Jessica’s Wolves(8)
“None of your business. Please, let me be. Find someone else. I don’t want this.”
Charles had more difficulty controlling himself than Reese. He yanked his biceps free of Reese’s grasp and stepped toward her. “It doesn’t work like that,” he began. “If it did—”
“There is no need to make this difficult,” she interrupted. “I. Don’t. Want. A. Mate.” She separated the words and enunciated them succinctly to ensure there was no misunderstanding.
“Jessica—” Charles tried again, but this time Reese cut him off.
“Believe me, we didn’t head out this morning in search of a mate either. In fact, it’s downright complicated for us, but that doesn’t change the fact we are drawn to you on a level we can’t resist … and you are just as affected by us.” He lowered his voice and tucked his chin as he stated this last part. “Denying a mating is … rare.”
“It would be difficult. Unimaginable,” Charles finally managed to squeeze in. He even had the audacity to adjust his crotch.
Jessica’s gaze went from his face to his groin, taking in his stance that appeared almost painful. Neither man wore a coat, even though it was hovering near the freezing mark this afternoon. The bulge in Charles’ jeans grabbed her attention and held her gaze. She actually had to shake her head to wipe out the image and draw her attention back to his face.
Her lips burned in the cold, and it occurred to her that her mouth was hanging open, letting the frigid air in and drying her lips and tongue. She swallowed as she faced off with both men, licking her lips as she glanced from one to the other. “I’m not interested in mating.”
“Ever? Or with us?” Charles asked.
Tucking her fingers into the pockets of her coat to warm them, she shivered. “Ever.” There was no mistaking her intention. She’d not minced words. Were they dense?
Charles cocked his head and narrowed his gaze again. “You do realize this is inevitable, right? What are you afraid of?”
Jessica gasped. He’d hit the nail on the head and come way too close to reading her. She didn’t want anyone to dig into her brain and find out her secrets. It was her life, and she intended to live it in celibacy. They didn’t have stores full of vibrators and dildos for nothing. Somebody had to shop there.
“Please,” she pleaded, hearing the squeak in her voice. “I just want to go home.” Back to the apartment where I’ve lived for four and a half years. The one where I live alone with my toys. The very one I was abducted from in the fall. Where I cry myself to sleep at night, praying I never meet with another group of crazy religious freaks or run into anyone resembling a mate—like you two.
With a tear sliding precariously close to the edge of her eye, Jessica plowed past both men, yanked her car open, and climbed inside out of the frigid air.
Her fingers shook on the steering wheel as she drove away. She didn’t want to discuss what she’d been through for the past twelve years with anyone… How her parents had been murdered right before her eyes at the age of ten… How she’d been yanked from her perfect home and placed in human foster care… How much she feared succumbing to the same fate as her parents if she ever let her lupine side come to the surface. No, Jessica had no intention of ever shifting and running free. It wasn’t safe, and she wanted to stay alive.
Chapter 4
“Son, may I have a word with you, please?” Those deep words accompanied the stern face and furrowed brows of Charles’ father, Richard Masters.
Charles hadn’t even climbed from the truck yet. The man had appeared before he’d gotten the keys out of the ignition and the door open.
“You too, Reese.” Without pausing, the tall patriarch spun on his heel and walked toward the barn.
“Shit.” Charles glanced at Reese. “He’s not happy.”
“Let’s go.” Reese jumped from his side and crunched into the snow, the noise grating on Charles’ nerves at the moment.
Like two little boys, the men dragged themselves, tail and all, to the barn. Charles hadn’t felt this kind of confusion since the time he’d been spanked, scolded, and grounded when he was about ten for a pile of offenses he’d not committed and his older brothers had never fessed up to.
What now?
The barn was warmer than the outside, but somehow Charles didn’t feel all cozy when he gazed into his father’s eyes.
“What the hell is going on around here? And don’t feed me some line of bullshit. I wasn’t born yesterday. Let’s just cut to the chase, what da ya say?”