Her Warriors (25 page)

“It’s not that bad,” Jacki protested with a
grin.

Beau made a face and nodded at Geir. “It
is
that bad. Trust me. I finally wangled my way onto yacht
duty because I knew most of the selkies cycled through the ship’s
roster. And then she showed up with Tom, the most over-protective
brother in the universe. He ran interference, for which I still owe
him a beat-down once he’s fully healed.”

“Don’t you dare!” Jacki objected, but she
was grinning. They all knew Beau wouldn’t beat up Tom. Not if he
wanted to keep his mate happy—and keeping Jacki happy was the
driving force of his existence now that they were mated.

“I have to think that if Tom hadn’t been
there, perhaps this threesome would never have formed. You two
might have mated and Jacki and I might never have met,” Geir
observed, a sad weight on his heart when the thought registered in
his mind.

Jacki got up and came over to him, sitting
on his lap and putting her arms around his neck. Geir felt
immediately better, though the doubt stuck with him. Was he really
supposed to be in this relationship? Or was he the interloper?

“Don’t ever think that, Geir.” Jacki ran her
hand through his hair, leaning her forehead against his. “I’m the
High Priestess’s apprentice. The Lady Herself had a hand in our
mating and Bettina believes that all has happened according to the
Goddess’s plan for us. I’m not fey like Bettina. I have a lot of
magic for a shifter, but I’m not up to her level. She’s from
another realm altogether, and if she falls, it’s going to take
everything I have—and all the support I can get from my mates as
well—to even begin to fill her shoes. That’s Bettina’s theory and
it feels right to me too. I was meant to be with both of you.
That’s why neither one of you alone were able to get close enough
to mate me.” She smiled and leaned in to press a sexy kiss on
Geir’s lips.

He considered her words with the tiny part
of his brain that wasn’t busy enjoying her kiss. What she said made
sense, but he needed to be really sure before he surrendered the
last of his doubts. When she broke off the kiss and looked deep
into his eyes, he asked the most important question.

“Will you stay with me forever? Will the
three of us be able to make this work for the rest of our lives?”
Every one of his insecurities sounded in those words, but neither
Jacki nor Beau seemed to think less of him for speaking his fears
so plainly.

Beau stood and walked over to the chair,
placing one hand on Geir’s shoulder, and one on Jacki’s back. His
pose was very serious when he spoke.

“No one really knows every facet of their
future. Not even people like Jake who get visions of what will be.
What I can say is that I’m committed to loving and protecting Jacki
for the rest of my days. Making her happy is now my first goal in
life.” Beau rubbed little circles on Jacki’s back. “If that means
partnering up with the most powerful
pantera noir
fighter of
this age, well then, there are worse things I can think of doing
with my life.” Beau grinned. “Geir, you undervalue yourself all the
time. You’re a great man. One of the great protectors of this
generation. I just got through telling you I’ve been an aimless,
wandering, rolling stone most of my life. The fact that you’re
willing to put up with me, take me into your family, your adopted
Clan, and give me a place to live and work where I can finally use
all my talents to the best of their ability is like…it’s like a
miracle to me.” Beau squeezed Geir’s shoulder. “I think you’re the
one getting the raw end of this deal, buddy. You’ve opened up your
home, your Clan, your workplace—every facet of your life to us. Are
you sure
you
really want this? Because I have no doubt in my
mind that I certainly do.”

Geir breathed a huge sigh of relief. Now he
just had to hear the words his heart craved from Jacki. Master
Geir—Master sensei of the
pantera noir
—needed reassurance
from his mate.

“I love you, Geir,” she said softly,
answering his unspoken need. “We’ll make this work. One day at a
time. There’s nothing we can’t do together and no obstacle we can’t
overcome.” She smiled at him and the last cold finger of fear in
his heart melted away for good. “I definitely want to help design
the addition to the house. When can we start?”

“How about tomorrow? I’ve got some drawings
I’ve been working on, but they’re only preliminary. And they’re in
my office in the dojo,” Geir added as Beau let go of his shoulder
and moved away.

“Okay, but we’ll need room to expand
eventually. When the children come.”

“Cubs?” Beau stilled, as did Geir. “You’re
not…?”

“Pregnant? No. Not yet,” she said. “But with
all the…um…activity we’ve been engaging in, don’t you think it’s
sort of inevitable?”

Geir rested his head against her shoulder,
stunned. “You have given me so much, Jacki,” he whispered, emotion
clogging his throat. “I’ve been alone a long time and I never
thought to have a mate, cubs, and a brother too. I think I’m the
one who hit the jackpot here.” Geir raised his gaze to meet Beau’s
eyes and understanding flowed between them.

They had both gained so much by Jacki’s
presence in their lives. Yes, by the Goddess, this
would
work. They would make it work. Because the three of them together
were stronger and better than any one of them was apart. Geir felt
the rightness of that thought deep in his soul as he put the matter
to rest once and for all.

Geir rose with Jacki still in his arms and
carried her over to the giant bed. He placed her upon it, coming to
rest at her side while Beau sat on the other side of the bed.
Together, the men undressed her, stroking, licking and nibbling as
they went, until she was naked and squirming with arousal before
them.

This time he knew what he wanted and he was
going to lead the others in a debauched dance of desire and
passion. Jacki was in for a night of loving that he hoped she would
never forget—for all the right reasons.

“So far, we’ve been running sprints, but I
propose a different approach tonight,” Geir said almost
conversationally as he ran his fingers across her breasts. Beau
stilled and lifted his head from between her thighs.

“What sort of different approach?” Beau
asked, a glint is his eye that Geir read as willingness to play
along.

“Like I said, rather than a sprint…how about
a marathon?” He felt Jacki’s gasp of indrawn breath against his
hand as he cupped her breast. “Do you like the sound of that, my
little mate?”

She seemed unable to speak as Beau resumed
going down on her, but she nodded, holding his gaze. Her pupils
dilated with pleasure as Beau’s actions pushed her to a small peak.
He would see that look amplified over and over this night, if he
had his way. All he had to do was sit back and try to keep the
tiger in check.

Although…his inner cat seemed to be on board
with this idea. He could feel it licking its chops in anticipation,
but willing to wait, to give their mate the greatest possible
pleasure. The cat was all about protecting, and pleasing, Jacki. It
would do anything and everything for her—including dialing back its
sexual aggression a bit, saving it for just the right time.

“Uh…” Jacki whispered even as her body shook
with pleasure. Her breathing was ragged and would get more so if
Geir had his way. He loved her curves. He could stroke her soft
body for hours. “Were you thinking team event or relay?”

It took Geir a moment to understand her
track and field reference. He grinned when he answered, loving the
flush of pleasure on her face.

“Let’s start with a relay and see where it
leads,” he replied and was gratified when she moaned in ecstasy as
Beau brought her to another peak of pleasure.

Beau rose between her legs and took her,
sliding deep into her body. He made the pleasure last, and Geir
kept stroking her breasts, pinching and cupping, squeezing and
teasing. She cried out when Beau moved deep within her. Geir
watched avidly as her other mate brought her to greater and greater
pleasure before finding his own.

Her body was still shaking when Beau moved
away and Geir took his place. He rode her through the orgasm that
was multiplying even as he began his own race to the finish. The
cat rose to claim its mate in the most basic way possible, filling
her with his essence. When she exploded in one last, brilliant
fireball of passion, he was right there with her, shooting out to
the stars and back again, in her arms.

When their breathing slowed, long moments
later, it was Beau who lifted Jacki into his arms and walked with
her into the attached bathroom. He had been busy while Geir was
taking their mate, preparing a warm tub of water for her. Geir
arrived in the doorway in time to see Beau lower Jacki into the
water, her sighs of contentment filling the small room.

“The water up here is very pure,” she
mumbled with her eyes closed as steam wafted around her gorgeous
body. “I bet it’s taken from a mountain spring, rather than a well
or some kind of treatment plant. This is pure. Fresh.
Delicous.”

She visibly held her breath as she dunked
her head, sliding down into the deep, claw-footed tub and staying
there for quite some time as the men watched.

Beau looked at Geir when she’d been under
for a full minute at least. “She is a seal, right?”

Geir understood the slight panic. Neither of
them would allow anything bad to happen to their mate.

“She looks okay. In fact, she’s smiling,”
Geir pointed out. “Maybe she’s testing us?”

“Teasing us, more like,” Beau rumbled,
clearly not happy with Jacki’s chosen method of testing his
patience.

“Do you want to be the one to drag her out
of the water?” Geir asked. “I bet she has a plan for that. And I’m
also betting whichever one of us does it, isn’t going to like the
results.”

Beau growled in reply.

Jacki seemed to hear the growl and finally
lifted herself out of the water, still smiling. “You guys are
learning,” she said, her tone complimentary.

Beau growled again. Geir, surprisingly, felt
mellow. He would gladly learn whatever it was Jacki wanted to teach
him. It had been a long time since he’d been a student, but he
would do anything for his mate, including allowing her to reverse
their roles any time she wanted.

Beau was not a happy man. He knew he was
taking things too seriously, but even the tiniest hint of perceived
danger to Jacki set him off. He hadn’t liked the worry she just
gave him. In his head, he knew she was a seal and she could do
things in water that he could only dream of, but his head wasn’t in
charge when he saw her in that water, not breathing. Possibly in
trouble and finding his worry funny. It hurt him, deep down inside.
He couldn’t deal with it, and the anger rose.

“I can’t be here right now,” he growled,
turning to leave the room.

Geir’s arm blocked his path out the bathroom
door. He heard water sluice down Jacki’s curvy body as she got up
and stepped out of the tub.

“I’m sorry, Beau.” Her soft voice was
accompanied by her touch on his back. She walked right up to him,
forming her body around him from behind, hugging his tense
shoulders. “I didn’t mean to tease you. I was okay, really. I would
never put myself in danger. Not on purpose.”

Beau turned around, unable to deny the plea
in her voice. His upset had upset her as well and he regretted it.
He didn’t want to hear that note of distress in her voice—ever. He
hugged her close, rocking her for a moment as he tried to get his
emotions to settle down.

“Don’t ever tease me about your safety,” he
said softly, near her ear. “I can’t take it. My tiger goes nuts and
it stirs up all kinds of bad memories.”

She drew slightly away, cupping his cheek in
one hand and looking deep into his eyes. Her gaze was filled with
loving concern.

“Memories?” she asked. He supposed she had a
right to know, even if it was still hard for him to talk about.

“I think I told you that my mother was a
priestess. She ministered to a small wolf Pack down on the bayou
when my dad stumbled across her path. They were happy for many
years. I was seventeen when they died. They were attacked by a
local witch doctor who had made it his job to chase all shifters
out of the parish. My mother stood in his way and he decided to
make an example of her. He came after her with his people and there
were too many. My father died protecting her, but he wasn’t enough.
They both died that night and then the next day, I killed my first
mage. The witch doctor fell to my claws, but it could never bring
back my mother. My father. Our happy home.” He knew his voice was
harsh with unshed misery, but he needed to get the story out. She
needed to know the damage inside him if she was going to stay his
mate. “My father couldn’t protect my mother, but I will do
everything in my power to protect my mate. I’m sorry, Jacki. It’s
an old wound.”

Jacki soothed him throughout his tale of
horror and pain, stroking his shoulders and resting her head in the
crook of his neck. She kissed his collar bone and chin, murmuring
reassurances that she would never tease him like that again. She
apologized over and over, but he shushed her. She had nothing to be
sorry for. He was the one who just couldn’t deal with certain kinds
of teasing. He would work on it, he promised her, but it would take
a while to undo the trauma of the past.

She vowed to be there for him through it
all. And then she kissed him.

At some point, Geir steered her toward the
big shower at the other end of the room and she went, still kissing
Beau. He backed her up against the wall even as the water started
to flow and steam filled the air. Geir was taking care of them. She
would have to thank him for his thoughtfulness later, but for now,
she needed to soothe Beau. Her surprisingly sensitive mate who had
deeper scars on his soul than she had realized.