Fever for Three Read online

  Josh didn’t wait for her answer; he pulled her into the curve of his body, hand petting her belly.

  The storm raged, but it was okay. She could rest.

  * * * * *

  Paulo stripped the last bad screw out of the shelf he was replacing and stepped back. Either he was going to have to move it or he was going to have to patch the holes. He needed some plaster, he guessed.

  The school was in the best shape it had been in for years. He was there daily after leaving his gifts at Cheri’s house. Josh did the same, leaving little presents for their girl in her car, on her desk at work. Wooing her.

  The moon was coming. They needed to do something soon. They needed to get their act together and let their mate know she was theirs.

  “Looks like you’re down to the piss-ant jobs, Paulo.”

  He jumped a mile. He hadn’t heard Miss Rita coming at all. Of course, she wasn’t just the principal—she was their pack alpha, so she ought to be able to sneak up on people.

  “Si, almost done with everything, hmm?” He heard Cheri laugh, and his nostrils flared. Their girl.

  “You like the new one, hmm? She’s pretty.” Miss Rita always knew.

  “She’s not one of us, Miss Rita.” That was Josh, speaking from right down the hall. The man’s scent hit Paulo’s nose and his toes curled in his boots.

  Rita looked back and forth between the two of them, her brows going up. “So that’s how it is, huh? Well, well, well. Nice.”

  “What?” Josh growled a little. “We got something good.”

  “I’m glad. And she actually is one of us, so that will be happy.” She peered at them over her glasses, which Paulo knew she didn’t need. “Not that I intend to let Josh breed.”

  Paulo chuckled; Rita was a tough broad. “No? No blond babies for her?”

  “No. Only little brown ones.” She winked.

  His balls drew up and Josh snarled deep in his chest. “Cheri will decide it.”

  “Cheri’s not a wolf, si? She can’t choose.” Rita and Josh knew that, right? He wanted to believe what Josh said about her having wolf in her, but hope could be dangerous.

  Rita just laughed. “Don’t you worry about that, Paulo. She’s got more wolf in her than you think.”

  Josh crowed. “I knew it!”

  “Rita?” He shook his head, then popped Josh’s ass. “Quit laughing at me, butthead.”

  Wiggling, Josh danced a little. “I’m not. But I told you…”

  “I told you, sobrino. It will all be okay, huh?” Rita squeezed his shoulders. “You go on now. That shelf can wait.”

  He leaned in, brushed their cheeks together. Rita smelled like home, like calm peace and authority. “Si. Si. Gracias.”

  “Be good.” She gave Josh the fish eye, and Josh held up his hands, trying to look innocent, he thought. It really didn’t work for the man.

  At all.

  As soon as Miss Rita was gone, the innocent melted into something else. “Hey, honey,” Josh said, reaching for him but not touching. Not in public.

  “Hey. Been too long.” He wanted to get off, to let them both ride. “This waiting’s insane.”

  “I know. I sure know that.” Josh jerked off his hat, running his fingers through his hair.

  “You working? I can be done. Now.”

  “I came to find you. So if you’re done…”

  “Fuck yes.” He nodded, resisting the urge to grab Josh’s hand.

  Josh looked around, wrinkling his nose when he saw the bathroom. “Not here. Come on, honey. My truck is right outside.”

  “Sounds good. Somewhere we can spend time.”

  A long time. Possibly long enough to make Josh scream.

  “Oh then we should definitely go to my place, babe.”

  He offered Josh a smile, letting his hunger, his need show. Josh chuckled, grabbing his hand once they got around back of the school to pull him along.

  They slid into Josh’s truck and the man took off like a bat out of hell, dust pouring off the back wheels. They speeded along, taking the turn off the main road to Josh’s ranch on two wheels.

  “Want you, querido. Deep and hard enough to feel it tomorrow.”

  Josh moaned, fingers clenching the steering wheel. “I can smell you, honey. Hot. You’re even leaking a little.”

  “The moon’s coming and it’s driving me crazy, us all three not being together.”

  “I know.” The truck rocked to a stop, gravel spewing up. Josh reached for him. “I know.”

  He damn near killed himself on the gear shift, grabbing for Josh. “Now. Now, querido.”

  “Inside.” The word was a low growl, the wolf in Josh calling to him. They tumbled outside and stumbled into the house, groping and grappling.

  He slammed into Josh, fingers nearly claws, tearing at his mate’s shirt. Skin. Scent. Salt.

  They made it as far as the back hall before Josh turned on him, stripping him down so fast he was going to have rug burns.

  Then his back slammed against the wall, Josh covering him, biting at his shoulders.

  Paulo struggled a little, just because he knew Josh liked it. He was rewarded by Josh spinning him around and slapping his ass. That made him yelp and his butt pushed out in a clear offer. He could stand a little burn.

  Josh chuckled, and he heard a wet sucking noise. Then two wet fingers pushed inside him, stretching him.

  “Chingale!” Fuck yes. So good. “Mas. Mas, querido.”

  “God. Yeah.” Josh bit him where his shoulder and neck met, fingers slipping in and out of his body, stretching him so good, letting the burn spread. His cowboy was a fucking flame behind him, solid and needy, the scent of hunger like a drug.

  All they needed to make them complete was Cheri.

  It was as if Josh heard him, because the man leaned forward and spoke right next to Paulo’s ear. “I could have had her, babe. I could have taken her. She was like honey. I waited for you.”

  His entire body went tight, rock-hard, and he keened. “Yes. Yes, I’m waiting. Mates. Together.” If she was a wolf, they really could be mates. Pack.

  Paulo rolled back on Josh’s fingers. Josh gave him what he needed, pushing deeper, finding the place that made him cry out. Working that sweet spot, Josh sent him flying higher, threatening to make him come. He needed more.

  His growl split the air, his demand clear. “Fuck me, querido. Stop teasing.”

  “Oh thank God.” Josh laughed, a puff of hot air on his ear, and pressed against his ass, those rough fingers sliding free so the hot tip of Josh’s cock could slip in.

  He groaned and pressed back, the mushroom head spreading him. His body protested but Paulo breathed through it, making his muscles relax.

  Josh’s hands slipped down his sides, fingertips digging in, distracting him. He tested Josh’s strength, his body starting to sway. That sweet prick pressed deeper, spreading him, making him go up on tiptoe.

  Slamming down, he pushed Josh deeper, harder. He got a groan and another slap on his ass as a reward.

  “Sweet son of a bitch. So tight. Going to fuck you through the wall.”

  Paulo nodded, breathless and frantic. “Please. Por favor. Josh.”

  “Love this.” Josh nipped his nape, and he bucked backward, entire body bowing.

  “Si. Si. Can’t wait for all of us…” He trailed off because every time he mentioned all three of them together, Josh moaned, rocking harder and harder.

  Paulo could smell her somehow, smell her sweet skin. God, he wanted her between them, wanted to adore her. Josh grunted, hips slapping against his ass, and he bore down, squeezing.

  “Baby!” Josh arched and he shot, shaking hard as his spunk filled him.

  Sharp teeth sank into his shoulder, Josh groaning as if he was dying. He jerked one more time, his body trying to keep coming.

  He heard a soft gasp and their heads turned together, letting them see Cheri standing there, wide-eyed, one bandaged arm held to her chest. She was already crying. “I… I
’m sorry. I have to go.”

  Then before they could even get untangled, she was gone.

  Chapter Five

  Oh fuck.

  Cheri zoomed down the highway toward her house, tears streaming down her face.

  Oh God.

  She was a fool.

  All this time she thought Josh and Paulo were into her and…it was some sort of sex game—tag or something. See who could get into her pants first. They didn’t need her.

  They were together.

  Them. Paulo and Josh.

  Oh God.

  All she’d wanted to do was talk to Josh about school, for heaven’s sake. His nephew had bitten her hard enough she’d needed bandages, Josh’s sister didn’t seem to care, it had made her see weird things behind her eyes and…

  Did they have to be so pretty together? It made it even more awful. They were like…like really good secret-stash porn.

  This was what she got, wasn’t it? For feeling as if she was all that and that two guys would want her? Here she’d been agonizing over how to tell them, how to choose between them. All along they’d been playing her.

  She took the turn into her drive too fast, almost flipping her car, and she slammed on the brakes, sitting there shaking hard. Okay.

  Okay. First.

  Inside. Have a beer, check the bandage. Tomorrow…

  She had the rest of the week off. Tomorrow was ice cream and tequila and watching every chick flick she owned, starting with Steel Magnolias, damn it. She hiccupped, her breath trying to come too fast for her body to handle.

  Okay. Okay. Go in.

  She headed in, locked the house up and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. She tried to open the bottle and her arm screamed, the punctures pulling. Her knees buckled and she crumpled to the floor, crying hard, so ashamed and pissed she couldn’t bear it.

  Cheri just sat there and cried, her sobs making her whole body shake. She couldn’t stop, even when the noises turned into these weird little howls.

  Why had she left Texas? What the hell was she doing in the New Mexico desert?

  She missed her mom so bad.

  The door flew open, the lock giving way, and she could smell them. Paulo and Josh.

  She scrambled back, growling deep in her chest as she grabbed a knife from the rack hanging on the island, backing away toward her bedroom and safety. She was no one’s game, and she was no one’s second best.

  They had each other, damn it. They didn’t need her and she was going to make sure they knew they weren’t getting her.

  Assholes.

  “Cheri. Baby,” Josh called to her, his voice soft, easy. As if he was gentling a horse.

  “Y’all go away.” Her hand shook, and she rounded the door frame, reaching back for the door.

  “No.” The door wouldn’t budge because Paulo had zipped ahead to get a hold of it. “No, you have to listen to us.”

  “Get out of here. I have a knife. I don’t want to talk to you.” The room was swimming and her arm throbbed. “I’ve had a bad day.”

  “No, baby girl.” Josh advanced on her. “The moon is almost here. You have to let us explain.”

  “Explain what? That y’all are…together? I get it. Now go away. I won’t tell, okay? Just let me go to bed!” She was going to lose her shit.

  “It’s not that simple.” If it wasn’t for the knife she was waving, Paulo would be touching her. If he touched her, she might break.

  “Go away, please.” The tears were coming again and she wasn’t going to be able to stop them. “I’m an idiot. I know it. So do you. Just leave.” Her head was throbbing and her eyes felt gritty.

  “No.” Josh’s voice was sure, firm. “No, baby. We need you to breathe.”

  Paulo was making this deep, weird noise, rumbling for her. It made her want to reach for him, which was crazy.

  “Get out of here. I’m so tired and my arm hurts.”

  “Querida.” Paulo touched her arm. “We can make it better.”

  She jerked away, crying out as her cuts pulled.

  “Shh.” Josh knelt down on her other side. “I’m sorry, baby. So sorry you had to find out we were mates this way.”

  “Why did you two…” She covered her face with her hands, the handle of the knife against her cheek. “Why would you?”

  Why would they want to hurt her?

  Paulo rumbled. “We weren’t together when we met you, querida. We—”

  Josh elbowed Paulo. Hard. “What he means is it was you. We met you and we knew all three of us were meant to be mates.”

  “Mates? What?” She had obviously lost the thread of the conversation. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t understand why.

  “I know you’re one of us,” Josh went on, just smiling to beat the band.

  “One of you what? I’m not a boy.”

  “No, querida. Lobo. Like us.”

  “Loco? I’m not…” She wasn’t crazy. She wasn’t. She was tired and hurting and embarrassed and scared and her head hurt and her shoes were uncomfortable and she smelled like the hospital, but she wasn’t crazy.

  “No, baby.” Josh snorted. “Wolf. Miss Rita says you’re a wolf like us.”

  “A…” Okay. Okay, what the hell kind of slang was that? A wolf? Did that mean she was acting like a slut? Wasn’t that usually related to cats, metaphorically? She did feel a little toothy, but that was probably rage. “Just go away.”

  “No.” The word came out oddly flat, Paulo beginning to sound frustrated. “The full moon is coming. We can’t leave you now.”

  “You weren’t worrying about me an hour ago. Don’t do it now.” Assholes.

  “We were talking about you though, baby.” Josh’s grin went white hot, sexy as anything, and she wanted to beat him. “About how sweet you taste. About how good you feel. How we couldn’t wait to have you together.”

  Her lips parted and she stepped back, retreating as Josh pressed closer. Paulo took the knife from her nerveless fingers and set it aside as they all moved into her room.

  She was acutely aware of her bed, which seemed frilly and girly and maybe tiny. They were both bigger than she was.

  “It smells like you in here, makes me ache.” Josh was making this weird rumbly noise. It was almost like a wild dog. Strangely, it was also like the sound Josh’s nephew had made when he’d bitten her. It called to her in an odd way, made her want to growl back.

  Her arm throbbed and she cradled it. Paulo’s nostrils flared, fingers reaching for the bandage. “Don’t touch.”

  “Let me, querida. We can fix it. I promise.”

  It was hard not to let him touch her when he’d been so good to her. So helpful. He’d left presents. Flowers. Tortillas.

  “The doctors messed with it at the hospital. They said not to touch it.”

  “They don’t know, baby. They’re not in Lobo Basin.” Josh grabbed her, tugging her to them so she was pressed between their bodies. She couldn’t fight it. All she could do was lean.

  They were warm, bodies pressing against her, Josh at her front, Paulo cuddled against her back. They felt so good, so right, that it was hard to believe they’d been lying to her. She sniffled, her tears starting to dry up.

  “There, baby girl. Just breathe.” Josh leaned in, lips soft on her forehead. “You’re okay.”

  “But you. And I was so worried about how I was going to tell you. I’m not like this!” By the time she finished, Cheri was shouting.

  “You’re like us, querida. You’re ours. We’ll make it okay.”

  “How? How can you make anything okay?”

  “Well, there are two of us. That means we have an extra set of hands to help you with whatever you need.” Josh’s joy was infectious, and when he tilted her face up so he could kiss her, she let him.

  Paulo pressed against her ass, lips behind one ear, his breath hot as blazes. He was hard, so hard, and his cock pushed against her, prodding. He was moving restlessly, his hands on her body.

  She whimpered into the kiss a
nd Josh growled, deep and low. His mouth stayed on hers, his tongue pushing in, even as Paulo nibbled on her neck. They double-teamed her, and it should have been so wrong. But it wasn’t.

  Someone’s hands were on her breasts, other hands on her hips, thumbs drawing circles. They made her crazy separately. Together they threatened to make her go up in smoke.

  She pulled her lips from Josh’s. “We can’t. This isn’t—”

  It wasn’t like her. Somehow no one seemed to believe that.

  “Shh. Your arm feels better already, yeah? Just let us love you, baby.”

  Paulo groaned. “We’ll make it good. I swear.”

  She tried not to nod, but her head moved up and down instead of side to side. “Okay.”

  Cheri was fairly sure she was losing her mind. How could this be happening to her? How could she even handle them touching her and each other like they were? Was that weird?

  “Stop thinking so much. Trust your instincts.” Paulo nibbled her neck, making her shudder.

  “I don’t have any!” She didn’t, not when it came to sex.

  “You do. I can smell it.” Josh bit her bottom lip, hard enough to sting.

  “I am not stinky!” She was so tired of them sniffing and telling her they could smell her. She bathed!

  “You smell like heaven.” Paulo eased her down on the bed, hands sliding on her.

  “Don’t touch my arm.”

  “Let us kiss it better.” Josh peeled the bandages away.

  “You can’t… They put those butterfly bandages on it. It’ll bleed.”

  “No it won’t, querida.” Paulo grinned, bending to kiss her arm just above the bite.

  Cheri tensed, but the soft touch of Paulo’s tongue was gentle, easy. Right. So right.

  “That’s it, baby girl. Trust your heart, just for a second.”

  She wanted to do that. She did. Her heart told her they would never hurt her the way she thought they had. They just wouldn’t. They were meant to protect her, to be with her.

  “That’s right, querida. We won’t hurt you. Ever.”

  Wait. Had she said that? No. No, she was sure she hadn’t said it out loud.

  Paulo nuzzled her arm, the touches seeming to chase the pain away. Crazy. She was crazy. She couldn’t figure out exactly when she decided to stop fighting that and embrace it, but she did. She reached for Josh, wanting more of those insane kisses. Josh gave them to her, one after another, the press of lips stealing her breath.