Ours (5 page)

Once Zack stood before them in human form, she stopped
screaming. In a hoarse voice, she mumbled, “Let me go. Let me go now.”

Slowly he dropped his arms from her waist, and she
scrambled out of them and off the bed before backing as far away from them as
she could go.

Zack carefully moved toward her. “We’re not the only
shifters in the world. There are wolves, tigers, seals, lions, and many more.
You have probably met a couple without realizing it. You’re okay with my
brothers Brian and Blake.”

Jake watched as
Sandy
hit her bedroom wall. She put up her hands. “Please don’t hurt me. Stay back.”
She was shaking, and Jake didn’t like this new
Sandy
. This
Sandy
wasn’t feisty.

He looked to a worried Zack, who was now a step away from
the trembling woman. Jake turned to Zack and indicated he was going to leave.
Jake knew Zack was worried he’d terrified her enough to run. Maybe leaving
would help as she would only have to contend with one of them. Jake also really
needed to get to work.

Getting his stuff, he moved to the door and said in a load
clear voice, “I will be
back
tonight, Little Red.”

Her eyes never left Zack’s, and she didn’t even acknowledge
him as she tried to plaster herself into the wall. Sighing, Jake walked out of
the room and house to his car. He saluted her brothers who glared at him from
the lawn next door. Getting into his car, he dreaded the day ahead, knowing it
was going to be one of the longest of his life.

****

Zack stared at the terrified woman before him as she tried
to blend into the wall. Only a step away from her, he held his hands in the
air. “Firebird, please don’t be afraid. I’m still the same man I was last
night.”

 
A hysterical giggle
escaped her. “Oh God, I slept with mythical beings.”
Sandy
touched the spot where her neck met her
shoulder. “Am I going to turn into a bear now you two have bitten me?” She
seemed to be coming back to herself as she looked around the room. “Hey, where
is Jake?”

After slowly pulling her still trembling body to him, he
hugged her tight. “He left a moment ago. Thought it would be better if only one
of us was here. Not as overwhelming with only one of us to
contend
with, and he needed to get to work.”

She nodded and her shaking started to ease. After walking
her back to the bed, Zack sat her on it, and they both moved to the middle and
got comfy.

 
“No, you won’t
become a bear or a shifter from a bite. You can only be born a shifter.”

She nodded again against his chest.

“We can only have shifter children with the same species of
shifter or our true mate. Shifters also live a little bit longer than humans.”

Sandy
touched her neck again and snuggled into him.
“Okay, good. Not that I don’t think turning into a bear would be cool, but I
have enough stuff going on without having to worry about turning into a big
hairy bear. If you didn’t bite me to turn me into a shifter, then why did you
two bite me? Is it some kind of kink thing you do?”

He chuckled and kissed her head. “No, Firebird, that wasn’t
for kink. That bite is our mate mark. It gives you extended life, makes you
heal quicker, and it binds you to us forever.”

Screeching,
Sandy
pushed on his chest and crawled away. “You’re joking, right? I can’t be with
two men.”

He raised his eyebrow, and she reached for a pillow and
threw it at him.
“No way.
This was only for one night.
A fantasy come
true. A stupid one, I see now, but
still…” He reached for her only for her to avoid him. She snarled, “You did
just meet my family. Surely you understand why I couldn’t be with guys like
you?” She didn’t let him answer as she hopped off the bed and paced.

“No, this can’t be happening. I’m not Susie. I couldn’t
live with more than one man in my life. I was starting to get a life. I have my
first big concert next weekend with no brothers following or being body guards.
I’m not going to be like Susie who thinks she’s coming alone, but I know her
men have tickets…” Her voice trailed off and her eyes got large as she turned
to him. “Does Susie know?”

Zack nodded and waited for her reaction.

She sat on the edge of the bed and ran her fingers through
her wild hair. “Is her child going to be like you?”

He nodded again.

She stared at him with her lips a tight line and eyebrows
drawn together. “What do you want from me? I can’t be that mate thing you want.
You need to leave. ”

“No, I don’t want to leave you after what you just saw.” He
was worried. Zack wasn’t sure leaving and letting her mind run wild was such a
good thing.

She fell back on the bed and put her hands over her face.
“Please leave. Just give me some time. Everything has happened so quickly.”

Studying her, he knew he had to take off, but he didn’t want
to go without her knowing he and Jake wouldn’t give up. “I’ll leave only if you
promise to go on a date with Jake and me tonight.” He stood and waited for her
answer.

 
Taking her hands
from her face, she glared at him. “If I say yes, will you go and leave me
alone?”

He grinned down at her. “Yes, I’m leaving now and I’ll be
back at seven thirty.” He waited until she nodded.

 
“Fine, but make it
six. I have work tomorrow.”

Smiling, Zack walked out of her room and knew his day was
going to be a good one.

Chapter Four

Sandy
stared at herself in the mirror and told
herself she was doing the right thing. “I will see them just one more time.”
Saying it out loud didn’t seem to be helping. All day her brain had been in
overdrive thinking of what she’d seen and what Jake and Zack had told her.

Not sure what to think of the fact that creatures from
books and fairy tales existed, she’d tried not to think of what other crazy
beings that she thought were fictional were real. The thing that she found the
hardest to believe and seemed to only be sinking in now that she’d had the day
to relax and think it all over was that she’d lost her virginity to bear
shifters.

She studied her reflection to see if anything had changed.
Would people now see her differently? Would they all know that she wasn’t
innocent anymore?

She’d avoided her family all day. They’d come by but she’d
ignored them, locking her doors and putting the chain across them all.
Sandy
couldn’t handle
them today, not after the way they acted that morning.

Glancing down at her watch, she saw she had five minutes
until the men she couldn’t get out of her head for many reasons arrived. After
grabbing her purse, she walked out of her room.

She decided waiting outside was the best option. Then Jake
and Zack wouldn’t need to come in her house again, and she wouldn’t be tempted
to see if last night’s pleasures were exaggerated in her mind or real.

Sandy
opened the door, growling to herself to see it
still broken, and saw her porch light was already on.
Sandy
walked out and almost bumped into two
tall, very familiar muscled bodies.

Jake’s arms came instantly around her, pulling her to him.
“Wow, Little Red, you are beautiful.” He picked her up and his mouth came down
on hers without giving her a chance to respond.

As soon as Jake’s mouth touched hers,
Sandy
knew she hadn't imagined the pleasure
they brought her. His tongue traced her lips before slipping into her mouth and
meeting her tongue in a tangle that left her fighting for air.

She broke away to catch her breath, only to have Zack reach
for her and plaster his mouth on hers. His hands cupped her
arse
,
and he gently bit her bottom lip, sucking it in and letting it go.

Her body started to burn, begging her to continue as it now
knew what they had to offer. But when her outside light turned off, she
remembered where they were and pushed on Zack’s chest.
Sandy
felt her pussy clench as he let her go,
and she took a wobbly step back, staring at the gorgeous sight before her.

Zack had on a long-sleeved dress shirt hanging over dark
blue jeans and black skate shoes. Unable to help herself, she reached up on her
tippy toes and pushed a piece of his shaggy hair out of his bright lust-filled
eyes. He looked so yummy.

Jake, she noticed, wore the same clothes from the morning.
Worried, she studied his face and saw both lust and something else in his eyes.
She wrapped her arms around him as she looked up at him. “Come on, let’s go
inside. What’s wrong?”

Shock filled his emerald green eyes. “No, it’s nothing.
Let’s go. We said we would take you on a date, so let’s go.” His lips brushed
against hers, and she knew he wanted her to drop it, but she wasn’t giving up.
Sandy
knew that look, had
seen it on her father’s and brother’s faces. It usually meant something bad had
happened, or they were stewing over something that they’d done wrong.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me why you are in
the same clothes as this morning. You look like someone took honey away from
your bear.” She grinned at her own little joke.

 
Jake sighed, picked
her up, and walked to a black Land Rover.

 
“Hey, I said I
wasn’t going.”

Jake gripped her tighter, palming her
arse
.
“I’ll sit in the back with you. I can’t tell you much as it’s police business,
but…”

 
He trailed off but
she knew the drill. Her father and brother said that about the fire station.
Sandy
nodded as he opened
the car door and placed her inside. She smiled when he followed.

****

Jake felt very lucky as he glanced at
Sandy
before nodding to Zack that they were
all in. She’d just met them, and already she was worried about him. The only
other person who worried about him was his mother.

Today had been a hard one. They were looking for a shifter
killer. Jake was usually pretty resilient, but today they’d found a pregnant
shifter murdered while she’d been in her wolf form. It was the third killing in
two months. Jake had never been so angry and frustrated with a case. The
perp
didn’t seem to have any rules bar only killing
shifters. The three shifters had all been different—a tiger, a seal, and the
last one a wolf. It was blatantly clear it was the same person due to the
distinctive smell, and the name he carved into them— Animal.

Hugging
Sandy
as close to him as the seat belt would allow, Jake leaned down and kissed her
forehead. “I’m a cop. Well, a detective like Zack’s big brother, Brock. We have
a hard case at the moment, one that seems to really be getting to me. The
perp
is clever and he doesn’t follow much of a pattern. I
would like to tell you more, but that’s all I’m allowed to say.”

She nodded against his chest and rubbed her hands over his
body. “I’m sorry to hear that. If you need someone to talk to, I’m a good
listener.”

He held her tighter knowing it was going to be easy to fall
in love with this woman. He looked up to see Zack nod to him in the mirror.
They’d gotten a good one.

****

Jake watched as
Sandy
looked around the restaurant for the hundredth time, gulped her wine down, and
poured another. She moved away any time he or Zack tried to touch her. It was
such a change from the way she cuddled him in the car. The waitress who’d been
flirting all night brought the food out and winked at him then fawned all over
Zack. Jake chuckled when this seemed to finally get
Sandy
’s attention.

She grabbed Zack’s hand and glared at the girl before she
whispered, “Pass him your number or touch him again, and the hand you use will
get broken.”

The woman turned her smile on him and his chuckle turned
into a laugh as Sandy continued, “Don’t even think about it. He’s mine too.”
She grabbed his hand and stared up at the shocked waitress.

Laughing harder than he had in days, he felt a hard kick in
the knee from
Sandy
as she let go of their hands, drank her glass of wine, and snarled, “Shut it,
both of you. I don’t see what’s so funny.”

He looked over to see Zack laughing. Pulling her hand up,
Jake kissed it. “Oh, Little Red, you’ve made a bad day into a much better one.
It’s nice to know you are already starting to feel we’re yours.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re not. Remember this is
just one night. I had to agree to get Zack out of my room.”