STORY EXCERPT

Barrett froze as Tanner Willis ran into the bunkhouse, his red hair a mess and his pale skin flushed. The faint scent of blood followed in Tanner’s wake and his brothers Fergus and Nash were instantly at his side.

“Are you hurt?” Fergus asked, turning Tanner around to inspect his back.

“It’s not me that’s hurt,” Tanner said.

“Fuck.” Barrett ran to Tanners side, pushing Nash and Fergus aside.

The teasing sweet scent of caramel was mixed delicately into the scent of the blood and it was making his cat wild. No, it was making both of them wild. He tore the shirt from Tanner’s body in one swipe, burying his face into the fabric to make sure.

Asher appeared beside him, his eyes glowing amber as his canines descended to his bottom lip. “Holy fuck. So this is what it feels like.” Asher said softly.

“Where is she?” Barrett growled out the words.

“I was just up at the house. Melanie found an injured homeless woman nearly frozen to death…”

Barrett’s cat took over and he shifted in the most violent explosion of rage he’d ever experienced. He roared as he ran from the bunkhouse to Samson’s home. His mate was what? Was dying? Dying as he stood and had a beer.

“She’s not yours alone,” Asher said. He was beside Barrett, still human, but openly displaying his cat in an uncharacteristic slip of his usual iron control.

“It was faint,” Wes said, his voice garbled as a growl of anger split the cold air around them.

“But it was enough,” Troy said. “She’s ours, and she’s not going to die. We’ll fly in anyone we need to save her. We’ll…”

“Jason is all we need to save her,” Asher said. He held open the door and Barrett ran into the living room.

The scent of their mate was thick in the air. Barrett shook his head and tried to detect which way to go. He skidded to a stop as their enforcer, Cooper, held up his hand to halt them.

“What in the hell are the four of you doing?”

Barrett shifted back to human. He needed to know where his mate was, how injured she was, who she was, and to accomplish all that he needed to be human.

“Where is she?” Asher said. He proceeded to snarl at Cooper as he bumped his chest against the larger man in a very uncharacteristic display of raw emotion. The silver-tongued lawyer was nowhere to be seen. Asher was all cat.

Barrett clapped his hand on Asher’s shoulder and hauled him away from Cooper. “Tanner just came into the bunkhouse covered in the scent of our mate.”

Cooper’s deadly expression softened slightly and he took a step back from Asher as he absorbed the information. “I see.” Cooper’s glare was still fixed on Asher.

“I’m sorry, Cooper,” Asher said. He shook himself and Barrett sensed his brother pulling his cat back under his control.

“You won’t be any use to her if you’re out of control.” Cooper relaxed fully and regarded each of them in turn. “Melanie was injured when we found her. I understand your feelings, but she’s a human. You’re going to have to go slowly. You can’t show your cats no matter how angry you become at her being beaten so badly.”

Barrett felt himself disappearing into his cat’s primal rage. Someone had beaten his mate. Someone had hurt her deliberately. The sharp slap to his face had him opening his eyes and stilling the snarl that was rumbling through him.

“Control,” Asher said. His face was inches from Barrett’s and he could see Asher’s cat deep in his blue eyes. “She’s human.”

“Someone beat her?” Wes and Troy said together, their pain obvious.

“We’ll keep her safe now,” Barrett said, pulling back his useless rage. They could do nothing to change what had already happened. They needed to focus on what they could control. “She will never be hurt or cold again.”

“Barrett?” Melanie said. “Why do you have no clothes on?”

Cooper’s snarl had them all turning. Melanie stood in the hallway to the clinic, her face pale and her eyes wide. Cooper may just kill me.

“Turn around, angel, and I’ll get some pants for him.” Melanie turned. She carried the scent of pain, her normally bubbly personality absent. “Your little lady may be their mate.” Cooper returned in the space of one heartbeat and tossed Barrett some sweats.

Barrett quickly pulled them on and walked toward Melanie, his brothers close behind him. Cooper pulled his tiny mate into his arms as she sobbed into his chest. Barrett’s blood froze in his veins. Melanie should have been pleased that they had found their mate.

“Can you tell us anything about her?” Asher asked softly. “Please.”

Melanie sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry. Of course you need to know everything.”

She sounded so sad that Barrett began to think they were too late. Their mate had died.

“She’s alive,” Jason said.

Barrett was able to breathe again. He inhaled sharply as Jason came to stand beside Cooper.

“Her injuries are extensive and I think the hypothermia may have actually aided in saving her life. Her internal injuries stopped bleeding with her body temperature being so low. You’re all her mates?”

“She’s alive now, but will she survive?” Asher asked.

Barrett didn’t want to hear the answer. He wanted to run to her and hold her. He wanted to see what she looked like. Love her forever and never let her go. He didn’t want to hear that she was about to die. He knew in that instant that it was too late for him. Even without ever laying eyes on her he had already bonded to his mate. If she died he’d follow. He’d then love her in the afterlife for an eternity, despite their being denied a life together as mortals.

ADULT EXCERPT

Barrett felt Jade relax at the banter between the twins and he quickly glanced at Asher to see if he had any idea what Jade had to be embarrassed about. Asher shook his head. Asher being inside his head was a revelation he would have to think through at another time. They needed to mate Jade. Not just because his cock was about to drop off it was so hard, but because he didn’t want her to be in any pain.

“I have,” Jade said, pausing to look at him over her shoulder, “had sex before.”

“Yes, Jade,” Barrett said slowly. She hadn’t seemed self-conscious when she’d been furious with them.

“Well, I’ve never had sex with…” She pulled her arm from Asher’s hold and waved it between all of them.

Asher spoke before he did. “More than one man?”

Barrett felt overwhelmed with relief that Beau and his slimy friends hadn’t sexually assaulted her. Her boss may have been a sniveling coward, but Barrett couldn’t think ill of the man for saving his mate before she’d had to suffer that abuse as well. And there was no doubt in Barrett’s mind that Beau would have eventually done it.

Barrett kissed Jade’s neck and turned her in his arms. “None of us has ever made love to our mate before, Jade. I’m sixty, in human years, and yet you can feel me trembling with nervous excitement just by having you in my arms.

“I can’t believe I’ve actually found you and you’ve accepted me as yours. You’re also the most amazing and beautiful woman on the planet. No one gets that lucky. But I have. I want our joining to be as wonderful and special for you as it for me. I want you to know what a miracle you are to me.”

“I know now, Barrett,” Jade said with a smile, wrapping her slim arms around his neck. “I don’t feel nervous anymore.”

Barrett’s cat roared in his mind and Barrett submitted to its driving need to make Jade his. He lowered his mouth to hers, gentle despite his desperation. Her lips were still sore. He would give her nothing but pleasure. Only ever pleasure.

His hands lowered to her small, firm ass and tugged her up and against his throbbing erection. He swiped his tongue into her mouth and lapped up her taste, swallowing her soft cries of pleasure.

Lowering Jade to the bed, his brothers moved aside but continued to caress Jade’s skin. They remained connected to their mate.

“I love you, Jade. I’ll love you forever.” Barrett almost purred at the smile she gave him. That she was giving him her love, agreeing to share his life, was almost enough to bring him to tears, and he hadn’t cried since he was five.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Jade. You must tell me to stop if anything I do…”

Jade pulled his head down, silencing him with her lips, her hands tangling in his hair. With a growl he told his mate how much his cat enjoyed her zeal.

“Gentle with him, Jade,” Asher said. “I know for a fact he’s a bit soft.”

Jade wrapped her legs around his, bringing her hot pussy in direct contact with his aching cock. He clamped down his muscles, holding off his orgasm by the barest of threads. Releasing Jade’s lips he leaned on one arm, freeing his other hand to position his cock at her entrance. A moan escaped him when the sensitive head slid through her juices.

“So hot and wet for me, mate.”

Jade’s eyes grew wide and her breath caught as he pushed slowly inside her silky heat.

“I don’t think I…”

Jade’s silence would have worried him had she not moaned her pleasure so loudly while he slid his cock smoothly inside her pussy until his balls were pressed against her ass.

“We’re made for each other, my love. Never forget that.”

“You do have a massive penis, Barrett,” Wes said, caressing the hair from Jade’s face and kissing her forehead.

Jade moaned again as Barrett held his weight off her delicate, damaged chest and started to move. Wes disappeared. The world disappeared. There was only Jade. There was only him and his mate, his cock stroking into her, her pussy starting to spasm with her approaching orgasm.

* * * *

Jade had never before experienced the kind of pleasure and connection she was feeling with Barrett. With all of them as they touched her. She felt Barrett’s cock thrusting deeply inside her. Wes was a warm reassurance as he stroked her hair and relaxed her with the gentle teasing of his brothers.

Troy was gently stroking her arm as she clung to Barrett’s massive shoulders. Asher was clasping tight to her thigh, like he was ready to pull her free if anything his brother did caused her pain. It was a sweet pain she was feeling now. Barrett was truly huge all over and the way his cock was stretching her felt incredible.

She was close to release. Poised tantalizingly on the edge of something phenomenal.

“Please,” she said, begging for something, but not sure what.

“I’m here, honey,” Troy said.

She screamed his name as his fingers slowly circled her tender clitoris. She didn’t care how he’d known what to do. She just prayed he didn’t stop. Barrett’s thrusts grew deeper and more rapid.

“Jade.” Barrett moaned her name and lowered his head to nip at the hickey he’d made on her neck.

As soon as his mouth connected with the sensitized spot her orgasm hit. He stroked faster and harder as her pussy clenched around him. Her body shook and she gasped for breath, the pleasure so intense she thought she’d black out. Nothing had ever felt like this.