Arielle and the Three Wolves (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (11 page)

“Oh, hey, Beth,” Arielle greeted her. “That was my friend, Jason.”

“Jason?” Bethany seemed flabbergasted. “I’ve never heard you talk about him before, and what’s he doing with your phone?”

“Actually it’s a little complicated, Beth. But I’ve known Jason for about a month now.”

“Doesn’t he have a phone of his own?”

Arielle was busy with the rice for dinner. It sizzled in the frying pan as she held the phone up to her ear with her shoulder. “Jason needed to borrow my phone today to call his brothers. I told you it’s a little complicated, Beth.”

“Well, I’ve got all night. Let’s talk.”

“For once I don’t have all night to talk. I’m making dinner for Jason now, and I’ve got to go.” Arielle smiled and thought she’d change the subject. “Have you thought of any more names for the baby yet?”

“Not yet, but I want to hear more about Jason.”

Arielle looked over her shoulder to make sure Jason couldn’t hear her. He was watching the TV in the living room and was out of earshot. “He’s something else. I don’t even know how to describe him.”

“Sounds like you like him?”

“I do, but right now I’ve got to get back to dinner.”

“Call me and let me know what’s happening.”

“Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you, kid.” Arielle closed her phone. She was surprised at the new energy she found in her voice when she talked to her kid sister. She was so happy. She didn’t want to lose this happiness.

At the dinner table that night, she expected Jason to bring up the conversation he’d had with his brothers. She remembered what he had told her the night before in bed. He wanted her to have sex with them, too. Surely she had misunderstood him. She had been worn out from the rough sex and had not understood what he meant. He couldn’t want her to have sex with his brothers, but anyway, she was still interested to know how his call to them had gone that day.

Finally, when he did not bring it up, she could wait no longer and asked him. She cleared her throat and started in what she hoped was a casual manner. “I bought you a TracFone today. It’s pretty cheap, but I thought you could use it while you’re here. That way I can have my phone back tomorrow.”

“Yes, that’s fine. Thank you,” he said. He seemed preoccupied.

“So how did it go with your brothers today?” she asked, and found she was afraid of what his answer would be.

“My brothers are still there,” he said. She thought his reply was odd.

“So they know you’re not dead now.”

“They never thought I was dead.”

“They must have been relieved to have heard from you.”

“I think they had it figured out already where I was. My brothers can be pretty cunning when they have to be.”

“That’s true. They seemed to know you were staying here when they first came by. If I had only known you were here at that time, I could have been more helpful to them.”

Jason laughed as he chewed his food. “Yeah, they’re still mad at you about that.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know who they were then.”

“Don’t worry. They’ll get over it.” He had finished his plate. He set it aside and looked across the table at her. “Have you thought anymore about what we talked about last night?”

She chewed her food and looked down. She didn’t want to meet his eyes, and she refused to answer him. A flush of embarrassment came over her.

“You know, Arielle, a shifter doesn’t just have a relationship,” he explained to her. “We mate, and we mate for life. Our family units are too important to be casual about who we take in.”

“Last night you asked me to have sex with your brothers,” she said. She couldn’t look him in the eye when she said this. There were nervous butterflies in her stomach, and she knew her voice had taken on a tone of accusation.

“That’s right,” he said simply. “If you’re with me, you’re also with them. We’re a family.”

“I told you I wouldn’t do that, Jason.”

“I know for a conventional woman like you it’s a big step, but for a shifter it’s only natural.”

She felt a lump in her throat. “I’m not a shifter, Jason. There’s nothing natural about having sex with three men to me.”

“It isn’t just about the sex, Arielle,” Jason said. She thought it sounded like he explained himself to a child. This made her angrier. “I love my brothers. They are my family. Families are about love. If you’re with me then you’ll become a member of my family.”

She slammed her fork down on the table. “I could be a part of your family without fucking your brothers, Jason.” She got up from her chair and gathered the dishes to take to the dishwasher.

“Do you want to have children someday, Arielle? Do you want to have a normal family?” he asked her.

“Yes.” Her reply was almost inaudible as she worked to clear off the table.

“So do I,” he said. “I had two fathers when I was growing up. They were both shifters and brothers, but my mother was human the same as you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She looked at him with a suspicious glare, but stopped her work.

“Shifters aren’t like regular people. We have our own way of living life. It’s a part of our heritage.”

“I know that or you wouldn’t have turned into a wolf.”

“Sharing a woman with my brothers, and sharing her as a mate is important to me. I haven’t found her yet. I was hoping it would be you. When I find her we’ll live on my ranch in the valley for the remainder of our lives and have a family. We’ll be a family. We’ll be happy and always have love. Shifters know who they are. Most of the time I don’t think regular people really do.”

“Oh, my God,” Arielle exclaimed and set down the dishes. “How can you even want that with your brothers?”

“How can the ability to turn into a wolf be possible?” he countered her question.

She sat back down at the table with him. Her head spun. This was their first fight. It was as unorthodox as the rest of their relationship had been. She put her head in her hands and leaned her elbows on the table. She was dejected. Their relationship suddenly seemed so impossible.

“We’re from two different worlds, Jason,” she told him.

“I had hoped you would try for me, Arielle. You said you would do what I told you.”

She looked up at him. “I’ve tried to do everything I can for you, Jason. I’ve never said no to you. I have done everything you’ve told me to do.”

“But you can’t accept me for what I am?”

She shook her head. “I can’t have sex with your brothers, Jason.”

“You’re scared again, Arielle,” he said and reached across the table to take her hands up in his own.

“You’re damn right I’m scared,” she answered.

His leg must have hurt him because he did not get up from his chair. Instead he pulled her over to him. She sat in his lap and put her arms around him. He held her against him, and she rested her head against his shoulder. She had to fight back the tears. Neither of them spoke for a long time.

“I never knew I was submissive before,” she told him. “I’ve never been submissive with another man.”

“You never met the right man.”

“I think you’re right.” She put her arms around his shoulders. “God knows I’d do anything for you, Jason. But I can’t do what you’re asking me to do. It isn’t fair to me, and it isn’t fair to your brothers. How do you know? Maybe they wouldn’t even like me.”

“You would fit in very well as a member of our family. Everyone would love you. If you came with us, our whole world would revolve around you.”

She laughed and sniffed back her tears. “It sounds wonderful. I wish I was a different person. If your brothers are anything like you, then I know they’re good men. But I just can’t do what you’re asking of me. I’m sorry.”

“It’s the way we live, Arielle. It’s my heritage. I can’t give it up.”

“And I can’t give up my principles. The life you’re asking me to live is just too different from anything I had ever imagined. I could never handle it. So I guess we’re at an impasse.”

They made love again that night. She felt aggressive and ground down on him with her pussy as she rode him from on top. He came inside of her, and his eruption in her body triggered her own climax. After it was over she lay in his arms and listened to the soft sound of his breath and the beat of his heart inside his rib cage as he slept. It took her hours to fall asleep. Her mind wrestled with the impossible proposition he had made for her. The only glimmer of hope she had was that he would change his mind because she knew she would never change hers. Finally she slept, but she was restless and tossed and turned at his side all night.

The next day at the clinic she was in a bad mood all day, and even found herself in an argument with one of her customers, something she never did. They had brought their German shepherd in to be treated for an infection but didn’t have the money to pay right away. Arielle suggested they come back when they had the money, and they argued that she did not care about animals. This angered her, and she responded unkindly. Later she regretted her words and called them back to apologize and arrange an appointment for their dog.

The day seemed like it would never end. Her sister called her at lunch. She provided her with a brief sketch of Jason and then told her she did not have time to talk. She could only imagine what her sister would have thought if she knew Jason had asked her to go to bed with his brothers. She was embarrassed to even think about it and would never tell anyone. Then again she could never tell anyone Jason was a shape-shifter and that when she had first met him he was in the form of a wolf. Too many things about Jason Wildback sounded crazy when spoken about in the open. As wonderful as their brief relationship had been, Arielle started to have serious doubts as to whether she could ever fully accept Jason for what he really was. She had acted impulsively and jumped into bed with him because she had been lonely and lived without the touch of a man for too long. Of course Jason was also well built and handsome, and those qualities had added to her impetuous behavior.

Arielle drove home slowly that night in no hurry to get there. She and Jason would have to have a talk, and she had no desire to rush into it. A stab of pain hit her when she thought about what she would have to say to him.

When she arrived home, the truck of Kyle and Luke Wildback was once again parked out in front. She should have expected this. They had been so desperate to find their brother earlier. Now that they knew where he was, she marveled that they had stayed away this long.

She went through her house, but the guys were not inside. When she got to the kitchen she saw they were in the backyard. Jason was seated on one of her lawn chairs, his injured leg held out in front of him. The two brothers had opened her gas grill on the patio. She had only rarely used it since she moved into the house. She came out the back door and smelled the barbeque in the air. The brothers had brought over hamburger meat, and it was on the grill.

Arielle was self-conscious the moment she stepped up to them. The first time she met them, things had not gone well. She didn’t know what to say to them. She gave Jason a squeeze on his shoulder, and he patted her hand.

“Kyle and Luke came by to bring me some clothes,” Jason told her.

She nodded to the brothers. Neither of them smiled.

“I know you already met them before, but considering that was a rather awkward meeting, perhaps introductions are still in order,” Jason said. “Get over here, guys, and meet Arielle,” he commanded them. Arielle smiled to herself when she saw the alpha in Jason come out. “This is Kyle,” Jason introduced the tallest man. He shook hands with her. She got a better look at him now. He was handsome with well-defined facial features and looked a lot like Jason. He was younger than Jason, and she thought probably one or two years younger than she was. The expression on his face was unreadable. “And this ornery cowboy is my kid brother, Luke,” Jason introduced his other brother. Luke was the huge man. He had to have worked out his whole life because he had the body of an athlete. He was so solid it looked like he was made of steel. He wore a fiery expression on his face, and Arielle thought if her previous conversation with him had been any indication, that he was probably quick tempered and easy to anger. He was in his early twenties, but was no kid, with a wary look of maturity out of his eyes. She would not want this big man mad at her.

“I’m sorry for the way we met the first time,” Kyle told her. “We didn’t mean to come off so strong. We certainly never wanted to frighten a beautiful woman.”

When Luke shook hands with her, she noticed he didn’t offer any apologies. He only gave her that hot-headed stare. She found herself still slightly afraid of both men.

“It’s nice to formally meet you guys,” Arielle told them. She felt nervous and knew she had sweat on her palms as she shook their hands.

“Jason said you’re a good cook,” Kyle told her. “But we brought hamburgers over. It’s our way of saying thank you for helping our brother.”

“I know you guys were very worried about him that day you stopped by,” Arielle said. “I didn’t mean to lie to you that day. I just thought I had a wolf in my house and not your brother.”

“Jason told us about how you met,” Luke said. “I mean how you met him when he shifted back to a man. You must have been pretty surprised at what you had taken into your house.”