Chapter Twenty-One
Josie
Already marked, I didn’t know where to go from here. In fact, I wasn’t even sure where here was. Except that Diesel carried me in his arms, cuddling me close and murmuring soothing words, I’d have thought maybe I did go off that cliff. That I’d dreamed what happened over the past hour or two.
One moment, I was in the clutches of those who’d believed they owned me from the moment I was born. Everything I’d begun to hope for gone. I’d been willing to sacrifice it, for all of them. And then I didn’t have to.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, resting my cheek against Diesel’s shoulder.
“Home.” He continued on down the path. “Our home.”
“Okay.” I hadn’t been there, hadn’t seen it, and I wanted to very much.
He carried me to their car, leaving my former pack leadership scattered on the ground. “You’re safe now.”
I was pretty sure that was true. None of those males were going to want to be humiliated again. Not to mention the pain. They’d remember this night for a long time. I hadn’t realized what cowards they were, having only seen them pick on people smaller or weaker than they were in the past.
I rode in the back seat with Carver, while Aries drove and Diesel took shotgun. Home… “The closest thing I have to a home is the motel,” I murmured, but Aries gave me a headshake in the rearview mirror.
“We have claimed you, but you have to claim us back.”
“If you want to,” Carver added. “We will not ever make you do anything you don’t want to. Up to and including making you our mate. We would have preferred a thousand times over to mark you in private, while making love.’
“In a more romantic setting,” Aries said. “We’re sorry.”
“Listening to them, I suddenly got upset. “Why would you apologize for marking me to save my life? To show the whole world you care that much about me. Now, are you going to take me home and make love to me or not?”
“Josie,” Diesel said, “I like you like this.”
We got to their home and they led me in, through the living room and on down a hallway, upstairs and into a large bedroom.
“You still sure?” Carver asked, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “It’s all your free choice, mate.”
“So sure.” I tipped my face up for his kiss. “Never surer of anything in my whole life.” His lips descended on mine, teasing, sweet, and then deepening.
One by one, they kissed me then undressed me, together, one piece of clothing at a time, everything feeling like a dream as their hands touched me.
All of them. And it wasn’t strange. It was anything but.
Exciting but familiar. Sensual. The room was dim, although it was full daylight outside, and I let them lay me down on the bed.
Their admiring gazes made me feel beautiful, and I preened while watching them undress.
All mine? Fate had granted me these three handsome, males?
And, more important, they were good people, kind, loving, and they used their money to care for those who had nothing.
To protect the weak and the hurt. And that was the sexiest thing on earth.
Not that their hard, muscular bodies weren’t. They all joined me on the bed and returned to kissing me again, but now their lips were traveling beyond mine, exploring my body, awakening me.
I’d never even been kissed before, but as they touched me, I craved more, wanted connection, wanted whatever they could give me. I reached out and Aries pulled me close. His manhood bumped my thigh, and then he was touching me and arousing me further. “Are you ready, little mate?”
I nodded, beyond words, feeling the pressure of his cockhead at my core, pushing stretching then penetrating.
A sharp sting then nothing but pleasure as he moved within me.
The others were still kissing and caressing.
Every moment was a revelation, a tension building inside me and then exploding.
I tugged him down to me and sank my teeth into his skin.
Not all shifter females marked their mates, but I did.
Mine. Always mine. His knot swelled, binding us together.
When he rolled aside, Carver took his place and then Diesel.
Each of them different, but also in some intrinsic way the same.
They were mine. I loved them, and any female who saw them would see the marks I made on the sides of their necks.
We slept a little then did it all again. A few times. I might not be able to walk the next day, but I could sense their wolves. Hear them a little, and we were mated. The future glowed ahead of us. Fate smiled on me. I vowed to be the best mate ever to these three males. They deserved it.