Bound to Them Page 2

  I wrapped my fingers around his cock and stroked, drawing a grow-like groan from him. He rocked his hips into me as he thrust two fingers inside me. Dizzying pleasure swirled, making me a little light headed. My legs were shaking as pleasure built in my core, filling and getting ready to explode.

  I felt myself sway. That was when Reid released my throat and wrapped that arm around my waist, then he walked me backwards into the shower stall until my back was pressed against the tile. The instant shock of the cold wall was washed away by the warm sprays of the shower.

  He pulled his hips away, forcing me to let go of his cock. I growled and reached for him again, wanting to feel him come in my hand.

  “When I come, I want to be buried deep inside you.” He collared my throat again with his hand. Part of my wanted to snap my teeth and buck at the dominant move, while another part me found it blissfully erotic. The latter was the part that recognized him as my mate and told me he could never hurt me—not physically anyway—without hurting himself. Reid didn’t appear to be into self-harm.

  He released me to remove the now soaked jeans and panties and toss them outside the shower, then he closed the door and faced me again. Heat blazed in his ice blue depths. Several seconds ticked by with the eye contact until he roamed his gaze over my body. I growled and reached for him, and he allowed me to cup his nape and pull him closer.

  Then his mouth was on mine, devouring it like he was starving. Our tongues twined together, and our mouths moved against each other.

  I couldn’t get enough of him. And I needed him inside me. Now.

  As if knowing what I wanted, he cupped my ass and lifted my feet off the floor. I wrapped them around his hips as he slammed into me. His thick cock filled me, stretched me. A startled groan rumbled in from me.

  He broke the kiss and nipped at my throat. “Fuck. You’re so hot and wet.”

  With slow movements, he slid out and slammed back in over and over, faster and faster. Pleasure increased as the pressure of my climax climbed to explosive levels. Then Reid bit me. His teeth sank into my throat, marking me, claiming me as his.

  My whole world crashed into me and I screamed as my orgasm shuddered through me. I bit him in return, claiming my mate.

  He let out a cry of pleasure around my throat and his body tensed right before his own release slammed into him.

  The mating bond snapped into place, adding to the intense pleasure of our orgasms. Our emotions merged as our souls linked together. That was when I realized that I didn’t just mate with Reid, but his twin as well.

  I released a breath and rested my forehead to Reid’s shoulder. He curled his arms around me and kissed my temple but didn’t speak.

  After a few moments, I heard the ringing of phone. Reid’s phone. It was muffled, indicating it was in his jeans’ pocket that laid in a pile on the bathroom floor. Reid made no effort to answer it. The phone stopped ringing, then within second started up again.

  “You going to answer that?”

  “Nope.”

  “Is it your twin?”

  “Yep.”

  All-righty-then. A flash of anger and frustration filtered through the mating bond. “He’s pretty pissed. Did he not want a mate?”

  Unwanted hurt tightened in my chest and I pushed against Reid. What was I thinking? We should had considered how his brother would feel. Yet, I didn’t think bonding to one twin would also connect me to the other. But he would had known. “You need to leave.”

  He held my tighter and nuzzled my neck. “I didn’t think it would bind you to him as well.”

  There was a spark of hope in his voice. It didn’t make me feel any better. Reid’s brother was still pissed and the link between me and him was growing stronger. “He’s heading our way.”

  “I know.” Reid pulled out and lowered my feet to the tiled floor of the shower. Then he turned me and grabbed the soap.

  I watched him as he gentle and slowly ran the soap over my body. When he was sure he got every nook and cranny—including the parts that were still way too sensitive to his touch—he rinsed me, then washed my hair.

  I’d never had any care for me the way he did. Memories my mom bathing me as a child entered my mind. Her laugh and soft tone as she sang a silly song about ducks in water brought tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat.

  Reid stopped running his finger through my hair, washing out the conditioner, and turned me to face him. “What’s wrong?”

  I inhaled a cleansing breath and released it, trying to laugh off my moment of weakness. “Just memories.”

  Eyeing me for a few seconds, he asked, “Do you regret mating with us?”

  Us? Really. One was a choice. The second wasn’t. Hell I didn’t even know my other mate’s name. “No. I knew what I was getting into…well, halfway did. I just didn’t expect you came with baggage.”

  Reid chuckled as he washed himself. My eyes followed his hand as he lathered up every inch him. Damn. Sensuality rolled off him in waves. When he spoke, I jerked my attention back to his face. There a ghost of grin on his lips. “That baggage will be here within about an hour. Maybe sooner.”

  I stepped out of the shower and dried off while he finished washing. By the time the water shut off, I was dressed and sitting at the small kitchen table.

  When Reid existed the bathroom, I asked, “So what’s your brother’s name? Are you two identical?”

  He slid into the chair across from me wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. “His name is Raven and yes, we are identical. There are some differences.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’ll let you see for yourself.” He stood and moved to the counter and pulled out two cups from the cabinet. “Coffee?”

  “Yes please.”

  Reid paused, frowned, and pulled a third cup from the cabinet. Moments later the door to the apartment opens and slammed into the wall. Filling the doorway was Reid’s twin, Raven.

  I instantly saw the difference between the two besides Raven’s black hair fell to his shoulders and his eyes were more of a baby blue. Raven had a piercing in his right eyebrow.

  His baby blues locked on me and for a long time he just stood there. A storm of emotions flowed through the mating bond. His earlier anger had melted away to confusion, desire, and annoyance. I just didn’t know if he was annoyed that I was his mate or that his brother took his choice away. Probably both. I was more annoyed with myself for not having better control over my hormones. However, they were my mates and there was no use skirting around it, pretending the pull wasn’t there.

  Reid handed me a cup of coffee and motioned to his brother. “Are you going to stare at her all day? It’s rude.” Reid winked at me as if to tell me his favorite pass time was to tease his brother. “Raven, this is Brooke, our mate.”

  Raven glared at Reid, then stepped inside, closing the door. “We have less than thirty minutes before the Hunters catch up with me.”

  My heart pounded and I jumped to my feet. “Let’s stay thirty minutes ahead of them.”

  Reid rushed to gather his bags as I ducked into the bathroom where I left mine at. When I reached the door, Raven was still there. I tried to push past him, not willing to let him bully me. It was clear he was the more dominant of the two. Not that Reid was submissive in any way. Raven just had a darker air around him than Reid did.

  And that was when I noticed something else that was different about Raven. He was a witch. I knew because Reid said so earlier. But I hadn’t known that Raven was a powerful witch. But not as powerful as me.

  “We need to leave.”

  He narrowed his gaze and stepped into my personal space. Without saying anything, he cupped my nape and claimed my mouth in a raw, searing kiss. Desire rushed through my veins like fire, pooling in my core.

  The kiss ended much too soon. Raven’s features softened a little as he stared at me. After a long while, he said, “Nice to meet you.”

  A giggle bubbled out me. “Nice to meet you too.”

&nb
sp; Reid handed me a thermos with coffee in it, then kissed my cheek. “He likes you.”

  Raven growled and existed the apartment. I shook my head and followed.

  Life was strange. I went from on the run to mated in less than twenty-four hours. I couldn’t wait to see what the next twenty-four would bring me.

  Brooke

  Present Day

  The sun wouldn’t rise for another three hours and I hadn’t gone to bed yet, so I was a little antsy and strung out on too much caffeine. But we had a job to do.

  I say we because my two mates were with me. Raven sat in the passenger seat of the rented 4 Runner looking yummy as ever. He slouched down into the seat with his legs spread as much as they could inside the 4 Runner. I didn’t understand how he could appear so confrontable. Being six feet four inches of rock-hard muscle, he should be cramped in the seat. Hell, we’d been staked out in front of the single-family home in a quiet middle class neighbor for hours. Still he looked relaxed.

  But I knew better.

  Tension pulsed through our mating bond. He was alert even though it looked like he was catching some Z’s. His twin, and my second mate, Reid, was in his wolf form hiding in the woods at the back of the house.

  Our mission was simple. Go in and talk with the family inside the house and convince them to come to California with us. To a safe house set up by Sunshine Lives.

  Thomas Wells—founder of Sunshine Lives—got a tip that the six-year-old daughter of the family was a hybrid. She was half vampire, half cougar. Her adopted parents were human, which may or may not be a problem to convince them to go into hiding. At least until the evil bastard Harrison Beck was taken out.

  “What time does the dad get off work again?” I asked the too quiet lethal witch next to me.

  He grunted before saying, “Should be pulling in any minute.”

  The dad worked the night shift at a local packing warehouse. It was best to catch him when he got home instead of waking the mother and daughter in the middle of the night. Hence why we were staked outside their home. That, and we feared the Hunters would get to the family before we did.

  Several minutes passed before a white Chevy pulled into the driveway. I slipped out of the 4 Runner and crossed the road with Raven on my heels. I reached the car just the dad got out. Fear rolled off him as he froze and watched us approach.

  I gave him what I hoped was my best innocent smile. “Mr. Douglas?” I held out my hand, but he didn’t take it. “My name is Brooke, and this is Raven. We’re from Sunshine Lives.”

  Mr. Douglas stared at us. His scent didn’t change at the mention of the organization. That told me he hadn’t heard about it. Not surprising. He was human. Besides there were a large part of the paranormal population that didn’t know about it either.

  So I tried again. “Can go inside to talk?”

  He glanced from me to Raven. “What is this about?”

  “We believe your daughter is in danger.”

  His fear spiked but it wasn’t out of surprise at the news. I sensed his flight response. I didn’t have to be a telepath to know he was mentally going through his get out of dodge checklist.

  After a few moments, he backed up. “They found her?”

  “Who, Mr. Douglas?” I knew who but wanted to make sure he knew. And if they were the Hunters.

  Raven stepped forward and cupped the human male on the shoulder. Power flowed from my mate into Mr. Douglas, calming him instantly. “Mr. Douglas, we are here to ensure the Hunters don’t get near your daughter. But we need you to listen to us.”

  “John. Please call me John.” He sagged and motioned to the house. “Follow me.”

  Okay, that was easier than I thought it would be. “John, how do you know you can trust us? We could be Hunters.”

  “But you’re not. If you were, you would ask to go inside. You’d kill me simply because I’m keep you from your mark. Then you’d go inside and kill my wife and our daughter.” John shuttered at that the thought. I scent fear and anger rolling off him. He was also tired of running. I knew that feeling all too well.

  After John opened the door and disappeared inside, I glanced to Raven before entering the house. His dark hair hung in his eyes as he gave me a slight nod and placed his hand on my lower back.

  The inside of the Douglas’ home was warm and filled with love. It sent a relief through me. Most humans who adopted a paranormal child unknowingly either didn’t keep the child for long or abused them. Although I’d researched the family, I didn’t trust that the happy family image was just that. An image.

  The love inside the home said they were a real family. “So you know what Elizabeth is?”

  John frowned at me. “Of course. Well, not when we adopted her when she was a baby, but it was hard to miss that she was different as she got older.”

  I nodded and leaned against the kitchen bar. Full bred shifters usually shifted for the first time during puberty. Vampire children didn’t go through their transformation until they reached adulthood. But hybrids were different. They abilities and dietary needs showed up at a much younger age. That age depended on solely on the individual.

  “Our Lizzy is special.” John smiled but it vanished almost instantly. “The Hunters have found her?”

  “We’re not sure. But if we know about her, they won’t be far behind us.” Reid entered through the garage door into kitchen and I introduced him to John. “This is Reid. He and Raven are my mates and we work for Sunshine Lives.”

  “You mentioned Sunshine Lives outside. What is that?”

  Reid answered while Raven nosed around the living room, peeking down the hall every so often. “It’s an organization that works with hybrids and their families to stay under the council’s radar. Namely the Hunters. We recently learned that it isn’t the council as a whole that wants the hybrids killed. Just one member because he has a personal vendetta against them.”

  The one member being Harrison, but there were a couple others that followed him. I wasn’t sure of all the details because I hadn’t been able to get ahold of my source in months. Contacting my father, Lewis, who was also on the council, was out of the question. He was being held against his will at the council mansion. Although I didn’t really believe he was there because Harrison put him under a spell where he couldn’t leave the mansion. Now, Lewis was there to spy on Harrison. It was how Dad rolled.

  “John, you need to wake your family and pack a few bags. Just enough for a few days. Once at the safe house, everything you will need—clothes, food, whatever—will be provided for.” I heard a sound down the hallway. Soon after, a tiny, beautiful creatures with long brown curls and big green eyes wearing Mickey Mouse pajamas entered the kitchen.

  Elizabeth. My heart filled. She was adorable.

  When she noticed us, she snarled and stepped in front of her dad as if to protect him. Cute!

  John scooped her up and kissed her cheek. The girl melted into him. Love radiated off them. “Lizzy, these are friends. They aren’t here to harm us.”

  Lizzy studied my mates like she wasn’t too sure about them. Then her gaze locked on me and she smiled. “You’re like me.”

  I nodded, knowing she was referring to me being a mixed breed. “Yes. I’m a witch and a wolf.”

  Lizzy then curled her finger around her Dad’s arm and looked up at him. His kissed her forehead and nodded. Then she bit John’s arm, feeding from him. I glanced to my mates. If they were as surprised as I was, they didn’t show it.

  “Does she feed from you often?”

  John shifted Lizzy so she was in a more comfortable position to feed. “It’s hard to find blood for her. It’s not like I can order pints of it from a blood bank.”

  “Actually, you can. But it’s unlikely they would trust you without seeing Lizzy first. Vampires have their own blood banks from willing humans who donate. We’ll get her registered when we get you settled. It’s great that you take care of her needs but as she gets older, she’ll need more than you can rep
lace on daily basis.” I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Thomas to give him an update.

  “John?”

  I turned to female standing in the archway that led to the hallway. Martha Douglas. She had short blonde hair and looked a little too pale. Lizzy was already feeding more than her human parents could offer. Damn.

  After John explained who we were and why we were there to his wife, she went into mama bear mode. She darted back down the hallway so I followed to see if I could help her gather the necessities. Plus I wanted to talk with her, get a feel for mindset where her daughter was concerned.

  The first room she entered was Lizzy’s. That was a good sign. It told me Lizzy was first priority. Not that I thought otherwise, but I’ve seen some pretty fucked up shit in the year I’ve worked for Sunshine Lives.

  “We just need a few things to get by for a few days in case we have to take the long way around to San Francisco.” I moved to Lizzy’s bed and picked her blanket and a stuffed bat that rested behind her pillow. The purple round ball of fuzz with black and silver wings made me smile. It was oddly cute. And it fit Lizzy.

  I wasn’t sure how I knew that other than it was one of my many abilities that I hid from the world. Well, everyone but my mates. It was hard to hide things from the twins when I was bound to them.

  Martha carried a backpack over to me with some clothes she’d shoved inside. “Lizzy loves that bat. I thought it was odd, since she knew she could never shift into a bat. I tried to tell her that one day she would shift into a cougar.”

  “How did you know she is also part cougar? I mean the vampire half is hard to miss since she is already feeding on blood.” I placed the bat inside the pack, then folded the blanket.

  “My grandmother is a leopard healer.” Martha’s words were soft, but it wasn’t that she was ashamed of it. I sensed that she was tired, and reality was finally sinking in.

  “Can you shift?”

  The shifter or any other para gene was the dominant one passed down, but it wasn’t unheard of for a half human, half shifter to not shift into their animal form.