Sugar Creek 2(23)

Damian prayed that their mate would come to care for him and Luke and accept them and need them as much as they needed her.



* * * *



Luke’s mind was at war. He wanted to pick Melissa up, carry her into the bedroom, strip her naked, bury his cock into her tight, wet pussy, and claim her. But he couldn’t. If he did, he knew they would lose her. She looked so damn confused and even though his heart went out to her at her turmoil, he wanted his mate with him at his side for all time.

What he and Damian could do or say to convince her that they were right for her, he had no clue. At first, he’d been pissed at Damian for calling a halt to their lovemaking but eventually he came around to his brother’s way of thinking. It had been the right thing to do. It wasn’t just about his and Damian’s needs, it was about Melissa’s mental and physical well-being.

They had probably overloaded her with information in regards to what they were and it hadn’t been very long since they had told and shown her they were werewolves. He’d tried really hard to put himself in her shoes and realized that if he hadn’t been a werewolf or aware of their existence, he would have had a hard time accepting being told they existed.

No wonder she was having trouble making a decision. What she needed was time. Time to think things through and decide what she wanted.

He and Damian had been selfish. Selfish to tell her what they were and then expect her to jump at the chance to mate with them. Of course she would hesitate in accepting their claim that she was their mate. He would have too.

Luke glanced at the clock and realized it was just past noon, and decided that it would be best if Melissa did go home. They would make sure she had their home phone as well as cell phone numbers so that she could contact them any time she liked. Day or night. It didn’t matter to him. What did matter was that she did eventually call. At least he hoped she would.

“Are you hungry, honey?” Luke asked.

“No.”

“We can give you a lift back to your car if you want to go home.”

Melissa didn’t answer him. She just stared at him with a stoic expression. He would have given anything to know what was going on in her mind, but that wasn’t possible. But he needed to reiterate that she could stay if she wanted to as well. “You can stay here if you’d like, Mel. We would love to have you as long as you want.”

Melissa cleared her throat. “No. Thanks, but I think I should head back home.”

“Can I have your cell phone number, sweetheart? I would love to be able to call you and if you don’t mind giving us your address, maybe we could visit you, too.”

“Sure,” Melissa answered, and then got her phone from her purse and handed it over to Luke.

He called his own phone and then programmed her number into his cell, and his and Damian’s into hers. After getting and writing down her address, he looked at her expectantly. He wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave now or later in the day. As far as he was concerned, the later the better.

Luke was going to miss her like hell. Now that they’d found and spent time with their mate, it was going to be really hard with her gone.

Melissa slung her purse over her shoulder and started walking toward the door. Damian rose to his feet and followed Melissa and him out.

The drive to the inn was totally silent, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Luke was gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white and he thought it was a wonder he didn’t break it in half.

Melissa sat between him and Damian, totally still, staring out the front of the windscreen while clutching her purse to her chest. Luke just hoped she was as cut up about leaving them as he and Damian were about her leaving.

He was going to have to keep himself busy. It was the only way he was going to be able to get through the long, lonely days ahead. Instead of sending out other Omegas to patrol, he and Damian would do it instead. Maybe they would be able to hold onto their sanity if they did.

The pain in his heart wouldn’t let up and the closer they got to the Shifter Inn, the more the ache intensified. Minutes later Luke pulled up next to the lone car in the parking lot. The inn didn’t open until around three o’clock and there was no one about.

Damian got out of the truck and helped Melissa down. Even though he didn’t want to say good-bye—it would mean finalizing what he and his brother had started with their mate—Luke got out of the truck and walked around it until he was standing beside Melissa.

She kept her head down and licked her lips. “It’s been…interesting. Thank you for taking care of me.”

Her voice was so quiet that if he and Damian hadn’t been werewolves, he doubted whether they would have heard her.