Page 10 of Ours

She studied her reflection to see if anything had changed. Would people now see her differently? Would they all know that she wasn’t innocent anymore?

She’d avoided her family all day. They’d come by but she’d ignored them, locking her back door, and putting the chain on it. She barricaded the front one with a chair and put the chain across it also, annoyed that it had been broken. Sandy couldn’t handle them today, not after the way they acted that morning.

Glancing down at her watch, she saw she had five minutes until the men she couldn’t get out of her head for many reasons arrived. After grabbing her purse, she walked out of her room.

She decided waiting outside was the best option. Then Jake and Zack wouldn’t need to come in her house again, and she wouldn’t be tempted to see if last night’s pleasures were exaggerated in her mind or real.

Sandy opened the door, grumbling that she didn’t know how she was going to keep it locked with it broken, and saw her porch light was already on. Sandy walked out and almost bumped into two tall, very familiar muscled bodies.

Jake’s arms came instantly around her, pulling her against him. “Wow, Little Red, you are beautiful.” He picked her up and his mouth came down on hers without giving her a chance to respond.

As soon as Jake’s mouth touched hers, Sandy knew she hadn't imagined the pleasure they brought her. His tongue traced her lips before slipping into her mouth and meeting her tongue in a tangle that left her fighting for air.

She broke away to catch her breath, only to have Zack reach for her and plaster his mouth on hers. His hands cupped her arse, and he gently bit her bottom lip, sucking it in and letting it go.

Her body started to burn, begging her to continue as it now knew what they had to offer. But when her outside light turned off, she remembered where they were and pushed on Zack’s chest. Sandy felt her pussy clench as he let her go, and she took a wobbly step back, staring at the gorgeous sight before her.

Zack had on a long-sleeved dress shirt hanging over dark blue jeans and black skate shoes. Unable to help herself, she reached up on her tippy toes and pushed a piece of his shaggy hair out of his bright lust-filled eyes. He looked so yummy.

Jake, she noticed, wore the same clothes from the morning. Worried, she studied his face and saw both eyes filled with lust and something else she couldn’t figure out yet, but she intended too. She wrapped her arms around him and gazed up at him. “Come on, let’s go inside. What’s wrong?”

Shock filled his emerald green eyes. “No, it’s nothing. Let’s go. We said we would take you on a date, so let’s go.” His lips brushed against hers, and she knew he wanted her to drop it, but she wasn’t giving up. Sandy knew that look, had seen it on her father’s and brother’s faces. It usually meant something bad had happened, or they were stewing over something that they’d done wrong.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me why you are in the same clothes as this morning. You look like someone took honey away from your bear.” She grinned at her own little joke.

Jake sighed, picked her up, and walked to a black Land Rover.

“Hey, I said I wasn’t going.”

Jake gripped her tighter, palming her arse. “I’ll sit in the back with you. I can’t tell you much as it’s police business, but…”

He trailed off but she knew the drill. Her father and brother said that about the fire station. Sandy nodded as he opened the car door and placed her inside. She smiled when he followed, because even if he told her what he could, she knew he would feel lighter.

****

Jake felt very lucky as he glanced at Sandy before nodding to Zack that they were all in. She’d just met them, and already she was worried about him because she’d read their expression. The only other person who worried about him was his mother.

Today had been a hard one. They were looking for a shifter killer. Jake was usually pretty resilient, but today they’d found a pregnant shifter murdered while she’d been in her wolf form. It was the third killing in two months. Jake had never been so angry and frustrated with a case. The perp had only one rule only killing shifters. The three shifters had all been different—a tiger, a seal, and the last one a wolf. It was blatantly clear it was the same person due to the distinctive smell, and the name he carved into them— Animal.

Hugging Sandy as close to him as the seat belt would allow, Jake leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I’m a cop. Well, a detective like Zack’s big brother, Brock. We have a hard case at the moment, one that seems to really be getting to me. The perp is clever and he doesn’t follow much of a pattern. I would like to tell you more, but that’s all I’m allowed to say.”

She nodded against his chest and rubbed her hands over his body. “I’m sorry to hear that. If you need someone to talk to, I’m a good listener.”

He held her tighter knowing it was going to be easy to fall in love with this woman. He looked up to see Zack nod to him in the mirror. They’d gotten a good one.

****

Jake watched as Sandy looked around the restaurant for the hundredth time, gulped her wine down, and poured another. She moved away any time he or Zack tried to touch her. It was such a change from the way she cuddled him in the car. The waitress who’d been flirting all night brought the food out and winked at him then fawned all over Zack. Jake chuckled when this seemed to finally get Sandy’s attention.

She grabbed Zack’s hand and glared at the girl before she whispered, “Pass him your number or touch him again, and the hand you use will get broken.”

The woman turned her smile on him and his chuckle turned into a laugh as Sandy continued, “Don’t even think about it. He’s mine too.” She grabbed his hand and stared up at the shocked waitress.

Laughing harder than he had in days, he felt a hard kick in the knee from Sandy as she let go of their hands, drank her glass of wine, and snarled, “Shut it, both of you. I don’t see what’s so funny.”

He looked over to see Zack still laughing. Capturing her hand, their fingers linked, Jake rose their joined hand and kissed her knuckles. “Oh, Little Red, you’ve made a bad day into a much better one. It’s nice to know you are already starting to feel we’re yours.”

She rolled her eyes at him and tried to dislodge their hand. “You’re not. Remember this is just one night. I had to agree to get Zack out of my room.”

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