Callie's Captors [Mountain Men(32)

“And I’ll be your first subject.”

He pivoted along with her to face a very wet and very aroused Raine. The sweet scent of lust flowed off her, cocooning him until he thought he’d lose his mind. His wolf roared again, howling at her nearness and demanding that he answer the call of the wild.

She opened to her mouth to speak, closed it, then tried again. “Okay. Yeah. Why not? At least that way I can keep my eye on you.”

“How about me? I’m better looking than this fugly dude.” Pete shoved Raine out of the way and struck a pose.

Blue was relieved to see her smile, but it was gone all too soon. Maybe, just maybe he could get that smile back. He tugged off his shirt as he toed off his boots. “How about a threesome?”

Shit!

“Sorry. I didn’t mean that kind of threesome. Just three men to shoot.” He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t resist. “Unless you want a foursome instead.”

Was it just wishful thinking, or did she almost accept his offer? But her mouth slammed shut as she regrouped. “Foursome, no? About shooting you? Don’t I wish. But I’m sorry to say I don’t have a gun.”

Pete covered his junk with both hands. “Ow. And here I was going to ask you to make sure you got my best feature in the photo.”

Again, her face softened a little more. They were making inroads to lighten her anger. She pulled the camera from the backpack and checked it, making sure things were ready. “You three are something else.”

“Which makes us perfect for you.”

Blue bumped his shoulder against Raine’s. “You got the wrong impression from him last night, but he’s dead-on right now.”

“Will everyone stop talking about shooting something? Little Pete’s having a hard time staying up.”

Blue jumped at the opening and struck a pose right out of a clothing catalogue. “Take my picture first, Callie.”

She lifted the camera and aimed. He heard the click, but she didn’t act happy when she lowered the camera and looked to Raine then Pete. “I still have to know. Why did you do that? Why did you sleep with me? Was it to have fun with a girl you knew wasn’t going to hang around for long? Or did you think I owed you for helping me? I know you don’t know me—”

“We know enough.” Blue hoped she could see the truth on his face.

“I know I shouldn’t have hopped into the sack with you guys, but…I thought it was…real.”

Raine moved forward, but Blue held him back. She needed her space. “I thought you said you believed me. They—we—were never playing a game.”

“What I said and did was straight from the heart,” added Pete. “As I’m sure it was for Raine.”

Raine chimed in. “It’s true, Callie. You’ve got us all wrong.”

“So you’re saying it was more than just sex?”

She was vulnerable and he could smell it drifting off her. “I haven’t gotten the honor of lying with you yet, but I know it was a lot more than that for them.”

He wanted to hold her, to reassure her with his touch as well as his words, but she wasn’t ready. Instead, he’d have to make his words count like never before. If he had to say it a thousand times to reassure her, he would.

“This is hard to believe even for us, and I know it’s got to be even harder for you to accept. But, Callie, you’re the woman we’ve waited for.”

She shook her head, denying his words. But her open expression told him she wanted to trust him. “We only met yesterday.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Pete whispered, but his tone carried as though he’d howled the words.

Pete glanced at him, but Blue waved him back. No matter how hard it was to keep away from her, that’s what they had to do. For now. But his inner wolf, scratching to take over, didn’t like it any better than he did.

“That’s how it is with us. When we meet the woman who’s supposed to be our mate, then we know. Sometimes in an instant, but other times it takes a little longer.” He grinned. “Even a whole day.”

She shot him a doubtful look. “So I’m the woman for all three of you?”

He finally took that step forward and was relieved when she didn’t tell him to stay where he was. “You are.”

“That’s not possible.”

Did he hear yearning in her voice? “It is. I’ve seen it. You can ask people back at camp. For us, it happens that way.”

“For us? What does that mean?”

He couldn’t tell her they were werewolves. Not until she accepted the possibility that she was meant for them. “Tell me you haven’t felt anything for us above and beyond the physical.”