Jessica’s Wolves(11)

Right now she couldn’t even think, so arguing was out of the question. With the sweetest, most sincere voice she could muster, she muttered her reply. “You know I wouldn’t miss it, Kara. I’ll be there. Two o’clock sharp.”





Chapter 5


The pounding on the door was insistent. Jessica stuffed the last of her things into the suitcase and moaned. Five minutes. She’d only needed five more minutes and she would have been gone. She had no illusions about who was most likely at the door.

Shuffling her feet, she meandered down the hall and then peeked out the curtain.

Yep. There they were. Charles and Reese. And they were staring right at her when she glanced between the curtain and the glass pane.

Not that it mattered. Who was she kidding? She could smell them from the other side of the door. Obviously her scent wasn’t hidden from them either.

Jess leaned her forehead against the door, panting. Her stomach knotted. All the blood in her body raced to her center, stirring sensations she’d avoided her entire life. Feelings she’d never wanted to experience. A soft moan escaped her lips before she could stop it.

“Jessica?” The voice on the other side of the door, just two inches from her and separated only by the wood, was gentle and concerned. It was also Reese’s. “Can we come in?”

No.

How could she do this? If she let them in, would she have the strength to put them off? Convince them she wasn’t a flight risk, so to speak, and buy herself another night?

Hell, if she didn’t let them in, would they leave?

“We aren’t leaving, babe.” Charles’ voice was almost as calm as Reese’s. The average person would have dismissed it as so. But he’d spoken through gritted teeth. “Just talk to us. Please?”

Would they beg? She almost grinned. Imagine that. Sweet, innocent, unassuming Jessica with two wolves at the door begging for her attention. Not something she’d ever expected to experience, or wanted.

Reese spoke again. “You can’t stay in there forever. We can wait you out. But, why?”

Fine. She just wanted to get this over with. It was bad enough she was about to let down the two women who were both her best friends and her former roommates, practically sisters, by not showing up at their party tomorrow. Now, she was going to destroy the natural tendencies of two men who’d done nothing to deserve this, save fall for a woman as broken and emotionally unavailable as Jess.

With a slow squeak, Jessica gradually pulled the door open. She didn’t look them in the eye, but she stood back to allow them entrance.

Along with a giant gust of chilly air, Reese and Charles filled the entrance and pushed the door shut behind them.

“We have to talk, Jess.” Reese’s gentle voice and the use of her familiar nickname tugged at her heart. Kara and Lindsey must have spoken of her as “Jess” in front of them.

She flinched, wondering if they’d told anyone about this unfortunate situation yet.

These men hadn’t done anything wrong. They were just slaves to the way of the lupines, same as herself.

Charles reached one hand toward her face and raised her chin so he could meet her gaze. No swift movements that would scare her. His hand came in front of her in full view. But nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared her for his touch against her cheek and chin, caressing the skin and sending goose bumps down her entire body.

“We must talk, love.” Those barely audible words wafted into her ear from Reese’s mouth, along with his breath. Minty fresh as though he’d brushed his teeth in the car before approaching her door. How considerate. And presumptuous.

“I can’t do this. I told you … earlier.”

“Why?” Charles let go of her chin, but the damage had been done. He’d caused her pussy to weep.

“That’s my business. I don’t want to talk about it.” Because I’m scared. Because I’ve seen things no human, or wolf, should see. Because if I never love, I never have to hurt again.

“With all due respect, Jess,” Reese began, “I think whatever happens to you is actually our business too.”

She gasped and stepped back. Hardly.

She knew enough to realize how these relationships went. Besides the multitude of problems at the top of her list—having to shift into wolf form, losing herself to the pull of her first heat, flipping the world she’d so calculatedly created upside down—there was also the issue of dominance so prominent in the lupine culture. In a heartbeat, against her good intentions, these two men could have her beneath them at their beck and call, begging for their attention.

Shit. Who was she kidding? They’d practically already accomplished that.