Edwina and the Seven Snowed-in Scientists (15 page)

princess.”

She looked a little surprised at his tone. Her lips were swollen and

red, her eyes glazed with passion, but she looked over her shoulder at Gary and said the words they both wanted to hear. “Yes, please fuck

me.”

Gary didn’t hesitate. He opened his jeans and plunged into her

pussy, pushing her hard against Kieran. She struggled to capture

Kieran’s cock with her mouth as Gary pounded into her but sucked

Kieran deep into her throat once more.

Each solid thrust pushed Kieran’s cock further down her throat,

and he groaned at the amazing sensation.

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“That’s it, baby,” Gary said through gritted teeth. “Suck him while

I fuck you harder.” She increased the suction on Kieran’s cock, and he could feel his orgasm boiling just below the surface. When she

wrapped her hand around his balls, he was lost.

His skin drew tight, his cock swelled, his breath caught, and then

he came in her mouth, pumping mindlessly as she sucked him, laving

him with her tongue, swallowing everything he had to offer.

Gary increased his pace, fucking her harder, faster, more

violently, until Kieran worried for the woman in their arms. But she

rocked back against him, taking everything, demanding more. She

finally released Kieran’s cock to scream as her orgasm exploded

through her.

Kieran held her tight, feeling every jolt, every thrust, every impact as her orgasm squeezed the cum from his brother. Gary held still,

staying upright, careful to avoid the tender skin on her ass. Slowly he pulled out of Edwina’s pussy and sat back on his heels.

“Your turn to make dinner.” At first Kieran thought Gary was

talking to the exhausted woman in between them, but then he saw his

brother’s face and realized it was his way of telling Kieran to get lost.

He smiled at his brother, feeling more content than he had in years.

He helped Edwina to a more comfortable position, pressed a kiss to

her lips and left the room.

* * * *

Edwina smiled as she watched Kieran leave the room. At least this

time she hadn’t managed to upset him.

“Show me your ass,” Gary said as he pushed her sideways. She

giggled at the serious tone but did what he asked and ended up

facedown, bum up. His hands traced lightly over a few places before

he asked, “Any sore spots?”

“No,” she managed to say in an almost even tone as he ran his

hands over her ass once more.

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“You’re very beautiful,” Gary said as his hands traveled down her

thighs and back up again.

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m pretty sure most people use that

word when looking at a person’s face.”

“Perhaps,” he said, sounding amused, “but I happen to think

you’re beautiful all over.” He touched a few places with his finger, pressing gently against a couple of extra-tender spots before lifting her in his arms and carrying her to the bathroom.

He stepped into the shower behind her, washed her down quickly,

and then dried her with a warm fluffy towel. He was tucking her into

bed before she even thought to protest.

“I’m not tired,” she said and then ruined it by yawning.

He gave her a look that suggested he didn’t believe her and

pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Get some rest,” he said very seriously.

“I suspect that you’ll find Brian in your bed tonight.” She smiled at him, wondering if Brian would actually join her in bed. He’d been

friendly last night, but he certainly hadn’t made any advances. “And Simon and Evan are due back tomorrow.”

“They’ll know, won’t they?” This whole yeti thing still seemed

like a kind of dream.

“Yes, and they already want you.”

“Will you explain about me?” She was such a coward, but she

didn’t want the brothers coming to her bed expecting more than she

could give. Commitment was out. A future was out, but she could

give them now if that’s what they wanted.

Gary nodded, his face set in a neutral expression. “I’ll explain and

then we’ll spend the rest of our time together having fun. Don’t worry about the future. Let’s just enjoy while we can.”

She nodded sleepily and closed her eyes as he left the room. What

was it about the brothers that had her falling into their beds? She’d barely met Simon and Evan but she could hardly wait for them to

return. It certainly wasn’t like her to lust after strangers. The

uncomfortable thought that she really was their mate slid through her
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105

brain. She couldn’t be the woman they needed, so why would fate be

so cruel and throw them all together like this?

A single tear slid down her face as she tried to deny what she

knew in her heart.

Leaving them was going to break her, but she had no choice.

* * * *

Calvin walked slowly through the door. He’d delayed his return as

long as he could, and now he just felt stupid. He’d taken three extra days to walk thirty miles. If he’d been a human, they would’ve been

searching for his frozen body in the snow.

He shook his head trying to clear the irritating knowledge. The

woman didn’t want to be their mate. So what? Being a spouse to

seven yeti brothers was not something many women would be able to

cope with. The fact that he and his brothers had all fallen for the same woman just proved that it was possible to find one woman they all

could love. If Edwina rejected them, eventually they would find

another.

Her scent surrounded him as he walked to the bedroom, and he

wasn’t surprised to find her sleeping in Jake’s arms. He wasn’t even

surprised when he noticed that Gary’s scent now clung to her, too.

No, what surprised him was how much he still wanted the woman

sleeping in his bed.

Even after all his logical, internal pondering, he wanted the one

woman who didn’t want them back. Her eyes popped open as if she

sensed his presence.

“Calvin,” she said with a welcoming smile. He almost moved to

take her in his arms, happy to forget their earlier argument if she

didn’t bring it up. But then her smile faltered and she sat up, waking Jake in the process. He opened his eyes, sleepily grabbed Edwina

around the waist, and wriggled them both closer to the other side of
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the bed. Calvin stared at the space, knowing Jake had made it simply

so Calvin could join them.

She looked relieved when he stripped off his outer clothes and lay

down on the bed beside her. Immediately she cuddled into him,

smiling when Jake didn’t let her go either. “I’m sorry,” she

whispered.

“So am I,” he said. He was still confused by her rejection, but he

knew he shouldn’t have left the way he had. He should’ve stayed and

gotten some answers.

He closed his eyes against the myriad of emotions rolling through

him. He wanted so many things. He needed this woman more than he

would even admit to himself. But when she leaned over, kissed him

softly on the mouth, and whispered, “Welcome home,” he needed the

peace she could bring more than anything else.

He held her to him, closed his eyes and slept for the first time in

days.

* * * *

Evan had trouble regulating his breathing. They’d been gone for

nearly a week, but the moment he and Simon stepped through the

door to Kendall shack they knew Edwina had had sex with Kieran,

Jake, Gary and even Calvin. Desperately he sought out their mate, but Gary quickly intercepted them.

“It’s not what you think,” he said without preamble.

“But she’s our mate,” Simon said, sounding bewildered.

“She is,” Gary said with a nod, “but she says she can’t stay with

us, and I promised her that we wouldn’t force the issue. When

summer gets here, we’ll figure out who tried to kill her and then get her safely back to her father’s ranch.”

“But she’s our mate. Why did she fuck you if she has no

intentions of being our mate?” Evan asked, feeling as bewildered as
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107

Simon had sounded moments ago. It didn’t make any sense. The

woman was destined for them, how could she deny it?

“We have eight months with her. Let that be enough.”

“No!” Simon said, clearly distressed. “We’ll claim her. Then she

can’t leave.”

Gary looked angry enough to rip Simon’s head from his

shoulders, but then he took a deep breath and seemed to release the

rage. “Would you really claim a woman who doesn’t want to stay?

Would you disrespect her so much that you’d take away her choices?”

Simon closed his eyes, obviously regretting his impulsive words.

“No, I wouldn’t,” he said, shaking his head sadly. “I just…”

Gary nodded his head in agreement even though Simon hadn’t

finished the sentence.

“She missed you,” he said, confusing Evan even further. “Why

don’t you go spend some time with her? She’s cooking dinner.”

“Okay,” he managed to choke out. He wasn’t sure he could spend

civilized time with a woman he wanted so badly but couldn’t have.

But, for his brothers’ sakes, he needed to try. He briefly considered diving into the snow in an attempt to deflate the almost painful

erection he’d been sporting since they’d walked in the door, but

dismissed it as unlikely to help. Cautiously, he and Simon stepped

into the kitchen.

As soon as Edwina saw them she smiled and crossed the room for

a warm hug. Evan held her close, marveling at the rightness of her in his arms. “Welcome home,” she said as she stepped from his embrace

and moved into Simon’s. It felt surreal. It was like every dream he’d ever had of life with their mate. But this was the illusion. In eight months she’d be gone from their lives.

He didn’t like that Gary had made a promise to Edwina without

consulting them—and he fully intended to discuss the issue when they

had a chance—but for now he tried to accept the situation, whatever

that was.

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Edwina turned back to her cooking. “So did you get the samples

you wanted?”

“We did,” Simon said as he leaned against the counter. “What

have you been up to?”

She turned to look at them both, rolled her eyes, and laughed

softly. “I’m pretty sure you know what I’ve been up to. Besides

cooking I really don’t have that much to do around here.”

Evan felt anger pulse through him. She spoke as if she was

sleeping with his brothers out of boredom. It certainly didn’t sit well with him, and he ground his teeth to stop himself from saying

something that he might regret later.

“What about Brian?” Simon asked in a gravelly voice. Edwina

shook her head in obvious confusion.

“What about him?”

Simon looked angry, even angrier that Evan was feeling. “You’re

happy to fuck the others, but not Brian? Is that right?”

“What?” Edwina exclaimed, obviously taken off guard.

“Simon—” Evan said, trying to calm his brother down. They were

supposed to be getting to know the woman, not throwing accusations

at her. But Simon stopped him with a hard look.

“Well?” Simon demanded. “What about Brian? What about us?

You going to put out for us, too? Or are you just going to pick and

choose which brothers you want to fuck with?’

“Simon!” Evan yelled. “Shut the hell up.”

“No, Evan. I want an explanation. She wants to play the whore. I

want to know how much it’s going to cost me.”

Evan’s fist connected with his brother’s jaw before he really

decided that’s what he wanted to do. Simon’s response was just as

hard, just as violent, and within moments they were wrestling like a couple of adolescents. Evan’s only clear thought was that he would make sure his brother stopped yelling abuse at Edwina. Her outraged

voice barely registered as Evan gratefully pounded his anger into his brother’s gut, and Simon seemed more than happy to return the favor.

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They hit the ground hard, rolling in the small area until a sudden

downpour of water drenched them both. Still holding each other, fists raised ready to strike, Evan and Simon both looked at the woman

standing over them. In full-blown anger Edwina was quite an

impressive sight. She held a huge pot that dripped the last few drops of water onto the floor, and looked angry enough to hit them with it if they didn’t stop fighting.

“Get up!” she growled and kicked them both with her sock

covered feet for good measure.

Evan tried to hide the smile but failed when Simon started

laughing. They helped each other off the floor, shivering slightly as the air cooled the water covering them. She stood there wide-eyed as

they broke into laughter. It was obvious she wanted to yell at them

some more, but she didn’t quite know what to say in the wake of their ridiculous mirth.

“If we were ordinary men, that might’ve killed us in this weather,”

Simon said with laughter still in his voice.

“Yeah, well, you’re not ordinary men. You’re a couple of idiots.”

“True,” Simon conceded easily. “And I am very sorry for what I

said.”

She made a noise that suggested she neither accepted his apology