Wild Hunts (11 page)

Micah rolled onto his side, enclosing Kasa between him and Slade. His brother’s lips twitched up in a smile, but he didn’t move to encase her. This was Micah’s time and he well knew it.

Sliding a leg around her tiny form, he held her close to him. Kasa tipped her chin and pressed a feathery kiss to his bottom lip. The soft touch managed to release him from the clutches of dreadful memories, regret, and anger. He wanted to delve back into the passion that sizzled around them before all these black secrets burst to the surface of the night. One long look into Kasa’s eyes forced him to keep his need in check. His woman was tired—no, no, exhausted—and she was in desperate need of peaceful rest.

“You see, little love, we were never far behind you, despite your ability to elude us. We protected you from afar. And now, we’ll protect you from your sides.” Micah slipped a hand between them. He traced her plump bottom lip with his thumb. Her eyelids drooped. Her hands cupped his neck, the tips of her fingers flicking at the ends of his hair. “Trust us. No one gets by Slade or myself without asking for death.”

“That reckless, huh?” Kasa murmured.

Slade chuckled at last. He turned and fit himself along Kasa’s back. One of his arms snaked around her waist, but he didn’t pull her away from Micah. When their eyes met over Kasa’s head, it seemed an irrefutable bond finally locked into place.

“Don’t take these tender moments for granted, baby. You think your brother’s a nasty fuck when he’s angry?” Slade snorted. Micah merely shrugged. “Image your brother at his worst and multiply that by about, hmm, thirty. Micah doesn’t fuck around, and neither do I. We’re well aware of the stories surrounding Jordan’s fierce behavior, but he wouldn’t be a match for either of us.”

“Reckless and bad,” Kasa teased on the start of a yawn. Micah caught the spark of desire in Slade’s dark eyes. He was certain it mirrored his own.

As her eyes fell shut, he left her with one delightful promise.
“Doll, we’ll show you just how bad we can be.”

* * * *

Fever struck her. The first signs of sweat moistened the valley between her breasts.

Hot dampness filled the apex of her thighs.

The world around Kasa slowly came forth out of the dusky dreams she couldn’t place. At one point, she had been running. At another, she was cornered with Tom’s face filling her vision. At last, Micah and Slade came in. The spark memory of Tom sent her heart into a frenzy, but she swallowed back the anxiety.
Tom is dead and my mates won’t let anyone hurt me again.

Peace caressed the edges of her spirit. Her fingertips absorbed the hot fabric beneath them and her lips quirked into a small grin. Each breath chilled her nostrils but warmed by the time it settled in her lungs. All around her, heat pulsed. The deft thudding of two hearts, one against her ear and one thumping against her back, lulled the nightmares out of her mind until she remembered where she was.

Right where I’ve always belonged.

Righteousness swelled in her chest. Only a few short hours ago, Jordan was the sole man she trusted with anything and everything. Then Micah and Slade swooped in, and instinct assured her life, and all matters of the heart, were safe in their hands.

Kasa peeled back her eyelids. Micah’s thumb stroked the top of her wrist, over and over. She didn’t want to disrupt the affectionate motion. Her body craved tenderness. Her spirit whined for gentleness.

Oh, but the wicked wolf in her wanted something much more naughty.

For a long moment, she lay with her head on Micah’s chest, watching small plumes of steam rise from each exhaled breath into the frosty blue morning. Sharp spears of sunlight didn’t pierce the bare trees. The air held the crisp scent of an approaching snow storm. Despite the frigid morning, she was surrounded by desert heat. Micah’s hand was exceedingly warm against her wrist, his shirt hot against her cheek. Slade had cozied up behind her, and the warmth that came from him far outweighed the warmth she received from the wool blanket.

She could stay like this forever.

At last, Kasa turned her hand over and slid her fingers between Micah’s. She yawned, stretching her legs and arching her back. Slade groaned, rolling away from her with a short snort.

“He’s still asleep,”
Micah whispered in her mind. The erotic sensation of having men other than her brother speak to her on such a personal level made her nerves tingle.

She pressed upright and gazed down at Micah. Her mouth dried. Or maybe the wintry air finally froze all the moisture in her body. Oh no. There was moisture all right. Simply not in her mouth.

One thing was certain. She cast a sideward glance toward Slade’s sleeping figure. Yes, the brothers who’d claimed to be her mates were mindlessly gorgeous.

“I’m surprised he slept at all,”
Kasa replied. Micah’s pale blue eyes, a color that nearly matched the morning glow, drifted from her gaze down her face, lingering briefly on her mouth. They raked heated paths down her body until coming to pause on their entwined hands.

“You still have scars from that night.”

Kasa nodded, but no shudder touched her spine. She’d laid everything in the open, facing the trauma from that terrifying evening. Both brothers filled her with promise and strength. She’d never fear the memories again.

“They outfitted handcuffs with silver teeth. When I refused to cooperate, they tightened the cuffs one notch at a time until the teeth finally bit into my wrists. My ankles have similar scars. Jordan said they’ll eventually go away.”

“Of course they will, but silver leaves its mark on us for a long time.”

Micah brought their entwined hands to his mouth and feathered her wrist with kisses. His lips were cool, the only part of him touched by the morning’s frost. A very light shade of pink colored his sharp cheeks. The first hint of day-old scruff shadowed his strong jaw. His dark hair brushed over his forehead, mussed from the pillow and bed pad. She couldn’t help but reach up and brush the silky strands aside.

Glancing back at Slade, she didn’t ignore the flutter of her heart. Slade’s features were uncannily similar to Micah’s, but faint creases from his everlasting smile etched along the corners of his relaxed mouth. Fine lines resided at the corners of his eyes, eyes she knew sparkled with humor but hid a ferocious wild animal. Slade’s jaw was a tad more squared, his nose a fraction wider, and his hair a shade lighter than the deep
midnight
black of Micah’s.

Returning her attention to Micah, she smiled down at him.
“I’m going to make breakfast. Why don’t you try to get some shut-eye, hmm? Jordan’ll be down in a few to make sure I’m okay.”

“He should know you’re okay,”
Micah said, the morning ice merely scratching his tone.

“He’s followed this morning routine for years. He won’t stop on the account of my mates, I can assure you.”
Kasa leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Micah’s mouth. She sensed his battle to keep it light, keep it simple. His fingers tightened around hers. His breath hitched and his lips opened a slit, only to close quickly. She patted his chest—God, what she’d do to tear open that shirt of his and familiarize herself his with body—and climbed to her feet. Stepping over him to reach the side of the truck, she cast him a sultry look.
“Remember, you’re supposed to show me how bad you can be.”

Kasa leaped out of the bed, barely escaping Micah’s reach. His groan echoed around the truck, and she laughed, hurrying back to her house.

“You’d better be prepared to quench this fire when Slade wakes.”

“You’d better not doze off while we’re stoking the flames.”

She didn’t miss his grumbled “woman” before opening the door to her cabin.

Somewhere amidst the morning air, heat, and the spiced scents of Micah and Slade, she missed the succulent aromas of bacon fat and eggs until they smacked her in the face.

“Morning?” Kasa said cautiously. Jordan glanced over his shoulder before scraping eggs from the pan onto a plate. She shuffled over to him, accepted his routine one-armed hug and a kiss on the cheek. A scowl settled on his mouth, but his clear eyes flashed with contentment. “Would you say the roles are reversed? What’s gotten into you? You’re usually the one sitting at the table waiting for me to plate up some belly-filling concoction.”

“Figured you’d still be snuggling with your men,” Jordan said nonchalantly. Kasa shrugged a shoulder, her eyes lowering to the plate of eggs. Her brother definitely had no intentions of feeding her mates, if he even planned to feed her. He grabbed a fork from a drawer and motioned to his plate. “You want? Didn’t want to make something only to have it sit around and get cold.”

“Let me guess. The gas is off in your cabin so you trekked down here to use my kitchen,” Kasa teased. She snagged the fork from his hand and scooped up a pile of steaming eggs. Casting him a brief glance, she smiled. “How thoughtful.” She shoveled the food into her mouth.

“Making sure those two didn’t ravage my sister in the heat of wolfish lust,” Jordan bit out. She straightened her shoulders and lifted her brows at him, mouth too full to respond. The faster she tried to chew and swallow, the hotter the eggs seemed to get, squeezing tears into the corners of her eyes. Jordan grazed a short look over her. “But I see your choice of attire dissuaded them for a night.”

“Why don’t you like them?”
Kasa asked. Jordan crossed his arms over his chest, the scowl deepening regardless how calm his eyes appeared.

“Because you’re my sister, and it’s only natural for me to try and run prospective men off. These two, though, won’t run.”

Chew, chew, chew. Swallow. “That should give them a one-up in your book. Men who don’t run, don’t cower.”

She went to the fridge and grabbed the container of eggs. The eight left should be enough to placate two grown wolves’ appetites until lunch. She made quick work of the eggs, cracking them open over the pan still warm from Jordan’s cooking. Her brother ate his breakfast in silence, but his thoughts had an irritating habit of brushing her mind. One, particularly, lingering on Micah. She turned to him and poked his arm.

“Why don’t you like
him
?” she asked. Jordan choked on his coffee, small dribbles of liquid leaking out from his mouth and down his chin. His cheeks reddened, his cough forcing him to brace himself on the counter. Kasa snorted and turned back to the rapidly cooking eggs.

“Why the hell would…you assume something like…that?” Jordan gasped between coughs.

“Weren’t you just thinking that? So?” Kasa shot him a dark look. “Why don’t you like Micah?”

“It’s not that I don’t like him. I don’t know him. And to be quite frank with you, dear little sister, no one knows much about him other than that he has a wretched attitude. Anyone who crosses him disappears.”

Kasa stared at him for a moment longer then laughed. The wooden spoon she’d been stirring the eggs with clattered to the floor. Tears stung her eyes.

“What’s so funny?” Jordan growled.

“Seriously?” She swallowed another bout of laugher, but short bursts slipped out in sharp snorts. Kasa retrieved the spoon and rinsed it off in the sink. “Coming from your mouth? Slade’s fine in your book because, on the outside, he’s
not like you
. He laughs, for crying out loud. You and Micah are almost identical personality twins.”

She patted his shoulder and offered him a reassuring smile right before another snort of laughter escaped her.

“Sorry.” She paused then shook her head. “No, I’m not sorry. But you two really are a lot alike. You know the reputation that precedes you. His isn’t any better. And to be quite frank with you, dear big brother, I like his mulish ’tude and his penetrating gaze. I like his severity because underneath it lies a man who has a tender heart and a gentle touch.” The corner of her mouth quirked in a sincere half-grin. “Just like you.”