Enemies in Love [High-Country Shifters 4] (13 page)

“Why did you give Henla hope?”

He spun around with a beer in his hand. “Because I love her, damn it.”

“It’ll never work.”

Kranor’s sour attitude was pissing him off. Whenever he was in lion territory, he was fun to be with. Get within a mile of this place and he turned into Mr. Grumpy.

“Why is that?” Jude’s legs were tired and he wanted to relax. He headed into the living room, knowing Kranor would follow.

“If I have to tell you, then you deserve to get eaten by lions.”

“Go growl at a squirrel.”

That got an infinitesimal lift to his lips. “I’ll admit that Henla is wonderful. She’s amazing and loving and everything else we want in a woman.”

“But?”

Kranor shook his head. “We live in wolf territory and she lives in lion territory. Do you really see her living here?”

That was the problem. He couldn’t. “I think we should move closer to the lions.”

“That won’t work. We’d be butted up against the bears.”

The wolves hated them, too. He drank half his bottle and chuckled. “I thought you said a few lions were good.”

Kranor waved his bottle. “Sure. I was with Taryn once. We were probably eighteen. I hadn’t seen him in years and we happened to cross paths. I don’t remember what I was doing over in lion territory, but we spotted some wolves about to attack a bear. It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen.”

“Funny? Since when do you think a fight is funny?” It was the reason why they were on the outskirts.

“Funny in the sense that the four wolves never got near Jalen. That was his name. It was like he’d put a trance on them. They spun in circles and kept falling down.”

The image barely formed. “That would be quite embarrassing.”

“You can say that. I’ll never forget the image.”

He let Kranor have his happy memory before he spoke up. “I’m going back in four days. You want to join me?” If the two of them went together it would be safer.

Kranor adjusted his cock. “Are some wolves mean motherfuckers?”

He’d have to remember that Earth expression. “All right, then.” He held up his beer in a toast. “To four days.”

* * * *

The next four days passed by so slowly, Henla wanted to yell at someone or something to make life move faster. She knew it was dumb to get her hopes up about the men showing up, but after making love with them by the swimming hole, her mind had been spinning. Having all those hands on her body at once altered something inside her. She’d promised her mother she’d be careful, but with each hour, her desperation grew. She could only hope she didn’t ditch her caution and be so enthralled with being with them that she shut off her internal radar. All three would have to be on constant vigil for lions, and she guessed for wolves, too.

All morning she’d been helping customers with their shoe needs. Being busy was great, but as her time to work the garden grew near, she was less and less cordial.

“Just go.” Rein seemed to appear out of nowhere.

She loved her friend’s supportiveness. “You sure? It’s really busy.”

She chuckled. “Remember when Sella went on vacation for two weeks?” She rolled her eyes, a clear sign they’d spent too much time together.

“Yes. It was a madhouse.”

“Right, but you weren’t always here. I was. I can handle it. Now go.”

Henla leaned over and kissed her cheek. “You’re the best.”

Rein grinned. “I know, but you have to tell me everything, and I mean everything, that happens between you and your two men.”

A slew of images passed in her mind’s eye of cocks and hands and lips and everything else. “Maybe.” She pranced out of the store and into what she would call a wall of people.

By the time she got to the garden, her nerves were taut. The last time, Kranor and Jude had arrived later in the afternoon after her work had been mostly completed, but perhaps they were as anxious as she was to see each other. The problem was that the garden had to be worked. If she kept running off, someone else would have to make up for her slacking.

Working faster than she ever had, she got out her tools and began weeding, pinching back the dead leaves, and picking the fruit and vegetables. The sun beat down on her back, but the heat was a welcome change from the cool underground.

After two hours, a wave of depression blanketed her. She understood that if lions patrolling the area got a whiff of either man there would be trouble. They were smart enough to keep their distance, but, oh, how she wanted to see them.

She’d just finished working the garden and was carefully cleaning her tools, trying to delay her departure when her skin sizzled. Joy flooded her body. They were here!

She spun around but didn’t detect them. That was strange. Her body had sensed them, so where were they? Then from behind a tree both men rushed toward her with smiles filling their faces.

“Hey!” She dropped the hoe and ran toward them.

They got to her at the same time and lifted her up. Jude kissed her hard. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Me, too.”

Kranor’s face lit up. “Ready for an adventure?”

“Only if I get to see you both naked.”

They laughed, so she took it as a yes. “Do you have a place in mind?”

“We thought we’d spend the night on top of Dilback’s Ridge.”

Spending the night sounded divine, but the possible danger only intensified the longer they stayed outside. “I’ll have to let my mother know. Otherwise, she’ll worry.”

Jude waved a hand. “By all means, call her.”

In case her men came, and in case they did travel to wolf territory, she didn’t need to be topless and cause trouble. She’d brought a covering and tied it around her waist. Next time she might bring a knapsack to carry some water and food since their journey always seemed to take them far. Shimmers of joy skittered over her skin.

She gathered her phone she’d placed in the toolbox and called home.

He mom answered and she told her the plan to spend the night with her men, far from where any lions would be.

“Be careful, Henla.”

She expected nothing less from her mother. “I will. Hug Daddy for me.”

She disconnected and put the phone back in the toolbox. Where she was going she didn’t need any interruptions. “Let’s go.”

They each had a pack on their backs, hopefully filled with some food and something soft to sleep on. Both of them would be happy sleeping outside on the ground if they shifted, but she liked her comforts.

She’d never been to Dilback’s Ridge as it bordered on wolf territory. She was a little surprised they’d even scoped out the area. Hopefully, the spot would give them the seclusion they sought. Once they emerged from the forest, they had to pass through a large field.

Kranor stopped and shielded his eyes from the sun. “Hey, isn’t that Mr. Meany’s place?”

She laughed. “You mean Mr. Almic’s farmhouse?” When they were young they would sneak over there. Boy, the man did not like them. Taryn and Kellum were perhaps the worst offenders of pulling pranks.

“Yeah, him. He must be a hundred by now.” He was really Almic, son of Sandrit and Alma, but since he was ancient back then, out of some sort of warped respect, Kranor had dubbed him Mr. Almic to his face. Behind his back was another story altogether.

Jude shot a glance at them, probably hating that he’d been left out of the loop. “Who’s he?”

Since Kranor seemed enthralled, she decided to let him tell. “You say.”

“Usually it was just the three of us, but sometimes squirt here would want to tag along.” She couldn’t believe when he rubbed her head.

“Hey!” She puffed out her chest. “I’m not so little anymore.”

Both men pounced on one of her bare breasts. Their heads banged and she stepped back. “That was not an invitation.” She chuckled at their enthusiasm. Tonight sure was going to be fun.

They both licked their lips, and her nipples tingled and her pussy took notice. “Go on with your story.”

“The three of us loved going into his barn to play. We had nothing like that in wolf territory.”

Kranor motioned they head to the barn. She tugged on his arm. “You can’t just go in there.”

“Why not? I think Jude needs to see the hayloft so when I talk about it, he’ll have a point of reference.”

A large fenced-off area held three horses, all of which looked beautifully groomed. “We’re adults. It’s called trespassing. Taryn once told me Mr. Almic came out with a shotgun.”

“True, but we shifted and ran away.”

“He could have shifted, too, but remember, I can’t.” Truth was, if Mr. Almic had been holding a rifle and had shifted, the gun would have been useless. Besides, the man was ancient, and she bet he’d never be able to chase them down now.

Kranor wrapped an arm around her waist. “Come on. It’ll be fun. Jude needs to learn about our history.”

He acted like he believed they could end up together. “We better not get caught.”

Kranor slid his arm down to her hand and tugged. “Let’s sneak in from the back like we used to.”

The farmhouse sat about five hundred feet away. Given the way the weeds had taken over the porch railing, Mr. Almic was still single. No woman would allow a house to be in such disarray.

When they passed the corral, she was a little surprised the fence had been freshly painted. At least he cared about the animals, just not about himself or where he lived.

“Do you sense him anywhere?”

She couldn’t tell.

Both men shook their heads. They ducked below the shoulder-height railing and crept along the fence. One black mare with a white forehead ambled over. Henla rarely got a chance to ride and would have loved to have a horse of her own.

Her palms were sweating and her stomach churned. She would have suggested she stay back and let them explore, but the chance at having a shared adventure urged her on.

They made it to the side of the barn without getting caught. So far, so good. Kranor pulled back the door, which squeaked so loudly she was sure her mom, who was underground and miles away, could have heard it.

“Shh.”

For a split second, Kranor was the eight-year-old boy she’d had the crush on. Inside, the scent of hay, horse, and some kind of cleaning oil filled her senses. She glanced around. Sunlight streamed in from on top of the loft, illuminating part of a wall where saddles, chains, hoes, and other small farming equipment hung.

Jude crossed his arms. “Sure is neat.”

Kranor nodded toward the loft. “Come on.”

The few times she’d been with the boys, all they’d ever done was pick berries from near the farmhouse. She’d never actually come in here. Kranor led her to a ladder that went up to the loft. Her mind raced.

“We are not going to have sex in a hayloft.”

Both men burst out laughing. “Who said anything about sex?”

She rolled her eyes, trying to cover the heat racing up her face. “You know very well that as soon as you get me alone you’ll be sucking on my tits and torturing my pussy.”

Their grins told her she was spot on.

He placed her left hand on a rung. “Go.”

“What if Mr. Almic comes in?”

Kranor winked. “We hide.”

She could only imagine what those two would do when she climbed the ladder in a long skirt. “No touching or I might fall.”

“We’d never let you reach the ground. We’ll catch you.”

And then they’d make love to her in the middle of the barn floor for Mr. Almic to find.
No, thank you
. “I’m going.”

She hurried up the ladder. In the loft sat a huge pile of hay with several bales neatly stacked in the back. She was six all over again. As much as she didn’t want to get caught, as long as they’d come this far, she had to jump in the pile. She stepped near the highest point and launched herself into the air, twisting so that she’d land on her back. The hay cushioned her fall. Joy spread through her veins. She’d always cherish this feeling of freedom and spontaneity.

First Kranor’s head appeared above the floor. He climbed on up and stood over her then peered out the window. She bet the view was fantastic. She got up on her elbows, and Jude joined them in the loft.

“This is really great.” He agilely stepped up on the bales then stepped down on the other side. “I can see why you guys came here.”

Kranor froze. “
Skelak
.”

Only then did she feel the lion shifter nearby. “We have to hide,” Kranor whispered.

“Why? He’ll sense us.”

“Yeah, but it’ll be fun.”

Kranor was crazy, but she agreed the old man might not think it worthwhile to come and find them.

Jude stretched out next to her and began to pile hay on top of them. Kranor helped. She didn’t dare open her mouth or her eyes for fear of being poked by the now not-so-soft hay.

Her neck prickled. The man was near. Since Kranor hadn’t climbed in the stack with them, Mr. Almic was sure to find him.