Rescuing Their Virgin Mate[Pack Wars-Book 3] (6 page)

Clay held out his hand.
“Please come, sit. We have a lot more to tell you.”

She rocked back and forth
looking like they’d sprayed her with a round of bullets. “More?”

“It’s about your abduction.”

Her shoulders sagged and she
slowly eased past Clay and sat in her seat. “What about my abduction?” Her
voice sounded stronger.

Dirk nodded to her plate.
“Eat first. You’ll need your strength.” Both he and Clay dug in and hoped she’d
follow.

For the next few minutes, all
three finished their meal in silence. Dirk composed his thoughts and set down
his fork. “Werewolves have a lot of unique characteristics.”

“Is this about my abduction?”

“In a way. You need some
background information first.”

“Okay.” She’d taken a moment
before responding. “Like what?”

“One is that we can read each
other’s thoughts when they are directed at each other.”

Her jaw dropped. “You know
what I’m thinking?”

“No, sweetheart. Not your
thoughts. It has to be between werewolves. It’s like talking, only it’s quiet.”

“Oh.”

Clay put down his silverware.
“Are you ready to learn what we do for a living?”

She finished her glass of
water. Dirk didn’t like how her hand shook. She nodded.

“Dirk and I work for an
organization called the Pack.”

“Because they’re werewolves,
too?”

Clay smiled. “Yes. You catch
on fast.” He drank his beer. “We’ve been aware of Harvey Couch’s connection to
human trafficking for months but hadn’t made much traction until he lost his
life in a skirmish over dealing drugs.”

She clamped a hand over her
mouth. “How could I not have known he was into drugs?”

“Many were fooled. As soon as
he died, we went back into your office and confiscated your computer.” He held
up a finger. “Or rather the one you used at the office.”

“There was no sensitive
information on there.”

“To you, maybe.”

She shook her head. “I was
just a secretary who processed applications for au pairs and paired them with
families needing nannies.”

“We gave the computer to one
of our experts at our headquarters, and he was able to piece together a pattern
of girls applying for those jobs with those reported missing from Europe.”

She slid down in her seat.
“You mean he lured the girls over to the US and then kidnapped them?”

Dirk wanted to smooth the
worry lines, but if he moved too fast, she’d resist. Her potential reaction
made him ache even more.

“Yes,” Dirk answered. “We
also found a link to his appointments on the Cloud.”

Her brows pinched. “What good
could they do now that he’s dead?”

“It’s who they were with that
interested us.”

She closed her eyes for a
moment. “What does this mean to me? Are you thinking these men who sold me
might want me back because I might know something?”

While her words came out slowly,
Dirk was impressed with her calm appraisal of the situation.

Clay leaned forward. “It’s
possible. That’s why we’d like you to stay here a while.”

She glanced at Dirk and when
their eyes met, the connection was so strong his heart nearly burst. He gave
her a reassuring smile. “I’d like you to.”

She had no place of her own.
They’d spoken with her neighbors who said as soon as she returned from her
visit with her
family,
she’d be looking for a new
rental. She’d stored all of her furniture at a local facility.

“I guess I could for a little
while.”

Relief filled him.

Elena edged toward him.
“Could you do me a favor?”

“Anything, sweetheart.”

“Could you look for Cheryl
Johnson?” She told them about her cage-mate. “A third girl who was rather nasty
to us was there for a short while, too, and I don’t want to see any harm done
to anyone. Her name was Barbie
Lassitor
.”

Dirk lifted her hand. “We’ll
try.”

He and Clay cleaned up while
Elena leaned against the center island. They discussed what they knew about
Couch’s organization, but Elena wasn’t able to add much. She yawned and her
eyelids looked heavy.

Dirk didn’t want her
exhausted. Tomorrow would be a long day. “Are you ready for bed?” She stilled.
Damn
. Why couldn’t he think before he
spoke? “Alone. We won’t bother you.”

He figured she would be
happy, but she sucked in her cheeks. “Do you think I could stay in your room? I
don’t want to be alone.”

Help
me, Clay.

#

Dirk’s eyes turned a pretty
shade of amber. Okay, so she probably shouldn’t have asked to stay with him,
but after what happened, Elena feared she’d have nightmares if she slept by
herself. She never would have asked had they not proclaimed she was their mate.
She might not be ready to address the concept of being with two men at once,
but Dirk intrigued her. His gentleness spoke to who she was on the inside.
Maybe she was lying to herself, but she had this sense that God was urging her
to explore his creation.

After she entered her room,
she looked for some pajamas but found nothing that would work other than a pair
of yoga pants and a T-shirt. That would have to do. Since both men said they’d
head to bed later, she had no idea which bedroom was Dirk’s. She decided to
stay in her room and hope he came to her. She’d offered, but he hadn’t
responded. That should tell her something.

The little voice in her head,
that seconds ago had urged her forward, now said it was wrong to be with a man
before marriage. The little voice apparently had forgotten about those weeks in
the cage.

I
only want to snuggle and be held.

Liar
.

She lived in the twenty-first
century. Sex was everywhere. She’d been tempted before but never like this.
Being near them made her skin sensitive to their touch. When Dirk ran his gaze
over her body, her pulse rose and moisture seeped between her legs. Ever since
she turned eighteen, she’d wanted to explore her sexuality but her mother and
the church harped on it being wrong in the eyes of God. In her mind, it was
just a matter of timing. Sooner or later she would be married. If she
was
to spend the rest of her life with a man, wouldn’t it be
wise to see if they were compatible in bed before the final marriage decree?
Whether they had sex right before the ceremony or shortly thereafter, did it
matter?

The church would say yes. She
wanted the answer to be no.

Her friends were right. She
was the queen of rationalizing.

After she brushed her teeth
and washed up, she crawled into bed. She turned off the light and the bars of
the cage materialized. Instinctively, she curled into a fetal position. A whimper
sounded. Had she cried out?
Enough
.

She sat up and turned on the
bedside lamp. “Better.” She exhaled and lay back down. This time when she
closed her eyes, she could picture the men escorting her out of that terrible
room and into this fine house.

She smiled thinking about
Dirk’s lips on her hand and how tenderly he’d kissed her palm. As much as she
wanted to stay awake in case he came in, she couldn’t keep her eyelids open.

A hand rubbing her shoulder
woke her. Her pulse raced at the thought it was that terrible guard, but once
the lamp on the table registered, her muscles relaxed.

She rolled over to face Dirk.
His penetrating gaze turned her mouth dry. Her fogged brain told her she wanted
him.

It’s
wrong
.

She refused to listen. Lying
in bed made her realize that this nightmare could return. Those men could steal
her once more, and she could really be sold to bad people.

One
of Mahatma Gandhi’s quotes flashed in her brain.
He said to live as if you were to die tomorrow.
That rang so true.

Dirk said nothing as he
stroked her arm, his gentle touch soothing. She expected her heart to race
being this close to a virile man, but his hooded eyes brought her inner peace.
When he ran a knuckle down her cheek and looked deep into her eyes, a powerful
urge to kiss him took over.

While she’d made out with quite
a few men, and yes, even sucked on their penises, her guilt never allowed her
to be intimate. Her last boyfriend had been patient up to a point. Eventually,
he told her he couldn’t handle being so close to her and not have sex. Now she
understood their frustration.

Something about these men
triggered a need deep inside her. It was as if they truly were destined to be
together.

She cupped his face. “Thank
you.”

His brows furrowed. “For
what?”

“For being honest with me
about who you really are and for saving me.” She glanced to the bed. “I could
go on.” But that wasn’t her nature.

His face took on a whole new
dimension—his jaw sagged and his eyes turned a swirling shade of amber
and brown. He looked lost or perhaps a man who longed for something.

“I wanted you to know all
about us.”

Dirk pulled her close and the
hard planes of his chest pressed against her breasts. Her nipples hardened and
her vagina dampened as streaks of pleasure rippled through her. Her priest’s
stern face appeared, but she shoved it away. Dirk and Clay both said they were
destined to be with her and she believed them. Dirk was gentle and good. Never
before had her body reacted in such a carnal way. She tried to push the
yearning aside but failed.

Freedom wasn’t a guarantee.
She’d waited for the right man, and Dirk was the one. Yes, he saved her from
something terrible, but she refused to think of her desires exploding because
she thought of him as her savior. Perhaps she was telling herself things she
wanted to hear, but she believed she deserved a night of guilt free pleasure.

You
want a lifetime worth. Admit it.

Elena was the one to lean
forward and kiss Dirk. When he didn’t deepen the kiss or press his hips against
hers, she broke the connection believing she’d done something wrong. Shifting
her gaze away from his face, she leaned back.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”

She shrugged. “I guess I’m
not very good at this.”

“At what?”

“Kissing.”

“Now there you’re wrong.”

He took her hand and lowered
it between them. When he placed her fingers on his hard shaft, her breath
caught. Yes, he was wearing soft flannel pajamas, but even through the fabric,
his erection filled his pants out well. “Oh.”

“Does this feel like the kiss
didn’t affect me?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

 
“I guess not. I’m not very experienced.”

The right side of his mouth
tilted upward. “Most virgins aren’t, but if you’ll let me love you, you might
learn to enjoy it.”

She was torn. His words were
so contradictory to what she’d been taught. Then again, she’d been told
werewolves didn’t exist, so maybe it was time to examine more of her core
beliefs.

Desire won, but she’d stop if
anything seemed wrong. “What do you want me to do?” Her stomach fluttered in
anticipation.

Dirk dragged a knuckle down
her cheek. “It’s not a step-by-step procedure. It’s about feeling and moving
and doing. Nothing is wrong and everything is right.”

“I want
to, but—”

He covered her eyes then
removed his hand. “Don’t think. Just do. Keep your eyes closed and let your
body respond. Focus on what my hands and mouth are doing to you. Let go. Be
free.”

Those words were a balm to
her, but would she regret this in the morning? Most likely, but her mom’s
generation was into waiting. She’d lasted long enough. Once she turned
twenty-one, she should have had complete say so about what she wanted to do.

“I’ll try.”

“If I do anything that makes
you uncomfortable, tell me.”

He kissed her cheek, and his firm
lips warmed her from the inside.

He placed a hand on her
shoulder. “How about lying on your stomach?”

That request wasn’t what she
expected, but she was pleased he wasn’t the kind to yank down her pants and
enter her. That would have hurt physically as well as emotionally. She rolled
over and grabbed the pillow under her head.

“It might be better if you
rest your forehead on the back of your hands.” He removed the pillow from under
her head and placed it beneath her hips. He then placed her hands in the
desired position and lifted her hair. He slid the mass off to the side. So far,
he’d almost been too much of a gentleman.

“Are you comfy?”

“Yes.” This was the first
time her anxiety wasn’t rushing through her. She completely believed Dirk
wanted her first time to be wonderful.