Page 38 of Stealthy as a Wolf

“No.” That was it—he said nothing more. When I turned to glare at him, a pleased smile curled the corners of his lips. “That’s better. Now we can have a discussion.”

“We have nothing to discuss.” I tugged on my hands, only to find myself still firmly captured. “I want…”

My voice trailed off when Boone began to kiss along the back of my neck. Just small pecks. Then some wet, open-mouthed kisses as he sucked and nipped along my back. I twitched and wiggled, scrunching up my shoulders to dislodge him, but he would not budge. “Stop that.”

Undeterred by my waspish tone, he simply moved to my other shoulder and began all over again. “Why should I stop when I can tell how much you enjoy it?”

It was only then that I realized I’d been rubbing myself against both of them. Mortified, I went still, and swore that my body whimpered in protest. I gritted my teeth and frowned at both of them. “Neither of you has the self-preservation instincts of a mosquito, or a brain to share between you.I’mtrying to protectyou.”

“You trust us, at least a little, or you wouldn’t have kissed us.” Burke kept his tone almost analytical, and I really wished I could just duck away from his probing look. He saw too much, bearing secrets I didn’t want to share.

“A mistake,” I assured him, using my best bitchy tone. I would never forgive myself if I hurt them just because I wanted to cuddle. I knew better, yet I still allowed myself to hope. That hope now tasted like bitter ash in my mouth. “One I won’t make again.”

“Yes, you will,” Boone whispered in my ear, sounding much too confident for my peace of mind. When I turned to snarl at him, he gave me a sweet smile, and my foolish heart skipped a beat. “We’re irresistible.”

I rolled my eyes, but I was very much afraid he might be right. It would be better to keep my distance and give up the foolish notion of romance. All my life, romantic entanglements had meant pain and violence. Maybe it was best not to discover otherwise.

When my past caught up with me, I couldn’t afford to be weak. Being weak gave others the opening they needed to break me. If I lost that last bit of myself, nothing else would remain but my beast and the need to destroy everything in my path. As the bleak future stretched out before me, sorrow invaded my very soul, and my defiance melted away.

“Hey, where’d you go?” Boone asked in concern. Both men surrounded me, their bodies unnaturally still. While Boone cuddled me close, rubbing his cheek between my shoulder blades, Burke looked ready to spring into action, searching for an enemy to fight.

I cleared my throat, looking everywhere but at them. “Let’s just chalk this up as a failed experiment.”

Burke cupped my face, refusing to let me hide. “You can say no, and I’ll back off, but you don’t get to hide because you’re afraid.”

That just pissed me off. “You don’t know me. You—”

“You’re afraid to hurt us,” he interrupted, cutting off my tirade before I could work up a good head of steam.

My mouth snapped shut so fast that I nearly bit my own tongue. It wanted to duck my head and hide, but I refused to let them see me cower. “You’re a fool if you think I can’t hurt both of you.”

The men fell silent, didn’t even seem to be aware of me as they glanced at each other. They appeared to carry on some sort of silent discussion, the air turning to static, then Boone nodded.

I quickly found myself back at the center of their attention. Burke took the lead again. “You’re afraid you’ll hurt us. What if we can guarantee that you won’t?”

“There is no way that you can guarantee that sort of thing,” I sputtered, ignoring the way my heart leaped at even the slightest possibility.

“That’s the beauty of twins. There are two of us.” He lifted a single brow at the challenge. “What better way to get over your fear?”

“Treat this as an experiment.” Boone kissed my shoulder, his words whispered against my skin.

“You can act out all your deepest, most wicked fantasies with us, and we promise to stop you if we think you’re going over to the dark side.”

The possibilities left me completely flummoxed. I opened my mouth to reject the idea out of hand, then slowly closed it, swallowing hard when I realized that I actually wanted what they offered. I nibbled on my bottom lip while I struggled against the temptation.

No matter how much I tried to tell myself that this was a stupid risk, I couldn’t make myself say no. I wasn’t guaranteed a tomorrow. The only future I had was the one I made for myself.

“Say yes,” Burke rumbled, then leaned up and nipped at my lips. “Don’t allow your fears to keep you from what you want most. You deserve more.”

For such a surly man, he had a way with words, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

Everything I wanted was within my grasp.

I just had to be brave enough to accept it.

My stomach fluttered, a combination of excitement and nerves. When I leaned down to kiss him, his hands slid to the back of my neck, his fingers threading into my hair. His grip tightened, halting me just when my lips were about to touch his own, and my spirits plummeted.

Now that he’d stopped me, I realized just how much I wanted what they offered.

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