Second Chance Mates (6 page)

"I didn't see any workers around when
we drove up," continued Luke, trying to remember exactly how large
this property was and trying not to think about her oiled and half
naked. His cock was so hard he could probably use it to ram nails
and finish the deck himself. "Who've you got helping
you?"

"No one. I can do everything by myself.
I don't need help." Clara crossed her arms defensively.

"Like hell," said Cade. "You ever want
this place finished, you're going to need a help and you just
scored yourself two big, strapping men."

"You can't stay here."

"I'm not sleeping in the barn," said
Cade.

"Me neither," added Luke, wondering if
the upstairs was furnished. His eyes flickered towards the
ceiling.

"Oh no," she said, catching his
ceiling-ward glance. "You're not moving in."

"Honey," said Cade, softly. "I think we
just did. And if you want to try and manhandle us…" He smirked. "Be
my guest. My guess is your wolf would enjoy that tussle just as
much as mine."

Clara scrambled from her chair and
stepped back. Though the table was still between them, her arms
tightened protectively about herself and Luke had to struggle not
to either laugh at the audacity of his friend's remarks, or thump
him for suggesting manhandling the pretty little wolf because there
was no way his tiger would let that happen, no matter how surly or
obstinate she was. He would do anything to make her happy and keep
he safe.

With a lurch, for the first time ever,
Luke saw his best friend as a rival.

No, he couldn’t let that happen. It was
just the situation and the burning need to touch her.

Luke stood and moved towards her, his
movements lithe and gentle because he'd been brought up
understanding his size could be intimidating, especially to little
females. To his surprise, she didn't move away, instead holding her
ground. He placed one hand on her shoulder and she wrenched her
gaze from Cade to him, her eyelashes fluttering prettily as her
nostrils flared ever so slightly. If he wasn't mistaken, she was
sniffing him, inhaling his scent, and he had to admit, he liked it.
He wanted her to like him. Not just tolerate, but actually like
him. He wanted her to gain the innate understanding that not only
was he not a threat, but that he could probably be a whole lot more
to her, if she let him.

And there his tiger went again, making
trouble for him.

Except, as he looked down at her
pretty, troubled, eyes, he couldn't help the surge of sympathy and
pride that emanated from him. She had been to hell and back and
refused to succumb to it. She was smart and pretty and hardworking,
and she could handle two big stubborn men better than most men
could. She was stunning in a way that could make his head turn
whenever she moved, and make his body react in a way that he
couldn't altogether control but he would never harm a hair on her
head. Instead he had the sudden feeling that life would be very
lonely without her in it. He wanted to mark her, mate her and love
her.

Damn it, tiger. I make my
own decisions.

Except, maybe they agreed. Clara was
the one he didn't know he was looking for.

"I'll make sure Cade behaves," he said,
his voice a soft rumble. "Besides seems kind of lonely out here,
away from town and family. You might enjoy having some company."
What he didn't add was
I want you to enjoy my
company.

Then, like she had been in a trance,
she shook her head, her curls tumbling about her shoulders and her
eyes narrowed. "Don't bank on it," she snapped.

Chapter Five

"That went well," said Cade, helping
gather the dishes. Both of them paused to stare as Clara strode
off, her cute butt swinging as she made a fast getaway.

"She's not what I thought she'd be,"
admitted Luke, making his way through to the kitchen. He felt oddly
domestic here. He liked to cook, but usually it was something fast
to go before they headed out to a bar or went to catch a game, or
before he took on a double shift. Occasionally for a date. Rarely
did he take his time clearing away, or admiring someone else's
house. And the house was beautiful. All natural woods, the
furnishings comfortable and in pale tones, with a huge fireplace
and a rug he could imagine rolling around on—naked, of course, and
not alone—with huge folding windows that had obviously been
situated to give the best view of the glorious landscape stretching
out beyond. Excepting the unfinished deck, it was gorgeous. One
look was all it took to make him think
home
.

He shook his head. Half a day and he'd
already moved in.

"What did you imagine?"

"To be honest, I kind of thought she'd
be an uptight bitch but she doesn't come off like that at all. Sad,
yes, and lonely, but not nasty and not cruel."

"I never said she was
cruel."

"You didn't exactly say her actions
weren't."

"True," admitted Cade as he followed
Luke to the kitchen. "I've been pretty hard on her."

"And it's been hard on you."

"Like you wouldn't believe."

Thing was, Luke could believe it now.
He could believe the pain it had caused Cade, and the heartache
that had driven him away. He could understand how hard it must have
been to return, knowing that he might expect the same treatment.
Who knows what's going through the poor guy’s head. Though, even
given that, he couldn't bring himself to think of Clara as some
evil harpy. She was sweet and gentle and clearly very unhappy. He
would do anything to put a light back in her eyes, to hear her
laugh, to be the person who gave her joy again.

"She's damn pretty too." The words
slipped out.

Cade gave him a sharp look. "Yeah," was
all he said.

"So what now?" Luke turned away before
he said something else stupid. It wouldn’t do to announce his own
feelings while they talked. Cade didn’t need that laying on him.
Not now.

Cade shrugged.

Luke persisted. "You still planning on
claiming her?" He hoped the edge in his voice didn’t show as he
glanced at his friend.

Cade gave a sharp nod of his head, just
once. "Yes, I am. I am not going home without her. She's mine, she
knows she's mine. No more games. She needs to accept for once and
all what destiny gave us. This time I'm not leaving. I
can't."

"There might be a small problem with
your plan," Luke said hesitantly, wondering exactly how he was
supposed to broach such a delicate topic. Oh hell, he had to do it.
He couldn’t pretend like nothing happened. The sooner Cade knew,
the better.

"Yeah? What's that?"

Luke rested his back against the
counter and sucked in a few fortifying breaths, tensing slightly
just in case his news was met with a barrage of thumps. Hell, he
might have had that reaction if the situation was reversed. He
sucked in a deep breath and began to speak. "Ever since Clara
opened the door, my tiger's been telling me to claim
her."

"Are you serious?" Cade yelled, then
ducked his head around the door just in case Clara came barreling
back to yell at them about the noise. His voice was quieter, but
still just as sharp when he asked, "You're telling me she's your
mate? Seriously, Luke?"

"Yes. And I think she knows it
too."

"You've got to be freakin' kiddin' me!"
Cade wheeled around and placed his hands against the upper cabinet,
palms flat, fingers splayed.

"That I'm not. And I wouldn't say it if
I didn't think it was true. But I'm not going to get in your way,
man. You've known her for years. I've known her minutes. If you
want me to step out the way, just say the word." Except, even as he
said it, he knew it would be damn near impossible for him to walk
out now. Not when just the faintest whiff of her scent sent his
tiger into a tizzy.

Cade shook his head. "You know what,
man? Fate always demanded she be part of a three way mating. It
always intended her to have two men in her life."

"It doesn't freak you out?"

"It slightly freaked me out when I met
her, and my wolf recognized her for my mate, but she was already
going with Colton by then. Once I got used to the idea, yeah, I was
okay with it. And Colton was too. We talked about it a bunch and he
was cool with it too, so long as she was. And now with you? I gotta
say, buddy, I'm not mad. Surprised, yeah. Hell yeah." Cade ran a
hand through his hair, turned again to lean against the counter and
gazed out the window over the side of the house. “Fuck!”

"So, if I said I was thinking of
claiming her too..."

"Maybe this is exactly what she needs.
Plus, she's gonna knock us back so many times it would be good to
have a buddy for back up." They laughed. "And maybe two males
sending her wolf into hormonal overdrive will make her chose
happiness, rather than however she's been living these past couple
of years. This is about her. Not me, not you. This is about doing
right by Clara."

"Things not always this quiet around
here?"

"Oh man, no. Clara always had a bunch
of friends. Real cuties too. And her and Colton together? Talk
about social butterflies. We were always out doin' stuff, the three
of us, and when they got the farm, there were barbecues and camping
and just letting our wolves out to race. We had some amazing times
here and I tell you, buddy, it was never as quiet as
this."

"How do you think she's gonna take it?"
Luke nodded to the doorway; past that, Clara lurked somewhere
unseen and probably mad at them. Or horny, and mad at
herself.

"If your tiger recognized her, then her
wolf sure as hell recognized you, just the way mine went into
overdrive when she opened the door. Come to think of it, that
probably explained the fainting. I put it down to dehydration or
heat stroke."

"Maybe she had an on the spot
orgasm?"

"We're good but not that good." Cade
laughed.

"Speak for yourself, man."

“
The girl you had over last
month sure seemed to need a lot of help.” Cade smirked. “You forget
how thin the walls of our apartment are.”

“
Fuck you.”

Opening the dishwasher, Cade stacked
everything neatly and switched it on. At least he could turn
something on in Clara's house.

Luke continued, "But what I meant was
how do you think she's going to take two potential mates vying for
her?"

"Well," Cade started thoughtfully. "She
didn't throw us out, did she?"

"She told us to go."

"And yet we're still here." Cade
grinned. "I call that a good start."

***

Clara curled up in the office and
listened to the sounds of the two men cleaning up the table then
the kitchen. When was the last time she'd had anyone over? When was
the last time she actually invited anyone over? She couldn't
actually remember. Before Colton died probably.

She'd come home from the wake and shut
herself off from the world, ignoring phone calls and being so
miserable that her friends dropped away one by one. Back then it
had been a relief. She couldn’t cope with other people; couldn’t
share their grief when hers was so overwhelming.

Even though it felt strange having
someone else in her house, there was something nice about it. It
made the house suddenly feel alive. It made her seem less alone. It
made her
feel
less alone.

Now that she'd gotten over her surprise
at seeing Cade, and her surge of annoyance, she couldn't bring
herself to be angry. Despite the big mating issue hanging between
them, they'd always been solid friends, had always hung out
together and she missed that easy camaraderie, missed their
connection.

There were many times that she'd picked
up the phone to call him, only to drop it again, or called up her
email and started typing, asking when he was coming back then
stopping herself, unsure what she was asking for. Truth was, there
was a part of her that loved Cade more than just a friend, that
knew their relationship could be beautiful if she could just be
brave enough to try. Only there was a bigger part of her that was
grieving not just for the love that had been robbed from her, but
also for the love that had walked away when she'd said no that
final time because she could barely see straight from tears and
from the feeling of her heart breaking from her loss.

Clara had plenty of time to regret
sending Cade away because she'd missed him so much.

Restlessly, she uncurled her legs from
where she rested on the sofa and paced the small office, wondering
what to do next. Realizing it had suddenly gone quiet, she stopped
and frowned, straining for a sound. Surely they hadn't given up and
gone away already? Did they have no backbone?

She opened the door slightly and peeked
out. Her shoulders slumped as relief flooded her on hearing the
soft strains of the television. Judging from the noises that now
drifted towards her, they'd found a sports channel to watch. Then
she scowled. Seriously? They moved in
and
took over her
television? She made a small moan of annoyance and shut the door
again.