Vegetarian Mate [Pack Law 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

There was nothing she could do. She yelled as the edge of the solid wood door slammed into her forehead before she could dodge it. Blackness formed before her eyes in little pinpricks, and she felt herself swaying on her feet. When her vision cleared, a worried-looking Malcolm stood before her with his hands on her arms, keeping her steady. Looking down when she heard another growl, she stared into the glowing golden eyes of a wolf. She tried to pull away so she could back up, but Malcolm still held her arms.

“Fuck!” Malcolm exclaimed. “Are you all right, honey? I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were at the door. I was too busy growling at Braxton and didn’t catch your scent. Get out, now!”

“What?” Rochelle asked breathlessly, still a little dazed from the knock to her head. Malcolm was looking at the wolf angrily and then turned back toward her when it left her sight.

“Are you okay? Shit. Blayk!” Malcolm didn’t give her time to respond.

He scooped her up into his arms and ran for the stairs. Blayk met them halfway, and Malcolm told him what had happened.

“Look at me, Rochelle,” Blayk demanded.

Shifting her eyes to him, she let Blayk check her pupil responses. “She doesn’t have any lasting effects, but she’s starting to bruise. Get her into the dining room and we’ll put some ice on her head.”

“I’m right here you know. You can talk to me,” she said belligerently.

Malcolm carried her the rest of the way downstairs. “I am so damn sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Let’s get you seated and we’ll get some ice.”

Rochelle hid her face against Malcolm’s neck as he carried her into the dining room. The conversations happening around the room ceased, and she just knew everyone was looking at her again.

Malcolm sat down and placed her on his lap. She sniffed against his skin and felt heat permeate her body.
God sakes, he smells so good
. Without thinking about what she was doing, she opened her mouth and licked the side of his neck.
Yep! He tastes as good as he smells.

The body beneath her hardened, and a groan rumbled against her side. Rochelle gasped when she realized what she had just done.
Could you be any more geeky or obvious? How the hell am I going to be able to look him in the eyes after what I just did?
Now it’s definitely time to get back on the road.

“Here’s the ice pack,” Blayk said from behind her.

“Rochelle, look at me, honey,” Malcolm said.

She kept her face lowered, shook her head slightly, and tried to burrow into him.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of, honey,” he whispered in her ear. “I would love to taste you, too. Now let me see your head. I don’t want you to bruise or swell. Shit. Every time I look at you I am going to feel guilty for hurting you.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” She finally lifted her head. “I always manage to get in the way or hurt myself. I’m just so clumsy.”

“Fuck! You have a bruise already.” Malcolm frowned. “Lean back against me and let me hold the ice to you head.”

Rochelle did as he commanded and sighed as the slight throbbing began to recede.

“Are you okay, Rochelle?” Jonah asked.

“Yes,” she sighed. “I’m fine. I’m always getting hurt somehow. Don’t worry about it.”

“We do worry about you, baby,” Jarrod said as he sat beside them. “You always seem to be in such a rush. You need to slow down some, Rochelle. You won’t hurt yourself then.”

“I know. The nuns used to say the same thing.”

“Nuns?” Braxton asked as he sat on her other side.

“I grew up in an orphanage,” she answered quietly so the other people in the room wouldn’t hear. Not that she was ashamed of her upbringing, but she didn’t blurt out her life history to all and sundry.

Rochelle hesitated, realizing that her history was relevant, in a way. She hadn’t told the brothers that she’d never so much as been naked in front of a man before, much less these three.

How would they react when they realized what a prude she was? That was what her roommate had called her, at least. She’d been called frigid, too. Although being called such names hurt, she hadn’t been about to sleep with just anyone. Rochelle would be the first to admit that she’d gotten her sense of right and wrong from the nuns who ran the orphanage. Her female acquaintances were into drinking too much alcohol and having one-night stands. Rochelle had learned to respect her body. She had gone out with them a time or two, but when they had left her alone to hook up with men just to get laid, she had left and gone home again. Having sex just for the sake of it wasn’t her thing, and being treated like a piece of meat by the opposite sex was just downright revolting to her. The nuns had instilled such a strong moral code into her she wondered if she would ever let any man touch her.

But she didn’t feel at all frigid around these three men. She was so hot that she was all but melting. It confused the hell out of her, but it excited her, too. Never had she been drawn to men as she was to the three Friess brothers. She felt so strongly about them, and even though she hardly knew them, she knew she was in danger because of these feelings.

Why couldn’t you be attracted to one man instead of three, girl? God sakes, what am I going to do when I have to leave?

“You’re here now, that’s all that matters,” Malcolm stated.

She smiled at him, her thoughts moving backward. He’d said something weird a moment ago… “What did you mean about growling at Braxton?”

She felt Malcolm tense and looked up at him. He wasn’t looking at her. He was looking at Braxton and Jarrod again. They had to be doing that telepathy thing again.
God sakes, how fantastic would it be to communicate without others hearing your conversation?

“You’re doing it again. Aren’t you?”

“What’s that, darlin’?” Braxton queried.

“You know. The telepathy thing,” she answered quietly.

The conversations, which had resumed around the dining room, ceased once more. When she looked up, every eye was on her again.

Malcolm rose to his feet, taking her with him. He walked out of the dining room without a backward glance. When she looked over his shoulder, Jarrod and Braxton were following. They looked grim.

What the hell have I done now?

Malcolm entered the living room and sat on the large sectional sofa, once again pulling her onto his lap. He glanced up at Jarrod and then Braxton, and she could tell by the expressions on their faces that something serious was going on.

Did they want her to leave? She would, if that’s what they wanted. But the thought of not being near the three Friess brothers caused sharp pain to pierce her chest.

God sakes, Rochelle, why did you have to come to care for them so quickly when no other man has ever gained your interest?

Jarrod hadn’t expected Jonah to command him to tell his mate what they were. But he had interrupted when he and his brothers had been communicating privately. They had been debating whether to tell Rochelle what they were when she had mentioned their telepathy again.

His cock was rock hard and had been since the moment he had inhaled her scent. It was a constant battle between him and his inner beast for control. And even though he won, he didn’t know how much longer he could continue this way. But they needed to tell Rochelle what they were and let her decide if she wanted to stay with them.

“What’s going on?”

“First of all, I want to know how you’re feeling,” Jarrod said as he looked her over with concern.

“I’m all right. My arm is a little sore and so is my head, but otherwise I’m fine.”

“Blayk has advised that you stay here until you’re completely healed. Are you going to do that?”

“I’ve thought about it, and the rest will do me good. I can’t promise anything, but I think I can stay for a few days.”

“Okay. But let me tell you that we would really like you to stay until you have healed. We would worry about you if you left beforehand. You were injured on our property, and we feel responsible for your injuries. In fact, we would like it if you stayed a lot longer.”

Rochelle laughed and then sobered quickly. “You can forget about feeling responsible. I’ve always been a klutz. It doesn’t matter where I go or what I’m doing, I always seem to find a way to hurt myself.”

“You need to stop rushing everywhere, sweetness,” said Malcolm. “You are in such a hurry to get where you’re going you don’t see what’s in front of you.”

“I know,” she sighed.

“We have something we need to tell you, Rochelle.” Malcolm shifted her on his lap until she was resting with her back against his arm and shoulder but could still see Jarrod and Brax. “I want you to listen without interrupting, and then if you have any questions, we will answer them. Just remember that we would never hurt you. Okay?”

Rochelle eyed Malcolm warily and then turned her gaze to him and Braxton. Brax was sitting next to him on the large coffee table in front of the sofa.

“You have seen our eyes glow and you know about the telepathy,” Malcolm began to explain. “What you don’t realize is that we haven’t told you everything.”

“We care for you very much, darlin’,” Brax said and reached for one of her hands.

She opened her mouth to answer, but Jarrod said, “No. You need to let us explain.”

Taking a deep breath, he reached for her other hand and looked at Malcolm as he wrapped his arms around her waist. The last thing Jarrod wanted was for his mate to panic and run away. First, she could end up with another injury, and as far as he was concerned she had far too many already. Secondly, he wanted Malcolm to restrain her in case she became hysterical.

Taking a deep breath, he exhaled slowly and took the plunge.

“We are werewolves, Rochelle. And you are our mate!”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her mouth snapped closed, and her breathing escalated. Malcolm pulled her in tighter against him, offering her comfort as well as keeping her from running.

Jarrod could smell her nervousness, but he didn’t scent fear. That was something at least.

“W−What? What are you t−talking about?”

“Don’t be scared, darlin’. We would never harm you,” Brax reiterated.

“B−But there’s no such thing as werewolves.”

“We are living proof that there is.” Malcolm hugged her tighter. “Brax, why don’t you show her?”

Braxton rose to his feet and moved away from the coffee table. When he began to undo the buttons on his shirt, Jarrod heard Rochelle begin to pant. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was nervous or turned on. Using his wolf senses, he sniffed the air and held in the grumbling growl forming deep in his chest. Their little mate was as aroused as she was scared.

* * * *

Rochelle couldn’t believe what these three men had just told her. She thought she was the one who was a little eccentric, but they took the cake.

What the hell are they on?
Suddenly she questioned her acceptance of their so-called telepathy. Yeah, they seemed to be able to communicate silently, and their eyes did change color, but how much was she expected to believe?

Why did I say I would stay for a few days?
What am I going to do?

When Braxton rose to his feet and began to remove his shirt, she thought maybe they all had a screw loose. Yet she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from the bulging muscles or the tanned skin he revealed. He was a sex god. His skin was a bronzed color, and she wanted to walk over to him and run her hands over his flesh. Cream leaked from her pussy and dampened her panties. Her nipples hardened and her breasts swelled.

Shifting her body only reminded her that she was sitting on Malcolm’s lap. Heat penetrated through her clothes, causing her body to warm even more. A hard bulge was poking into her hip, and she didn’t have to look to see what it was. Squirming again, she tried to move her body away from his hard cock.

“Shh, sweetness, you’re safe with me,” he whispered in her ear.

Yeah, that may be, but who’s gonna keep you safe from me?
Shit! I did not just think that.

Braxton’s hand tugged at the button on his jeans, and then he slowly eased the zipper over his erection. Licking her lips to moisten their dryness, she watched avidly, not wanting to miss a moment.
God, I feel like I’m gonna come.
His hands moved to either side of his hips, and he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of the denim. She looked up and nearly melted from the heated, hungry look he pinned her with.
Take a few deep breaths, girl. You have to stay in control. They are a little crazy even if they are all sex on legs.

No! Don’t even think that. They are very nice men who have offered you a place to stay for a few days. Nothing more!

Then why did it feel like her heart would be ripped out when she left?

With slow deliberation, Braxton pushed his jeans down. His body was pure male perfection. She exhaled in a rush, which sounded more like a whimper than a breath. Braxton’s cock was huge. Long, hard, and thick, it jerked slightly with every beat of his heart. Glancing up again, her gaze connecting with his, she stared deeply into his eyes. They changed from their normal color to a glowing gold. All of a sudden, the lines of his body began to blur and waver. His nose and mouth began to elongate, and he knelt down on the floor until he was on hands and knees.