Second Chance Mates (10 page)

She shuffled again. This time her cheek
pressed against his chest and his arms instinctively went around
her as she snuggled against him just like he’d always wanted. Her
shallow breathing and warm body had him falling into slumber
quicker than he could care about where Luke thought he was and
before he could think how mad Clara was going to be when she woke
up.

Oh what the hell. She's the
one snuggled up to me. Let her be mad. At least I'll get a decent
night's sleep first.

Chapter Eight

"What are you waiting for?"
His voice was a whisper against her skin.

"I can't," she protested but
her voice sounded weak, even to her.

"Why not?" Colton persisted.
"Why can't you love Cade?" His mouth pressed against her neck and
she closed her eyes, the weight of his lips nothing more than a
brushstroke yet incredibly hot. He knew all the spots she loved,
exactly where she wanted to be touched. It could have been the
mating bond; it could be because he was a man who really paid
attention.

She wanted to revel in his
arms, to enjoy his touches, to sink under his kisses and return
them as her own passion ignited. Yet his questions niggled at her,
demanded to be answered. Just what was it that made her so reticent
all this time to enjoy the loving of his brother? What was it that
made her consistently say no, when her body demanded she say yes?
When her own mate thought the extra bond would strengthen their
unit?

It wasn't that she wasn't
attracted to Cade, she always had been. Like Colton, he was broad
and strong with a fine, athletic body. Not only that but he was
quick witted, always made her laugh and his smile...oh, his smile
melted her. And her wolf positively adored him.

In the very early days,
Colton had been terribly annoyed that the mating urge had sprung
between his brother and her, but his jealousy quickly dissipated
under her constant reassurance that she loved him. Strangely, it
had been he who had suggested that perhaps the mating bond could
work as a threeway thing, that, yes, he minded sharing her, but he
was sure it wouldn't last forever and besides, some residual
jealousy could be a healthy thing, would make sure he never got
complacent. That early jealousy had subsided quickly. Still she
said no, even when she suspected him of putting her in positions
with Cade, alone, where she could have acted on her urges if she
wanted. It took all her sense of self to still say no, difficult as
it was. Marriages were two, not three. That’s the way humans did
it. That’s what she wanted.

She smiled, remembering the
day Colton had pulled her into his arms and told her in no
uncertain terms that he was positive this was meant to be, and that
when she chose to, she would be able to love and mate his brother
with his blessing. He was okay with it, if she was. And he didn't
want to deny his brother love and a family, not when they could all
have that together. Plus how lucky were they that fate picked her
for them both?

"Why are you smiling?" His
breath tickled her throat and she felt his body shift, the weight
of one leg thrown over hers.

"Remembering."

He wrapped a curly lock
around his fingers, watched it corkscrew and spring back. "What do
you remember?"

"All those times when you
told me to accept Cade, to make him mine."

"And yet you still didn't."
The why still hung between them, though he didn't press it. Colton
never pressed anything. She loved his easy going nature. Loved that
even when he was absolutely positive he was right, he still didn't
have the need to force her into agreeing with him. He loved her for
who she was.

"No," she admitted. "I only
ever wanted you. You were enough for me."

She frowned at the words.
Something was wrong. She'd spoken in past tense, yet Colton was in
her arms, his lips moving from her neck, her jaw, resting on her
lips. Colton was here.

"I know that," he said
simply.

"It didn't seem right," she
mused.

"How could something right
not seem right?" Colton laughed softly as he rolled onto her, his
elbows either side of her body supporting his weight.

"I don't know!" She hooked
her arms under his, her palms resting on his shoulder blades as she
looked into his eyes.

"Think, Clara. What's
stopping you? He can love you. He loves you." Colton kissed her and
she closed her eyes, losing herself in his beautiful kisses, the
familiar fire lighting in her belly and travelling south. "And the
tiger. He will love you too."

Clara's eyes flashed open.
How did Colton know about Luke? Her question was lost as Colton
pressed his body against hers, his right hand sliding down her body
and cupping under her thigh, pulling her leg up. She rested her
heel on his lower back and sighed as he pressed his hardening cock
against her wet sex, so ready for him. She needed this, she wanted
this. She wanted him inside her. She wanted to feel him moving and
rubbing and bringing her to climax.

"I know you want him Clara
and it's okay." Colton kissed her between words, his hips pushing
forwards, rubbing against her, teasing even though he knew she
burned for him. "He's my brother. He loves you like I do. Say his
name."

Clara shivered, her skin
suddenly cool.

"Cade?"

"Just say yes, Clara.
Everything will be all right. I love you."

"I love you," she murmured, opening her
eyes, blinking.
It was strange. She swore she could see right
through him. She could see her palms resting on his back.
She
squeezed her eyes shut.
It must be an effect of the light.
The body resting over hers moved, fingers brushed hair from her
shoulder and then lips pressed against her neck. She wrapped her
arms around him and kissed his shoulder, his neck, his jaw, finally
his lips. She sighed as his tongue slipped inside, finding hers,
kissing her so passionately that she felt the very moment her
nipples tightened into hard nubs. His body shifted against hers,
the feel of his skin on hers wonderful. A hand slid down, over her
breast to her hip and settled at the junction of her thighs where
his hard cock pressed, jutting against her. She angled her hips
upwards and rubbed against him and smiled at the sound of his low
moan.

Fingers sought and found her clit,
pressing and rubbing until she was sure she would climax soon
without him even being inside her. With a sigh she pushed back, one
hand reaching down to grasp his hard length, ready to guide him
inside. She needed this, wanted this. It had been so long. Fingers
slid through her damp lips, and she arched against him, just as a
finger breached her entrance, pushed inside and her sighs turned
ragged with desire.

His lips caught her mouth again,
catching her sighs as she moaned and writhed under him, her legs
pushing up to allow him better access.

"Clara?"

"Mmmm?"

The voice whispered her name again.
Not Colton.
Not Colton's voice, but similar, very
similar.

"Don't go," she whispered. "Please
don't go."

"I won't leave you." Arms wrapped
around her and she was warm again. His cock rubbed between the
junction of her thighs, seeking her and she rubbed back. Opening
her eyes, she snuggled her face into the crux of his neck, inhaling
his scent.
Different.
Again there was that feeling.
Not
Colton
. She tightened her arms around him, refusing to believe
it, and the man's arms returned the pressure, holding her to him.
Lips kissed her neck. "I'll never leave you. I love you,
Clara."

"Yes," she whispered, but she wasn't
sure what she was saying yes to. That he loved her?
Undoubtedly.
That the feel of him in her arms was wonderful?
Yes.
That she wanted to make love to him right now?
Yes.
That she could return Cade's love?
Yes.
That
surprised her. "Mmmm. Cade," she murmured, her hands moving over
his back.

He shuffled in her arms and raised his
head, one hand moving to her hair as the other stroked her soaking
sex, his fingers languidly pumping her as her own hand stroked his
hard length. He coiled one long lock of hair then let it bounce
back. "Sweetheart?" he murmured, as she guided his cock to her
entrance, arching to meet him.

Clara opened her eyes properly this
time.

Focused.

And screamed.

***

At the sound of Clara's scream, Luke
dropped the spoonful of sugar he was about to dump into his mug and
raced upstairs, along the hallway, then through the open doorway
into her bedroom.

"What the hell's going on?" he growled,
seeing Clara with her back pressed against the wall, clinging to a
white sheet that barely covered her obviously naked body. The sheet
drooped at her hip, barely circling a bottom that was made for
caressing.

Cade sat in her bed, equally naked with
a puzzled expression on his face as he raked a hand through his
hair.

"What were you doing?" Clara screeched
at Cade.

"It wasn't obvious?" Cade quipped,
flinging his hands into the air.

"Arrgh!"

"You were participating," Cade pointed
out, glancing over at Luke and shrugging like he really didn't get
what all the fuss was about.

Clara clutched the sheet as the creamy
swell of her breasts heaved. "I thought I was dreaming!"

Cade grinned. "You have really dirty,
really vivid dreams."

"You took advantage!"

"No, I didn't. Okay, maybe I got into
your bed when I wasn't exactly invited. Ahhha!" He held up a
silencing finger as Clara's mouth dropped open into an indignant
gasp. "But you were whispering my name, telling me not to go and
that was some wicked cool hip action you had going on."

Luke continued to watch as Clara
colored, unsure whether to intervene and play the big protector or
to let the conversation play out and find out what happened? Given
that his best friend and the woman were both naked, he had a pretty
good clue sex was involved. The tiger in him wanted to snarl ‘hands
off’ at Cade, even considered shifting to his tiger-self and
protect his woman. The man in him wanted to see if this was Clara
ready to take another step. If this was the point where she would
stop seeing one of them, at least, as the pesky home crashers, and
instead as potential lovers; if she was ready to let go.

"And you seemed to be
really
enjoying yourself," continued Cade.

Clara went beet red, twisted her body
as she reached towards the bed, unintentionally giving Luke a very
nice view, grabbed a pillow and hit Cade with it. Hard.

"Ow!"

"And you," she turned on Luke, as she
shuffled back against the wall. "Stop ogling my body!"

Luke hadn't been ogling her body, well,
not exactly, until the point she turned around and exposed her bare
back, and high, rounded bottom, but now he found himself blinking
and trying to remind himself what he was here for.
Damned if I
can remember what that is
, he thought, as his cock stirred at
the sight, ready to rise again not long after he'd lost his early
morning erection the damn thing so hard he’d actually contemplated
beating off in her bathroom just to make it go away. What he did
know was he didn't like to see her so angry, but he was amused that
she barely made an effort to cover herself, especially given the
scent of her arousal lingering in the air.

"Perhaps you could cover it?" he
suggested, which clearly wasn't the right thing to say, given that
she gave a feral yell, twisting and turning to try and straighten
out the sheet as she attempted to wrap it around herself, finally
giving up and stamping into the bathroom, the sheet tails trailing.
With one hard tug, she pulled them inside and slammed the door shut
behind her.

"Well," said Luke wrenching his gaze
from the wooden door and the delectable naked female behind it, and
over to his not-so-interesting naked friend. He grabbed jeans from
the chair and threw them at Cade. "Seeing as you're managing this
so well, I'll leave you to it."

"Thanks," snipped Cade, grabbing the
denim before it hit him in the face. "Some help you've
been."

"You don't need help," said Luke,
turning to go. "You need disaster management."

***

Clara pressed her back against the
bathroom door and buried her face in her hands, hardly able to
process what had just happened.

She had been having such a vivid,
wonderful dream about Colton, about talking to him about Cade and
the second chance he represented. Half waking to find a delicious,
masculine body pressed against hers with lips that set her passion
alight, and fingers that set her body on fire, was wonderful,
bringing to mind many other beautiful awakenings so long ago
now.

Aroused, she'd kissed him back
fiercely, ground her body against his and allowed him to delve his
fingers inside her, her soaking wetness enveloping him, and wanting
more. He had been so close to being inside her.