Or something. Before he could comment further, they exited the truck and were met by Dean coming off the porch. Crap.
Dean’s eyes glowed with welcome, and he held out his hand with a wide grin. “Hey.
Ms. Penny?”
“Word sure travels fast,” she murmured to Burke before taking Dean’s hand. “Call me Rachel.” Dean brought her palm to his lips, and to his relief, Burke sensed no arousal wafting off the woman. But when Dean refused to let her hand go, his eyes glued to Rachel as if she were his, Burke saw red.
Possession rode him, brother or not, and he growled low in his throat, warning Dean away from what he considered his. Rachel swung to face him, her mouth open in surprise, and that quickly, the sweet scent of desire overrode the little gathering.
“Shit.” Dean sucked in a breath, his golden eyes glowing as he struggled not to shift, his eyes and hands caught in the change. But he didn’t move away from Rachel fast enough to suit Burke.
“Mine.” Burke inserted himself between her and his brother. Glaring down into Dean’s gaze, he forced his brother to break away and turn fully human. Dean growled his displeasure but did as Burke bade.
“Excuse me?” Rachel’s voice sounded too husky for his peace of mind.
And then Grady turned the corner and froze as the wind changed, bringing Rachel’s scent to him. “So sweet.” Grady rumbled and moved closer. “So rich.”
“So mine,” Burke said again, needing to stake his claim. Hell, he wanted to fuck Rachel right now, to more than mark her, but to mate with her, so that his brothers and every other damned male would see who she belonged to.
“Mine?” Rachel, unfortunately, didn’t seem to be on the same track. “We are talking about something else and not me, aren’t we?”
His brothers turned as one to stare at her, and Burke shifted on his feet, trying to will away his growing erection and regain a measure of control. “Yeah. My brothers are really into my truck, always trying to take what isn’t theirs and isn’t going to be,” he tried warning more subtly.
“I’m thinking he didn’t use it yet.” Dean meant the condom, and just thinking about putting it on for Rachel made Burke want to howl with lust.
“Nope. This should be good.” Grady grinned.
Rachel frowned. “You know, Burke, you’re right. They’re just as irritating as you said they’d be.”
Grady and Dean laughed and stepped back, breaking some of the tension. “I like her,” Grady admitted. “Stubborn, hot as hell, and she doesn’t seem to like Burke much.
Perfect.”
Rachel blushed, her features drawn in annoyance. Burke understood all too well how she felt. He loved his brothers, but they could be such a pain sometimes. He was only three years older than Grady and five more than Dean, but at times he felt almost ancient.
“I never said I didn’t like Burke. He’s been very…nice to me.” By her tone, he could tell she was remembering their encounter in the alley. And again his lust spiraled, his desire to mark her as feline growing almost impossible to resist.
His brothers stopped smiling as they caught the musk of intent wafting from him.
“Oh yeah,” Dean whispered, his eyes again blazing. “We haven’t marked a female in forever.”
Rachel blinked as if in a daze, staring from Dean to Grady and then to Burke with a familiar need. Her eyes narrowed and like before, her pupils elongated. Her skin shimmered with Shifter energy, and Burke felt the unspoken desire between them.
Unfortunately, it encompassed more than just him, but his brothers as well. He didn’t want to, but knowing he could right now fully mark Rachel with their help spurred his intent.
“Do you want this, Rachel?” he asked, knowing she had no idea of what he really meant. But his hormones didn’t seem to care. He had to mark her in the worst way. And sexual scenting from three ready cat Shifters would certainly do the trick.
“Rachel?” Grady growled, his teeth sharp and bright under the sun.
“Rachel?” Dean repeated, licking his lips. “Just say yes.”
She stared at them all, her eyes wide, her full lips parted, readying to respond. Burke scented arousal, confusion, and the first stirrings of feminine fear, bringing him fast to the point of no return. He could fight against arousal, but the smell of fear stirred his need to hunt. And taking Rachel was something he wanted more than his next breath.
The sound of a vehicle approached, tearing Rachel’s attention. Like a switch that had been thrown, the smell of her arousal abruptly disappeared, leaving three highly aroused Shifters nowhere to go but frustrationville.
Chapter Four
Rachel swayed as she stared at the familiar blonde coming toward her with a bright smile. Dizzy, she could only breathe deeply and blink to clear her blurred vision. Dean and Grady spun and left without another word, and their departure made her upset for some reason. She’d been wanting something…
But it was Burke who drew and held her attention from the blonde. His hair blew around his face despite the calm, and his amber eyes looked overly bright in such a harsh, masculine face. His mouth was taut, as if Burke strained against hunger. Enthralled by the sharp sight of him, her gaze wandered from his eyes to his long throat to his broad chest and farther down, finally resting on the large bulge tense against the front of his jeans.
Confusion filled her. Burke wanted her, of that she had no doubt. And the others…they’d been, what? Aroused and wanting her too? A woman his brothers had just met? They couldn’t possibly have intimated they’d desired her. That nonsense about marking? She tore her gaze from his erection and stared into his needy eyes. The look on Burke’s face just now. None of it made any sense.
He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her.
“Burke?”
He deliberately tightened his hold, as if to show her who was in charge. But before she could protest, he kissed her. Hard, possessive lips ravaged her mouth. He speared her with his tongue, the flavor of him knocking her for a loop. Had Burke not held her, she would surely have fallen. Her tongue met his and slipped into his mouth, pulling a hoarse groan from him. She felt his erection burning against her belly, and that spiral of heat that seemed to come and go whenever he neared flared again. God, she wanted so much to feel him inside of her.
She pressed against him, nearly climbing him to get closer, but as she moved her lips over his something scratched her mouth.
Burke froze and tore his mouth from hers. His eyes were that eerie golden color, the shape of his pupils resembling that of a cat. He stared at the bottom of her lip, which stung, and leaned down to kiss her, gently this time. He shuddered and ran his tongue over her lower lip before thrusting her as far from him as he could.
“Maggie, help Rachel to a cup of coffee, would you?” She loved his voice, so deep and rough, and so sexy she wanted to melt. Then the name “Maggie” registered. Who was he talking to? “I’ll be right back.”
Burke left in a blur, and once again Rachel felt reality slipping from her. When she could focus again, she found herself sitting in a chair in a masculine but homey kitchen.
A petite blonde, probably Maggie, was whistling and shuttling from cabinet to cabinet.
“Damn. Those guys never refill from the larder.”
“Larder?” Was that croak Rachel’s voice?
“Wait here, hon. I’ll be right back. Out of coffee, and of course nobody but me refills the damned jar.” She walked out of the kitchen before Rachel could say anything else, leaving Rachel alone with her thoughts since reading her aunt’s startling letter.
Impressions of Burke lingered, but she couldn’t make sense of the odd episode with him and his brothers. Since trying to recall details of that strange meeting gave her a headache, Rachel’s concentration shifted to the information her aunt had imparted in that letter, and Rachel wondered if she could even believe half of it.