Ours(16)

He sat her so she straddled him and cupped her face with his hands. “Would it be so bad if you had our cubs?”

“Cubs! I would give birth to cubs?” She tried to get away again, but he wouldn’t let her go and held on tight.

“You would have shifter children, and they would come out in human form. Most babies don’t have their first change until they are at least a week old.”

She felt her eyes widen and she yanked his hands from her face. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Jake let out a loud sigh and opened his mouth to answer when Zack walked in and looked at both of them with a grin on his face.

“Can I join?”

She shot him a glare before she turned back to Jake to see him shaking his head at Zack.

“Good. You’re both here, so answer me now.”

Jake groaned. “Any woman, bar our mate, we can tell when they’re in heat.”

She relaxed in Jake’s arms for a moment, only to stiffen again as she touched her neck. “What do you mean? Could I be pregnant?” She saw Zack move into her line of sight.

“Yes. You could be.”

Jake squeezed her tight as she fought to get away. “Let me go, Jake. Let me breathe. I need to breathe.”

He released her and she backed away from them, hugging herself. Jake looked over at Zack and nodded before he got off the couch and walked out of the room. She stared at Zack and watched as he slowly came to her with his hands up.

“I can’t be pregnant. I’ve only just met you two. Oh God, I’m a slut. I wouldn’t know who the father is.” Sandy looked around for her clothes, and then stared longingly at the outside door. “I need to go outside. I need air.”

Zack came to stand in front of her. He tucked some hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear. “Don’t ever call yourself that. You’re our mate. And you were a virgin before we corrupted you.” He wiped the tears that had escaped and were sliding down her cheeks.

“From now on, can we use a condom?”

She watched as he scrunched up his nose and his eyes squinted, but he nodded. “Yeah, sure, anything for you, my Firebird.” He pulled her to him and just held her, stroking her hair.

Sandy closed her eyes and breathed in his woodsy smell, loving the feel of his body against hers. She told herself not to worry, that she was over reacting. She had maybe two weeks to wait until her monthly friend came, so she would know if she was pregnant. Sandy told herself to worry about her dilemma and the consequences then. She was a big girl, and if she wanted to play with two alpha men, she had to tell them what she wanted.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed against him. “It’s lucky I turned off the oven, otherwise our dinner would be wrecked.” She ran her hands through her hair. “I’m going to go hop in the shower. When I get out, we’ll have dinner.”

Zack nodded, turned on the TV, and made himself at home. As she walked to her room, she passed a showered Jake, who smiled and pulled her to him for a kiss. When they broke away, he left her panting and forgetting what she’d intended to do.

****

Zack sat in his shop waiting for a client who’d rung to say she would be late. He tried not to think about last night. After the no-condom talk, everything had been awkward. They’d eaten in quiet and Sandy had gone to her bedroom right after she’d eaten. She was asleep when he and Jake came in an hour or two later.

He knew Jake had been upset about her wanting to use condoms and freaking out about having their baby. He and his bear were both uneasy about using condoms. Zack wanted Sandy to be pregnant with his cubs. But he knew they needed to earn her trust.

Sandy woke that morning like nothing happened, which had eased him and Jake a bit. She’d rushed around to get ready for work, kissed his and Jake’s cheeks, and left the house.

He and Jake had debated what they should do for the rest of the morning until they themselves left for work. Did they leave the conversation at what’d been said, or did they try to reassure her that if she was pregnant they would be happy and support her? In the end, they’d both decided to leave it and hope for the best.

Tonight he and Jake were going to get home early, make her dinner, get some girly movies, and relax. Zack looked at the clock again. Quarter to one.

“I don’t think this woman is going to come, Reggie. What did she say when she booked?”

Reggie, one of his tattoo artists, shrugged.

“Look, man, you really need a receptionist. Me and the guys can’t keep answering the phone.”

Zack knew Reggie was right. “I know. Give me some time and I’ll find someone. This time I promise she’ll have a brain.”