All three of them collapsed onto the bed. Harris murmured something about a shower, and a few seconds later, she heard water come on. She kept her face pressed to the pillow and refused to move when one of them slapped her ass. Like she could move? They were both smoking crack. Hell no. She was staying put and enjoying the aftereffects of good—okay, incredible, mind-blowing—sex. It wouldn’t be long before her energy returned and the heat once again took over. Though she’d never experienced it like this. She groaned. They better not get it into their heads this was a regular arrangement. She didn’t think she’d survive.
The water turned off, and a few minutes later, Harris bullied her until she slid under the blankets. Then the light went off, and they left her alone. But probably not for long, she hoped, as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Three
Ethan paced in the kitchen. Back and forth and back again. He glanced at the rear wall for the umpteenth time, wishing he could see through it, wondering if she still slept. He should feel calmer. He should be back in control. But he was wound tight. Her scent permeated everything.
It was usually sweet and intoxicating, but with the heat it was more. Rich, piquant, irresistible. It was making him mad. He felt his wolf side clawing for freedom, demanding he claim her. Mark her. No wonder she'd stayed far away from him when it took her over.
“You’re going to wear a hole through that floor,” Harris said drily.
He spun around, hands fisted at his sides. Harris leaned back in a chair, casual, one eyebrow arched in question while Ethan struggled to control his wolf. He wasn’t jealous exactly.
He’d known for a couple of years that if Gabby ever gave in, they’d share her. But knowing that didn’t stop possessiveness from ruling him. She was in heat, and she was his mate, but she remained unclaimed. He’d damned near bitten his tongue off not marking her. Maybe this intensity would recede after he did.
“This is pretty out of character,” Harris pointed out.
Fuck yeah it was. He didn’t get bent out of shape over women, not even Gabby. It had been hard, but even as a teenager, she was fierce and independent, determined she’d never take a mate. He’d trained himself not to get too consumed with her, because he’d known it was unlikely she’d accept him in her life like they were meant to be. Now, however, all those hard years of training, of denying himself, seemed to have vanished.
“I’ve known for years she’s mine. I think I’ve always known.” He’d never felt torn between Harris and Gabby before, and he didn’t now. It was common in the lupine world to have two mates. It was something their wolf sides craved, like being part of a private pack inside the larger one. He’d repressed his desire for that for years, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to lock it away again.
“I get that,” Harris said. “So why are you struggling so hard with it now?”
“I also always knew it was unlikely she’d ever accept a mate. I learned to live with it.”
“And?”
“And she hasn’t accepted. She still might not, and it’s gonna be damned hard to go back to being indifferent about the status quo.”
That finally got a reaction from the wizard. His eyes narrowed. “I will not go back from tonight.”
Ethan figured his smile was just as bitter and frustrated as Harris’s voice. They wanted the same thing, but no matter how much he wanted Gabby, he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. He wouldn’t allow her to be hurt even if it meant going against Harris. “You can’t force her to accept you. If you try, you’ll be fighting both of us.” Harris didn’t take offense. Instead he smiled. “I had something else in mind.” His words seemed to break the spell Ethan was under, and he paused to examine that startling thought. It made sense in a way. Werewolves were created by magic, so mating and the heat would be a kind of magic, right? He shook the idea away—it wasn’t important now—and sat down.
“What?”
“Persuasion. Seduction.”
He cocked an eyebrow. Was Harris serious? “I’ve seduced her before. Look where it got me.”
“You’ve talked your way into her bed. I’m talking about getting into her head and her heart, Ethan.”
He snorted. “She won’t let me that close. You either. How do you propose to change that?” With a grin Ethan could only describe as diabolical, Harris stood and walked to one of the cabinets. Ethan joined him when he started pulling out supplies. He knew what was kept in there.
Seeing the bottles made him uneasy. It was one thing to know your lover was a wizard. Another to have it shoved in his face.
“What are you up to? Don’t tell me love potions are real.” One side of Harris’s mouth kicked up in a sexy smile. “They are, but that’s not what I’m doing. This is more like an opening yourself to new possibilities potion.”
“It won’t hurt her? It won’t be against her will?” he asked sharply. It rankled, using magic against his mate. He was a wolf, a natural enemy of magic users, but despite his relationship with Harris and the witches in Redhawke, he rarely saw it in use. He wasn’t quite suspicious of it, but it made him nervous. It felt almost like cheating.
“I would never hurt her. You know that,” Harris snapped. “Look, I’m not proposing that we give it just to her. That wouldn’t be fair, would it?” Ethan laughed. “She won’t take it if she knows about it.”
“Nope. She won’t. So we all take it.”
“And not tell her about it.”
“But we’ll all take it. You have a better idea?”
Gods. He shouldn’t even consider it. This was going to come back and bite him in the ass, wasn’t it? Harris mixed liquids while Ethan thought it over. It was a bad, bad idea, and he knew it.
“We aren’t messing with her emotions,” Harris said softly. “It’s not a love potion or animosity spell. Hell, it may not even work on werewolves.” But it might be their only chance. Harris didn’t have to say the words. Ethan knew. Gabby had resisted any relationship with them outside of sex for so long they would need an edge to breach her defenses. Sharing her while she was in heat was a good start—the opportunity to show how they could be together physically—but it wouldn’t be enough to get her to open her heart. She was too stubborn. Too determined to keep them at arm’s length. Harris finished mixing nd put the vials back.
“Now what? How do you get her to drink it?”
Harris grinned. “We take her to dinner.” He poured the liquid into an empty bottle, capped it, and stuck it in his pocket.
“What’s going on?” a sleepy voice asked from the doorway.
Harris took the small bowl he’d used to the sink, turned on the water, and rinsed it out. He moved with an easy, casual grace. Not at all like a man who would have been busted if she’d come in five seconds earlier. “Nothing.”
Ethan held his breath and faced her, hoping like hell he didn’t look as guilty as he felt. She was so pretty. And so damned stubborn. She looked tousled and well fucked. She practically glowed with satisfaction. His cock took immediate notice, aching and steel hard the moment her hooded, languid eyes met his.
“We were just talking about dinner. How about the pub?” he forced out, fighting the lust screaming through his body.
They could go to the one bar and grill in town, locally called “the pub,” or drive to the next big town. Ethan would prefer to just go back to bed, but he’d have to talk her there first. She’d put her dress and stockings back on, and her shoes dangled from her hand. At the mention of food, her eyes lit up.