Theirs (4 page)

Ellie was stubborn as a mule. I knew she would rebel again, but this moment would be my weapon when she did.

Shit
. My chest tightened. Kate was leaving. The thought wielded itself like a long, cold, sharp sword and slashed me. In one week she would be running again.

She blushed, giving Ellie then me the sweetest, cutest fucking smile. I swore it could turn a gay man straight. It reignited the fire within me.

Over my dead body would she leave. From this point on, my mission, my sole temporary focus was convincing my mate to stay, something I sensed would be no small feat.

—

Chapter Seven

ELLIE

Shit. I hated admitting this. The stubborn wench in me would never say it aloud.

This felt right.

Alone with Kate, I knew I fell short. There was this massive bout of pressure to over compensate for my shortcomings, for my flighty nature, brassy sass and lack of procreation skills. Jerry lessened that.

Dammit.
We were balanced as a trio, something I loathed admitting. I didn’t want to share; it went against everything I’d dreamed of, but I’d be stupid to deny that nature was right. I’d be an idiot to selfishly screw this up.

Swallowing my pride wasn’t something I did often, but compromise was part of any successful relationship, right?

I just hoped this was like the time my mother dragged my father to culinary classes, after nagging him for months, only to have him come out enjoying it as much, if not a little more, than she did. Without her insistence, they wouldn’t have the bond they did today; they would still be ordering dry turkey from the local deli every Thanksgiving too. I shuddered just thinking about it.

I looked over at Jerry. He was the calmest I’d ever seen him. His features were relaxed, set, but not brooding as they usually were.

He trailed his fingers down the side of Kate’s face. She released a soft sigh, leaning ever so gently into him. They looked like love-struck teenagers.

Kate’s gaze swept to me. I shuffled my thoughts away, not wanting to burden her with my internal bullshit.

My heart sped up, my wolf settled back as she brushed her lips to mine. Damn if I didn’t want to bend my knee and point my toes to the sky like they did in every romantic movie I’d been forced to watch.

“
Goodnight, Ellie.” Her voice was a tickle against my lips before she pulled back.

My heart instantly warmed. I was so fucked. One glance at Jerry said he wasn’t walking away, and there was no way I was either. Come what fucking may.

—

Chapter Eight

KATE

I turned to Jerry. His gaze was keen, aware. He saw everything that slipped into my expression.

I felt wanton, slutty almost, for the first time. Two hands, belonging to different people, had just been in my panties, and I’d done nothing to stop them. In fact, I’d wriggled deeper into their touches. And now, I was moving from one to the other to kiss them good night.
What is wrong with me?

How is this acceptable in any lifetime?

Taking a deep breath, I tried to hush my concerns for the moment.

Tomorrow
, I’d told Jerry.

One week. It was just one week. No one in Miami would ever know. More so, Billy wouldn’t know.

Could I really walk away though? I’d never experienced pleasure like that…sensations that seemed to merry all the elements of myself in one.

Jerry kissed the tip of my nose, drawing my attention to him. Jesus, he was sexy.

“
Tomorrow, sweetie.” He crushed his lips to mine, immediately silencing my mind. As swiftly as he’d descended, he ascended, leaving me breathless. “No snoring tonight, El.” He winked at me.

Ellie growled, reaching across me to deliver a quick slap to Jerry’s bicep. “You’re the buffoon with a snoring problem. You might want to snuggle my way, sweet cheeks.”

I felt my cheeks heat.
Jeez. I was forever beat red around them.
“Um, I might be guilty of the same on occasion. I’m not a freight train.” I felt my brows furrow. “I don’t think anyways, but a snort can slip from time to time.” The pieces slid into place then. “Which might be a problem for people with super hearing.” I frowned.

“
Are you kidding me? We do everything hard.” Ellie wrapped an arm around my waist and jerked me firmly onto her side of the bed. My ass pressed to her front as she curled around me. “We work hard, eat hard,
fuck
hard, love hard, and we definitely sleep hard. It’s your sensitive human ears I’m worried about.”

A shiver ran through me. “I’ll be fine, I think.”

“
Good.” Jerry nodded once. “Stop hogging her, El.”

“
No. Get your own.” She threw a leg over mine, further laying claim to me.

The weight of her, the strength of her grip on my midsection very much made me feel wanted, claimed. I couldn’t deny the strange joy bubbling inside me. Everyone wanted to be wanted.

Jerry snarled, mumbling something akin to curses beneath his breath before squeezing an arm over my hip and under my side to slither between my back and Ellie’s front. They’d effectively cocooned me, swaddling me from all angles with some part of their physical self. I’d never felt more safe, more loved.

A tinge of pain pinched my heart. They were bravely laying out forever plans while I was talking myself into walking away in one week every chance I could. It was my ability to walk away that gave me the courage to indulge in them, which made me an awful person.

In truth, the only person I was afraid of disappointing was Billy.

“
Billy!” I broke out of their embrace as I shot up. “Sugar!” I slapped my forehead.

Ellie and Jerry sat up. I crawled over the blankets. “Do either of you have a phone I can use?” I chewed my bottom lip.

The exchanged petulant looks.

“
I’ll grab my cell.” Jerry climbed out of bed and disappeared across the hall.

My gaze went to Ellie. She had an odd expression on her face that I couldn’t discern. I waited for her to clue me in, but she never did. She said nothing as she watched me.

“
Here.” Jerry passed me the device already on the dial screen.

I gave him a small smile. “Thanks.”

I punched in Billy’s number. He was probably worried sick. I was going to call him when I got to a hotel, but never made it to one.

“
Hello?”

“
Hey, Billy.”

“
Dammit, Kate. You had me climbing the walls.”

I flushed. “Sorry. They don’t have a hotel in town.”

“
Where are you now?”

“
Um…” My gaze flickered to Ellie and then Jerry; he stood beside the bed, his arms crossed over his chest as if he were standing guard, trying to intimidate whoever approached. “With some locals.”

“
Kate.” He expelled a breath. “Please tell me it’s some sweet old couple missing their grandkids away at college.”

“
Not exactly, but I’m not afraid for my life if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“
That doesn’t count for much given your past and your current situation.”

I flinched. “That was harsh. You-” I swallowed hard, turning my back to Ellie and Jerry. “You know I didn’t mean for this to happen, and I’ve done everything right for myself.”

I heard him pacing; his exhales were short puffs from a burly dragon. He was agitated.

Guilt rammed me. I hated that I had to drag him into this. “Don’t worry about me, Billy. I’ll figure something out. Sorry I bothered you.”

“
Dammit, Kitty Kat. I am worried.” He grunted.

I jumped as his fist connected with some sort of wood surface.

“
The PI hasn’t found shit on the asshole yet. There’s no paper trail to follow as of now.”

My heart took off. My gut twisted. I was afraid of that. Donovan was good; too good.

Billy sighed heavily. “Jared’ll be out there tomorrow about two. Can you meet him at the car repair shop? He’ll pay for the parts to be ordered then.”

“
Yeah. I’ll be there.”

“
Good.” He seemed much calmer now. “Be careful, baby girl.”

Tears stung my eyes; my chest constricted. “I will.”

“
Sweet dreams, Kitty Kat.” A second later he clicked off.

I felt their eyes boring into me before I faced them. It didn’t matter though. I was caught up in thoughts of my brother. I wasn’t being fair to him. I felt like I was making silent demands with each conversation, expecting him to rescue me, as he nearly always had.

I took a deep breath and slowly blew it out as I rapidly blinked away my tears. It was then that exhaustion seemed to settle over me, as though my body was finally declaring it’d had enough for one day and could take no more.

I turned back to them. Somberly I handed Jerry his phone. “Thanks.” I gave him a small smile.

He scowled at me. “You going to-“

“
Tomorrow, Jerry!” Ellie roared, cutting him off.

His gaze teetered between Ellie and me. A minute passed before he took his phone, set it on the nightstand and climbed back into bed. His tension was a thin blanket over the three of us though, which made for a rough night of sleep.

—

Chapter Nine

ELLIE

I slept like shit. I wanted to grill Kate. I wanted to know everything about this Billy guy and the situation he referenced. The police officer in me was suspicious as hell. It was only because Kate slept next to us that I retained an ounce of sanity.

“
Sal and Becca are covering for us today,” Jerry announced, stretching as he slid out of bed.

I looked around, immediately sitting up. “Where’s Kate?”

“
Brushing her teeth. She wouldn’t let me touch her until she did.” He rolled his eyes.

I chuckled, proud she’d stood her ground.

She came out of the bathroom and dropped a large make-up bag and her dirty clothes, tucked neatly in a plastic bag, in her suitcase. She was dressed in a pair of black leggings and a black tank that gave a delectable view of her assets; a hunter green sweater with military patches was layered over it and tan ballet flats completed her half-way fashionable choice.

Her hair was tossed up in tight knot, allowing simple stud earrings and a gold heart necklace to shine. It was understated elegance. Her style was right up my ally, only get rid of the leggings and add jeans and high heels. This outfit assured me that we could shop together peacefully. I would have had a fit down every aisle if my mate wore matronly crap. But I loved her curves in this outfit, again, minus the leggings.

She smiled, suddenly shy. “Um, good morning.”

Damn she was cute. My wolf was at attention, our focus fully on our mate.

She put her items away in her bag, then stood to face us. Jerry and I were both silent for once. She fidgeted. “Do you mind if I make breakfast?”