Heat Rising: A KinKaid Wolf Pack Story (14 page)

“No worries.” Kaleb stood. “Lot of pheromones in the air, you know.”

Landry’s eyelids lifted, and the longing that remained in his hazel gaze held Kaleb captive. “Yeah.” Landry nodded. “That’s what it was. A lot of built up tension.” But the expression on the other male’s face said,
there is a hell of a lot more going on here than Rosa’s heat, and you fucking know it
.

A scream followed by a loud crash that sounded like glass shattering came from Rosa’s room.

“Rosa!” Kaleb scrambled toward her door with Landry on his heels. He twisted the knob, but the latch didn’t budge.

Pounding on the door with his fist, Landry called out. “Rosa? Answer me.”

Nothing.

“Fuck this,” Landry growled. “Stand back.”

Kaleb retreated a few steps as Landry reared back and then slammed his boot into the door. The wood splintered away from the jam, and the door swung inward, banging off the wall. Both males charged inside, scanning the interior for the female.

But Rosa was nowhere to be found.

“Dammit!” Kaleb swore. The window was smashed, and the busted remains of a chair lay sprawled across the front porch on the other side. There’d been no break in—just the opposite. Rosa had broken out.

“What the hell is she thinking?” Landry rushed over to the frame.

“I don’t know,” Kaleb mumbled and launched himself over the sill. “But we have to get her back before something happens to her.”

Landry’s boots hit the boards beside him. Breathing deep, Kaleb searched for a trail in the air. Within seconds, her molecules flooded his nostrils. Her scent rode heavy on the wind and should prove easy to track. Glancing over to Landry, the other male nodded, confirming he’d picked up her path as well. Both males leaped over the rail and onto the grass, racing in her direction.

“She’s heading for the river,” Landry called out, taking the lead.

Rosa had to get out of there.

There had been no other option. She darted through the tall grass, her feet bare, hair wild and blowing in the cool morning breeze. And the run felt amazing.

She’d had to escape. Knowing—sensing the males her heart and body craved on the other side of the door was driving her insane. Their lust—their need—only amplified her own ache, and it had been more than she could bear. In a moment of sheer, blinding frustration, Rosa had lashed out, tossing a chair through the large bank of windows. And freedom had beckoned from the other side.

The sound of rushing water drew her attention. She was almost there. The thought of the icy ripples coursing over her overheated flesh drove her harder. Faster.

Moments later, she rounded a copse of fir trees and found the refuge she sought. The river lay ahead, clear, deep, and so inviting. Reflex had her yanking her blouse over her head and shoving her jeans as well as her panties to the ground. She had to cool down.

Unable to resist another second, Rosa padded over to the bank and strode into the steady flow. The mountain water raced over her thighs, whisking away the stress, the tension in her muscles. Rosa maneuvered through the rocky bed, taking herself deeper. The river crested the tips of her breasts, hardening her nipples into stiff peaks. She shivered, the icy tendrils of the water working its magic on her bloodstream, bringing her core temperature down.

A rustling sound in the grass jerked her around. Easing through the trees as if he were afraid he’d startle a skittish rabbit, Kaleb appeared. Despite the wintry bite of the river, heat flushed her cheeks and flooded her core. Rosa moaned and crossed her arms over her breasts.

“I can’t do this, Kaleb,” she cried out. “You have to leave me alone.”

Coming from another angle through the firs, Landry strode alongside the bank.

“Oh, my God… The both of you have to go home. My brother needs you more than me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” Kaleb said, lowering onto his haunches at the water’s edge. “You need me. I know you do. You just won’t admit it yet.” His head bowed. “Christ, Rosa.” He sighed. “Please…stop running. I need you too.”

Her breath caught in her throat, strangled on a sob. God, yes, she needed him. Needed and wanted them both. Choosing one over the other wasn’t an option in her heart and doing so would have destructive effects on them all.

“Landry…” She glanced over at the hardened enforcer who watched her with more compassion in his eyes than she wondered if he even knew he possessed. “Kaleb…” She turned to the other male. “You don’t know how much I want to just give in.” A hard cramp seized her abdomen, and Rosa curled in on herself on a moan. “Oh, God… It hurts.”

A series of loud crashes in the water sent frigid waves breaking around her. Then strong arms scooped her up and cradled her against a solid, warm chest. Opening her eyes, she found Kaleb’s blues eyes boring into hers.

Emerging from the river, Kaleb dropped to his knees and clasped her face between his palms. Over his shoulder, Rosa spotted Landry, stress burrowing lines in his brow.

“Rosa…” Kaleb began. “Shit…” He shook his head. “Don’t you know how much I love you by now? Let me help you.” He stroked her cheek, brushing away the warm trail of a tear. “Let me be the one.”

She sniffed as a tremor rocked her, setting off another spasm in her core. Rosa squeezed his fingers, her gaze darting between the two males. “I can’t,” she whispered.

Kaleb blinked. “Not good enough,” he gritted out between his teeth, then stared down at her. “I need more than that.”

How did she explain she was in love with both of them—wanted both of them? She didn’t understand it herself. A mating was a process of joining one shifter to the other. Yet, no matter how hard she tried, Rosa couldn’t untwist the knot that had become her love for both of them.

Swallowing hard, searching for moisture to soothe the desert that was her throat, Rosa tried again. “I can’t have you because I can’t hurt Landry like that.” Her gaze flicked to the other male. He flinched as if he’d been punched.

“You don’t want to hurt me?” Landry closed in on them. “What do you mean?”

“I’m trying to say I can’t make the impossible choice of deciding between the two males whom I love.” Rosa reached up and grasped the side of Kaleb’s face, his coarse five o’clock shadow scratching her palm. “I’d rather endure this alone than have to mate with one of you and walk away from the other. My heart won’t survive.”

“Who says you have to?” Kaleb arched a brow.

Rosa’s heart galloped. “What are you saying?”

The redheaded shifter glanced up a Landry. The tall shifter stood frozen, his lips parted as if whatever he was about to say had stalled in his throat. Kaleb turned back to her. “Why do you have to choose one of us? We both want you—love you.”
He leaned over her, his mouth a hair’s breadth from hers, and brushed the hair away from her eyes. “Let us show you how much.”

“Kaleb?” Landry’s deep voice sliced through the moment. Rosa gasped, and Kaleb swung his head toward the male. “Think very hard about what you’re saying…what you’re offering. A female mating with two males hasn’t been done before. We don’t even know if it’ll work. Not to mention how the rest of the pack—especially Evin—will react to this decision.”

Landry glanced off into the distance, his fist working at his side as if the process were helping him to find the right words. Then slowly, his gaze lowered to Kaleb. “For this to work for me—for us—I’m going to want you both. All of you. Are you prepared for that?” His eyes tapped Rosa. “Can you live with that, sweetness?”

It was as if Landry were trying to shock them. Scare them away from a relationship with him. But he’d picked the wrong tactic if he wanted an out. A challenge was the one thing Rosa never shied away from. “My brother will have to get over himself. This is my life,” she growled. “Nothing has ever been easy for me or Evin.” She turned to Kaleb, beads of sweat stinging her eyes. “Why should who I love be any different? I can handle it if you can.”

Before Kaleb could respond, Landry was on his knees beside her. “Rosa. Fuck…” He stroked the top of her head. “You know my past. I was practically a bastard child.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Is that the kind of man you want in your bed? For Christ sake, you’re our alpha’s twin!”

She narrowed her gaze on him, frowning. “Your past has never mattered to me. Have I ever treated you any different than I have Kaleb?”
God, after all these years, how can Landry believe I’ve ever seen him as any less of a man?

“No,” he rumbled.

“The only thing that matters to me is who you are now.” Rosa snagged the front of his shirt, pulling him close until they were nose to nose. “And the man in front of me is extraordinary,” she breathed.

A growl vibrated off Landry’s chest, and his pupils expanded, leaving only a thin ring of hazel at the outer ring. “Mine,” he rumbled, canines flashing. Landry claimed her mouth, stealing her air. Her head swam on a dizzying rush as he licked at her lips, inviting them to open. And no way could she deny him access. He dove inside, tangling his tongue with hers and teasing her with more of what was to come. Rosa’s breasts ached, her core pulsed with inflamed desire.

Strong arms tensed around her, reminding her of the other male who held the ties to her heart. Before she could pull back, Landry broke away and glanced at Kaleb. He hadn’t answered his partner’s question or hers.

“Kaleb?” Landry stood, the obvious sign of his arousal pressed against his fly, making her mouth water. But where they would go from here was up to Kaleb now. Would he be okay with the type of ménage Landry was suggesting?

As far as she knew, Kaleb had always been a heterosexual male. Yet, the duo had grown up together. They’d seen each other through good times and bad and were tighter than any normal working partnership. And she’d seen the occasional looks Landry had given Kaleb and vice-versa. The ones that had lingered a little too long when they didn’t know she’d been watching. Something inside had told her then that their feelings went deeper than friendship, but she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge their existence. Maybe out of fear she’d ignored it, because if those emotions were brought to the surface, where did it leave her in their lives?

Helping Rosa to her feet, Kaleb straightened. Seconds passed in heavy silence as the two males stood face-to-face. Labored breaths rushed from Kaleb’s lungs as if his brain struggled with a great internal battle. His fists worked open and closed. And Rosa was sure her own diaphragm had forgotten how to function. Then without warning Kaleb lunged for the other male, slamming his mouth onto Landry’s.

“Holy shit.” Her lungs burst back into action at the sight, and she squirmed from the rush of arousal pooling between her legs.

Kaleb clamped his fingers around Landry’s ears, holding on as if the male were his parachute, and they were both in free fall. Then Kaleb jerked back, their harsh breaths competing with the rushing river. Rosa wrapped her fingers around the redheaded shifter’s biceps, and Kaleb covered her hand with his before tilting his head at Landry.

“How’s that for an answer?” Kaleb asked, his expression solemn, assessing.

Slowly, a smile eased across Landry’s mouth, and he stepped in, cupping her and Kaleb’s napes with his broad palms. “I say, let’s give the boundaries on mating a kick in the ass.”

A laugh bubbled up out of Rosa, catching her off guard. For so long tension and confusion had held her mind and body in its thorny vise, she was surprised by the happy sound. Landry reached down and swept her up in his arms before taking off at a swift pace toward the cabin.

They made it to the front porch in record time. Kaleb threw the door open and Landry carried her over the threshold, arrowing straight for the bedroom. Gently, he eased her down onto her feet beside the bed, his fingertips trailing a path down her arms. Gooseflesh lifted in the wake of his touch, inducing a shiver.

“We’ll have you warmed up very soon, sweetness,” Landry drawled.

His hands stilled, but the male’s hazel gaze raked over her naked flesh. Rosa bit into her lower lip, finding it difficult to stay in one place. But she didn’t want to move—didn’t want to miss a second of the powerful male’s attention.

“You’re so incredibly beautiful.”

Her stomach did one of those nosedive maneuvers. God, she wished he’d touch her already. She
burned
.

“Kaleb.” Landry glanced over his shoulder as the other shifter came up beside him. “Touch her.” Landry took a step back. “I want to watch.”

Rosa’s knees turned to mush at the mental image Landry had just conjured, and she wobbled. But Kaleb was there, steadying her. His fingertips fell to her sides and followed her waist to her hips. Her heart stuttered.

“I want you so damn much,” he rumbled.

In response, Rosa wrapped her hands in his shirt, then dragged it over his head before tossing it to the floor. A fine dusting of dark hairs covered his pecs. She ran her fingers over the hard muscles, up over his shoulders, and down his biceps. God, he felt amazing. Unable to resist, she leaned in and traced the outline of the tribal tattoo circling his right arm with her mouth.

Kaleb hissed.

She looked up from under her lashes and smirked. “I’ve dreamed of doing that.”

“Any time, angel.” With the tip if his index finger, he lifted her chin. “You can put that gorgeous mouth on me any time you want. Now, lay down.” He licked his lips. “And make my dreams come true.”

The lust in his voice relayed exactly what he wanted. Her pussy tightened. His words and the desire in his gaze had her nearly coming undone, and he hadn’t even touched her yet. Rosa eased down onto the mattress, then slid back to the center. Out of the corner of her eye, she tracked Landry as he strolled to the end of the bed.

He tugged his shirt overhead then went to work on his belt and jeans. Kaleb did the same, pushing the black denim and his briefs to the floor. His cock sprang free, thick and long, a bead of precum glistening at the tip. Rosa swallowed hard, her pulse thumping inside her ears. This was like her vision. The one she’d had the night after Landry had kissed her. Both of the men she loved in her bed. Her mates. A ferocious wave of possession swamped her, coercing a growl from her throat.

Kaleb climbed onto the mattress and straddled her waist. “We’ve got you, angel.” With a hand at either side of her head, he loomed over her, a predator claiming his prey. “Everything you’ll ever need…say the word, and it’s yours,” he rasped.

“You,” Rosa breathed, her heart kicked against her chest wall. She was flying apart on the inside. “Dear God, help me, I need
you
.” The empty ache between her legs was driving her out of her mind. Rosa glanced to Landry. “Both of you.”

“You have us,” Kaleb growled and melded his lips to hers, kissing her as if she was the cool drink to a man dying of thirst
. And he was the manna supplied for her hunger.

Rosa gasped for air. “Please…” She was begging, but to hell with pride. It was irrelevant. Nothing mattered anymore except for the insane need to get them inside her.

He lowered his head and crept down her body, moving to her breasts. His tongue danced over a sensitive tip, and lightning struck. Its fiery tendril licked up her spine. Rosa arched, cried out. Kaleb repeated the act on the other side, blinding her with sensation. Then he engulfed the entire areola, and her womb clenched…hard. Rosa gasped. Her hips rocked.