Scared of Spiders

Clint scowled. “I wouldn’t talk, seeing as how you also had to detour.”

Josie giggled. “You guys are too much. Are you always this competitive?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

Josie let out peals of laughter. Some of it, Clint suspected, pent-up hysteria from her now-dissipated fear.

“So, where do you live?” she finally asked.

“You’ll see,” replied Clint enigmatically. He wanted to see her reaction firsthand when she saw his place.

Only once they’d left the trappings of the city behind did he turn onto a gravel road, the long drive winding through dense trees until it emerged in a bright clearing where the ranch sat.

She gasped. “Oh, Clint, it’s gorgeous.”

Clint’s chest puffed up with pride. “It’s been in the family for several generations, but my dad wasn’t into updating much. So, when I inherited, I gave it a major overhaul.”

“Is all this land yours, too?” she asked, her nose pressed to the window as she peered at the lush greenery that surrounded the ranch house, from cleared lawns to a vast garden bordered by dense brush and trees.

“Yup. Over thirty-five acres.” Clint pulled up in front of the house, and Brandon bounded out of the SUV and opened the door for Josie to step out. Lucky him, he was stuck carrying the cat carrier with the very pissed-off feline. But it wasn’t all bad. He got to admire the view of Josie’s ass as she walked up the steps and entered his home. Our home now, baby.

* * * *

Josie peeked around with interest. The house from outside appeared like an L-shaped bungalow. Inside, it was huge and open. To the right of the vestibule was a massive living room with a floor-to- ceiling stone fireplace. There had to be a half dozen couches scattered around along with an equal number chairs. The floors made of wide-planked wood gleamed. Their lacquered surface covered here and there with bright, rag- woven rugs. Her inspection temporarily halted at the sound of Snickers’ meow of unhappiness.

Josie dropped to her knees and sweet-talked Snickers as she unlatched the cage. “Now you be a good girl. No clawing anything, and that means the werewolves too, not just the furniture.” Snickers of course didn’t reply and bolted as soon as the door opened on the cage. Josie hoped she didn’t get into too much trouble.

Standing back up, she caught Clint’s grin. However, it was Brandon who spoke. “Promise me you’ll never baby- talk me when I’m a wolf. I’d never live down the ridicule.”

Josie smirked. “Oh, but weren’t you the pretty blond wolf? Don’t worry. I won’t just baby-talk you. I’ll probably scratch you behind the ears, too.”

Clint roared with laughter at Brandon ’s face until Josie added, “you, too, big guy.”

Josie left them both staring at each other. The rich sound of masculine chuckles-which had her shivering in naughty places-accompanied her as she walked farther into the house. She traversed the long length of the living room to encounter the world’s biggest freaking kitchen.

“Good grief. This place is big enough to feed an army,” she exclaimed.

“Or a hungry pack of wolves,” said Clint with a wolfish grin as he walked by her to open the fridge. “Speaking of which, I could use some dinner. How about you, baby?”

“I’d love to see you cook.” Josie blushed at her words, hearing the double meaning, which Clint also caught. Instead of replying, he just winked at her. Josie couldn’t help the heat that pooled between her thighs. The man is just too darned good-looking for his own good.

Josie seated herself at a stool that bordered the massive granite-topped island, and Brandon perched himself beside her.

As Clint proved he did know his way around a kitchen and the massive stove with eight burners, she started assuaging her curiosity. “So, I take it you’re boss of the werewolves. How many are in your pack?” Her usual timidity had evaporated around Clint and Brandon. It was hard to be scared of two guys who kissed her like she was the only girl in the world and dropped everything to protect her.

“My proper title is alpha, and Brandon here is my beta. We’ve got a moderate-sized group, compared to others, at thirty-seven. Of course, there’s about a dozen of the pack out right now on transport runs. You’ve actually met almost all of them at this point, seeing as how they pretty much all work for the company.”

“Wait, back up a second. Did I understand you correctly? You mean there’s other werewolf packs out there, too?”

“There are hundreds of packs. Each major territory has at least one. They’re not all wolves, though. Shifters run a gamut of animals like bears, big cats, reptiles, and more. And that’s just the most prolific groups. Some species don’t have enough numbers to form packs, like the dragons.”

Josie’s eyes grew wider. “You’re screwing with me, aren’t you? I mean, dragons. Seriously?”

“Hell yeah, dragons,” Brandon said, jumping in with a grin. “Actually, you’ll probably end up meeting one soon, as Draco is due for a visit in the next month or so. And if you think that’s messed-up, there are also dolphin packs, and I’ve even heard of a spider shifter running around.”

Josie shuddered. “A man-sized spider? That is so gross.” And like my nightmare.

Clint frowned at Brandon. “Don’t worry. The rules all of our kind abide by state that all shifters must present themselves to the alpha if they intend to spend any time in a controlled territory.”

“So, you knew those wolves that attacked you?”

Clint shook his head. “Those were rogues. In other words, shifters who weren’t obeying pack laws and thus were subject to justice.”

“That’s nuts, though. What did they expect to accomplish?”

Clint shrugged and kept silent. He finished flipping the thick ham steaks and threw them on some plates along with a salad and some pan-fried rice.

Josie dug in, hungrier than expected, but she still had questions. “Do you have female werewolves, too?”

“Yes, but they are much rarer. The shifter gene transfers better in males, which is why many of our females have more than one mate.” However, while it was quite common for female shifters to take on multiple mates, it was a lot rarer for a human to attract the attention of more than one male. Clint assumed it had to do with the fragile nature of most humans.

“Two?”

Brandon chuckled. “Or more. Don’t tell me you’ve never fantasized about it?”

Josie blushed and dropped her head. She tried changing the subject. “I guess you and Brandon haven’t found your mates yet?”

“Oh, we have,” said Clint huskily.

Irrational jealousy made her meet his eyes. “And she’s okay with you kissing other women and bringing them into your home?” Josie couldn’t believe she blurted that out loud.

“You tell me,” he retorted.

Josie looked at him blankly, not understanding, but when she did, she ducked her head again. She kept quiet after that, finishing her meal as she mulled over what she’d learned, even more confused than before. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he implied I am his mate. But that’s impossible, because I’m not a werewolf.

She helped Clint stack the dishes in the washer while Brandon started a fire in the hearth. There was one couch facing the dancing flames, and when Clint and Brandon took a seat at either end, she debated sitting in the middle, but her nervousness returned, and she instead knelt on the rug with her back to them.

Their synchronized chuckle sent shivers down her spine, and moisture formed in her cleft. Even though she’d found herself alone with them since their departure of her place, she now noticed just how alone they were. Me, my absent cat, and two big, bad wolves. It was a recipe for pleasure, if she could find the courage to take what they offered.

“Baby,” whispered Clint’s voice right beside her ear. She jumped, for she hadn’t heard him move. “Why are you fighting it? We can smell your desire.”

Josie wrinkled her nose as she blushed. “That’s kind of gross.”

Brandon ’s soft laughter fluttered her hair around her other ear. Someone should put bells on them