Closing his eyes, he forced his mind to slow so that he could get some rest.Even as he relaxed more, he was hyper-aware of Willow lying in his arms.He hoped like hell they got to fall asleep like this every night for the rest of their lives.He’d never wanted a mate so much before, but Willow was worth the life sentence to one woman.
Chapter Three
Willowstretchedandfrownedwhen she felt pinned down.She was used to being tied to a chair at night, but for some reason, she was in a bed.Her eyes slowly opened and stared hard at the man lying next to her.His hand was on her waist and one of his thighs was wedged between her legs.As she took in the strong lines of his face and his dark hair, bits and pieces of the previous day came back to her.
She was no longer with the Double Deuces.There had been a fire, and she remembered a tiger coming to her rescue…no, not a tiger.The man lying next to her.A shapeshifter.She studied him while he slept, then remembered there were two of them.A glance behind her, showed the bed was empty except for the two of them.If Burn had slept with them last night, then he was already gone for the day.
It was nice, being this close to him.Comforting.He didn’t terrify her like the others had.While he was part of an M.C., he seemed…gentle.At least, he was with her.He’d been very polite and had seemed genuinely concerned about her last night.When he’d noticed her swaying on her feet, he’d tucked her into bed and asked if she needed anything else.While her stomach had rumbled from lack of food, she had been too damn tired to eat, so she’d closed her eyes and within minutes she’d been out.
Now that it was morning, her stomach was reminding her that it had been almost twenty-four hours since she’d had a bite.Feeding her hadn’t been high on the Double Deuces’ list.She didn’t want to wake Crash, but she had a feeling the President of the Steel Riders didn’t want her poking around without an escort either, at least until she made a decision.
Hell.Crash and Burn wanted to mate her.Marriage to two shifters.All right, marriage to two sexy-as-hell shifters who made her tingle in all the right places, despite the awkward circumstances.She’d never reacted to a man before last night.Even though she’d been exhausted and emotionally worn out, she couldn’t deny the pull she’d felt toward them.After not having the opportunity to pursue a relationship with anyone, she wasn’t certain she was equipped to take on two tigers at once.One would be daunting enough with her lack of experience, but they seemed determined to share her.And she had to admit, secretly, that gave her a thrill.Before the Double Deuces, she’d been allowed to read and had devoured romances.In some of them, there had been two men with the heroine, and Willow had always been curious about how it worked.Didn’t one man ever get jealous over the other?
The door opened and she tensed, watching and waiting to see who was coming.Would they take her away?Had they lulled her into a sense of security only to turn the tables and enslave her the way the other M.C.s had done?
Burn came through the door carrying two trays, then kicked the door shut.When he saw her watching him, he smiled broadly.
“Morning, sunshine.I hope you’re hungry because this breakfast is going to get cold if you don’t eat it soon.”
Her stomach rumbled.
Burn laughed.“Good.You are hungry.”
He set the trays down then kicked the side of the bed.“Hey, butt face.Wake up.”
Willow snorted a laugh, but stifled it quickly, not certain if laughter would be allowed.She’d learned early on to keep her amusement and other feelings to herself.Saying or doing anything without permission never ended well for her.
“It’s all right, you know,” Burn said softly.“You can laugh.Hell, I laugh at Crash all the time.”
She smiled, the first genuine smile she’d had in a long while.
Crash groaned, pulled her tighter against him, and then rolled onto his back.“What time is it?”
“Eight o’clock,” Burn said.“Brought breakfast.Figured the three of us could eat together, then we could figure out a shower schedule and get ready to face the day and see what Blitz has planned.You know that ornery cuss has been up all night plotting revenge.”
Crash sighed and pushed himself up, leaning against the headboard.He glanced her way and smiled, wrapping his hand around hers.“Morning, sweetheart.Did you sleep okay?”
Willow nodded.
“Good.All right, Burn.Feed me.”
“You’re not a man eating plant,” Burn said, biting into a piece a bacon as he handed a plate to Willow, then another to Crash.
Man eating plant?She didn’t understand, but then, there was a lot she didn’t understand.She could only watch TV when her captors did, and they favored mostly toward motorcycle shows and gory horror flicks.She could watch as someone’s brains were dug out of their skulls and their intestines were spilled while she ate a plate of spaghetti, but she couldn’t tell you what was fashionable at the moment.
Whoever had made breakfast had added cheese to the eggs and they melted in her mouth.The bacon was nice and crisp, and someone had even put jelly on her toast.It had been a long time since she’d been allowed to have something like jelly.She usually ate plain, cold oatmeal for breakfast, a peanut butter sandwich for lunch—no jelly—and dinner consisted of the scraps after everyone else had their fill.It seemed her fortune had changed when the twins had claimed her as their own.
Burn nudged some sacks under the desk.“I brought you some boots and the other things on your list.I wasn’t sure what hair stuff you needed, but I did get you a brush and some of those ponytail things.I figured you’d want to pick your own shampoo, make-up and crap, not that I think you need any make-up.”
“I’ve never worn it,” she admitted.“I wouldn’t even know how to apply it.I’d probably end up looking like a clown if I tried.Does that bother you?”
“It infuriates me, but only because it reminds of what was done to you,” Burn said.“And I know my brother feels the same.”
“Whatever your life was like before last night,” Crash said, “you can put it behind you.Things are going to be different now.As soon as we know what Blitz has planned, we’ll make arrangements to take you shopping for the rest of the things you’ll need, and we’ll see if Blaze is okay with you meeting his mate, Luna.I’d imagine you’d like to have another female around.”
“One who isn’t a whore,” Burn muttered.
Crash kicked him.“Shut it.”
