Alaskan Sabears 4: Match Point (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) Page 6

  Her body language told its own tale. Every time he, Fin, or even one of the women got close to her, she’d tense up. It was as if she didn’t like anyone breaching her personal space. Her comfort zone was also bigger than most people’s, and that just made him more inclined to think she’d been hurt. Badly.

  An angry rumbled started in his chest, but he quickly quashed it as he glanced down at Pepper. She was so fucking stubborn, even to her own detriment. There were beads of perspiration on her forehead and upper lip. Her lips were pulled into a straight line of pain, and her face was as white as a linen sheet. Cal wanted to scoop her up into his arms and carry her the rest of the way into the kitchen, but had a feeling she would baulk if he did.

  Finally, they made it to the stools at the counter, and she let out a relieved sigh as she sat down. Cal wanted to sit beside her and breathe in that delicious mix of jasmine and honeysuckle, but he would only be torturing himself and his sabear, so he walked around to the kitchen side.

  He took the sandwich fixings Fin handed him and began to make a late lunch. Pepper watched him intently, and though she tried to keep her eyes from wandering, she couldn’t seem to stop herself. Everywhere her eyes landed, his body tingled and heated. Blood pumped faster through his body with his elevated heartbeat, and the hungry yearning to touch her filled him with a compulsion almost too strong to resist. He shifted from foot to foot as his cock engorged, hoping to relieve the restriction of his jeans, but nothing helped and he knew nothing would. Not unless she decided to mate with them.

  He could imagine her spread out on the king-size bed in the master bedroom with nothing on. She wasn’t tall, standing at around five foot five, and while she had curves, she was also slim. Almost too thin. He hoped she wasn’t one of those women who worried about watching their weight, how much or what they ate. Cal liked to see a female enjoying a meal and couldn’t wait to see what sort of eater Pepper was.

  He glanced at Fin to see that his friend was keeping his expression stoic, but Cal could read his friend nearly as well as he could himself. Fin was trying to keep his hungry urges under wraps and was worried that if he opened his mouth, he would end up on Pepper’s bad side again.

  It wasn’t that Fin was afraid of making their mate upset—he was worried that if he pulled the tiger’s tail and she responded with that sharp tongue again, his animal would break free. Cal was having the same problem, and that wasn’t the only thing that was getting to him. It didn’t matter that Pepper seemed to be totally immune to them, Cal knew differently. He could smell her desire, and the musky fragrance was getting stronger with every passing second. Cal wondered if he shouldn’t head outside, strip down to bare skin, and go running through the blizzard in his human form. It was cold enough out there to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, and right at that moment he didn’t think that would be a bad thing.

  His balls were hot and heavy. His cock was so hard it was aching, and he could feel pre-cum leaking from the tip. His skin was itchy as if his fur was about to erupt out of his pores, and his sabear was pacing. However, none of that mattered. All that should be concerning him was trying to get to know his mate. Trying to make her feel comfortable around him and Fin so she would start talking about her life before arriving on Savoonga.

  A light bulb flicked on in his head. There was one way he knew would get her talking. She was a pilot. He and Fin were experts in aircraft maintenance as well as air traffic control. There was no better place to start.

  “Where do you hail from, Pepper?” Cal asked as he cut the sandwiches, put them on plates, and then pushed one in front of her.

  “Anchorage.”

  “How long have you been flying for Anchorage Cargo and Air?” Fin asked.

  Cal was glad his best friend had picked up on what he was doing and joined in.

  “Two years.”

  “Who’d you fly with before that?” Cal picked up the freshly brewed pot of coffee and quirked an eyebrow at his woman.

  She nodded. “Please. Black is fine.”

  Cal poured coffee into three mugs, pushed his plate over to the other side of the counter, and then went around to sit down next to Pepper. Fin took the seat on the other side of her. Pepper picked up the sandwich, took a bite, and moaned. The simmering heat in the pit of Cal’s stomach rose a notch. He shifted in his chair, picked up his own sandwich, and took a big bite to stop himself from groaning in response. He just hoped he didn’t choke on his sandwich. He glanced over at Fin to see he was staring at Pepper with a heated lust-filled gaze and cleared his throat to get his attention. Fin met his gaze, and when Cal shook his head, he lowered his head and stared at the food on his plate.

  Pepper finished chewing and swallowed before turning her gaze Cal’s way. “This is the best sandwich I’ve ever tasted. Thank you.”

  Pride filled his heart, and he smiled down at her. “You’re welcome, baby.”

  Pepper scowled at him over the endearment, but she didn’t say anything. Cal hoped that she was starting to lighten up, to relax the more time she spent in their company.

  Please, let her agree to stay and mate with us?

  Cal wasn’t a religious man, but that didn’t mean he didn’t believe there was something out in the universe with a higher power. How could he believe otherwise when he was a mixed animal shape-shifter? He’d never prayed or begged to a deity before, but he wasn’t too proud to do so now. Pepper was the love of his life even if she didn’t know it. If she decided they weren’t the men for her, she would be condemning him and Fin to a long, slow death, but he’d never tell her that. He didn’t want her decision to be based on what would happen to him and Fin. He wanted her to agree because she liked them. No, because she loved them. Somehow, someway, they needed to convince her that she was the one woman sent by the fates to be theirs, and he knew that was going to be way harder than it sounded.

  “I worked for a small private company that delivered cargo to remote towns in Alaska for about six months, but unfortunately they went bust.”

  Pepper’s soft, husky, musical voice had shivers racing up and down his spine. It took him a few moments to remember he’d asked her a question about who’d she worked for previously.

  “How old were you when you got your pilot’s license?” Fin asked.

  “Sixteen.”

  “Wow. So young.” Cal shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. He wondered what had driven Pepper to be so dedicated. He liked that she was passionate about her job. Hopefully, she would start to have feelings for him and Fin soon and some of that hidden passion would be directed their way.

  “And before then?” Fin took a bite of his sandwich.

  “Alaskan Airlines.”

  Cal nearly choked on his sip of coffee. He shouldn’t be surprised that his mate had a commercial pilot’s license, but he was. He cleared his throat before asking, “You have a commercial license?”

  Pepper nodded before eating the last of her sandwich. She picked up her coffee mug, took a sip, and closed her eyes as she sighed. Thank god Jenny had shown them all how to make a decent cup of coffee. Cal loved seeing the replete expression on her face after making sure she’d had something to eat.

  When she opened her eyes, she glanced up at him and blushed before quickly looking away. The scent of her arousal grew stronger, and his sabear roared with satisfaction. She inhaled deeply through her nose, and when she opened her eyes again, her pupils were dilated and her brown eyes were hazed over with lust. She glanced at the uneaten half of Fin’s sandwich and gnawed at her lip.

  Cal wanted to suck that lip into his mouth, nibble on it the way she was, and then devour every inch of her. He sucked in a deep breath and pushed his lascivious thoughts aside. He wasn’t doing himself or his sabear any favors by thinking about such carnal images.

  “Do you want some more, baby?”

  “If there’s enough, then yes, please.”

  Fin pushed his sandwich over in front of Pepper. She turned her gaze his way. “But that�
��s your lunch.”

  “I’m not hungry, sweetness. I had a big breakfast.”

  “For real?”

  Fin smiled, winked, and nodded. “For real. We went to Jenny’s house for one of her famous stealth breakfasts.”

  “Jenny?”

  Was that a pang of jealousy Cal heard in Pepper’s voice? God, I hope so.

  “Jenny is Tarik’s and Tammy’s mom. She’s mated to Royal and Talon.”

  “Oh, okay.” Pepper picked up the sandwich and took a bite, humming and moaning as she chewed.

  Cal jumped from his stool and started cleaning up, thankful the counters were higher than the standard height and would hide the massive hard-on straining against the zipper of his jeans.

  “Are your parents still around?” she asked as she finished eating.

  “No,” Cal and Fin answered simultaneously.

  “Oh, sorry to hear that.”

  Cal leaned across the counter and placed his hand over her clenched fist. “You have nothing to be sorry for, baby. Yeah, we miss our parents, but we were lucky enough to have a loving alpha trio to keep us in line and teach us right from wrong.”

  Pepper nodded. “You were lucky then.”

  Cal tilted his head. “That sounded ominous.”

  Pepper sighed. “My abusive father killed my mom when I was five years old. He was imprisoned, but he was later murdered in jail. I was sent to the orphanage and then was in numerous foster homes.”

  “That sucks,” Fin said in a growly voice.

  She nodded. “Yeah, but I did all right.”

  “I’d say you did more than all right. You’ve worked your sexy little ass off to get where you are today. That takes a lot of drive and dedication,” Cal stated.

  Pepper met his gaze, but this time there was less wariness. Her brown eyes seemed to soften as they stared into his, which made Cal think that just maybe, he and Fin would end up having a chance of winning her heart after all.

  They were going to have to play the match of a lifetime, taking care with their mate’s precious bruised heart. However, this time he was playing to win, and he wasn’t about to give up until the match point had been played.

  Losing wasn’t an option.

  Chapter Six

  “Fuck! What now?” Darryn sighed when his phone started ringing. He’d been casing a joint he intended to burgle later that night and hated to be interrupted while trying to work. The caller ID was blocked, so he canceled the call and slowly walked along the prestigious street in Port Knoll. The house he was casing was set far from the road and was a fucking mansion. There were no fences and, as far as he could see, no pets, either. He would need to ascertain the level of security, if any, but that would have to wait for tonight. Even though it was dark since it was winter and that was the normal state of things in this part of the world during the day, he didn’t want to chance anyone seeing him hanging around. He would come back around two in the morning and see what he was up against.

  It would take a few days to watch what went on in the neighborhood, but from what he could see, this joint would have choice pickings. There was a certainty in his gut that he would find a stash of cash or jewelry, if not both, once he managed to break in.

  He started walking toward where he’d parked his car among a copse of trees when his phone started ringing again. He pulled it from his pocket and ran his fingers through his hair when he saw Borya’s name lit up on the screen. A knot of dread formed in the pit of his stomach, but he ignored it and answered. “What?”

  “Where are the drugs?” Borya’s angry, accented voice snarled into his ear.

  “I told you where they were.”

  “There is nothing on the plane. We’ve pulled every panel off and searched every hidey-hole. Nichego, nothing.”

  “What do you mean nothing? I put the fucking drugs behind the last panel in the back on the left-hand side,” Darryn yelled.

  “Blyad! Fuck!” Borya snapped. “Where are they?”

  “I put them on the fucking plane.”

  “Net. No. They aren’t there.”

  “Are you sure those bastards are searching the right plane?” Darryn glanced at his watch and felt the blood drain from his face. What if he’d fucked up and put them on the wrong plane? He tried to think back to what Borya had told him, but since the asshole was cursing in his ear, he couldn’t concentrate.

  “What time did you go to the airport?” Borya shouted.

  “I was there just before eight, like you told me.”

  “Chertov tupitsta. Fucking dumb-ass. Are you fucking deaf? I told you to be there by seven. I said that the plane was leaving before eight. I even fucking told you to make sure to hide the drugs on the plane to the right when facing the door.”

  “That’s the plane I put them on,” Darryn yelled back. He ground his teeth when Borya went off in another round of Russian expletives.

  “Were you facing the hangar door or the door to the office?” Borya asked.

  “The office.”

  “You are a mertvets, a dead man, unless you get those drugs back.” Borya sighed. “Find out where that plane went. Fyodor is raging mad and out for blood. If you don’t want to end up with a bullet in your head, you’d better have answers by the end of the day.”

  Darryn’s heart flipped in his chest, and sweat broke out over his skin as he tried to get air into his lungs. He couldn’t believe he’d fucked up and tried to remember if Borya had told him the right information or if he’d steered him wrong. As the words of their last conversation echoed through his mind, he realized he’d been an overconfident idiot. He’d been so wrapped up in his plans of trying to get out from the Borya’s and the drug lord’s hold, he’d well and truly fucked up.

  Even though there was no one around and the Russian wasn’t anywhere near him, he felt as if he had a bull’s-eye painted on his forehead. The hair on his nape stood on end, and he shivered as fear skittered up and down his spine. He drew in a ragged breath and rushed toward his car.

  He was going back to the small private airport to find out where that fucking plane had gone. If he didn’t have an answer by the end of the day, he had no doubt Borya would track him down and shoot him.

  * * * *

  “That means a lot.” Pepper blinked back the tears of emotion that stung her eyes. She felt as if she had a bit of an affinity with Cal and Fin since neither of them had any living family, besides their friends and their friends’ parents. They seemed to understand how alone and lonely she’d been as a kid.

  “Did you grow up in foster care?” Fin asked. He was leaning against the counter and watching her as if she were the only woman left alive in the world. That made her feel special and cherished, which she’d never felt before. In a few short hours, they had made her feel as if she was worthy. A few of the foster homes she’d been shoved into had been horrendous. Especially Derrick’s and his substance-abusive parents.

  “The first five years I was in an orphanage. The nuns were kind but strict, but I guess since there were over fifty kids, they needed to keep a handle on us.”

  Fin nodded. “And after that?”

  “I was in and out of foster care. Some of the people were nice, but I was so closed off, I don’t think they knew how to deal with me.”

  “Closed off how?” Cal frowned.

  “A lot of the kids who were in the orphanage were picked for adoption.” Pepper paused to suck in a breath and released it slowly, trying to get that old hurtful resentment under control.

  “And you weren’t?” Fin’s eyes softened in what looked like sympathy, and Pepper had to look away.

  “No,” she answered quietly. “I don’t know why. I wasn’t a problem child and always did what I was told. At least in the beginning. Time and again, other kids were chosen instead of me. There were new kids coming in all the time. I was the only child left from the ones I’d grown up with, grown close to, and I was sure I was going to be picked next. But I never was.”

  Pepper blinked
rapidly as the tears began to well. “And then the government stepped in. The politicians had decided that it would be cheaper to farm everyone out into foster homes and close the orphanage down.”

  “How many homes were you sent to, baby?”

  “Ten.”

  “Shit! The system fucking stinks.” Cal skirted the counter, lifted Pepper, and hugged her against his chest.

  She felt safe and protected in his arms, and while she knew she should be protesting and keeping her distance from him and Fin, she didn’t want to. Other than the nuns when she was a little girl, she hadn’t been hugged in a long, long time. Having Cal’s big warm body against hers, wrapped around her smaller frame, felt like manna from heaven. One she wanted to savor for as long as possible.

  She felt him walking but was too intent on relishing his spicy, masculine scent and the heat of his large body. Pepper could have stayed in where she was for the rest of her life. When she realized where her thoughts were going, she knew she was in big trouble, and she tensed. She realized that Cal had felt her stiffen when he tightened around her even more.

  She opened her eyes when she felt her ass land on his thighs and glanced around the living room. They were back where they’d started, with her in one of their laps while sitting on the sofa.

  “Were the foster homes bad?” Fin asked as he sat next to her and Cal. He gently lifted her legs and propped them over his thighs.

  Pepper studied her bruised, swollen ankle and hoped it wouldn’t take too long to heal. She was going to have a hell of a time trying to fly her plane with a bunged-up leg.

  The thought of leaving Cal and Fin caused a pang of pain to stab into her heart. Pepper knew then that she needed to get away from them fast, and not just because she was beginning to like them. She was also in lust with them, and that would never do.

  She scrambled from Cal’s lap, limping her way over to an armchair across from the sofa, and sat down. Now that she was farther away from them, she felt more in control, more like her usual self.