Savage Hunger (Project Nemesis) (18 page)

***

“How does living in Washington state sound?” Zach said when he entered their suite with Dante following behind.

Jasmine sat up looking at them groggily.  She’d been taking a nap and thoroughly enjoying civilization to the fullest.  “Uh.  I’ve never been that far north before.  Isn’t it cold and wet?”

Zach grinned, exchanging a look with Dante and then Lucas.  “While we were working on getting papers to get back into the country, we were made an offer that we couldn’t refuse.”

Jasmine narrowed her eyes.  “It sounds too good to be true, whatever it is.”

“Apparently, they’ve legalized marijuana in Washington since we’ve been in captivity.  The local cartel leader has been looking for some Americans willing to set him up a grow in Washington state so he doesn’t face as great a risk with federal seizures.”

Jasmine collapsed back on the bed, laughing her head off and clutching her ribs.  She caught her breath and looked at them.  “That’s just about the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.  What do we get out of this?”

“We have tickets to take a transatlantic cruise from here to Alaska.  We’ll cross through Panama.  One of the last stops is in Washington.  That’s where we’ll get off and get the operation started.  We pay him back for the trip and then we’re home free to do whatever we want.”

“How did you convince him we could even do this?” Lucas asked.

“I did,” Dante said.  “I’ve done a few things in my youth I’m not proud of, but it seemed to come in handy in this instance.  And I enjoy gardening, believe it or not.”

“I’m not going to be hooked up with a bunch of potheads, am I?  That’s not something that interests me,” Jasmine said, eyeing them suspiciously.

They laughed.  Zach put a hand on her knee, looking serious.  “If you only knew how many crops we’d sabotaged over the years, you wouldn’t think that.  Naw, we’re doing this as the easiest way back into the states.  It’s crazy, yes, but it’s also something none of our former comrades would ever think we’d get into, and it’s about as far from here as we can get.  We figured we’d make enough profit we could head into Canada, or stay in Washington and start something else.”

“And there are plenty of woods there for us to roam when the wolf gets ready to come out,” Dante said.  “That’s my biggest concern.  I don’t want to have to worry about being shot or tracked.  It’s a place we can make a home once we’re done with what he wants.”

“And what if he decides he wants more from us?”

“I think we’ve demonstrated an ability for taking care of ourselves, Jasmine,” Zach said.

She sighed.  As much as she disliked the idea, it did have merit.  And she was so ready to get back into the states, she was almost to the point of doing anything.  “All right.  If it’ll get us back home and safe, let’s do it.  I trust you guys, even though I think you’re all nuts for making this proposition.  It’s about the probably the craziest idea I’ve ever heard in my life, but I think you’re right.  No one would ever expect ex-military to do something like that.”

***

It didn’t take long for Jasmine to discover the tiredness and nausea she’d been experiencing hadn’t been some strange virus or parasite she’d picked up in the jungle.

She’d missed not one, but two periods.

She was pregnant.

Her womb was tender as well as her breasts.  It didn’t take a pregnancy test to tell her something was up, but she peed on a stick regardless.

The results were positive.

She had the strangest feeling that Zach, Lucas, and Dante had somehow known that was what was wrong with her, with the way they’d been shielding her from exerting herself and pampering her all week long at the hotel until it was time for them to catch their ride out of the country.

She wanted to tell them, but she thought it was best to keep the news to herself until she had a chance to see a doctor.  And that would be at least another week, maybe more if they didn’t have the money to go see one.

Her nerves were on edge as they boarded the boat.  They had two rooms, right next to each other.  Jasmine and Lucas were pretending to be married.  She supposed that put Zach and Dante as traveling buddies.

It wasn’t until the ship had cast off and cruised out to sea that she felt any measure of relief.  The cabin was a small one, but better than what she’d been used to for all these weeks.

“Can you stay with me tonight?” she asked Zach when he tried to leave to go to his own room.

“I don’t have a problem with it.”  Lucas shrugged and went to bunk with Dante.

Zach hesitated, but after a moment, he settled on the bed and curled around her.  Jasmine felt safe and warm as she focused on sleep.

When she awoke, daylight streamed through the porthole.

She rolled over only to discover Zach watching her.  “Good morning, beautiful,” he murmured and kissed her softly on the lips.

She smiled against his mouth and stretched.  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this good or relaxed.  It was amazing what a week actually getting to sleep in a bed could do for a person.

“Are you excited about the babies?” he asked.  “We’ll take you to a doctor as soon as we get back to the mainland.”

Her eyes widened with shock.  “How did you know?  I thought I’d tell y’all when I knew for certain it was happening?”

Zach shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I guess the same way we all knew you were fertile…in heat.  It was pretty obvious from your reaction to us that was the case.”

She swatted the arm he was propped up on.  “You ass!  Do Lucas and Dante know too?”

“They’d have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to.  But yeah, we’re looking forward to seeing our babies when they come out.”

“Why do you keep saying babies?  You can’t possibly know that.  Even doctors struggle with it with all their medical equipment and expertise.”

“I know I fathered one on you.  And the way Dante and Lucas were going, we’re pretty sure you have at least two in there if not three.  Your body was made for us, for the pack.  You reacted to us and our breeding.  It’s natural.  At least, natural for us.”

She strangled on disbelief.  “You say that like you aren’t human.”

“We’re not.  Not exactly.  Not anymore.  We’re part wolf now.”

“I still don’t see how I could be pregnant with more than one baby.  Women only produce one egg at a time.  Natural twins are rare and triplets even rarer.”

“But you’re thinking about this as if we were still human.  We made you go into heat to make more eggs.  You’ll have one for each of us if we’re lucky.”

She wanted to be mad at being manipulated, but the very thought of having a baby or babies was enough to make her go all wilted and soft inside.  It was hard to be angry when faced with his enthusiasm and determination to protect her.

It was just a lot to process at one time.

“Jesus.  I don’t know what to think anymore.  I don’t know whether to believe you or not.  You sound absolutely crazy, but then, y’all can change into wolves.  Nothing is right anymore,” she said, dropping back on her pillow.  “I just never thought y’all would be the type to want to be held down by a baby.  Especially not by me.”

Zach growled at her playfully, pinned her to the bed, and kissed her until she was breathless and panting beneath him.  When he finally pulled back to look at her, he smiled and chucked her chin.  “You need to stop thinking like that.  If we didn’t love you, we wouldn’t have done this for you.  I know you were never part of the plan, that we kidnapped you, took you through hell and back again, but you’re ours now.  You’re our pack woman, and we all want you to have our babies.  It wouldn’t be the same without you with us.  You keep us grounded and sane.  If not for you, we’d still be back there and probably acting like mindless beasts by now.”

“And the baby?”

“Babies,” he growled again.

She laughed.  “If you say so.  I’m reserving judgment until I see a doctor.”

“Someday you’ll start listening to me when I tell you the truth.”

“Nobody can know that.  You’ve just got a big head.”

“You’re damned right about that.  And I plan on using it on you,” he ground out.

Closing her eyes, Jasmine reveled in the heated pleasure enveloping her at his hungry kiss.  Her palms and fingertips tingled with sensation as she stroked them over his bare chest and arms.  She traced the bulges and dips of his strong arms, across his broad shoulders and chest.  She could feel his heart pounding against her palm as she cupped his hard pectorals and played in the sprinkling hair that covered his chest.

She traced a path downward, following his happy trail to curl her fingers around his hot, hard cock.

He groaned and surged against her hand, kissing her deeply, sawing his mouth over hers and pushing his tongue past her lips to war with her tongue.

He broke the kiss as he rolled and pressed between her thighs.  “Have I told you lately how beautiful you are to me?  I love this caramel skin,” he said on a groan, strumming his hands over her thighs as he settled between them.  “I want to see my children with it and your beautiful eyes.”

“Mmmm.  You haven’t told me today,” she murmured, arching her head back as he kissed a path down her throat to her ear.

She turned her face into his bristly cheek as he guided his cock inside her slick passage.

Her sex fisted around him like a knot and he released a husky groan that made shivers shimmer over her skin.  Eyes closed, she blindly sought his mouth again as he ground against her soft mound.  He met her lips with a ravenous need that was contagious.

Fire surged through her at the urgency of his kiss.

He stoked the flame deep inside her, stroking her g-spot and rubbing her clit until she felt her body climbing that tension toward climax.

She struggled against reaching the peak, wanting to enjoy his body a little longer, but his growing tempo had her soaring towards it with dizzying speed.

Her sex fluttered with the first quakes of release.  She clenched and unclenched around him, crying out at his desperate pace driving her into the mattress.

A long moan ripped from her throat as her orgasm rippled through her and her body seized on the quaking pleasure and her own throes of passion brought him with her.

His pleasurable moans warmed her inside and she wrapped herself around him, clinging to him as the last of the wave subsided and they were left with that warm, tingly afterglow that always made her want to melt into the pillows and forget everything around her.

Her stomach growled, and he laughed.  “I guess we better get you fed before you try to eat me.”

“Damn straight.”

The Alaskan cruise ship they were on provided all their meals, and as the time passed, the anxiety Jasmine felt about their changed circumstances being too good to be true finally evaporated when the ship came to dock in Washington.

She could hardly believe the worst of their adventure was over.  Jasmine had the feeling she was living in an alternate reality, and this was just a dream.

Epilogue

Much as she hated being indebted to criminals for anything, they had gotten them home without incident and away from the other packs and military trying to track them all down.

The guys couldn’t simply return to their old life, and neither could she if they found the boat which had been registered in her father’s name.  It was good they were so far off the beaten track.  Even with the new legality of their crop, they still had to maintain secrecy to avoid marauders and thieves, and she assumed that was also part of the reason they’d been chosen for the job as much as she disliked it.

It didn’t take long for them to fulfill their obligations and move on to more tasteful means of making a living.  She was glad for it.  Especially since they had three new responsibilities to take care of and that wasn’t the kind of life she wanted for her children.

As much as she hated it, Zach and the guys had been right all along.  She’d been pregnant with not one, but three babies.  Two boys, Jack and Mack, and a girl, Keara.  As far as they were concerned they were all daddy and fiercely protective of their brood and of her.

It made her smile just thinking about it.

Three children with wild tendencies were enough to make her go gray at an early age, but it helped having three strong men to provide them with an income and childcare.

She didn’t think it was possible to be happy with three men, but they assured her they were one, a pack, a home and the family she’d always wanted but never had.

At long last, she had a home and people that loved her and her babies.

Yes, the quiet nights without children were over, but she wouldn’t trade her new family for anything in the world.

The End