Shaking her head in disgust, she jogged up the stairs and stopped outside Lex’s door, tapping softly. “Nina? It’s Tracy. We met yesterday? I’m Lex’s youngest sister. Can I come in, please?”
“Why? Do I have to have sex with you too?” came from the other side of the door.
Tracy laughed at that. She really liked her new sister-in-law. She had all the fire it would take to keep Lex in line. “No. Are you disappointed?”
The door yanked open and Nina was there, looking imperious right down to the single raised eyebrow. “What do you want?”
“Oh come on and let me in. You know you’re curious. What do you have to lose?”
She sighed, waved Tracy into the room and relocked it after her.
Tracy opened up the bag she had with her and tossed Nina something. “Here, it’s a sandwich. Chicken salad. Thought you might be hungry after Frick and Frack sprang the tri-bond on you without warning.”
Nina sat on the bed and gestured for Tracy to do the same. “Thanks.”
“No problem. There’s chips and a cookie in the bag too,” she added as she opened up her own sandwich and began to eat.
“Why are you here? I don’t mean to be rude, but let’s just be blunt.”
“You know why I’m here.” She looked up at Nina. “Lex called me in a panic and I rushed over. Come on. Admit it. You know, deep down, that Lex and Cade aren’t lying. I bet you’re feeling a bit shaky about now. My sister Layla didn’t want to do the tri-bond either.” Tracy tucked her feet beneath her as she ate. “Anyway, so she and Sid had sex and the claiming happened. Only they didn’t know they were mates, they thought it was just a lust thing.
“Lay flipped out! She didn’t want to be mated to anyone, much less an artist. Sid’s a painter, by the way, he’s quite good. Anyway, so she tried to walk out on it. Even growing up in a Pack and knowing about the necessity of the tri-bond. He tracked her down with his cousin and she raged all over him about it.
“But it didn’t change the facts and after three days she had to admit it. She was starting to slip control of her emotions and she was generally losing it. Sid was just about to involve my parents—” Tracy rolled her eyes “—when Lay finally allowed the tri-bond to go forward.”
Tracy leaned forward and took Nina’s hand. “I know you love Lex. What will happen with Cade can be fun, or not, but it has to happen. I won’t say it’ll be meaningless because you’ll be connected to him in a deep way, but it won’t be the same as what you and Lex have and it will save your life. It’ll save Lex’s life too.”
“What do you mean it’ll save Lex’s life?”
“He didn’t tell you, did he?” Tracy snorted. “When you lose it mentally, you’ll drag him down with you.”
“He didn’t say,” Nina said faintly.
“And what does that tell you?”
“He didn’t want to use that to force me into a choice.”
“That would be my guess. He’s pretty sensitive for such a tough guy.”
“He’s a tool.”
Tracy looked surprised for a moment and then laughed so hard tears ran from her eyes. “Yeah. But he’s your tool. What are you going to do?”
Nina sighed. “Why didn’t Layla come?”
“She’s carpool mom today. And we thought that I’d be the best person to talk to you about it. Plus, I like you.”
“I like you too. Did that hurt?” Nina asked, pointing to the ring in Tracy’s eyebrow.
“Nah, not as much as the nipple ring.”
Nina laughed. “Let me finish this sandwich and then I’ll get around to having sex with Cade. I can’t believe I’m actually complaining about that. If it weren’t for Lex I’d be all over him. And oh, I suppose that’s pretty icky for you to hear.”
Tracy smiled. “Yeah, well, no need to go on about it. They’re both handsome wolves. ‘Nuff said.”
Half an hour later Tracy came down, tossed the trash in the can under the sink, looked at her brothers and sighed. “Go on, I fixed it for you. And a tip for the future? Just tell her up front or she’s never going to be able to trust you.”
With that she gave a wave and headed out the door.
“Well, let me go up first. Then follow in a few minutes,” Lex said to Cade as he started out of the room toward the stairs.
Cade nodded and went back into the kitchen.
* * *
Lex tapped on the door and called her name softly. She opened it and motioned him inside.
Nina saw the pain on his face.
“I’m sorry, baby. I really am. I didn’t want to spring this on you, hell, I didn’t want it to be at all but it can’t be avoided and I know it’s unfair and you must hate me but I love you and it’s necessary and we’ll get through it...”
“Babbling again,” she said and put her finger over his lips. “It’s just once, right?”
He nodded.
“Okay. Can we just get it over with then?”
He nodded again and moved her finger away. “Do you want me in the room?”
“If you’re not in the room will you imagine all sorts of things?”
He thought about it for a moment and nodded.
“Are you sure you can handle being in the room? Because I want to remind you that I didn’t bring this up. This isn’t sex with someone else for recreation. I don’t want to be punished for it later.”
He took a deep breath. “I’d rather be in the room than not. And I know. But I don’t want this to be like a medical exam for you either. I’ve been thinking and I want you to enjoy it. As it’ll be the only time you’ll be with anyone but me, let’s just make the most of it. You’ll be bonded with Cade, not in the same way as we’re bonded but still, I think it’s best if an emotional bond can form too. Since we’ll all live in the same house, even after he mates, we should make the best of this thing.”
She raised a brow dubiously but nodded. They both jumped when there was a tap on the door.
Cade came in and the tension rose in the room. “Ready?” Lex and Nina nodded and Cade held out his hand. “What shall we do?”
Lex explained quickly that he’d be staying in the room. He and Nina had decided to let the experience play itself out naturally instead of being something clinical.
After a bit of negotiation that had Nina giggling in parts, the two brothers turned to her. She sucked in a breath at the sexual intent in their gaze.
Suddenly her giggles were gone and she wanted to fall back on the bed and spread her arms wide while she called out, “Take me now!” No way could she be nonchalant about this.
Lex stalked over to her and pulled her body against his own. She could feel the heat of his skin, the pounding of his heart under the palm she had flat against his chest. She looked up into his eyes and felt their connection soul deep. He was her heart, the coursing of blood through her veins, the muscles, the bones. He was part of her in a way that was beyond her ability to even articulate to herself.
He bent down and captured her lips with his own, pulling her into a kiss that devastated her. His lips were firm and strong, warm and full of life. He poured everything he felt about her into that kiss and she took it. Soaked it in, received every bit of emotion, let it fill her up. In turn she fed it back with her own kiss, her hands nearly reverent on his chest.
Cade watched them both, feeling the intensity of what they had together, feeling love for his brother and this mate of his and no small amount of envy. He wanted this for himself, wanted a mate bond that would hold him, fill him. Complete him. He was forty years old and it was high time.
Lex broke the kiss and met Cade’s eyes over Nina’s shoulder. He turned her slowly to face Cade.
Nina nearly gasped as she caught the look of raw hunger on Cade’s face. He looked like Lex but the lips were a bit
more full, his eyes were hazel instead of green and his hair was more blond than brown. An aura of power emanated from him, she could feel it rising like heat from the pavement.
Lex pulled the shirt she was wearing over her head and then slid her bra off. Her nipples pebbled against Cade’s greedy gaze and in response to Lex’s large hands cupping her breasts, the thumbs brushing over the dark pink tips.
Her head fell back against the wall of Lex’s chest and Cade moved forward. He fell to his knees, his hands at her waist, opening her jeans and sliding them down with her tiny panties. She reached out to hold his shoulder for balance when she stepped out of her clothes, and the spark of connection traveled up her arm.
Turning his head, he brushed his lips across the pulse point of her wrist and she gasped softly.
Lex moved so that his lips were at her ear. “Come back to the bed, beautiful.”
She allowed herself to be pulled back and laid on the bed. She looked up at them both and watched as they pulled their clothes off. Cade was taller than Lex but his muscle wasn’t as dense. He had a thicker pelt of hair on his chest and down the line of his abdomen than Lex did and his legs were longer. And his cock, well, she had to try and not stare but it was thick, meaty and had a swing to the left. And it was happy to see her.
Ah, the bounty that greeted her eyes! She’d gone from no sex in years to this? Damn! Yes indeed, the bitter with the sweet. The ache of her recent loss played up against the exhilaration of this joining of lives she had with Lex.
Lex looked down at her, at her smile, the way her hair spread out about her head, her high, full breasts, the curve of her thighs and stomach. Her deep olive complexion. She was so beautiful, so sexy and desirable. At that moment he felt proud of her, this exceptional woman who was his, as he shared her with his Alpha, his brother.
Cade crawled on the bed, between her legs, and kissed his way from the back of her knee up the ultra-sensitive skin of her inner thighs, coming to a stop at her pussy.
Lex leaned down and kissed her lips and down her neck. She arched and gasped as Cade used his thumbs to part her labia and took a lick and then another.
“So sweet,” he murmured against her flesh. Lex chuckled around her nipple and then bit down just on the edge of gentle.
Where Lex ate her pussy with long slow licks, Cade flicked her clit relentlessly with the tip of his tongue while he fucked her with his fingers. The first time he hit her G-spot she nearly came off the bed.
“Ah, I see I found something. Let’s try that again,” he said briefly and began to stroke her sweet spot every few times he thrust into her with a “come here” motion of his fingers.
Her legs began to tremble and she whipped her head back and forth. She was moaning and gasping and her hands gripped Lex’s head to her as he moved from one nipple to the other.
“Let it go, beautiful. Show him how gorgeous you are when you come,” Lex said softly to her, urging her on.
One of Cade’s fingers, wet with her honey, slipped down and tickled around her rear passage at the same time as he scraped over her clit with his teeth. She arched with a cry as climax rushed into her, drowning her in pleasure. The shock of it lit her nerves and tingled through her body.
Lex held her tight and kissed her, pulling her gasping cries into his mouth.
Cade looked up and watched her come, watched the flush of desire bloom over her body. He saw Lex’s face as he took her in, soaked in her pleasure and the beauty of the moment. He envied it.
“You ready for me?” he asked softly and she looked down at him, her eyes coming back into focus.
She looked back up at Lex, wanting to be sure that they were on the same page. “Are you okay with this?” she whispered.
“It’s okay, baby. Just enjoy it.” He kissed her forehead and looked at his brother, who had waited and then moved up her body when he saw it was all right.
Nina locked eyes with him and he moved her thighs up over his forearms and pressed his cock against her slick pussy, feeling the wet heat envelop him in a tight grip.
“Jesus, you’re so tight,” he said through clenched teeth. It was so good that the pleasure gripped his guts and spine. She was so luscious, so beautiful, that he was in sensory overload. He wanted to make it last but he knew that it wasn’t his place. He knew that this was for the tri-bond and that this woman was not his, nor would she ever be.
He closed his eyes against her appeal and stroked into her. Her body received his with a rhythm older than time. Lex was behind her, his body curled around hers. Nina tipped her head back to see his face and then looked to Cade again.
It was beautiful and yet surreal. Lex was giving his most prized possession to his brother, even if on a temporary basis. He watched another man fuck his woman, he should have felt jealous, but he didn’t. It was something as old as their culture and it was going to anchor her to this life, keep her safe and sane and with him. He knew that should anything ever happen to him that Cade’s bond would see her through. That made him feel relieved and intensely emotional about it. His wolf was protecting his mate, it was primal and feral and right.
He knew, even as he watched Cade love his woman, she was his and that would not change. That enabled him to get past any jealousy and to embrace her pleasure and his brother’s sacrifice. He could see the envy in Cade’s face and he wanted very much for his brother to have this with a woman of his own.
“Oh god, yes. Harder,” Nina said hoarsely and Lex’s cock hardened at the sound. Cade groaned and began to thrust deeper and harder.
The slap, slap, slap of his strokes rang through the room, buffeted by her moans and sighs and Cade’s heavy breathing.
Cade’s cock felt so good. The cant to the left stroked over the walls of her cunt, firing those nerves that didn’t get sparked with Lex. It was a different pleasure. The thickness of him made up for him not being as long as Lex was. It was intense and more so because he was doing it for a higher purpose. This wasn’t just a fuck—not that it wasn’t an excellent one—it was a brother doing something for a brother, an Alpha protecting one of his own. That touched Nina deeply.
He was kneeling, the wiry hair of his forearms tickled the backs of her calves, the tender flesh at the back of her knees. She reached up and touched his face. This couldn’t just be some clinical thing for her. He’d given her so much pleasure with his mouth. He was going to bind her to him in a way and she wanted an emotional connection, even if it was just collegial.
He turned his face into her hand and kissed her palm and she could feel another orgasm hovering at the base of her spine, building there.
“Touch yourself, Nina. Make yourself come. I want to feel you come around my cock,” he growled. She slid her fingers into his mouth for a moment to wet them and he watched as she moved her hand to her pussy, jumped as she gasped when her fingers found her clit.
She licked her suddenly dry lips and then began to slowly stroke herself. With her other hand she grabbed Lex’s cock and he pumped into her fist. The three of them moved together, seeking pleasure.
Cade nearly blacked out when he felt the first ripples of her pussy around him. She was like a scalding fist gripping his cock. Her breasts moved enticingly as he thrust into her. Her dark nipples were puckered and he leaned down and licked over one and then the other and delighted in her mewl of pleasure.
He pulled back and watched her hand on herself, catching glimpses of the glistening pink of her cunt. He could tell she was close. Her breathing became short, he saw the muscles in her forearm cord as she increased the pressure and speed of her fingers on her clit.
With a long gasp she began to come. The muscles deep inside of her clutched at him, rippled and milked him, and it was more than he could take. Head back, he groaned as he unloaded his seed inside of her.
Lex followed them both and Nina felt the satin heat of his
cum land on her side and hand.
She also felt the same thing she’d felt when Lex came in her the first time. Utter contentment and restfulness. And then the trembling and sweating began. Her gut clenched, waves of nausea hit her as her muscles twitched.
She vaguely felt Cade withdraw, but the cool cloth that wiped her face and forehead, and Lex cleaning her hand and side, brought her back. She opened her eyes and stared into Cade’s and felt it. Yes, love for him. Not the same depth or intensity that she had for Lex, but love nonetheless. At the same time she felt, for want of a better word, anchored. As if the bond did indeed stabilize the out-of-balance feelings she’d had since bonding with Lex the day before.
“Are you all right, Nina?” Lex asked gently, pushing a curl out of her face.
She sat up slowly and leaned against the headboard. “Yes.” She didn’t want to say much more because she had no way to express the depth of what she felt for Cade without hurting Lex, even if she’d had the words, which she didn’t.
“We should get planning, you know,” Cade said, grabbing his pants.
“Yes.” Nina felt oh-so articulate. “Cade?”
He looked at her and she knew he felt it too, and there was no need for words. He pulled his shirt back on.
“Thank you.” It was simple but genuinely felt.
He nodded at her and then looked to Lex to be sure everything was all right between them, and was satisfied that it was. “Not like it was a chore.” He laughed, breaking the tension.
She got up and went into the bathroom to shower again and Lex followed her after he’d hugged his brother and thanked him.
They didn’t make love but he lavished her with attentive care, gently washing her as he laid kisses over her clean skin. In turn, she did the same for him. They needed the gentle moments to reestablish their connection after the tri-bond.
They came downstairs half an hour later, dressed and ready to face whatever lay ahead.
Chapter Five