Blake, Abby - Keen Inclination [A Bride for Eight Brothers 4] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever)

A Bride for Eight Brothers 4

ABBY BLAKE

Copyright © 2011

Chapter One

Mikayla hummed to herself as she peeled the vegetables for dinner. Tonight the researchers from the base next door were coming for the evening meal, and she hoped the happy sound masked her apprehension. Her men knew exactly how she felt about having other women around them on a planet occupied with tiny critters that could affect a man’s libido, but it would’ve been very rude to turn the medical research scientists away. And besides, as Bryce not so tactfully pointed out, her men were working with these women on a daily basis, so not having them at her dinner table only affected her chances at making friends, not their contact with her men.

It would’ve been nice to have some female company, but she had very little in common with the medical scientists. The few times Mikayla had spent any time with them she’d been awkward and shy and maybe a little intimidated. Jacqueline seemed especially dismissive and always left Mikayla feeling unwelcome, even in her own home. And okay, as long as Mikayla was being honest with herself, maybe she hadn’t been quite as welcoming as she could’ve been. But it didn’t help that the three women had worked together for years or that they knew each other so well or that Mikayla felt like she had nothing in common with any of them. Peter’s ex-fiancée and the hell she’d put them through was probably a factor as well.

Feeling a little anxious over what should be a family dinner plus three seemed silly even to her own mind, but she couldn’t shake the disquiet.

“Do you need any help?” Ryan asked as he and Ty came into the room.

“Thanks, but I’ve got everything under control.” They were sweet to ask, but at least with the excuse of having to prepare dinner she could put off having to worry how she would deal with their guests. “They’re due at six, right?” she asked, hoping against hope that the women had somehow needed to cancel.

“Just arrived,” Ryan said cheerfully, but Mikayla could hear the strain in his voice. Their guests weren’t supposed to be here for at least another hour, and by turning up early they gave the subtle inference that Mikayla wasn’t quite up to standard. She tried to rein in the bitchy thoughts. God, just because she felt intimidated by the women, it didn’t mean they’d gone out of their way to make her feel inadequate.

Ty wrapped his arms around her, almost as if he could see into her mind and all the insecurities swirling inside. “It’s going to be fine,” he said reassuringly. “The others can keep them entertained while we help with dinner.”

Oh, so, fucking fabulous. Not only was she going to worry about dinner being perceived as served late, she also got the chance to fret over why three women would turn up early to spend social time with her husbands.

She slammed the vegetables onto the chopping board, her irritation growing with every slice. Why her husbands had actually invited the women was completely beyond her anyway. Matt and Bryce, and Ryan and Ty spent more than enough time working with the women during the day. Wasn’t that enough?

“Maybe,” Ty said in a suspiciously casual voice, “we should cook dinner, and you can go spend some time with our guests.”

“No,” she said just a tad too quickly. It seemed so ridiculous that she felt this way, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of inadequacy. She was damned if she would hand over her favorite chore to Ryan and Ty just so she could go supervise three bitchy women who were probably making a play for her husbands as she stood in the kitchen argu— “I mean, yes. That would be wonderful. You two can cook and I’ll go supervi…I mean socialize with our guests.” Ryan’s lips quirked at her slip, but he nodded and grabbed the knife she’d been using.

“Not a problem,” Ty said as he washed his hands. She watched a moment longer as her men quickly took over then turned to the dining room, determined to be a perfect hostess.

As she entered the room, it quickly became apparent that Jacqueline was holding court as if she were some kind of royalty. Six of Mikayla’s husbands sat around the table listening to the woman as if she were the most fascinating thing on the planet.

“So I ran a complete chemical analysis and found that the combination of pheromones rather than a single chemical is what increases the potency of the mating musk.” Jacqueline flicked her blonde curls over her shoulder and leaned closer to Peter.

“Hi,” Mikayla said, feeling uncomfortable in her own dining room. “Can I get anybody a drink?” Jacqueline glanced in her general direction without actually looking at her, dismissed Mikayla with a flick of her fingers, and continued talking. Mikayla tried very hard not to take offense, but no matter what argument she came up with, she couldn’t convince herself that Jacqueline’s behavior was because of her quirky scientific brain and not some deliberate attempt to be offensive. The woman leaned closer to Peter and touched his arm

“So I double-checked the base compounds and found that the musk can’t be created artificially. There isn’t anything on Earth that could be used to synthesize an equivalent, so the only way to make what the medical consortium wants is to cultivate the Apodemus Non-terra Melanurus. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to adequately replicate the natural environment for it to produce the pheromones we need.”

Mikayla wanted to roll her eyes at the woman’s self-absorbed behavior. Why didn’t she just use the word “mouse” like everyone else? She seemed to be deliberately using scientific words in an attempt to make Mikayla look stupid. Perhaps Jacqueline missed the part that Mikayla had been working side by side with Ryan and Ty when they named the furry critter. But unfortunately, none of her husbands seemed to notice the snub, and the fact that her men seemed to be hanging on Jacqueline’s every word just served to piss Mikayla off more. She noticed the other two women hanging back, staying out of Jacqueline’s way, and headed over to ask them if they would like a drink.

Without showing any indication that she’d seen Mikayla move, Jacqueline called the other two women into the conversation, effectively leaving Mikayla standing alone once more. It didn’t escape her notice that Misha and Keira practically ran away from her in the process.

Lachlan watched her for a moment but went back to listening when Jacqueline asked him a question about the geological terrain or something equally as boring. Mikayla was trying to slip away when Bryce caught her arm and hauled her onto his lap. As comfortable as she usually felt sitting on her husbands’ laps, tonight it felt like the equivalent of being relegated to the kiddy table. She wasn’t part of the conversation, she wasn’t expected to participate, and it felt worse than hiding in the kitchen and worrying about her men.

She cuddled into Bryce for a few moments and tried to find her self-confidence. She was a happily married woman, and she trusted her husbands to remain faithful. There were no mouse tears on the base, and even if there were, she knew her husbands well enough to know they’d do everything in their power to resist the mating musk’s influence. Hell, they’d practically turned themselves inside out trying to protect her when they’d first arrived on the planet. She had no reason to believe they wouldn’t do the same if it happened again.

Feeling better than she had in quite a while, Mikayla leaned up to kiss Bryce on the cheek, whispered a thank you in his ear, and headed back to the kitchen.

She just needed to get through this dinner.

* * * *

Finally, the longest meal in history was done. Mikayla actually looked forward to doing the dishes and putting the whole damn thing behind her. Peter hadn’t yet come back to the kitchen after escorting the female scientists to the door, and even though Mikayla was a little annoyed at being left with the chore, she was also grateful for the time alone.

It was probably pretty silly, but being married to eight men meant alone time was rare and precious. And for some reason, something she craved more and more lately.

“There’s my princess,” John said as he entered the kitchen with Brock and Lachlan. She smiled to hide her reaction to being no longer alone as John stalked closer. He grinned, acting for all the world like he was a hunter and she was his prey. “Change of plans.” He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet. “Brock and Lachlan are going to break some dishes—”

Brock interrupted with an affronted-sounding, “Hey.”

John rolled his eyes but amended his words. “Brock and Lachaln are going to finish doing the dishes because you, my lovely princess, are needed elsewhere.”

John lifted her higher and wrapped her legs around his waist. “So, change of plans.”

“Why?” she asked, trying to ignore the very hard cock pressing against her crotch.

“Do I need a reason to want to spend some quality time with my wife?” He said it with a smile on his face, but she couldn’t help noticing that he wanted an answer.

“No,” she said as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m just a little wiped out is all. It’s been a long day.”

He grinned, pulled her closer, and started walking from the kitchen. “That, princess, is exactly why there is a change of plans.”

He kissed her all the way back to his living quarters, slow, delicious, drugging kisses that made her feel pliant and relaxed in his arms. When they entered his rooms, she was surprised to find the area lit with tiny little lights that flickered in a similar way to candles. She knew they weren’t actual candles—the station’s safety devices would have detected open flame and moved to extinguish the danger—but they created the same ambiance.

John carried her straight to the bathroom, where they found Peter preparing a hot bubble bath. The delicious smell of vanilla filled the small area, and she couldn’t help but wonder how long they’d been planning this.

“Perfect timing,” Peter said as he stepped closer, lifted her from John’s arms and pressed a kiss to her mouth. He smiled as he stripped her clothes off, and then, with his usual fastidiousness, folded them neatly.

John held a hand out and steadied her as she stepped into the gloriously hot water. It took a few moments to adjust to the temperature, but then Mikayla leaned back and closed her eyes, simply enjoying the water’s caress.

The bath wasn’t very big, so it didn’t surprise her that neither of the men tried to join her in the water. Already feeling calmer, Mikayla half opened her eyes as Peter pressed a soft washcloth to her skin. He worked the vanilla-scented bath wash over her arms and shoulders, stopping to massage the tight muscles of her neck, before easing her forward and continuing the sensuous movement down her back.

She couldn’t help but moan in relief as muscles she’d held tight through the entire dinner finally began to loosen. Peter stopped what he was doing, wrapped his arms around her upper body and kissed the back of her neck.

“We know tonight was difficult for you, but they’re quite nice people once you get to know them.” Mikayla wasn’t so sure, but she kept that thought to herself.

Peter held her a moment longer then resumed his movements with the washcloth. When he was finished, John stepped closer with a large towel, helped her out of the bath, and very slowly rubbed her dry. By the time he was finished, she was feeling very, very awake. He grinned when he saw her face then bent and swung her into his arms.

Naked, the three of them stretched out on John’s bed. Mikayla tried not to react to Peter’s decision to stay. Until recently, he’d been a very private lover, taking her gently, reverently, and never sharing their time together with one of his brothers, but since the mouse tears pheromone had affected him, he’d been more willing to show her his kinky side. Mikayla was very glad to know the true man inside, but even under the mouse tears influence, he’d still been the one to show her the gentler side to kinky sex.

They encouraged her to snuggle into John’s embrace, and then Peter smoothed a scented cream over her arms and shoulders, down her spine, over her ass, and down to the end of her feet. She writhed with the soothing sensation, feeling both relaxed and energized at the same time. John helped her to roll over, and Peter repeated the process, taking special care with her breasts and her belly and then lower between her thighs.

Moaning now with need, Mikayla gasped when Peter lowered his mouth over her pussy, pushed her thighs wide, and laved her like ice cream. Over and over he licked the wet folds, teasing the sensitive flesh until she growled her need. Two masculine chuckles reached her ears a moment before Peter thrust his hard tongue deep into her core, fucking her as John held her close.

Her legs quivered, her pussy pulsed, her breathing jammed in her throat. Peter held her there, licking slowly once more, humming against her swollen clit as she writhed with need. John smoothed his hands over her aching nipples, toying with the sensitive nubs until she thought she’d explode. But then they stopped, pulled away, and grinned as she growled at them both.