Nature of the Beasts (5 page)

Despite her raging desire, she could admit she was actually beginning to like Dastan and Dmitry. The more time she spent with them, the more she realized shifters weren’t as bad as her mother had made them out to be. At least those two anyway. Matter of fact, she hadn’t even seen them shift the whole time she’d been here, although she knew they had. Shifters couldn’t stay in human form forever. It would make them crazy. Dastan and Dmitry would need to run off that energy.

They hid their nighttime shifts well. She hadn’t heard even a hint of a rumor that something was strange. The ranch hands liked them. The two shifters didn’t just stand back and give orders. They worked alongside them, and that was probably why the hands liked them so much. Dastan and Dmitry didn’t ask the hands to do anything they wouldn’t be willing to do themselves.

It was something she admired and respected about them.

The waitress returned with their drink orders. She was surprised to see beers set before the shifters. Had they ordered those? Sarah had been so preoccupied with the amusing show, she hadn’t even noticed.

They ordered their lunches, then when the waitress left, Sarah leaned forward and whispered, “You’re going to drink that and drive?”

Dastan raised an eyebrow. He shrugged and spoke softly. “I don’t think I have to worry about it. For one, I can handle one beer, and for two, even if I couldn’t, my truck can drive itself.”

“Oh, yes. I forgot,” she said as she teased him. “You have magic hands.”

“That I do, princess. Maybe one day you’ll find out firsthand.”

She walked right into that one, and she knew it. She sat back, studying the sexy, devilish gleam in Dastan’s eyes. Right this second, he looked so much like Dmitry, who was usually the one with that look in his eyes. It was no less intense coming from Dastan.

She glanced over at Dmitry, who watched them both with interest.

“So just for giggles,” she said, not sure why she was even bringing this up, but she felt safer doing it here than alone at the ranch. Glancing around, she made sure the other customers weren’t close enough to hear her. “If you both want me, how would I choose?” she asked softly.

“You wouldn’t,” Dmitry replied.

“I wouldn’t?”

“No. Dmitry and I share.” Dastan tilted his head. “I thought you knew that.”

Sarah blinked in surprise. “Why would I know that?”

“I assumed pretty much everyone knew that.”

Sarah shook her head, shocked that the very idea had her heart racing. She’d thought about both of them before—fantasized about them taking turns or pleasuring her together. She knew from her friend Keegan that being with two men, especially two men you cared for, could be incredible, but Sarah had never done anything like that. She was always adventurous but not quite that adventurous.

“Well, you know what they say about assumptions,” Sarah murmured. She was too afraid to talk too loudly for fear the desire in her voice would give her away.

“Yeah,” Dastan said. “It gets you bent over my knee and your ass spanked until it’s a very delectable bright red.”

Sarah swallowed, and her eyes widened. Just thinking about Dastan spanking her bare behind had her heart almost jumping clear of her chest. The heat of a blush moved over her cheeks, and she licked her lips nervously. She needed to take a deep breath before she gave herself away, before they realized that the mere mention of being spanked had made her wet.

“Wow, look at that,” Dastan said as he turned briefly to Dmitry. “Looks like I hit an interesting nerve.”

Sarah scooted her chair away from the table. “I have to go to the restroom.”

She didn’t even look back as she literally rushed into the bathroom. She just needed to get away. How would Dastan know that spanking turned her on? Was it her reaction? The instant spark of lust that heated her entire body? Or had he known about her fantasies all along?

Staring at her red face in the mirror, her eyes widened in horror. Oh God. She needed to get a grip before she lost it and really gave them something to find amusing.

“INTERESTING,” DMITRY SAID as he watched her try not to run across the restaurant. “I would’ve never pegged her for liking to be spanked.”

“I bet there’s a lot we don’t know about that little minx just yet.”

Dmitry nodded. “Yeah. And I certainly look forward to finding out.”

The waitress returned with their plates, so Dastan and Dmitry stopped talking about Sarah.

“There you go,” the waitress said. “Is there anything else I can get you?”

“No,” Dmitry said. “I think we’re good, sweetheart. Thank you.”

She gave them a beaming smile before walking away. Dastan sent him an amused look.

“What?” Dmitry asked.

“Sweetheart? You just made that woman fall even more in love with you.”

Dmitry shrugged. “I can’t help it if I’m desirable.”

Dastan chuckled.

“Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be nice.”

“Our little shy butterfly is coming back,” Dastan said as he picked up his knife and began to cut his rare steak.

Sarah sat down in her chair and made a face of disgust. “How can you eat that?” she asked.

“Same way you can eat that,” Dmitry said with amusement as he pointed at her salad with grilled chicken.

Sarah adjusted her napkin across her lap. “This is good for you.”

“So’s this,” Dastan said with a grin as he placed a bite into his mouth.

Sarah’s gaze went from Dastan to Dmitry, who also began to cut into his steak. Meat this rare didn’t appeal to most people, but then he and Dastan weren’t most people.

“That is just…” Sarah shivered. “That’s just gross.”

Dmitry chuckled and didn’t say anything about how she kept looking over at his plate and Dastan’s. It wasn’t revulsion he saw in her eyes but a subtle fascination. Shifters enjoyed their meat rare. Was she fascinated because deep down she desired it? Granted that didn’t necessarily mean anything. Lots of humans liked their meat rare. It still intrigued him that she would keep staring at the reddish meat as though interested, though.

“Would you like to try a bite, Sarah?” Dmitry asked. He held the fork out to her, and it looked as though for a brief second she might take a bite. Then she shook her head and returned her attention to her salad. He looked to Dastan and noticed that his friend had seen her reaction as well. Dmitry was beginning to believe there was something odd and mysterious about Sarah. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

* * * *

Dastan returned from his run no better off than when he’d left. Energy still coursed through his veins, making him feel edgy and, even worse, horny. He needed to have sex. Sarah was who he wanted, but she was also the last person he really should to be touching. Although some shifters had mated outside their species, Dastan had no desire to. Until Sarah.

There was something about her that set his blood on fire. A sensation he thought would only happen if he ever met his mate. And his mate should be a wolf, not a witch.

With a sigh, he strolled up the stairs to the deck. The cool night air blew across his exposed flesh, and he wished it was Sarah’s touch that feathered over his skin. Just thinking about her made his cock thicken, and he growled in frustration.

At the top of the deck, he turned to stare at the moonlit ranch. The full moon was high in the sky, lighting the fields in a ghostly white glow. It was so beautiful here.

He wrapped his fingers around his cock, trying to ease some of the pressure building in his balls as he imagined the three of them staying here forever. It felt right, despite her not being a shifter, and it was something he couldn’t quite understand.

He just always imagined his mate would be a shifter like him. It was something he expected and insisted upon, especially after seeing some of the mixed marriages fall apart over the years. So why could he not stop thinking about Sarah, seeing himself beside her, inside her, protecting her?

The inside-her part really had him hot. He stroked his palm along his shaft and moaned softly at the night sky. Yeah, he could definitely imagine himself inside her, buried deep, her legs around his waist, her sighs of pleasure ringing in his ears.

This is what he truly needed. Not a run, not a cold shower. He needed Sarah and her warm, willing body to accept his.

NIGHTTIME WAS THE worst. Sometimes she felt as though she could hardly breathe. Sarah had no idea what was wrong. Why did she have this restlessness that often overpowered her to the point of paranoia? Every noise made her jump. Every burst of wind made her squeal.

Then there were the dreams.

Or nightmares.

Sarah wasn’t sure which they were. Often disjointed and flashy like the trailer of a movie she didn’t understand the plot to, dreams kept her up way too much lately. More than once she’d envisioned herself running through the woods, but not as a human…as a wolf. Was it because Dastan and Dmitry were so close? Was her sixth sense picking up on their need to shift or their restless energies?

That had to be it. What else could it be?

Sighing, she threw the covers off and grabbed her robe lying at the foot of the bed. She needed to walk it off. Get some air.

She headed down the hall toward the stairs. She didn’t know where she was going. She just knew she wanted to get out, to breathe the night air, to cool her burning flesh.

And burning was exactly how it felt.

She felt hot, achy, sensitive. Her breasts were heavy, her thighs weak and shaky. Even her pussy ached. She needed sex. Halfway down the stairs, she stopped and let out a tired sigh. How long had it been since she had sex? Months, she finally decided as she continued her trek to the first level.

A cool wind blew across her legs, and she frowned, wondering where it had come from. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked around. The patio door was standing wide open.

She headed toward the door to close it when she spotted an image of Dastan that made her stop dead in her tracks. She’d seen Dastan without his shirt. She’d even seen him in boxers. But she’d never seen him like he was now.

Every part of her tingled to life at the glorious sight of Dastan naked. His back muscles tensed; his tone, rounded ass flexed as he jerked his hips forward to meet his hand. Sarah swallowed at the sight of his hand wrapped around his massive cock, slowly pumping up and down. Her fingers itched with the desire to replace his hand with her own, to feel the width of his cock throb and quiver within her touch.

He was huge. Thick and long, his cock would… Sarah again swallowed and wondered if she would even be able to take all of him inside her. In that instant, she wanted nothing more than to try.

She had to get out of here. She had to stop looking, but God help her, she couldn’t. Why couldn’t she turn away?

Because she wanted to look, that’s why. She wanted to do more than look. She wanted to touch. To taste. To feel.

God, it had been so long since she’d had sex. So long since she’d felt a man inside her. Would it be so bad? She took a step closer without thinking. Would it be so wrong?

Yes. Yes it would be wrong. It would be so wrong yet so good.

She took another step forward.

Dastan still hadn’t seen her. She could leave quietly, and he’d never know she was here. Swallowing, she moved closer, then stopped herself. What was she doing? She didn’t need to be coming on to Dastan. He was a shifter, the one thing her mother had always told her to stay away from.

But Dastan wasn’t bad. Dastan had always been good to her. So had Dmitry, other than his usual teasing, which, if she were honest with herself, she could admit was something fun and always unpredictable.

“I can’t do this,” she mumbled and turned to leave.

The second she turned back toward the stairs, she froze. Not more than two feet away stood Dmitry. He too was naked, and Sarah couldn’t stop her gaze from working down Dmitry’s muscular, tan body. His cock was also hard and thick, the engorged purple head just barely reaching his navel.

Oh God. This was so not good.

Sarah didn’t know whether to curse and run the other way or just submit. Give them all what they wanted. And Sarah definitely wanted.

Every inch of her body burned with sexual need. Every muscle tensed with the craving to be touched. And her pussy. Good Lord, her pussy hurt, she wanted them so bad. She’d never been this turned on, been this hot, and that scared the hell out of her.

They hadn’t even touched her yet, and already she could feel the stirrings of her climax just out of reach. If either one of them put their cocks inside her, she’d explode instantly.

“What are you watching so intently, Sarah?” Dmitry asked, his soft voice barely above a whisper.

Sarah could’ve sworn she felt it clear across the space that separated them like a caress against her skin, and she shivered. Sarah swallowed. “Nothing.”

Dmitry glanced past her toward the open door and grinned. “Nothing?”

Sarah shook her head even though she knew he’d caught her in a lie. Dmitry moved toward her, and Sarah held her breath.

Run, Sarah. Run, you idiot, before he has you on the floor.

But she couldn’t move. She didn’t want to move.

Dmitry slowly closed in on her. He put his hands at her shoulders and turned her to face the deck. Dastan still stood slightly sideways, his eyes closed, his face toward the moonlit sky. If he knew they were there, he didn’t show it.

“Dmitry,” she whispered.

“Shh.” Dmitry’s arms wrapped around her waist and held her close.

His cock pressed into the upper part of her hip, and she unconsciously pressed back. She fisted her hands at her sides to keep from grabbing Dmitry’s hands and putting them where she most wanted: between her aching thighs.

She wasn’t wearing any underwear. It would be so easy to just slide his hand inside her robe and show him where she needed to be touched. Instead, she stood immobile. At least for now.

“Dastan likes to takes things slow,” Dmitry murmured as his hands slid upward. “Did you know that?”