STORY EXCERPT

Ever since the incident with Celeste’s stalker, Phelan Redmond and Hopper Sawyer had changed, and Tammy wasn’t sure that was a good thing. They were her mates, and though she’d known that since she was a young teenager, neither man had ever given her the time of day. In fact, they’d gone out of their way to avoid her.

When Tammy had decided to goad them into claiming her by telling her parents, in front of the two men, that she was going away to college, she’d expected them to protest. Her plan had backfired and neither man had said a word. After she’d been hurt, they’d been practically by her side since, but after feeling so rejected, she wasn’t sure she wanted anything to do with them anymore.

Her heart was one big continuous ache and though she craved their touch, she wasn’t about to make the first move. She wasn’t sure how they’d kept their distance or their sanity since she’d heard her parents, as well as her brother, Tarik, and his best friend, Hodge, say that once a sabear had met his fated one, the mating heat kicked in and there was no way to stop the inevitable conclusion. She was also puzzled over how Phelan and Hopper hadn’t gone insane since they’d been living in the same town for years. It was reported that once a sabear shifter met his mate, they had to claim her so their inner beasts wouldn’t take over. If that happened, the likelihood of being able to shift back into their human form was slim.

Maybe they had to do more than touch her hand or arm. Maybe they had to actually kiss her for the mating heat to kick in. Maybe it had something to do with their pheromones and saliva mixing to start the unrequited lust she’d only ever heard about. That made sense to her. Perhaps it was set off because she’d been in danger. She gave a mental shrug, because any or all of those scenarios could have been a catalyst.

She could be wrong, of course, but secretly she was glad her mates weren’t about to go crazy or turn into wild animals never to be human men again. The thought of never seeing them, let alone touching them, caused pain to pierce her heart and her breath to hitch in her throat as a sob threatened to form. She took a deep breath and then another, sighing when the constriction in the vicinity of her chest alleviated slightly.

Sometimes Tammy wished she had more of the sabear DNA because if she did, she might be able to shift into her animal form, too. Sabears were a mix of a polar bear and the extinct saber-toothed tiger, with the polar bear being the more predominant gene.

Tammy sighed.

She should be happy with who she was and most of the time she was. She was faster and stronger than the average human, and also had enhanced senses, but that was as far as it went. Sure, she liked having those added influences, but she’d gotten it into her head that if she could shift, just maybe Phelan and Hopper would have claimed her.

“Tammy, are you okay?” Tammy glanced toward Celeste as she walked up the steps to the veranda. Celeste was Tammy’s best friend. They’d met in college, and though Celeste had dropped out when she’d been offered a modeling contract, they kept in touch. Celeste had been a supermodel and had had a creepy stalker after her. When Tammy had invited her to come visit her on St. Lawrence Island off the mainland of Alaska, she’d jumped at the chance. Turned out Celestial—Celeste’s model name—had been mate to Tammy’s brother, Tarik, and Hodge, her brother’s best friend.

Celeste hadn’t baulked about giving up her modeling career since she’d fallen in love with Tarik and Hodge. Tammy was glad that her friend was here, but she just couldn’t shake the dejection that had assailed her as she’d watched her friend fall in love.

She could have been in a relationship, too, but Phelan and Hopper didn’t seem to want to be with her.

“I’m fine,” Tammy remembered to answer and forced a smile.

“That’s a lie.” Celeste sat down in the chair next to her.

Tammy shrugged and she glanced away.

“Do you want me to go and shove my foot up their asses?”

Tammy snorted and then giggled. Leave it to Celeste to make her laugh for real. “No, but thanks for offering.”

“They love you, you know.”

Tammy shook her head and blinked the tears that stung the back of her eyes away.

“They do. I don’t know why they’re holding back, but they watch you with such longing in their eyes.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Tammy sighed.

“Bullshit!” Celeste shoved to her feet, her expression set in determination, and she walked quickly toward the steps.

“Please?” Tammy whispered.

Celeste turned to face Tammy. “You’re hurting. What sort of friend would I be if I didn’t do something about that?”

“I don’t want them coming to me because someone forced them to.”

“I don’t think—”

“Please, Celeste, just keep out of it.”

Celeste sighed and nodded as she pulled Tammy into her arms. Even though Celeste was average height standing at around five foot seven, she towered over Tammy. Tammy was five foot two, and though she wasn’t svelte like Celeste, she wasn’t fat either. She had more muscles because of her shifter DNA, and she had curves. Her breasts weren’t huge, but since she was so short, they looked bigger than they actually were. She was a C cup and a healthy size eight. Her waist dipped in but her hips looked too wide. Her thighs were muscular, and though they weren’t bulging or odd looking, Tammy hated her legs. Maybe, Hopper and Phelan didn’t find her attractive either. Maybe they thought she wasn’t feminine enough. 

ADULT EXCERPT

Phelan nuzzled her cheek with his nose and then slanted his mouth over hers. Tammy gasped and groaned as their tongues danced and dueled with each other’s. He tasted so good, so right, she could have gone on kissing him forever if she didn’t have to breathe. She was so hungry and needy for him, she became the aggressor and stroked her tongue into his mouth, tasting every inch of his moist recess. He growled and groaned, and then to her disappointment, broke the kiss.

“Drop your legs, baby.”

Tammy unhooked her legs from around his hips and whimpered when the boxers rubbed against her aching clit. She was about to tug them out of her folds but Phelan and Hopper beat her to it. They literally shredded her borrowed clothes with their elongated claws until she was standing before them totally naked.

“So fucking sexy.” Hopper, who’d moved behind her while she’d been lost in Phelan’s kiss, smoothed a hand over her ass and then squeezed one cheek and then the other.

“Gorgeous,” Phelan growled as he skimmed his hands up over the outside of her thighs, over her hips, waist, and up toward her breasts.

Tammy gulped and then held her breath expectantly as she gazed up into Phelan’s eyes. “What—” She’d been about to ask what he was waiting for, but he moved his hands from the outside of her breasts and covered them with his large palms.

Tammy moaned and shook as the fiery famishment sent shivers of need racing up and down her spine and deep into her belly.

“Shit, she’s right on the edge.” Hopper wrapped an arm around her waist and then began to lick and nibble on her neck before sucking her earlobe into his mouth.

“Oh.” Tammy’s legs wobbled, and though she tried locking her knees, it was too late. If Hopper and Phelan hadn’t been holding her up she would have melted to the floor.

“Bed,” Hopper said before he scooped her up into his arms and set her on the mattress, then climbed up next to her.

Tammy shoved her hand under the hem of his shirt and smoothed her hand over his ripped, washboard abs, up over his ribs, and over his pectoral. She sighed with surprise when she felt that his small nipple was as hard as her own were. She pushed the shirt higher wanting to see his muscular body, and then Hopper was helping her. He sat up and tugged his shirt up and over his head before dropping it over the side of the bed.

She stared with lustful fascination at all the dips, hollows, and ridges delineated under his warm skin, and just as she was reaching out toward him, Phelan climbed onto the bed near her feet.

Her heart stopped beating and her breath hitched in her throat when she noticed Phelan was totally naked. He was brawny with muscle. His broad shoulders and biceps were bulky. His pectorals, jumped and twitched as he moved, and though he was bigger than the average man, he wasn’t over the top with muscle like a body builder, but he wasn’t far off. His body narrowed at the waist and hips, and when she saw his erect penis, she gasped. The head was broad and bulbous, an angry reddish-purple color, and it was thick and long. Moisture glistened in the slit at the top and she watched with fascination as it bobbed up and down as if of its own accord.

Tammy subconsciously licked her lips and wondered what he’d taste like. She hoped she’d have the chance to find out.

“Breathe, sweetheart,” Hopper whispered into her ear as he shoved an arm beneath her neck and head.

“Are you okay, baby?” Phelan asked.

“Yes?” Tammy cleared her throat when she squeaked out an answer that had sounded more like a question, and then tried again. “Yes.”

“I’ll go slow, Tams. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

Tammy grasped one of Phelan’s hands in hers. “You would never hurt me, Phelan. I trust you. Stop treating me as if I’m fragile. I’m not.”

Phelan glanced at Hopper and nodded. Hopper nudged her gaze toward his and then he was kissing her. He tasted different than Phelan but oh so good. She moaned as his tongue stroked hers almost lazily, but each slide and swirl fired her libido up another notch. Phelan was more aggressive, going in for the kill. Hopper seemed as if he liked to savor, and Tammy was onboard with both techniques. She’d loved these two men for a long time and had dreamed about this moment for years. Her dreams were nothing like reality and reality was so much better than her dreams.

Just as she was about to turn onto her side toward Hopper, Phelan began to smooth his hands up and down her legs. He started at her ankles, gliding up over her shins, and when he got to her knees, he nudged her legs further apart and then started caressing up and down her inner thighs.

Tammy couldn’t stay still. Her legs moved restlessly and she bowed her hips up off the bed.

Hopper released her lips and then leaned up over her. She cried out when he cupped one breast in his hand, kneading and molding it as he licked over the tip of her other nipple. Her pussy clenched and cream dripped from her hole.

“She’s on fire,” Phelan rasped out as he pushed her legs wider apart.

Tammy jerked and moaned when he blew warm, moist breath onto her clit, and then whimpered when Hopper drew her nipple into his mouth and began suckling on it.

“Oh god.”

“Let’s see if you taste as good as you smell,” Phelan said right before he licked up through her folds.

“Ah,” Tammy cried out as her body quaked and the pressure inside of her built higher.

“So fucking sweet.” Phelan groaned. “I could lick this sweet pussy all day long.”