“He’ll freeze to death!” I push against the blanket, wanting to stand. “We have to go get him. He can’t stay outside in this weather.”
But Carter grabs me by the waist and hauls me back against his chest. “You’re not going anywhere, Emma. Troy is in his wolf form, so the cold won’t hurt him. He’ll be back once he calms down.”
“Why is he upset?” I ask, still struggling against Carter’s hold.
Sebastian glances at Carter, then says, “I think he thinks he hurt you.”
I still and stop my efforts to get free. “Why?”
“Youcried,” Carter murmurs. “And like we said, you were kind of out of it for a moment there. He thought he did that to you.”
“Well, he did,” I retort. “He gave me an orgasm so powerful, I nearly blacked out. Why didn’t you tell him to stay?”
I glare at both of them. I can’t believe neither of them thought to stop the big werewolf who apparently has a dramatic streak and thinks howling in the wind outside is a good way to solve relationship issues.
“We had to take care of you first,” Carter says, a stubborn glint in his eyes. “You’re the weaker of the two, and you were nearly unconscious.”
“Well, that’s what being fucked by three werewolves does to a human,” I snap back, annoyed at being called weak, even if it’s true. I extricate my arm from the blanket tortilla and poke him in his naked chest. “Now put on some clothes and go fetch him so I can talk some sense into him.”
Carter hesitates for a moment, then sets me on the couch and leaves me in Sebastian’s tender care while he drags on his sweatpants and t-shirt and disappears through the front door. He doesn’t even put on boots, which just goes to show that werewolves are built differently.
“You have incredible stamina and endurance,” I say to Sebastian, who sits next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulders.
He’s still naked and furry, his cock lying half-erect against his thigh, but he doesn’t seem to notice his own state, so I don’t comment on it.
“Yeah, that’s kind of a shifter thing,” he says.
His hazel eyes glint with specks of green, and his fangs are sharp and white, a true predator’s set. He’s so striking, I can’t stop staring at him.
I reach up and sift my fingers through his russet mane, still slightly wavy, even in his half form. “Do you think that’ll be a problem?”
His eyes had drifted shut at my touch, but now he snaps them open, staring at me. “What do you mean?”
I shrug and let my hand fall on my lap. “I don’t know. We thought the issue was going to be your knots—and me not being able to take them fast enough. But maybe it’s my human weakness that’ll prevent you from bonding with me fully.”
His cock twitches at the mention of knots, but he doesn’t react. Instead, he shifts on the couch so he’s facing me.“You’re not weak.”
I press my lips together, not wanting to show my emotions. “Carter sure thinks so.”
Sebastian winces. “I don’t think he meant it that way. You’re just…”
“Smaller, more easily hurt, and not as strong,” I retort, counting on my fingers. “Which does mean I’m weaker. I’m not fishing for compliments, Sebastian, just stating facts.”
He stares at me unhappily. “I don’t mind. I don’t care about any of that. I’m just so happy you’re finally with us.”
My heart thumps at his words. “Yeah, but what if we’re all wrong? What if you grow tired of having to take care of me all the time?”
“That’ll never happen.” He takes my hand and holds it between his warm palms. “You don’t understand how this is for us. We’d do anything to keep you with us. To keep you safe.”
I don’t want to be a burden.
The thought is on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t bring myself to say it out loud. To find three men such as them, then realize after a few months or years that they resent me because of who and what I am… It would kill me. If I allowed myself to truly fall for them, then was kicked to the curb for being human and not a shifter, as Sebastian put it, I don’t think I could pick myself up from that.
I already know that I’d be hard-pressed to find a man who’d fulfill me like they do. Today has been a revelation in what my body is capable of. I never knew such pleasure existed, and I know I’d easily get addicted to the way they all seem to care about me. But if that all faded after a while…
“Hey,” Sebastian says, bringing his hand up to cup my face. “You can talk to Troy. See if you can get through that thick skullof his and explain to him that you had a good time just now, and we can go from there. We don’t have to figure out everything today.”
I nod, though I’m still not convinced. I think the fates that they put so much faith in might have been mistaken this time around. Or else this pack’s senses are misfiring, because surely whatever force is out there would match them with a woman of similar strength, no? Someone they could fuck without worrying that she’ll break.
