Breanna (15 page)

It wasn’t like they could talk to her in that form but there were still questions.

No, she corrected as she cleaned up. Clarifications, maybe.

That was no different to her than maybe a new hobby.

With fur, she sighed. And teeth.

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And maybe she was just a little more open-minded than most.

You spend the night with two men making love to you and find out they’re shifters in the morning. Yeah, that’ll take some serious open-minded thinking to hold onto sanity.

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Brea stood in the main area, frowning and moving furniture over the hardwood floors. She positioned one of the heavily cushioned chairs by the huge bay window.

When she found something to stitch, she could sit there for hours just feeling the ocean while she sewed. She’d had a chair like that at her mother’s house and they used to sit for hours talking and sewing.

She wanted to fight it. She really did, she thought as she curled into the chair, legs drawn up and eyes closing. She didn’t want them to be gone. She wanted to have magic in her fingers and touch them and make them smile at her and hold her.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d slept, the dream vague. But at least in her dream she could see them, feel them close to her. She knew they were the wishes of a child. Heal them; make them happy again. But they were her wishes and no one would take them from her.

The sounds from the back of the house made her stretch and stir.

She really liked having an early warning system on all the doors on the property.

Brea glanced at her watch and wandered toward the laundry room, coming to a breath grabbing halt and bouncing back against the wall.

Wow. Pure sexy male wow, she thought, blinking and just staring. She even felt like growling in feminine appreciation.

They each held a towel, rubbing briskly over their heads and….other parts of 182

them, all of which was majestically displayed for her view. Long muscled legs, broad shoulders and a renewed hunger in their eyes.

The brain didn’t form really good words at a moment like this, she decided.

So wow would just have to do.

Brea sighed and met the laughing eyes watching her.

“I think she missed us, Nick,” Jase draped the towel over the rack on the wall and took a step forward. He’d almost had his hand on her when she squealed and took off down the hall.

“Oh, no! I know that look!” Brea spun and barely made it five feet when a long, strong arm was out and around her waist, pulling her back against him hard.

“Princess….you should know you can’t outrun us,” Nick whispered, his mouth on her shoulder and nipping at the mark he’d placed there. He felt the ragged shudder of sensation race through her.

“She’s wearing way too many clothes,” Jase chuckled, coming to her side and reached around in front, his fingers deftly opening the top snap of her cargo shorts.

“No….no, we can’t do this now….” Brea wasn’t sure why. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t have the energy to finish dinner, if last night was an indication. She couldn’t remember every feeling so loose and contented before.

“But we’re hungry, Brea. You’re the one sweet treat we crave…..” Jase pressed against her side when Nick released her but blocked her so she was facing the wall, surrounded on each side. Jase inhaled her scent, his tongue trailing up her throat and the long, free hanging hair dragging a low growl from him.

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“I think we spend every minute thinking about you,” Nick whispered, his palms stroking from her neck to the deep hollow of her back and onto the heart shaped ass trapped against his bare thigh.

“Since we found you on the beach….your scent….the sweetness that seemed to float around you….” Jase licked along her throat again, stopping at the small stud in her ear and nipping lightly. His palm pressed beneath the tee shirt, cupping one breast and raking his fingernails over the lace that covered her. The sweet pebble burst to life, pressing demandingly into his palm. “Your body needs us, baby….”

“You can smell how much she wants us,” Nick grinned, pulling her to the side, her behind pressing against him as he leaned against the wall and held her in front of him. His palms held her hips, his cock hard and thrusting against the pant covered ass.

His palms slid around in front, opening the rest of the buttons and pushing the shorts down her long legs.

“What did you see when you looked at us a few minutes ago, Brea?” Jase bent his head and raised her shirt, his mouth and teeth dampening the lace and suckling her breast.

The sweet sound of her groan filled their senses.

“You….sexy males…my guys….who want me and make me feel so amazingly perfect for you….” Brea shuddered, the raging sensations taking over her thoughts.

“Oh, baby, we’d be blindfolded and still see how beautiful you are,” Nick slid his hands over the flat of her stomach, groaning when his fingers found the smooth, silken mound.

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“And you want me….” The astonishment in her words seemed to thrill them as much as excite her. Her hips thrust out when Nick’s fingers glided through the moisture and found her center, pushing two fingers into her without stopping.

“I’ve never known a woman able to take me from nothing to boiling so fast in my life,” Nick growled, thrusting his hips against her.

Jase raised his head with a final nip at her nipple. His hands pulled on the shirts she wore, dropping them behind him and meeting Nick’s gaze. He stepped back and let Nick lift her off the floor, taking her quickly into her bedroom. Her room had the largest bed in the house and was obviously going to become theirs.

“Brea….like you did in the SUV….I want your mouth on me, baby…..” Jase stretched out on the bed, watching the heat and lust fuel the power she felt inside her.

She crawled sexily over the surface of the bed, her ass raised and Nick close behind her.

Brea licked her lips and then whispered her mouth along his length.

“Brea…..so fucking hot….” Words hissed between his lips as she tasted him.

She was about to lower herself to her stomach when the strong hands held her hips up, spreading her thighs. She groaned and took the thick cap of his cock into her mouth at the same time she felt Nick pushing inside her hot sex, gliding along the thick juice they brought to life in her.

“Christ she’s tight…..fucking velvet soft and hot….” Nick held himself in check, moving slowly, easing in and out and watching her, listening to the pleasures from her as she went down on Jase.

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His head hit the bed with a long, almost painful groan, his hands on her head, holding her, savoring the heat and stroking tongue and the soft silken hair in his hands.

Brea let herself relax, one hand up and stroking along the soft almost white hairs covering Jase’s legs, her palm filling with the tight, heavy sacks between his thighs. She took him deeper, swirling her tongue and learning to play in this new sensual playground.

Hers, her mind shouted possessively.

All hers!

The hum that radiated up her throat sent a ragged shudder through Jase.

Un-fucking believable, his body screamed. She stroked him, gripped him tightly and tasted every inch of him, swallowing, suckling and licking until his cock thickened and hardened. She had him quaking like a school-boy, eager to promise her the moon!

Nick groaned when her insides tightened around him, squeezed him and caressed the length of him as he drove himself deeper, harder. His hands moved between her thighs in front, stroking the swollen little nub, pressing hard.

Brea gulped for air, her throat relaxing a little and taking Jase deeper. Something that was just the right trigger for the cascading eruptions. She felt the thick shaft in her fingers jump, convulse and pulse thick, hot heat into her mouth at the same time Nick struck all the right spots inside her and outside.

Low, guttural shout rumbled from Jase, his hands sliding from her head to avoid the claws that poked from his nails, his hips thrusting to the pulsing explosions racking his body.

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She thrust her hips back hard against Nick, meeting his strokes while her insides felt like they were shattering, splintering into bright, brilliant crystals of light. Her body came to a stop, savoring, pulsing and gripping him tightly inside her. Over and over again.

Those delicious ripples were his end. Convulsive, hot walls clenched around him, sucking him deeper and taking the control he used to have.

Nick shouted her name, growling loud and with abandon. Thrust hard. Once.

Once more before his body just froze, the only part of him moving was the thick stalk trapped in her warmth. It pulsed rapidly over and over until even it was sated. For the moment.

They inhaled her scent. A rich, sensual female scent, sweetly Brea.

They’d never have enough of that scent or of her.

Brea felt her knees slowly lose their strength, realized her hand was still wrapped around Jase, his cock finally losing its erection as she collapsed to the surface of the bed. She didn’t care that she lay on a mound of rumpled quilts, blankets and sheets.

She never cared much for making a bed. It felt more welcoming rumpled.

“I need vitamins,” Brea murmured when she felt Nick fall to the side, pulling her back against him, his mouth covering hers for a deep, slow kiss. “Hmmm….so nice….”

“You come and stare at us like a hungry little cat….” Jase grinned over at her, his fingers up and brushing the long amber strands behind her ear. “And you smell all sweet and….sexy….”

“I need energy to cook,” she murmured, but didn’t stop the smile, her eyes still 187

closed. “I need to get tricky….” But she still smiled when they both laughed.

All three heads popped up from the surface of the bed when the beeps echoed through the house a few short minutes later.

“Who…..” She looked at the frowns on both their faces.

“Get dressed, Brea,” Nick was up and moving through to his bedroom, Jase following and breaking off to his room. A few choice people had access to the codes to enter on their own.

Brea blinked, pushing up and grabbing up clothing from the hall before ducking into the bathroom. She was cleaned up and dressed and in the living room when she saw the woman standing on the porch. A little frown on her face, she unlatched the screen and opened the door.

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Familiar, Brea thought. Very familiar….the eyes…..

“Hello,” Brea smiled at her and stepped back.

“You must be Breanna Cooper,” Annie Bishop offered her palm. “Annie Bishop.”

“Jase…..your eyes are like his….I’m sorry,” she shook herself back and took the palm warmly. “Yes….Brea…..they’re in the back…” she cleared her throat and tried not to look embarrassed at the soft laugh from the older woman.

Then she remembered the smell thing.

The scents.

Oh, god! She knew!

“Relax, Brea, if you pass out, it’ll make us look bad,” Jase was behind her, his hands on her waist for a long, steadying minute, his mouth next to her ear. “Okay?” Brea nodded and swallowed. “Can I get you something to drink? There’s all kinds of stuff in the kitchen,” she offered with an overly bright smile and too high voice.

“Tea? I love all types, plain, please,” Annie told her, smiling and watching Brea leave. She saw the looks in their eyes; saw how they watched her move, how their worry translated into a scent she easily recognized.

“I’ll go help,” Nick said after hugging Annie. “I think she’s a little nervous.”

“Huh…” Jase looked around the large room. It suddenly seemed much larger and then he realized the furniture had been rearranged. He gestured to what now looked 189

like a comfortable pit facing the fireplace. He leaned back in one of the recliners.

“Phones broke, mom?”

“I haven’t been out to visit in a while, Jason,” she smiled winningly at her son.

“And Nick did invite me out to meet Breanna.” She looked around at the new arrangement, nodding in approval. “Very nicely arranged. I like it.”

“Sometimes Nick is just too polite,” Jase sighed, taking another look around the living area. “I think Brea did it while we went for a run this morning.” He knew she’d be curious. He was her only son, her only child. Making certain Brea was good enough for him would be at the top of her list.

Annie laughed, her head shaking. “Nick is as much you’re other half as you are his.”

“Brea, relax,” Nick took the shaking mug of tea from her hands before she spilled it and burned herself. “Annie isn’t judgmental.”

“She’s his mother!” Brea hissed anxiously, pacing and setting out the coffee she’d poured for Jase and the large bottle of water for herself. Eyes widened. “Oh, god, will your mother show up next?” She swayed slightly, gripping the table and upending the bottle of water with a long, long swallow of the cold fluid. She’d filled the bottle with ice, water and a couple lemons and it wasn’t helping.

Nick groaned, taking the coffee and tea into the other room. Dark eyes went to Jase with a slight jerk to the side.

“Here…..” He set the coffee on the table and handed Annie Bishop the large, 190

fragrant tea. “Brea blends tea and I think this is one of the fruit ones she makes. I like it. Be right back, Miss Annie.”

“Hold a minute, mom,” Jase was up and following Nick into the kitchen. “Where’d she go?” Their eyes swept the room, nostrils flaring to catch the scent that was exclusively theirs now.

“She was in a panic when I came for you,” Nick went to the large pantry and pulled the door open. “Brea….”

“Just…um…searching for…something….”

“On the floor?” Nick laughed and gripped her hands, pulling her to her feet.

“It was either go voluntarily or end up there anyway,” she mumbled, bare feet trying to cling to the nicely colored tiles beneath them.

“Brea, come and sit down, my mother has some information about your family,” Jase caught her when she suddenly straightened and stumbled forward. “I asked her to talk to some of her friends. She’s involved in a lot of art things with the community and the local college in Cutter’s Cove. She makes pottery and has a lot of friends who might have known your parents.”

“You….you spoke to your mother….about me?”

“You aren’t a secret, babe,” Jase stroked one finger down the side of her face.

“You’re our family now.”

Nick didn’t like the high voice or the wide eyes filled with too many emotions at once.

“Brea, Annie knows people who know stuff,” Nick said carefully. “Just come into 191

the living room and sit down because if you pass out on us, she’ll see how mental we are and it won’t be good for our independent reputations.” Brea let her head fall against Jase’s chest and laughed.

No matter what, they always found a way to make her laugh.

“Does she know?” The sudden burst of panic new. Girls always got the bad end of the reputation stick when it came to sex. Always.

They barely heard the whispered words.

“She’s like you, isn’t she? Oh, god, that means she can smell……”

“What I can see is that you’ve made the two most important young men in my life very, very happy,” Annie Bishop stood behind them, smiling at the stunned hint of blush on the cheeks of the boys she’d watched grow into strong, caring men. “I love the tea. You’ll have to show me how you blend it, Brea.” Before anyone could speak, Annie Bishop had her arm around Brea’s waist, guiding her from the two men and into the open living room.

Jase and Nick were close behind. Brea sat in the corner of the sofa, her knees drawn up and arms around them. She felt cornered. She felt frightened but she couldn’t pinpoint what she was frightened about. Frightened, no, no…..well, maybe, a little.

Frightened that she’d not be accepted as readily as she was with Jase and Nick.

Frightened of letting them down somehow.

Nick perched on the wide arm of the sofa, his palm on her neck, stroking softly.

“Brea….have you seen your parents in any of your dreams?” Jase asked suddenly, sitting on the edge of the recliner across from her. The question did the trick, 192

though, her attention focused and lips pursed in that damn sexy little pout.

“My dreams? No. Well, not lately….I used to dream about them all the time,” she shrugged. “Places we went on vacation and just fun things we did.”

“Mariana wasn’t just here to visit, Brea. We asked her to….” Jase dropped his head, one palm up and rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m thinking my son did something he should have discussed with you first, Brea,” Annie looked from one to the other and then at Brea. “You smell human.

Well….not completely….” Wide grey eyes blinked, the full explanation of the scent breaking through to her. She looked pointedly from one male to the other. “I see. Well.”

“Oh, god,” Brea breathed and closed her eyes and feeling the heat searing her face.

“That’s why we asked for information.” Nick said carefully. “Is the scent not there because she’s never used those other parts of her?”

“She has a very small part of her that is actually human. Maybe I can scent it better because of the friends I have with the arts community,” Annie opened the grey leather purse hooked on her shoulder. “I brought photos. Borrowed them from some friends,” she flipped through some things and pulled out a small packet. “They’re of you, Brea and some of your parents’ friends.”

“How did you know them?” She took the packet, her fingers shaking as she opened it and looked down to see her mother and father at one of the events held at the school a year ago. Some photos were older; some recent. It made her smile even as the tears formed.

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“I made copies, Brea, those are for you. Jase told me you lost all your things in the fire,” Annie watched her eyes well with tears as she nodded. “You don’t know about your parents’ history. Their past. Your past.”

“I was born here,” she shrugged. “I had photos. I still have some, online. My father always had a camera aimed at us, from before I was born, even,” she smiled, swiping at her cheek. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.”

“Your heritage, Brea.”

“My….you mean lineage?” Brea shrugged, still confused. “I think they were from Ireland a long time back, but I’m honestly not sure. I never cared much for the past.”

“Brea, she means more than that. It’s like us being wolves,” Jase began slowly.

She’d handled that well enough. Except for the show me your fangs thing. That still made him a little snarly.

Brea sat upright, staring at him. “I don’t have fangs,” she whispered.

“Brea….” Jase exhaled slowly. “No, you do not have fangs.” He raked two hands through his hair.

“Brea, the garden you just planted outside….isn’t it a little curious that the vegetables are already four inches tall?” Nick asked cautiously.

“I have a green thumb. It’s like the healing thing,” she shrugged. “It’s just part of who I am….my parents told me that all the time.”

“But it’s not all of who you are,” Jase jumped on that sentence. “There’s more that….people didn’t tell you….and they didn’t tell you because they were keeping you safe.”

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“People…..you mean my parents,” she looked up at Nick and then across at Jase.

“You think they didn’t tell me on purpose.”

“The threats didn’t begin until your parents vanished, Brea.” Nick pointed out logically.

“That’s silly. I’m being threatened because my parents were killed? Then why not just kill me, too?”

“They tried,” Jase reminded her quietly.

She considered this, her breathing ragged.

“Why? We never bothered anyone. They never bothered anyone. It was just us.

The three of us….” She looked down at the picture she held. “I don’t know why. Why didn’t they just put me inside the building and let me die there?”

“I don’t have those answers, Brea. I’m fucking glad they didn’t,” came the growling words, Jase’s hands clenched to keep the little control he had when he thought about her words.

“I think it’s something from the past, Brea. Something that happened before you were born and something that happened because you were about to be born,” Annie Bishop sipped her tea. “I don’t want you to hurt, Brea. But you can’t deal with the present without knowing about the past, especially in your case.”

“You don’t believe I’m strong enough to deal with this…..this whatever it is,” she said flatly, looking from one to the other.

“I think….” Annie said just as flatly. “You’ve been thrown a lot of crap in a really short amount of time and frankly, I’m not sure I’d be able to deal with all of this.

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Especially them.”

“They make me laugh,” Brea said with a half shrug. “Even when I don’t feel like it. They make me feel….like I’m home.”

“Do you know anything about the supernatural world?” Annie decided to jump into the middle. Too much information was far smarter than going into a situation blindly. She understood her parent’s choice, but since they were no longer here to help, Brea deserved the truth.

“Umm…..supernatural….like ghosts and….and wolves?”

“And fairies and demons,” Annie said clearly.

Brea sighed, eyes rolling a little.

“Fairies are something I grew up with. Until I was old enough to tell my mother no more, my room was filled with them. All kinds. They even got into my dreams. Even the other night….but I was me…an adult…talking to fairies in a dream,” her tone easily showed her humor.

“I don’t think it was a dream, Brea. I think they’ve been trying to find you for years,” Jase laughed at her expression, one of those tawny brows arched. She was clearly questioning his sanity.

Brea cleared her throat. Several times.

“Fairies….trying to find me…..” she knew her mouth was about to say something regrettable and closed it.

After all, she’d laid on the grass in the backyard with two wolves not five hours ago. Maybe she’d been hit on the head a little too hard and she was really in a hospital, 196

in a coma, having wildly lucid dreams.

“Whatever you’re thinking, babe, you’re wrong,” Jase met the abruptly innocent expression with a sigh. “We’re not crazy. And you’re not dreaming.”

“How do people keep getting inside my head?” She hissed suddenly.

“No one’s inside your head,” Nick laughed, his hands on her shoulders. “Relax.

From the look on your face, his guess was pretty accurate.”

“I’ve got fairies calling me to their forest when I sleep and you think that’s normal?” She demanded incredulously.

“For you, I think it might be,” Jase waited, watched her. “You don’t want us to protect you from the truth, that’s not how you want life, Brea.”

“I’m not sure we agree on what the truth is,” she said carefully.

“You believe what we showed you this morning. How is this different? Because it’s about you?” Jase watched her tongue swipe along her lower lip. “Mariana is psychic.

She can…delve into a person’s mind and see….”

“You let her read my mind? You….” Brea pushed up from the sofa, spinning and facing them both. “She put me to sleep. Didn’t she? That….that conniving blonde….” Brea lifted one corner of her lip and growled. “She wanted you two.”

“But she didn’t get us, Brea,” Jase said quickly.

“She did not read your mind. What she can do is tell us if someone had been controlling you,” Nick spoke quickly when he saw the small hands clenching into fists.