30. Cole

Icould smell her arousal and it drove me wild. My wolf wanted this. He wanted us to claim the female, so every other male knew she was ours. He accepted that Silas and Tanner wanted to share her with us, but if any other male so much as looked at her the wrong way, they deserved to die.

It was all rather dramatic, but he thought in black and white and absolutes.

Mine,he growled, but I ignored his insistence that we sink our cock into her sweet pussy and our teeth into her shoulder to complete the claim.

She wasn't ready for that. She needed time to recover from the trauma she'd endured. But soon, very soon, I'd claim my mate. And when I did, she was stuck with me forever.

But first, I needed to make her feel good, so she understood the way I saw her was different from how she saw herself.

Her breath hitched in her chest as I pulled the boxers she wore down her thighs. I saw horizontal white lines and a few round puckered scars that looked like old cigarette burns.

For a moment, blinding rage threatened to eclipse lust, but I pushed it back. There was a time and a place for rage. Getting angry would only frighten Eva, and she'd experienced enough fear in her brief life. If I had my way, my mate would never be frightened again. But tearing that bastard guardian of hers to pieces was a job for another day.

We were hunting him, and eventually, we'd find the fucker.

I tossed the boxers to the floor and spread Eva's legs. Her pretty pink pussy was all puffy and wet, engorged with blood and dripping for me. She was embarrassed. I could tell from the way her cheeks were hot, and she refused to look at me.

"So fucking perfect," I breathed, more to myself than her. "So perfect for me, for us." The last bit I tacked on was an afterthought, but it was true. She needed all three of us to protect her.

Tanner was vicious and the type of mate who'd stop at nothing to keep her safe. Silas brought laughter and light into the deal, and I would nurture her body and ensure she had everything she needed.

The first taste of her nearly blew my mind. She was sugar and spice and all things addicting. She whimpered when I swiped my tongue from her swollen little clit to her opening.

"Cole, please!" She begged so sweetly, how could I refuse? The way she writhed against my lips and tongue had me humping the sofa like a goddamn teenager in heat. I was about ready to come and I hadn't even got my cock out. The fucking thing was rock hard and crying tears of pain.

This wasn't about me, though.

"Patience, baby girl," I purred, admiring the way her nipples pointed up, just begging to be sucked. Then I settled in between her thighs and went to town. Fuck, she was so damn responsive. The minute I pushed my finger inside her hot, tight little channel, she blew, screaming my name like she was praying for fucking absolution.

I drank up her release, and my wolf preened. We'd satisfied our mate, and he was pleased. My cock was less than pleased, but I'd fuck my hand later and be happy with that. Just like I had every other night since she'd stumbled into our lives.

The sound of a throat clearing snapped my head up. Eva's eyes flew open with shock and embarrassment.

"Started the party without me, eh?" Silas drawled.

I sat up and wiped my mouth with the edge of my tee. Silas wore an easy smile, but from the tense way he held himself, he was pissed. But that was a him problem, not a me problem.

Eva didn't need to be made to feel bad about experiencing some pleasure. If he had something to say, he could hash it out with me when she wasn't around.

Ignoring my asshole brother, I picked up the boxers from the floor and gently slid them back up Eva's legs. She refused to look at me, too embarrassed and ashamed.

"Let me talk to Silas," I said.

She nodded, still staring at the floor rather than at me.

"It's OK, you have nothing to be ashamed of, sweetheart." Her eyes were glassy when she finally made eye contact with me. "Silas isn't mad at you, baby girl. So don't get all worked up about this. He and I need to have a chat and then I'll come to your room, OK?"

She nodded once and then shot off, giving Silas a wide berth which, from the way he frowned, pissed him off. Tough shit. He should have read the fucking room and walked away when he realized what was going on. It's not like he didn't know long before he stepped in.

Eva wasn't exactly quiet when she came, and I was pretty sure the sweet smell of her arousal was all over the cabin by now.

"Why did you do that?" I asked in a low voice, anxious not to get into it while Eva was in earshot. Once I heard her bedroom door click shut, some of the tension in my shoulders eased.

Silas raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

"Jealous?" I taunted.

From the way his jaw flexed and his hands curled into fists, I was bang on the money.

"She's not ready!"

I fixed him with a hard stare. "Says who?"

"If you push her too hard, too quickly, she'll get scared and run." There was an edge to his voice and some of the irritation seeped away.

"She needed it, Silas," I replied, rubbing my fist across my jaw and instantly regretting the reflex action when the scent of her pussy caused my cock to come back to life in my pants. From the way Silas scowled, he wasn't immune to the scent either. "She thinks we can't stand to look at her. She thinks her scars make her ugly."

"But that's bullshit!" Silas hissed, thankfully keeping his voice down for once. "She's fucking gorgeous!"

"I know that. You know that. But the woman she sees in the mirror is not the woman we see. That asshole has fucked with her head so much she now thinks all kinds of stupid shit, none of it true." I paused, letting my words sink in. "I wanted her to feel how she makes me feel. And until you barged in, it was working."

He had the decency to look slightly chagrined. "Yeah, well, I heard her cry out and thought maybe she had hurt herself."

I rolled my eyes. "Really, Silas?"

"OK, asshole, so I was jealous! Happy now?"

All traces of amusement left me. "No, not really. Eva's upset, so you can sort dinner out while I try to repair the damage."