to sit. Galen’s hands tightened on her thighs, like a boy who wasn’t giving up his sweets anytime soon.
“Lie down, gorgeous.” Jack licked the hollow of her throat and she sighed happily. This was good and right. What they had was what was supposed to be.
“No. I feel better. I’d feel even better with a cock inside me. Any takers?”
“I was in the middle of something.” Galen’s mouth found its way up her thigh and to her cunt. Jack knelt behind her, bringing her body to a lean against him. His clever fingers tugged and rolled her nipples as Galen pushed her thighs wide and set back to licking her pussy like a starving man.
Long, wet strokes of his tongue as his fingers teased her gate, slid back to tickle her rear passage. All she could think of was his cock. His cock in her mouth, deep in her body, the way he tasted and felt against her. Even as he continued to drive her up, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“Christ, what are you thinking about?” Jack pressed into her back, his cock behind the zipper of his jeans hot against her skin. “I fell into a movie in your head, felt Galen’s cock in my cunt.”
Galen’s surprised laugh was the last bit of sensation she needed to tip into orgasm. Still, he pressed his face into her flesh, never stopping, pushing her into an aftershock climax that brought a rush of pleasure through her and a flush to her skin.
His kiss on her belly and around Jack’s fingers brought her attention again.
“I was thinking about Galen’s cock. About the taste, how it feels inside, how it makes me feel when his control slips and he pulls my hair just a tad too hard. So hard it hurts really good.”
Galen groaned. “Your mouth on me is like nothing in the world.”
“Just like being inside her is like nothing in the world.” Jack bit her earlobe.
“One of you should prove it before I die.” She stopped as the words hit them like a slap. “It’s laugh or cry. I’d rather laugh. I’m not dead. I’m here with you two and I’m not going anywhere.”
“It’s not funny.” Galen’s voice was very nearly a snarl. Something he rarely unleashed in her presence. For some reason, this made her feel better, like he trusted her enough to show that part of himself to her.
“It happened. We can pretend it didn’t, but that won’t make it true.”
“Damn it,” Jack cursed low, just in her ear, and suddenly she was picked up and plopped onto his lap, his cock sliding deep in one thrust up as she moved down.
Yes. That was what she needed.
“Hold her up, Galen,” Jack said, his voice strained. “Sweet heaven, your pussy feels so good I can’t stand it.”
“Thank you, God you feel right. I think I may be a Jack junkie. I’m afraid there’s no treatment but more of you so I don’t go into withdrawals.”
He laughed against her neck, his breath stirring the tendrils of her hair.
Galen moved to her, his front brushing against hers. With exquisite care, he cradled her body, careful to avoid her various injuries. He tasted her lips, her taste on his tongue, melting into her senses. She expected an urgency from him, instead he touched her with gentle hands, kissed with a mouth that tasted rather than demanded.
“I need you so much. I don’t know that I’ll ever get enough,” he said against her lips.
“Good,” she managed to gasp out as Jack continued to thrust into her body slow and deep. It felt so good, he felt so good, for the first time since the attack she felt okay. Normal. “I still want your, ohfuckyes, cock, Galen. Be patient and you’ll be next. Or if you can’t, I’m sure Jack has some energy left. Though—” she paused to grind herself down on Jack, “—he’s working awfully hard here so perhaps he’ll need a break when we’re finished.”
“I’ve already had Jack’s cock,” Galen said, kissing her lips, her cheeks, her eyelids. “I want your pussy.”
“You really need to be sure I’m awake and watching the next time.” Nothing was more beautiful than the two of them, writhing together, touching each other the way they did.
“Are you objectifying me, gorgeous?” Jack nipped the back of her neck and a full-body shiver worked through her.
“Hell yes, I’m sure you understand each time you look in the mirror.”
“You don’t care that Galen and I are fucking too?” Jack thrust deep, holding her in place for long moments, a groan rumbling through his chest.
“Why should I? Aside from being ridiculously sexy, what would I be jealous of? Afraid of? You’re mine, I know that. I believe that to my bones. You two are each other’s as well, that’s how it’s supposed to be so why fight it when I find it beautiful?”
Galen’s gaze locked with hers. What they had as a threesome wasn’t just titillation, it was deeper. She accepted it was supposed to be the way it was. No, it wasn’t what most people had and she wasn’t entirely sure it would have worked if there hadn’t been this bond between the two men and her. But none of that mattered. She had it and she had it good. There were no doubts in that department.
“I want to be here forever,” Jack whispered.
“You are.” She turned her head, met his mouth with her own, even as the muscles in her neck and shoulders screamed in protest while she brushed her lips against his.
His teeth dug into her shoulder, marking her as he came. Flashes of light and pleasure buffeted her behind
closed eyes.
“Each time I’m with you I think it can’t get any better. And then there’s the next time.” Jack laid her on the mattress so gently tears welled up again.
“You’re a gift, Jack. I’ve brought all this drama to you and yours, but you’re a gift.”
He shook his head and kissed each broken fingertip. “Stop. None of this is your fault except the being irresistible part, which I’m quite happy about.”
“Mmm” was all she could manage until Galen touched her again. His cat slid against her and her magic caressed him in return. Jack’s wolf curled around her, his scent comforting and familiar.
When she opened her eyes, Galen’s face was just inches from hers. “Hiya, handsome. Wanna get lucky?”
“I already am.”
“Smooth fucker.”
Jack laughed and Galen nuzzled her neck. “I want in. Can you take me so soon after Jack?”
She hooked her calf around his hip, pulling him down toward her.
His entry was slow, dreamy, like the pace he set. Her arms lay to her sides, helpless. She wanted to grasp and hold. Instead she had to rely on her body in other ways, on her eyes to let him see how much she needed him.
So much gentleness, this man who could just as easily rip her apart. He chose kindness, he chose to cherish and that made it even more important.
“I love you. Both of you,” she said drowsily after he’d come and made her come once again. The spot he’d bitten tingled just right, the occasional throb in time with the mark Jack had left on her other side. “I’m glad you both marked me again.” Normally she’d touch the edges, this time she couldn’t. Instead she let them be, let her body experience them in a totally different sense.
“Hungry? Kendra brought over some food. She said she’d come back by later today for tea.” Jack kissed her chin. “I like your aunt and sister. They’re good people.”
“They are. I’m, well this is going to sound stupid in the wake of this last week, but I’m lucky. I’m blessed with unexpected gifts. I’m not that woo woo, not really, but this is all for a reason. That’s what I hold on to and that’s what’s important. You, me and Galen.”