Page 39 of Wolf Fated
"Be careful climbing up, the slats are far apart," he said and gestured for me to go first. "I'll be right behind you in case you fall."
"Or you just want a better look at my ass." I clamped a hand over my mouth.Damn.I usually didn't say odd things like that, despite me thinking them, unless I was drunk. It was like instead of an angel and a devil on each shoulder, I had a slutty vixen and a horny succubus. Especially around these three men.
"That's not a bad idea." His lopsided grin made my heart thump hard against my chest.
He leaned forward like he was going to pin me between him and the tree and kiss me. If he did that, I'd be giving into my lust, and I had to make it through many more days with him and the others. So instead of listening to either of my bad sides, I scrambled up into the deer stand. Which wasn't as easy as it sounded since I was also holding onto a rifle. But I managed to get up to the small platform without injuring myself or anyone else. Though I doubted I'd be able to get down again holding the gun.
The stand creaked as Nathan climbed up, then he opened the blinds, and I gasped at how far we could see.
"Try to be as quiet as possible," he whispered. "I'll let you take first shot."
"You know," I answered, "I'm not shooting an animal, right?"
"What if it’s your wolf?" He arched an auburn eyebrow.
"It isn't my wolf." I scoffed. Not like he believed me anyway when I had told him.
"You have to be able to defend yourself. A gun is a good way to do that." He scratched his chin, looking from me to out in the woods. "There are a lot worse things in the world than wolves."
"Have you seen any... wolves, I mean... out here?" I kept my voice low.
He winced as though I'd said something painful. "Yeah, a long time ago when I was a boy. Scared the shit out of me. Must have been close to one hundred and eight pounds and nearly five-foot-long. The thing was massive." He shook his head. "Bigger than any dog I'd ever seen."
"How old were you?" I set the rifle down carefully, keeping the barrel pointed away from both of us and toward the window.
"Nine. I thought for sure the thing was going to eat me in one bite. Funny how perception changes when you get older."
I wrapped my arms around myself, a sudden chill swept through the stand. "Did it attack you?"
"There's a family of deer poking their heads out of the trees just beyond the pines over there." He pointed out the window into the distance.
"Don't shoot them." I leaned closer. Sure enough, there was a baby deer with two doe and a buck. Their ears twitched back and forth while the baby skittered back and forth between the open grass and the safety of the trees and the other deer. "Aw... that's amazing."
"Yes, you are," he said.
I gasped and the deer took flight into the woods. My gaze shifted to him as he watched me intently. "Don't say things like that."
"Why not? It's the truth." His emerald eyes sparkled with secrets and things that I couldn't think about.
"Because. It's not right. I'm engaged, remember?" Though the more time that I spent away from Stephen, the easier it was to forget that. The easier it was to give into my desires and how much I wanted each of these men because I was ten times as horny as I ever was with Stephen. At this rate, I’d be losing our bet in days. I pushed back, sitting on my heels. "I shouldn't be here. This—" I waved a hand between us. "None of this should be happening. It's not normal."
"Brook." He raked a hand through his dark auburn hair. "When are you going to realize that you belong to us? I feel your attraction, your arousal even now."
"Stop." My voice was hoarse and thick. I couldn't hear anymore because he was right. And I felt like the most horrible person in the world. I was supposed to be in love with Stephen. I wasn't supposed to have feelings for anyone else. I wasn't supposed to crave another's touch. "Just stop."
Tears spilled down my cheeks and Nathan reached for me.
"No." I couldn’t let him touch me. If I did, I’d give in, I knew I would. I scurried to the deer stand's opening and crawled down as fast as I could.
“I-I need some fresh air.” I quickly climbed down the ladder, skipping several rungs because of my tears and my feet slipping.
"Brook, wait."
But I didn't listen. I landed on the soft grass and ran.
19
The trees blurred as I ran with tears streaming down my face. I shouldn’t want Nathan or Axel and I had no doubt as soon as I spent time with Drake, then I’d desire him too. My passion for them was overwhelming like I was a cat in heat or something. My underwear was already damp just thinking about kissing one of them; something that never happened with Stephen.
