Kael rode in the second row of seats, reading through paperwork and talking to Zack, while Lina hunched in the passenger seat and watched the scenery flow past. She couldn’t quit thinking about Brodey and his accurate description of the park. Like a writer.
Her mind returned to his mood, his crushing sadness. What had he been through? Almost like someone died. She couldn’t wait to be alone with Zack to ask him about it.
Zack relegated Jan and Rick to the third row of seats. Lina felt bad about that, but only a little. PMS had crept up on her. Zack sensed it and assured her she shouldn’t feel guilty. The nearly full moon also played a role in her unease, he said.
They arrived at the east entrance, where Zack and Kael had a brief discussion with the ranger on duty. He waved them through after Zack produced a special pass and paperwork. As they pulled away, she turned and noticed another vehicle stopped at the gate. Brodey and his brother, she suspected.
“What’s the deal with the park entry?”
“Last week of March, we get special treatment,” Zack explained. “It’s their changeover time between winter and summer lodging.”
“How many people are going to be here?”
“I heard at least a hundred. Not all the shifters come. Just the bigwigs.”
“Brodey, his brother and that other guy are important shifters?”
“Their brother, Ain, is on their pack Council. The guy with them is their cousin, Micah Donovan. The Lyalls are from Arcadia, about ninety minutes south of us.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “Small world, ain’t it?”
“What about the people who work here? Do they know about us?”
“We’re the ‘special family reunion’ that shows up twice a year and pays out the balls for the privilege. That’s okay, the park is run by the vampires anyway—”
“Whoa.” She felt a dizzy spell coming on. “Vampires?”
“Yeah, but don’t let it worry you. The movies are all wrong. They don’t drink blood. They’re pretty nice people.”
Snow still blanketed some of the higher peaks, but the roads were groomed for vehicles. When they arrived at the Old Faithful geyser basin before dark, Lina noticed no snow on the ground despite the sharp chill in the air. They checked into their rooms in the Old Faithful Lodge cabins. Each cabin was composed of four rooms opening to the outside. They had two of the four, and it turned out Brodey’s group had the other two.
That relaxed her for some reason.
Zack stopped her before she mounted the steps to the room she shared with Rick and Jan. “You all right, sweetie?” he softly asked.
Her men already took their bags inside. “Yeah. I think I’m ready for some alone time without charbroiling them.”
Zack smiled. “I’m right next door. Bang on the wall if you need me.”
Inside, Rick and Jan didn’t speak as she closed the door behind her and sat on the double bed. A tight squeeze, but since they would only be there six days, she figured she’d manage.
“I won’t blow anything up,” she promised.
The men relaxed and smiled before sitting next to her on the bed. “Sorry,” Jan apologized. “Zack warned us to keep our mouths shut until you were safely settled.”
“Yeah,” Rick agreed. “Who says we never listen to him?”
She fell back on the bed and closed her eyes. Rick and Jan stretched out beside her. “I’m so tired. Please tell me we can sleep late?”
Jan reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Yep. Nothing until after lunch tomorrow.”
At that, her stomach growled. “Right on cue,” she grumbled.
Rick laughed and rested his palm over her tummy. “You want us to bring you something, or you want to go eat? They’re having a buffet over in the lodge in an hour.”
As tired as she felt, she still wanted to see a little of the place. “I’ll go.” She looked at Rick, his warm, amber eyes focused on her. Then she turned her head and looked at Jan. Ice blue eyes meant only for her. “You know, I’m not liable to set fire to anything right now.”
Jan smiled and traced her jaw with his finger. “Well, at twenty thousand feet, we didn’t want to take any chances.”
“Not that we think you’re out of control,” Rick hastily added, “but we know flying was stressful—”
“And since the Goddess of making grown men shit their pants isn’t sure where the off button is on her freaky new powers, yadda yadda. I know.” She smiled. “It’s okay. Did you say an hour?”
Jan nuzzled his lips along the side of her neck, finding the spot behind her ear that melted her. “An hour to have some relaxing fun.”
Rick needed no coaxing. He slipped his hand under her shirt. “Maybe we could relax you two or three times.”
She loved these two guys despite how much they sometimes frustrated her. She hooked a leg around Rick’s thigh and kissed him. Behind her, Jan nibbled the nape of her neck with sinfully cool lips, making her shiver.
Working together, the men quickly stripped her of her clothes before shedding their own. Who said they can’t work together like a well-oiled team? she thought, suppressing a smile. Rick lowered his mouth to her left breast, teasing and sucking her nipple. Jan’s hand slipped down her body, between her legs.
She rolled over and wrapped her lips around Rick’s cock, which tasted sinfully warm and sweet in her mouth.
He moaned as he gently fisted her hair. “Oh, Jesus baby, you know I love that!”
She swirled her tongue around the head, swiping along his slit and exploring the ridge. He sucked in a sharp breath as she tasted his salty pre-come. “You keep that up, I’ll explode,” he warned.
Lina lifted her lips from his cock but licked down the sides where she palmed his sac and ran her tongue along it, teasing him the way she knew he loved.
Blindly groping, her hand found Jan’s cool cock and she wrapped her fingers around it and tugged until he moved closer. She grabbed Rick’s cock and held it, keeping him in place as she turned her attention to Jan.
His stiff shaft felt cool in her mouth as she explored it with her tongue, his taste subtly different but still as good. Rick’s hand slid down her back, between her ass cheeks, until he plunged two warm fingers into her drenched pussy and stroked.
Lina moaned around Jan’s shaft, prompting a moan in reply. “Oh, babe, that’s so fucking good!”
She laved her tongue over his cock and balls, then switched back to Rick once she brought Jan close to the edge. Back and forth she alternated between warm and cool until both hard cocks pulsed in her hands, desperate for release.
The next time she engulfed Rick’s cock, Jan broke free and changed position to kneel behind her. “You’re a tease, lovely. I can’t take this anymore. I need to fuck you or I’m going to lose my mind.”
Rick’s hands plunged into her hair again as he rocked his hips against her. “Hurry up,” he said, his voice tight. “I want to finish inside her.” He made her let go of his cock and shifted position so he could again suck one of her nipples into his mouth. He nipped at her, making her moan as more hot sparks shot straight to her clit.
Jan’s hard cock brushed against her ass. She wiggled herself into position until she felt the thick, cool head pressing against her wet pussy.
Rick switched to her other breast, using his hand to continue teasing the first. Then Jan rocked his hips, sinking his cock all the way to the hilt inside her, making her moan. He rolled them onto their sides so she faced Rick.
Jan’s fingers stroked her clit, knowing when to torment and when to relent. The cool sensation in sharp contrast to her hot body slowly drew her closer to release.
“You gonna come for us, baby?” Jan whispered in her ear. “I want to feel your sweet pussy squeezing me when you do.” He nipped at her earlobe.
Lina squirmed, impaled, unable to make him go faster as he took control and slowly plunged into her. She buried her fingers in Rick’s hair, holding on, every motion h
e made only adding to the heat inside her.
Rick switched positions, his stiff cock now rubbing against her clit instead of Jan’s fingers. “When he’s finished, I’m going to fuck you good, baby,” he whispered against her throat. “We’re gonna make you feel so good.”
She whimpered, wanting more, wanting it now. “Please fuck me!”
The men found a familiar rhythm, knowing her body. Jan thrust while Rick pistoned his hips against her, every stroke gliding his cock along her sensitive nub. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against Rick’s shoulder, needing release now more than ever, a powerful vortex of desire sucking at her.
Jan’s large hands clamped onto her hips. “Come on, baby,” he whispered. “Don’t tease me, give me what I want. Let me feel your sweet body squeeze my cock.”
She gasped, trying, struggling, the cool feel of his skin a sharp contrast to the inferno within her and Rick’s hot flesh pressed against her front. Then Rick played with her nipples again, tweaking and pinching them. She bit down on his shoulder to suppress her scream as her body exploded, her orgasm milking Jan’s climax from him as he thrust hard and deep.
“That’s it,” Rick whispered. “Come for us.”
Jan finished with one last stroke and she felt his cool release rush inside her. His arms around her waist, he pulled out and almost immediately Rick slid in, his forehead pressed against hers.
She trembled in their arms, feeling loved and sexy beyond measure as Rick kissed her, his thrusts deep and fast. Lina raked her nails down his back and hooked a leg around his. She didn’t want to be any place but here, between them, her men.
She fucked him back as hard as he gave her, loving the feeling of his hot shaft inside her. As his movements quickened, she dug her nails into his ass, grinding her hips into him, triggering his orgasm. He let out a cry as his hot seed pumped into her, and she once again felt complete.
Sated and now thoroughly tired, Lina relaxed in their arms. Jan cradled her against him as Rick nuzzled his head on her chest. She brushed her fingers through Rick’s dark hair as he caught his breath. Hot and cool, together a pleasant mix of sensations. They hadn’t spent a night apart since that first night eight months earlier. No matter how much the brothers sometimes bickered, they always put their differences aside for her, for this. No games, no power plays, just the three of them as one together.
Sublime.
A calm, post-orgasmic bliss washed over her. She could sleep for a week, it felt like. They dozed, starting awake when Zack knocked on their room door.
“You guys heading for dinner?”
Lina didn’t open her eyes and was about to say no when her stomach loudly growled. Jan and Rick laughed.
“We’ll be there shortly,” Rick called out. He sat up and kissed her. “Let me wash up real fast and I’ll give you the bathroom.”
She nodded, then cuddled with Jan while she waited. The only cool thing about her ice dragon was his flesh. His heart, soul, and love burned strongly for her.
His fingers lightly trailed up her spine. “What are you thinking, lovely?”
“Not much. Trying not to think. Not thinking doesn’t get me upset.”
He softly laughed. “Maybe that’s a good thing. Rick and I can keep our testicles that way.”
She reached between his legs and goosed him, making him jump. “You mean these? Oh, honey, I don’t want to fry them. I’ve got too much use for them.”
* * * *
If Cail and Micah noticed how quiet Brodey acted during dinner, they didn’t mention it. Brodey watched Lina and the dragon shifters out of the corner of his eye. He’d noticed his calm faded when leaving his cabin room. Then when Lina walked into the lodge, the feeling returned.
He didn’t know what it was about her, but he hoped he could spend more time with her.
Chapter Three
The next morning, Lina couldn’t sleep late. She awoke before the men and braved the extremely small and temperamental shower. After ten minutes she finally coaxed hot water out of it, enough to bathe and shave her legs. Although in the tiny shower stall, shaving proved tricky.
It was still grey outside, the time difference from Florida waking her before dawn. When she stepped outside her breath frosted. She shivered despite her jacket.
“Morning.”
She turned, startled. Brodey leaned against the side of the cabin, a cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes, one booted foot resting against the cabin wall. His green eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Breakfast?”
She nodded.
He stepped forward and offered her his arm. “May I escort you, or would that piss off your guys?”
She laughed and slipped her arm through his. “I couldn’t care less if it pisses them off. I suspect you’re a gentleman.”
He cocked his head, amused. She spotted a little of the wolf in him from the gesture. He still seemed sad, but it was as if some of that lifted when around her. If for that reason alone, she would walk with him. They slowly made their way across the gravel driveway toward the lodge.
“You know, I’ve been called a helluva lot of things in my life, but rarely that.”
She snugged his arm closer. “Have them talk to me. I’ll set them straight.”
They detoured to the boardwalk. Old Faithful’s steam increased. “I think it’s gonna blow soon.”
“I know how it feels,” she softly said.
He laughed. “So what’s your deal? You’re not a shifter.”
“No.” She looked up at him. “Honestly? I’m not sure what the hell I am. They say I’m one thing, but I don’t feel like it. I just feel like me.”
“What is it they say you are?”
“You’ll laugh.”
“No, I promise.” The geyser pumped out more steam and started gurgling. This early in the morning, the valley was still cloaked in deep purple shadows and they had the show to themselves.
“They say I’m a goddess reincarnated. That I’ve got a bunch of prophecies to fulfill.”
“Goddess, huh? No shit? Special powers and your own parking space come with that gig?”
She laughed loud and hearty. The pleased smile on his face was worth it. “No, but I did accidentally set fire to a tree.”
His eyes crinkled with amusement. “Cool party trick. Not sure how you did it, huh?”
“Nope. I got pissed because Rick and Jan were arguing. Suddenly, it was pine tree flambé.”
“No wonder they looked like they were shitting bricks on the plane.” He maneuvered her over to the benches and sat with her. When she shivered, he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
“Thanks. Won’t you be cold?”
He shrugged. “Nah, we’re pretty tough. Cold doesn’t bother me. Not like this. This isn’t cold. Now Scotland, and later Maine? Let me tell you about ball-shriveling cold.”
Old Faithful let loose. Lina watched, enthralled by the sounds, the sight, even the smell of the eruption. Steam boiled everywhere in the cold morning air.
“That’s beautiful!” she breathed.
“Yep. Never fails to amuse me.” He looked at her. “So Zack, what’s his gig? He in charge of feeding you the princess Prozac so you don’t charbroil people?”
“He is the princess Prozac. Long story. He’s my best friend and even more than that. He’s my Watcher. I don’t even understand it all. He’s got a way of keeping me calm. He always has.”
“Good to have a friend like that. I take it Kael is his…” He didn’t finish.
She smiled. “Yep. ‘His’ sums it up without needing further labels.”
Brodey stared out over the geyser basin. She studied his profile, his black, scruffy hair a little longer than his brother’s. And his brother had brown eyes, not green.
“Cail and Kael. That could get confusing,” she joked.
“Yeah. Gonna have to call them C and K.”
“What happened to you?” she
softly asked. “Why are you so sad?”
He blushed and looked down at his hands. “Long story.”
“I can feel it. I don’t know why. I think it’s the freaky goddess gig.”
He took a deep breath and let it out again before quietly speaking. “You make me feel better when I’m around you. Not like I want to jump your bones,” he quickly added. He turned red. “I mean, not that you’re not beautiful, but that wouldn’t be respectful—”
“I promise I won’t have a wolf roast,” she teased.
He laughed again. “Thanks.” He stretched his long torso, stood, and offered her his hand. “Want breakfast?”
“Yeah. That’d be nice.”
* * * *
The staff was still setting out the buffet. Lina returned Brodey’s jacket, and they settled on a couch in front of the tall floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over Old Faithful. She didn’t feel a need to break the comfortable silence between them. Then she spotted Zack through the windows, racing toward the lodge with a frantic look on his face.
Brodey laughed. “Holy crap, he looks scared shitless.”
“He means well.”
Zack burst through the door, relief washing over him when he spotted her sitting with Brodey. “There you are!”
“Don’t worry, dude,” Brodey snarked. “I didn’t let her blow anything up.”
“I’m fine, Zack.” She patted the couch on her other side. “Brodey and I watched Old Faithful.”
“Oh.” She felt Zack’s gratitude toward the wolf shifter. “Thanks.”
Brodey stood and stretched again. “Well, I’ll let you guys eat—”
“Please eat with us,” Lina asked.
Brodey thought about it for a moment. “If it’s okay with Zack.”
“Goddess gets what Goddess wants,” Zack quipped.
Lina smiled. “Then it’s settled.” Zack stood with her, and she hooked her arms through theirs.