Freakn' Shifters Bundle (3-in-1) (5 page)

Alarm crossed Javier’s face and he held up his hands in a placating manner. “Calm down. It wasn’t my idea, but her mother’s. She handed me the pills along with the instructions to feed them to her with some juice to mask the taste.”

“When the hell did she get the chance to give you drugs?”

“While Naomi’s family was saying good bye, she slipped them to me.”

“Why not just give them to her? Why con her into taking them?” Ethan wanted to smack his friend for pissing Naomi off even more.

“According to her mother, the only way to medicate her properly is by subterfuge. She’d already refused the medication from the doctor claiming she didn’t want to be out of control.”

“She is going to be so angry when she wakes up,” he replied shaking his head, his expression surely woebegone. At least he could point the finger at Javier with a clear conscience and let his friend take the blame.

Ethan lowered his fists and moved to sit on the couch. He dragged Naomi’s petite—and now quiet form—onto his lap. Despite her insults and the fact she currently looked like the loser in a boxing match, she fascinated him. Tiny—to him at least—and injured, yet she still stood up to him like she could take him in a fight. That took guts. In his experience, women bedded him for the thrill, but they never dared argue with him. Hell, he only needed to scowl to send them scurrying with shrieks of terror.

More fascinating, though, than her utter lack of fear toward him was her reaction to Javier. Women never rejected Javier, and the fact one slated as his mate did agitated his best friend—and amused the heck out of Ethan.

“What else did her mother tell you?” Ethan asked, looking for any advantage in his task of winning her over.

“That she’d call us later and give us pointers on wooing her daughter. Apparently, Naomi has something of a stubborn nature.”

A snort escaped him. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Javier paced the living room as Ethan stroked Naomi’s silky hair, unable to resist running his fingers through the long brown strands. “What are you thinking?”

“That fate is laughing at me.”

A chuckle made Ethan’s chest vibrate, causing Naomi’s head to jiggle. He cradled her head in his big palm to prevent her from falling before replying. “She’s certainly not what either of us expected, that’s for sure.”

Javier shot him a dark look. “No shit, Sherlock. I mean don’t get me wrong, short and curvy works fine for me, but I always expected, if ever fate was cruel enough to curse me,  she’d at least give me a woman who likes me.”

“I’m sure she will in time. We took her by surprise, not to mention she’s in pain. Besides, I kind of like that she’s feisty. She’ll need it to keep up with us.”

Round eyes and an open mouth met his answer. “You, my friend, are insane. One ball too many to the head I think. I mean, not only does she not want you, shouldn’t you be more pissed that it looks like she’s meant for both of us?”

Ethan shrugged. “I’ll admit, I never expected to share, but if fate says that’s my lot, then at least it chose someone I could tolerate. And beat in a wrestling match if I need to. Besides, I’ll only have to share if you bother to stick around to mark her.”

“Oh, I’m staying, so you can forget about keeping her for yourself,” Javier replied shooting him a dark look.

“What happened to I’m not meant for monogamy?” Ethan pitched his voice mockingly.

A sigh emerged from Javier’s mouth before he slumped in the chair across from him. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. It’s hard to think at all with my damned cat yammering for me to bite her. Mayhap if you were to claim her first, the need for me to do so would vanish?”

The optimism in his friend’s voice made him laugh again. “Sorry, no such luck I’m afraid. From everything I’ve ever heard, once you find the one, you’re done for. The need to mark her, claim her, just gets stronger and stronger.” Already the urge to take her rode Ethan hard. It didn’t help that he held her cuddled on his lap, her sweet fragrance tickling his nose while her lush body pressed against his turgid cock.

“I don’t suppose you’d care to explain the we-don’t-have-a-choice aspect to Naomi?” Javier rejoined sarcastically.

“Why bother? She’s bound and determined to fight her beast and in turn, her shifter nature. I say let her.”

Incredulity marked Javier’s expression. “Isn’t that counterproductive to your, make that our, goal?”

“No, it is simple biology,” Ethan explained. “She will eventually come to us. Keep in mind, the longer she denies the pull to mate, the harder the desire to claim us will ride her.”

“That sounds kind of callous,” Javier remarked. “I’m surprised. I expected more of you.”

“You didn’t let me explain what my plan was while she fought her nature. I plan to stay glued to her side, apart from practices and games, of course. I will get to know her, and in turn, she will come to know me. Befriend her, in other words, and if I’m lucky, perhaps she’ll even come to love me. I know I’m already half way there.”
A romantic like his father, Ethan believed in love at first sight despite his more pragmatic friend’s comments.

Javier snorted. “Gods, don’t let the opposing team ever hear you yapping like a woman. For a giant bear, you’re awfully sentimental.”

A dark look shot Javier’s way made his feline friend grin. Ethan growled. “You are lucky I am holding her, or I’d make you swallow your words.”

“Down Smokey,” Javier joked. “Actually, your plan is a good one. She is most definitely intriguing, and if we’re going to spend the rest of our lives with her, then I guess becoming her friend before her lover is a good start. But I warn you, if she insists on sex, I will sacrifice myself for the greater good to please her.”

“Whatever,” Ethan scoffed. “You might be the oral master, but I will still always have the bigger cock.”

And with that parting shot, Ethan stood with his precious burden and lumbered upstairs to find her bedroom.

*

Javier ended up following Ethan upstairs, unable to stay away from the lush female who’d somehow attracted him and his beast. It had occurred to him several times on the way over to simply drive away—and keep going until he snapped the tenebrous connection forming between him Naomi, and in a strange twist, Ethan.

Jaguars, the males at any rate, tended to spread their love, only rarely settling down, or so he’d been taught. His own father sired cubs on almost a half dozen females and never chose to mark any of them. Truthfully, Javier expected to follow the same path, already his conquests were numerous, although, unlike his father, he’d chosen to use protection to prevent conceptions. However, in the space of one night, instead of deciding which flavor he’d try next, he found himself irresistibly drawn to one curvy female with long, brown hair whose face he couldn’t even guess at given the bruising and swelling, yet glimpses at pictures on her walls showed a striking woman.
One fated to be mine.

But if he caved to his needs, he’d not only bury his prick in one sheath for the rest of his life, he’d also have to share her.

In the past, Javier had graciously shared his feminine conquests with his best friend, Ethan. A good guy at heart, his big friend’s somewhat untamed appearance and shy demeanor made it hard for him to pick up women. Javier lost count of the threesomes they’d indulged in—where their hands and cocks stayed firmly pointed in the woman’s direction only. It seemed fate enjoyed a quirky sense of humor, setting them up to both fall for the same girl, a girl who wanted neither.

However, my biggest fear is what if she does end up falling for me? Say I mark her and I end up straying?
Apart from the damage Ethan would do to him if he hurt this woman, the thought of doing something so dishonorable made Javier ill. It was one thing to indulge in one-night stands where he and his partner went in with their eyes open, and no expectation of a tomorrow. It was a whole other thing to betray a woman he’d marked as his forever more.

Yet, even fear couldn’t keep him from entering the room where Ethan deposited Naomi’s unconscious form on the bed. He still felt kind of guilty about the whole drugging thing, but his orders had come straight from the mama wolf herself along with the tiny pill bottle. It would take a much braver cat to deny that matriarch anything. At least now, Naomi rested quietly, a state sure to change by morning.

Eying her, still fully dressed down to her shoes, Javier frowned. “We need to undress her,” he stated.

“Like fuck. We are not going to take advantage of her while she sleeps.”

Javier rolled his eyes as he scrounged through her drawers looking for sleepwear. He didn’t find any silky negligées—
something I will have to rectify
—so he settled for a worn t-shirt and cotton shorts. Turing with the garments to face his friend, he found himself subjected to a fierce scowl. “Give me a little credit. I just meant to make her more comfortable, or do you really think she’s going to enjoy waking up in jeans, a bra and shoes?”

Ethan’s gaze dropped to her shape which he hadn’t even tucked under the blankets. “Okay, you might have a point,” he grudgingly admitted. “But no touching or I’ll make you eat my fist.”

A snort was Javier’s reply. With two pairs of hands, they made quick work of divesting her of clothing, stripping her down to her white cotton panties. A whistle emerged from his lips and despite the situation, his cock swelled.

“This is wrong,” Ethan muttered in a thick voice as he stared at her rounded shape.

Javier could only silently agree as he too stared at Naomi’s almost nude form. Her breasts were a heavy handful with large pink nipples that puckered as he watched. Her skin, smooth and creamy beckoned, as did her indented waist, flaring hips, and softly rounded tummy.

Shaking himself free of the stupor that gripped him as he stared dumbly at her body—
she’s a woman like any other, nothing special—
he deftly dressed her, and with Ethan’s aid, tucked her under the covers. He fought the insane urge to crawl in after her.

“Ready to go?” Javier asked a tad too brightly, eager to leave so he could get home and take care of the problem in his pants.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ethan rumbled. “She’s helpless right now. If something were to happen, say, like, a fire or home invasion, she’d get hurt. I’m going to stick around.”

The bear raised a valid point and gave them a plausible reason for them to not leave Naomi. Javier refused to examine the fact both of them didn’t need to stay and play bodyguard. No way was he leaving Ethan alone with her. “I guess we’re sleeping over then. In that case, I’m showering first,” he announced, his rigid cock leading the way as he headed for the bathroom he found off the master bedroom.

“Jerk,” Ethan muttered, his own need to fist himself probably even greater given he didn’t indulge in sex as often.

Javier, though, showed him no sympathy, not when arousal gripped him so tight. Considering he hadn’t yet bound himself to Naomi, he could have probably left and found a pair of accommodating thighs, but even thinking it made him feel dirty. Ashamed.

Better to take care of himself with his hand than question his sudden morals.

Of course, his evolving morals didn’t mean he didn’t jerk off to the image of the delectable Naomi, her face bruise free like the portrait he’d seen downstairs, and even better, on her knees eagerly begging for his cock.

Slowly, his hand slid back and forth across the smooth skin of his dick, the edge of his fist butting up against his pronounced head. He squeezed his hard length as he pumped, the water and soap making him slick and easy to stroke. Lifting one leg to prop it on the side of the tub, he allowed his other hand to cup his balls. Kneading them between his fingers, he stroked himself faster, the vivid image of Naomi bent over, her rounded ass presented to him, making him pant. He brushed his thumb over the head of his cock, spreading imaginary moisture over the tip before grabbing himself in a double grip and thrusting his hips back and forth into the tight tunnel his fingers formed. So easily could he imagine thrusting into her sweet pussy, his balls slapping against her, the curve of her buttocks butting into his groin. And when she came, would she scream or moan as her pussy convulsed around him? His cock liked either option and tightened as he reached the point of orgasm, the thought of her quivering release sending him over the edge.

I am in so much fucking trouble,
he thought as he jetted his cream. Leaning his head against the tile of the shower, he let the intentionally frigid water cascade over his body.

Oh, Naomi, how am I going to keep my hands off you while Ethan and I teach you to want us too?
At the thought of touching her, seeing her accepting him, naked with open arms, his shaft immediately hardened as if not sated at all.

Naomi stretched as she woke with an exaggerated yawn in her own bed.
How the hell did I get here?
Recollection of the dirty trick the two men played on her the previous night made her sit up abruptly. The sheet fell away and she noticed her clothing of the previous eve gone, replaced with a t-shirt and shorts.

“Those dirty, rotten pigs,” she cursed as she swung her legs out of bed and sat on the edge.

“You called?” A head topped with tousled hair poked out from around the door frame of the bathroom. Number sixty-nine’s dark eyes twinkled and his lips curled in a sensual smile. Despite her irritation, her body flooded with warmth.