“No games,” Tobias asserted. “Scar’s right—we should be careful, not messing with shit like that until Sage has had time to get her head around it.”
“So what do we do then?” Max drew me closer to him, the jolt of the car forcing me against him. He smiled, then kissed me. “What if we showed you how it would’ve been if you’d gone on the date with all four of us?”
“Wouldn’t have lasted long,” I said, pulling back slightly. “I would’ve been way too intimidated.”
“Well, you’ve gotten over that,” Tobias said drily. “You read me the riot act in the club earlier today.”
“Never been so proud of you, love,” Lucien said, holding out his fist for me to bump. I snorted, not sure how we’d gone from sliding a hand up my dress to fist bumps, but whatever. After I touched my knuckles to his, he pulled me into his arms, putting me right back where I was in the club, straddling him, just in case I thought the vibe was going to change in the car. “I’m always proud of you, but now…”
He held himself back, I could see, just staring up at me until I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. It felt like I soaked up his attention, that steady warm regard, his eyes still hazel, even as I felt how he was responding to me, pressed hard between my legs.
“The dream of finding our mate, I get it now. I always thought it was fairy-tale bullshit, especially after what happened with Chloe, but you?” He leaned up slowly. “You’re my girl. My wolf is howling that at me, but its more than that. You’re the piece that’s missing.”
I didn’t know what to say or do about that, but it didn’t matter because his mouth slammed down on mine. His hand went around my head, as if to stop me from getting away, but I wouldn’t, couldn’t. A low rumble of appreciation vibrated through him as I dug my hands into his hair and just held on.
He gave me bruising kisses that made my lips sting, then much softer, gentler ones—ones so sweet, my eyes flicked open to meet his. Still, even as we stared at each other, as our lips parted and our tongues found each other, as it got deeper and deeper, his stubble scoring my skin, our fangs digging into each other’s lips, I felt other kisses. Hands moved my hair aside, the skin on my neck cooling before he covered it with his lips. Little nipping kisses pressed me harder into Lucien, and he grabbed that opportunity with both hands.
He inched my dress up and over my arse, a low groan alerting me to the movement behind me. Then hands went to the zipper of my dress, easing it down, more kisses raining over my spine as well. Then another set of hands pulled my shoes off, sliding up my legs when that wasn’t enough, looking, searching for something else.
God, this.
My hips tilted back on automatic at the feel of them, because every inch they went higher, something clenched tighter inside me in response, waiting, waiting.
“Oh, Sage…” That voice was more growl than words, so I couldn’t tell who said it, but in some ways, that was hotter. It could’ve been all of them or any, crouching at my feet and sliding his hands up my thighs, then forcing my hips up and off Lucien to the sound of his protest, before those long, strong fingers found exactly what they were looking for. “You’re dripping.”
The shameful reality seemed to get the attention of every man in the room as they all went still.
“It’s probably a good thing you went on a date with just Lucien, because we wouldn’t have waited like good little boys, letting you give each one of us a taste. We would’ve known you were ours as soon as we caught scent of you, and wolves take what’s theirs.”
I’d read about men tearing underwear off but heard its near impossible in real life, with all that elastic going on. Not so if you’re a wolf shifter half in rut, apparently. So mine were torn away, the cool air playing over saturated skin, drawing out a whine from me.
“Look at her.”
They moved to do just that, my cheeks flushing with the habitual shame of flashing my vajayjay in a damn car, but they pushed that shit aside really quickly. Fingers crawled down my spine, across my arse, or up my thighs, ready to claim what was theirs. Lucien flipped me around then, like I was just some rag doll, settling my back against his chest, displaying me to the three men who were kneeling or crouched around me.
Max looked damn near feral, his hand reaching for me, even as his brother’s hands peeled down the straps of my dress, then shoved down the cups of my breasts. “Fuck.” Beau’s response was little more than a sharp bark at this point, his wolf riding him hard. “Look at her.”
“Yes, look at her.” Lucien passed a possessive hand across my breasts, making my nipples pull way too tight in response. “She’s all fucking ours, so let’s give her a preview of what being the mate of the Lockwood’s pack will be like—the fucking awesome edition, not this other shit we’ve been doing.”
Max didn’t need any more prompting, launching himself at me and claiming my mouth with rough, biting kisses that I was forced to pull away from.
“You need me?” I asked.
“Always.” There was something pained there, something that stopped me from letting him come closer. He let out a frustrated huff of breath, then continued, “You’re my mate.” I stared, uncomprehending. Scarlet might teach me how to do kink, but I needed some Mate 101 lessons too. “You were taken from us, darted, caged, flown across the fucking country, and—”
“Max.” Tobias knelt at my feet, and his hands rubbed up and down my thighs in a comforting way. Well, mostly comforting. “She’s safe now, with us. Always with us.”
“You need her,” Lucien said.
“Yes,” Max bit off. “I know you’re safe, that it’s over and Miranda is locked up, but…fuck! I’ve been trying to keep a lid on it and—”
“And now you can’t.”
I moved, and Lucien moved with me, until I was on all fours across the backseat, Lucien running his fingers along the backs of my thighs as I crawled to Max. He’d shrunk back against the corner of the chair, as if that were the only way he could hold himself back, but when I moved towards him? That gave him the excuse he needed, sweeping me up and holding me close. I kissed him, slowly now, so slowly, but when I pulled away, I shook my head.
“We have to learn to share, right?”
My mate stared at me mulishly for a moment before nodding slowly. I reached up and turned his head to one side, revealing the neat bite mark I’d left on his neck. I smiled, feeling my fangs ache at the sight of it, before moving closer, kissing my way all across his skin but avoiding the mark. Max called my name out in low, rasping cries, over and over, until I came to the place he wanted me to touch. My tongue flicked out, tracing the indentations I’d left, and that was when his hands slapped down around my head, holding me right where I was.