Hannah found the garage door to Ethan’s house open. She parked but made no move to get out. Excitement mixed with her nerves. They would have sex tonight. She didn’t doubt it. Why else invite her to spend the night?
The anticipation of seeing Ethan naked and accepting him into her body sped her pulse. She wanted him. More than that, she craved what Ethan could give her. Her lust had gotten out of control. Horny didn’t come close to describing what gripped her.
Her anxiety, on the other hand, kept her rooted in her seat. They hadn’t even kissed. Tonight they would do that and so much more. She could satisfy him. Of that, she was positive. She’d never shied away from sex. What worried her was tomorrow.
Would he still want her? Or kick her out, claiming what they’d done a mistake?
As much as Hannah hated to admit, her single night with Alex had broken her. His words had hurt. Sure, he’d apologized profusely. She also knew he hadn’t meant them to be so harsh. Alex still felt guilt over the fact that he’d made her cry. The outcome remained the same: He’d been right. She’d acted like a naïve fool and confused affection with lust.
Love came in many forms. How many times had Nona told her that? The widowed shifter female, who’d raised Riley and Alex, had acted as a motherly figure to Hannah and Nic too. After Hannah’s incident with Alex, Nona had told Hannah she should listen with her heart, not her body. Sure, it’d made sense. Except, Hannah thought she had read her feelings correctly. She feared making the same mistake.
And if she allowed her confusion to cripple her, she’d never find out.
Hannah took a steadying breath and climbed out of her SUV, then made her way to the door leading into Ethan’s house and paused with her hand on the knob. A faint smell lingered in the space. She inhaled, and the familiar scent of another male filled her lungs.
Noah.
The sensory input instantly brought his image to the forefront of her mind. The memory of his arms around her left her shaky and kicked up her arousal another notch. Eyes squeezed tight, she shook her head to clear it of any inappropriate response. She did not want to remember how good his body had felt pressed against hers or how tingles had skipped over her skin from the brush of his beard.
Ethan was the male she’d come here to be with, not Noah. She couldn’t deny her attraction to Noah, however. The yearning to hear his voice didn’t help.
Think with your heart, not your body. Hannah groaned. Easier said than done. Both her head and heart were overloaded. Six months of innocent encounters with Ethan had left her crazed. Combined with her rampaging hormones and she could barely go five minutes without thinking about sex. It annoyed her but it was part of her nature. She did house an animal, after all.
Hannah knew what she need, and Ethan would give it to her tonight. He’d dominate her. Take her hard. Make her scream.
Her air rushed out, and her lower belly quivered. Lust gripped her. She glanced over her shoulder. Only her black SUV sat in the large space. She hoped Ethan returned soon and didn’t expect conversation, not until tomorrow at least.
She pushed the door. Darkness met her, but the smells in the air tore a soft sigh from her lips. Ethan’s and Noah’s personal fragrance mixed with the comforting scent of flowers. Lilacs, if she had to guess. Although well dressed and refined, Ethan didn’t strike her the type to decorate his home with flowers.
Maybe he got them from Noah to give to her. It would explain the other male’s lingering presence. She grinned and slipped inside, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
She waited a moment for her eyesight to adjust to the dimness, then made her way across the kitchen. It was the only room in the house she’d seen. Ethan had always arranged to meet her in different human establishments, far from either of their packs. Privacy had been the reason he’d given. He’d wanted to enjoy her company without the interruptions of their pack mates.
Her conversation with Sean earlier in the day stirred the uncertainty she’d chosen to ignore. She halted her steps halfway across the tiled floor. Lip caught between her teeth, Hannah fought her doubt. She liked Ethan, not simply for his body but for his personality.
No, she was not wrong about him. He was a gentleman, and he wanted her. Only her. It was why he hadn’t dated anyone else since meeting her. She wouldn’t believe anything else.
Chin raised, she continued forward and entered a large living room. She spun slowly and surveyed it. An expensive TV hung on the wall, but no other sign of wealth choked the room, despite the money she knew he possessed. The furniture was simple, and only a few replicas of famous paintings offered any color to the space.
With a smile on her lips, she scanned the interior once more, then shook her head in amusement. Neat and refined without being overbearing, much like the male who lived here. The bold pictures he’d chosen hinted at a part of his psyche she suspected he kept well hidden. The carnal hunger she’d sometimes caught in his eyes warned her of the lover he’d be once she broke his control. He’d be insatiable. Wild. Demanding.
She couldn’t wait to be at his mercy.
The thought spurred her forward. Hannah slipped off her heels, set them neatly next to wall, then climbed the stairs, gaze locked on the door at the end of the hall—Ethan’s bedroom. She knew it was his. It was the only room facing the meadow where he’d found her undressing. He told her how he’d watched her and had been instantly drawn to her. She’d loved knowing he too experienced the same immediate connection she had.
“Then why doesn’t anyone know he’s seeing you? I’ve asked Noah. He said Ethan doesn’t want a mate, never had.” Sean’s words fed her doubt, making her stomach churn.
She gritted her teeth and turned the doorknob. Another dark room greeted her. The sudden alertness of her wolf froze her in place. Fear didn’t radiate from it, though. She couldn’t tell what set it on edge exactly. Anticipation, maybe?
A deep breath told her nothing. The same scents she’d noted earlier drifted from the room—Ethan, lilacs, and Noah. Twined into them were more fragrant smells. She couldn’t name the flowers, but the combination urged her to close her eyes and relax. Body tensed, she scanned the room instead.
She made out the shapes of chairs in the back corner, a fireplace, and a dresser near a large window, likely the same one Ethan had spied out the night they’d met. The urge to walk toward it and view the open area from above grew into a compulsion. She ignored it for the moment and finished her survey.
A strip of moonlight from another window cut across the bed. The covers were turned down, exposing green sheets. Nothing else caught her eye. She stood there another moment in silence, but her wolf’s eagerness beat at her. She could come up with only one reason it would be excited. One person, actually.
“Ethan?”
No answer. She took a step forward. Movement caught her eye. She froze but didn’t get the chance to do more. A muscled arm hooked around her waist. She sucked in a breath. Noah’s strong and rich fragrance seeped into her lungs. Confusion surfaced. He yanked her against him and kicked the door shut with his foot before she could process more.
The warmth of his body radiated along her back, and his heated breath stirred her hair. Noah nuzzled against her, using his chin to brush her hair from her neck. Lust gripped her hard, not fear. She shivered and barely stopped herself from leaning into him.
He tightened his hold on her. “Hannah.”
Her name held all the hunger she’d seen in his eyes the last time she’d spoken to him, but the possessive spread of his fingers over her lower belly and the long length of his arousal pressed against her back didn’t match the brush-off he’d given her then.
Her confusion skyrocketed over his presence in Ethan’s bedroom. The commanding way he held her didn’t help her think. Primal instincts to submit surfaced. They surprised her as much as finding the male in Ethan’s home. She ignored the excitement Noah’s touch offered and focused on the practicalities of her situation.
An aroused male had her at his mercy. If it had been Ethan who’d grabbed her, she’d be ripping his clothes off. It wasn’t. A male who had no business in his bedroom held her.
She grasped Noah’s forearms and pushed. Her shove did nothing to break his grip. He continued to skim his lips along the length of her throat, back and forth as if savoring the taste of her. The reverent caress did crazy things to her heart and mind. She didn’t want to enjoy his chaste kiss, but couldn’t help it. Ethan had conditioned her to react to the slightest stimulation.
Noah tentatively dragged the tip of his tongue over her wildly beating vein, following the path his lips had taken. A shudder ran through her, and her knees weakened. Guilt rushed up, even though she knew it wasn’t entirely her fault that Noah’s embrace sent her up in flames. It was her hormones. Nothing more. The rationalization steadied her. She rammed her elbow into his stomach. Noah gasped, and she slipped from his arms.
She scooted farther into the room and waited, hands loose at her sides and stance widened, for him to rush her. Noah made no move toward her. He stood where she’d left him, partially in the strip of light from the parted curtains, and swept his gaze over her. After a slow, heated perusal from her face to her feet, he grinned. She glared at him, refusing to be swayed by the mix of lust and respect in his expression.
She curled her fingers. The bite of her nails dimmed her excitement. Hannah concentrated on the pain until her heart rate slowed. No fear. No lust. Both would urge him to act on his instincts. “What are you doing in Ethan’s house?”
“Waiting for you.” Noah crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re late, by the way. It doesn’t give us much time to talk before Ethan returns home.”
His words punched her in the gut. She straightened her spine, refusing to let him see her hurt. “You invited me over, not Ethan. Didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
She studied him as intently as he had her. Shirtless, Noah stood before her looking every bit as delicious as she’d imagined. Although not naked, he might as well have been. Every magnificent inch of him was set on display, even those parts hidden by the gray sweats that hung low on his hips.
His muscled chest drew her eye but didn’t hold her attention. She skimmed her gaze lower to perfectly sculpted abs and finally to his groin. The cotton outlined the long line of his arousal.
Her lower belly quivered. She ignored the demands of her body and focused on his face. Mouth opened slightly and eyes hazed with desire, he watched her with barely controlled hunger. He dragged the tip of his tongue along his upper lip, drawing her attention. The tips of his fangs lowered, and his eyes took on a faint glow.
The sign of his excitement stirred hers. Her breathing quickened. She clenched her hands tighter.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. Ethan was the male she wanted to mate. She should not be drooling over anyone else.
More guilt choked her. Hannah took a step forward and welcomed her anger. “Does Ethan know you tricked me into coming over here?”
“No. He’ll be furious that I went behind his back.” Noah smirked. “But he’ll approve once he sees the two of us here waiting for him.”
She took a backward step. “Approve? What are you talking about?”
He glanced from her balled fist to her face. His amusement faded. “I’m sorry, Hannah. I hadn’t meant to frighten you.”
She forced her fingers to unclench. “I’m not afraid. Cautious and confused, yes. I expected to find Ethan waiting for me, not you. I want to know why.”
“Ethan wants to mate you.”
His words should’ve made her happy. The sadness twined into them stopped the warm feeling from taking root. “He told you this?”
A single nod answered her.
“And his choice matters to you because…?”
“For more reasons than you would ever guess.”
Noah approached her but stopped before she was forced to choose between holding her ground and retreating. The male stirred her uncertainty and left her off-balance. The confident aura she prided herself in maintaining around people slipped through her fingers. Only with her loved ones and Ethan had she ever let her vulnerable side show.
She straightened her spine, refusing to allow Noah to see it too. “Well, how about you enlighten me, then? Why does Ethan’s plan to mate me matter to you?”
“How long has Ethan been stringing you along?”
“Stringing me along? I thought you said…” Hannah pressed her lips together and berated herself for the slip. She might as well have told him how Ethan’s actions, or lack of them, had stirred her doubt and left her wary.
“That he plans to claim you as his mate?” Noah closed the distance between them, slowly, cautiously. Giving her a chance to run? Or testing her?
“Yes, Ethan wants me.” She squared her jaw. He did. She wasn’t misreading him.
Another step brought Noah into her personal space. The heat radiating from him tempted her to move closer. She locked her knees and tipped her head back to hold his gaze.
“And you want him.”
The slight growl to his tone gave her pause, but still she felt no fear. Neither did her wolf. It sat, watching Noah through her eyes. Though she’d been born with the animal, she didn’t exactly understand its motives half the time. She dismissed it and focused on Noah’s green eyes. “I wouldn’t be in his bedroom if I didn’t.”
Noah made a noncommittal sound.
She huffed. “You didn’t answer me. Why do you care?”
“And you didn’t answer me. How long has Ethan been”—he skimmed the tips of his fingers over her loose hair—“seeing you?”
Although spoken softly, the question demanded an answer. She thought about resisting but couldn’t bring herself to deny him. “Six months.”
He nodded. “And what have you done together in that time?”
“I’m not discussing that with you.”
Noah slid his hand to the back of her neck. “Has he slept with you?”
She shot him a hard look. “That’s none of your business.”
“I don’t enjoy repeating myself, Hannah. It wastes time and because you had to use so much of it struggling with your instincts, ours is limited.” He leaned closer. His breath heated her cheek and warmed a path to her ear. “Has he slept with you?”
“No.” The word came out before she could stop it.
“What about seen you naked?” His voice deepened, taking on a rough grumble. “Has he undressed you? Licked every inch he unveiled?”
She pressed her palms to his chest. A mistake. The contours of his muscles under her hand tempted her to trace them and map his body, first with her fingers, then her tongue. She shook her head to clear it of the images. “No. We’ve dated. Talked. Held hands.”
Noah took hers and twined their fingers. “Like this?”
Her mouth went dry. “Yes.”
“Did Ethan hold you this close? Or closer?”
She dragged in air. Noah’s scent wrapped around her. Her eyelids drifted shut. “Closer.”
He released one of her hands and drew her flush to his body. Every hard inch of him pressed into her curves. “So he kept your clothes on, but did he touch you through them? Or merely hold you?”
His pointed questions stirred memories of being in Ethan’s arms, feeling the strength contained within him and marveling over his willpower as he fought not to strip her. Lick her, head to toe, exactly as Noah suggested. She’d sensed the battle that had waged within Ethan. She’d always silently begged him to give in. It annoyed her that he hadn’t, but Noah’s insistence she admit how chaste their time had been together angered her more. Noah had no right to know. She’d shared enough.
She yanked her hand free and planted both on his shoulders. Her steady push put space between their bodies. He allowed the distance. The small smile on his face told her that. It also confirmed her thoughts. He was playing some kind of game with her. She could do the same.
She raised a brow. “Didn’t Ethan tell you?”
A half shrug answered her, not surprising her. She turned her back on Noah and moved toward the window overlooking the clearing where Ethan had met her. Moonlight brightened the world, allowing her to pick out the low-hanging branches where she’d draped blankets from. A wooden chair sat opposite the tree, a change from the one time she’d stood there.
Did Ethan sit there? Maybe wonder what he might’ve stumbled upon if he’d approached her a few minutes later than he had? The image brought a smile to her lips.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Well? Aren’t you going to answer me? Our time is limited you know?”
He grinned. “Aren’t you a sassy female? I like it.”
“That’s nice to know.” And it was, but she rolled her eyes to hide how much. “You’re still avoiding my question, though.”
Noah closed the distance between them, not cautiously as he had the last time. Chin lowered and eyes glowing, he stalked her. Her pulse quickened. He stepped behind her and hooked an arm around her waist, locking her body to his before she could decide the reason behind her racing heart: fear or excitement.
He dropped his chin to the top of her head. “No, and I have a right to know. Since he hasn’t told me, you will.”
“A right to know?” She turned slightly to look into Noah’s eyes. The lust displayed in them hid every other emotion she might’ve been able to gleam from him. “Why, exactly?”
“So I can experience the same.” He inched his fingers down her stomach. His light caress skimmed the length of her thigh to the edge of her skirt. A shiver skipped down her spine. He fisted the material and bent close, his mouth to her ear. “I will take from you everything he has, and where he has stopped, I will explore first. It’s only fair. He did get to enjoy your smile for six months while I was left alone.”
The featherlight touch of Noah’s lips to the spot below her ear skipped more tingles across her skin. Her lower belly warmed. She ignored the reaction and focused on his words, but couldn’t understand the animosity behind them. “You’re confusing me. How is it your—”
Noah reversed the path of his hand, dragging her skirt up and stopping her question. The brush of his knuckles against her skin tore a shaky breath from her lips. He made a pleased sound in response and paused with his fingers inches from her panties.
“You’re mine, Hannah. That’s why.”
“Excuse me? I’m not yo—”
He caught her earlobe between his teeth and tugged. Her eyelids fluttered, and she bit her lip to stop any sighs from slipping free. “Shh, don’t argue with me. Listen to me. I can’t imagine Ethan’s visit with your brother and Sean will last much longer, and I need you to understand certain things before he comes home.”
Apparently Sean took her advice and called Ethan. A weight lifted off her shoulders, even as her confusion mounted. “What things?”
“You’re my true mate, Hannah.”
Her hands trembled. She fisted them. What Noah claimed was entirely possible. She understood that. There was no guarantee a shifter would cross paths with their true mate in time to bind them together or even recognize their connection for that matter. It was just that she’d thought Ethan was hers.
“I can’t be. Ethan brings me peace. I—”
“You are mine. I recognize the connection between us. So does my wolf. It’s what was missing from our bond with Mindy.” He dragged his thumb over her skin, sending more tingles to sensitize her body. “You’re my true mate, and Ethan is the mate of my heart. You’re both mine. Fate, the spirit wolf, or sheer luck has dropped the two of you into my bleak life, and I refuse to lose either of you.”
“Ethan is the mate of my heart.” She considered the words, but could come up with only one way Noah’s statement could be taken.
She turned her head, and Noah’s soft lips brushed over her cheek, leaving a path of awareness and heat behind. “You’re telling me Ethan is your lover?”
“For fifteen years he was, but he hasn’t touched me in six months.” Noah moved his finger to the edge of her underwear and caressed her sensitive skin, teasing her and leaving her on the cusp between guilt and need. “Yesterday I found out why.”
Tears burned her eyes. She squeezed them shut. “He never mentioned you. Not once.”
“Why would he? I’m his lover, but you’re his future, the female he wants to mate.”
She grasped Noah’s wrist. His coiled muscles under her palm warned her she wouldn’t be able to push him away, not unless he wanted it. He had her right where he wanted her. She swallowed hard. “So what? You tricked me into coming here because you’re jealous?”
“I am jealous. For six months, Ethan got to spend time with you. Enjoy your hand in his. Fall in love with you.” The growl to Noah’s voice thickened his words. He exhaled slowly, then dropped his forehead to hers. “I was denied that opportunity. I’m angry about that. I won’t deny it, but jealousy is not the reason I arranged for you to come here.”
“What is?”
“Look at me, Hannah.”
His whispered command slammed into her. She couldn’t deny him. She cracked her eyelids, not daring to open them fully. Tears still made her eyes burn.
“I want the chance to earn your love too. He has won your heart, hasn’t he?”
She tightened her hold on his forearm but didn’t push Noah away. She clung to him. His revelations left her uncertain of everything. She only knew she wanted Ethan to hold her. Never let her go.
She conjured Ethan’s image and took strength and comfort from the promise in his eyes. It was what had kept her going back to him even after he told her he didn’t want a mate. “If I haven’t given the words to him, I won’t share them with you.”
Noah let her skirt fall into place and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her flush to him, her back to his chest. With his chin, he brushed her hair to the side and nuzzled against her neck. Each exhale heated her body and weakened her resistance.
“You don’t need to voice them. They’re his to hear. I’ll wait for the ones directed toward me. I’m a patient male and a stubborn one. I won’t relent until I’ve claimed your heart too. You have enough love for both of us. I know it.”
She tried to wrap her mind around what Noah was saying, but the effect he had on her left her thoughts muddled. “I don’t understand. If you think I’ll want you after I mate Ethan, you’re delusional, and if you think I’ll cheat on him, you’re a—”
He nipped her jaw. The small bite cut off whatever it was she’d planned to say and left her panting. She leaned into Noah, tipping her head to the side to give him better access. “Do not feel guilty over your attraction to me. Ethan has struggled with the same.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Love comes in many forms, and arousal is sometimes a physical response only. Once—”
A flash of light from outside drew her attention. Headlights illuminated the driveway. Ethan was home. And he was going to find her in another male’s arms.
She grasped Noah’s wrists and shoved. “Let me go. Ethan can’t see me here with you. He’ll be angry. He’ll—”
“Hannah, stop. We’ve run out of time.” He lowered his voice. “You and Ethan are mine. I’m keeping you both. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She shook her head.
“I’m going to love you and Ethan. Both of you will share my bed and my body.”
She sucked in a rough breath and stared at him wide-eyed. “No. I’m going to mate Ethan. I won’t—”
“Yes, you will mate Ethan. Claim a piece of his soul. Give him yours. Have his babies.” Noah licked the rim of her ear. “But you’ll be my lover too. So will he. He’ll take me as hard as he will you, and I’ll do the same. You will watch us, Hannah. Join us.”
Images danced across her mind. The sinful slideshow tempted her with fantasies she’d never considered before. Noah’s words gave them life. She yearned to experience both males touching her, arousing her, loving her. More than that, she wanted to be the center of their world.
“You need to help me convince him that it’ll work. He doesn’t believe his wolf will allow him to share you.”
Noah’s words rushed out, reminding her of their situation.
“He’s right, Noah. It won’t. He’ll attack you. Hurt you.”
“Maybe, but he’ll learn to accept it. He has to. Ethan needs both of us. He’ll regret losing me. He loves me, Hannah. He also loves you. Choosing between us will break him, just as losing him will destroy me. Do you understand? You are our true mate. You need to bridge us. The three of us and our wolves. Heal us.”
Noah tightened his grip on her and buried his face into her hair. “Can you do that, Hannah? Can you share us?”