The words “I love you” floated unbidden through his mind.
“You can’t love me,” she said, quietly pulling away from him, the sad tone in her voice tugging at his heart.
“Why not?” He let her go but reached over and tilted her chin so that he could see her eyes. “What’s so wrong with falling in love with my mate?”
“It’s too soon.” She shook her head and tried to turn away, but he wrapped an arm around her waist and forced her to look at him. The tears in her eyes didn’t make any sense.
“Talk to me, Andrea. Why is it too soon?”
She sucked on her bottom lip, worrying it with her teeth as she searched his expression for something he didn’t understand. “I just…know from experience.”
“You’ve been in love before?”
“I thought so.”
Things were starting to make more sense. He held her gaze, hoping she would explain more without him having to ask. She did.
“I was married for six years. We were high school sweethearts. We promised each other the world and married when we barely knew each other. I thought things would grow, get better, but the opposite happened. We held it together for as long as we could, but in the end all we did was make each other miserable.”
“That won’t happen to us,” he said confidently even though he could see her point. Unfortunately they probably weren’t the best choice of words under the circumstances.
“I already know that being mates doesn’t guarantee we’ll actually like each other.”
“I know. It’s just…it won’t happen to us.”
“What makes you so sure?” Her belligerence was understandable under the circumstances, but it didn’t make it any less annoying. Surely part of building a successful relationship was being optimistic that things would work. He turned off the shower, stepped out, and held open a towel for her to walk into. She took the material and wrapped it around herself instead.
He huffed an annoyed breath. “Call Isaac and Daegan.”
She looked at him like he’d lost his mind. Eyeing him warily, she opened her mouth to do as he’d asked.
“Call them with your mind.”
“Seriously?” That word was seriously starting to piss him off. Did she believe nothing they told her? He ground his teeth together and gave her his stubborn look that would have scared the hell out of anyone else in the pack. But not his beautiful mate. She rolled her eyes and growled at him. After a few moments of glaring at each other, she finally closed her mouth and did as he asked. She looked rather surprised when his brothers answered. At least he assumed they answered since they came through the bathroom door wearing wide grins.
“If that doesn’t convince you, beautiful,” Daegan said as he and Isaac wrapped their arms around her. “I don’t know what will.”
Chapter Five
Andrea felt like she was living in a perfect bubble where all of her dreams were coming true, where she felt safe and protected and free to be herself. The trouble was she expected the bubble to burst.
Nothing good lasted for long. Life had taught her that long ago, and she couldn’t come up with a reason why it wouldn’t happen this time.
“Hey,” Isaac said as he lifted her into his arms and carried her into a bedroom. “We don’t have to think about the future yet. How about we just enjoy being together tonight?” He placed her in the middle of the bed, unwrapped the towel, and stood back as Daegan and Xavier joined him.
The three of them stood there smiling, watching her writhe against the cool sheets as they somehow sent images of what they planned directly into her mind. She moaned, opening her legs, begging with her body as they continued simply to watch.
“Touch yourself,” Daegan ordered. She swallowed, feeling the heat of embarrassment creep over her face. She shook her head, but he gave her a look, and suddenly the need to please him—to please them all—overrode her embarrassment. She moved her hands over her breasts, her nipples already hard little nubs, her breasts aching and swollen. Andrea ran her nail over the tight flesh, her breath catching as warm arousal slithered through her and her men shuffled on their feet.
She smoothed her hands down her stomach, moaning as she caught sight of her lovers’ arousal. The towel Xavier had slung low on his hips bulged and pulsed even more as she watched. Isaac and Daegan both sported hard erections pressed against their jeans that she suspected hurt like hell. The pained looks on their faces only grew worse when her fingers slid along her mound, grazing over her swollen clit before moving lower and teasing her labia. She lifted her hips off the bed, her fingers pushing into her pussy as three identical groans rose from her audience.