The Club (4 page)

We’re mated for life, Olivia
. He didn’t stop kissing her, forcing her to communicate his way.
The Great Spirit has brought my mate to me.

I’m not a werewolf,
she finally thought.

In your mind, it doesn’t make sense.
He nipped her bottom lip, then entered her mouth again.

No, it doesn’t.
She stroked his shoulders.

But in your heart it does. Give us a chance—that’s all I ask
.
There’s much we need to discuss. Soon
. He ended the kiss.

Staring up at him, she could see the astonishment darkening his greenish-brown eyes. The discovery that there was something more than a night of passion between them appeared to have come as a surprise to the werewolf in her arms, too. Reaching up, she brushed a short lock of hair back from his forehead. It was good to know that she wasn’t the only one thrown off balance by the revelation.

She parted her legs so he could settle between them, and they remained that way for a moment, just gazing at each other.

There was so much they still needed to discuss, but she wasn’t sure at that moment how much more her mind could handle. “Maybe I should take Kelsey home before breakfast, so she doesn’t feel like a third wheel.”

He kissed the tip of her nose and stroked his hard shaft along her wet sex. “This from the woman who spent the night in the arms of two men?”

“Okay, okay. That was different.” She ran her hand through his short, brown hair.

“Never fear. I’ll bring my friend Diego along. I think they’d enjoy getting to know each other.”

Lifting her brows, she asked, “Are you sure?”

He gave her a wicked smile, allowing just one side of his mouth to lift. “Trust me. Kelsey seems to me to be a tough woman who likes a man with a strong hand.”

“Wow, you’re good.” He’d hit Kelsey’s personality on the head.

“Not yet, but I’m about to be.” Reaching into the nightstand, he pulled a condom from inside and efficiently slipped it into place.

She gave him a questioning look. Neither man had worn a condom earlier.

Seeing her expression, he informed her, “Unlike vamps, weres can reproduce without biting someone and feeding them their blood.”

Her mouth made an O as she blushed, feeling grateful that he’d had concern for her. Her body tingled with the knowledge that this man didn’t only care for her, but believed she was his mate. That awed her.

He winked at her, reminding her he could read her thoughts.

“Is this mind-reading going to be an all-the-time thing?” She pouted.

“It wouldn’t be if you were a were. Then, you’d be able to block me.”

She was speechless. That was a big leap, to decide to become a were.

He kissed her, then nipped her chin and said, “That’s a discussion for later. Much later. Until then, I can choose not to do it.”

“Phew!” Grinning, she brushed her fingers along the prickly hair lining his jaw.

His chuckle was a deep, baritone rumble.

Settling himself over her again, he began to guide his cock inside her. “One thing you need to know, Olivia, if you want to pursue this.” He pushed farther inside, causing her sex to tighten around him. “I don’t share my mate.”

“What about The Club?” She didn’t have plans to come back any time soon, but having a ménage was something she had enjoyed. He must also like it, or he wouldn’t be here.

“That’s in the past for me.”

She thought of Anton and the pleasure he had brought her with Trae. “Why?” she whined playfully.

“Since you now understand that we are connected… Sexually, it is very hard not to bond with you. Through the night, I could hear you.” He growled, “I’d prefer
never
again
to know how sexually gratifying it is to you when someone is sucking your blood as you climax.” Gazing into her eyes, he asked, “Can you handle that?”

She couldn’t help giggling at his possessive tone. “Sorry.” Then she gave him a loud, smacking kiss. “I can deal with it.” Wrapping her legs around his hips, she said, “Now, stop wasting time, Wolf Boy. If I know Kelsey, she’ll come hunting for me if I’m not downstairs soon.”

He arched a single eyebrow. “Now that
would
be an erotic threesome.” He gyrated, pushing deeper into her. “We
are
still at The Club.”

Squeezing his ass, she informed him, “Yeah, and we’re still fulfilling
my
fantasy. We’ll discuss yours at a later date.” Flexing her thighs around his waist, she warned, “Just remember that if you don’t want a vampire in our bed, you should think twice about inviting my friends.”

“Deal.” Trae began to make love to her, wiping everything else from her mind.

* * * *

“Finally. I thought one of these thick-necked bouncers was going to throw me out.” Kelsey greeted them at the stairs as they went down thirty minutes later.

Trae eyed the little spitfire as she hugged Olivia. He glanced at Dennis, a fellow were, and Carlton, a vamp, as they stood inside the club, now escorting partiers to the door. Looking for his friend, Trae found Diego behind the bar, helping the manager to straighten things up. Trae signalled him over.

“Trae wants us all to do breakfast,” Olivia told her friend.

Kelsey’s shoulders dropped. “Aww, Liv. I’m worn out. I just want to go home and climb into bed.”

“That sounds like a delicious idea,” Diego interjected as he stepped closer to their small group.

Trae watched Kelsey eye the six-foot-four, bald-headed Hispanic male with interest. “And you are?”

“Kelsey, Diego. Diego, Kelsey,” Trae introduced.

His friend’s gaze slowly went from Kelsey’s short, spiky blonde hair, over her tight top, cupping her large breasts, down past her tiny skirt and finally to the red pumps on her feet. Meeting her eyes again, he said, “I remember you. You’re the feisty one who clocked Preston on the dance floor.”

“What?” Olivia screeched, concern for her friend etched on her features.

Relax, baby
, Trae said inside Olivia’s head.

Placing her hand on her hip, Kelsey cocked her head to the side. “If you mean the jerk that kept manhandling me and getting fresh with his hands up my skirt, hell, yeah.”

A huge smile split Diego’s face. “Preston is a prick.” Diego stepped towards her. “Evidently, you need a man who knows when and where a lady enjoys a little force. On the floor isn’t it.”

Kelsey closed the gap, pressing herself close to Diego and looking up at him. “You think that’s you?”

Reaching out, Diego lightly caressed Kelsey’s cheek. “Sí, señora bastante pequeña.”

Trae watched the short, white woman blush.

That’s a first
, Olivia thought.

Trae chuckled at Olivia’s thoughts. He leant down and whispered in her ear. “A night of firsts, rabbit.”

Turning into his arms, she said, “I’m not sure how I feel about that pet name.” Arching a thin, black eyebrow, she continued, her voice low, “Don’t wolves devour rabbits on a regular—”

Trae pressed his lips to hers.
As I did tonight and plan to do often
.

Olivia shivered against him and sighed. Ending the kiss, she stepped back and faced her friend. “Are we good for breakfast, now? I’m starving.”

“I’m ready.” Trae wrapped his arm around Olivia’s waist, fitting her along his side.

“I’m in,” Kelsey confirmed.

“Definitely,” Diego added.

As they all headed out of the door, Trae heard Diego ask, “So, Kelsey, you ever fuck a were?”

“A what?” Kelsey’s voice held the evidence of her confusion.

“Excuse Diego, Kelsey, sometimes he gets a little ahead of himself.” Trae shot Diego a look of warning. It wasn’t that weres kept themselves a secret from society—many people knew about them, worked with them—however, they were never bold about their lives unless they had good reason to be.

He glanced at Olivia, as she gazed at her friend, as they all left The Club.

Olivia was a prime example of a good reason.

Chapter Three

Trae watched his father, his Alpha, as he pushed out, one stroke after another, gliding across their back yard pool. It was his father’s daily regimen, what he did to focus, clear his mind and stay in shape. It was late on Saturday afternoon. After he’d had breakfast with Olivia and her friend, Trae had given her a soft kiss goodbye, then driven around the city for hours, attempting to get his thoughts and his life in order. Now, showered and changed from his night garb, he felt a little more mentally refreshed.

When his father finally broke the surface and paused for breath, Trae crossed the flagstone path until he stood over him. “Dad, when you’re done with your reps, I need you to meet me in the study.”

“This must be serious if you’re requesting my presence.” Romel waded around in the deep end of the pool, staring up at him.

“It is.” Trae turned to leave.

“Does this have to do with our discussion yesterday?” His father called after him.

Turning around again, he saw his dad was already hoisting himself out of the pool. “It does, but I’d prefer to talk about it when you and Mom are together.”

“Your mother already knows about the meeting?” Water ran in rivulets down Romel’s broad, hairy chest and his legs.

“I saw her in the kitchen when I came downstairs.”

Signalling his agreement with a nod, his father snatched up a towel from one of the lounge chairs scattered around the pool.

As Trae continued towards the house it amazed him how, in less than twenty-four hours, he had shifted away from the carefree lifestyle of the son of an Alpha to feeling the weight of leadership pressing down on his shoulders. He was sure his father believed he’d hung out at The Club all these years to escape responsibility. However, the truth of the matter was that there hadn’t been
enough
responsibility set before him.

At the ménage club, he could easily drown his feelings of uselessness in repeated, lustful acts with a willing woman—or two. But no longer. He’d soon be Alpha and he had found his mate in the very place he would never have thought to look.

* * * *

“You and Trae really had a connection last night, huh?”

Olivia rubbed sleep from her eyes and stared at Kelsey, who was stretched out along the foot of her bed still dressed in her outfit from the night before. She looked at her clock and realised it was only noon—only a few hours had passed since she and her friend had got home from breakfast with two very sexy men after a night she wouldn’t soon forget. Kelsey had crashed on her couch and Olivia had showered quickly and crawled bare-ass beneath her covers. She was still tired. The energetic sound of her friend’s voice after a ‘nap’ didn’t make sense, especially since they’d both been up all night.

“How long have you been up?” Olivia tucked the pillow more comfortably under her head.

“Maybe an hour. I ate your last yoghurt. I need to get ready to head home in a few minutes—I have final rehearsal tonight.” Kelsey was a member of the local ballet company. Six weeks ago, she had auditioned for an international team that was going on a year-long tour through Europe. She might be away even longer, if things worked out well for her.

Soon, her best friend would be gone. Their impending separation had been the driving force behind them fulfilling their wildest fantasies. The last hoorah together for a while. As someone who had spent most of her youth in and out of foster homes, never being adopted, Olivia didn’t have anyone that she could call family. Just Kelsey, a girl she had met in college when she had decided to help out building sets for the spring musical in her sophomore year. Kelsey had been a background dancer, and they had conversed a few times while they sat in the theatre watching the main actors rehearse, soon becoming good friends.

“I hope you plan to get some more sleep.” Olivia snuggled deeper under her blankets. Not for modesty’s sake—over the years, Kelsey’s flamboyance and immodesty had rubbed off on her—but more to get across the point she was trying to return to la-la land.

“Hey!” Kelsey bounced the bed.

Cracking one eye open, Olivia stared at her friend. “What?” she groaned.

“I want the scoop, Liv.” Lying on her side with her head propped on her hand, Kelsey wiggled her blonde eyebrows at her.

“On what?”

Smacking her foot, Kelsey warned, “Don’t play dumb with me.”

“Ouch!” Both her eyes opened as she frowned at her friend. “All right! All right! What do you want to know?”

“Everything! How was your night with Trae and what happened to Anton? I never saw him come back down the stairs. You didn’t kill him with lovin’ did you?” Kelsey joked, now smiling broadly.

Memories of last night’s events came flooding back into Olivia’s tired brain. First, she recalled the passion and the overwhelming driving lust she had felt with Trae and Anton. Her body, aching and tender everywhere, reminded her how well she had been taken care of. She’d actually gone through with it, had a
ménage a trois.
Then, as a smile began to pull and curl at the corners of her mouth, other images began to rise and she remembered red-hazed eyes and fangs.

Oh, God, Anton had been a vampire. Trae a werewolf. They had both bitten her. Was she one of their servants now? Or both?
What did ‘mate’ really mean?
She began to shiver.

Pulling the blanket tightly around her chest, she sat up against the headboard.

“You okay? You’re looking a little pale.” Kelsey sat up, too, sitting crossed-legged at the foot of the bed, now.

“I’m f—fine.” She cleared her throat. “I’m fine. Still a little groggy.” Olivia forced a smile to her face as trepidation filled her heart. Last night, there had been no fear, not really, even after she’d discovered who and what they both were. She’d still plunged ahead, yielding her mind and body to the pleasures of the night.
Did they put some kind of spell on me?

“Being with two men will do that to you.” Kelsey giggled. “Details. Details!”

How much could she tell her friend? She and Kelsey never kept secrets from each other. Would telling Kelsey place her in danger? Was
she
in danger? Lifting her hand, she stroked her neck where Anton had bitten her, but didn’t feel any puncture wounds—just a slight soreness, like an old bruise. However, now that she was beginning to think clearly, she could feel a small amount of heat radiating along her back, a throbbing. Trae’s bite. Sliding her hand calmly around her neck to the opposite shoulder, she curled her fingers just over the crest and felt it—a raised, sensitive area, tender to touch. The warmth of it caressed her fingers. Was it infected? She’d have to look at it in the mirror once Kelsey had left. Until she knew more, she had to keep the paranormal elements of the night to herself.