Glenn, Stormy and Flynn, Joyee - Blood Lust [Delta Wolf 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (5 page)

Owen’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Everything?”

“Everything.” Christian grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

Owen’s lips started to turn up at the corners, and Christian was sure he had him, but then suddenly they stopped and turned back down. Owen started shaking his head and went back to tugging on the blanket.

“That sounds real nice, Christian, but I just don’t see it happening.
Constantine
doesn’t want me. He never did. Now that he has you, he doesn’t even need me. And I can’t—”

“Oh, for the love of Mike,” Christian snapped. “Get your fucking head out of your ass, would you?
Constantine
is crazy about you. Even I know that, and I just met him tonight. Geez, the air practically sizzles every damn time he looks at you.”

Owen shook his head. “No, you’re wrong. He only mated with me, or whatever you call it, because he needed to save his life.”

“It doesn’t work like that, Owen. Either you are
Constantine
’s mate or you’re not. And you are. Besides, fate chooses our mates, we don’t. We just know them when we smell them.”

“Then how come he didn’t know I was his mate the night we met?” Owen cried out when he looked up, his eyes filling with tears, at Christian. “He didn’t even know who I was the next day. Don’t you think he would have
smelled
me enough by then?”

Christian leaned forward and grabbed Owen’s hand. “Honey, you need to understand something. Werewolves are different than humans. When
Constantine
was injured, he needed blood to heal. Because his injuries were so severe, he went into bloodlust, like having his mind filled with fog. I doubt he even knew his own name.”

“That still doesn’t explain why he acted the way he did. If what you’re saying is true, then his mind would have cleared up when his injuries healed and he would have smelled me the next day, right? Why didn’t he?”

“I can’t explain that, Owen, only
Constantine
can, but you need to give him the chance to do that.” Christian pointed toward the door. “Every time the two of you get within a foot of each other, the sparks start to fly. You’re both so afraid of being hurt that you can’t see what’s right in front of your faces.”

Owen looked so hopeful yet terrified that Christian decided to take pity on the guy. Besides, he wasn’t just fighting for
Constantine
’s mate here. He was also fighting for his own. Christians scooted back against the pillows and patted the mattress beside him.

“Look, I know you’re tired. I am, too. Why don’t we just take a little nap while we wait for
Constantine
to bring us back something to eat? That will give you some time to think on what I’ve said and decide where you want to go from here, okay?”

Owen nodded, kicked off his shoes, then crawled up the bed to lie down next to Christian. Christian wiggled around until he could pull the covers over both of them then snuggled up to Owen’s back. He held his breath and hoped for the best as he draped his arm over Owen’s waist.

“Night, Owen, sweet dreams.”

Owen stiffened for a moment then slowly relaxed. “Night, Christian.”

* * * *

Constantine
didn’t know what to expect when he opened the hotel room door, but it wasn’t the sight of his two mates curled up together on the bed sleeping. He just stood there for a moment in the doorway staring. It was a beautiful sight.

And one that made Constantine’s heart ache with regret and loss.
Constantine
pressed his lips together to keep from making any noise when his feelings of anguish started to overwhelm him. He leaned against the doorframe for a moment and just watched. He might never get to see such a sight again.

When Owen suddenly jerked in his sleep and whimpered,
Constantine
quietly closed the door and set the bag of food he purchased down on the small table by the door. He crept across the room and knelt next to the bed.

Constantine
reached out to touch Owen then noticed his hand trembling. He clenched his hand into a fist, and then let it relax before again trying to gently brush the soft strawberry-blond curls back from Owen’s face.

Owen was such a beautiful man. Anyone would be proud to be mated to him. The human factor wasn’t even an issue for
Constantine
. It didn’t matter to him. His mate was human, and that made humans important as far as he was concerned.

I would have loved you so much
.
Constantine
dropped his head onto the mattress.

He couldn’t believe how badly he’d fucked things up. He had fate’s most precious gift in the palm of his hand, and he threw it away because he was an asshole. There were times when
Constantine
hated being a Delta wolf.

He would have much rather been a simple pack member. He wouldn’t even care if he had no standing in his pack. At least he would have had a pack and not the lonely existence he’d experienced his entire life. He was so tired of being alone.

Even with Christian being in his life,
Constantine
knew he’d never fully feel whole. A part of him would always be missing. That part could only be filled by Owen, and Owen didn’t want him.

Well, he could do nothing about it now. Owen had made his desires perfectly clear, and
Constantine
knew he needed to respect them. He certainly hadn’t done anything else for the guy.

Constantine
opened his eyes and raised his head. He started to push himself off the floor when he spotted soft moss-green eyes watching him.
Constantine
settled back down on the floor and smiled.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hi,” Owen whispered back.

“Did you get any rest?”

“Some.” Owen nodded and pointed to the man sleeping behind him. “Christian is running a little hot, so it was hard to get comfortable. I think he’s healing though. He seems to be sleeping pretty hard.”

Constantine
raised his head and looked over Owen’s body. Sure enough, Christian looked like he was out cold, but the bruises on his face were fading. “Sleep is good for him. It will help speed the healing process.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured as much.”

“Are you hungry? I brought food.”

“I could eat.”

Full of regret that they couldn’t keep speaking in such an intimate tone,
Constantine
climbed to his feet and walked back across the room to grab the bag of food he’d brought back for Owen and Christian. He carried it over to a small table and sat down.

Owen sat down across from him and watched him pull items out of the bag. “It’s not fine cuisine, but it will fill you up,” he said when Owen stared at the burgers
Constantine
laid on the table.

“Food is food,” Owen said, picking up one of the burgers. He took a bite, then chewed, and nodded after a moment. “I’ve had worse.”

Constantine
didn’t quite know what to say to that. He realized that he basically knew nothing about Owen beyond his ability to have visions. Maybe he could fix that? “How long have you been having visions?”

Owen’s wary eyes snapped up to meet
Constantine
’s. He swallowed and took another bite of his hamburger. Once he’d chewed that bite, he lowered his eyes again. “I’ve been having visions pretty much as long as I can remember.”

“Do they hurt?”
Constantine
was fascinated by Owen’s single, arched eyebrow as the man regarded him.

“No, but you’re the first person that ever asked that.” Owen shrugged. “They’re not always pleasant, but they don’t exactly hurt.”

“Do you ever have good visions?”

The blush that filled Owen’s face spoke volumes to
Constantine
. He wanted to ask more, and he wanted to know what made Owen’s face flush red. He wanted to know if he showed up in those visions. He couldn’t ask.

Constantine
fingered the hamburger wrapper and he tried to figure out what to ask Owen next. He wanted the man to keep talking, to learn more about him. He just didn’t know what to ask next.

“Did you mean it?”

Confused by Owen’s question,
Constantine
glanced up at Owen, but he even more bewildered by the hesitant look on the man’s face, the way Owen wouldn’t quite meet his eyes. “Mean what?”

“That you would have loved me?” Owen asked softly.

Shock rocked through
Constantine
as he realized Owen had heard him speaking mentally. He watched Owen’s fingers twist a paper napkin around in his hand and tear off little pieces. He still wouldn’t meet
Constantine
’s eyes. The answer meant a lot to Owen,
Constantine
could tell.

“Yes, I meant every word.”

“Why?” Owen snapped his eyes up and stared intently into
Constantine
’s.

“Why…why would I have loved you?”

“Yes.” Owen balled up the napkin in his fist and tossed it down onto the table. “You don’t know me. How can you say you would have loved me when you don’t know a damn thing about me?”

“Because everything about you calls to me, the way you look, the way you smell, even the way you think, as confusing as it is to me. I see you, and all I want to do is hold you in my arms and keep you safe from the evils of the world, evils I am well acquainted with.”

Owen looked shocked.
Constantine
decided to be brutally honest with him. He leaned forward, rested on his elbows, and clasped his hands together then looked across the table at Owen.

“And then I want to strip you naked and fuck you until you can’t walk.”

Owen blinked. His mouth opened, then snapped closed. He licked his lips and opened his mouth again.
Constantine
watched, fascinated by the play of emotions he could see crossing Owen’s pale face. Owen didn’t know how to respond,
Constantine
could see that.

“The fact that I don’t remember being with you, that most of our time together is a haze in my mind, drives me crazy. I know we had sex. I know I took your virginity. I don’t know how your skin tastes, if you glow with the flush of desire when I touch you, or how your body moves under mine.”

“Christ! You have to stop talking that way.” Owen groaned and rubbed his hands over his red face.

“Why?”
Constantine
asked. “It’s true.”

“Because wanting to have sex with you isn’t the problem,
Constantine
.”

Desire shone in Owens eyes and he licked his lips again. It warred with the anxiety that almost overshadowed the desire.

“It’s the trusting you with my heart that comes with me giving you my body that’s the problem.”

“Yeah, I guess I didn’t do very well with either, did I?”

Owen’s snort was callous and felt like a stab right to
Constantine
’s heart. He rested his hands down to the table and glanced down at them. His heart started to ache again, and just when he thought he might be making headway with Owen.

Constantine
dropped his head down and closed his eyes. He pushed his hands beneath the edge of the table so Owen couldn’t see them clench into fists. “Okay, Owen, I get it. I fucked up, and you can’t forgive me.”