Melindas Wolves (21 page)

Penelope rolled over next to him, but remained asleep.

Wayne looked at the caller ID and quickly answered the call while slipping out of bed. He made his way out of the room and shut the door behind him before he spoke.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“We have a problem,” Roy stated, ignoring his partner’s ridiculous rhetorical question.

“What now?” Wayne leaned against the wall and crossed his legs. He needed another complication like a hole in his head.

“I just got finished going through several hours of video from the construction office. Phillips is getting too close for comfort. He’s been investigating Friedmont’s allegations.”

Wayne groaned. “Fuck.”

“You’ve got that right.”

“How many people know?”

“No idea, the inspector and his boss were the only ones in the room. I listened to their conversation about Friedmont’s email.”

“Shit. I had hoped they had so many warning and threatening emails, this one was just a drop in the bucket with the others.”

“Me too.”

“I’ll get someone to handle it.” Wayne ended the call before Roy could say another word. He wiped a hand down his face and stared into the dark.

Dammit. He needed the extension of this mess to shrink, not grow larger. He scrolled down his contacts and made another call.

The phone rang three times before anyone picked up. “Yes?” His voice was shaky.

As it should be, receiving a call in the middle of the night.

“You’re taking care of this, right?”

Silence.

Wayne’s voice rose. “Do you think I’m bluffing?”

“No. I just don’t see what I can do.” The man’s voice was muffled.

“Figure it out. Make it happen. I’m not going to give you a manual. Make sure Keegan Phillips comes up empty-handed one way or another. I don’t want this to escalate. If the authorities get involved, I’m going to be furious.”

“I don’t see how I’m going to keep the sheriff from being notified.”

“Well, then at least make sure they find nothing when they get to the site. Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Do you value your life, asshole?”

“Yes.” The man’s voice shook with fear.

“Then make this go away.” Wayne ended the call without another word.

Fuck. He’d never get back to sleep.

An alarm was going off somewhere in the recesses of Melinda’s mind. She didn’t recognize the tone. Still, she tried to tug an arm out from beneath the covers to slap at it.

It came from somewhere to her left…

Her arms were trapped, pinned to her sides.

Her eyes shot open.

Jesus. When would she get used to this? She was surrounded by testosterone.

Enough for sixty men. They each had an arm across her waist. They slept like the dead.

“Trace,” she muttered, unable to get her voice to work quite right. It crackled and sounded nothing like her. The horrific buzzing was coming from his side of the bed. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Trace. Babe.” She tugged her arm again. Pinned.

He groaned, his head the only thing moving. And then he managed to reach out with one arm and slap the clock hard without moving another muscle. “Fuck.”

It was dark in the room. She couldn’t see past either man to glimpse a clock and ascertain the time. “You have to work first shift again?”

“Mm hmm.” He snuggled closer to her, as if that were possible, nuzzling her neck until she giggled. “And you’re coming with me this time.”

“What?” She squirmed to escape his teasing mouth. “No way. I’m not going to follow you around the sheriff’s office all day. And besides, I don’t do o’dark thirty.” It was against her religion to have even one eye open at this ungodly hour.

“You do today,” he whispered against her ear, his mouth having traveled there to nibble on her lobe.

Keegan stirred on her other side. His voice was gravelly when he mumbled into the dark. “Good luck with her, man. She’s fucking hell on wheels when you have her with you in public.”

Melinda finally managed to wiggle one arm free when Keegan rolled slightly off her. She used it to playfully slap his shoulder. “That’s just mean.”

He chuckled, low and deep, his voice awakening her passion in an instant.

“No.” She pushed against him. “Move. Both of you.” She turned to face Trace.

“Stop touching me. My entire body aches from the thousand positions you put me through last night. I need a break.”

Her mind needed a break. Hell, her pussy would be sore. But her fucking libido screamed for more.

She wiggled out from under the sheet at the head of the bed, grateful her small stature permitted her to escape four clutching hands.

Before they managed to snag her, she climbed free and jumped to the floor. She was too tired. Her legs wobbled. Her adrenaline and the desire to avoid her men wasn’t enough to hold her upright. She grabbed the edge of the bed to get her bearings.

Trace rolled her direction, flung out an arm, and wrapped it around her, holding her against the edge of the bed. “Where’s the fire?” He kissed her stomach, his tongue reaching out to lick a line over her belly button until he reached too close to her pussy.

She fought his grip, but she was too small for either man. Was it always going to be this way? Them overpowering her and keeping her from thinking about anything but sex?

It would help if she wasn’t naked. “I need clothes,” she mumbled.

“Not in here, you don’t.” Keegan propped himself on one elbow, a grin on his face, his gaze roaming up and down her torso.

Melinda set her hands on Trace’s head and shoved, to no avail. He was way too big for her to maneuver. “Trace, stop. I can’t think when you do that.” Already she was losing her sanity again. She’d been awake less than a minute, and her pussy pulsed with need.

“Thinking is highly overrated,” Keegan stated.

Melinda rolled her eyes in the darkness and dug her fingers into Trace’s scalp.

“Babe, let me go. Really. You need to get to work, and I need to stay here and remain celibate for the day.”

That plan was excellent. She could sleep late, catch her breath, take a long bath…

Trace’s arm held her tighter. He crawled closer, his mouth licking a path up her torso until he wrapped his lips around one tender nipple. The traitorous bud jumped to attention. If anything, the fact that her nipples were sore made them more sensitive. It seemed as if the chafing all over her body, but predominantly her breasts and pussy, from two sets of day-old beard growth, only exacerbated her awareness of her most sensitive parts and made her crave them more.

She moaned as Trace switched to her other breast to give it the same gentle attention. There was nothing rushed in his manner this morning.

She let her hands slide through his hair to grip his shoulders. Moisture pooled between her legs.

And then his mouth made a path up her neck until he met her lips. His kiss was full of promise—soft, reverent. Teasing. He cupped her head with both hands and tilted it to one side as he went in deeper, his tongue tangling with hers languidly.

She could smell his arousal. It matched her own. Hell, she could smell Keegan’s need at the same time.

When Trace broke the kiss, he set his forehead against hers. “You’re going to work with me, baby. You want to shower together? I’d be happy to wash you myself.” He grinned.

She stared into his eyes for several long moments. His demand hung between them, testing her. She wasn’t sure how to play this one. Which card to choose. She’d known them all of two days, most of that time spent in bed.

She’d spent the day at work with Keegan yesterday. In a way, it was only fair to give Trace equal time. However, it also set a precedent for her to allow either man to make such demands of her.

“I’m my own woman, you know.” She leaned back an inch, arching her chest forward.

“Of course you are, baby.”

“You can’t really order me around. It will drive a stake between us. I’ll grow to resent you. I thought I made that clear last night.”

Trace’s voice lowered as he responded, softly. He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “I know that too. And I’m sure you’ll find us loosening up over the days and weeks. For now, it’s more of a matter of greed.” His face flushed as he admitted his need. “Dominance aside, we just want to be with you. It killed me to spend the day without you yesterday. Don’t make me do it again.”

She hesitated. But he’d been honest and sincere. And if she told herself the truth, she didn’t want to spend the day without at least one of them either. “Okay. Just so we’re clear. I don’t want either of you thinking you’ve beaten some sort of submissive nature into me. It isn’t necessary.

“The mating is complete. I’m yours for life. You don’t have to push out your chests and roar to make it so. And I know you both crave the connection of our bodies, but take a deep breath and acknowledge in your minds how very mutual the attraction is.”

She leaned around Trace to meet Keegan’s gaze at his back. “I’m yours. Through thick and thin. Even when you’re stubborn.” She winked.

Keegan’s grin let her know she’d made the correct word choice.

“You don’t have to prove anything. You don’t have to go all alpha male on me. If either of you wants me, all you need to do is ask. It will be granted if it’s in my power.”

Trace climbed off the bed without removing his hands from her face. He planted himself on the floor, easing her head up toward him until they stood face to face. His hands trailed down her back, and he gripped her ass.

Finally, he tipped his head back and inhaled long and deep. “God you smell so fucking fantastic. I love how your pussy drips down your legs. It makes my cock ache with need to feel the magnetic pull of your sex.”

Melinda set her cheek on his pecs and wrapped her arms around his middle, wiggling them under his elbows. And then she hugged him tight.

“Mine.”

“Yours, babe. Always.”

Suddenly Keegan was at her back, his hands on her hips, his lips on her shoulder.

“And mine.”

“Yours,” she repeated.

They stood silent for a while, the verbal proclamation of their intent hanging in the air, calming their hearts, bonding them further.

“We need you, baby.” Trace’s voice was gravelly.

She lifted her face, setting her chin on his hard pecs. “I know. But that won’t change by mauling me again. And you’re late. You need to jump in the shower if you have any hope of making it to the station on time.”

Trace lifted one eyebrow. “I thought we agreed you’re coming with me.”

“I have a better plan. My car is still at Miles’s house. So is my niece. The one I haven’t seen since Saturday night. How about if Keegan drops me off there when he goes to work, I spend a few hours with Rebecca, and then I’ll come visit you at the precinct.”

Trace scrunched up his nose. “Keegan got you all day.” He actually pouted.

She rolled her eyes. “This isn’t a contest. We’re together forever. Sometimes one of you will get more than the other. Get over yourselves.”

He didn’t budge, his gaze holding hers.

“Fine. How about if I promise to get there by noon? We can eat lunch together. You can show me around.”
I’ll be bored out of my skull again
.

Both men groaned as she wiggled free of them and made a hasty escape to the bathroom. If she didn’t move quickly, she would lose her resolve. She wasn’t kidding.

They weren’t the only two who wanted to fuck. Her body craved it at least as much as them, if not more.

 •●• 

Melinda pushed against Keegan’s chest, trying to dislodge him from crowding her against the side of Miles’s house. Neither of them had knocked yet. Although it was unlikely the occupants weren’t aware of their guests.

“Keegan,” she mumbled against his lips.

His cock pressed into her belly, the hard length making her wish they had fucked one more time before leaving his house. “Love…” He nibbled a path from her mouth to her ear. “I can’t stand the idea of leaving you here.”

“I know,” she whispered. He wasn’t the only one doubting the intelligence behind this plan. But she straightened her spine and gave him another shove. “You have work to do. You need to go save the world from bad concrete and unstable rebar, or whatever you call it.”

He grinned, his hand trailing up to cup her face. “Have I mentioned how cute you are?”

“Maybe a few times.”

He kissed her again.

She mumbled against his lips. “Step back, big guy. You make it impossible to think.”

“That’s the idea.” He grinned, his forehead against hers. “I don’t want you to think.

Just feel.”

“And it feels fantastic, but if I gave in to the urge to have sex with you two every time it swept over me, I’d never leave the bedroom, and we’d go broke.” She shoved her flat hands against his chest again. It wasn’t as though she believed she could make him budge, but she had to try.

With a low groan, Keegan finally stepped back.

The front door opened, and Melinda twisted her head to see who stepped out.

It was Miles. And he wore a huge smirk. “We’re isolated enough that you could probably get away with fucking on my front porch, and under most circumstances, I wouldn’t mind.” He stared pointedly at Melinda. “But you’re my sister, so just ew.” His face scrunched.

Keegan laughed. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. Been there. You want to come in now?” He held the door wider. “Or I could go back inside and wait for you to finish making out.”

Keegan straightened his shirt and took a step back. “No. I have to get to work. I just dropped Melinda off to visit and pick up her car.”

“I wondered how long you were going to leave that in my driveway,” Miles teased.

The baby cried in the background, making Melinda smile and remember why she was here. She quickly pecked Keegan on the cheek—careful to avoid touching him anywhere else—and dodged into the house before she could convince herself she’d rather find a secluded place to have sex instead.

Rebecca wandered into the living room as Melinda entered, holding a wrapped, squealing bundle in her arms. She looked tired. There were bags under her eyes. Her long braid of strawberry blonde hair was messy as if she’d braided it that way yesterday.