Tigress for Two (17 page)

“Whenever you and the Browns are ready, Korbin and I are.” He leaned in to whisper, but in a room of shifters it was pointless. “I heard what happened with your mating. You okay?” She knew everyone heard him.

Adam was her friend. They saw each other often after she went to work in control central, but rarely discussed anything personal. “It’s a little much to take in, but yeah. They’re good men.”

“I’ve known Taber for years and he’s a standup guy. If Thorben’s half the man as Taber then you’re truly blessed by fate. Not to mention you’re a special woman and deserve a good mate…or two.” Adam chuckled. “That will treat you like a queen.”

“Thanks Adam, I wish you an amazing mate to complement you in every way.” She honestly meant it. Adam would make a woman very happy if he could only find the woman he was destined to be with.

“Are you packed and ready to go?” Taber came up next to her, placing his hand high on her back.

Thorben slipped up to her other side and placed his hand low on her back. A sense of security wrapped her like a soft, warm blanket. She savored the moment. She tried to remember the last time she was so cared for and the only time she remembered was as a child on a particularly nasty storm, curled into her father’s arms. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Taber stepped away to pick up their bags, but the moment his hand left her, longing shot through her like fire. Need swept over her, buckling her knees. Thorben’s arm, tight around her waist, kept her upright. She dipped closer to his body.

Her hand went to his chest with the thought of pushing away from him, but as contact was made, longing replaced distance. She wanted him like her next breath. Forgetting about everyone surrounding them, she clawed at his shirt, trying to unbutton it, but failing miserably.

“Taber, touch her!” Somewhere in the distance Kallie heard Ava’s faint command.

As if being propelled by another force, Kallie pressed her lips to Thorben’s, frantically diving  her tongue into his warm mouth.

A hand timidly touched her shoulder and she collapsed to the floor, drawing Thorben with her. Taber bent, his hand still firmly on her shoulder.

“What just happened?” Her voice sounded strange and unlike her own.

“The mating desire. You haven’t confirmed Thorben as your mate yet and until you do, you’ll suffer.” Ava explained. “Taber’s touch will only hold the desire off for so long. I suspect with what you’ve displayed just now, you only have a couple hours until it’s uncontrollable.”

The room cleared, and relieved that she was no longer putting on some kind of show for the family, Kallie leaned against Thorben. “A few hours, can we get back to the compound in time?”

“It’s risky, but if we can’t control it, we’ll be in trouble in the helicopter.”

Taber was right. There wasn’t enough room in the helicopter if the mating desire became overwhelming. What choice did they have but to stay where they were?

“Why not go back to the cabins? It will be private. I can take the plane if Adam and Korbin can’t stay. As soon as this passes we’ll fly to the compound.” Thorben snuggled his chin into her shoulder, nuzzling her hair.

Taber seemed to consider their options before nodding. “Mom, can you ask Adam to come in?”

“Sure son. Don’t break the contact. I’m not sure what will happen if you do and it might not be something you can stop again.” Ava tapped her son’s shoulder and then left to fetch Adam.

“Kallie, do you think you can stand? We’ll try to get you to the couch.” When she shook her head, Taber sat next to them, sliding his other arm around her. “We can be at the cabins within the hour.”

When she glanced up at him, concern filled his eyes. She knew he was feeling her pain as the mating desire continued to bubble like boiling water just below the surface. It was suppressed, but just barely. Soon it would be upon her and there would be no way to ignore it. She longed to say something to ease Taber’s concern, but fighting the desire was too much effort. Lying against Thorben, she was completely drained.

Adam stepped into the living room. “Ava said you needed me.”

“We have to go back to the cabins. Kallie’s mating desire with Thorben won’t last long enough to get us back to the compound. I’d like you and Korbin there for protection, but if you wish to return back to the compound I can get my brothers.”

“No Taber, we’re at your disposal until I have to follow a lead to Robin. I’ll let the Elders know so they don’t expect us this evening.” Adam pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “The cabins are almost an hour from here, will she make it?”

“That far yes, but we’ll need to be airborne in the next fifteen minutes. We want her away from here before John gets back. My father will find out if he means Kallie any harm or if he got wrapped up in it because of his friendship with Travis.” He smiled at Kallie, before turning back to Adam. “We’ll bring her to the helicopter. You and Korbin meet us there in ten minutes.”

A moan escaped her lips, as another wave of longing hit her. Unlike before the waves were gentler, but still took everything in her to not start grinding her body into Thorben’s.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Kallie’s head fell against Taber’s chest as he carried her to the same cabin they shared before. Thorben walked beside them, close enough to keep his hand in hers. He wanted to carry her, but they all knew they might not make it to the cabin if he did. “Hurry,” she cried out as another wave hit her. She squeezed Thorben’s hand and her back arched. Her resolve was almost gone and when that happened, they’d be in trouble.

Minutes seemed to be hours to finally reach a bedroom. Taber laid her in the center of the bed, both men careful to remain in contact with her. They glanced toward each other before turning their sparking green eyes back to her.

“Naked! I need you…now!” She squirmed on the bed.

“I’ll leave you two.” Taber released her hand and pain coursed through her.

She snatched his hand back to ease the pain, but this time it didn’t help. “It’s not like before. We’ve held off for too long. I need you both.”

Thorben wasted no time striping his clothes. She suspected his own yearning had stripped his control away too. Naked, he crawled onto the bed next to her and tugged her shirt up over her head. It hung from the arm where Taber still held her hand. Thorben pushed her bra to the side as his lips feverishly claimed her nipple. His other hand went to her jeans, unbuttoning them and pushing them down her legs with them went her last shred of her sanity.

“Taber, please…”

Taber removed his own clothes, only letting go of her hand when he had to. She wasn’t sure, and at that moment didn’t care, if Taber stripped because he wanted her or because his own yearning had become too much for him. She reached out, her hand landing firmly on his chest, needing to feel him against her. He slid on the bed, lifting her up so he was behind her, and tilted her head so he could claim her mouth. His shaft prodded her back. She wanted to turn and take it, but he trapped her against him, holding her still.

Thorben fingers slipped between her legs and teased her bundle of nerves, dragging pleasure from her over sensitized system, in hard, hot waves. She moaned around Taber’s unrelenting kiss. She was captive between their bodies. Thorben’s fingers thrust into her as his thumb continued to wring more pleasure from her core.

Taber’s teeth grazed her lower lip and he pulled back enough to let her cries of frustrations escape.

“I need one of you inside me. Please…” They stopped and she thought they were going to ignore her demands, but Thorben quickly slipped on top of her, angling between her spread thighs, and drove into her with one powerful thrust. He gave her no time to catch her breath before he began rocking in and out.

Taber scooted from behind and knelt before her, the hard length of him jutting toward her.  Without invitation, she took him into her mouth, working her way to the base. She used her hand to cup the end of the hard shaft, moving her mouth up and down the length, slowly at the tip. Taber groaned and reached to cup the back of her head. He allowed her to set the pace.

Trapped in pace of Thorben’s thrusts, she fought to find the perfect tempo to allow them to work together. Their rhythm quickly synced and she moaned, knowing they were being pleasured as one, rocking together in perfect harmony, as her ecstasy began to overwhelm her. Digging her nails into the back of Taber’s thighs, she held on to him as every pump sent pulses exploding through her. She came apart at the seams, her inner muscles clenching Thorben as he continued to drive his shaft into her.

Ecstasy engulfed her. Taber cried out his release. She writhed beneath Thorben, swallowing Taber juices, before another wild climax spiraled through her.

Thorben cried out as he slammed home a final time before he collapsed to the side, their legs still entangled. Taber leaned against the back of the bed, his eyes closed.

She tugged his hand, too exhausted to speak. He scooted down on the bed and her breathing slowly returned to normal. She cuddled against both bears, contented.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Kallie roused in a daze of satisfaction, aware of the weight of her mates huddled on her sides. She was exhausted. Since arriving at the cabin their bouts of lovemaking were only interrupted when one went in search of food. Longing to burrow back to sleep, but knowing the clan needed them at the compound, forced her up.

“What is it, mate?” Thorben rubbed his face against her hair, marking her with his scent.

“I don’t want this to end, but we have to return to the compound. The Elders are waiting.”
Will things change when we’re surrounded by my clan?

“There’s more.” Taber prodded. “You’re worried about something else. I can feel your anxiety like a lead weight in my stomach.”

When she remained silent, Thorben added. “I feel it as well. What is it? Whatever it is, we’ll do our best to relieve your worry.”

If only it was that easy.
“I just want you to be happy at the compound.”

“You don’t get it, do you Kal?” Taber propped up on his elbow, staring down at her. “You’re all we want. It doesn’t matter where we are, as long as you’re with us.”

Those were the words she wanted to hear, but the nagging doubt her father drilled into her for so many years continued to creep inside her insecurities. “There was another reason I never wanted to mate. I didn’t want to be tied to someone because of hormones, or because we’d produce children to keep our lines alive. I want someone to love me for me, not because of the chemical reaction our bodies create.”

Thorben dragged his fingers slowly up her naked stomach, gazing at her intently. “The mating desire only brings people together, it doesn’t produce love. I believe mates would eventually find each other even if our bodies didn’t go through the mating desire, because we’re destined to be together.”

“I agree.” Taber added. “Look at shifters that mate with humans, their first child has a fifty-fifty chance of being a shifter and from there the odds go down with each child. That has nothing to do with keeping the shifter genes alive. The mating desire is the same as what humans have with love at first sight, except stronger.”

“Humans can get their relationships wrong, where we don’t. We have to search for the one we’re meant to be with, but once we find our mate, we’re united until death. What could be better than spending your life with the one you’re destined to be with?” Thorben used the tip of his finger to tilt her head toward him, bringing her face inches from his.

“When you put it that way, nothing.” She pressed her lips against his, this time not out of desire, but because he said the right thing—what she needed to hear.