Lost in Paradise (7 page)

“Then what’s the problem?” Gemma asked, her voice low. “Believe them, Stacia. Choose them.” She smiled at her men and gave them both a kiss on the cheek. You have no idea what you’ll be missing if you don’t at least take a chance and see what it’s like.”

Noah closed his eyes and thanked the gods that Gemma had decided to come out to the restaurant and talk to Stacia. What would they have done if they couldn’t convince her to stay.

Already, he could see the indecision in their mate’s eyes when before, she’d been adamant about leaving Paradise and all of its craziness behind her.

Stacia gave Gemma a long look. “You’re happy here?”

“Oh, yes.” The other woman smiled. “Matt and Merrick have been everything to me.” Tears filled her eyes. “They will always be everything to me.” She grinned. “Well, next to my children.”

“How do you handle that?” She frowned. Did they raise children as a family, both men being a dad, no matter who the biological father was? She licked her lips. “I mean…do they know who fathered which children?”

“That’s not the way we do it here.” Gemma smiled and shook her head. “The triads of Paradise don’t know who fathers any particular child. Any child I have will belong to the three of us. We don’t have paternity tests and we don’t care. They belong to all of us.”

“No jealousy? That’s difficult to believe.”

“Oh, I didn’t say that. My guys are plenty jealous when I look at another man who’s not my mate.” She laughed. “And I’m plenty jealous of any woman who makes a move on either of my men. However, as to what you’re really asking, no. They aren’t jealous of each other. I think they got over that when they were in the Army. They were plenty jealous of each other when we were teenagers, though.”

She looked around the diner, loving the fact that it had the retro look. She loved the chrome barstools at the counter and the two-toned booths and old fashioned chrome, and upholstered chairs at the tables in the middle of the floor.

Stacia adored the town’s old-world charm and close-knit community. She wanted to stay here. She glanced at the two men who had saved her life more than once. “Are you asking me to stay? Are you saying that if I
do
stay that we’ll have the same kind of relationship as Merrick, Gemma and Matt?”

“Yes,” the two men said together. That’s exactly what we’re saying.”

“Oh.” She pressed her lips together, thinking. “Can I think about it?”

“Sure.” Ronan said, though he didn’t look comfortable with her decision.

She was tempted.
Very
tempted. Tired of being alone, there wasn’t much Stacia wouldn’t give up for relationship security. Financial security wasn’t even a consideration. It meant nothing if she had no one with whom to share it.

“Give us a chance, baby.” Noah leaned forward, his expression filled with hope. “We promise you won’t regret it.”

Stacia glanced over to the table where Gemma and her mates moved to give them all some privacy.

Gemma obviously loved her mates. She sat sandwiched between her two men. Each of them held one of her hands in one hand and tried to feed her with the other. She laughed up at them as they pretended to argue with each other over who would feed her the next bite.

She wondered if it was even possible for her to be as happy as the other woman. Stacia thought about the two men sitting next to her. She’d never wanted to be with any other human being as much as she wanted to be with the two of them.

Ronan took her hand in his. “Do me a favor? Think about it. Just try not to think too long. Okay?” He looked uncomfortable. His face was red. He looked feverish and in pain—lots of pain.

“Why? What’s wrong with it?” Maybe he had the same thing she did. Reaching up, she felt his forehead. “You’re burning up! I thought you said you guys couldn’t get sick.
You
look the way
I
feel.”

“It’s the
el calor
, the mating heat,” Noah replied. “If he doesn’t make love with you soon, the pain will worsen. Eventually, it will drive him mad.”

Stacia rested her hand over her stomach. “That’s what’s wrong with me?”

“Yes. To us, it’s as natural as breathing. Your scent triggers something inside us that causes our chemistry to change. Your scent sets it off, just as our scents cause a reaction in you.”

“But…I’m not a shifter.” It would have been great if she were. She would have known about all of this before and saved herself a lot of heartache.

“You don’t have to be a shifter.” He gestured to the other side of the diner. “Gemma was human. It affected her the same way, but her situation was a little different. She grew up here in Paradise with Matt and Merrick. She had a relationship with them both at a young age. When they came back, they merely needed to mate her. Our bodies react to the
el calor
differently as we age. The older we are, the worse it is for us
and
our mates.”

“Are you telling me that you’re a dirty old man, Ronan?” She shook her head. You must be because I hurt and I
know
you do.”

After they exited the diner, Noah left them at the lodge. He said something about needing to talk to the local contractor about an addition. Apparently, the man already planned to add a nursery to their home. She’d only been here a short time but, even so, it was difficult to ignore the fact that these alpha males who shifted into animals that usually abandoned their young, could fawn and melt in the presence of babies and children. It was a rather endearing quality.

She stood just outside the door to their rented room. Her stomach burned and roiled. She felt sick and just wanted the feeling to go away. It was as though a circus full of mini acrobats built a bonfire and partied in her middle.

“After you,” Ronan said as he stood aside for her to enter.

“Thanks.” Her stomach twisted into knots. When had she ingested acid? She could have convinced herself she had, at that point.

“I’ve never done this kind of thing before.” She’d never been what her mother would have called a bad girl.

“What kind of thing?” Ronan tossed the room key on the bureau next to the TV.

Stacia’s face heated. “I’ve never slept with two men in as many days before.” She shrugged. “It feels wrong. That’s all.”

“Darlin’, I don’t know what you did with Noah,” Ronan said as he pulled his shirt over his head, “but
we
are going to do everything but sleep.” He threw his shirt into the corner near the window. Moving slowly, he lowered his head while keeping eye contact—stalking her.

Stacia bit her lip and backed up a pace. He took another step forward, his hands held behind his back. “Are you afraid of me?” He stared her down with his dark eyes. “I won’t hurt you, you know. I’d rather die than cause you pain. I haven’t lost control of my beast, yet.”

“Don’t you know who you are when you shift?”

Ronan blinked as though her question surprised him. “Of course I know who I am. When I shift, my physical appearance changes not my mental capacity.”

“Then why do you call that part of you a beast? Don’t do that anymore. I don’t like it. It belittles that part of you. It makes it sound as though you believe it somehow makes you something less than a man.”

His mouth quirked up on one side. “Doesn’t it?”

“No!” She scowled at him and shook her head. “A jaguar might have run from that bear. It might have rolled over and given up that fight. A
beast
would have killed me when it found me at the river. It was the man inside that save my life. You’re no more a beast as your cat than you are right now.”

Making her choice, Stacia stepped forward. You’re a man, Ronan—a very brave and selfless man. She stood tall, shoulders back, her chin up. “And as impossible as it seems to me, I love you and I love Noah. I would be proud to call you both my mates.”

Ronan felt an odd sensation in the center of his chest. It ached. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he must love her, too. He’d never been in love before. He wasn’t sure what it felt like.

“Noah and I were afraid you would change your mind.” He stared at his beautiful mate with her glossy dark mane and glowing amber eyes.

The tip of her tongue darted out, wetting her lips. His stomach clenched. He could imagine her doing all sorts of interesting things with those full lips and cute little tongue. One look at her had his cock standing a full mast, begging for the moist heat of her mouth.

He took a deep breath and inhaled her intoxicating scent. She smelled of strawberries. If it were a soap that made her smell so delicious, he would buy her a lifetime supply. Though, something told him the scent was her own.

“What’s wrong?” She tilted her head to the side and smiled. Moving to the window, she drew the drapes and blinds closed. “A few minutes ago, you were stalking me, ready to pounce. What happened?”

He stood still, watching her every move. She stood facing the blinds, her hands at her waist in front of her.

Ronan took in a quick breath when she pushed the jeans past her hips, wriggling her gorgeous rounded ass at him. His cock hardened even more when he noticed she wasn’t wearing panties. To him, there was nothing sexier than a woman who wasn’t afraid to go commando.

He stared at her ass and followed the line to her labia. He closed his eyes and prayed for patience. His prayers went unanswered. With a low growl, he wasted no more time and pounced.

“Take off the shirt if you don’t want it torn to shreds.” He pressed a violently passionate kiss against her lips. He pulled back and stared down into her glazed eyes. “You see, I am a beast after all.”

“I love this shirt. If you tear it, I’ll never forgive you.”

He spun around and took a few paces from her. “Then hurry up and take it off. You’re driving me crazy, woman.”

Stacia shook her head and laughed. “And you were so sure that you’re an animal.”

“Don’t test it, Stacia.” He stood, his hands fisted at his sides while she took her time removing the rest of her clothing. After that, she took her time folding them!

“You are testing my patience.”

“And you have passed the test with flying colors, haven’t you?” She cupped his cheek, her palm sliding over the short stubble there. Standing up on her toes, she pressed a kiss to his lips, her tongue sliding along the seam until he opened his mouth and took control.

Pulling back, he stared at her closed eyes for a moment. He worshipped her eyes, cheeks and mouth with feather-light kisses. His tongue darted out when he reached her mouth, tasting her lips. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his head, thrusting her fingers through his hair. He thrust his tongue into her opened mouth and she groaned.

His blood turned to molten lava, burning a fiery trail through his body straight to his loins. Ronan realized at that moment that he
did
love this woman. What he felt had to be love, there was no other word that fit.

He knew now that he would always put his life on the line for this woman. He would refuse her nothing of himself. She owned him just as surely as he owned property. He belonged to her. He had always belonged to Stacia. Nothing he’d ever felt before compared to the way he felt when he was with her.

Hunger tore through him. His balls drew tight as desire gripped him tight. The honeyed scent of his mate’s arousal wafted up to him as he nibbled his way over her neck and thrust his tongue into her ear. His mouth watered. He needed to taste her. He
had
to taste her.

She moaned, pressing closer as he slid his hand down her silky flesh to the moist treasure at the apex of her thighs.

Lifting her leg, she wrapped it around his hip, opening herself to him. Ronan couldn’t wait a moment longer. He dropped to his knees, threw her leg over his shoulder and thrust his face into her fragrant cunt.

Stacia thrust her fingers into his hair, held his head to her, and groaned. “Yes, Ronan. Oh, God, yes!”

Encouraged, he thrust two fingers into her channel and sucked her clit into his mouth, biting gently on the hardened nub.

It didn’t take long. Stacia screamed her first orgasm and collapsed against him. Standing, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed.

Ronan placed Stacia in the center of the bed and stared down at his beautiful mate. She was gorgeous as she lay there looking up at him through glazed eyes. Silky brown hair stuck to her sweat-soaked face as she attempted to catch her breath.

Wasting no more time, Ronan crawled between her legs and kissed his way up her body until he reached the rosy peaks of her breasts. He sucked first one, then the other into his mouth, nibbling gently at the tender flesh as he positioned himself at her slick gate.

With one long, slow thrust, he filled her dripping channel. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this.”

Certainly, the life of a playboy was exciting, even fun—at first. It didn’t take long to grow tiring. To see friends and family marry, have children. Being alone soon became a curse.

“You fell so good, baby.” He took a hard nipple into his mouth, sucking hard, his teeth biting into the hard bud. Stacia cried out, her fingers pulling his hair. Her palms alternately pushing his head against her chest.

She wrapped her legs around his waist as he thrust faster, deeper and harder inside her. Reaching down, he cupped her perfect ass in his hands and lifted her against him, changing the angle of each powerful thrust.

Ramming his cock deep into his mate’s wet pussy drew him closer and closer to orgasm. He stared down into Stacia’s face, wanting, needing to see her come at the same time. This was what he’d dreamed of all of these long, lonely years. Finally, he had found his mate, his love.

“Harder, Ronan. Please. Fuck me harder.” Stacia didn’t seem to notice that her head hit the headboard a few times before he managed to pull her a few inches down toward the foot of the bed.

He clenched his teeth as his orgasm grew near. It built and built, squeezing his balls with a curious fire. Still she didn’t come. It was as though she needed something more.